Chapter 385 Shui’s Birthday Banquet Arc (15)

Zixin asked, bringing Guiying out of her stupor, "You didn't come to my get-together party. I thought you would."

Guiying failed to understand his point.

"The evening we met at the hotel?"

"Yes."

"But why would I be at your party? We didn't know each other so well."

"But Zhou Ai knows me. Since my siblings and cousins brought their friends to the party, I thought you would be present too."

Guiying stared at him unblinkingly. "A-Ai...?"

"Yes."

She stiffened, her heart beating faster. She didn't know why Ai was suddenly brought into the picture.

"How would Ai know you?"

For that matter, it now struck her as to why he was at this party tonight. Was he someone who knew Shui?

Zixin blinked once. "Because she is dating my cousin."

That felt as if she was zapped by lightning. Her eyes slowly widened, aghast.

"...Cousin?"

He nodded. "Liu Jun. He is my cousin and Zhou Ai is dating him. So she was at my party too. I wondered later if Zhou Ai should have invited you. I had my other cousins who brought their friends too."

He lamented. Guiying was so close to him that evening. She could have been a part of the get-together too. It was later that he realized this.

But the realization that Guiying was mounted upon was enormous.

He and Liu Jun are...cousins?

Then she remembered that at the time she met Zixin for the first time in the hospital, Cai Lingyun said that he had met Ai. She was at the hotel too, but she only knew it was a party, not which or whose party.

She trembled and her mind went blank. She was absolutely clueless that Jun and Zixin were related.

"How..." she whispered under her breath.

Nevertheless, Zixin answered her question. "My Dad and his father are also cousins."

She froze.

So he is...that Chen Zixin?

Her heart sped faster in her chest. A slight dizziness surrounded her.

"Are you alright?" He worriedly asked, seeing her pale expression.

But instead of his worry, he received a cold shoulder as he was slightly pushed away.

'Guiying' stopped the dance, and her gaze was filled with menace and iciness. It was extremely tough not to lash out, but she also didn't want to create a scene.

Not until the second part of my plan is executed...

Gritting her teeth, 'she' tried her hardest to smile. "I am tired. Let's stop the dance here."

Zixin wasn't sure what went wrong, but he felt the subtle distance that she suddenly brought between them.

He nodded. "Of course."

'Guiying' then turned, her countenance darkening and her balled fist trembling.

Chen Zixin and Liu Jun...?

Her heart burned with resentment. 'She' had no particular thoughts about Zixin for that matter. But 'she' couldn't ignore now that Zixin and Jun were cousins. Anything and everything related to Jun irked her. And to know that Zixin was a part of that same circle...

'She' couldn't feel more frustrated.

Damn! What the hell is with this idiot's fate! Why did she have to meet a man related to that cheater Liu Jun!?

'She' took a few deep breaths to calm down. Nothing was lost. At this point, Zixin and her were merely acquaintances who met each other a few times with coincidence.

Apart from my revenge, I don't want to keep any other relationship with any of Liu Jun's damn relatives!

'She' sneered as she thought of her plan.

It must be any moment now-

From the corner of her eye, 'she' saw a man making his way, and smiled.

Just in time~

--

Yating and Ai continued dancing for some time until the time was finally up. He slowly let go of her. "You danced well. You were needlessly worried."

Ai only scratched her chin.

A man then approached Yating, and he smiled brightly. "Gu Yating!" He spoke in a slightly louder voice than necessary, which already caught some of the people's attention.

Yating glanced at him and furrowed his brows as he tried to remember him for a moment.

"Mr. Lin."

"Yes! Glad that you remember me."

Yating couldn't help but slightly get uncomfortable. "How are you?"

"I am doing well. My company is working on another project with Han Siying to build a new hotel. Haha, I only have to thank you for that. You know how markets are already so down globally. There is not much demand for constructions but ever since we contracted with you, it seems my luck has opened! Hohoho!"

Yating stiffened. His mind became a mess.

Mr. Lin doesn't know?

Ai, on the other side, couldn't really follow their conversation. But guessing from what Mr. Lin said she surmised that he dealt with construction business.

