Chapter 272: Refusal

At the corridor entrance there was no sign of Lu Cheng, and Lin Qingyan knew he wouldn't come, withdrew her gaze, lowered her head to compose herself a bit, then lifted her head again to look toward the dance floor.

Watching her close sister Lu Ying gracefully stepping with that foreigner, a smile finally appeared on her face.

Lu Ying also shifted her steps while laughing softly, mainly because the foreigner's Mandarin was halting and stuttered, making people can't help but chuckle.

As Lin Qingyan stared at the dance floor, the lights above suddenly dimmed; turning her head, she saw another tall foreigner, even more handsome than the one who had invited Lu Ying to dance.

The foreigner spoke first, rather gentlemanly: "May I have the pleasure of dancing with you, this beautiful lady."

It was English, which Lin Qingyan naturally understood, but she didn't want to dance with another man—how could she refuse?

This was an important foreign guest exchange event, specially arranged by the leaders, and they had to host the foreign friends well.

Lin Qingyan stared at the foreigner standing nearby, her attractive eyes flicked, and she quickly thought of a way to refuse.

The other didn't speak Chinese like the foreigner who had just invited Lu Ying, indicating he couldn't, so Lin Qingyan pretended not to understand, shrugged her shoulders and spread her hands.

The foreigner clearly grew impatient, muttering a bunch of words; Lin Qingyan pretended not to understand, and finally the foreigner could only shrug and left helplessly.

Lin Qingyan's face showed a triumphant smirk.

But she didn't succeed for long; although two more foreigners came later and she dismissed them the same way, the next arrivals were a few local youths from the Capital City.

Those who could attend such events were mostly children of the leaders' families.

Actually this kind of ball is quite suitable for making connections; as long as Lin Qingyan is willing, she can easily meet the children of high officials.

But she had no such intention; after all, they weren't international friends, so she outright refused the invitation, citing poor health.

Clearly, every person who came to ask for a dance left with disappointment on their face.

Lin Qingyan placed one leg over the knee of the other, her skirt covering her slender smooth calf, slightly bent her torso, propped her chin with the other hand, and focused on watching Lu Ying dance there.

Not far away, Qin Shou observed all this; at first he was ready to step forward, but he hadn't expected Lin Qingyan's looks to be so captivating, drawing many dance invitations.

Yet Qin Shou, swirling his glass of red wine, was not at all hurried; he knew Lin Qingyan's temperament well—deep down she was a traditional woman who always kept a distance from other men.

That year he got drunk at home and couldn't restrain himself from attempting to assault Lin Qingyan; she chose to jump off a building, using death to prove her resolve and preventing him from succeeding—a stark proof.

So it's perfectly normal that these people couldn't get an invitation.

What puzzled him was why, that day at the Hua Bing Chang, Lin Qingyan unabashedly went to kiss that Junior Police Officer.

Logically, that shouldn't have happened.

Qin Shou couldn't figure it out, gave up on it, set down his wine glass, and walked over.

Lin Qingyan was tilting her head to watch Lu Ying dance and didn't notice his arrival.

"Why are you sitting here not dancing? Waiting for me? Then let's go, in this dance floor, only I can be your dance partner."

Hearing the voice beside her, Lin Qingyan finally turned her head: "Thank you for the invitation, but I'm not feeling well and don't want to dance."

As before, Lin Qingyan kept a distance from him, and that hasn't changed after all these years.

Qin Shou was instantly irritated, but he quickly restrained himself, because he noticed a few more eager would-be inviters nearby.

It was just that Qin Shou was the one extending the invitation, so those few hadn't stepped forward; they all stared at him, waiting to step in and invite if he got rejected.

When stared at by several people, Qin Shou immediately felt pressure; if he couldn't get Lin Qingyan to accept, it would be a loss of face.

Clearing his throat, Qin Shou continued: "I know you don't want to dance with other men, but I'm not another man. Come on, I know you like to dance; don't pretend to be coy in front of me—it's unnecessary."

Lin Qingyan had no intention to dance at all; she put on her favorite white dress today to show it to someone else.

"I told you, I'm not feeling well and don't want to dance," Lin Qingyan said, still with no extra words.

"Hiss!" Qin Shou instantly became angry and embarrassed; he had humbled himself to invite her today, whereas normally when he invites other women comrades, they practically pounce on him, yet Lin Qingyan didn't even give him a glance.

Qin Shou couldn't endure such humiliation; he stood up to leave, but when he saw a few others standing there whispering and occasionally laughing, he hesitated.

Qin Shou felt as if he were being mocked.

He thought that leaving outright would indeed be a loss of face.

So he turned back toward Lin Qingyan and said, "So many people are watching; don't make me lose face."

Lin Qingyan was unmoved; instead she found his words childish, and inexplicably recalled that Lu Cheng also liked to speak that way, and for some reason she liked hearing Lu Cheng speak.

Qin Shou took a deep breath, hesitated, and said, "Alright, alright, I know you're still angry about what happened a few years ago; it was because I was drunk. Now I formally apologize to you, okay?"

The events from a few years ago, Lin Qingyan no longer wished to recall, and she didn't want any further entanglement with Qin Shou, so she stood up and said.

"I have nothing to do with you; you don't need to apologize. I have other matters, I'm leaving now."

As Lin Qingyan turned to leave, Qin Shou shouted at that moment.

"I know where your parents are; I can arrange a meeting for you tomorrow."

To avoid losing face, Qin Shou had to say it despite the consequences.

And he had always known that a family reunion was Lin Qingyan's wish, so when those words were spoken, Lin Qingyan stopped in her tracks.

Qin Shou glanced again at the few people waiting nearby and smiled confidently.

"Of course, on the condition that you dance with me."

Lin Qingyan also smiled, though it was a bit tragic, realizing that the Qin Family had always known where her father was but refused to tell her.

"No need, I already know where my father is, and I've already met him."

"You know where? And you've met him?" Qin Shou was taken aback, clearly skeptical, but Lin Qingyan had no reason to lie about it.

"Who told you? Who arranged the meeting? Who's so bold?"

Facing Qin Shou's three rapid questions, Lin Qingyan blurted out, "It's my lover."

When the words "lover" left her mouth, even Lin Qingyan herself was startled.

How could she say "lover" so calmly?

She seemed accustomed to, every night, feeling Lu Cheng lying beside her behind a curtain.

Accustomed to sleepless nights, she would quietly pull aside a corner of the curtain and, lying on her side, silently watch Lu Cheng sleeping.

When everything became a habit, Lu Cheng's absence from the ball made her feel sad, as if something suddenly felt unfamiliar.

"Your lover? You're married? Who is he?" Qin Shou's face showed disbelief, mainly because he couldn't imagine anyone daring to marry a criminal's daughter.