Chapter 30: Has She Broken Character?
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“It’s all because the old man is playing favorites. Why is he so convinced his own grandson is the one to bet on? His younger son is clearly more capable—and he even has Miss Lin to help him…”
Madam Shang ground her teeth as she approached her son.
“You see that? You said your uncle had no interest in the Shang Corporation. Does this look like someone who isn’t interested?!”
Shang Beiming pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Qin Xinxia standing unnoticed in a corner. Shang Yang’s affairs were instantly forgotten, and he hurried after her.
“Where are you going, you…”
Madam Shang watched as Shang Beiming caught hold of Qin Xinxia’s hand. Qin Xinxia seemed to want to leave, but her son forcibly led her onto the dance floor.
He even coaxed her gently until he finally made the girl break into a radiant smile.
Madam Shang was so furious she could practically feel smoke pouring from her head. Then she looked at Shang Yang and Lin Xianxian, who were dancing as well, and stormed away with an angry sweep of her sleeve.
Her departure, however, attracted little attention.
On the dance floor, Lin Xianxian was having a wonderful time.
[Ahhhhh! Uncle Shang, you’re so handsome!]
[System, did you see that? Shang Yang just wrapped one arm around my waist and didn’t give Madam Shang any face at all. He simply started dancing with me!]
[What kind of romantic scene from an idol drama is this? But… shouldn’t a plot like this belong to the vicious supporting female character? Oh, whatever. As long as I’m happy, who cares? Besides, I haven’t broken character!]
[Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve been this close to Shang Yang. Uncle Shang is completely different from that immature, inexperienced boy of a male lead. Not only are his movements so manly, but his figure is incredible too…]
[He’s so restrained and seductive. His suit is buttoned all the way to the top… Oh? His tie is a little loose, though. I want to pull it open—with my teeth!]
Lin Xianxian stared at the collar right before her, her imagination running wild.
Shang Yang’s ears had turned bright red. Although the two of them were dancing properly and decorously, she had teased him from head to toe without saying a word!
[Yes, slowly bite his tie loose, then undo his buttons one by one, revealing Shang Yang’s firm chest and those eight perfect abdominal muscles…]
[Heheh… hehehe…]
What happened after that was too indecent to describe.
Lin Xianxian was lost in her fantasies when, in the next instant, the man before her suddenly seized her hand.
“Hm?”
Lin Xianxian looked up in confusion.
Shang Yang’s voice was husky.
“Let’s go. Don’t steal the spotlight from Beiming and the others.”
He then slowly guided her through the many dancing couples toward a corner of the floor.
The song had not even ended when Shang Yang pulled Lin Xianxian away.
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Once they left, everyone’s attention naturally returned to the male and female leads, Shang Beiming and Qin Xinxia. People began discussing Qin Xinxia’s identity and mocking Shang Beiming’s romantic recklessness for choosing a beauty over his empire…
Just as in the original plot.
By then, Lin Xianxian had already been dragged outside by Shang Yang.
When they reached the fountain at a light jog, Lin Xianxian was halfway through a laugh before she suddenly realized:
[Wait. Did I break character?!]
[As the vicious supporting female character who is madly obsessed with the male lead, shouldn’t I be watching the male and female leads dance with jealousy right now and trying to ruin everything?]
[At the very least, I should have tried to steal their spotlight! How did I end up following Shang Yang away after just one sentence from him instead of stealing the leads’ thunder?]
Even Lin Xianxian herself was confused. Then she raised her head, stared at Shang Yang’s excessively handsome face, and nodded emphatically.
[What a devastatingly handsome man!]
[System, tell me—faced with a face like that, while being led along by an arm with such perfect muscle definition, how could I possibly refuse? My rationality vanished ages ago!]
[Even if I did break character, you can’t blame me. It’s instinctive. Human beings are naturally drawn to beautiful things, understand?]
Shang Yang drew a deep breath. He felt that all the calm self-control he had once possessed was impossible to maintain in front of Lin Xianxian.
Fortunately, Lin Xianxian had not noticed anything unusual about him…
Or so he thought!
Admiring Shang Yang’s face, Lin Xianxian suddenly asked in astonishment:
“Why are your ears so red?”
Shang Yang stiffened for a moment, then answered without changing expression:
“It’s hot indoors.”
[So that’s why he brought me out? Because it got too hot for him?]
Lin Xianxian considered this. “It was a little crowded in there.”
[Oh, this is wonderful! Although I didn’t flee in embarrassment the way the plot dictated, the result is the same. I don’t have to attend that boring banquet anymore—and I even got an unexpected bonus!]
Lin Xianxian stared unblinkingly at Shang Yang. It went without saying that the “unexpected bonus” in her mind was Shang Yang himself.
Naturally, Shang Yang did not disappoint her.
“Come on. I’ll take you somewhere.”
Lin Xianxian was instantly curious.
Where was he taking her?
To her immense surprise, Shang Yang brought her to a private dining establishment.
“Aunt Su, serve everything according to the arrangements I made earlier.”
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Aunt Su stared at Lin Xianxian for a long while, smiling like a kindly elder.
“All right. It’ll be ready in a moment!”
Lin Xianxian sat down, thoroughly astonished.
The place was an old courtyard residence. The courtyard alone was worth several hundred million, and it was enormous, containing numerous private dining rooms.
And the things displayed inside…
They appeared to be genuine antiques and authentic calligraphy and paintings by famous artists.
Taken together, they had to be worth several billion at least, didn’t they?
As expected of Shang Yang—even his choice of restaurant was completely different from an ordinary person’s!
Lin Xianxian’s family was wealthy as well, but her grandparents and maternal grandparents had always lived simply and preferred cooking for themselves. Because of their identities, her parents would never visit particularly expensive establishments either.
This was her first time dining in a place like this.
Still, the discerning eye she had developed from childhood made it easy for her to recognize that some of the calligraphy, paintings, and vases in the private room were genuine antiques.
Shang Yang had originally brought her here simply to have a meal. After all, he had noticed at the banquet that, in order to avoid breaking character, Lin Xianxian had kept pretending along with the wealthy young ladies who fawned over her. Apart from drinking beverages, she had not touched anything else.
During the lulls in the banquet, she had already complained inwardly several times that she was starving to death.
What was more, Lin Xianxian had been eager to “clock out,” and the things flashing through her mind had been grilled crayfish, barbecue, cold drinks, and the like…
How could that be acceptable?
Unhealthy food like that would ruin her body.
So, midway through the banquet, Shang Yang had already instructed Aunt Su to begin preparing a meal.
The other private rooms were all occupied, and few people went in or out. The people Lin Xianxian saw were either government officials or bodyguards.
A place with such extraordinary privacy must charge an astronomical price for even one private room, right?
And reservations were probably booked several months in advance.
The entry requirements might be extremely strict too—the sort of place ordinary people could never enter.
[Shang Yang made a reservation in advance just to dine with me alone?]
Lin Xianxian found it hard to believe.
Then again, she felt that was probably impossible.
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