Chapter Twenty-Eight: Danger at the Ball
The crystal chandelier at the ball refracted a rainbow of light. Lin Tang stood in the shadows of the terrace, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the tassels on her clothes.
She and Qiao Yuan stood silently, almost shoulder to shoulder, very close, yet seemingly far apart.
Lin Tang didn't know what to say to him, but thinking of Chen Mo's matter, she couldn't help but remind him: "You have to be careful... there will always be people who don't like you and will try to make trouble for you."
Qiao Yuan, however, still thought she was still holding a grudge about Huang Jinhu and Liang Kuan, and said with a smile, "There are plenty of people who want to kill me, Qiao Yuan. If I were really afraid, I wouldn't need to go out."
"It's not just those Green Gang members, I'm saying you're getting too close to the Japanese..."
Qiao Yuan slightly twitched the corners of his mouth and said, "I know there will always be people who don't like me, but the Japanese want puppets, and I want to seek benefits from them. This is just a deal."
Lin Tang lowered her eyes. She knew he was too confident, but she had no right to persuade him further. She even wondered if she should join the forces against him.
A saxophone version of "La Vie en Rose" drifted from behind the velvet curtains; the notes were like a honey-soaked poison, so sweet they made one dizzy.
Cheng Qing suddenly came over, smiling, and asked, "What are you and Mr. Qiao talking about, sister?"
Seeing Cheng Qing now, Lin Tang felt a huge burden on her heart. Her conversation with Qiao Yuan felt like an immoral act, so she immediately broke off the conversation and forced a smile at her, saying, "It's nothing, I was just asking if you're okay."
Cheng Qing affectionately linked arms with Qiao Yuan and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, sister. Mr. Qiao is doing everything for me now and taking good care of me."
Lin Tang smiled faintly and said, "That's good."
Cheng Qing then said coquettishly, "You promised to dance the first dance with me, so don't keep me waiting too long."
Qiao Yuan was being pulled by Cheng Qing. Helplessly, he turned around and gave Lin Tang a cryptic smile.
"Go quickly, don't keep Miss Cheng waiting." Lin Tang just smiled, her heart pounding as she picked up the champagne to cover her face, uttering polite words that were not what she truly meant.
Lin Tang looked at the center of the dance floor, where Qiao Yuan was embracing Cheng Qing and spinning her around. The hem of her fiery red dress swept across the hem of his black suit trousers, like an inextinguishable wildfire.
Qiao Yuan followed Cheng Qing toward the dance floor.
As Lin Tang watched his retreating figure, she suddenly recalled the winter of their first year of marriage.
At that time, they lived in a small Western-style house on Avenue Joffre in the French Concession, where British smokeless coal burned in the fireplace, and the firelight dyed the walls orange-red.
Qiao Yuan was wearing the gray sweater she had knitted for him, with half of his wrist showing from the cuffs. When he tried to learn the waltz steps, he kept stepping on her feet.
"Jintang, am I too stupid?"
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against his chest.
"Take your time, I'll teach you."
Looking back now, it was one of the few tender moments in their five-year marriage.
"Jintang?" Chen Kan's voice came from behind, carrying just the right amount of concern.
Lin Tang turned around.
"Would you like to sit over there for a while?" He was holding two glasses of champagne.
Just as Lin Tang was about to speak, she suddenly heard someone in the crowd shout, "Mr. Sato is here!"
Lin Tang looked up in surprise and saw Sato Ichiro walk in.
He was wearing a navy blue kimono, with a polite but distant smile on his face, followed by two Japanese men in black suits.
Lin Tang recognized one of them as Major Takahashi of the military police, who had just shut down three anti-Japanese newspaper offices last month.
Qiao Yuan saw Sato arrive and pulled Cheng Qing out of the dance floor.
Sato walked straight to Qiao Yuan's side and whispered something in Japanese. Qiao Yuan responded with a smile.
Lin Tang's heart suddenly clenched.
Sato's gaze swept across the dance floor, suddenly stopping on Chen Kan, and then he walked over!
Lin Tang immediately became alert!
Sato stood in front of Chen Kan and said in broken Chinese, "Chairman Chen, is it really true that you have heard that your position as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce is hereditary in the Chen family?" As he spoke, his right hand remained on the samurai sword at his waist, the sharkskin on the scabbard gleaming coldly under the light.
Lin Tang was surprised that the other party would directly provoke her, and her expression changed.
Chen Kan's expression changed drastically, and he coldly asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Sato said, "When Chen Minhao was in Jiangcheng, he was very accommodating to all parties and took everyone's interests into account. Everyone elected him as the chairman not only because he was a member of the Chen family, but also because of his conduct. Everyone was convinced of his abilities. But what about you, Mr. Chen Kan?"
Chen Kan's face turned pale, and after a long while he said, "The Chamber of Commerce is a consensus among everyone in Jiangcheng, so Mr. Sato, you don't need to worry about it!"
After Sato finished speaking, he turned to Qiao Yuan, and the two exchanged a subtle glance.
“Mr. Qiao is familiar with Jiangcheng’s docks and has a military background, doesn’t he?” Sato suddenly looked at Lin Tang, his eyes behind his glasses seeming to be poisoned: “Miss Lin, what do you think? After all, Mr. Qiao is your ex-husband, you know him best.”
