Chapter 91: That Stepmother Is No Ordinary Character
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"Shengsheng." He looked at her carefully, almost as if testing whether this would make her dislike him.
Sensing his uneasiness, Lauren Shaw hugged him. "You don't need to feel sorry. You did nothing wrong tonight."
Yvonne Sung had it coming. If he hadn't made it there in time, she would have been the one in trouble.
Yancy Shaw gazed at her, his eyes intense and unwavering.
The guests at the banquet began to leave, some casting strange looks their way.
Yancy Shaw slipped off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, covering the stains on her cheongsam.
He bent down and swept Lauren Shaw into his arms, his voice gentle. "Let's go home."
Ian Lawrence called someone to take Yvonne Sung to the hospital, then returned to the banquet hall to see to the guests.
Henry Mills glanced at Claire Xu and leaned in slightly. "You’ve been drinking?"
She nodded—more than a little, actually. While Lauren Shaw had been in the lounge, she’d downed quite a few drinks herself. The reason: Seeing the whole Xu family sitting together happily, and Hannah Xu now and then giving her pointed looks.
She figured she’d be better off not coming to such banquets again—no need to upset herself over that family.
"I’ll take you home," Henry Mills offered.
Claire Xu shook her head. "I’ll get a driver myself. No need to trouble you."
As she left the Liang mansion, she couldn’t help sneezing. The night was chilly, and she hadn’t dressed warmly. The next moment, a jacket, still warm from the last wearer, settled on her shoulders.
"Don’t overthink it. I’d give my coat to any beautiful woman in your shoes."
For some reason, hearing this from Henry Mills made Claire Xu a little disappointed. Still, she quickly hid the feeling, forcing a laugh. "Flirt!"
"You and Ian Lawrence seem close?" Claire Xu asked.
"We’ve known each other since we were kids," Henry Mills explained. He hadn’t planned to come tonight, but when he saw Yancy Shaw here, he came along, not expecting to run into Claire Xu.
They kept chatting, a conversation neither hurried nor intimate.
"Sis!"
Hannah Xu hurried over, trailed by Old Xu and May Lee.
"Who’s this?" Hannah Xu sized up Henry Mills.
Claire Xu didn’t bother replying—she just rolled her eyes, making it clear she had no interest in introductions.
"Qingqing, why are you being so rude to your sister?" Old Xu chided her lightly.
"Why should I be polite to her? It’s not like we have the same mother," Claire Xu said bluntly, never one to hide her feelings—if she was unhappy, she made sure everyone knew.
May Lee jumped in to smooth things over. "You’re sisters. Huanhuan just wants to show some concern."
"Who needs her concern?" Claire Xu shot her a frosty look, cursing inwardly at the woman’s fake kindness.
"Claire Xu! Watch your mouth!" Old Xu barked.
Hannah Xu glanced at Claire Xu, a smirk in her eyes, raising her brows triumphantly.
Henry Mills picked up on the charged atmosphere between the Xus and Claire Xu’s awkward place in all of it. He politely turned to George Xu. "Good evening, Uncle. I’m Henry Mills, a friend of Claire Xu’s."
George Xu’s expression turned curious as he noticed Claire Xu wearing Henry Mills’s jacket.
"What do you do for a living?" May Lee asked.
From the moment she saw Henry Mills, she’d been racking her memory for which of Ancheng’s young heirs he might be. But nothing about him rang a bell.
"I’m a doctor," Henry Mills replied.
May Lee’s eyes immediately flashed with disdain. So that’s all—she’d thought he might be from a rich family.
"Why ask so many questions? What, are you running a background check?" Claire Xu took Henry Mills’s hand and marched toward the parking lot.
As they walked, she added, "Don’t bother answering them. Next time you see them, just ignore them. None of them have good intentions."
Henry Mills was silent, letting her pull him along.
When they stopped by the car, Claire Xu finally released his hand and found him staring intently at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Claire Xu looked away, a bit embarrassed.
"Because you’re—beautiful," Henry Mills admitted simply.
Claire Xu had heard enough sweet talk from men in her life, but somehow, coming from Henry Mills, it left her defenseless—her cheeks began to flush.
"Hmph, I bet you use that line on plenty of women. Just so you know, I’m not some girl you can charm that easily…"
"Mm…"
Before Claire Xu could finish, Henry Mills cupped her face and kissed her.
She opened her eyes wide, blinking at him. Their gazes met, breath mixing between parted lips.
When he finally released her, Henry Mills’s ears were red. "Why’d you keep your eyes open while kissing?"
Who kissed with their eyes wide open? So awkward.
Seeing his embarrassment, Claire Xu couldn’t help but laugh. "Didn’t you do the same?"
"I… I forgot," Henry Mills stammered, anxious and uneasy. He himself wasn’t sure how he ended up kissing her—his heart was still pounding.
Seeing him like this, Claire Xu was even more amused. As a seasoned dater, she couldn’t resist teasing him.
"Don’t tell me that was your first kiss?"
Henry Mills turned even redder.
"Dr. He, you’re twenty-eight, right? Don’t tell me you’ve never…"
"Claire Xu, w-what are you saying? How can a girl talk so shamelessly?"
Who would have guessed—Henry Mills always seemed like a smooth talker, but in reality, he’d barely dated at all.
Claire Xu stopped teasing, held up her car keys, and handed them to him. "I’m tired. I want to go home and sleep. Will you drive me?"
Henry Mills took the keys and watched Claire Xu get into the car.
"Henry Mills, don’t waste your feelings on me. I’m not worth it," Claire Xu sighed from the passenger seat, her eyes half-lidded.
"Why?" Henry Mills asked quietly. She’d turned him down before, and even now, after so much pursuit, she still wouldn’t take a chance.
After seeing her family tonight, he could tell—around the Xus, she was walking on eggshells.
"You saw for yourself tonight—my stepmother is no ordinary character. Who knows how she’ll make things hard for you in the future? My own life’s enough of a mess, I don’t want to drag anyone else down with me."
She remembered once at college, when a boy tried to woo her by confessing to her face at the Xu house. May Lee had told him Claire Xu was cursed, that she’d killed her birth mother. The boy freaked out and ran, and Claire Xu never dated again after that. She was afraid.
Over the years, May Lee would often whisper that she’d caused her mother’s death. So George Xu never liked her.
She was scared.
Henry Mills pulled the car over to the side of the road. He could see every emotion flicker across her face.
"Claire Xu, for over twenty years I’ve never felt this way about a woman. After you rejected me last time, I thought about it a lot—I tried not to like you, but I just can’t help it. I’m hopelessly in love with you."
He even dreamed about her at night—it sounded ridiculous, even to himself.
When he couldn’t sleep, he’d watch her on the catwalk; he watched every one of her Fashion Week shows, his devotion no less than a diehard fan.
Claire Xu was stunned by this confession, but she kept her composure.