After finis.h.i.+ng the deal and returning to the ball, Wei Cheng Long still felt uneasy. When he saw Qin Yue sitting calmly in a corner, he hurriedly walked over to her.

When Wei Cheng Long reached Qin Yue's side, he cast Ye Qian a fierce glare, then asked, “Qin Yue, why aren't you dancing?”

Ye Qian did not pay him any heed, idly drinking the gla.s.s of red wine in his hands and smacking his lips from time to time, as though he completely did not see the hateful look Wei Cheng Long gave him.

“I don't want to dance.” Qin Yue said coldly.

“Young Master Wei wants to ask our Big Sister Yue to dance? Good luck to you.” Zhao Ya said with a small smile.

Naturally, Wei Cheng Long knew who Zhao Ya was; he knew she was Qin Yue's close friend. If he wanted to woo Qin Yue, he surely needed her help. Wei Chei Long smiled at her good-naturedly and said, “It appears I still need some pointers from Miss Zhao Ya!”

Zhao Ya was not that generous, she wasn't serious about helping Wei Cheng Long woo Qin Yue. She only could not stand Ye Qian so thought to use Wei Cheng Long to mess with him a bit. “Then listen carefully. Not only is Big Sister Yue the number one beauty in Shanghai, she is also the number one talented lady, skilled in all the Four Arts. So if you want to ask her to dance, you have to work harder in that area. Oh, isn't that a piano over there, why don't you have a compet.i.tion with this fella over here. Whoever plays better can dance with Big Sister Yue for one song, how about it?” Zhao Ya had a mischievous smile on her face, watching Ye Qianas she said these words. Clearly, she was sure that this rogue Ye Qianwould not be capable of playing the piano.

As expected, when he heard Zhao Ya's words, Ye Qian did not know whether to laugh or to cry, and replied, “You're giving me a hard time on purpose aren't you? You think a person like me can actually play the piano?”

Wei Chei Long wasn't overly familiar with the piano himself, he definitely could not play any of the world-famous pieces. But during his studies, he learned a thing or two, so he was much better off than Ye Qian. When he heard Ye Qian's words, Wei Cheng Long became even more confident. He said with disdain, “What? You're afraid? If you're afraid then concede, then we won't have to compete.”

Ye Qian expected Qin Yue to step in for him and put a stop to his, but contrary to his expectation she did not say a word. He couldn't figure out what this girl was thinking, but what Ye Qian knew for certain was that even if Wei Cheng Long won, she most probably would not dance with him anyway. But what about himself? Ye Qian wasn't sure what Qin Yue's feelings for him were.   

“Looks like somebody is being an ostrich." Zhao Ya was adding fuel to the fire.

“Don't provoke me, there's no use. I don't care about winning, even if I don't partic.i.p.ate Yue Yue will still dance with me. There's no need for me to do more. Isn't that right? Yue Yue!” After Ye Qian spoke, he hurriedly put his lips close to Qin Yue's ear and whispered, “Help me out here, don't let a guy lose face.”

Qin Yue smiled mischievously and said, “I don't really feel like dancing today, so I don't care who wins, I won't dance with anybody.”

Things having reached this point, to Wei Cheng Long, this was no longer about getting the chance to dance with Qin Yue, it was now an opportunity to humiliate Ye Qian, one could not let this opportunity pa.s.s. “Since that's the case, let's come up with another prize. I believe Mr. Ye Qian doesn't want to disrespect Qin Yue, right?” Wei Cheng Long asked.

“Good, and since this was Zhao Ya's idea, then let her be put at stake. Whoever wins gets a kiss from Zhao Ya.” Qin Yue's vengefulness was not weak, and she was quickly able to turn the tables on Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya became alarmed when she heard Qin Yue's words, how could she give away her first kiss so casually? What would she do if Ye Qian won? Would she actually give this rogue her first kiss? But even though she found Ye Qian a little annoying, compared to Wei Cheng Long, he was a little better. If she had to pick she'd pick Ye Qian over him. But if she really did it, she would be teased for a lifetime by that hoodlum. “No, no, how can you carelessly make me the prize. No, I won't do it.” Zhao Ye said in a flurry.

Ye Qian chuckled mischievously and replied, “Girly, are you actually afraid? I don't want your kiss either, so since you don't want it, then I guess that puts an end to everything.”

When Zhao Ya saw how Ye Qian was acting like he got the better end of a deal, she couldn't bear it so she gritted her teeth and said, “You want a wager, then have your wager. Whoever doesn't dare to go through with it is a dog.”

“Come on, let's not go through with this, you'll only suffer. Look at you, you're a virgin girl. If word were to get out about this, how can you still show your face.” Ye Qian said.

When Zhao Ya heard Ye Qian say this she became even more sure that Ye Qian was afraid, she became even more determined. She decided to throw caution to the wind, as long as she could humiliate Ye Qian she wouldn't ask for too much more. Anyway, once Wei Cheng Long won she would just find some excuse to get out of the kiss, after all, Wei Cheng Long liked Qin Yue so he wouldn't kiss her right in front of her. “What? Scared? As long as you admit that you are a dog, then we can let it go.” Zhao Ya said complacently.

“A wage it is, don't go snivelling when you lose.” Ye Qian said.

“You'll snivel.” Zhao Ya said. “Young Master Wei, you can't disappoint Big Sister Yue.”

“Miss Zhao Ya, don't worry, even though I'm no piano master, I'm very confident I can win against him.” Wei Cheng Long replied complacently.

Throughout the whole proceedings, Hu Ke only watched them with a faint smile on her face, not saying a word. The first time she saw Ye Qian, he had piqued her curiousity very much, and she wanted to understand what his charms were that made Qin Yue treat him so well. Back at home she had also heard Zhao Ya mention Ye Qian's name numerous times, she was very surprised to find out that he was Zhao Ya's fiance, why was he then together with Qin Yue? So, since the auction, she had decided not to speak and only to carefully observe Ye Qian, hoping to find some holes in Ye Qian's actions.

“Who shall go first?” Wei Cheng Long asked.

“I'll go first!” Ye Qian put down his gla.s.s of red wine and slowly got up. He didn't think he'd suffer much by going first, even though he wasn't an extremely learned person, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and he already thought of a way to best Wei Cheng Long.