Chapter 86

"Long Tianjun, you’d better let go, or don’t blame me for embarrassing you in front of everyone!" Meng Zidan, feeling the pressure on her chest, suppressed her anger and gritted her teeth.

Long Tianjun didn’t doubt that she could really do something foolish in public, so he smiled and loosened his arm, maintaining a normal dance posture. However, Meng Zidan pushed him away and raised her voice, "I’m sorry, I’m not feeling well."

She deliberately said this for the people around her to hear, then turned and left the dance floor. Fortunately, the music ended at that moment, sparing Long Tianjun from further embarrassment.

Looking at the incomparable legs and the full, firm buttocks under the white short cheongsam, Long Tianjun’s lips curled into a faint smile. He muttered to himself, "I didn’t expect the little girl from back then to grow up to be so alluring. Indeed, a girl changes a lot by the time she’s eighteen. It seems this marriage won’t be as boring as I thought. I’m actually looking forward to the wedding night..."

On the other side, Qiao Yun also stepped back after the dance ended and turned to leave. Zheng Longqing was about to follow her, but a well-dressed woman cheerfully intervened, "Mr. Zheng, shall we dance the next one?"

Zheng Longqing was about to politely decline, but recognizing her as the wife of a wealthy and powerful CEO, he felt uncomfortable refusing. He immediately put on a gentle and refined manner, "Zheng Longqing would be honored."

The two naturally embraced, but Zheng Longqing seemed a bit distracted.

Qiao Yun consecutively declined several invitations and wanted to leave the dance floor to sit on a small hill. However, a hand reached out in front of her, and Long Tianjun, dressed in a black Tang suit, smiled faintly, "This must be President Qiao of Minghua Group! I’ve heard a lot about you. Could you do me the honor of dancing one song together?"

As he spoke, his eyes flashed with admiration as he sized up Qiao Yun, lingering on the exposed, smooth, and snowy cleavage.

Qiao Yun was extremely repulsed by his brazen gaze. Although she hadn’t interacted with him before, she knew who he was and that he wasn’t someone to be easily offended. She politely declined, "I’m sorry, Mr. Long, I’m not feeling well." She nodded and walked past him.

Long Tianjun raised an eyebrow slightly, turned to look at her graceful back, and a playful look appeared in his eyes. Today was indeed interesting; with his status, he had been rejected twice by women for the same reason, something that had never happened before.

However, from the slight flicker in his eyes, it was clear that he had developed a bit of a special fondness for Qiao Yun.

A socialite nearby saw this scene and, mustering her courage, approached and invited him, "Mr. Long, can we dance together?"

Long Tianjun, who had a certain level of surface-level grace, accepted her invitation.

Just as Qiao Yun reached the small hill, a stiff voice called out from behind, "President Qiao, hello!"

Qiao Yun turned around and saw the Russian beauty who had gasped in surprise earlier. A hint of suspicion flashed across her face, wondering what this woman wanted.

Natasha had just extended her hand when she noticed someone on the hill and looked up. Her expression froze. Qiao Yun held her hand, intending to exchange a few polite words, but noticed something was off with Natasha’s expression.

Following her gaze, she saw Lin Zixian, who had just emerged from behind a palm tree, standing there like he was under a spell, his face frozen. He slowly retreated behind the palm tree, as if trying to hide.

"Caesar!" Natasha exclaimed in Russian, immediately letting go of Qiao Yun and hurriedly walked up the hill. She looked at Lin Zixian, who was sitting on a bench with an awkward, forced smile, with a look of shock, as if she had seen a monster.

Qiao Yun, puzzled, followed her up the hill and silently observed the two. Ning Lan also looked at the two with a puzzled expression, clearly recognizing them as acquaintances.

Natasha slowly covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with disbelief, "Oh my God! This is unbelievable! Caesar! Is it really you? Am I dreaming?"

Lin Zixian was frustrated. The world was so big, yet he had run into this woman here. He wanted to say she had the wrong person, but knowing her temperament, denying it would only cause a big scene.

He quickly stood up, putting on a joyful expression as if meeting an old friend, and extended his hand, speaking in fluent Russian, "Natasha, it’s great to see you again. But I want to remind you that I don’t want others to know about my past. Please control your emotions."

Natasha gradually came to her senses, looking at the two women beside her with a complex expression. She reached out and tightly grabbed Lin Zixian’s hand, refusing to let go. Lin Zixian had to use some force to free himself.

