Chapter 225 - 225: Tearing Down Your Disguise (2)
He finished speaking and turned away.
Xiao Yeyu lifted her skirt and ran, trying to catch up with his footsteps.
But she was too flustered and didn’t pay attention to the stones beneath her feet.
As a result, she tripped again.
Thump.
Once again, she fell hard to the ground.
By the time she climbed back up from the ground, Lu Zhi’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
Xiao Yeyu was fuming, her mind buzzing. She clenched her palms tightly and shouted, “Mr. Lu, you ungrateful man! Where do I fall short compared to Jiang Yining?”
On the other side, Ye Xiaoxi pulled Jiang Yining aside to a dimly lit area and twirled her dress.
The shimmering fabric sparkled under the night sky.
Jiang Yining’s eyes widened slightly, and she sincerely exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful.”
“I think so too. It’s just a pity 1 can only wear it once in front of people.” This dress cost five to six million, and the countless diamond fragments on it alone amounted to over thirty thousand.
It was such a waste.
“In the future, you can wear it privately for us to see.”
Jiang Yining said with a smile.
“Yeah.”
Ye Xiaoxi nodded but hesitated for a moment.
She suddenly remembered that she had brought Jiang Yining here, so what about Lu Zhi?
“Oh no. I think I’ve snatched you away from your husband. He can’t find you now, and he’s probably angry.”
“He’s not a three-year-old child. If he can’t find me, he’ll stay quiet.”
Jiang Yining replied calmly.
“Huh, Yining, you have such a big heart. Aren’t you afraid that Lu Zhi will be snatched away? He was very outstanding and many women coveted him.” Ye Xiaoxi joked with her.
“If someone can be stolen from me, they were never truly mine to begin with. What belongs to me, no one can take away.”
Jiang Yining said confidently.
Ye Xiaoxi gave her a thumbs-up. “No wonder you’re my goddess.”
She pushed her back towards the direction of the hall.
“However, I’m still a little worried about your husband getting jealous. I should return you to him as soon as possible.”
Maybe it was just her imagination, but every time she was with Jiang Yining, Lu Zhi’s gaze on her seemed strange.
He appeared to be watching her as if she were someone who might steal his wife.
Hmm…
Hopefully, it was just her overthinking things.
Ye Xiaoxi led Jiang Yining back.
As they walked halfway, they spotted Xiao Yeyu sitting alone by the garden, her dress stained with dirt, her eyes red from crying.
Ye Xiaoxi approached her and asked with concern, “Yeyu, what are you doing here? And what happened to your dress?”
Xiao Yeyu wiped her tears away and said, “I was looking for you all just now and accidentally fell. My dress got dirty. I’m sorry, Xiaoxi, 1 just wanted to celebrate with you. 1 didn’t mean to cause all this trouble. I’ll leave later when there’s no one around, so I won’t ruin your celebration.”
“If your dress is dirty, I’ll have the staff bring you a spare one to change into. Don’t cry.”
Ye Xiaoxi took out a tissue and handed it to her.
After a while, Xiao Yeyu gradually stopped crying. She looked up at Jiang Yining and said, “Yining, can you accompany me to change clothes?”
Seeing her in such a miserable state, Ye Xiaoxi couldn’t bear to let her go alone.
“We’ll both go with you. Changing clothes will be quick, just ten minutes or so.”
Ye Xiaoxi comforted her.
“Okay.”
Xiao Yeyu nodded.
Jiang Yining didn’t mind either, but she thought that Xiao Yeyu was being too emotional for such a minor incident, especially on Ye Xiaoxi’s important day.
However, she didn’t say anything and simply wanted to get it over with quickly.
After helping Xiao Yeyu change her clothes, the three of them returned to the hall.
They found Lu Zhi.
Feeling somewhat apologetic, Ye Xiaoxi pushed Jiang Yining toward him and said, “I’m really sorry. Earlier, I wanted to show my dress to Yining and completely forgot about you. Lu Zhi, please don’t be angry. I’ll be more mindful in the future.”
Lu Zhi’s expression was cold and devoid of any hint of a smile. However, he wasn’t directing his coldness towards Ye Xiaoxi but rather at Xiao Yeyu, thinking about her actions earlier. It was just an instinctive aversion.
“Alright.”
Lu Zhi replied curtly.
Ye Xiaoxi thought that he might be upset with her, so she gave Jiang Yining a meaningful look, silently urging her to say something nice to ease his anger.
Jiang Yining, sensing that Lu Zhi wouldn’t get angry just because she briefly left, felt that something else must have happened during her absence.
“Lu Zhi, what’s wrong?” she asked in a low voice.
In her intuition, he wouldn’t be upset about her being away for a short while. There had to be something else that caused his mood.
“It’s nothing,” Lu Zhi replied in a subdued tone, “I just saw someone I don’t like.”
As he said this, his gaze briefly swept over Xiao Yeyu, as if he had encountered something distasteful and quickly averted his eyes.
Jiang Yining noticed this but didn’t inquire further. Instead, she gently pushed up the corners of his mouth with her hand.
“Just do it for me. Smile. Tonight is a joyous occasion for my friend.” Jiang Yining rarely tried to comfort anyone.
Lu Zhi decided to comply with her and forced a faint smile.
“Haha, thank you.”
Jiang Yining said happily.
Ye Xiaoxi silently made a heart gesture to Jiang Yining. In this world, the only one who could handle Lu Zhi seemed to be Jiang Yining!
The three of them interacted seamlessly, completely ignoring Xiao Yeyu.
She felt a little uncomfortable but was determined not to give up!
She was determined to win over Lu Zhi and secure a place in the Lu family!
No matter how many times she was rejected, she wouldn’t give up.
Around seven in the evening, the banquet officially began. Old Master Yuan held a microphone and spoke a few words to the guests below. Then, he invited Ye Xiaoxi onto the stage and made the official announcement, “This is my long-lost granddaughter, and she is also a legitimate member of our Yuan family—Ye Xiaoxi. From today onward, she officially returns to our Yuan family! I am officially transferring ten percent of my shares to Xiaoxi as compensation for all these years. In the future, I will cherish her as my most precious gem. I ask everyone present to bear witness to this! Please take good care of our Xiaoxi.”
This announcement sent shockwaves through the entire audience.
They had expected Old Master Yuan to show some affection to his granddaughter, but they never anticipated that he would directly give her ten percent of the shares!
Wasn’t that too much?
It had to be noted that owning ten percent of the shares granted her significant influence within the Yuan family’s company!
It even gave her the power to influence the choice of the next heir to the Yuan family!