***Present***
"Hey."
Xiong Jingfei's blurry eyes began to vanish, and her heavy breathing began returning to normal. She was reminding herself that what she saw was part of her past life. It wasn't happening right now, but it was difficult to treat it like it didn't just happen.
She can still smell the burning flesh and her throat dry from screaming Xu Song's name. Then a summer like fragrance took over and dissolved the nasty stench.
She felt someone's firm hand gripping on her right hand. It was a hand that didn't let go of hers while she went through the flashback. That hand tenderly held onto hers as the person's other hand gently patted her back.
Xiong Jingfei quickly pulled her hand away from him. Why is he still here? Shouldn't he be long gone by now? She thought he would ignore her and walked away because of how she acted and what she said.
The crown prince didn't say anything but reached out his hand to wipe away something on her mask.
"You-" Xiong Jingfei tried to dodge his hand, but he was already touching part of her face and mask.
When he pulled his hand back, the tip of his thumb was wet. He rubbed his fingers together. "Why are you crying?"
Xiong Jingfei's reaction to his question was to cover her eyes and turn her back towards him. She quickly dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief given to her.
The crown prince may appear to be a person devoid of any emotions. If he shows any, it was the cold and ruthless kind. His cold front is to keep away those who can't wait to climb up the ladder using him.
Truthfully, he has a warm side, but it was rare for him to give it to you. The present and past about him haven't changed and the people surrounding him too.
Instead of answering him, Xiong Jingfei took this chance to make her escape. She dashed into the packed crowd and didn't turn around.
"Wait!"
Xiong Jingfei was happy that she didn't blackout like in the past, reasonably because she wasn't forced to remember her past.
"Stop!"
The crown prince's domineering voice almost made her legs stop running. Thankfully his voice faded out with the noisy crowd.
He only lost her because others who recognized him stepped in his pathway for a chat. It was more like having a conversation about business or trying to suck up to him.
"Feifei, where have you been?" Yin Yuan surprisingly was able to pick Xiong Jingfei out from the crowd. He pulled her out and to the side. "What happened to you?"
"Why? Do I look like I saw someone I shouldn't have?" Xiong Jingfei took a look at herself through the glass champagne. The only reflection item she had on hand.
She lightly dabbed and wiped away any smeared makeup around her eyes. Then she remembered that she didn't bring any napkins with her when she ran away. What was she using to wipe away smear makeup?
Ahh!
Xiong Jingfei tried throwing away the handkerchief in horror, but it stuck to her fingers like honey.
Yin Yuan's eyes widened and grabbed her wrist. It wasn't her hand that attracted his attention. It was the item that she was carrying. "Did you run into him?"
"Wow! How did you know?" Xiong Jingfei whispered with astonishment. Did she make it obvious about who she bumped into at the food table?
He flipped the handkerchief the other way. At the corner of it, the crown prince's initials were embroidered in golden thread.
"How much do you think I can sell this for?" Xiong Jingfei opened it and held it up in the air.
"That's a death wish, so I wouldn't. It's too noticeable for who it belongs to." Yin Yuan warned. "Unless you can perfectly unstitch the golden thread out. You might make a small profit from it."
Xiong Jingfei pouted. "Do you think he will kill me if I just toss it here?"
"He might."
Xiong Jingfei almost placed it on the ground like it was trash. However, Yin Yuan's comment quickly made her give up on that idea. She will just hold on to it until she gets home, then she can toss it out. If she did it here and someone picks it up, he will know it was her who did it.
"Did you hear?"
"About what?"
Both of their ears perked up as they eavesdropped on the people nearby. Nothing exciting was happening at the party yet, so maybe these people will entertain them.
"I heard that the master of the Yin household is attending this party."
Xiong Jingfei smirked, and Yin Yuan c.o.c.ked his head with interest. They were gossiping about the person who is already tuned in.
"Should we try finding him? He is a major player in the field to have as a connection."
Yin Yuan rolled his eyes, and Xiong Jingfei held back her laughter. She wanted to turn around and let those two know the person they're looking for was right here. Heard and know what their intentions are.
"Thank you for attending Miss Wen Yingyue's welcome back party." The announcer said through a microphone. "For the first dance, we would like to invite Yang Zheyan to have the first dance with Miss Wen Yingyue."
Wen Yingyue was still standing on the stairway and only three steps away from the floor. She was waiting for Yang Zheyan to escort her down those last steps.
"Does she think he got cured of his woman disease?" Yin Yuan muttered under his breath.
"So, you knew about his condition." Xiong Jingfei whispered back without taking her eyes off Wen Yingyue.
The crowd immediately formed a line as if they knew where Yang Zheyan was standing. Which they weren't wrong because it did reveal him with Lu Weisheng standing together.
Yang Zheyan looked like he didn't even hear the announcer inviting him to have the first dance with Wen Yingyue. He was uninterested in what was going around him.
Wen Yingyue stood there, anticipating for Yang Zheyan to walk up to her.
She would have never put him in this position because of his rare condition. However, he attended her party knowing fair well that other women will be here. Shouldn't it mean that he got cured?
Wen Yingyue became even happier when she spotted Yang Zheyan without his fiancee. It was a good thing because she would only embarrass him.
"Should I save him?" Xiong Jingfei took another sip of her champagne. She was honestly more interested in what was going to be Yang Zheyan's next move.
"Depends." Yin Yuan snatched the glass away from her. "Do you want him to die right now?"
"A little." Xiong Jingfei replied and stuffed the crown prince's handkerchief into Yin Yuan's hand. "You're responsible for this if you lose it."
Suddenly a woman dressed in a slender black dress stepped out from the crowd. She was walking towards Yang Zheyan and Lu Weisheng.
Yang Zheyan's uninterested expression finally lit up. He finally took his first steps towards Wen Yingyue, but it was for the woman in the same direction as her.
"Feifei."
Xiong Jingfei wrapped her arms around Yang Zheyan's neck. "Hello, darling~. Did you miss me?"