Chapter 260 Surprise or Fright?
“You’ve misunderstood. I’m not her husband yet.” This time, it was Jin Qingyu who refuted her first. Meeting the makeup artist’s slightly surprised look, Jin Qingyu explained, “I’m still pursuing her. I haven’t caught up with her yet, but you’re right about one thing: I do care about her a lot.”
His attitude was frank and generous, and then he added slowly, "Today is her most important day, so please take care of her."
"Don't worry, this lady has a great natural look, and I will do my best to showcase her beauty," the makeup artist said.
Through the mirror, Jiang Xingyao could clearly see the man's serious gaze.
She remembered that in the past, Jin Qingyu didn't really like her going out to socialize or attend parties. He always wanted to keep her at home and make her a delicate and beautiful vase, euphemistically calling it letting her live a life of luxury.
He always liked to display his controlling nature towards her, as if she were a plaything for him to admire and keep.
Even when she occasionally attends social events, her dresses are always prepared by Jin Qingyu.
But today he seems to have really changed a lot. He's not as obsessive as before, and he no longer tries to control her choices.
Because of the tight schedule, Jiang Xingyao's makeup was very simple. The makeup artist focused more on touch-ups, and the entire styling process only took about half an hour.
As they left the studio, the makeup artist continued to praise Jiang Xingyao's good temperament. Her gaze seemed to fall casually on Jin Qingyu's wrist, and when she saw that his cuff was missing a cufflink, she seemed to casually make a sales pitch: "Madam, we recently received a new cuff that would be perfect for this gentleman. Would you like to take a look?"
"No…"
"Give it to me."
Jin Qingyu felt that Jiang Xingyao would definitely refuse directly, and he was unwilling to make a fool of himself by hoping for something so trivial.
Before he could finish saying "no need for this," Jiang Xingyao's voice interrupted, and Jin Qingyu looked at her in surprise.
Even before their divorce, he had hardly ever received any gifts from Jiang Xingyao. A cufflink was nothing to him; if it fell off, he wouldn't care. But if Yaoyao was willing to replace it with another one, wouldn't that mean she didn't dislike him as much anymore?
The makeup artist quickly brought over an exquisitely packaged box and handed it to Jiang Xingyao. The sea-blue cufflinks lay in the red velvet satin box, and under the light, they seemed to hold shimmering waves of seawater. At first glance, they looked very valuable.
But Jiang Xingyao felt that such a warm color was not quite suitable for Jin Qingyu. She asked, "Are there any others? The color should be a bit deeper, like obsidian, which would be very nice."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go get them for you right away." The makeup artist quickly brought out a pair of exquisitely carved obsidian cufflinks as Jiang Xingyao requested. The overly deep color was like a dead, cold pool, and even under the light, it only flashed with a cold light.
Jiang Xingyao handed over her bank card directly: "Swipe the card."
While the other person was swiping their card, Jin Qingyu stretched out his wrist in front of Jiang Xingyao, with the back of his hand facing up—it was not the way to receive a gift at all.
Jiang Xingyao said, "Don't you want it?"
"Of course I want it, but it's not very convenient for me to wear it myself. Why don't you go all the way and help me wear it?" Jin Qingyu said.
"You really know how to push your luck," Jiang Xingyao muttered under her breath.
Jin Qingyu withdrew his hand slightly: "I thought we'd been through thick and thin together, and after so many times, you wouldn't refuse such a small favor. Now it seems I was probably overthinking it."
Despite saying that, he flipped his wrist and tried to take the cufflinks from Jiang Xingyao's hand. Jiang Xingyao grabbed his sleeve, her tone even a little stiff: "Just this once, consider it compensation for taking off your cufflinks. Don't overthink it."
Jin Qingyu responded softly, and then saw Jiang Xingyao lower her head and carefully fasten his cufflinks. Even her eyes seemed to have lost their coldness.
He had never seen this gentleness before they were divorced.
He had always thought that Jiang Xingyao was cold-hearted and cold-hearted. He hadn't even gotten to know her properly before being deterred by the coldness in her eyes. And with Jiang Cancan's repeated provocations, he had already assumed that she disliked him.
Time and again he gave in, time and again he felt inferior. By the time he realized that Jiang Xingyao was actually very soft-hearted, it was too late. He had already pushed her further and further away and lost the title of her husband.
Jiang Xingyao had never actually put cufflinks on anyone before. Her movements were a little slow, and strands of her hair gently brushed against Jin Qingyu's wrist, sending a ticklish sensation straight to his heart.
Jin Qingyu could hardly remember how long it had been since he and Jiang Xingyao had had such a peaceful and warm time together.
Or perhaps it never actually existed.
