Xiao Lan

"My feet hurt." Lu Xinyi complained. Her head pressed against her husband's arm as he listened to another man's mumblings about current affairs. Shen Yi was also bored to death, but he must keep up a face because it would bring a bad name to their company if he shrugged them off.

Lu Xinyi wasn't used to wearing high heels, and right now, she was tempted to throw away her shoes and release her feet from their confinements.

"Why don't you take a seat somewhere near? I'll follow you shortly," he whispered back.

"Okay," she agreed.

She turned to find an available seat for her and saw one few meters away from them. She tripped a little because of her pointed high heels as she walked towards the seat.

"Damn witch shoes," Lu Xinyi cursed.

If they weren't in an important function, she would have ditched these pair of shoes from hell. They were comfy on her feet, but they kept making her trip when she walked.

But alas, she was the wife of the president of a well-known company; thus, she had to live up to the image. While she was nervous at first, her confidence grew quickly. She smiled at everyone and humbly accepted their praises and compliments. She said a few words but let her husband took the rest of the conversations she couldn't follow.

"Oh, finally." She sat down and felt better than standing beside her husband. Her hand gently massaged her calves.

"Hmm.. what a surprise. Never thought I will see a day that Shen Yi will bring a woman with him."

A woman's voice made Lu Xinyi startled. She lifted her head and saw a woman in a midnight evening dress coming to her. Lu Xinyi thought the woman was a stunning beauty. The woman stepped forward, her head held up with her hair in a neat, tight bun. She sat across Lu Xinyi with an amused smile on her lips.

"You are?"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Xiao Lan."

Lu Xinyi gave her a slight nod.

"I'm Lu Xinyi." She held herself with such elegance and grace that could be expected from Shen Yi's wife.

Xiao Lan brushed off her hair over her shoulders. "He married you?"

"Pardon?"

"He married you. If everyone could just pay attention and see the matching rings on your left hands, they would've known: you belong to each other." Xiao Lan pointed out before taking a sip on her wine glass.

"Quite an observer." Lu Xinyi grinned. She didn't feel any bad intention coming from this woman.

Just like what Shen Yi said earlier, he followed his wife and was surprised to see a familiar face accompanying Lu Xinyi.

"Xiao Lan," he said as he gave her a curt nod. "You're running away from your husband again?" Shen Yi sat beside his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. Lu Xinyi adjusted on her seat and leaned on his shoulder.

Xiao Lan rolled her eyes.

"Those boring talks about businesses will kill me. Do me a favor; please don't bring your lovely wife to those meetings. I swear she'll grow roots from boredom."

"Ah, as expected. You can see beyond the pretense." Shen Yi replied. He turned his head to Lu Xinyi and lifted a hand.

"Xinyi, I want you to meet Xiao Lan. She's the daughter of one of our business partners."

"Don't miss the juicy part, Shen Yi," Xiao Lan scolded him. "Tell her that once upon a time, I was your fiancee, but I ditched you to marry the man of my dreams."

Xiao Lan grinned to Shen Yi and gave Lu Xinyi a wink.

Lu Xinyi casted a quick glance at her husband before she giggled. She liked this woman.

"You're lucky that the press and paparazzi aren't allowed to attend this gala, or else your marriage will be on the headlines for this week," Xiao Lan told Shen Yi. He only shrugged his shoulders and whispered to his wife.

"You don't have to worry about Xiao Lan."

"I know," Lu Xinyi replied. Shen Yi lifted a brow. "Woman instincts," she said as if answering his unspoken question.

Xiao Lan was really bored when she heard a rumor that Shen Yi arrived with a date. This rumor had started to go around, and she felt like she needed to see for herself if it was true. Surprisingly, Shen Yi really did bring a beautiful woman with him. She was intrigued by what kind of woman could get the interest of the aloof president. A toothy grin appeared on Xiao Lan's face.

"I was expecting to see that you'll have a trophy wife, but it seems you're not bad yourself. From what family did you come from?" she asked.

"Sun family," Shen Yi answered for his wife.

Xiao Lan looked back at him with wide eyes. "You're courting death, Shen Yi."

"It doesn't matter. I'll choose how I live my life. They can't dictate what I want to do with it." Lu Xinyi joined the conversation.

"You got some balls." Xiao Lan laughed. Ah, this new little wife of Shen Yi was quite adorable.

"I assure you, I'm a real woman." Lu Xinyi's eyes glimmered with amusement. It had been a long time since she met an interesting woman.

"For a while, I thought Shen Yi's taste went to the opposite direction." Xiao Lan sat back in her seat. "Though, he was never short on admirers from both genders."

"Xiao Lan!" Shen Yi exclaimed.

Lu Xinyi softly coughed behind her hand from Xiao Lan's remarks.