Chapter 168 Isn't It Time for Some Explanation

Upon hearing Cai Yirou’s name, Lin Shuo froze in his tracks. After a long moment, he finally turned around to face her. Xiaoxiao clenched her hands together, her face as pale as a sheet. She hid half her body behind Lin Shuo just to keep from losing her composure right then and there.

"Have a good time, I have things to do and must be going." Lin Shuo forced a supreme degree of politeness, smiling as he attempted to pull Xiaoxiao away. Cai Yirou refused to yield, her brows locked in a fierce frown as she stared fixedly at their intertwined fingers.

Instead, the man beside her spoke up first to stop him, "President Lin, don't you think some things require an explanation?"

Lin Shuo pivoted to face the man, nodding repeatedly. A cold sneer hung at the corners of his mouth as if he had suddenly seen through something, and he said quite impolitely, "Vice President Cheng, aren't you sticking your nose into business that isn't yours?"

"What's going on?" Hua Mei hurried over, unwilling to let any scandalous incidents ruin the opening cocktail party. Seeing the two men, she switched to a warm greeting and shook hands with Cheng Feng. "So it's you! Why didn't you let me know you were coming?" Then, with a sharp glance, she asked, "And who might this be?"

Cai Yirou wore a gentle smile. Under the curious gazes of everyone present, she walked over to Lin Shuo and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. Her hand smoothly slid up to rest in the crook of his arm, making the gesture appear entirely natural and inevitable. Hua Mei stared in astonishment at the three people standing in a row: Xiaoxiao on the left, struggling for breath; Cai Yirou on the right, still smiling as she tilted her head to ask Lin Shuo affectionately, "Why don't you introduce us?"

Lin Shuo gripped Xiaoxiao’s hand tightly. Her palms were slick with sweat; Lin Shuo tried to hold on even harder, but her damp skin caused her hand to slip free entirely. With his grasp coming up empty, he brushed Cai Yirou off without a second thought, grabbed Xiaoxiao’s hand once more, and strode toward the exit. Xiaoxiao’s legs felt like lead; she had barely taken a few steps when she heard Cai Yirou introducing herself to Hua Mei from behind, "Hello, Miss Hua, I am Lin Shuo’s fiancée."

Cheng Feng’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Lin Shuo turned back to confront Cai Yirou, his face covered in frost. "Is this fun for you?"

Hua Mei stood with her mouth wide open, speechless, shifting her gaze back and forth among the four of them in search of an answer. Everyone was watching them, as if anticipating the curtain-raising of an unprecedented drama.

"I imagine there's some misunderstanding here. Why don't I help everyone find a quiet place to sit down and talk things through?" Hua Mei tried to defuse the crisis as quickly as possible, but no one noticed the tears welling up in Xiaoxiao’s eyes, right on the verge of spilling over. She had never considered herself fortunate enough to be a leading lady; in truth, her fate was merely that of a home-wrecker. The most pathetic part was that she had seen through it all long ago yet lacked the courage to admit the truth. She had foolishly believed that weaving a flawless lie could cover up all the facts, only to realize she had merely been deceiving herself.

A moment later, utterly overwhelmed by shame and a sense of absolute degradation, she abandoned the chaotic and tangled scene, lifted the hem of her dress, and fled without ever looking back.