Before Jia Li could counter his slick charm, Li Jie and Chung walked up to them, "where have you been, Jia Li? You vanished after entering the party".
"Hi guys, I am Wang Wei. I caught your friend just as she was planning to flee the place", he said with a hint of mischief.
Jia Li gave him an irritated look as the introductions were made across the men.
"I wasn't fleeing but never mind. It was nice to meet you", she said through clenched teeth and made a move to walk away.
"There you go running again. What happened to the drink you promised me?" he demanded.
She was robbed of the chance to reply again because Tang walked up to the group and grilled his friends for walking in this late.
"Don't even get me started on that. All you should know is that Li Jie and his creative skills are to be held responsible for it", said Chung dramatically.
"Well, he seems to have done a great job as far as Ms. Hepburn is concerned. I wish I would have thought of being Gregory Peck instead of trying my hand at George Clooney", winked Wang Wei, referring to the famous pairing of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the Hollywood classics.
Tang frowned, "I see you all have made the acquaintance of Wei the charmer".
"He is notorious for breaking women's hearts wherever he goes", he said, only half-jokingly.
Envy was coiling itself tightly around Tang's gut with every interested glance that Wang Wei threw in the path of Jia Li.
"What is wrong with Jia Li? First the backless gown and now this sexy LBD. Doesn't she realize how totally irresistible is she? How is a man supposed to stay sane and on the right path?" he thought savagely.
In the next moment, Wang Wei informed him graciously that he would personally ensure that Tang's childhood friends have a great time.
"You go and just concentrate on your lovely fiancée", he added with a grin.
Tang had always found Wei's flirting to be a source of amusement in the past. But today he was sorely tempted to knock off the guy's teeth for even laying his eyes at his girl.
"I have full faith in your abilities to entertain people but make sure you don't overdo it", said Tang with a growl before walking away.
Wang Wei looked at Tang's retreating back thoughtfully and turned just in time to catch the expressions on Jia Li's unguarded face.
"Hmm…interesting", he thought.
Chung took Jia Li aside to murmur, "you need to compose yourself. You don't want to draw any unnecessary attention towards him and you, right? Let the past remain where it belongs. Also, I don't like this Wang Wei. He is a bit too charming for my taste".
She raised anguished eyes and whispered back, "I thought I was ready to face him. I was wrong. I should have never come here. Watching him in someone else's arms is the most painful thing that I have ever gone through. It didn't hurt this much even when I was informed that I could never aspire to belong to him. I am sorry, I can't do this right now".
Gulping back tears, she walked out of the hall towards the darkened elevators.