MAPF Chapter 52

Chapter 52 Silver Snake Mask “You want to dance with me?” ……

He Qin had been staying at the company, and only on the day of the ball did he specially detour back to the Xie residence to drive Xie Shiwei there.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the guests didn’t have a chance to exchange pleasantries with others and were directly led by the staff into their respective dressing rooms.

Xie Shiwei and He Qin each drew the number for their dressing room. The masks were first-come, first-served. After selecting on the tablet, a dedicated person delivered them to the individual dressing rooms.

Before separating, Xie Shiwei stopped He Qin and whispered, “The theme of the masks this time is animals. I’ve seen the designs. I guess I will choose the tiger pattern, the one with gold and black, very eye-catching, with a particularly domineering ‘King’ character in the middle.”

“You should choose the dark blue peacock one, it’s good-looking, very elegant, easy to spot.”

Xie Shiwei deliberately didn’t say who it would be easy for to spot.

“Got it.” He Qin glanced at Xie Shiwei, turned away, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

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Xie Shiwei, filled with immense guilt and regret, went inside to choose clothes, silently praying that He Qin wouldn’t blame him after discovering the truth.

A row of glittering menswear hung in the dressing room, some were quirky, with tails or rabbit ears, and some were luxurious, making you look like a runway model when you put them on.

He had no intention of showing off tonight, so he changed into a gray-black silk shirt, plus a pair of slightly loose suit pants. Looking at the outfit, there wasn’t a trace of personal style.

The corridor was bustling, with people constantly entering and exiting the dressing rooms. A staff member rang the doorbell and delivered the mask he had casually chosen.

Xie Shiwei put on the mask. It fit very well, and except for the color of his hair, nothing else could be seen.

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Xie Shiwei left the dressing room and exited through the long, red-carpeted corridor. The hall where the ball was held was magnificent and dazzlingly lit.

They needed to find a dance partner who caught their eye before the ball officially started.

Although his face was hidden and his clothes were unremarkable, his figure and temperament were impossible to conceal. Soon after Xie Shiwei entered, two or three people invited him to be their dance partner.

He politely declined everyone, intending to find Bai An and He Qin first, confirm that everything was going smoothly, and then make plans for himself.

The masks were all kinds of colors and very exquisite and beautiful, making him dizzy. It took him a lot of effort to find the tiger mask, walked to the person’s side and asked who he was.

“Arboreal.”

Bai An’s voice was processed by the voice changer in the mask, completely different from his own, becoming somewhat hoarse.

But this was the code phrase between Bai An and him, there was no mistake.

Xie Shiwei was relieved: “He Qin will wear the dark blue peacock one, don’t find the wrong person.”

Bai An said, “Even if you didn’t tell me his mask, I wouldn’t find the wrong person.”

Xie Shiwei felt he had made a fool of himself and was speechless for a moment. He left without saying anything.

He rejected two more people who came to chat him up, and wandered around the hall, finally seeing He Qin.

Very tall, wearing a dark blue summer suit, paired with the mask, he really looked as noble as a peacock, and should be looking for the tiger mask.

Oh, I’m sorry!

Xie Shiwei secretly made a praying gesture, confirmed that both of them had arrived, and then began to find his own fun.

He didn’t mind using tonight to meet someone to develop a relationship with, as long as the other person was wearing a mask that appealed to him, and their figure was within his range of acceptance.

Thinking this way, a highball glass was suddenly handed to him by a man.

“This gentleman, would you like to drink blueberry sparkling water?” The altered voice came from the mouth of the person in front of him, and it was impossible to tell what the original voice sounded like.

The man was wearing a silver snake mask, a head and a half taller than him, seemingly five centimeters taller than He Qin and Zhou Ze, even taller than all the men he knew.

He was wearing a very bold bodysuit, the chest was semi-transparent gauze, revealing strong muscles, the pants were also slightly tight-fitting dress pants, with a wide silk belt around his waist, showing off his figure in a flamboyant way.

Xie Shiwei was a little interested in this person, took the sparkling water, and followed the man to the window at the edge of the hall.

Outside the window, the Jiangcheng riverside night was brilliantly lit. Xie Shiwei held the straw and drank the sparkling water in one gulp: “You want to dance with me?”

The silver snake mask man leaned closer to him: “Is there a chance?”

“You’re my type.” Xie Shiwei was wearing a mask, as if putting on a layer of protective shell. He could throw away all politeness and reserve under the cover of the mask. He directly reached out and squeezed the man’s biceps, praising, “Very nice muscles.”

The man moved even closer, with a refreshing fragrance on his body, like a very fresh ocean scent, but not as good as the cologne He Qin always used.

“Does that mean you’ve agreed, sir?” The man smiled.

“Yeah.” As soon as Xie Shiwei nodded, his hand was taken by the man.

Skin touched skin, fingers intertwined, the temperature of the man’s palm was transmitted.

They walked through the noisy hall, aimlessly. The man held his hand, his steps were steady, and asked Xie Shiwei where he was from.

Xie Shiwei felt some kind of hormone soaring in his body. He was a little drunk by the flickering lights and spoke without restraint: “Me? I come from a very, very far away place, a place you don’t know.”

“Then, why did you come here?”

“Died, and when I opened my eyes, I was here.”

Xie Shiwei heard the man laugh. He squeezed the man’s hand hard: “What are you laughing at? Don’t believe it, then forget it.”

