When Guo Ping pushed open the door, Mai Ding felt as though he had stepped into another world, the world of the rich. Men in suits and leather shoes, women dressed to the nines, watches and jewelry glittering beneath the chandeliers. He could faintly hear a woman’s shrill laugh. “I just went to Dubai. There really wasn’t much to do. That seven-star hotel was all right, though.”
“Really? I’ll stay there sometime. I’ve been too busy choosing a nice marital home for my son to travel anywhere. He wasn’t satisfied with the apartment I just bought.”
What kind of gathering was this? It had turned into a convention for showing off wealth. It was the first time Mai Ding had ever heard of a seven-star hotel. Guo Ping led him through the crowd while Mai Ding’s smile grew stiffer and stiffer. Now he truly understood why the others hated these gatherings so much. They were even more exhausting than staying in the office. His brain had to keep working out what words to use and what expression to wear. Every time he passed someone, he studied their face, but he did not see the man who had been with An Zi Yan at the café. Someone An Zi Yan met privately should have been an important client. Who was he? Around thirty, refined temperament… with only those two clues, Mai Ding could rack his brain forever and still get nowhere. Maybe the man simply had not come. Not every client had time to attend.
The door opened again, and someone more dazzling than all the jewelry in the room appeared, nearly blinding Mai Ding. Ellen’s skin was snow-white, her blond hair falling over her shoulders. She wore light makeup and a low-cut dress that hugged her curves. As for An Zi Yan beside her, he looked as though he had just been pulled out of the work of some famous artist who specialized in beautiful men, or dragged straight from a story that needed paragraphs upon paragraphs to praise someone’s looks. Mai Ding had deliberately ignored him and pretended not to care countless times that day, but he still could not escape it. Whoever said beautiful things needed ordinary things beside them to look even better was wrong. An Zi Yan did not need anyone to set him off.
Ellen linked her arm through An Zi Yan’s and smiled like a lady, every movement radiating an easy attraction to men. Mai Ding was not stupid enough to be jealous of Ellen. He was thinking about something completely unrelated. This was a historic moment. An Zi Yan had actually broken the Siamese-twin bond between Zhou Ge and Ellen. Ellen was here and Zhou Ge was nowhere in sight. What a miracle. Then Mai Ding heard a suspicious sound behind him. He turned around and found Zhou Ge glaring fiercely in Ellen’s direction.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Don’t forget, I’ve worked with your company before too.”
Mai Ding had actually forgotten that. Zhou Ge had been one of An Zi Yan’s victims back when An Zi Yan was fighting for a promotion. Apparently even An Zi Yan could not break apart Zhou Ge and Ellen. No matter how abnormal their love was, not even a demon could defeat love! The thought filled Mai Ding with hot-blooded emotion. His gaze followed An Zi Yan as he edged closer bit by bit, until he finally saw the tumor of the Public Relations Department. Mai Ding had pictured him as fat-headed, big-eared, and shiny with grease. Instead, the so-called tumor was thin and shriveled, with a small body, small head, small eyes, small nose, and small mouth. Could it be that down there was small too… Ahem. Mai Ding, aren’t you supposed to be an upright and pure person?
After the Hobbit exchanged a greeting with An Zi Yan, he barely looked at him again. He was completely indifferent to An Zi Yan. Since President Wang was the one who usually dealt with him, he did not take this young man seriously at all. Instead, his eyes stayed fixed on Ellen, practically drooling. Look at that pathetic fool with no eye for beauty. An Zi Yan was obviously the best-looking person there. Mai Ding had given someone another random nickname. Perhaps even he had not noticed that the people he gave nicknames to were usually the ones who caused trouble for An Zi Yan. He really was hopelessly biased.
“And this is…?” The Hobbit sounded both envious and sour, apparently assuming Ellen was An Zi Yan’s girlfriend. Ellen held out a hand. “Hello. I’m Yan’s friend. I just came back from abroad. Yan, aren’t you going to introduce me to this adorable gentleman?” Bold and warm, Ellen lightly pinched the Hobbit’s cheek. The intimate gesture delighted him.
“I thought you were Manager An’s girlfriend. Looks like he has no luck at all.”
You’re the unlucky one. Standing beside Ellen, he looked like a fairy tale come to life: Snow White and a dwarf. Ellen smiled coquettishly. “He doesn’t like my type.” Without warning, An Zi Yan put an arm around Mai Ding’s shoulders and pulled him against his side. “This type suits me better.” Mai Ding instantly went stiffer than stone. Wearing a forced smile, he stepped on An Zi Yan’s foot. The Hobbit froze for a moment, then burst into booming laughter, loud enough to make people nearby turn around. Many of them knew how strange-tempered he was, always sarcastic and looking down on others, so naturally they wanted to see who had managed to make him laugh. Not far away, Manager Cui watched the scene with an ashen face.
“I never realized you were this funny. Hahaha.”
“You two talk. I still have something to take care of.”
“Mm.” The Hobbit could not have been happier to speak with Ellen alone. He nodded, even looking at An Zi Yan with a hint of approval. Mai Ding and Guo Ping followed An Zi Yan away. Mai Ding’s mind was still a mess. Guo Ping had definitely heard that, right? What was he supposed to do? Mai Ding glanced at him from the corner of his eye and started to explain. “Shifu, just now…”
Guo Ping noticed the flush on Mai Ding’s cheeks and his nervous expression and could not help teasing him. “Don’t tell me you actually took what Yan said seriously. You really are inexperienced. That was just a conversational tactic. Learn from him.” Mai Ding had been hoping Guo Ping would not take it seriously, only to end up being comforted instead. The old saying about a guilty conscience really had not been invented for nothing.
The most miserable person at the entire gathering was probably Zhou Ge, standing off to the side with jealousy, anger, and pain written all over his face. Mai Ding started feeling sorry for him, and he was worried about something else too. Once Guo Ping went off to handle other matters, Mai Ding trailed after An Zi Yan again. An Zi Yan turned around and looked at his little tail. “What? Don’t tell me you took what I said just now seriously.”
“I-I didn’t. I just have something to ask you.”
An Zi Yan waved him off like a celebrity casually dismissing an infatuated fan. “I’m already married. I’m not going to be with you.” Mai Ding’s eyes bulged, though he still kept his voice low enough that no one else could hear. “Are you ever going to stop?! Quit messing around all the time. I’m trying to talk to you about something serious. Zhou Ge followed us here too.”
“I know.”
“Don’t you think he’s pitiful? Letting Ellen go with you is cruel enough for him already. Fine, you’ve pleased the Hobbit for now, but what happens afterward? Are you really going to keep Ellen with him? If anything happens to Ellen, my conscience will bother me for the rest of my life.” Mai Ding frowned, completely serious. If An Zi Yan joked with him now, he would probably get angry, because what they were discussing was not a joke.
“Then tell your conscience,” An Zi Yan said, leaning closer. For some reason, whenever he lowered his voice, it became especially seductive. “I would never do anything that would make it uneasy.” Even after President Wang called An Zi Yan away, Mai Ding remained trapped under the spell of those words.