Quick Transmigration: Saving The Crazy Villainess

Chapter 174: Ye Xinya (16)

After picking some stuff, the pair of cufflinks included, to go along his tuxedo, Jiang Li changed back to his ordinary shirt and jeans. He paid for his own bill and then dragged the girl to a popular coffee shop. The guy felt he was in a bad need of some caffeine to calm his nerves. They unexpectedly bumped into the two leads who were also in that mall to shop for attire to wear for tonight's events.

But it seemed Ren Lian and Han Su were too preoccupied with their date or the planning of the probing for later to notice Jiang Li and Ye Xinya's entrance to the place. Not even once Jiang Li considered it as those two failing to recognize them. 

The leads were at the table just next to the entrance. If Han Su would only look closely, even if he missed Ye Xinya, he would still at least recognize Jiang Li since nothing changed in his face apart from the unspeakable degree of aloofness and indifference in it.

Actually, as they were passing by their table and looking for a spot for themselves, the male lead met Jiang Li's eyes. Surprise flashed across Han Su's face for a brief second. Nonetheless, the bastard did not even nod at him, much less waved a hand and greet.

He could only shrug and also pretend he didn't see them. "Let's take that one?" When the girl walking side by side with him asked, he didn't nod but went straight there. He liked the spot since it was in one corner quite far from other tables. There were also two huge pots of ornamental bamboo plants on each side hiding it away from the others' prying eyes.

Without waiting for the waiter to arrive at their table, he sat down, crossed his arms, and asked with a raised brow, "I only know of one event which will need you to bring a partner. It's Senator Fang's fiftieth birthday. So care to explain why you want to bring someone with a humble background like me there?"

Ye Xinya gave him a complicated stare after taking a seat on the sofa opposite his. Even if he was birthed by a common woman out of wedlock, it was still an indisputable fact that the blood of somebody with deep ties to the government flowed in his veins.

Even now that he was detaching himself from that family, which part of him was humble? He could easily pay for more than five hundred thousand worth of luxury goods. That was certainly not something one from a humble background could do. It took her a great deal of effort to stop herself from reminding the young man where he was from.

'Alright, Ye Xinya, stop fussing over the minor detail. He is actually just asking for an explanation.'

She coughed and explained, "Tutor Jiang. Please don't take offense for what I did. To be honest, I have just been informed about the party this morning. Thankfully, my mom prepared a dress and a matching set of jewelries for me. The dress is the one we just picked up."

Due to her hand pointing to a direction, Jiang Li's eyes subconsciously followed, ending up at the peach-scented paper bags in the hands of her bodyguard standing three meters away.

After nodding to show comprehension to her point, he replied, "Alright. I get it. However, even if you can't find someone your age to help you out, don't you have a brother? Ye Xin?"

'You're someone my age, blockhead.' She almost rolled her eyes. But thanks to her face trained to maintain calmness at all times, she managed to stop the urge. "Tutor Jiang. I indeed have a brother and he's even my older twin. However, from when I went abroad up to this date, we have yet to meet each other."

She lowered her head and kept giving him conflicted gazes. He knew the purpose of those was to tell him that something sensitive and personal happened so he should stop prying.

'... What a liar and actress.' He clicked his tongue and threw her a disapproving glance.

The girl thought it was still about permission, but in reality, the guy was simply having complicated thoughts within, not knowing how to feel about the fact that he finally came across an incarnation who knew how to lie and trick people without batting an eye once.

...

The villainess's beauty was very hard to ignore so the moment they stepped into the loud brightly lit hall, people's eyes concentrated on her who was following her parents and being escorted by an equally stunning young man.

It was just unfortunate that no matter how beautiful they looked together or individually, they couldn't hog the spotlight to themselves once the leads made an entrance.

Han Su and his partner for the event, Ren Lian, a girl who was less qualified to be here than Jiang Li, marched into the sparkling hall literally followed by the light from above. Who knows how the world made the chandelier's glow focused on those two. But given such entrance, how the hell wouldn't they attract the masses' eyes?

"Waaah, so blindingly cute and beautiful."

Jiang Li weirdly looked at the girl next to him when he heard what she exclaimed. "I know the guy. He's Han Su. Your supposed fiance."

"I know."

