Chapter 49: The Grand Ball

  On the road, Xia Lin smiled and said: "Uncle, I didn't expect you to wear new clothes and look quite handsome. You don't even look like a dirty old man."

  Song Jian meets beautiful Xia Lin.

  Xia Lin opened the invitation in her hand and took another look, her little heart beating rapidly.

  Song Jian saw through it, "What's wrong? Got something on your mind? Did you meet your Prince Charming at the ball?"

  Xia Lin smiled slyly at Song Jian and said, "I won't tell you."

  "If you dare to talk about romance, tell your sister!" Song Jian emphasized.

  "Hmph, you report me, I'll report you! You're flirting with and keeping our school flower as your mistress!" Xia Lin shot back.

  Song Jian thoroughly retreated in defeat.

  Soon, Song Jian drove Summer Lin into Soochow University, and the car went straight to the Qiujutang.

  Five people sat under a crooked-necked tree next to the Chrysanthemum Hall.

  "Li Jian, this is your last chance. Think carefully, if you miss it this time, you will lose the opportunity to get close to Zhou Tong forever." A man with curly hair said in a low voice, who was Yan Kuan, the president of the Taekwondo Association.

  "I... Kuang Ge, I know, but can we really succeed this time?" Li Jian still had some doubts.

  "Hmm, as a man, watching your ex-girlfriend slip away from you, aren't you ashamed? I'm telling you, the success rate this time is 90%, as long as Zhou Tong still has some affection for you, you'll definitely succeed." Yan Kuan was cheering Li Jian on, "Besides, you're so handsome and the main player of the basketball team, the prince in the eyes of many schoolgirls, how could you not succeed?"

  Upon hearing these words, Li Jian gradually straightened his back. Yeah, although his family background wasn't particularly impressive, he was 1.9 meters tall, had a face similar to Takeshi Kaneshiro's, and on top of that, he had a natural talent for sports. How could he not handle Zhou Tong?

  However, thinking of Zhou Tong's cold face and stern expression, Li Jian felt a little intimidated. He asked again: "Kuang Ge, let's discuss it again. At the dance party, the three of them tease Zhou Tong, then I step forward, and get beaten up... No, Kuang Ge, I think it would be better if I just go up front and beat the three of them up. This is a heroic rescue story, isn't it?"

  Yan Kuan hated the fact that Li Jian was not made of steel and punched him, "You idiot, those three can easily knock you down. If they were weak, would you have had the chance to be a hero and save the beauty? There are countless boys on campus who have their eyes on Zhou Tong. Now everyone knows that Zhou Tong is going to intern at the TV station next semester, these guys are all eager to confess to her and seize the last opportunity."

  Here is the translation:

  "Up to here, Yan Kuan took a puff of smoke and continued: 'Remember, when they tease Zhou Tong later, you must stand up for her. And those three people will really bully you. But don't worry, women are always moved by this kind of thing. Since using flowers and romance can't move Zhou Tong, we'll use this trick of self-sacrifice. I guarantee that Zhou Tong will be deeply moved by you, and then rekindle the flames of love with you.'"

  Li Jian nodded and thought carefully, it seemed that this plan was really feasible.

  "Alright! Kuang Ge, if this really succeeds, I'll definitely give you a big reward." Li Jian clenched his fist.

  "Ah, forget about it. But Zhou Tong's body..." Yan Kuan chuckled.

  Li Jian was somewhat embarrassed, "Kuang Ge, this is a bit inappropriate, you said secretly taking photos of Xiaoyu's bed, I'll agree to that. However..."

  "Don't be so shameless!" Yan Kuan slightly raised his voice, "You're not losing out, I'm helping you like this and letting you get a beautiful girl for free. What's wrong with me coming over a few times? And my girlfriend, you can also enjoy her a bit, heh heh."

  Thinking of Yan Kuan's girlfriend with huge breasts, Li Jian's heart skipped a beat and he nodded in agreement.

  Five people walked towards the dance party, Li Jian added a sentence, "Kuang Ge, don't hit me in the face later, okay?"

  The figures of five people disappeared in the Autumn Chrysanthemum Hall.

  Before long, a Ford stopped, and a man and woman got out of the car. They were Song Jian and Xia Lin.

  Xia Lin was wearing a knee-length light yellow dress inside, with a long windbreaker outside. She stretched out her hand and grabbed Song Jian's arm.

  Song Jian stopped the car and walked with Xia Lin towards the Autumn Chrysanthemum Hall.

  Outside the Chrysanthemum Hall, two people were checking invitations. This dance party was not open to everyone, as all expenses at the dance party were free of charge and resources were limited, so it could not accommodate too many students. Those who did not receive an invitation but wanted to attend the dance party had to pay a fee of 300 yuan in advance.

  Xia Lin will give the invitation letter to those two people.

  Two people bowed and invited Xia Lin and Song Jian into the room. Each person was allowed to bring one dance partner in.

  Entering Autumn Chrysanthemum Hall, after walking for a short while, it was a large hall. Upon entering the hall, there were already over a hundred people chatting and laughing.

  The periphery of the ballroom was various red wine pastries, although not particularly expensive red wine, but also absolutely not grape juice with sugar mixed. In the center was a stage, on which a piano was placed, and a man sat beside it, playing a sentimental Blue Danube Waltz.

  The surroundings of the stage are the dance pool, and the stage lights that intersect with each other shine brightly in the dance pool, creating a lively atmosphere. At this time, there were already more than ten pairs of men and women deeply dancing in the dance pool.

  As soon as Xia Lin entered the hall, she was immediately attracted to the man in white formal wear on the central round platform. Listening to the soothing music, Xia Lin narrowed her eyes and looked at Song Jian, saying: "Uncle, isn't it nice?"

