It Started With a Kiss: Leng Shao's Beloved Wife

Betrayal in the Shadows

The charity gala arrived as scheduled.

The lights came on, and the celebrities gathered in elegant attire. As the host, Luo's Group naturally attracted the most attention. That evening, Wu Xinyan walked into the banquet hall arm in arm with Luo Yichen.

She wore a champagne-colored mermaid gown, its hem cascading like flowing water, outlining her exquisite curves. The meticulously designed silhouette accentuated her fair, jade-like skin. Her long, dark hair was tied up, revealing her slender, elegant neck. A diamond necklace shone brightly. Her exquisite makeup accentuated her picturesque features, her gaze radiant.

Upon entering the arena, Wu Xinyan captured everyone's attention. The men were captivated by her beauty, while the women were jealous of her radiant beauty. Luo Yichen wore a faint smile, knowing full well that Wu Xinyan's beauty lay not only in her appearance, but also in her strong and courageous heart.

"You look so beautiful tonight." Luo Yichen leaned over and whispered in her ear, with a barely perceptible hint of doting in his tone.

"Thank you." Wu Xinyan smiled back, and her smile was even more charming under the bright lights.

In the crowd, Li Mingyuan stared at Wu Xinyan, her eyes full of jealousy and resentment. She had dressed up carefully, hoping to shine tonight, but she didn't expect Wu Xinyan to steal all the limelight as soon as she appeared.

"Damn it!" Li Mingyuan cursed inwardly, picked up a glass of champagne, walked to the corner, and stared at Wu Xinyan's back with a vicious look.

"What? Are you jealous?" A frivolous voice sounded in her ear. Li Mingyuan turned around and saw a well-dressed man holding a glass of wine, looking at her with a half-smile.

"What's it to you!" Li Mingyuan said unhappily.

"I have a way to help you teach her a lesson." The man leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.

After hearing this, Li Mingyuan's eyes lit up and a sinister smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Okay, I'll do as you say!"

After the banquet began, Wu Xinyan entertained several guests and felt a little thirsty, so she picked up the drink handed to her by the waiter and took a sip.

"Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen..."

On the stage, the host's sweet voice sounded, announcing the official start of the charity gala.

The lights dimmed and the spotlight shone on the center of the stage. Wu Xinyan, as the representative of the Luo Group, walked onto the stage and began her speech tonight.

However, the moment she opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly felt dizzy and her stomach started to churn...

"I..." Wu Xinyan held onto the podium, her face pale and her voice trembling.

Below the stage, Luo Yichen noticed her strangeness, frowned slightly, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes. Meanwhile, Li Mingyuan, hiding in the crowd, watched this scene with a smug smile on her lips.

"Oh no, she seems to be abnormal..."

"What's going on?" Wu Xinyan felt dizzy and her stomach churned, but she endured the intense discomfort and tried to maintain her composure. She took a deep breath and continued intermittently, "Thank you... all the guests... for your support of charity..."

Her voice trembled slightly, and her face was frighteningly pale, a stark contrast to her previous energetic appearance. The audience began to whisper, talking among themselves, puzzled by Wu Xinyan's unusual behavior.

"What's wrong with her? She looks very bad."

"Yeah, are you sick?"

Luo Yichen, sitting in the audience, frowned, his worry evident. He stood up and tried to rush to the stage, but was stopped by his assistant. "Boss Luo, it's not appropriate to go up now. Please wait and see what happens."

The lights on the stage made Wu Xinyan even more dizzy, but she still gritted her teeth and persevered, trying to control her body and not let it fall. She knew that she represented not only herself, but also the image of the entire Luo Group.

The experienced host, Qian, keenly noticed Wu Xinyan's anomaly. She signaled the staff with her eyes to get ready, then stepped forward with a smile and took the microphone naturally. "Thank you, Ms. Wu, for your wonderful speech. We all know that Ms. Wu has put a lot of effort into tonight's charity gala. Now, let's leave the stage to the next performer and let Ms. Wu rest for a while."

After saying that, host Qian unnoticeably supported Wu Xinyan and, with the help of the staff, took her off the stage.

Backstage, Wu Xinyan slumped weakly on the sofa, cold sweat soaking her forehead. Host Qian asked with concern, "Ms. Wu, how are you? Do you want to call a doctor?"

Wu Xinyan waved her hands and said weakly, "No, I just need to rest for a while. Maybe I drank too much champagne tonight..."

"Please take a rest first. I'll go get you a cup of hot water." After saying this, host Qian turned and left.

Wu Xinyan leaned weakly on the sofa, closed her eyes, and tried to calm her churning stomach and dizziness. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her back, as if something was sliding down.

She suddenly opened her eyes, looked down, and her face turned pale...

"My dress..." Her voice trembled, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Her originally elegant and luxurious champagne-colored gown had now been maliciously slashed open at the waist, the exquisite lace and satin being torn apart, revealing her snow-white skin underneath...

"Who is it?!" Wu Xinyan was immediately enraged. Who would do this to her?!

Wu Xinyan felt a chill run down her spine, and her vision went dark. How could this happen? On such an important occasion, her dress had been maliciously destroyed! Who was it? Who on earth would do this to her?!

"Miss Wu, what's wrong with you?" Host Qian came back with a cup of water and exclaimed in surprise when he saw this scene, "What...what's going on?!"

