Midori was holding a gla.s.s of champagne when Madeline and Dan approached her. Her brother is nearby, talking about investments with colleagues.

Dan took her gla.s.s at the moment it touched her lower lip. She was surprised by the sudden action and instinctively turned towards him.

He looked angry, disappointed and anxious at the same time.

Madeline inched towards Midori, blocking the sight of him drinking the champagne from another woman's gla.s.s. The bride-to-be looked at the wife of the man next to her. The sapphire set in black gold complemented her fair skin gorgeously. Midori was alluring to her eyes. She bit her lower lip to suppress her desire to kiss her again.

Madeline leaned in to whisper, "Mrs. Zhou, don't drink if you're not sure about being pregnant."

Midori's eyes widened. She looked at her husband as if saying, 'You told her?!'

Dan shot her back a look, that would mean 'So what?'

He was actually worried about her. That was why he hurriedly took her drink. He was mad that she even thought of drinking. She should not have been here. 'Dam**t, brother-in-law!'

To the eyes of other guests, there was a certain tense feeling emanating from the three of them. Some began to speculate if it was a love triangle. Their illusion heightened when the three exchanged glares and the bride looked like she was teasing the deputy CEO of XCG.

Midori talked back in a low voice. "Ms. Song, don't test my patience. It's enough that I'm here. No need to meddle in our matters as husband and wife." She emphasized the last three words.

Madeline flashed a bright smile and backed away. She took her fiancé's arm and politely excused themselves.

While being dragged away, Dan gave Midori a look of warning. Even if he gets drunk for drinking all her gla.s.ses of wine, he will do so to protect her.

Midori shrugged it off and continued looking aloof. She pursed her lips as she was laughing inside. Her husband is already a.s.suming that she's pregnant, being overprotective.

In another angle, Masaichi controlled himself and kept his feet grounded as he observed them while pretending to listen in another conversation. His sister looked like she was bullied!

However, his observation skills were impeccable. Others may have the illusion of tension between the three, but he managed to observe three things.

One, he saw that CEO Zhou took the champagne gla.s.s from his sister and drank all of its content. That was usually the gesture of a man trying to prevent his lady from drinking. What was more abnormal was that Ms. Song seemed to not mind at all.

This was evident on the second observation. She deliberately s.h.i.+elded his action from the eyes of other guests as if she was his support in carrying out the action without raising suspicion. There was also no sense of hostility in her, even when talking to her future husband's ex. Masaichi thought that he will need to investigate on this woman further.

Lastly, he found Verdan Zhou's expressions very weird. Usually, when a man encounters his ex when he is with his new girl, he would at least have some look of either hurt or regret, sometimes hostility, depending on how they broke up. Contrary to that, after he drank the wine, CEO Zhou looked anxious and mad, as if he was scolding his daughter. He also looked at Midori as if leaving a warning, but his eyes were gentle.

Furthermore, Masaichi also observed his sister after the two left her. Though she still looked aloof, the way she pursed her lips looked like she was suppressing a smile, but there was not a hint of resentment in her eyes. It was as if she was well aware of what was happening and not minding the events at all.

This is not good. His goal of bringing his sister here was to discourage her in continuing whatever she had with Verdan Zhou. He frowned. His sister looked victorious, as if everything is in the palm of her hand.

_____________

Not too far from Masaichi stood a middle-aged woman with thin, straight brows, dark brown eyes, tall nose, and thin lips covered with plum rouge. She eyed the young man intently.

She never would have thought that he would survive the attack. She pulled out her best men to do it. They had left no traces but they failed to accomplish their task. This irritated her, but not enough to make her back down. She likes to burst their bubble so she would let them be happy for some time before she takes them down. After all, she was in her happiest when they took him from her.

She was wearing a boatneck emerald green trumpet gown in d.u.c.h.ess satin with laced long sleeves. Her jet-black hair was styled in a clean bun and her ears and neck were adorned with pieces of jade in gold.

As the gentlemen dispersed, she walked towards the young man she was eying.

Masaichi turned around to see the person he felt was approaching him.

She had a smile on her face. "CEO Zhou, it's good that you're back."

"Oh, Madam Ming." He bowed. "I didn't think I'll meet you here again."

"Why? You think I'm too old to be in an event like this? Young man, I may not be part of your generation, but I believe I still qualify for an invitation." She had a challenging look.

Masaichi is a clever man. He will do his homework on certain people before attending social events, just in case he needed some information. He nonchalantly replied, "I'm sorry for making you misunderstand. It was not my intention to offend you. It's just that I heard that your daughter dated the groom before. Won't it be awkward for you to attend the engagement party of the man who should've been your son in law?"

The 'should've been' were enunciated deeply, making Madam Ming's expression turn sour.