Chapter 44: Crushed
Just when Xu Shu wanted to take a closer look at me, she and I lost touch with each other in the dance. I knew Xu Shu might have recognized me, but she couldn't believe that I would appear in such an occasion. And the way I was dressed now would definitely make her feel weird, right?
I lost my concentration and made a mistake in my unskilled dance steps. I missed the beat and stepped on Hua Jingjing's instep. Hua Jingjing cried out in pain and glared at me, shouting softly, "Tang Qian! You did it on purpose!"
We couldn't dance anymore, so in order not to attract other people's attention, I smiled and put my hand on her back, made a gesture of invitation with my left hand, and pushed her out of the dance floor.
Hua Jingjing's steps were a little unsteady, and she seemed to be in some pain. She was afraid that others would notice her ugly appearance, so she tried her best to pretend that nothing had happened. But after retreating to the outside of the dance floor, she reached out and held my arm, but secretly twisted the flesh on my arm.
My face turned pale with pain, and I quickly broke free from her hand and whispered, "What are you doing?"
Hua Jingjing said angrily: "You deliberately want to embarrass me. I'm angry!"
"Who did this on purpose? I'm not very good at dancing to begin with, why do I have to dance? Will you die if I don't?"
"Don't give me that! Didn't you dance very well last night? Did you see my pretty classmate and have dirty thoughts in your mind?"
My face flushed, and I was speechless . Although it wasn't as serious as Hua Jingjing said, I was indeed distracted by Xu Shu. Seeing that I didn't say anything, Hua Jingjing became even angrier and said, "I knew it! All men are like this. When they see a beautiful woman, all their ugly behaviors come out. Humph!"
I stroked the part where she twisted it, and scolded her helplessly: "Psycho! If you don't know, don't talk nonsense!"
"Don't know? What don't I know?"
I ignored her and just rubbed my arm which was probably twisted black and blue by her. Hua Jingjing was about to ask me more questions when she heard the dance music suddenly stop. The waltz ended.
Amid the applause of the crowd, Xu Shu and Zhang Yalun each performed a European court salute to the people. Then Xu Shu whispered something to Zhang Yalun and pointed in the direction of Hua Jingjing.
Zhang Yalun nodded with a smile, and walked towards us with her. Hua Jingjing was the first to run towards Xu Shu with a smile , and the two women happily held hands. One of them shouted, "Xiao Shu! You have changed a lot in the past two years! You are almost an international superstar. I really envy you!"
Another one laughed and said, "Don't make fun of me! You are the one who has changed the most! I heard that you have been helping your father manage the company recently? Wow! You are really a young entrepreneur with a bright future!"
"What? It's just a small subsidiary, and you're the deputy general manager. What future does that have? You're not like me. You're going to Hollywood to make movies. You have a bright future!"
The two women hadn't seen each other for a long time. When they met, they chatted endlessly, leaving Zhang Yalun and me alone. It was quite awkward. Zhang Yalun is indeed a superstar. He is well-informed and very good at handling such situations. He smiled and stretched out his hand to me, saying, "Hello! I'm Zhang Yalun, just call me Yalun."
I remembered the etiquette Hua Jingjing taught me, smiled, and reservedly extended my hand to shake his, saying, "I have heard of your great name for a long time. Nice to meet you. My humble name is Tang Qian."
At this time, Xu Shu and Hua Jingjing came over hand in hand. Hua Jingjing smiled and said to Xu Shu: "Xiao Shu, you are so bad. When did Zhang Tianwang become your boyfriend? I haven't heard of it at all." Then she jumped in front of Zhang Yalun and said with a smile: "Hello Zhang Yalun! I admire you very much! Please sign an autograph for me later!"
I was sweating! Hua Jingjing had just warned me not to do something childish like asking for autographs from celebrities, but I didn't expect that she herself... Oh! I really don't know what to say.
Zhang Yalun let go of my hand, turned to Hua Jingjing and said with a smile: "Sure! You are Miss Xu's friend, so it's okay for you to ask for anything."
Hua Jingjing was very happy and said, "Thank you! Xiaoshu, I really envy you. You are a superstar yourself, and your boyfriend is also a superstar. You are really a perfect match!"
After hearing this, Zhang Yalun smiled even happier, but Xu Shu just smiled slightly: "Yan Lun is not my boyfriend yet."
Hua Jingjing teased, "Why keep it a secret? I'm not a reporter. Are you afraid that rumors will spread?" Xu Shu didn't answer, but said to Zhang Yalun, "Yarn, this Miss Hua Jingjing was my best classmate when I was in school. She is the only daughter of Uncle Hua, the chairman of the Watson Group. You also know Uncle Hua."
