Li Yining repeatedly urged Mu Xing to break off the engagement with Song Youcheng as soon as possible, but Mu Xing only thought that she was concerned about her and did not think much of it. She just brushed it off, saying, "I know, there's no rush."
Li Yining said, "Let's forget about these trivial matters. I have a graduation ball in a few days. Will you come with me?"
"Graduation party?" Mu Xing was stunned for a moment before realizing that Li Yining attended Allen Girls' School. Unlike other universities, Allen Girls' School often held joint dances with several other universities in April to promote social interaction among students.
"You're supposed to bring a boyfriend to the ball, right? What's the point of asking me to come?" Mu Xing teased. "So many young men are eagerly waiting for you to graduate. Why don't you take this opportunity to find your Mr. Right?"
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone. Mu Xing wondered if the line had been hung up when Li Yining continued, "Those boys are all so clueless, what's the point? You come over dressed as a man, and we'll dance together. Isn't that more interesting than dealing with those boys?"
"Wear men's clothes?" Mu Xing was taken aback. She was about to say that Li Yining disliked her wearing men's clothes the most, but she was afraid of angering the young lady, so she could only say, "Okay, I never refuse your invitation."
Li Yining then laughed, explained the time and place, and chatted for a long time before hanging up the phone.
On the day of the ball, Mu Xing dressed up early and took a car to Li Yining's house. By the time Li Yining had changed into one dress after another and finally made her choice, it was almost time.
The ball was held on the garden balcony of the Pingjin Hotel. When Mu Xing and Li Yining arrived, many people were already dancing on the dance floor.
The decorations on most garden balconies are quite similar, and the stage at the Pingjin Hotel is no exception. A group of foreign bands played music on stage, surrounded by seasonal pink and purple flowers, with various colorful lights and ribbons connecting overhead, creating a lively and grand, very Western-style atmosphere.
Mu Xing was already tired of these things, so she simply accompanied Li Yining as they socialized among the crowd and chatted idly. Naturally, she still used the identity of the third young master of the Mu family, and for some reason, Li Yining tacitly accepted her "male" identity.
"Hey, look! Look! I wonder which school that boy goes to?"
A small gasp of surprise rang out from a corner.
"How handsome! He's a new face, I've never seen him before."
"I just heard that he is the third young master of the Mu family?"
"It must be him. Is he Li Yining's boyfriend? How pitiful."
"Ha, who would dare to ask Miss Li to dance? It's probably because Li Yining was afraid of losing face, so she coerced and bribed her to come."
Then came a burst of indignant discussion.
Amidst the bustling crowd, a girl spotted Li Yining approaching and quickly went over to exchange a few pleasantries. After greeting Li Yining, her gaze shifted to Mu Xing: "And this is?"
Mu Xing smiled: "My name is Mu Xing. It's nice to meet you. Please take care of me." His originally indifferent face suddenly broke into a smile, like a spring breeze blowing across Mount Fuji, directly touching people's faces, making them unable to resist.
The girl was stunned and didn't react in time, almost bumping straight into the arms of the person walking towards her. Fortunately, the sudden force on her arm allowed her to stop abruptly.
"careful."
The pressure on her arms eased, and Mu Gongzi's voice rang out above her head, cool and refreshing, like a chilled melon frozen in a well in summer, making the girl blush.
But the next second, she met Li Yining's icy gaze, which frightened her so much that her blush disappeared and she ran away like a little rabbit.
"Huh? Why did she leave?" Mu Xing looked at the girl who ran away, puzzled.
"Who knows?" Li Yining snorted and started talking to a classmate passing by.
Mu Xing was standing to the side, idly looking around the venue, when she suddenly heard someone call her from behind: "Third Young Master Mu?"
With just one sentence, Mu Xing recognized Miss Bai Yan's voice.
How did she end up here?
Overjoyed, Mu Xing quickly turned around and met Bai Yan's gaze.
Bai Yan stood a few steps behind Mu Xing, wearing a light pink dance dress with a series of accordion pleats at the hem that rippled beautifully in the breeze. The venue was adorned with countless flowers, but Mu Xing felt that none could rival the charm of the woman before him.
She couldn't help but show her first genuine smile of the day: "Miss Bai, what a coincidence."
Chapter Twenty-One
"I didn't expect Young Master Mu to come here too." Bai Yan smiled as she took a few steps closer to Mu Xing.
Both universities affiliated with Ellen Girls' School had no shortage of wealthy scions. She had only gotten her ticket to the ball through Fei Hua, hoping to find some easy-going, naive young men she could court. Unexpectedly, before she could even get a good look at everyone, she saw Mu Xing.