He beamed. "So, Gu Yating! How is the construction going on for your project? I hope my company and people are doing a good job."

"Mr. Lin-"

"Ai Publishing, right? That was the name of your project. Don't worry! I have already allotted my most capable manager to do the job. You won't have any complaints!"

Yating froze hard and so did the silence in the atmosphere.

The guests dancing near Yating and Ai were at a total loss.

"Did he say Ai Publishing?" One whispered.

"Ai? I don't understand. Who is Ai?"

"Oh, oh! It must definitely be his girlfriend! Ai is a girl's name..."

But when everybody's gazes fell upon Ai, they rapidly blinked their eyes as they also realized that her name was also Ai.

Mr. Lin glanced at Ai and looked at her curiously. "You are dancing with Gu Yating...So you must definitely be Ai, right?"

The guests were now keenly watching the trio.

Ai frowned. "...Yes. But I am not Ai because I danced with Yating," she couldn't understand his logic.

"Huh? How come? Aren't you Gu Yating's girlfriend?"

She stared at him. "Sorry?"

Yating felt his entire body go rigid. He glared at Mr. Lin. "Mr. Lin! Enough! What are you talking about!?"

"I am talking about the company you want to build for Ai. Ai Publishing. It stands for the woman's name you love. You forgot you told me this yourself when we were discussing the project details?"

Yating widened his eyes in utter disbelief.

The hell...

He had indeed talked about this to Mr. Lin during the very initial stages of the project but...

"Mr. Lin, didn't the manager in charge tell you that I have cancelled the project?"

Mr. Lin was taken aback. "What!? T-The project has been cancelled? How? Why?"

Yating felt his head spin. "Let's go somewhere else-"

"I had no clue about this! I swear! I thought Ai Publishing is continuing as expected. Did we do something wrong that you cancelled the project?" He anxiously asked. "Please tell me, Gu Yating. I won't tolerate any misconduct from my company's side for any project!"

Yating gritted his teeth, and a vein popped on his forehead with anger surfacing in his eyes. "Did you think this was the right place to talk about it, Mr. Lin?"

He jumped back slightly with fear. "I-I am sorry, Gu Yating. I thought everything was going on as planned! And then I just arrived, and I saw you dancing with her, so I thought she must definitely be the same woman you were talking about."

A series of sharp gasps echoed among the guests.

"Hey, hey, what does this mean?"

"Okay, my head is spinning. Gu Yating loves Zhou Ai!?"

"But isn't she Liu Jun's girlfriend?"

"So...is this a love triangle?"

"Damn Gu Yating was planning to build a company for Zhou Ai's sake? Isn't that awesome?"

"But then he cancelled it...hey is it because Zhou Ai started dating Liu Jun?"

"Of course, it's definitely that."

"Was it one-sided love on Gu Yating's side then?"

"Wait, wasn't Zhou Ai working in Dream High until a few months ago? It must be definitely during that time!"

"But then he cancelled the project...it must be around the time Zhou Ai left Dream High and joined Sky."

"I never could have thought that the heir of the Gu family was interested in Zhou Ai too?"

The whispers and specifications reached Yating's ears, and he only felt more furious at Mr. Lin.

The hell he got only this time to talk about this!?

His gaze darkened, thinking about the manager who didn't convey such an important message to his Boss, and now all hell broke loose.

One of the women coughed. "To be able to garner Liu Jun and Gu Yating's attention at the same time...Zhou Ai is definitely impressive."

Ai narrowed her eyes.

Yating shot a chilly gaze at the socialite, who took a step back in fear. "There is nothing between Ai and me. So whatever you want to imply, keep that to yourself."

Some other woman snorted. "Did she say anything wrong? I don't know if anybody realized it here yet, but if you were thinking about making a whole company for Zhou Ai's sake...doesn't it mean that she must have also liked you at some point? I mean, making a company on someone's name is a huge thing. You won't be so stupid to go for it until you had some confidence that she might like you back too, right? Otherwise it would be such a big joke if you are going to this extent when the woman in question doesn't even have any feelings for you."