The masculine scent enveloped Miss Xu Nanyin, and she instinctively touched her nose.
Then she realized the man was still watching her, his gaze slowly moving upward to rest on the silver butterfly mask.
She actually wanted to say she didn’t know Pinocchio, but that wouldn’t sound believable—everyone, even children, knew about Pinocchio.
Besides, the way he spoke made it feel like he’d recognized her.
But since he didn’t say it outright, she felt there was still room to deny or hide…
Miss Xu Nanyin’s face flushed bright red.
Looking at her now, she really did resemble a ripe, juicy peach.
She wondered if this man would be as petty—if she were held by another man, she’d definitely be angry.
After all, she was the one who made a move; it was best to help him calm down.
Miss Xu Nanyin stepped a little closer to him.
Getting nearer, Mr. Song Huaixu caught a faint, rich sweetness—a subtle peach fragrance, likely because she’d eaten a lot of desserts.
He turned his head slightly; Miss Xu Nanyin was holding a small plate with both hands, the plate reaching up to her delicate chin, looking at him with eager anticipation.
“I cut this for you. Would you like some?” she asked softly.
The girl before him looked so obedient, her act of yielding seemed utterly natural—even though he knew she was doing it on purpose, taking the chance to lower his guard.
Mr. Song Huaixu paused the words he was about to say.
He never ate sweets, but seeing her thoughtfully cut it into small pieces, he kept his expression neutral, picked up the fork, and put a piece in his mouth.
“It’s all right.”
The man was sparing with words.
Miss Xu Nanyin didn’t know the others were all staring in shock; she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t on purpose—her Craving Skin Syndrome had flared up.
At first, she thought it was A Li, but then realized it was him.
Still, it had been unbearable at the time, and she couldn’t control herself.
Miss Xu Nanyin had always been pampered, only ever tasting the bitterness of medicine and coffee—she couldn’t handle any other kind of suffering, let alone the itch that came from deep within her bones.
Sometimes she wondered how she had ended up with such a condition.
She didn’t have it as a child; it only appeared after she left Ning City.
After she’d blurted out, “Hold me,” she never expected that a man like him—who seemed so out of reach to others—would actually lift his hand.
Maybe it was because he was a gentleman; faced with a lady’s weak plea, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“I’ll go get another piece.”
Miss Xu Nanyin set down the plate, her skirt brushing past the man’s suit pants as she walked away.
Mr. Song Huaixu’s phone happened to ring at that moment.
It was an elder from his family.
“Huaixu, your cousin just made a small mistake. He already knows he was wrong. He’s been punished according to Family Law, whipped even. Can’t you let this go?”
Mr. Song Huaixu swirled his wine glass, the red liquid rippling gently as he raised an eyebrow.
“Punishing others is your business. I only care about my interests.”
The caller was breathing heavily: “You’re so heartless. Back when your father was around, everyone in the family had something to do…”
“He’s retired. I’m in charge now.”
Mr. Song Huaixu swallowed, the cold wine chilling his indifferent voice: “Wouldn’t it be better to just enjoy life? If you think he’s so kind, you can go plead with him, though it won’t do any good.”
***
When Miss Xu Nanyin turned around, she saw Mr. Song Huaixu leaning against the table, talking on the phone. It sounded like business—perhaps the person on the other end had offended him.
She didn’t dare approach just then, so she stayed away.
When she checked her phone, she saw that Miss Lin Zhijun had already messaged her.
[Call back!]
[You’ve been slandered by the Order of the Reporters.]
What a disaster.
Miss Lin Zhijun had even sent a picture.
To sum it up, after attending Miss Liang Jiamin’s Engagement Party last time, she’d gone home feeling gloomy over her secret fiancé.
Gloomy?
Could that word really apply to her?
Miss Xu Nanyin just found it ridiculous: “Do I seem like that kind of person?”
Even though now Song Tingchuan, that playboy, could be dismissed, it was true that she couldn’t let the relationship be exposed. It was just too embarrassing.