"Perhaps it's fate that I'm connected with Miss Bai," Mu Xing replied.
While chatting with Mu Xing, Bai Yan's eyes darted around, taking in all the boys around her.
Most of the people at the dance were naive young men just entering the world of romance, blushing easily at the slightest conversation with their female classmates. Others, more experienced in such matters, were rather clumsy and indecent, acting as if a dance would lead them to bed.
Too young for his age, too oily for his age. One has to admit, every single man present was far less refined and sophisticated than the man before him.
Actually, it wouldn't be bad if she could take down this big fish, Young Master Mu. However, she had always been unable to figure out Young Master Mu's temperament, so it was difficult for her to make a move.
Now is the perfect opportunity.
Before they had exchanged more than a few words, the music on the dance floor suddenly shifted from its previous gentle and lyrical tone to a lively and energetic one, signaling the start of the first dance of the night.
Couples twirled onto the dance floor. Bai Yan handed a champagne glass to a passing guard, then turned to Mu Xing with a smile, clearly waiting for an invitation to dance.
Mu Xing first turned to look at Li Yining, who was now some distance away from her. Seeing that Li Yining was surrounded by several boys who wanted to dance, she felt relieved and turned to Bai Yan, extending her hand: "Miss Bai, would you be willing to dance with me?"
"Of course I'm willing."
Their hands clasped together, and the warmth of each other instantly enveloped them. Mu Xing loosely wrapped his arms around Bai Yan's waist, maintaining a safe distance. Bai Yan also placed her hand on Mu Xing's shoulder, and the distance between them gradually closed until they could clearly smell each other's scent.
As Mu Xing's gaze slowly descended, she carefully examined the person in front of her and noticed that Miss Bai's makeup today did not conceal the mole under her eyebrow.
Her eyes were large, and with the addition of red rouge, they appeared pitiful. The black mole, prominently placed below her eyebrow, added a touch of wickedness to her pitifulness, making one wonder if the beauty before them was not a real woman, but rather a fox spirit from Pu Songling's novel who had descended to earth.
Mu Xing stared intently at Bai Yan, making Bai Yan blush. She tripped and her high heel landed hard on Mu Xing's foot.
"Ah!" Bai Yan exclaimed softly, then quickly apologized.
"It's alright." Mu Xing wasn't angry; instead, he comforted her, "It's my fault for not keeping up with you."
This little incident didn't stop the two from dancing; instead, it reminded Mu Xing that she should take this opportunity to learn more about Miss Bai.
As they danced to the gentle music, Mu Xing said, "Miss Bai's dance steps are very nimble. Have you had any special training?"
An image of that lord teaching dance flashed through her mind. Lowering her eyes, Bai Yan replied, "I was fortunate enough to study at Lord Andrew's residence."
This was the umpteenth time she had mentioned this name to her guests, partly to elevate her own status, and partly as a way of remembering her loved ones.
Mu Xingyi recalled what she had heard about Bai Yan and Lord Andrew, and said, "It seems that this Lord Andrew is quite an interesting person."
“Yes,” Bai Yan said, “He liked to listen to the zither, sing songs, and dance. At that time, there were often banquets at his mansion, and I would dance with him and win a lot of applause. I was only sixteen years old then, and it seems like it was just yesterday.”
She was already Andrew's girlfriend at the age of sixteen... I wonder what she went through before that?
Mu Xing frowned involuntarily.
Miss Bai is at most twenty years old. Four years ago... it was right after the end of the Northern Expedition. She was originally from Yunnan. What kind of hardships did she encounter before she settled in Wenjiang?
Mu Xing fell silent for a moment. Bai Yan noticed her brows furrowing slightly and assumed she didn't want to hear about other men, so she quickly changed the subject. She feigned a haughty tone and said, "Young Master Mu has inquired so much about me, shouldn't you tell me about yourself?"
Hearing her say that, Mu Xing chuckled and said, "Is this considered an exchange?"
Bai Yan raised an eyebrow: "Sure, if Young Master Mu tells me one of his own stories, I'll tell you one too. That's the only way to be fair."
Mu Xing nodded: "Okay, just one request: no lying." Her eyes darted around, and she rattled off her story: "My surname is Mu, and my given name is Xing. I live in Mu Garden in the British Concession, and there are nine people in my family. I studied in the United States for four years, majoring in general medicine, and now I work at the Minkang Medical Clinic..."
She rattled off a long string of words, then stopped, raised an eyebrow at Bai Yan, and said, "Count them, there are probably a lot of cases. It's your turn."
