"The First Princess was upset with the Crown Prince for the way he had treated her. So when she saw him at the charity ball she wanted to slap him for misbehaving with her but she did not want to make a scene in the public and refrained from doing so.
The Crown Prince, on the other hand, felt guilt and fear clawing his insides when he noticed the First Princess at the ball. He hadn't thought she would be there. He wanted to meet her and apologize but he knew his King would be watching his every move so he chose to avoid the First Princess.
And then there was the love stricken Prince who had finally found the name of his destined love partner, the Second Princess. So good was his luck, that the Prince met the beautiful second Princess at the ball.
That night, the four main characters of this story were at the same place, at the same time. Unaware of what their destiny has in store for them."
****************
Lu Zhi was the first to break the eye contact between her and Zhang Yi Chen. She moved away from the corner that she was standing at and went to join her sister who was talking to a business associate, Gu Shao. He was a partner in their retail business. Even though Lu Ying was the one who handled most of their businesses while Lu Zhi was involved in fashion and jewelry industry, she still was aware of the people they did businesses with.
"Hello." Lu Zhi greeted politely. Gu Shao was a middle aged man, around 45 years of age but he still looked as if he wasn't even a day over 30.
"Hello, Miss Lu Zhi!" greeted Gu Shao, "I must say, it's a surprise seeing the exclusive Miss Lu at an event. I had heard that you never attend events like these."
Lu Zhi gave him a small smile and replied, "It's true I don't not enjoy gatherings like these but then again, there's always a first time for everything."
"True, true!" chuckled Gu Shao. The three of them fell into an easy conversation regarding the latest trends in the textile retail business. As it was a discussion of her interest, Lu Zhi soon forgot about Yi Chen's presence around her but the same could not be said about Yi Chen.
Even though he had wanted to create distance between them and had hurt Lu Zhi with his words so that she would herself stay far away from him, Zhang Yi Chen could not help but keep glancing at Lu Zhi again and again. Maybe it was because of his guilty conscience that he could let go of the thought of how furious and hurt Lu Zhi had looked during the video call after he had uttered those nonsense words.
Even though he kept on reminding himself that it was for the best, that what he did was to make sure that she stays away from him, from the person who may cause her harm, Zhang Yi Chen could not shake off the burden of hurting someone and the fear that his father was planning to do something.
It was the fear that had taken home in him since he was a kid who was beginning to understand his parents' actions and reactions. It was the fear that his father had instilled in him with multiple beatings and all that emotional and mental torture that he had suffer because of his father's manipulative and controlling nature and his mother's neglect.
Zhang Yi Chen was too afraid to let anybody in, to let people see that he was nothing but a lost and brokenhearted child who still craved for his mother's love, for his father's admiration. How could he let Lu Zhi, by any means, fall into this hell with him? She doesn't deserve this, nobody does. This is why Yi Chen had long decided that he would never marry.
He forced himself to stop thinking about Lu Zhi and concentrate on the conversation that he was having with the CEO of Gold Pearl construction company. They were discussing about their new project where they will be creating high rise, luxury apartments.
****************
Ming Ze didn't want to attend the charity gala for he wanted to go and look for the love his life, his Lu Ying. It was only when his sister, who was hosting this gala told him that Lu Ying will be in attendance at the gala that Ming Ze decided to come. He had his sister inform him about the colors that Lu Ying was wearing so that he could match with her.
This is why he was wearing deep-dark blue colored trousers, a white formal shirt and a pastel pink colored blazer over it which matched Lu Ying's pastel pink, peach, and blue silk organza ballgown featuring an all-over hand pleated fan frill appliqué.
For the first time in his life, Ming Ze was nervous while trying to initiate a conversation with a woman. He had dated and flirted with so many women in his life of 30 years but what nobody knew was that he was still a virgin. Even when he hadn't believed in his family's special and secret gift, Ming Ze never went through the third base with any woman as something would always pull him back. This is why he had gone through so many break-ups in his life and he was given the title of a playboy, a Casanova.
He know realized what was stopping him from losing his virginity, of what pulled him back whenever he tried to go through with it. It was his soulmate, the connection that was always there between him and Lu Ying.
After a few minutes of searching for her, Ming Ze finally found Lu Ying amidst the crowd. At her sight, an electric shiver ran through his body, filling him up with excitement, contentment, and utter happiness. She was looking gorgeous in that gown, her hair that she had tied in a bun when they had first met were today let down and clipped away from her small face by delicate looking butterfly clips.
She looked like a goddess dressed in those light pastel colors.
Sending a conspiratorial wink in his sister's direction, Ming Ze prepared himself for what was about to come.
"Ladies and Gentleman, can I have your attention please. I warmly welcome everyone to our annual gala! As you all know, we have celebrated this gala for ten years with the motive of raising fund for providing free medical services. And now that we have completed ten years, it indeed calls for a special celebration. I request you to join us with your partners for a celebratory dance. Each time a song ends, you will be switching your partner to another."
After a round of applause, everybody who was interested in dancing, gathered in the middle of the hall. Ming Ze forced Yi Chen to join in while Lu Zhi did the same for Lu Ying. Lu Zhi had gotten really bored talking business with people and the couple dance came as an opportunity to get rid of that boredom. If she couldn't leave, as Lu Ying had threatened her not to, she may as well enjoy this dance.
For the first few rounds, the four of them danced with random partners. It was when the song, "So Close" from the Enchanted movie began playing that Lu Zhi ended up being Yi Chen's partner and Ming Ze finally got the pleasure of dancing with Lu Ying.
As Lu Zhi didn't want to make a scene, she decided to dance with Yi Chen as it will be over in a matter of 2-3 minutes. While Lu Ying who was about to run away at the sight of Ming Ze couldn't run as Ming Ze held her close gently and whispered in her ear, "Do I scare you?"
The two couples began dancing slowly to the tune of the song. "Why are you here?" asked Lu Ying.
"Umm, because my sister is the one who organized this gala and is the host as well." replied Ming Ze.
"Are you following me?" asked Lu Ying, she was still a little afraid in his presence.
Ming Ze frowned slightly as he twirled her once before pulling her back in his arms, "Don't tell me that my first impression on you was of a stalker or maybe a pervert."
"Would you mind if I said yes?" Lu Ying looked ashamed.
Ming Ze chuckled and said, "I am sorry I made you feel that way. But trust me, I am not a pervert and I am not stalking you. I just wanted to talk to this really beautiful woman whom I found dancing and singing happily on the street."
His compliment had Lu Ying blushing but she masked it within 5 seconds. The two didn't say anything further and continued dancing.
The other pair, Lu Zhi and Yi Chen were also not talking. All the while they were dancing, Lu Zhi kept looking away from Yi Chen and it irritated Yi Chen slightly. He didn't know why he was feeling that way because of a woman who he had just met 3 days ago. He couldn't describe why he feeling that way but he clearly didn't like that Lu Zhi was not even looking at him while they stood so close, dancing.
"Did I upset you so much that you won't even look at me?" Yi Chen couldn't help but question.
"Is your face even something worthy to look at?" countered Lu Zhi while still looking away from him.
Yi Chen wanted to say something but the song ended at the precise moment. Lu Zhi stepped away from his to go join her next partner but Yi Chen tried to stop her. In his haste, Yi Chen accidentally stepped on the train of her gown and the sound of a cloth being ripped could be heard that cause both Yi Chen and Lu Zhi's eyes to widen in horror.
Lu Zhi gasped as she felt the tearing at the slit of her gown. What was she going to do now?!