You Are The Apple of My Eyes

Chapter 131 Who Gave It To You

Nina had always been straightforward. "I have come with..."

"Nina, you're here." Vivian suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stopped Nina from saying what she was about to say.

She was wearing a simple slip dress and a pair of flat shoes, which did not match her delicate makeup and coiled hair.

There was some dust on her shoes. It seemed that she came out here in too much of a hurry that she did not have the time to change into her evening dress and shoes. Her voice was calm, albeit a little strained like she was catching her own breath. Nina's eyes darted to the small fallen leaf stuck to Vivian's hair.

After looking Vivian up and down, Nina looked at the direction whence she came. It was a corner below a ledge with potted green plants on it. Fallen leaves were scattered on that corner's ground.

Nina surmised that Vivian had been hiding there and eavesdropping. She just waited for the right time to emerge like she just happened to walk by.

Nina smiled from ear to ear. It seemed that Vivian did not want anyone to know that she came here as John's date.

Maybe it was Vivian's plan all along that tonight's banquet was not only a birthday party but also an engagement party.

Maybe Nina was right about the reason behind Jessica wanting to speak to John so urgently.

Maybe she wanted to discuss the details of his and Vivian's engagement.

On the other hand, she had already confessed her feelings for John. Should she go ahead and snatch him away from Vivian?

But her divorce was not final yet. If her husband found out, she not only had to compensate him twenty million but also would be cursed by others for her betrayal of marriage.

She did not want that kind of attention.

"Miss Ye? What are you doing here?" Adela did not notice the expression on Nina's face at all. Instead, she was surprised to see Vivian showing up and greeting Nina warmly.

Isabella asked respectfully, "Do you know Nina, Miss Ye?"

"Yes. We had dinner together once." Vivian smiled gently. She could not let anyone know that Nina knew John.

John did not like women. In all the years that she knew him, Vivian was the only woman who could get close to him. If people found out that John came to the party tonight with another woman, what would they think?

They would definitely think that Nina's position in John's heart was higher than Vivian's, and Vivian did not want to acknowledge that.

Isabella was a little surprised. "I didn't expect that someone like Nina could have the honor of breaking bread with someone like Miss Ye."

Did it mean that Nina had a close relationship with the Ye family?

What was going on?

No matter how domineering Adela was normally, she restrained her arrogance around everyone in the Ye family. When she heard that Nina and Vivian were familiar with each other, she ground her teeth together to suppress her reaction. She did not want to make a scene.

She could not offend anyone from the Shi, Ye, or Song family. Her uncle had offended John before, and as a result, he was castrated and hid at home. Otherwise, he would have come to the party.

After all, he would never absent himself from any banquet where he could find many beautiful girls.

"So, Nina and Miss Ye are friends. That's quite interesting. Anyway, I think Isabella and I will take our leave now. See you both around." Adela was about to leave with Isabella when Nina suddenly spoke.

"We're not friends," Nina said indifferently, sliding her lollipop into her right cheek.

"Miss Zhang, Miss Zhu, you don't have to leave. Besides, Nina's right. I just met her once. That doesn't make us friends." Vivian did not get embarrassed or angry because of what Nina said. In fact, it did not affect her in any way at all. She still acted gracefully and elegantly.

Isabella and Adela exchanged confused yet happy glances. It turned out that Nina and Vivian did not get along that well.

Seeing the happiness in Adela's and Isabella's eyes, Vivian could not help smiling to herself.

Jessica called for John on purpose so that she could find Nina and carry out the plan.

Unexpectedly, when she found Nina, Adela and Isabella were already hassling her, so she hid in a corner and eavesdropped on their conversation.

Based on their conversation earlier, Vivian supposed that Nina had already made two enemies tonight. Although the two women were not that smart, she could still use them against Nina.

With Adela and Isabella as leverage, Vivian would less likely land herself in trouble.

"I'm going to go now. Come on, Nine." Nina turned around to leave. These people were wasting her time.

"Nina," Vivian called after her. "I'm here to take you to the banquet hall. You can wait for him there."

She left John's name out on purpose.

Of course, Nina understood what she meant. She dipped her chin in agreement, feeling excited to see John again.

Vivian turned to the other two and said, "You two should come with us."

"We? To the banquet hall?" Only those who had the golden invitations could go there while those who had the blue ones could only stay outside the banquet hall. Anyone could see into the banquet hall from the outside, but being in there was a different story.

Adela felt so excited. "Really? You want us to go to the banquet hall with you?"

"Yes," Vivian answered with a gentle smile. They might as well come with her and Nina. They could prove to be more useful to her in there than outside.

Isabella could not help smiling from ear to ear. "Thank you, Miss Ye," she said, bowing slightly.

Nina, Adela, and Isabella followed Vivian all the way to the banquet hall. On the way, they passed several fountains, all of which were covered with good silk, muffling the sound of running water inside.

Nina was so confused by the sight that she stopped walking.

The three stopped and looked in Nina's direction. Isabella was also confused. "Is this a fountain?"

Vivian glanced at Nina and replied, "Yes."

"Why is it covered?" Adela asked. A fountain was designed to beautify a space. What use was it if it was covered?

"Well..." Vivian attempted to explain but suddenly stopped. She glanced at Nina and sort of waited for her to explain why the fountains were covered. If John had told her the reason, she would know.

Confusion was still written all over Nina's face. She did not say anything. Then, Vivian slowly explained, "The fountains are broken. I can only cover them. It's busy tonight, so I'll just send for someone to fix them tomorrow."

"I see." Adela did not suspect and so did Isabella. Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Nina looked dubious but did not ask either.

She really did not know that John was afraid of deep water.

Vivian was pleased. It seemed that Nina was not that important to John after all. Otherwise, he would have told her about his fear.

"Let's go." Vivian took them to the banquet hall where the wine was served in golden goblets and the delicacies were served in jade dishes. The room was filled with the city's rich and famous, and they all mingled together.

As soon as they entered the hall, they saw Kristina and Albert talking business with each other.

"Aunt Kristina, Miss Song." Vivian greeted them respectfully.

Kristina turned her head and was a little displeased seeing Vivian dressed poorly. "What travesty are you wearing?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I just brought three of my friends here. I'm headed back to change my clothes now." Vivian appeared to be a little scared of Kristina. No matter how hard she tried to please her, she did not seem to notice or care.

"Nina?" Albert was wearing a dark gray suit and a pair of loose trousers with a white lining on top. Instead of leather shoes, he was wearing sneakers. He looked casual yet handsome and stylish.

Hearing his voice, Nina answered in surprise, "Albert?" There was somebody she knew at this party after all.

She could not help smiling brightly, making her look more beautiful. She actually turned a few male heads upon entering the hall.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here. Have you come here with James? Or..." Albert wanted to say John's name. He heard that John and Nina were already living together.

This was good news for him. It meant that the Shi and Ye families would not be able to unite through John and Vivian's marriage.

"I..."

"Wait!" Nina's words were interrupted again. It was Kristina who just spoke.

Kristina's eyes were fixed on the lollipop stick in Nina's hand. When she took a closer look, she recognized that it was a lollipop customized by Noah.

"Why do you have this lollipop? Who gave it to you?" Kristina was an able woman with a heroic face. Her words were full of energy, and she operated under a cold aggressiveness that got her whatever she wanted.

Looking into Kristina's eyes, Nina said calmly, "I bought it from my senior."

"Senior? You mean Noah?" Kristina took the wooden stick from Nina's hand and examined it. There was indeed a familiar logo on it.