Chapter 93 — If You Say So, I Believe You

He had no time at all to listen to what that man had said, and paid even less attention to the murmurs, exclamations, and applause rising from the crowd.

When Lin Xiaowen came back to herself, the entire hall around her was dark. Only she stood within a single pool of light, and of course, so did Si Nan, smiling as he held out an inviting hand toward her.

Si Nan was an excellent dancer, while Lin Xiaowen was exactly as she had said she was, completely incapable.

Yet with her body stiff and awkward, moving to his rhythm, she did not make a fool of herself.

The music was gentle, the steps unhurried and matched. Gradually, more and more men and women joined the dance floor, and only then did Lin Xiaowen slowly begin to relax the nerve stretched taut within her, ready to snap at any moment.

“You don’t need to be nervous. He won’t be coming down from the second floor for another three minutes.” Si Nan looked down at the woman who seemed about to press her face to the floor.

Who did not know how much luck it took to dance one song with President Si? Yet she, oddly enough, seemed to want to avoid him at all costs.

“How do you know?” Lin Xiaowen asked, looking up in confusion, even forgetting to move her feet.

One guiding step from Si Nan made her already disordered footwork even more chaotic, and she nearly fell against him.

This drew a low wave of mocking whispers from the women who had already been gossiping about her in secret, their faces full of curiosity.

“She doesn’t even know how to dance? And she still dares come to a place like this...”

“President Si would actually take a shine to this country bumpkin? Tsk, tsk.”

“One look and you can tell she’s a deceitful little white lotus. Such an affected act...”

The voices were neither loud nor soft, but Lin Xiaowen did not seem to hear a thing.

All she cared about was asking Si Nan again how he could know so clearly what Cheng Yishu was doing.

Si Nan instantly lost interest. He simply stopped dancing and looked at her with even more tenderness in his expression, lowering his voice.

“You don’t need to ask how I know. I’ll give you ten minutes. After ten minutes, I’ll wait for you outside. Ranran is waiting for you too... I believe you can do it. Of course, you can still change your mind at any time. At worst, I’ll just be out one plane ticket back to Hong Kong...”

“Si Nan...” Lin Xiaowen trembled at the lips, staring fiercely at the man before her, who seemed no different from a devil.

“Be good... I’ll wait for your good news.” With his tall frame bent down, Si Nan spoke softly by her ear.

But in the eyes of those around them, the scene looked more like a kiss between intimate lovers.

As a result, another small uproar broke out.

Si Nan gave Lin Xiaowen a deep, lingering look, then turned and left. He left only a dazed Lin Xiaowen standing where she was, not knowing whether to go forward or retreat.

Ten minutes?

Yes, ten minutes. She did not have much time left.

As Si Nan’s figure vanished into the crowd, Lin Xiaowen suddenly remembered what he had said.

Lin Xiaowen was anxious, clutching her skirt as she hurried out of the dance floor, but with people milling all around her, where was she supposed to find him...

A tight grip seized her wrist. Lin Xiaowen winced and turned around, only to see the very person she had been searching for, the one she had been hoping to find.

Cheng Yishu was most impatient when it came to negotiating cooperation with investors. But for some reason, this time the client insisted on meeting the male lead in person, and wanted the agent brought along so everyone could be introduced properly.

Only after Chen Kai pleaded and coaxed him for a long while did Cheng Yishu finally agree to come.

Before they had even finished their discussion, Cheng Yishu had found an excuse to step out. Since it was a private venue, the media could not get in, so there was not much to worry about. Just as he was asking a waiter where the smoking room was, he heard people near the dance floor gossiping about how the President Si of the Randon Group was this and that, and how that Mrs. Si, who clearly did not look like someone born to a prestigious family, was this and that...

Cheng Yishu heard it clearly.

Randon Group?

Wasn’t that the Si family that had replaced him as spokesman, and interfered from behind the scenes to knock him out of several endorsement deals?

Naturally, he wanted to see just what sort of man this Si was, and exactly when he had offended him.

But as his gaze swept past pair after pair of men and women moving in graceful steps, the first person to enter Cheng Yishu’s sight was unexpectedly his own girlfriend, and she was dancing elegantly with another man.

The angle was a little off, and Cheng Yishu only saw her in profile, so he thought he must have been mistaken.

But when they shifted their steps and turned toward him, Cheng Yishu could no longer control himself and stared wide-eyed.

That gorgeous woman in splendid dress, exquisitely made up, with lowered eyes, delicate and fragile, her face expressionless, was none other than Xiaowen...

The moment his brain gave the order, Cheng Yishu had already taken a step in their direction, but at that very moment, a strong shoulder slammed into him, staggering him sideways.

Once he had steadied himself, Cheng Yishu was about to burst out in fury when the person who had bumped him said softly,

“If Mr. Cheng does not want to cause trouble for Miss Lin, then please wait a moment. Miss Lin will come to you shortly.”

With that, the figure quickly disappeared into the crowd.

When Cheng Yishu looked around for Lin Xiaowen again, he saw her searching the surroundings as if she were looking for someone.

“Yishu!”

Lin Xiaowen’s voice was dry and hoarse, yet her eyes held a pool of clear water.

Her other hand moved of its own accord to rest on the hand gripping her wrist so tightly, completely forgetting the pain in the one being held.

Yet there was not a trace of warmth in Cheng Yishu’s eyes; even his breathing carried a faint haste.

“Come with me.”

Cheng Yishu strode ahead. Lin Xiaowen, in her high heels, could only barely keep up. Ignoring the astonished looks of the people around them, Cheng Yishu pushed open the door to the smoking room and dragged Lin Xiaowen forcefully inside.

Although the ventilation was good, although there was an automatic air filtration system, the air in the not-so-large smoking room still held a lingering trace of smoke that Lin Xiaowen disliked.

Her delicate brows tightened slightly. The next second, a chill ran down her back and she was pressed against the gold-tiled wall.

“What is going on?”

Cheng Yishu trapped her within a narrow space with his body, staring fixedly into Lin Xiaowen’s eyes, his restrained anger ready to erupt.

“Who was that person? What on earth is going on? President Si? Mrs. Si?”

Cheng Yishu’s brows were drawn tightly together as he repeated in a low growl, “What is going on, exactly?”

Lin Xiaowen stared blankly at the man on the verge of rage. The veins rising at his temple pulsed faintly from agitation, and the eyes that should have been amused or gentle were now filled only with anger and confusion.

“I...” Lin Xiaowen murmured the word “I,” but could say nothing more.

Si Nan.

Randon Group.

Si Ranran.

With these names, these words together, even a fool like Cheng Yishu could not fail to guess the relationship between them.

But what Cheng Yishu could not understand was this: if Lin Xiaowen truly was the wife of Si Nan, the president of the Randon Group, then why had she lived alone with her child in such hardship for so many years?

Or had they once been together, then later broken up for some reason, and because she could not let go of that man, she had secretly given birth to their child by herself?

And now, they had met again. That man had acknowledged them as mother and daughter once more...

And Lin Xiaowen was willing to let go of the past, return to his side, and be reunited as a family from this point on?

Then what about me? What am I?

At the thought of this, Cheng Yishu’s heart grew cold, bit by bit, and with it came a rising sense of despair.

Because he remembered very clearly that time in that small living room, in front of the little window, when Lin Xiaowen recalled that man, her eyes had been full of longing and warmth.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Not wanting to keep guessing, Cheng Yishu looked deeply into her eyes and said impatiently, “Say something. As long as you say it, I’ll believe you.”

Even if you lie to me, as long as you speak.