“Hm?” Bai Lu was about to introduce A Miao to her friends when she spotted Shen Xinglan. “Oh dear, it’s President Shen. A Miao, do you want to…”

“There’s no need.” A Miao looked away and missed the sight of Shen Xinglan pushing the woman beside him away with a disgusted expression.

None of the notable young ladies present at the gala were simple characters. They could determine A Miao’s identity from this exchange alone.

“Is this the future young madam of the Ji Conglomerate?” One of them, a haughty-looking woman, sized up A Miao with a quick glance and then sneered.

“Lulu, how can she compare to you? Is there something wrong with President Shen’s taste?”

A Miao rolled her eyes. She turned toward Bai Lu and saw the latter holding onto her hand, anxious to explain herself.

“Don’t listen to their nonsense. I’m not close to President Shen at all. We once had a brief conversation at a banquet but they kept joking about it.”

A Miao flashed her a faint smile. “I believe you.”

“Hehe!” Bai Lu’s expression appeared a little unnatural. Even though she swiftly concealed her expression, A Miao nevertheless detected it.

“So… your goal is Shen Xinglan!”

“You two are sure interesting to attend the gala separately,” said another woman. She glanced at Zhou Xiao. “Your friend has been looking around all night. What is she looking for?”

A Miao’s expression darkened. Beside her, Zhou Xiao awkwardly tried to explain herself.

“No… No… I… I’m just looking at how pretty your dresses are.”

“Nonsense. Do you know how expensive they are?”

The women evidently looked down on Zhou Xiao. They nodded at Bai Lu and said, “We’ll be going over to that side. You might be able to lower yourself to accompany them but we can’t afford to shame ourselves like this.”

However, for some reason, Zhou Xiao suddenly stepped forward and spilled the red beverage in her hand all over another woman’s evening dress.

“Ah!” the woman screeched.

Zhou Xiao was so terrified that her face paled. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose. I…” She raised her hand, trying to wipe the woman’s dress but the latter pushed her away firmly. “Don’t touch me!”

“Crash!” With a twist of her body, Zhou Xiao instinctively grabbed the table next to her and ended up pulling the tablecloth, along with the plate of fruits on it, to the floor.

Everyone’s eyes focused on the scene. The woman, who had her dress stained with Zhou Xiao’s beverage, yelled for the guards.

“Stay calm, Miss Liu. I’ll take you to change now. Don’t make things difficult for them.” Bai Lu appeared panicked but her gaze flitted in another direction as she apologized.

When A Miao saw the security guard grab Zhou Xiao, she instinctively looked at Shen Xinglan in a moment of helplessness. She saw the man lowering his head to talk to the woman beside him. He looked up to look at her as if he had noticed her gaze.

A Miao shot him a pleading look but Shen Xinglan turned around leisurely and left with that woman.

“Oh dear! What’s going on?” A frivolous voice drifted over. A young man dressed in a pink suit walked over to them.

Bai Lu greeted the man with an awkward expression. “Just a small misunderstanding. You don’t have to concern yourself with it, Young Master Qian. Go and have fun!”

The man called Young Master Qian grinned. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at you girls. Isn’t it just a dress? I’ll compensate you on her behalf!”

“There’s no need,” A Miao immediately said. The man with oily hair and a powdered face was clearly bad news.

Bai Lu also agreed with A Miao. “You don’t have to trouble yourself, Young Master Qian. We’ve solved the issue.”

Young Master Qian acted as if he didn’t hear them. He told the unlucky woman, “Pick out a dress at my family’s mall tomorrow. Pick whatever you like!”

“Hehehe!” The woman immediately smiled. “Then thank you, Young Master Qian.”

The women glared at A Miao before turning around and leaving. Bai Lu followed Miss Liu to change her outfit. A Miao and Zhou Xiao stayed in place and for a moment, neither of them knew what to do.

“Aren’t you going to let go of this young lady?” Young Master Qian glared at the security guard. The latter immediately nodded and bowed before departing.

Still panicking, Zhou Xiao thanked the man. “T… Thank you!”

Shen Xinglan had been watching everything unfold from behind, his dark pupils concealing all of his emotions.

“Then I’ll make the arrangements as per your order, Boss.” The woman who had accompanied Shen Xinglan tonight noticed that her boss seemed to be in a poor mood. She felt as if she should leave immediately.

Shen Xinglan waved his hand. He stared at Zhou Xiao, who was being dragged away, as well as A Miao, who was closely following her friend.

“Fool!” He couldn’t help opening his mouth.

The girl named Zhou Xiao had gotten herself into trouble time and time again. He had wanted to teach her a lesson lest she kept getting that dumb woman involved. He didn’t expect a young master to step up to solve the issue.

“Mister, please let go.” A Miao tried her best to pull Zhou Xiao away. The latter had quite a few drinks.

Young Master Qian pushed A Miao aside. “Aren’t you Shen Xinglan’s fiancee? Go and look for him! Don’t disturb us!”

“Mister, she can’t drink anymore. Please let go of her.” A Miao seized the glass of wine from him. Young Master Qiao was already tipsy in the first place. When he saw this, he instantly raised his hand to hit A Miao.

“You want to hit her?” The gloomy voice accompanied a stretched arm.

Young Master Qian looked stunned but swiftly sobered up. “President Shen?”

A Miao didn’t look at Shen Xinglan at all. She pulled a completely drunk Zhou Xiao to her. She hugged the latter’s waist and got ready to leave.

“Hehe, looks like you haven’t even settled your own woman, President Shen!” Young Master Qian wore a dirty grin. “Do you need me to teach you a few tricks?”

