Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

At high-society banquets, especially those where the main character is clearly the hostess, ladies are most afraid of stealing the spotlight from the hostess, and wearing the same outfit as someone else is an even bigger taboo.

Although the Ivanovs were not the hosts today, it was clear to everyone that this was a welcome dinner for them by their friends, and Mrs. Tasha was undoubtedly the leading lady.

Therefore, all the Chinese and Western ladies present tried to find out in advance what Mrs. Tasha would wear that day, and deliberately avoided dark green.

But now, this previously unknown "Li Ke couple" not only made a high-profile appearance, but Mrs. Li also made no attempt to hide her choice of a dress that clashed with the hostess's color.

Although the two dresses were very different in style, Mrs. Tasha's dress was conservative and luxurious, with a distinct White Russian flavor, while Mrs. Lee's dress was bold and elegant, more Western and modern.

But that identical, striking dark green, set against Mrs. Lee's younger, more refined, and radiant appearance, instantly made Mrs. Tasha, who was not dressed up and looked slightly haggard from the journey, appear dull and lackluster.

If Mrs. Li's behavior was not ignorant, then it was blatant provocation, but whatever her intentions, it was enough to arouse Mrs. Tasha's displeasure.

Almost all the Chinese and foreign guests present had this thought in their minds, and they all turned their gazes toward Mrs. Tasha, who was not far away.

As expected, when Mrs. Tasha saw Mrs. Li's dress, the fingers holding the feather fan tightened suddenly, the reserved smile on her face froze instantly, and obvious displeasure and anger ignited in her azure eyes. Her expression also darkened at a visible speed.

The ladies who had been fawning over her fell silent instantly, exchanging bewildered glances, and the atmosphere in the ballroom suddenly became subtle and tense.

On the other side, Ivanov also noticed the strangeness and his wife's displeasure. He frowned slightly and stared sharply at the "uninvited guests" who had caused the commotion at the door.

The Li Ke couple, who were the focus of everyone's attention, seemed oblivious to the probing gazes around them, and walked calmly toward the inner circle where the Ivanov couple were.

Feeling the gazes converging from all directions, especially Madam Tasha's fiery stare, Lin Xi's fingers, resting on Shen Jingyuan's arm, tightened slightly, but she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was worth it that she secretly slipped a large sum of money to the doorman when she entered, asking him to raise his voice to attract everyone's attention, and she even wore a dress of the same color as Mrs. Tasha.

Judging from the current widespread attention, it seems that she made the right move.

A few days ago, in an inconspicuous inn in Fengtian City.

“Ivanov is the biggest arms dealer in Fengtian and one of the most key figures we need to contact on this trip north.” Shen Jingyuan frowned and made a special mark on the “Fengtian” area on the map.

"But this man is extremely cautious and only does business with acquaintances. The people the commander left in Fengtian had dealt with him for a long time, but they only managed to get a batch of rifles. This time, the amount of military equipment needed is too large, so I'm afraid he won't agree."

Lin Xi sat beside him, her fingertips tracing the paper with Ivanov's information printed on it, finally stopping at the word "Tasha".

"Since it's difficult to get close to Ivanov directly, why not start with his wife, Tasha? I read in the information that Ivanov is quite fond of this lady who comes from a White Russian noble family. If we can win over Mrs. Tasha and she can whisper sweet nothings in his ear, things should go much more smoothly."

Seeing how carefully she observed, Shen Jingyuan couldn't help but show a hint of admiration in his eyes, but then he shook his head helplessly.

“Your method has been tried by the former commander’s men as well, but Mrs. Tasha is arrogant and self-important, and has always looked down on Chinese people. She is notoriously difficult to approach in the foreign community in Fengtian. Moreover, we are newcomers and have not even met her yet, so how can we expect to gain her favor?”

“That’s consistent with the typical Belarusian style.” Lin Xi nodded, resting her chin on her hand, but still pressed on, “But how did those people approach her before? By currying favor? By giving her gifts?”

“I’ve had both,” Shen Jingyuan said after a moment of contemplation, recalling, “but both…”

“They all failed.” Lin Xi continued his words, a look of understanding appearing in her eyes. Back in Shanghai, as Commander Lin’s daughter and the object of everyone’s flattery, she considered herself to have some understanding of Mrs. Tasha’s thoughts.

People in high positions who are used to all kinds of flattery are no longer moved by ordinary ingratiations or expensive gifts.

In addition, excessive attentiveness can easily arouse their vigilance and contempt. After all, in their eyes, such gestures of goodwill often have a clear purpose behind them, making them seem cheap and boring.

