Chapter 157 - Idol Turned Heroine (1/2)

CEO Zhu looked dashing and Scarlet couldn't help but be impressed by the man's fine taste. He was a gentleman from head to toe and offered his arm for Scarlet to escort her to the party.

”I'm very happy that you agreed to be my escort for this evening's party,” he told her with a gentle smile although his eyes hid a glint of something else that Scarlet couldn't identify.

Still, she returned the smile with her own and thanked him for the invitation. ”It is my honour. Thank you for supporting my works, I never thought that I'd have the opportunity to introduce myself to such prominent figures.”

Ming Yang laughed at Scarlet's scripted reply. ”Given your talent, I'm surprised that you have not met them earlier. It hasn't been many years since your debit in the showbiz world but already you have accomplished so much. I cannot wait to see more of what you can achieve.”

Scarlet blushed a little at the honest compliment and looked away nervously, not knowing how to reply. While Ming Yang was a little dangerous and suspicious, the man had been nothing but nice to Scarlet from their very first meeting. He acted like a genuine fan and patron and that was what puzzled Scarlet the most. Was Ming Yang truly a fan of hers and had no other ulterior motives? Reading Ming Yang was confusing and as a writer who was used to observing others, this was the first time she found it so hard to read a person's character.

”You seem a little distracted tonight,” Ming Yang commented when Scarlet fell silent.

The teen snapped out of her thoughts and apologised. At the back of her mind, she wanted to slap herself for letting her guard down. She was technically in the enemy's territory, why was she acting so relaxed and full of openings? Now that she thought about it, Jedd might have a valid reason to be concerned about her safety at such events. Even if Ming Yang wasn't a wolf, the same cannot be said about the rest of the guests at today's reception. Scarlet had to be more careful.

”My apologies, it's nothing.”

The CEO wasn't buying it and the raised brow directed at Scarlet made the girl look away. She avoided his scrutiny and prayed that he wouldn't pry. Thankfully, Ming Yang was kind enough not to pursue the subject and changed the topic to something else that Scarlet could talk about with ease.

”You're quite the workaholic,” Ming Yang's off-handed comment took Scarlet by surprise.

The wide-eyed look on Scarlet's face and parted lips made the CEO break out into a peal of boyish laughter. It was true that Scarlet worked very hard but nobody has ever commented that she was a workaholic before. The thought about Scarlet being addicted to working made her brain stop working for a moment as she tried to figure out if it was true. Thinking about her hobbies, Scarlet frowned. Ming Yang might have a point there but Scarlet wasn't sure. Does having a productive hobby like writing books count as work? Scarlet didn't exactly hate her work when she did it.

Ming Yang couldn't keep the amused smirk off his face as they walked to the resort's ballroom. Just an off-handed comment was enough to send Scarlet into an overthinking mode. The CEO was glad that he didn't choose another boring escort for this event. In fact, the girl's reaction made him quite confident in his choice of company for tonight. If everything played out like how he planned, Ming Yang would be watching some rather interesting drama take place later.

”We're here,” he told the teen who had a frown as deep as the three gorges dam.

Scarlet blinked and nodded before readjusting her socialising mask. Ming Yang silently approved of the girl's professionalism and made his grand entrance. Almost at once, all eyes were on them when they entered the room. Scarlet shivered a little at the difference in temperature. The evening gown that Pamela and Tina helped her to pick out was sleeveless and the air-conditioning in the ballroom was brutal. Nevertheless, Scarlet gritted her teeth and smiled, enduring the cold even as it raised gooseflesh all over her exposed skin.

They must have greeted over thirty people in the last hour and Scarlet wondered how Ming Yang can exude so much patience in front of the shameless gentlemen who did nothing to hide the needles in their words directed at the young CEO. Of course, the writer was wrong. It wasn't patience that Ming Yang was displaying when he smiled and replied to the degrading exchange of words. It was forbearance and tolerance that he exerted with much difficulty in order to lay low in the radar as the new CEO. The old-timers who had a lot of power were still a threat to him so Ming Yang did his best to grin and bear with the insults blatantly thrown in his face.

This went on for a while more until one man made a comment that struck a nerve within Scarlet as well. Unable to hold back her fury, Scarlet glared at the president of a car company.

”Mr Shen, was it?” Scarlet smiled pleasantly although her tone was clipped and had an edge to it. ”I believe you owe CEO Zhu an apology for what you just said.”