Si Yanli looked down at the foot creeping up his calf, his tall and handsome figure suddenly freezing in place.
He looked toward the woman sitting diagonally across from him.
Sensing his gaze, the woman glanced back at him.
Her mesmerizing, peach-blossom eyes carried a trace of a seductive smile.
She only looked at him for a second before quickly shifting her gaze away. No one else at the dining table noticed anything amiss.
But her foot was still slowly inching up his calf.
The muscles in his leg instantly went stiff as a rock.
Tang Wu caught a glimpse of the man from the corner of her eye. Seeing his handsome jawline tensed up, she curled her red lips into a slight smile, took out her phone, and sent a WeChat message.
"Darling, I regret it."
Ding-dong.
The man diagonally across from her quickly received the message.
He took out his phone and took a look.
Upon seeing the message, his fair, slender fingers tightened slightly, causing the blue veins on the back of his hand to bulge.
He looked at her once again.
Tang Wu, however, did not meet his eyes. Instead, she chatted with Ji Lin, the male artist sitting next to her.
Ji Lin had debuted from an idol survival show. He acted in a web drama last year, which became a massive hit when it aired this year, elevating him from an obscure D-lister to a recognizable C-lister.
Ji Lin had the look of a pretty boy—handsome and sweet. In front of the mature, boss-lady-like Tang Wu, he was like a little puppy. Blushing, he asked for her WeChat.
Tang Wu gracefully exchanged WeChat contacts with him.
She didn't notice that the gaze of the man sitting diagonally across from her had grown unfathomably deep.
When the director and the cameraman walked over, Tang Wu withdrew the foot that had been creeping up the man's calf.
For the sake of the variety show's entertainment value, the director had the waiter bring over the menus.
"Dear artists, please place your own orders."
The menu was entirely in French, and to the artists, it might as well have been written in an alien language.
Gu Lingwei, sitting on the other side of Tang Wu, muttered under her breath, "The director just wants to see us make fools of ourselves!"
Xu Dai was a popular young actress. She frequently dined at Western restaurants and had traveled abroad to Paris.
There were two dishes she could barely understand.
Using somewhat unauthentic French, she read out the names of the dishes.
Jiang Fan immediately cast an admiring look at Xu Dai. "Dai Dai, you're amazing! You actually know French."
Xu Dai smiled and raised her eyebrows, casting a slightly provocative glance at Tang Wu. "I'm not just a pretty vase."
When she originally joined this variety show, Xu Dai thought she would be the most beautiful and outstanding one.
Who knew Tang Wu would be here?
Although Tang Wu was not as famous as her, her looks and temperament were far superior.
After arriving at the Translation Institute today, most of the male employees there had cast their gazes on Tang Wu first.
As a popular young starlet, how could she be willing to play second fiddle?
Tang Wu ignored Xu Dai's provocation. After Jiang Fan and Ji Lin embarrassed themselves trying to order in French, the menu landed in her hands.
Behind his glasses, Si Yanli's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. He said to the director in a cold, clear voice, "Forget it. I'll treat them tonight; it won't be part of the shoot."
Just as Si Yanli finished speaking, a female voice rang out, fluently reciting the dish names in French, "Entrecôte grillée maître d'hôtel, Andouillette de Troyes grillée frites..."
Unlike Xu Dai's previous awkward stumbling, Tang Wu's pronunciation was pure and pleasant to the ear.
Gu Lingwei and Ji Lin immediately looked at Tang Wu with worshipful eyes. "Sister Wuwu, you are too amazing!"
Behind his glasses, Si Yanli's phoenix eyes grew even more profoundly dark.
It was his first time hearing her speak French. Although not quite at the level of a professional translator, she was definitely outstanding among ordinary people.
Just how many more surprises was she going to give him?
No wonder his grandfather had called her a treasure of a girl.
She was far more interesting and capable than he had imagined.
He really had underestimated her in the past.
Xu Dai had originally wanted to see Tang Wu make a fool of herself, but instead, Tang Wu stole the spotlight.
Even the noble and aloof Si Yanli spoke up to praise Tang Wu's good pronunciation.
After the food was served, Tang Wu focused on her meal.
As the meal was nearing its end, she received a message from Si Yanli.
"Are you returning to Yujing Mansion tonight?"
Tang Wu glanced at it and didn't reply.
After dinner, Ji Lin invited Tang Wu and Gu Lingwei to hang out at a karaoke bar.
Tang Wu did not refuse.
...
Si Yanli returned to Yujing Mansion. He waited for a long time, but Tang Wu didn't come back.
He loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, pressing his fair, slender fingers against his temples.
His normally calm and tranquil heart felt inexplicably restless.
To make matters worse, Huo Zhixu called him on video right at that moment.
Si Yanli originally didn't want to answer, but the guy kept calling over and over again.
Si Yanli had no choice but to pick up.
Through the lens of Huo Zhixu's phone, a private room appeared, with several people sitting on the sofas inside.
Si Yanli didn't pay much attention at first, but soon, he spotted Tang Wu's figure.
She was sitting with Ji Lin, and the two of them were singing a love song together.
Her singing voice was unexpectedly melodious and beautiful, like an orchid in an empty valley, its echoes lingering in the air.
A moment later, Huo Zhixu turned the camera back to himself, making it obvious that he had just been standing at the door of the private room secretly filming.
"Lao Yan, have you and Beauty Tang divorced yet?"
Si Yanli's mouth twitched.
"Huo Zhixu, are you sick in the head?"
Ever since returning from Seville, he called almost every day to ask if they were divorced yet.
Huo Zhixu looked at the man on the screen, whose handsome face was as cold as frost. He raised his eyebrows in a cheeky manner, "If you're divorced, then I can go after Beauty Tang. Did you see that little puppy who was just singing? He absolutely has a crush on Beauty Tang!"
"We're brothers. If you get divorced, you have to tell me first. You can't let other men beat me to it!"
As soon as Huo Zhixu finished speaking, Si Yanli hung up the video call.
He tossed his phone aside, took off his glasses, and pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples.
His originally tranquil life seemed to have been completely disrupted by that woman.
Around eleven o'clock at night, Si Yanli heard a noise at the door.
The woman inputted her fingerprint, opened the door, and stumbled inside.
Si Yanli stood up and walked over to the drunk woman. He furrowed his dark brows, "Why are you back so late?"
The woman didn't speak. She tilted her head and stared at him for a few seconds. Then, she reached out her fair, tender arms and draped them straight around his neck.
Si Yanli smelled the alcohol on her. Seeing her pretty little face looking even more charming and seductive with a drunken flush, his frown deepened. "Going out drinking late at night with a guy you just met today... Tang Wu, don't forget that you are not divorced yet!"
On the outside, he looked gentle and refined, but deep down, he was actually cold, aloof, and completely devoid of warmth.
When he was cold and stern, even the surrounding air seemed to grow thin.
Tang Wu blinked her watery, beautiful eyes, pouting her red lips pitifully. "Wu, you're being mean to me~"
Her voice was soft and sweet, and her aggrieved expression made it look as though he had bullied her terribly.