To get close to these kinds of people, besides genuine exchanges of benefits, the first thing to do is not to fawn over them, but to arouse their curiosity.

Thinking of this, Lin Xi smiled slyly and winked at Shen Jingyuan, "I have a way to win over Mrs. Tasha."

"What method?" Shen Jingyuan asked instinctively.

"You don't need to worry about that. As long as you have the ability to get an invitation to this ball, I will naturally find a way to make Mrs. Tasha 'see' me."

As for the specifics of how to do it, she kept it a secret, and no matter how much Shen Jingyuan pressed her for details, she just smiled mysteriously and remained silent.

At this moment, under the dazzling crystal chandeliers of the ballroom, feeling Mrs. Tasha's disapproving gaze, Shen Jingyuan couldn't help but purse his lips.

He finally understood what Lin Xi meant by "attracting attention," but this attention... seemed a little "unfriendly."

However, despite being worried about her risky move, Shen Jingyuan had come to realize that although Lin Xi was somewhat spoiled and willful, she was never confused when it came to important matters, and she would never joke about serious things.

Since she dares to do this now, there must be a deeper meaning behind it.

Thinking of this, he composed himself, maintaining a calm and composed smile on his face. Together with Lin Xi, he walked steadily toward Mr. Ivan, whose face was displeased, in the center of the ballroom, amidst the astonished, scrutinizing, or gloating gazes of the audience.

Good evening, Mr. Ivanov.

Compared to Shen Jingyuan's friendliness, Ivanov's attitude was much colder. He looked at the unfamiliar Eastern face in front of him with displeasure and said in a cold tone, "Forgive my poor eyesight, but who is this gentleman?"

He then turned to his friend beside him, his voice clearly displeased: "Alyosha, is this gentleman on your guest list tonight?"

Alyosha was clearly meeting this unfamiliar young man for the first time as well. After thinking for a moment, he finally shook his head, looked at Shen Jingyuan, and asked hesitantly, "Who are you?"

Shen Jingyuan remained calm and composed, delivering his prepared remarks with neither arrogance nor servility: "My name is Li Ke. My father, Li Mingyuan, once met you. Last spring, through Mr. Petrovsky's introduction, my father purchased a batch of Mosin-Nagant rifles from you, Mr. Ivan."

The identity of Li Mingyuan is the name of the informant that Commander Lin had arranged to contact Ivanov. As for whether he has a son named "Li Ke", that's another story.

Upon hearing this, Ivanov frowned and pondered for a moment before finally managing to retrieve this insignificant transaction record from his memory. His expression softened slightly, but his eyes still held a hint of scrutiny.

"So you're Mr. Li's son. But I remember that business wasn't very big."

“Compared to your business, Mr. Ivan, it is naturally insignificant.” Shen Jingyuan quickly put on an appearance of great honor. “However, my father is very grateful that you were willing to sell us the goods. So after hearing that you had returned from visiting relatives in your country, he specifically instructed me to bring my wife to express our gratitude.”

"Of course, I also have to thank Mr. Alyosha for the invitation." After flattering him, Shen Jingyuan didn't forget to give Alyosha, who was standing next to Ivanov, a grateful smile.

Mr. Alyosha received his gaze and awkwardly touched his nose. When he sent out the invitations, he was only thinking about creating momentum for his friend's return to China, so as to suppress the restless Japanese.

Therefore, when he asked his assistant to send out the invitations, he was so focused on the quantity that he didn't carefully check them, which allowed a nobody like "Li Ke" to sneak in and steal the limelight from his friend's wife. Now, facing his wife's reproachful gaze, he felt inexplicably guilty.

Just then, Lady Tasha and her companion Nia walked in hand in hand, gracefully taking her husband's arm, and winked at Alyosha: "Alyosha, won't you introduce these two distinguished guests to us?"

Alyosha quickly repeated Shen Jingyuan's self-introduction.

After listening, Lady Tasha's gaze finally fell on Lin Xi's dress. She gave a dissatisfying snort and muttered in Russian, "I thought it was a duchess who had graced us with her presence. Such a grand entrance."

Her Belarusian friends understood the sarcasm and immediately revealed meaningful smiles.

Mrs. Tasha's disdain deepened, and she parted her red lips slightly, preparing to launch another attack.

But at that moment, Lin Xi, who had been holding Shen Jingyuan's arm without saying a word, suddenly took a small step forward, gave Madam Tasha a very happy smile, and slowly opened her lips to speak.

"Her eyes are the deep blue of Lake Baikal, reflecting the boundless snowfields of Siberia. This blue is a gift from the sky of her homeland, enough to make even the most precious cornflower pale in comparison..."