Wu Xinyan took a deep breath, trying to suppress the panic and anger in her heart, and said in a trembling voice: "My dress... was tampered with..."

Host Qian suddenly understood, and her face turned grim. This was no longer a simple accident, but someone had done it deliberately! She looked around and asked in a low voice, "Ms. Wu, have you offended anyone recently?"

Several faces flashed through Wu Xinyan's mind, the jealous look in Li Mingyuan's eyes, and the flashes of malice on the faces of several other socialites when she turned around... But she couldn't be sure who would do such a thing.

"Whoever did this, I will definitely find out!" A low and angry voice sounded at the door, and Luo Yichen strode in. "Who dares to touch my woman?!"

Seeing Luo Yichen, Wu Xinyan felt a surge of warmth in her heart, and her eyes couldn't help but turn red. She held back her tears and shook her head: "I'm fine, it's just the dress..."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you." Luo Yichen gently embraced her in his arms, patted her back lightly, and said in a firm and reassuring tone, "You are the protagonist tonight, and no one can stop you."

He looked up at Host Qian and ordered in a cold tone, "Call the police, check the surveillance footage, I want to know who did it!"

Host Qian nodded quickly and said, "Yes, Mr. Luo, I'll do it right away."

Luo Yichen looked down at the pale Wu Xinyan in his arms and asked distressedly, "Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"

Wu Xinyan shook her head and forced a smile. "I'm fine, I just look like this..." She looked down at her ruined dress, feeling helpless and frustrated. The charity auction was about to begin, and how could she even go on stage in this state?

As if he could see through her thoughts, Luo Yichen gently stroked her hair and said softly, "Don't worry, I've asked Designer Zheng to come over. He will bring a spare dress..."

Before he could finish his words, the door of the lounge was suddenly pushed open, and an anxious voice came from outside the door: "Mr. Luo, something's wrong..." "What's wrong?" Luo Yichen frowned slightly, with a hint of impatience in his tone. He hated things like failing at critical moments the most.

Designer Zheng stood at the door, sweating profusely, holding a garment bag in his hand. "Boss Luo, the spare dress...the spare dress is gone!"

"What?!" Wu Xinyan felt dizzy. Was she really going to miss this important charity gala tonight?

Luo Yichen's face turned pale. He suppressed his anger and said, "Tell me clearly why you disappeared."

Designer Zheng explained tremblingly, "I clearly put the spare dress in the studio's safe, but when I went to get it just now, I found the safe was empty..."

Luo Yichen realized the seriousness of the situation. This was no longer a simple accident, but someone was deliberately trying to target Wu Xinyan. "Where's the surveillance? Did the studio's surveillance capture anything?"

Designer Zheng shook his head. "The studio's surveillance camera is broken. We only reported it this morning and haven't had time to fix it yet..."

"Damn it!" Luo Yichen cursed. When things developed to this point, he was certain that all of this was carefully planned by someone.

"Xinyan, don't worry," Luo Yichen held Wu Xinyan's hand, giving her strength, "I will find a solution."

As time passed, the time for the charity auction was getting closer and closer, and Wu Xinyan became more and more flustered.

At this moment, host Qian rushed over, "Ms. Wu, are you ready? It's about to begin!" Seeing Wu Xinyan still wearing her damaged dress, host Qian was stunned, "What...what's going on?"

"It's okay, I'll take care of it," Luo Yichen gave the host Qian a soothing look. "Go and buy some time. Say Miss Wu is feeling unwell and needs a short rest. Five minutes, at most!"

Although Host Qian was confused, he still did as he was told.

Luo Yichen took Wu Xinyan to the inner room of the lounge, "Here is one of my shirts, please make do with it for now," he took off his suit jacket and draped it over Wu Xinyan's shoulders, "I'll be back soon." After that, he turned and left the lounge.

Wu Xinyan looked at Luo Yichen's back as he left, her heart filled with emotion. She knew that Luo Yichen would try his best to solve the current predicament so that she could successfully participate in tonight's charity gala.

Time passed by minute by minute, and in the blink of an eye, five minutes were almost up. Just when Wu Xinyan was anxious, the door of the lounge was gently pushed open and a figure flashed in.

"Who?" Wu Xinyan asked vigilantly.

"It's me, Xinyan, I'm here to help you," Li Mingyuan's voice was a little proud, "Look what I have prepared for you?" She was holding a black dress in her hand, which was shining brightly under the light.

Wu Xinyan was puzzled. Why would Li Mingyuan suddenly be so kind as to help her? Moreover, this dress... "This dress is..."

"I prepared this specially for you," Li Mingyuan handed the dress to Wu Xinyan, "Do you like it?"

Wu Xinyan didn't reach out to take it. She always felt something was wrong.

"What? You don't think I'd hurt you, do you?" Li Mingyuan feigned grievance and said, "I really want to help you. This is the latest model from an internationally renowned designer, and there's only one of its kind in the world!"

Wu Xinyan hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out to take the dress, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Li Mingyuan said with a barely perceptible sneer on her lips, "Time is running out, hurry up and change."

Just as Wu Xinyan was about to change into her dress, suddenly, a big hand reached out from behind and grabbed Li Mingyuan's wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Luo Yichen's cold voice sounded behind Li Mingyuan.