Ning Jie and Liang Ke spoke amicably for a while. His attentions were fully concentrated on her but there were some times where his eyes would wander in Lu AnLing"s direction. His eye movement wasn"t obvious to everyone at the table but since Lu AnLing was watching him sharply when she noticed, she began to frown.Seeing that the girl was glaring at him, Liang Ke smirked before turning his full attention back to Ning Jie. He extended his arm her way.
"Junior Sister Jie, do you mind if we talk in private a little."
Ning Jie"s eye sparkled when hearing such a request. On the other hand, Lu AnLing, Lin Li, and Manager Hong felt shivers go down their spines.
This wasn"t a good idea.
The table was quiet for a moment. Everyone stared, flabbergasted, at Liang Ke and some of the stars began to wonder why "everybody"s Liang Ke" was being so kind to one lowly star. Seeing the tension rise, Manager Hong opened her mouth to refuse Liang Ke in Ning Jie"s stead but then the girl in question stood up from her seat.
"Of course." Ning Jie said.
Watching as Ning Jie and Liang Ke left, the stars at the table glared at the couple as they disappeared. Then they turned to look at the three girls who had been left behind and they sneered.
The three girls sank in their seats slightly. Though soon they realized they had to be strong for Ning Jie so they began to talk unabashedly amongst themselves.
Slowly but surely every single one of the stars left the table to mingle elsewhere. They didn"t want to sit at a table with a lowly manager and two a.s.sistants anyway.
It was demeaning.
Soon after, Lin Li and Manager Hong had also left in order to get some drinks at the bar but Lu AnLing, who they knew didn"t drink much, was left waiting for Ning Jie"s return.
Watching the people in the room mix and mingle for a while, Lu AnLing began to feel empty.
She began to remember times when she"d attended similar events in the past. Back then, she had never been given the chance to be alone. Despite it being annoying sometimes, she felt as if being alone felt a lot worse.
Lu AnLing let her mind wander. She pretended that there were people by her side. At first, the people who came to mind were Sheng, Lu Xia, Manager Hong, Lin Li, and Ning Jie but this quickly changed to become Kang Mingyu and Kang Jun.
Thinking of those two, her heart squeezed slightly and the emptiness inside grew exponentially leaving her in a dazed state.
She missed their presence…
Suddenly, a voice spoke from beside Lu AnLing.
"You can"t be serious…"
For a second she wasn"t sure if the voice was real or if it had just come from her mind so she didn"t move a muscle, but when she felt the chair beside her being pulled, Lu AnLing turned to meet the dark eyes of Lu Shuya.
Lu AnLing paused for a second.
Lu Shuya stood at the foot of the chair and beside her, stood Xiao Mian who smiled sweetly.
Nicely, Lu AnLing made sure to greet the two girls.
"What are you doing here?" Lu Shuya didn"t waste any time to ask.
"I could ask you the same thing," Lu AnLing said plainly.
Hearing her reply, Lu Shuya glared but she was unable to retort because of Xiao Mian who sat watching both girls like a hawk.
Lu Shuya hadn"t wanted to sit beside Lu AnLing either but when they had spotted her at the table, Xiao Mian had insisted on the two sisters sitting side by side.
Looking at them, Xiao Mian smiled.
"I heard that a new artist had been invited. I"m guessing that she"s yours."
Lu Shuya: "Oh? That Ning something girl is your artist?"
"Uh huh." Lu AnLing replied lazily.
A small silence began to spread through the table. It wasn"t awkward though, the girls were just too concentrated on watching the people around them. Lu AnLing and Lu Shuya had never been to an event this high profile before so they were nervous but satisfied to watch. Even Xiao Mian who was one of the G.o.ddesses of the entertainment industry at present wasn"t unfamiliar with this event. It was her first time.
"I"m going to go get something to drink. You guys want anything?" Xiao Mian asked as she pushed herself up from her seat.
"Jie Jie, sit down, I"ll get something for you."