By this time, they had danced to the edge of the dance floor, so they simply let go of each other's arms. Bai Yan leaned against the wall pillar, and Mu Xing handed her a glass of cherry wine.
Bai Yan slowly took a sip of her drink, and in response to Mu Xing's expectant gaze, she shook her head leisurely: "These are things I already know, so they don't count."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xing lowered his head slightly and squinted, saying, "There was no such request just now."
She leaned in quite close, her deep eyes staring directly at Bai Yan, a faint smile playing on her lips. Bai Yan could almost see her own reflection in those obsidian-like eyes.
Unconsciously, Bai Yan tightened her grip on the wine glass in her hand. Feigning composure, she looked back at Mu Xing, her eyes filled with affection, and said, "Now we have it."
After staring at her for a moment, Mu Xing smiled, looked away, and took a step back: "Alright, then what does Miss Bai want to know?"
Mu Xing moved away from her, and Bai Yan suddenly met a cold gaze directed at her from the dance floor.
Oh, it's not cold at all, it's practically burning hot!
Amused, she gestured to Mu Xing and asked, "I'd like to know now, is that young lady Mr. Mu's companion?"
Mu Xing was startled and quickly turned around, only to see Li Yining standing at the other end of the dance floor, biting her lip and looking this way. Her usually elegant and refined face was flushed red, making her look like a little leopard about to bite. Seeing Mu Xing looking over, she glared at Mu Xing fiercely, then turned and walked towards the balcony door.
Who provoked her?
Mu Xing was bewildered by the glare. Ignoring her embarrassment, she excused herself from Miss Bai and hurriedly chased after her.
As dusk settled, people came and went in the Pingjin Hotel. Mu Xing chased after them all the way to the elevator, but the elevator doors had just closed, so she had no choice but to walk down the stairs to catch up.
When she ran downstairs, panting, she saw Li Yining sitting alone on the sofa in the lobby, and she quickly ran over to her.
"What's wrong? Did someone bully you?" Mu Xing asked hurriedly, not even catching her breath.
To everyone's surprise, Li Yining didn't even look at her, but just sneered: "Nobody is bullying me."
Mu Xing asked, bewildered, "Then why did you come out?"
Li Yining continued to sneer: "If I don't come out, am I supposed to just stand there and embarrass myself?"
Having run up ten floors in one go, Mu Xing sat down next to Li Yining, exhausted. "No, I clearly saw many boys inviting you to dance! Wasn't Young Master Liu there too? Didn't you say before that you thought Young Master Liu..."
Li Yining suddenly said angrily, "No! What Young Master Liu? Who asked him for an invitation!"
After a moment of surprise, Mu Xing belatedly realized and said, "Are you upset that I didn't invite you?"
She chuckled, "It's only the first dance. I saw that others had invited you, so I thought I'd ask you to dance later. After all, it's your graduation party. I can't just stick to your side all night, can I? The other guys would hate me!"
Li Yining turned her face away from her: "That sounds nice, but I saw you chatting happily with the other lady."
When Bai Yan was mentioned, Mu Xing became happy again and wanted to share with Li Yining about how she met Bai Yan, but she shut her mouth at the crucial moment.
"No, not at all," she said against her will. "That lady was someone I knew, but we just chatted for a bit."
After much persuasion, Li Yining finally softened her expression: "Since we're already down here, there's no need to go back. This ball is quite boring anyway. I'm going back now. You can come with me."
Mu Xing originally wanted to chat with Miss Bai a little longer, but since it was Li Yining's graduation party, Mu Xing couldn't stay any longer after she said that. He could only say, "Then wait for me to go and say goodbye to her."
Li Yining agreed and went to the car to wait for Mu Xing.
Mu Xing hurriedly took the elevator back to the balcony garden. Before she even entered, the loud dance music blasted into her ears. The dance floor was a chaotic mess of people swaying and dancing. She struggled to push her way through the crowd, but couldn't find Bai Yan anywhere.
After searching for a long time without finding it, she had no choice but to come out disappointed. Just as she was about to take the elevator downstairs and walk past the corner of the flower bed outside the ballroom, she suddenly heard Bai Yan's voice.
"Please move aside, I have other things to do." The tone was cold and impatient.
A man's voice rang out: "What's up? What's up? We brothers need your help too... Hahahaha... Hiccup!"
Mu Xing's heart tightened, and she quickly went over to take a look. There were two men who looked like students blocking Bai Yan's way. Their faces were flushed, and they were swaying from side to side, looking like they were drunk.