"Wah, Lin Zong, you didn't say we were allowed to bring lady friends—" the speaker, whose voice was irritatingly familiar, choked on his saliva as his eyes met Su Qiao's.
She blinked at him, equally surprised but disguising it far better, perhaps because of the years of the training her occupation had so kindly provided her with. At least she wasn't the one gawking like an idiot.
After Su Qiao's number had appeared by magic in Lin Zixun's phone, she'd been made aware that Lin Zixun was acquainted with Yao Xun. She hadn't interrogated this close friend of hers about why he'd sold her out just like that because she was hoping to catch him unawares one day. She just hadn't expected this day to arrive so soon. Lin Zixun had given her a rundown of the guest list earlier, but Yao Xun hadn't been on it. But once her glance drifted over to the companion at his side, she felt like she might understand why he was here.
She knew that Yao Xun had a bestie that was the reason why he'd broken away from his family business to try and make it on his own.
And this person was none other than the very young crown prince of the Zhou Conglomerate, Zhou Ye, whose handsome face, normally dead serious, was contorted into an expression of mild disgust as he watched his close friend splutter all over himself with none of his reputed charms.
For someone who was incredibly talkative and couldn't shut up without being begged to, Yao Xun had been oddly tight-lipped about why he'd chosen to start his own company or how it involved this friend of his. As far as Su Qiao knew, Zhou Ye was the heir apparent of his family's sizeable fortunes and was the current acting CEO of the head branch too, much like his counterpart Lin Zixun, whom the country's financial magazines liked to compare him to.
She looked back at Lin Zixun, who just flashed her a winsome smile.
"Surprise!" he said.
He had omitted more information about tonight than she'd thought. Before walking in through the door, Su Qiao thought that this would be purely a celebratory gathering for Mo Chen. But now it seemed like Lin Zixun had more intentions in mind; Zhou Ye was one of the most elusive members of their social circle; Su Qiao had heard more than one pretty young mistress complain that he was notoriously difficult to get a hold of and painfully cold towards them once they managed to seize that once in a blue moon opportunity.
Su Qiao had only ever spoken to him in passing although her father had used to encourage it until Lin Zizhou started going after her. And now, Lin Zixun was giving her the chance to network. This had to be what it was about and evidently, the young Zhou heir knew about it too because he gave her a slight nod, gaze quietly assessing instead of the polite indifference that she'd received in the past.
If this was real, if Lin Zixun was helping her rope in another formidable ally and it actually worked, she might just kiss him.
But aloud, she said, "Lin Zong is so used to being waited upon hand and foot that you can't be bothered to remember simple details like the complete guest list anymore?"
Lin Zixun blinked at her with an innocence that she knew was perfectly crafted. "In my defence, Ms Su, I didn't know Yao Zong would be present." His eyes crinkled with mirth as he shot a grin at Zhou Ye. "Ah Ye, this is your plus one?"
Zhou Ye's expression, if possible, turned even more disgusted. "No, this is baggage." He ignored Yao Xun's loud protest to explain. "Someone's hiding from a matchmaking dinner."
Everyone present shot Yao Xun a sympathetic look. But Yao Xun was too busy ogling Lin Zixun and Su Qiao like their heads had simultaneously fused with an invisible link.
"It actually worked? You actually replied?!" he asked, a non-sequitur for everyone but those in the know.
Su Qiao didn't bother to respond. She could update this blockhead later; if he was going to casually hand her number out like that, he could suffer for an entire dinner wondering just what had happened when he wasn't looking. She turned her attention to the rest of the room and therefore missed the dark, considering glint in Lin Zixun's eyes after Yao Xun gaped at her for a second too long.
The other guests had risen to greet Su Qiao upon entry and she realised she was the only woman in the room, Lin Zixun hovering by her shoulder as he introduced her to others, some of whom were friends of Mo Chen from the entertainment industry, and one or two who were business partners and close friends of Lin Zixun.
Zhang Yuze of the Zhang Corporation and the youngest of three brothers who were all fighting for a share of their father's company, stood up and gave Su Qiao a formal bow. "It's so nice to finally meet the girl of Xun Ge's dreams," he said solemnly. "Dare I say that we can call you Saozi now?" (1)
Su Qiao could feel her ears heating up despite knowing that he was only teasing. Their behaviour was unusual; she was pretty well-known because of her family background and although it wasn't revealed to the public, it wasn't a big secret amongst the rich of SH City that she and Lin Zizhou were an item. Had been.
But no one was looking at her askance for snagging the older brother after dumping the new, as though they were used to it. The joking too made her wonder just how much Lin Zixun had told them about their little deal.
They seemed to be under the impression that Lin Zixun liked her. Romantically. So she was guessing that he hadn't revealed the truth about their little arrangement to anyone.
He had said that he was serious about marriage, after all.
She glanced down at her plate, properly embarrassed by their teasing for the first time in a long while. When had she last felt like that? She couldn't even think back on it anymore. Right up until Lin Zizhou betrayed her in her previous lifetime, she had been so driven by the need to please him that she hadn't even realised how much of the charm had seeped out of their relationship. When was the last time he'd made her heart quicken or brought a flush to her cheeks?
She couldn't even recall. Perhaps it was when he handed her that stupid diamond phone case for her birthday, just shortly before breaking up with her. But even then, had she been that moved by his superficial gesture?
She had not. But she'd lied to herself convincingly.
Leaving Lin Zixun to defend her from the harmless jokes, she looked around for the birthday boy, who wasn't present yet. There was another empty seat next to him, but Lin Zizhou hadn't told her the identity of its owner either, so she had no choice but to wait with bated breath to see who else would show up.