"No, stay here with your sister. I"ll be back soon." With those words said, Xiao Mian left the two sisters in complete silence.
The table became quiet once more but this time due to awkwardness. A part of both Lu AnLing and Lu Shuya wanted to leave the table but they both had reasons why they could not. So they just sat in silence.
Not being able to take it anymore, Lu Shuya spoke,
"So tell me, how was your artist invited?"
Lu AnLing thought back to Liang Ke. She connected a few dots and it seemed like everything connected back to him but at the same time she couldn"t figure out the most important connection…
How was Liang Ke powerful enough to get herself, Ning Jie and the rest invited?
The more Lu AnLing thought about it the more it made no sense so she frowned.
"No idea."
Hearing her reply Lu Shuya flowed herself. "You"re joking, right? What kind of a.s.sistant are you? Aren"t you suppose to know things about your artist? Sometimes I don"t understand why you"re so… so…."
Lu Shuya couldn"t find the words. But this was because she wasn"t sure what she was trying to say herself. Her sister infuriated her. How could a person live their lives without pride? To her, Lu AnLing made no sense whatsoever.
***
Outside the ballroom, Ning Jie and Liang Ke had taken a spot near a hallway. This place gave them a clear view of the buildings exist and the entrance of the ballroom.
"Y-you want me to sing with you?" Ning Jie said in disbelief.
Now her thoughts from before were becoming more and more alive in her mind. First the strange resemblance between her dress and his suit and now this?
Liang Ke smirked and then said, "Yeah? You don"t want to?"
"Of course I want to!"
Ning Jie almost screamed her response. She was so happy that for the first time ever she felt as if she wanted to work her hardest. Little did Ning Jie know what was in store for her…
Beside her, Liang Ke smiled.
Liang Ke believed he was done with her and wanted to return to the ballroom but Ning Jie stopped him. It was such a great opportunity to talk to each other and get to know each other and Ning Jie couldn"t pa.s.s this up.
Partly because he was a gentleman and partly because he couldn"t resist being flirted with, Liang Ke continued to speak to the girl. He kept his whole attention on her until he saw something strange…
From the front door of the venue, Liang Ke saw a familiar face enter. One he knew so well that his jaw slightly dropped. This man wouldn"t ever make an appearance here. Not in a million years! And yet, Liang Ke could clearly see him making his way into the ballroom.
Liang Ke"s face twisted in confusion.
Impossible…
He rubbed his eyes with his fists and sure enough when he opened them the man was gone.
He had walked into the ballroom.
***
Back at the table, Lu AnLing was beginning to feel restless. It had been more than ten minutes since Xiao Mian had left and the two girls were left in silence.
In her mind, Lu AnLing thought that she had been caught up in the most annoying and awkward situation ever but she was wrong.
From afar, w.a.n.g Tingting, who"d been searching for Lu AnLing for a while had finally been able to find her. Seeing Lu AnLing, the corners of w.a.n.g Tingting"s mouth tugged up. She"d been extremely bored sitting around with her husband but as soon as she had met Lu AnLing"s doe eyes, she felt something reinvigorate her spirit.
Lu AnLing had always been a type of punching bag for the socialites.
She was someone a person could do anything to and "due to the pride of the Lu family" she wouldn"t dare to cause a scene.
Only once had she reacted…
That was the day w.a.n.g Tingting had cursed the Lu AnLing and had decided to make sure to make her every waking moment miserable. Sure, back then, Lu AnLing was protected slightly by Lu Shuya"s status but w.a.n.g Tingting had heard that the sisters had had a falling out so this was good for her.
Walking up to the table, w.a.n.g Tingting kept her back erect and her nose in the air, giving off an "I"m better than you" aura. Once she was a couple of steps away from the table she stopped. There, w.a.n.g Tingting gazed upon the two girls.
She knew them well, and she hated their guts.
"What are a bunch of trashy entertainers doing here?"
The two girls turned to look in the direction of the familiar voice with a sneer.