Miss Xu Nanyin called back. As soon as Miss Lin Zhijun picked up, she shared the bad news: “Miss Liang Jiamin even asked today if you cried.”
“If she cries, I won’t cry,” Miss Xu Nanyin snorted lightly.
Miss Lin Zhijun tried not to laugh: “You haven’t shown up for days. The last time you were seen publicly was at her Engagement Party—it’s easy for people to get the wrong idea!”
She added, “I went to a banquet yesterday and someone asked about you. I didn’t say a word—just told them you were traveling!”
Miss Xu Nanyin said, “Thanks to you!”
That sweet, pampered tone made Miss Lin Zhijun feel quite pleased: “Back to business, how’s the Marriage Investigation going?”
“As you expected.”
“I knew it. All men are the same.”
“I’ve already said I want to break off the engagement. His family should know by now, so we’re basically done.”
Miss Xu Nanyin, though pampered, didn’t like to drag things out.
“But as for the elders, I have to wait for Mommy to come over.”
She suddenly remembered, “And all those gifts from his family—they’re all being sent back! Did you know he even gave the same style to someone else?”
When she’d searched for Yue Yajun’s necklace in her room, she found it was exactly the same as the one she’d been given.
No matter how good her temper, she was infuriated by such shamelessness.
“That disgusting?”
Miss Lin Zhijun was outraged on her behalf.
“Good thing Auntie Xu never told the Order of the Reporters which family it was. Otherwise, you’d have been exposed a long time ago, and now you’d be the butt of jokes.”
Miss Xu Nanyin, as the famously cultured and well-mannered socialite of Port City, rarely had negative press.
The only thing the media liked to speculate about was her mysterious fiancé.
Now, just as the media wished, there was a “Breakup Rumor.”
“When are you coming back?”
“In a couple of days—I still have an oral exam.”
Miss Lin Zhijun laughed: “Then I’ll wait for you. When you get back, let’s get our nails done. Soon, all of Port City will know Miss Pearl is looking for a new husband!”
Hearing this, Miss Xu Nanyin made a little noise, pretending to scold: “Don’t talk nonsense! I’m still single—doing spa days and going to balls with you all… I can’t really get used to the food here. But tonight’s vanilla Napoleon was pretty good.”
Mr. Song Huaixu overheard that sweet, clear laughter and turned his head to look.
She was chatting with someone, her eyes curved like crescent moons, not even touching the dessert she liked so much earlier.
Before the call ended, Miss Lin Zhijun asked how her exam preparations were going.
For the past two days, Miss Xu Nanyin had been busy hiding her identity and dealing with the Marriage Investigation.
Even though she’d aced every subject, she still felt uneasy if she didn’t review before the oral exam.
After hanging up, she dawdled over to Mr. Song Huaixu.
“I want to go back now.”
She’d been fine earlier, but now she looked troubled again.
Mr. Song Huaixu couldn’t understand what she was thinking—maybe girls her age were all this sensitive.
***
When the two left together, everyone at the event knew for certain now—their relationship was definitely not simple.
People felt both relieved and disappointed.
Someone so hard to approach had just appeared before them, but except for his younger brother Song Tingchuan, he only spoke to that girl.
Some people even thought, if that girl didn’t want to come, would they ever get a chance to see him at all?
Yue Yajun clinked glasses with Song Tingchuan, her manner charming and attentive.
“Song General Manager just left. Don’t be upset.”
Song Tingchuan pulled her into his arms.
“Why are you in a bad mood too? You should be happy that I broke off the engagement.”
“You were upset just now, so of course I was too.”
Yue Yajun smiled gently.
“If you’re happy, then I’m happy…”
Secretary Jiang Chen arrived the next morning while Mr. Song Huaixu was having breakfast.
This was his private residence, extremely secretive, with only the Butler and a few servants assigned by the family, all dedicated to looking after him alone.
After confirming the boss’s board meeting schedule and main topics for the morning, Secretary Jiang Chen cleared his throat: “Since last night, people have been trying to get information from me about your love life.”
He didn’t say outright it was about the boss and Miss Xu at last night’s event, but there was no other reason.