The man asked again, “When are you going back?”

“Can’t go back,” Xie Shiwei sighed, “Going back is just being dead, what’s the point.”

As soon as he said this, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed, and in the central dance floor, the spotlight shone directly, and a circle of faint blue breathing lights lit up around the edge.

“The Venus Hotel’s annual masquerade ball is officially beginning! Please, young masters and young ladies, enjoy the dance floor time with your destined partners!”

On the high platform in the center of the dance floor, the orchestra was playing a heavy and beautiful melody.

The man took Xie Shiwei’s hand and went down with the crowd.

The steps were very high, and he gentlemanly reminded Xie Shiwei to be careful, directly putting his arm around Xie Shiwei’s waist.

Xie Shiwei shuddered. He smiled and said, “We haven’t even danced yet, why are you so nervous?”

“Just a little sensitive.”

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The music started.

Xie Shiwei had no artistic talent, had neither learned to dance nor heard the orchestra play classical dance music.

Fortunately, his dance partner was patient enough to carefully teach him how to step, how to put his arm around his shoulder, and used his powerful arms to firmly control his body, leading him to spin with the music.

The warmth of the broad palms rubbing his waist gave Xie Shiwei a light, about-to-take-flight feeling.

As a piece was nearing its end, the rhythm and drumbeats of the music simultaneously became rapid, and the pace quickened. Xie Shiwei had difficulty keeping up, panting, and told the man that he couldn’t keep up.

“Relax, your left foot is on top of my shoe.”

Xie Shiwei did as he was told. The next moment, one of his legs was directly lifted up by the man and placed on his arm, which was equivalent to the man bearing the weight of his entire body. The man turned his body, and he followed the turn.

Two circles, seven hundred and twenty degrees, the wind brushed past Xie Shiwei’s ear, and finally, he was directly lifted up by the man, spun in the air for another circle, paused as the music stopped, and then he was put down.

Xie Shiwei was dizzy from being spun, took a step back, and directly leaned on the man’s chest.

“Danced very well.” He heard the vibration of the man’s chest, “We cooperated very well.”

“You taught well.” Xie Shiwei smiled.

The host announced the end of the ball, and scattered gold foil streamers fell from the sky.

The man’s hand lightly brushed over the top of Xie Shiwei’s head, sweeping away two or three golden flakes.

Xie Shiwei looked up at him, unable to see clearly, but he was really a little moved.

Gentle, tall, and very strong.

Meeting all his requirements.

Staff arrived and began leading pairs of dance partners who agreed to go to the romantic spaces.

The man asked him if he wanted to go with him.

Xie Shiwei of course nodded, he didn’t want to miss such a good opportunity.

“Please draw a lot to choose your space number.”

Xie Shiwei went over to draw a lot.

The staff exclaimed, “Sir, you have really good luck! You drew the moon-viewing room, follow me, I’ll take you there.”

The so-called romantic space, moon-viewing room, was actually just a suite in the Venus Hotel. It was just that Xie Shiwei had indeed drawn the one with the best view and layout.

They walked for almost ten minutes in the maze-like luxurious Venus Hotel and were led to their destination: “Please come in, you two.”

Xie Shiwei and the man went in one after the other, and the door was closed.

Directly opposite them, outside the floor-to-ceiling window, was a huge semi-open-air platform, a full moon hung in the cloudless sky, its reflection inverted in the river.

The air conditioning in the room was set very low. Their original clothes had already been delivered, wrapped tightly in black, opaque cloth bags to prevent accidental exposure.

Should he take off the mask? Xie Shiwei was a little hesitant at this moment.

They had to stay in the room for at least two hours. If the person in front of him didn’t suit him, he wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.

“Take off the mask?” the man asked him, his fingers already fastened on the silver snake mask.

“Or wait a little bit!” Xie Shiwei quickly stopped him, “You evaluate yourself first, how good-looking are you?”

“Pretty good, if ten is a perfect score, then I’m a ten.”

Xie Shiwei was speechless: “So narcissistic?”

The man said, “Don’t just talk about me, what about you?”

Xie Shiwei suddenly realized that he had wronged him, because he also wanted to give himself a ten. But he chose to leave a little room for maneuver, so he said nine.

“We both rate our own appearance very highly, so what reason is there not to take off the mask?”

Xie Shiwei thought that made sense, anyway, that was the purpose of this ball.

He dawdled and picked up his clothes to change, wearing a set of casual clothes, with a painted mask on his face.

Under the cover of the mask, the man across from him smiled contentedly.

“I’m going to change too, but I’m going to take a shower. I hope that after I come out, you’ve already taken off your mask.”

“Hey, why are you taking a shower!” Xie Shiwei grabbed his arm, “I’m still married, I won’t do anything.”

The masked man laughed: “You think too much, I was sweating from dancing, because I was always leading you.”

“Oh, then go ahead.” Xie Shiwei turned his head and shut himself off.

He was embarrassed again.

But it was okay, anyway, he didn’t recognize this person. At worst, they would spend two hours in awkward silence, and he would be a good man again when he went out.

The bathroom was at the innermost part of the suite, the door closed, and the sound of rushing water came.

Soon, the sound of water stopped, and a few minutes later, the doorknob was turned.

Xie Shiwei’s heart beat faster, raised his hand and slowly took off the somewhat heavy mask.