Chapter 127: Try to Make Me Fall for You, or, Try to Make Yourself Fall for Me

At nine in the evening, the dance officially began.

The lights inside the venue gradually dimmed, and the band was making their final adjustments.

In the center of the dance floor, a man and a woman exchanged a smile, tightened their grip on their partners' hands, and drew close.

Su Muzhi and Jiang Linyuan made their entrance unhurriedly.

Walking onto the dance floor, Jiang Linyuan noticed that most of the girls in the center were wearing white dresses.

When everyone else was clad in pure white, Su Muzhi's extravagant black skirt was breathtakingly striking and dazzling. Her red blouse made the faintly blushing skin of her neck appear so pale it stole one's soul.

"You did that on purpose?"

He looked at the smiling Su Muzhi beside him and asked.

"Of course, I requested it. The banquet's rules require everyone entering the dance floor to wear white."

"At the host's banquet, of course you have to steal the spotlight completely."

"How capricious."

Jiang Linyuan smiled, took Su Muzhi's hand, and made her stand up straight.

"What if I step on your dress? It's pretty expensive, right?"

"Simple, you just have to accompany me then."

Su Muzhi laughed joyfully, her bright eyes and white teeth visible. Her earrings swayed slightly under the lights, refracting beams of light, as she spoke word by word:

"You, accompany, me."

"For a lifetime?"

The violin in the band began to play. Jiang Linyuan held her right hand with his left, their fingers interlaced but not locked, and his right hand gently rested on her waist. He tilted his head and whispered in her ear with a smile.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Repaying me with something I've already claimed?"

Su Muzhi's ears were bright red, yet her face still wore a composed smile. The moment the piano struck a sudden chord, she took a sharp step forward.

Jiang Linyuan matched her dance step.

On the dance floor, the black skirt spun amidst the white flowers, then was suddenly pulled back by a powerful arm.

"Are you dancing, or trying to compete with me in dance skill?"

Jiang Linyuan pulled her into his embrace and asked.

An intense sense of control, of conquest—that was Su Muzhi's dance style.

Its strong leading quality gave him the illusion of dancing entirely within her grasp.

"Hehe, isn't that what tango is all about? Whoever takes control wins."

Su Muzhi pulled away from Jiang Linyuan and smiled faintly.

"You're really bold, Xiao Su."

Jiang Linyuan said, lightly lifting his hand, and the girl in front of him spun like a flower in his grasp, twirling like a black swan.

"You too, Jiang Linyuan."

"Is that so? I think I'm the most timid and afraid of trouble."

"I like that part about you too, the lies."

"Your tastes are really weird."

"And where are you any better?"

They whispered into each other's ears, as if tying themselves together.

As the melody progressed, they fell into perfect sync. When it was gentle, they were tender as water; when it was passionate, they moved with unrestrained grace. Body and soul merged into the music and the dance, as if they were born with this tacit understanding.

They expressed the very soul of the tango, and the gazes from around them were filled with admiration.

"Jiang Linyuan, do you know what it means to come to this dance today?"

Once again, Su Muzhi asked such a question.

The last time she used this phrasing was after she had taken the initiative to meet Auntie Shaqima.

"I don't know. I just danced a beautiful dance with a beautiful friend."

Jiang Linyuan looked at the girl spinning like a mandala into his arms and said.

Su Muzhi chuckled softly, pushed him away, and spun outward like unwinding silk. Her laughter lingered on the dance floor, like silver bells stirred by the wind, as her black skirt and hair spun together.

Do you really not know? Or are you like me, unable to tell the difference?

Jiang Linyuan, playing dumb between us isn't fun at all.

The dance music reached its climax.

Instead of continuing to spin in 360-degree circles, Su Muzhi's body pressed abruptly against Jiang Linyuan's chest. They supported each other, stepping forward! Stepping forward! Stepping forward again!

It looked like the girl was forcing the boy to retreat, until he could barely hold his ground. Then she hooked her heel and bent her waist sharply, pressing him back, forcing his body to lean forward slightly!

It was like a flower falling into the boy's hand.

Su Muzhi stopped her movement. Lying in Jiang Linyuan's arms, she was still so radiant, her eyes full of pride.

She lifted her delicate chin, as if challenging something, or as if waiting for something.

"Want to kiss me?"

She said:

"If you do, I can close my eyes."

"Hehe, dream on."

Jiang Linyuan tilted his head slightly, not kissing her, just holding her.

The music faded, and thunderous applause filled the room.

From halfway through the dance, everyone on the floor had been drawn to this stunning pair, stopping their own dancing to watch.

"Your doing again?"

Jiang Linyuan slowly straightened up and asked.

"No, it's not."

Su Muzhi watched the boy slowly pulling away from her. Suddenly, she grabbed him, hooked her back leg, and pulled Jiang Linyuan into her own embrace.

They pressed together, they separated. A step away, a world apart, yet close as the light in the darkness.

She said there was a banquet, and he came. She said she wanted to dance, and he danced with her.

He came with joy, and naturally, he should leave with satisfaction.

"Hehe, in this, you're no match for me, Jiang Linyuan..."

She said, pressing her lips to the boy's in front of her. Her teeth lightly bit his lower lip. Her black pupils rippled like autumn waters, distorting the reflection of the person before her. As she pulled away, she gently tugged, leaving a trace of crimson blood.

On the second floor, someone stood dumbfounded, as if lost in a trance.

"Your heart racing?"

She wiped the corner of his reddened lips and smiled teasingly.

Jiang Linyuan looked at Su Muzhi. Her glowing earrings swayed slightly, refracting light from the red spreading down her earlobes.

"I'm a fickle person. How could I be so easily moved?"

"I've known that for a long time."

Beneath the crystal chandelier, Su Muzhi was like a queen wearing a crown, unstoppable. And a queen never considers others' feelings:

"I find it hard to be moved too. Whether I'm in love with someone or just like a toy, I can't tell."

She revealed a faint smile:

"So, try to make me fall for you, Jiang Linyuan."

"Or rather, try to make yourself fall for me."

As the dance drew to a close, the girl's light yet weighty words drifted through the air.

...

The dance wasn't over. According to the schedule, there was supposed to be a partner-swapping segment next.

But Su Muzhi and Jiang Linyuan didn't stick around. They slipped away.

"Xiao Su, you just kissed me, didn't you?"

"It was just biting your lip with my teeth. That doesn't count as a kiss."

"I guess you're right. Hey, do you think if you tear your lip, your first kiss resets every time?"

"Hehe, so this was Jiang-classmate's first kiss? I guess I didn't lose out. An equal exchange."

"Didn't you say it wasn't a kiss?"

"...Mind your own business?"

"Hey, I just thought of something else. If tearing your lip resets your first kiss, does flipping the skin on a chicken reset your—"

"I'm going to touch up my makeup! Don't follow me!"