Shen Xinglan’s expression darkened. “Mind your own business.”

Every few steps Zhou Xiao took, she would push A Miao away. “I need the washroom.”

When A Miao saw that her friend had become clear-headed, she asked in concern, “Are you feeling better?”

Zhou Xiao shook her head. “I’m fine! Wait for me here.”

A Miao was about to chase after her when someone tugged on her hand.

“You should’ve let her learn a lesson. This isn’t a place for her.”

“Is that so?” A Miao turned her body around and met Shen Xinglan’s vague gaze. “She’s my friend. Since I took her here, I have the responsibility to bring her home safely.”

Standing so close together, Shen Xinglan realized it was the first time he took a careful look at her tonight.

If not for the makeup on her eyes, he could imagine how beautiful this woman in front of him would be. Suddenly, a secret delight swelled in his heart. It was a secret that only he knew.

“Not only do I know this secret, I even kissed her. I like…”

He took an abrupt step in retreat and stared at A Miao in disbelief.

“Excuse me, I’ll go look for Zhou Xiao now.” A Miao turned around and left without looking back.

Shen II popped out from god knows where.

“Boss, Young Master Qian took Zhou Xiao away.”

Shen Xinglan’s expression returned to normal. He narrowed his eyes. “Get someone to follow after them. Act only at the crucial moment.”

“Understood.”

Shen II had just left when A Miao ran over to him in a panic.

“Zhou Xiao is missing! It’s definitely… definitely that man earlier…”

Shen Xinglan suppressed his emotions and slowly turned around. “Maybe your friend willingly left with him.”

“You?” A Miao’s face paled. “How did you know? Did you see them?” Suddenly, she resolutely kicked Shen Xinglan. “How can you act this way? Are you even a human?”

Frowning, Shen Xinglan grabbed onto her hand. “Please get this straight. I have neither the obligation nor the responsibility to save her.”

“Scram!” A Miao pushed him aside and rushed out.

When she ran to the door, she turned around to look at him. “If anything happens to Zhou Xiao, I’ll hate you forever.”

Shen Xinglan didn’t move for a long time. A Miao’s gaze had rooted him in place. In his memories, there was once a little girl protecting him. She had used that kind of contemptuous gaze to stare down the one in front of her.

“Don’t you all dare come over! I won’t allow you to hit him!”

…

A Miao happened to see Zhou Xiao entering a car after running off the ship. She didn’t run very far before watching the car leaving the harbor.

“Taxi!” Fortunately, there were many taxis waiting for passengers in the area today. “Chase after that car!”

There seemed to be some sort of event going on at the harbor. There were many people walking around, affecting how fast the car could go. The taxi chased after the car steadily. When the driver noticed the way A Miao was dressed and how anxious she looked, he tried to comfort her.

“Miss, you’re chasing after your husband, aren’t you? Wealthy men would always have a mistress outside. You don’t have to feel too upset. Even if you catch them in the act, what can you really do…”

A Miao nodded perfunctorily while reminding the driver to stop. “We’re here. Stop by the road.”

She only noticed that she had left her clutch at the venue when she wanted to exit the car. The driver kindly said, “Forget it. Sigh. I don’t know what kind of misfortune you’ll encounter later. I’ll consider this as doing a good deed.”

“Thank you! Thank you, sir!” A Miao pushed the car door open and ran inside the hotel. She heard the driver yelling from behind, “Don’t be hasty! Remember to take a photo…”

Inside the lobby, Zhou Xiao was leaning against Young Master Qian. It wasn’t certain if she was even conscious. A Miao rushed over to them. “Zhou Xiao!”

“F*ck!” When Young Master Qiao saw her, he thought Shen Xinglan had come as well. His gaze swept the lobby but saw no sign of him.

A Miao tried her very best to push him away and pull Zhou Xiao out of his embrace. Unfortunately, Zhou Xiao embraced him firmly and refused to let go. She kept mumbling A Miao’s name in a daze.

“Mister, please let go of her or I’ll call the police.” A Miao had no choice but to threaten him.

Young Master Qian snickered. “Show this woman out!”

Several security guards rushed over.

“Be careful. Don’t injure her.” Young Master Qian waved at A Miao. “I’ll take loving care of your friend. Bye!”

The security guards grabbed A Miao and carried her out to the hotel entrance. She was now panicking. “Let me go in! That man kidnapped my friend!”

“Young lady, I advise you to return and not disturb Young Master Qian’s business.” The security guards blocked the entrance, refusing to let her in no matter what.

A Miao clenched her teeth and charged at a sports car parked by the curb. She had easily stolen the key earlier. This was the only trick she could use now.

“Stop her immediately! She wants to steal Young Master Qian’s car!” The security guards ran over as soon as they saw her entering the car.

A Miao started the engine and frantically stepped on the pedal. The car immediately flew forward. She had no idea how to drive at all and stepped the pedal all the way down. The car crashed into a tree by the road with a loud thump.

The white safety airbag popped up. A Miao’s wig fell off as her forehead crashed painfully into the steering wheel.

“Hurry! Hurry! Notify Young Master Qian at once!”

“Hey! Hey, are you okay?”

It was chaotic outside. A Miao pushed the car door open while enduring her pain.

The security guards made a beeline for the car after seeing that she could still walk. A Miao took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the hotel, where she saw Young Master Qian swearing while walking out of the lift. She rushed into the lift and pressed the button of the floor that he had just gotten off from.

Right then, Shen Xinglan received a phone call.

“Boss, something happened to Miss A Miao…”