Zhang Yalun suddenly realized and said, "Mr. Hua? I know her. We had some dealings in Hong Kong last year. I remember you introduced her to me. Is she Mr. Hua's daughter?"
Hua Jingjing asked curiously: "You know my father? How come I don't know anything about him?"
Xu Shu said: "You were still in the United States at that time. Did your father have to report to you about everyone he met?"
Hua Jingjing said angrily, "That's different. My dad knows that I admire Zhang Yalun the most, but he didn't help me ask for his autograph. It's really infuriating."
Xu Shu said with a smile: "Uncle Hua is already in his 60s, and you asked him to ask Aaron for an autograph like a little fan?" As she spoke, her lightning-fast eyes suddenly turned to me and said to Hua Jingjing: "After talking for so long, Jingjing, you still haven't introduced this wealthy gentleman next to you."
Hua Jingjing then remembered me, stuck out her tongue at me, immediately came over and took my hand, and said happily: "His name is Tang Qian, he's mine... Hehe! Keep it a secret! I won't tell you either!" But who couldn't see it from her happy expression and affectionate actions?
Xu Shu immediately sneered and said calmly, "Mr. Tang is amazing. Most men would never look down upon Jingjing. I wonder what skills Mr. Tang used to win her heart?"
My heart ached, and I immediately understood what Xu Shu meant. Xu Shu had met me before, and she knew that I was a worthless little person, a poor man who was about to be laid off and had no means of living. She was afraid that her friends didn't know my true face and were deceived by me. Or she was afraid that her friends knew my true face but were deceived by my sweet words. In short, in Xu Shu's eyes, I was absolutely not worthy of Hua Jingjing, and I was the kind of little man who relied on deceiving women to climb up.
In an instant, the beautiful image of Xu Shu in my mind was shattered. Could it be! Could it be that I was such an image in her mind? The Xu Shu whom I admired and liked before was actually a person who was prejudiced against ordinary people? Could it be that when a poor person and a rich person are together, it must be that the poor person is deceiving the rich person?
I was so hurt and angry that I couldn't even speak. But Zhang Yalun said, "It's not surprising! I think Mr. Tang is very dignified and he and Miss Hua are a perfect match made in heaven!"
At this time, the music started again, and a tango dance music sounded. Xu Shu said calmly: "Really? By the way, Aaron, Miss Hua is your most loyal fan, she admires you the most, don't you want to ask Miss Hua to dance with you?"
Zhang Yalun smiled and nodded, then politely said to me, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tang, can I borrow your girlfriend first?" I was in a bad mood, and I immediately realized that Xu Shu must have something to say to me by sending Zhang Yalun and Hua Jingjing away.
I nodded and said, "Please."
Zhang Yalun made an invitation gesture to Hua Jingjing again and asked, "Miss Hua, is it okay?" Hua Jingjing was very excited and put her hand on his palm and said, "It's an honor!"
The two of them quickly stepped onto the dance floor and started dancing. Xu Shu looked towards them and whispered to me, "I remember you were a salesman for a small company under Hua Qiming. How come you're almost his son-in-law after just a few days of not seeing you? I really misjudged you. Who is your true identity?"
I no longer respected her. A person who looked down on ordinary people and was prejudiced against the poor was not worthy of my love! I didn't want to answer her contemptuous question, but considering that she was the host of the party and the birthday girl, it would be too stingy and impolite if I didn't respond. So even though I was very angry, I still answered politely: "You really misjudged me. Are you always not very accurate in judging people?"
Xu Shu frowned and his face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Mr. Wilson, the vice president of Universal Pictures, coming over and enthusiastically inviting Xu Shu to dance. Xu Shu certainly couldn't refuse, and immediately smiled and stepped onto the dance floor with Mr. Wilson.
I suddenly got tired of this kind of upper-class gathering. I felt bored and out of place. If Hua Jingjing hadn't been there, I would have wanted to just leave.
I turned around, walked through the hall, walked out of the door, and came to the lawn outside. I just wanted to breathe some fresh air to avoid being polluted by the splendor inside. I took out my cigarette and found my lighter. I was about to light it. But I heard a "clang" sound, and a loud lighter was extended in front of my cigarette, and it lit the fire with a "click".
I looked up and saw that the person holding the lighter had long hair tied up and looked handsome. It was Li Mingfan, Hua Jingjing's former classmate.
Li Mingfan lit the cigarette for me and then asked me, "I want to talk to you, is that ok?"
