Chapter 9 Ever since that elevator encounter, Wen Tang deliberately avoided going out at eight o’clock. With her irregular work schedule, she managed to avoid running into him for an entire week. Just as Wen Tang was about to breathe a sigh of relief and forget the whole matter, he unexpectedly appeared here! Wen Tang instinctively stepped back to avoid him, but failed to notice the round table behind her. Someone had placed a glass of red wine on it. As Wen Tang leaned back, she bumped the table, and the glass toppled over. Wen Tang was splashed with red wine all over! She had never been in such a disheveled state before. She was wearing a white evening gown! Now, everything below her waist was stained with wine, dripping down along the hem, completely transforming her white dress into a red one. Fortunately, she had walked to a secluded corner to take the call, so there was no one around to witness her current state. But soon enough, she imagined tomorrow’s trending topic: #Wen Tang drenched in red wine at the banquet, looking utterly disheveled# Wen Tang felt suffocated at the thought. Being in a relationship trending online was one thing, but this? Absolutely not! It would be utterly humiliating! Looking around, besides herself, there was only one other person here. She couldn’t afford to be picky anymore. What if he was a pervert? It was nothing compared to her reputation and her crumbling self-esteem! “Hey!” Wen Tang stepped forward and pointed directly at Zhou Jingyu: “You, come here!” Zhou Jingyu was passing through the empty corner of the banquet hall, preparing to leave, when he was suddenly called out. Turning around, he saw his neighbor from across the hall. She looked disheveled, her white evening gown soaked with red wine from the waist down. Yet her eyes were wide and round, staring directly at him. Zhou Jingyu recalled his old cat—after rolling in mud, its white fur turned gray, looking pitiful and disheveled yet maintaining its proud nature as it looked up at him. He could have ignored her, but he couldn’t turn away when someone was asking for his help. The gentlemanly demeanor ingrained in his bones made Zhou Jingyu set aside his reservations and walk toward Wen Tang. Before Wen Tang could figure out what to say to him, she saw Zhou Jingyu approaching. She instinctively stepped back two paces, her waist hitting the round table again. What alarmed Wen Tang most was that as Zhou Jingyu walked toward her, he was unbuttoning his shirt. “What… what are you doing?” Wen Tang couldn’t imagine his boldness! She frantically waved her hands: “Don’t come any closer!” But he paid no attention. In just a few steps, Zhou Jingyu reached her. As Wen Tang froze in alarm, Zhou Jingyu bent down and wrapped his shirt around her waist from behind, tying it. So… He wasn’t undressing to act like a pervert, but to help her cover up? He was very tall. As he bent down, his head nearly touched her face. She could smell the crisp, pleasant scent emanating from him, and his breath stimulated her delicate skin. In places no one could see, all of Wen Tang’s body hair stood on end. Wen Tang’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated wildly. She had never felt it beat this fast before, not even during her acting performances. She could even clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat. “Thump! Thump! Thump!!!” Frozen in shock, her cat-like eyes widened to their fullest. For a moment, she forgot how to speak. She stood there dazed, thinking that she had acted in many idol dramas and everyone praised her acting skills. She had always believed so too. But at this very moment, she suddenly realized that her acting still needed refinement and had much room for improvement. In just a moment, his jacket was draped over her. Under Wen Tang’s gaze, he raised his hand and rolled up his shirt sleeves. “Let’s go,” he said afterward, looking at Wen Tang: “Go home.” Since he would be drinking at the evening banquet, Zhou Jingyu hadn’t driven himself. After getting in the car, Wen Tang and Zhou Jingyu sat in the back seat together. Wen Tang sat at the edge, keeping as much distance from Zhou Jingyu as possible. She had already experienced his effect on her, and her heartbeat still hadn’t completely settled. Wen Tang said nothing, and Zhou Jingyu remained silent as well, yet somehow the atmosphere didn’t feel awkward at all. Perhaps it was Zhou Jingyu’s indifferent attitude toward everything. Since getting in the car, he hadn’t even glanced at her once. This gradually allowed Wen Tang to relax. Now that she thought about it, Zhou Jingyu didn’t seem like a stalker at all. There must have been some misunderstanding. “What were you doing at the banquet?” Wen Tang broke the silence first, asking. Zhou Jingyu replied: “An elder invited me. It was hard to refuse such earnest hospitality.” Wen Tang nodded. Oh, so he was invited… “Last time… in the elevator. I asked if you knew who I was. Was your answer truthful?” After thinking for a moment, Wen Tang asked again. Trivial matters were quickly forgotten by him. Zhou Jingyu took a moment to recall what Wen Tang was referring to and what his response had been. Like before, he calmly nodded and answered: “Yes.” Wen Tang couldn’t believe it. Zhou Jingyu’s claim that he didn’t know her was actually true! He wasn’t lying to her, nor was he deliberately saying that to get her attention. She couldn’t believe that in her country, there actually existed someone so ignorant! “You really don’t know me? Are you sure??” “Look again! Look carefully! You really don’t recognize this face??” Wen Tang asked repeatedly in disbelief.