Ye Xinya's lips arced up, the glint on her eyes was unreadable. She alternately glanced at the fiance she would be seeing for the second time and the person by her side who had already been her 'tutor' for more than a month.

For some reason, even without the soft, shimmering light shining upon Jing Mo's head, this liar and user who had made her feel helpless yet also helped forget some of her worries whenever she was with him, appear more striking and attractive. 

The girl started blinking repeatedly when she realized what she just thought. A moment later, she held her breath and gaped at the liar who glanced at his phone to check something there. Her eyes were following his movements as he put his phone back to his pocket. She was still gaping at him even when his lips got drawn into a thin line.

'I... need to seriously think this through!' When panic and short-circuiting brain teamed up together against her, all she could think about was to give herself space and get away from the guy who was the source of the alien feeling in her chest.

Of course, Ye Xinya was still an educated girl and knew that no matter what, she at least has to come forward and greet those she should greet before going anywhere else. Jing Mo accompanied her throughout these and even did perfectly, leaving a lasting impression on the people her family was acquainted with.

But when she noticed herself taking notes of a few small details about the other person, she wanted to swear at herself. This all wouldn't have started if she didn't compare her fiance to him!

'I really need to go to the break room.' Even while pretending to be laughing and smiling at each other with her mom, this was all she was thinking about.

Ye Xinya was about to excuse herself from Jing Mo when she heard her mother's voice ringing near her ear. "Tutor Jiang, the music has started and I'm afraid my daughter who just got back from abroad is feeling shy about joining the rest of her peers there. How about you help her a bit in here?"

"Sure."

How badly she wanted to comment on the fake polite smile Jing Mo turned to her mother.

A few minutes later, she found herself dancing in a classical tune with him. Her fiance who she was supposed to greet and then acquaint herself with was also in the middle, joining the dance with Ren Lian. Somehow every time she looked away from Jing Mo to prevent her mind from going haywire, she would end up chancing upon the male lead teasing the black belter beauty.

She let out a surprised gasp after realizing she always ended up meeting Han Su's eyes every time she moved her gaze away from her dancing partner.

Jiang Li noticed her behavior and wondered if this was the plot forcing the villainess to fall in love with the male lead.  Irked and a bit annoyed, he was about to say something about this when somebody called out to him from behind him. "Jing Mo!"

It was Jiang Li's first time being given a rotten family but while he expected there to be dramas between him and some people from the Jings, them calling him out loud while laughing evilly was something a far cry from his imagination. It was actually a novel experience for him.

Although he didn't turn around and pretended he was not the one called out, Ye Xinya turned her head to the direction of the person who shouted it. A bit of shock flashed across her eyes, but then showed a face of realization upon seeing the person who shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ye Xinya once looked through Jing Mo's records so she recognized it was his older cousin, the second branch's eldest son, Jing Yuhan. Twenty-two years old yet already an executive within the Jing's food and drinks company. 

As she observed the approaching tall guy whose looks resembled Jing Mo a bit, she saw the trace of conceit, arrogance, and maliciousness in the person's eyes. That was when she knew, the intention behind that simple action was nasty and appalling.

'I'm afraid... Jing Mo's image in people's eyes is not that good.' Her eyes darkened subconsciously.

Not many knew how the illegitimate son from the Jing family looked like, but almost everyone heard of his name so many eyes gathered to their direction. Even the female lead and the male lead turned their heads since they were familiar with that name.

Their reason for their curiosity was that the person called by that name was the one who led the helpless students out yet never got credit for it. However, the others were simply intrigued by his background.

Wasn't Jing Mo that illegitimate son thrown out of the house for leaking important business secrets to an opposing party? Didn't he also get thrown into a rehabilitation facility due to addiction? How come he was already out?

A few of those Ye Xinya greeted him wrinkled their forehead in confusion since they remembered him introducing himself as Jiang Li.

"Cousin?"

The one in question had no choice but respond when Jing Yuhan placed a hand on Jiang Li's shoulder.

'Living honestly, you ask?'

The man hid a cold smirk in the slight smile he wore in his lips as he faced his cheap and annoying cousin. "I got caught in surprise since this is the first time I saw you."

'As me, the task-taker, so technically, I'm not being dishonest.'

"Good day. I'm Jiang Li, son of Jiang Liuxian. Do I know you?"

1. XD Who remembered?