Chapter 22: A mole the size of a red bean

She pursed her lips tightly and stopped speaking, focusing more intently on unhooking the entangled lace.

At the same time, she pricked up her ears, closely monitoring the movements of the two female voices.

Hearing the footsteps drawing nearer, the lace seemed to be working against her, tightening the more she tried to undo it.

Frantic, she looked up at him.

This time, her eyes held no embarrassment or anger, only a silent plea.

She lowered her voice.

“I can’t be seen. Can you help me?”

The pair of wet, fawn-like eyes the girl in his arms directed at him did not soften Gao Cheng’s heart.

However, as she looked up at him, the sight of her slender neck caused him to space out for a split second.

‘So similar.’

“Young Master Gao! You really are here!”

A delighted female voice rang out; it was the two girls from before, who had finally found their way here.

Shi Kezhen hurriedly lowered her head, hiding her face against the man’s chest.

Gao Cheng wrapped one arm around Shi Kezhen’s waist and turned her around, shielding her from the newcomers’ view.

Then, he tilted his head and shot them a cold glance, uttering only a single word: “Get out!”

At that moment, the two girls noticed someone else in Gao Cheng’s arms, and their expressions shifted from delight to stiffness.

They took two steps back, their eyes sweeping over him with reluctance.

They hadn’t expected another vixen to have beaten them to it!

But since Gao Cheng was hiding the person in his arms, they couldn’t see who she was; they could only tell from the visible white hem that she was a girl in a white dress.

“Leave!”

Gao Cheng ordered them away again, his tone even colder than before.

“S-sorry, w-we’re sorry for the intrusion.”

Seeing that Gao Cheng was truly enraged, the two girls finally gave up and scrambled back the way they came.

Once they were far enough away, Gao Cheng released the girl in his arms.

He thrust his hands back into his pockets, his tone returning to its previous cold impatience as he urged her.

“They’re gone. Hurry up; I don’t have time to waste with you here.”

“Thank you for earlier.”

Shi Kezhen looked up and resumed trying to unhook the lace from his tie clip.

“Ding.”

Just then, her phone chimed; it was her WeChat notification.

She had no friends; at a time like this, the only person who would be looking for her was a member of the Shi family.

She didn’t dare delay, pulling her phone out of her palm-sized pearl clutch with one hand and swiping the screen.

As expected, it was Mother Shi.

Mother: [Where are you? Come back immediately.]

Shi Kezhen put the phone back in her bag, glanced at the lace that refused to budge, and steeled her heart, giving it a forceful yank.

With a sharp “rip,” the lace tore.

It even took a pearl button from the collar along with it.

Gao Cheng looked down in surprise and froze instantly.

The girl’s collar was torn open, exposing a small patch of fair skin below her neck.

The light was too dim for him to see much, but above the collarbone, near the neck…

There was a mole.

However, before he could get a clear look, she quickly pulled her collar shut with her hand.

Ignoring the pearl button that had fallen somewhere, she hurriedly curtsied to him.

“I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time. I’ll take my leave now.”

With that, she turned and left.

Her steps were hurried, and she soon disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Gao Cheng stood in place, the cold expression on his face now completely replaced.

He watched that retreating white figure, his eyes filled with both delight and bewilderment.

‘Is it her?’

He hurriedly pulled his phone from his pocket, opened the gallery, and found the saved photo.

It was the selfie Yao had sent him, standing before the fitting mirror in her lace camisole nightgown.

Although the fitting room in the photo was small, the lighting was bright, clearly showing a red bean-sized mole near the neck on the girl’s right collarbone.

The size and position were exactly the same as what he had just seen on that girl.

He remembered this mole not just because of the photo; he had also seen it during their multiple video chats.

Although it had only been a fleeting glimpse and wasn’t entirely clear, he was certain he couldn’t have misidentified it.

A few days ago, when he went specifically to the school canteen to find someone, he had happened to see her there.

Perhaps the last time was a coincidence; after all, there were so many girls in the canteen that it might not have been her.

But finding an identical mole on both of them this time—surely that couldn’t still be a coincidence?

Gao Cheng believed he had found the truth; a smile spread across his lips as he strode back toward the banquet hall.

Upon returning to the banquet hall, Shi Kezhen first sought out a waiter to borrow a stapler.

She hurriedly ducked into the restroom and used staples to secure the spot on her collar where the button had fallen off.

Then she checked herself in the mirror; it wasn’t very noticeable unless one looked closely.

However, the torn lace was somewhat obvious.

After a moment of thought, she dipped her finger in some water and pressed down on the frayed lace; once the loose threads were damp, they looked slightly smoother and likely wouldn’t be noticed.

This was the best she could do for now; taking a deep breath, she walked out of the restroom and began searching for Mother Shi at the banquet.

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