The makeup artist returned quickly after swiping her card. Jin Qingyu gave her a wink, stopping her from disturbing Jiang Xingyao.
Five minutes later, Jiang Xingyao fastened her cufflinks. The obsidian gleamed coldly, just like the first time Jiang Xingyao saw Jin Qingyu—cold and reserved.
The box containing the cufflinks was carefully tucked into Jin Qingyu's pocket, as if it were some priceless treasure.
Jiang Xingyao watched his movements, her pupils flickered slightly, and a feeling of being cherished flashed through her mind. She gently shook her head, as if trying to shake this strange feeling out of her mind.
The celebration banquet for the Jinle Cup competition is always a lively affair, and this year was no exception. As soon as Jiang Xingyao arrived, she was surrounded by the other contestants.
What Tyler and contestant number seventeen did has been completely exposed. The contestants present were all amazed by this incredible thing and couldn't help but be curious. Most of them came over to ask Jiang Xingyao for the inside story.
Jiang Xingyao didn't really want to talk about these things, so she gave vague and perfunctory answers. Her gaze kept wandering around the huge banquet hall, but she still couldn't find the figure she wanted to see.
The contestants who had flocked over left dejectedly after failing to get the information they wanted from Jiang Xingyao.
The organizers arrived at the venue right on time and began giving their acceptance speeches about hosting the competition.
At the end of the impassioned speech, the organizers' attention fell on Jiang Xingyao again: "Here, in addition to congratulating our champion once again, we have also received a request from a gentleman to give our champion a surprise on this important occasion."
Now let's witness this romantic moment together!
The person in charge's voice echoed in the huge banquet hall, causing obvious curiosity to flash across the faces of everyone present. While Jiang Xingyao felt confused, she also had a vague idea in her mind.
She remembered someone solemnly telling her that they would give her a surprise after she won the championship.
As the host clapped his hands, the tightly closed doors of the banquet hall opened, and Jiang Xingyao saw Shen Mingsu, dressed in a white suit, walking towards her with a bouquet of vibrant red roses.
Step by step, he got closer and closer to her, and Jiang Xingyao's first reaction was to want to hide.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in a short time. Shen Mingsu had expressed his feelings for her more than once, but she had rejected him every time. She never thought that he would choose to put on such a show in such a high-profile setting.
She had always considered Shen Mingsu a friend, and no matter what, she would never be with him. But with so many people watching, she had to be tactful in her rejection so as not to hurt Shen Mingsu's feelings or make him feel embarrassed.
Jiang Xingyao was not good at handling such situations, and no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't come up with a solution.
Seeing that Shen Mingsu was about to walk up to her, Jiang Xingyao turned her gaze and her eyes fell on Jin Qingyu in the crowd as usual.
She even thought, somewhat escapistly, that given Jin Qingyu's personality, he certainly wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die, and perhaps she wouldn't have to face the awkward situation that was about to unfold.
But she quickly realized that it wasn't appropriate; she should handle this kind of thing herself.
Jiang Xingyao pursed her lips, and just as she was about to blurt out some words, a figure darted out from the crowd and blocked her way. Then came a woman's sharp voice: "You little bitch, what kind of bewitching potion did you give my son that made him chase after you so recklessly?"
You actually tricked my savings into proposing to you. That's 500 million! Do you think you, a divorced secondhand woman, are good enough for me?
I advise you to first assess your own worth. Forget about a dowry of 500 million; someone like you, even if you offered yourself to my family, wouldn't be good enough for my son.
Every word the other person said was harsh, each one stabbing into Jiang Xingyao's heart.
She stood with her hands on her hips between Jiang Xingyao and Shen Mingsu, looking Jiang Xingyao up and down with an air of superiority.
Even though most people here don't understand Chinese, just by looking at her posture, you can tell that what she said wasn't anything nice.
This was the first time Jiang Xingyao had met Shen Mingsu's mother, and it happened so unexpectedly.
The other woman had absolutely no airs of a wealthy socialite; she looked like a shrew cursing in front of a market. The elegant ladies and lively atmosphere of the banquet hall seemed to have turned into a chaotic marketplace because of her.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Shen Mingsu was also surprised. He glanced apologetically at Jiang Xingyao and reached out to pull the woman away.
Madam Shen reached out and snatched the roses from his hand without any politeness, slamming them heavily to the ground. The petals scattered everywhere, and the diamond ring hidden inside the roses was also knocked out. The red velvet box rolled to Jiang Xingyao's feet.
Madam Shen said, "You still have the nerve to ask? If I hadn't come today, wouldn't you have quietly married this secondhand goods?"
"Let me tell you, give up on that idea now. Someone like you doesn't deserve to enter the Shen family."
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