Lin Tang suddenly looked up and stared at Qiao Yuan. Qiao Yuan happened to turn around, and their eyes met in the halo of the crystal chandelier. Something flashed in his eyes, but he quickly lowered them again and continued to chat and laugh with Cheng Qing.
Lin Tang gripped the champagne glass tightly, causing the wine to spill out and splash onto her cheongsam like a broken begonia flower.
Looking at the two laughing and chatting on the dance floor, she suddenly realized that her worries might just be a pointless joke in his eyes.
This man may care about himself to some extent, but what matters most to him right now is everything he's working hard for. For that, he has no sense of right or wrong, only the pursuit of maximum benefit.
The Japanese originally offered him the position of chairman of the chamber of commerce, so how much benefit would he be willing to give up for it?
Lin Tang suddenly laughed, picked up her wine glass and took a big gulp, the sweetness of the champagne mixed with bitterness sliding down her throat.
Lin Tang turned and walked towards the terrace. The champagne flowed into her mouth, leaving only bitterness. The jasmine hairpin behind her ear had fallen off at some point, leaving only half of the silver hairpin sticking in her hair bun.
Cheng Qing's voice came close to his ear, deliberately coquettish: "Master Qiao, it's time for us to dance the tango."
Lin Tang turned around and saw Cheng Qing's red dress shimmering under the light, like an inextinguishable wildfire, while Qiao Yuan's eyes gleamed with the joy of having power and beauty in his grasp.
The door to the terrace slammed shut with a dull thud.
Lin Tang leaned against the carved railing, gazing at the moon in the sky.
The moon was obscured by dark clouds, resembling a piece of mutton-fat jade covered in dust.
Just as Lin Tang was thinking it was time to leave quietly, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the hall, like a firecracker exploding.
Lin Tang's body suddenly stiffened, the music at the ball stopped abruptly, followed by women's screams and the sound of tables and chairs falling over.
She suddenly tensed up, and last night's dream suddenly became clear: Qiao Yuan was standing under the streetlights at the dock, a burst of blood erupting from his chest, splattering on the back of her hand, burning her so badly that she screamed.
Chen Kan rushed out, grabbed her hand, and said, "Let's go!"
Lin Tang turned around, kicking off her shoes and stepping on broken glass. A sharp pain shot up from the soles of her feet, but she seemed oblivious and rushed into the dance hall.
All the lights in the dance hall went out, leaving only the flickering light of the emergency lights. The crowd swarmed around her like headless flies, making her stumble and fall.
Lin Tang grabbed the corner of the table next to her to steady herself and shouted, "Qiao Yuan! Qiao Yuan!" Her voice was drowned out by screams.
Suddenly, as she walked down the aisle, she was horrified to see a person lying in the center of the dance floor, a large patch of blood soaking the back of their black suit, like a blooming datura flower.
She felt her heart stop. She lunged forward, her knees hitting the marble floor, the pain excruciating, but she didn't bother to rub them.
Her fingertips trembled violently. The moment she touched the man's chin, it felt like being burned. Her heart sank and then jumped back up as she looked tremblingly at the man's face.
"It wasn't him..." she whispered, a sudden pain shooting up from her knee hitting the marble floor, but she ignored it, scrambling to her feet and pushing her way into the crowd, calling out, "Qiao Yuan! Qiao Yuan!"
The screams were drowned out by the chaotic voices of the crowd. The emergency lights flickered like will-o'-the-wisps. She bumped into an overturned table, her elbow hitting the corner, and gasped in pain.
Just then, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, the force so familiar that it made her heart stop.
She turned around abruptly and saw him!
Blood was seeping from his forehead, and the cuff of his suit was torn, revealing the shirt underneath, but his smile remained as warm as ever: "Jintang, don't be afraid, I'm fine, I'm here."
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Lin Tang forgot everything, only the joy of surviving a disaster remained. She threw herself into his arms, "You're alright...you're alright..." she repeated, tears soaking his suit, "I thought...I thought you..."
Qiao Yuan stroked her back, lowered his head and kissed the top of her head, saying, "Afraid something will happen to me? Don't worry, I told you, I have nine lives, they can't do anything to me."
Lin Tang said, "No! Qiao Yuan, things are different now. If you cooperate with the Japanese, not only will the gang members be watching you, but the people in the concession and patriots will also be watching you. You will be like a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone! Even if you had nine lives, it wouldn't be enough!"
Qiao Yuan's hand was bleeding, but he had his other arm around him. He laughed and said, "It's okay, I know what I'm doing. But you shouldn't have gotten so close to me."
He said that, but his hands betrayed him by pulling her closer to him, whispering in her ear, "I'll come to see you secretly at night from now on."
Even at this moment, Lin Tang couldn't help but clench her fist and punch him in the chest.
Suddenly, the crystal chandelier in the ballroom lit up with a "snap," so bright that it was impossible to open one's eyes.
Lin Tang and Qiao Yuan instinctively jumped back, avoiding each other by a body length.
Lin Tang looked up and saw that everyone around them was standing, their gazes fixed on them like spotlights.
Chen Kan was still standing on the terrace, the shadow of the connecting corridor falling on his face, his expression as gloomy as if it were about to rain.
Cheng Qing clutched a broken glass of champagne, the liquid mixed with shards of glass splashed onto her fiery red dress, resembling a grotesque flower.
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