  Song Jian nodded and said, "It's okay, I'll go eat something first."

  "Hey uncle! You glutton! Didn't you already eat three people's worth of food at home?" Xia Lin pulled on Song Jian's arm.

  Song Jian ignored Xia Lin, walked to the table, saw the delicious Suzhou-style pastries, picked them up and started eating them in big mouthfuls. These pastries were all bought from Yude Xiang pastry shop in Suzhou city, which was a very authentic Suzhou-style pastry.

  Xia Lin sighed, "Oh, uncle, to be honest, it's really not easy for you to support yourself."

  At this time, the stage lights changed, and a man and a woman holding microphones walked towards the central stage.

  The woman was Zhou Tong. At this time, Zhou Tong wore a long dress that reached the ground, with her arms and neck exposed, delicate and smooth.

  The two of them were the hosts of the dance party. After they spoke in standard Mandarin, they announced that the 2013 New Year's Eve dance party had officially begun.

  "Following the usual practice, today a Dance King and a Dance Queen will be born. The king and queen will receive mysterious grand prizes! Alright, next, please everyone enjoy yourselves and dance to your heart's content!" The male host finished speaking, bowed together with Zhou Tong, and then stepped down from the stage.

  Sitting beside the piano was Luo Hao, who slightly raised his slender fingers and played a waltz with a "ting-ting-dong" sound.

  The dance party has officially started.

  Xia Lin stood beside Song Jian, staring at Luo Hao in a daze, and said in a low voice: "Uncle, uncle, do you think this person's piano level is very high?"

  After eating a piece of pastry, Song Jian thought for a moment and said seriously: "It's okay, if his fingerings can be more rounded, his skills will definitely go up another level. Hmm, at least this person already knows how to put emotions into the sound of the piano, not bad."

  Xia Lin looked at Song Jian in shock, she asked Song Jian just wanting to praise Luo Hao a little, but didn't expect Song Jian to say so many incomprehensible words.

  "Hey uncle! You seem to know a lot!" Xia Lin pouted and then said, "So tell me, is that person very handsome?"

  This time Song Jian was stunned, he looked at Luo Hao in surprise, who was even more delicate than a woman, and then looked at Xia Lin, saying: "No way, so you like... like this kind of..."

  As he spoke, Song Jian made a gesture with his index finger and then burst out laughing.

  Xia Lin's hands slapped on Song Jian's body, "I knew you were mocking people! What's wrong with orchid fingers? What's wrong with being elegant? This shows that Luo Hao's family has artistic temperament! Unlike you, uncle, who doesn't understand anything and only knows how to eat!"

  Song Jiancai was not on the same level as Xia Lin at this time.

  Xia Lin clapped her hands and said, "Alright, uncle, let's go dance. I'll teach you. I've been learning for over ten years. Who knows, maybe tonight's Dance Queen will be me."

  As she spoke, Xia Lin hung her long windbreaker on the clothes hook on the wall and gave Song Jian a charming smile, beckoning him with her finger.

  At this time, in a corner of the ballroom, Lu Ming, who was plump and round, was holding a bottle of red wine, gulping it down, his eyes fixed on Song Jian with a mixture of sadness and hatred. In fact, since Xia Lin had entered the ballroom, Lu Ming had already noticed her.

  Lu Ming knew that Xia Lin would attend the dance party, so he also got an invitation and attended the dance party. Lu Ming knew that at this dance party, Xia Lin knew very few people, so if she chose a dance partner, it was likely that Xia Lin would choose him.

  It just didn't occur to her that Xia Lin would bring a dance partner, and the person he brought was his driver.

  "Hey! Lu Ming! Your school is really great, there are so many pretty girls!" A man wearing a tight white dance suit walked up to Lu Ming and patted him on the shoulder, saying.

  Lu Ming remained silent, but in his heart, he had genuinely fallen for Xia Lin. Although Xia Lin didn't have that alluring charm or stunning figure, the youthful and refreshing aura she exuded made it impossible for Lu Ming, a rich young master, to forget her.

  "What's wrong? Drinking alone again?" The man saw that Lu Ming didn't respond, so he stretched out his hand and pushed the pastries on the table aside, making a space for himself. He jumped up onto the table and sat down, asking Lu Ming.

  Lu Ming pointed at Xia Lin and said, "See that girl? She's the one I told you about, Xia Lin from our class. Ah, I didn't expect her to hook up with their family driver. I...I...it hurts so much."

  Lu Ming's chubby face showed anger, sadness and disdain.

  "My god, isn't this unusual for you, Lu Ming?" The man in the dance attire burst out laughing. "When did our great young master Lu become heartbroken over a woman?"

  Then another man came out from behind the table, this man looked very similar to the one who spoke before.

  These two people are a pair of twins, Gao Jin and Gao Yin. Gao Jin, Gao Yin, and Lu Ming were friends who grew up together. After graduating from junior high school, Lu Ming chose to go to school, while Gao Jin and Gao Yin went to Europe to study.

  The one wearing a dance costume is indeed Gao Jin, and the one who came later is indeed Gao Yin.

  Gao Yin laughed and said, "Lu Ming, this matter is now on our shoulders. Look at you, these years you've only grown flesh but not brains. A driver can even snatch away your dream lover, ah."

  Gao Jin patted Lu Ming's shoulder and said, "Wait!"

  As he spoke, Gao Jin jumped down from the table, pushed through the crowd and walked straight towards Xia Lin and Song Jian.

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  Thank you for the rewards from Hongren and Just Fearless, I'm really grateful. Er Ya is truly touched, thank you to all the book friends who rewarded me, I'm really moved, thanks a lot!