Read Novel Full Chapter 125 – Stubborn Prejudice
Chapter 125 – Stubborn Prejudice
The crowd watched as Xia Mian tugged at Ning Shaobai’s sleeve. He lowered his head, and she whispered something in his ear. Ning Shaobai looked shocked, but in the end, he handed her the violin and stepped off the stage.
Seeing Xia Mian pick up the violin, Old Master Rong was a little surprised. “Xiao Xia can play the violin too?”
Liang Mi was also taken aback. “What’s Miss Xia going to play?”
Xia Mian ignored her and smiled sweetly at Old Master Rong. “Just a little. But I only know a few songs, and my playing might not be very precise. Grandpa Rong, please just enjoy it for fun.”
“Good, good.” Old Master Rong clearly adored her vibrant energy. “Whatever Xiao Xia plays will sound lovely.”
And Xia Mian didn’t disappoint. She placed the violin under her chin, her gaze sweeping past Gao Qiongying and Liang Mi, then flashed a dazzling smile.
The next second, lively and powerful music burst from her fingertips. Lambada—a Latin waltz full of joy and passion. Xia Mian brought it to life in a way that was nearly explosive. Not because of perfect technique, but because of the burning vitality inside her.
Unlike others who stood still while playing, she moved with the music, bobbing her head, tapping her feet to the rhythm, flashing a brilliant smile as her gaze swept across the crowd.
Wherever she looked, people couldn’t help but be drawn in. The confidence and glow radiating from her very bones, her flying ponytail, the twirling hem of her dress; everything about her was so radiant that people subconsciously clapped to the beat, swaying with her energy.
Her smile grew brighter and brighter, as if she were glowing. And then, suddenly, her eyes caught on something, and in that instant, they were filled with a flood of starlight: brilliant, dazzling, utterly breathtaking.
More than a few hearts skipped a beat.
As the piece ended, Old Master Rong clapped happily and exclaimed, “Good! Good! Hahaha, Xiao Xia plays beautifully!”
Xia Mian replied cheerfully, “Grandpa Rong, this is the only one I know. Once I learn more, I’ll play them for you too, okay?”
Old Master Rong laughed heartily. “Okay! Grandpa will be waiting!”
Xia Mian finally stepped off the stage. As she passed Liang Mi, she completely ignored the girl’s hesitant expression and walked straight toward Ning Shaobai.
He’d been on stage just moments ago, but now he was already waiting at the steps. His dark eyes glinted, focusing on no one but her.
Everyone quickly realized that the dazzling smile Xia Mian wore earlier had been meant for him.
Rong Xin was about to walk over excitedly, but when he turned and saw Tang Miaomiao beside him, he froze.
Tang Miaomiao looked at him, the smile from earlier still lingering faintly, though her tone was cool. “What is it?”
“O-oh, nothing.” Rong Xin scratched his head, stammering, “It’s just… you look really, really pretty when you smile.” He actually felt his heart skip a beat.
Tang Miaomiao paused, lowered her gaze, and returned to her usual expressionless self, although her tone softened just a bit. “Thanks for the compliment.”
Rong Xin rubbed the back of his head, sensing a strange tension in the air. He quickly turned around to look for Ning Shaobai. “Eh? Where’d they go?”
Zhu Jiadong said, “It looked like they went upstairs. Seemed in a hurry, too. Maybe something came up?”
They were indeed in a hurry, though what exactly it was, even Xia Mian didn’t know. Ning Shaobai looked fierce and stormy as he dragged her along. She thought he was angry about Gao Qiongying’s scheming against her and wanted to confront someone. She laughed and said, “The more she does, the more powerless she looks.”
“In the end, she can’t break my pride. I’ll be the one to crush her arrogance.”
“Haha, did you see her expression just now? That look of disbelief? Haha…!!”
Xia Mian added smugly, “And after my two explosive performances, anything elegant she plays now will just feel bland and boring.”
“Dr. Ning, wasn’t I amazing?”
But as Ning Shaobai walked faster and faster, Xia Mian began to frown. “Dr. Ning? Dr. Ning? Where are we going… hey…”
Ning Shaobai suddenly pushed open a door and dragged her inside. Before Xia Mian could react, she was pushed with her back to the wall. Her vision dimmed, and Ning Shaobai lowered his head, almost fiercely pressing his lips against hers…
Xia Mian was completely caught off guard by the sudden ambush. She didn’t even have time to react before being pulled straight into the fierce storm…
She didn’t know how much time had passed when Rong Xin’s voice sounded from outside. “Brother Bai? Anyone see Brother Bai?”
Xia Mian’s dazed mind was finally jolted awake. She panicked, but all her strength had been drained away by the devastating attack.
It was the first time she had seen this side of Ning Shaobai. He was so wild, so brutal, she felt like a small herbivore being devoured by a ravenous predator. She instinctively tried to retreat, but her action only triggered him further, intensifying his attack…
At this point, the only thing keeping her barely upright was the strong arm wrapped around her waist, so all she could do was weakly push against him in vain.
The man in front of her seemed to finally regain some self-control, but he didn’t completely let her go. He simply shifted from intense conquest to gentle, post-battle comfort, holding her and soothing her quietly for a long time before finally releasing her…
“Huh, weird. Where’d he go?” Rong Xin mumbled outside, then finally walked away.
Xia Mian let out a long sigh of relief, but her body still gave out, sliding helplessly down the wall.