Something was off... This thought crossed both Qiao Yun’s and Ning Lan’s minds as they stared at the hands that had just been tightly clasped.

Natasha quickly composed herself and looked at Lin Zixian, speaking rapidly, "Is this fate? I never thought I’d run into you here. You’ve been missing for almost two years, and I’ve been looking for you for a long time. You haven’t contacted me either."

Lin Zixian didn’t continue her topic and smiled faintly, "Natasha, I heard you got married. I’m sorry I didn’t send you my blessings in time. I’m sure Mr. Leopnin loves you very much."

He was reminding her that she now had a husband and should behave appropriately.

Natasha glanced back at her husband, who was dancing in the ballroom, took a deep breath, and then looked at Qiao Yun again, nodding, "I understand why I ran into you here. It’s hard to imagine how someone could look so much like her. Could she be the twin sister of the ‘Queen Bee’?"

Ning Lan and Qiao Yun didn’t understand a word, as the conversation was in Russian. Ning Lan was a bit better, but Qiao Yun looked at Lin Zixian as if he were a monster. She had seen him speaking fluent French in a French restaurant before, and now he was speaking fluent Russian. How many languages did this guy know? How many secrets did he hide?

However, from Natasha’s words and actions, Qiao Yun vaguely guessed that they were talking about her. She had heard the term ‘Queen Bee’ twice and decided to look it up later to understand its meaning.

"She has nothing to do with the Queen Bee. You know I don’t like discussing this topic," Lin Zixian’s face turned cold, and his tone became more serious, "Natasha, I think you should go back to your husband."

Natasha’s eyes flickered, and she laughed, "Caesar, are you jealous? But you know, we are part of the past. A woman ultimately needs a home, but you are a wanderer, not suitable to be a husband. Of course, I could divorce my current husband, but he really loves me, even though he has a bit of a drinking problem. If you’re willing to marry me, I would seriously consider it."

Where did you see me being jealous? Lin Zixian rolled his eyes, feeling a bit guilty as he glanced around. Seeing Ning Lan and Qiao Yun’s puzzled expressions, he was relieved they didn’t understand the conversation. He cleared his throat, "Natasha, I have no intention of disrupting your life, and I hope you are happy... Look, your husband is watching us. I don’t want him to misunderstand."

Natasha looked back and saw that the dance had ended, and her husband was walking over. Her face showed a conflicted expression, but she knew Lin Zixian’s identity shouldn’t be exposed. She bit her lip and said firmly, "I hope we can have a chance to talk properly. Give me your phone number."

Lin Zixian was speechless but couldn’t refuse, or this passionate woman would cause a scene. He quickly gave her his current phone number. Natasha memorized it twice and, seeing her husband approaching, immediately bid farewell to the group and walked down the hill.

At the bottom, she embraced and kissed her husband, giving Lin Zixian a challenging look... Caesar! Are you really not jealous at all?

This woman is unbearable! Lin Zixian rolled his eyes to the sky, which was dark with a few stars, but he pretended not to see.

Natasha pointed and gestured at Lin Zixian for a while, saying something, and then left with her husband. Leopnin smiled friendly at them before leaving.

The music started again in the dance floor, and the night was beautiful, but the small hill was a bit cold.

"Deputy Minister Lin really has a wide circle of friends," Qiao Yun said coldly, looking at the couple’s backs, "Deputy Minister Lin, weren’t you washing dishes in America? I thought Russian wasn’t popular there. But it seems you speak Russian quite fluently. I’m very curious about how many languages Deputy Minister Lin is proficient in."

On the surface, she was cold and sarcastic, but inside, she felt a strange sense of委屈 (grievance), something she had never experienced before.

She was also angry. Anyone with eyes could see that there was something fishy between Lin Zixian and Mrs. Leopnin. This guy had a string of beauties appearing one after another, each one fresh. Now, another foreign one had appeared, and she was even someone else’s wife. She thought about the effort she had put into discreetly measuring his clothes a few days ago, something she had never done for a man, and felt a sudden urge to cry.

Lin Zixian moved his fingers, trying to count how many languages he knew, but he couldn’t even count them on his fingers. He was impressed with himself for his language talent, which had indeed helped him in his international dealings.

"That... one of my colleagues at the restaurant was Russian, and I learned from him. I can manage to use it, I guess," Lin Zixian said with an awkward smile.