Chapter 75: How could they possibly get married?

The banquet was unavoidable; Xia Xi resigned herself and went home first after work.

Her clothes weren't fit for a formal social event; she had rushed out that morning with no time to primp, so she grabbed a random gray undershirt from her closet, threw it on, and topped it with a wool coat—done.

She had felt a slight tightness around her neck all morning until Huang Shiyu came to deliver documents, stared at her for a while, and finally said, "Xi Jie, is your undershirt on backwards?" The collar felt off.

Only then did Xia Xi realize she had indeed put it on backwards—no wonder her neck felt tight.

She ran to the restroom to change, and finally felt comfortable.

So, the haphazard outfit she'd thrown together that morning—like grabbing conscripts at random—could absolutely not be worn to the banquet; it would become the focus of the whole hall—an odd sort of focus.

After arriving home, Su Jinru had already picked up the two kids from kindergarten, and as Xia Xi walked to her room she explained: "Mom, I won't be home for dinner, so cook less."

Su Jinru was washing fruit for the kids and the elderly lady in the kitchen; hearing that, she turned off the tap, came out, and asked, "Do you have a date?"

Xia Xi wore a "speechless" expression on her face, but she still explained to keep her mother from guessing: "A banquet is just a bunch of people gathered in a hall, eating, drinking, and exchanging information across industries—very boring."

"If you say so, there must be some outstanding elite men at the event." Su Jinru followed her into the room and said, "Take a look—see if anything suits you."

Xia Xi stared at the ceiling; her mother's tone sounded like she was picking cabbage.

Su Jinru: "There must be people from your field, and it's not bad for a couple to strive together in the same domain."

"Mom, I'm going to work, not on a blind date." Xia Xi opened her wardrobe and picked out an evening gown.

Su Jinru muttered, "You didn't say it was just eating, drinking, and exchanging?"

Xia Xi held a dress up to the mirror to gauge the fit and answered her question: "The talk is about work, not 'How old are you?' 'How many people in your family?' 'Have you bought a house or car?' 'How much savings do you have?'"

Su Jinru burst out laughing at her tone.

Xia Xi shoved the dress back, pulled out another, and held it up in front of herself, going back and forth.

Su Jinru pointed to a white evening gown in the closet: "This one looks nice." She paused, worried Xia Xi might get cold, since it was January: "Don't forget to bring a shawl—I know the indoors have air‑conditioning, but the walk from the car to the venue will still be chilly."

Xia Xi followed her mother's advice and chose that white one.

After Su Jinru left, Xia Xi changed into her outfit, sat down to do a slightly refined full face of makeup, then took out concealer, slightly turned her body, faced the vanity mirror, dabbed the powder puff into the concealer, and lightly patted it onto the tooth mark on her right rear shoulder, covering it bit by bit.

The recklessness of her youth had become a burden she now desperately tried to conceal.

*The car stopped at the hotel entrance, Xia Xi opened the car door, a burst of biting cold wind stabbed at her skin like needles; she shrank back, pulled her shawl tighter, bent down to take off her sneakers, pulled a pair of high heels from the cloth bag, tossed them on the ground, and slipped her feet in.

Xia Xi stepped out of the car, had just taken a step when her foot slipped; a dry, warm large hand grabbed her elbow, steadied her so she wouldn't fall, and immediately a warm, moist voice sounded in her ear: "Watch your step."

Xia Xi steadied herself with her other hand on the car door, looked up, and saw Lu Mingji's handsome face; she exclaimed in mild surprise, "Why are you here at this time too?" After she steadied herself, Lu Mingji released his grip, naturally took the car keys from her hand, and handed them to the valet hurrying over: "Something came up and delayed me."

Walking together toward the hotel, Xia Xi shivered and thought it unfair—men could at least wear shirts and suits at such events, while women were limited to dresses that exposed arms and legs.

Walk a bit faster, and once inside the heated interior it wouldn't be so cold. Thinking that, Xia Xi quickened her pace, but then stumbled unexpectedly; Lu Mingji promptly steadied her and joked, "What's wrong with you? Are you drunk already without having drunk?"

Xia Xi clicked her tongue, looked down at her feet, and said, "These are new shoes I've never worn before; they don't fit well yet and are still being broken in."

"You'd better watch your step—don't take a nasty fall in there with all those people watching." Lu Mingji simply placed her hand on the crook of his arm, indicating she should link arms with him to avoid another mishap.

Xia Xi wasn't used to that, so she pulled her hand back, slowed her steps, and carefully held the hem of her skirt as she walked—he was right, if she really fell she'd lose face: "Don't jinx me."

Lu Mingji lowered his eyes, glanced over the spot on his arm where she had just touched, his expression unchanged, still smiling: "I was just giving a friendly warning—how is that a curse?"

They arrived a bit late; upon entering the banquet hall, many gazes turned toward them. Xia Xi released her hold, the skirt's hem slipped from her palm and fell naturally, its train pooling in folds at her feet.

"Your ex‑girlfriend is here."

Tang Yizhou, who was talking with Xu Yanfeng, was facing the banquet hall entrance and immediately spotted the arriving Xia Xi; he lifted his chin to alert the person before him.

Tonight's banquet, besides the members of the design firms participating in the pitch, also included people from other fields—among them Xu Yanfeng's close friends. Tang Yizhou was one of them, having come just to kill time.

Xu Yanfeng raised his goblet, turned his head, and saw Lu Mingji and Xia Xi entering together.

Tang Yizhou's habit of speaking rashly couldn't be changed in a lifetime; after suffering a big loss last time, not long had passed, he'd healed the wound and forgotten the pain: "Xia Xi's outfit today looks like a wedding dress; seeing the two of them approach, I thought I'd come to a wedding."

Xu Yanfeng's face darkened.

Tang Yizhou sensed the hostile vibe from those nearby, glanced at him, instantly realized he'd misspoken, frowned regretfully, slapped his own mouth, and hurriedly corrected himself: "I was just talking nonsense—don't take it seriously. How could those two possibly get married? It'll never happen in this lifetime."

People from Broad and Elegant saw Lu Mingji and Xia Xi arrive, came over to greet them, and the two were soon surrounded in the middle; Xia Xi wore a smile, occasionally shaking her head or covering her mouth with her hand while speaking to Lu Mingji, who would slightly tilt his head to accommodate her.

Xu Yanfeng watched them; Xia Xi wore a white satin‑finished strapless evening gown, its square neckline elegant and classic, the bodice reinforced with fishbone stays to outline a slender figure, her waist gathering layered pleats, the skirt flowing like water, lending her a tall, slender look like a beautiful porcelain figurine. She wore pearl earrings and a pearl necklace; her every gesture was poised and commanding.

Tang Yizhou's description of her attire as resembling a wedding dress was not inaccurate.

Only, Lu Mingji would not be her groom.

Xia Xi felt a scorching gaze fixed on her face; no matter what she did, that look followed her movements, making it hard to ignore. She took advantage of the motion of raising her glass to drink, glancing sideways with the corner of her eye. Xu Yanfeng's stare pierced through the crowd straight at her, burning a hole in her face.

Xia Xi choked on a sip of wine, covered her chest and coughed lowly, her face flushing red from the cough.

Before she could turn her head, she saw Ling Yan seemingly appear out of nowhere, dressed in a black velvet gown, her makeup flawless and striking, striding gracefully toward Xu Yanfeng.

(End of chapter)