Ning Shaobai quickly caught her again, his large hand rubbing her back in calming strokes, pressing kisses into the top of her hair between breaths that were still heavy and ragged.
She lay slumped against his chest, barely breathing, and after a long pause, mumbled weakly, “I think I used hairspray today…”
“And isn’t lipstick kind of toxic too?”
All of Ning Shaobai’s earlier passion was instantly shattered. He couldn’t help but laugh and curse, “Can’t you stop ruining the mood?”
Xia Mian huffed, “If I don’t ruin the mood, I’m afraid I won’t make it out of here alive!”
Suddenly, a thought struck her. She jerked her head up and then burst out laughing while looking at Ning Shaobai.
“I re-applied my lipstick right before going on stage.”
She turned him around to face the mirror. It was a dressing room meant for guests, with a vanity and a full-length mirror for dealing with last-minute touch-ups.
But before Ning Shaobai could catch a glimpse of his lipstick-smeared mouth, Xia Mian saw her own reflection—
“Ning Shaobai!”
Moments later, Ning Shaobai sat in a chair holding her, carefully wiping the smeared lipstick off her face while coaxing her gently. “It’s fine. No one’s going to think anything weird.”
Xia Mian fumed, “You say they won’t, so that makes it true?!” The image from the mirror flashed through her mind again, and her face turned redder.
She hadn’t expected herself to look like that after being kissed. So embarrassing!
Looking at her flushed cheeks and those glimmering almond-shaped eyes, Ning Shaobai couldn’t resist and quickly stole another kiss. Before she could explode again, he even flipped it around, “I simply can’t resist your seduction.”
Xia Mian’s eyes widened in outrage, and she grabbed his hand to bite it.
Ning Shaobai hissed in pain and didn’t dare provoke her further.
Xia Mian said angrily, “I don’t care. You’re explaining everything to them later!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll explain.” Ning Shaobai chuckled. “I promise they won’t think anything weird. Seriously.”
Xia Mian decided to trust him for now and obediently let him lead her back downstairs.
Ning Shaobai went straight to a waiter and asked for a cup of hot water, which he handed to her. “Don’t drink anything cold.”
Rong Xin, who had just come over, heard this and immediately had a look of sudden realization. When he glanced at Xia Mian’s flushed cheeks, he didn’t think too deeply and leaned in to whisper something to Tang Miaomiao.
By the time Xia Mian accepted the warm brown sugar water Tang Miaomiao handed her, she finally realized what Ning Shaobai had implied to everyone…
Suddenly on her period and too shy to talk about it…? What kind of ridiculous excuse was that?!
Furious, Xia Mian raised her hand to pinch the culprit’s arm, but Ning Shaobai seemed prepared and quickly dodged, casually pulling her into his arms and whispering in her ear, “See? No one’s overthinking it. And there’s nothing to be embarrassed about anyway.”
“Or would you rather they were imagining something worse?”
Li Jiaze, having just finished his socializing, walked over and saw the teasing expression on Ning Shaobai’s face. He laughed and said, “President Ning, stop bullying the poor girl. Xia Mian’s face is boiling red already.”
Zhu Jiadong also joined them. “What’s going on? What did Young Master Ning do to make her so angry?”
Ning Shaobai turned to Xia Mian and said, “Alright, alright, it’s all my fault. Give me a little dignity. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”
Xia Mian was fuming, while Ning Shaobai’s eyes were full of laughter.
Not far away, Lu Nana watched the “dejected” figure of Gao Qiongying walking away, then looked at Xia Mian and Ning Shaobai joking and laughing together. She couldn’t help but say angrily, “Xia Mian definitely did it on purpose.”
“I heard her performance was originally scheduled after Miss Gao, but then it suddenly got moved ahead. After something that lively, who would still be in the mood to appreciate Miss Gao’s piano?”
“She was clearly trying to suppress Miss Gao!”
“She knows Miss Gao likes Young Master Ning. Now she’s deliberately flirting with him to provoke her.”
“Miss Gao is too pitiful.”
Their friend didn’t quite agree. Xia Mian’s performance just now was something everyone had witnessed. Whatever their initial impression of her, now she came across as confident and lively.
But seeing the deep hostility from He Wei and his cousin, the friends chose not to argue further. They simply said, “Whatever the truth is, I suggest you dial it back a bit.”
“Didn’t you see Young Master Ning introducing her to his circle? Young Master Rong, Miss Tang, Mr. Li of Mohe, Young Master Zhu of Yuejun… all elite names. And Xia Mian fits in just fine with them.”
“If the Ferrari was just spoiling her, bringing her into his social circle means he’s seriously thinking about marriage.”
“Don’t be reckless.”
He Wei’s expression turned ugly. Lu Nana also furrowed her brows. After a long pause, she looked at He Wei and said, “Brother, maybe forget about Mao Huimei. What if Xia Mian decides to step in…”
He Wei took a sip of champagne. “I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
It was almost over; how could he just back off now? Maybe he couldn’t deal with Xia Mian for the moment, but Mao Huimei? She was still easy to deal with.
He didn’t believe Young Master Ning would actually interfere in Xia Mian’s cousin’s love life.
Qi Kai looked at He Wei and Lu Nana’s tense faces, then glanced toward Ning Shaobai’s group in the distance. He lowered his eyes, lost in thought…
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