As soon as John caught a glimpse of her phone, Nina withdrew her hand from his arm to cover it. He reacted quickly and clamped his right arm to prevent her from withdrawing her hand.
Her hand was now stuck in his arm. She paused and looked at him. He was acting like nothing was happening. Nina wanted to laugh, but she had to hold it back. She quickly put away her phone and walked into the party with him.
The moment they entered the garden, Yvonne appeared. She slightly nodded at Nina and then turned to John. "Mr. Shi, Ms. Shi wants to see you," she said respectfully.
'Jessica wants to see John? Why?' Nina thought to herself.
'Maybe she will ask him to propose to Vivian tonight at the party.' A sense of displeasure blossomed in Nina's heart at the thought, but she decided to ignore it. She cleared her throat and said, "Since your sister wants to see you, we should meet her."
"Ms. Shi wants to see Mr. Shi alone," Yvonne interjected, averting her gaze. The tough tone she just used on Nina was quite hard to miss.
It seemed that Jessica wanted to keep Nina away on purpose.
"I won't meet with her," John said flatly. He could not leave Nina by herself.
Tonight was important to him. He hoped that Henry was on his way with a copy of the marriage license.
It seemed that Jessica had already anticipated what would happen and had already told Yvonne what to do. "Ms. Shi will send someone to take Miss Lu to the banquet hall."
Nina did not want to cause any trouble between John and Jessica, so she decided to give in. After all, if John did not go see Jessica, she would be blamed.
"I'll wait for you at the banquet hall, John. Just go see your sister." With a faint smile, Nina gently patted John's arm and gracefully stepped aside.
Nina was a clever woman. Her coming here was a deal between the two of them. She had agreed to come as John's partner. She would not let him lose face.
"Okay. Wait for me." John's dark eyes narrowed slightly. He spoke in a low voice. There was no expression on his face, but he was already missing her.
Nina dipped her chin in acknowledgement. The warm light shone on John's handsome face, making the expression on his face look soft. Her heart skipped a beat when she looked into his eyes.
"I'll see you later," she then said softly. She watched as John left with Yvonne.
As John disappeared at a corner, the smile on Nina's face gradually receded. In a few moments, she returned to her usual cold face. She took out a strawberry-flavored lollipop from her coat pocket and put it in her mouth. Nine was sitting quietly beside her. She then said in a casual tone, "Let's go, Nine. I'll take you on a little stroll."
Nine was so excited that he wagged his tail wildly and followed Nina. They took a walk in the big courtyard. Nine walked ahead of Nina but stopped and waited for her whenever she fell too far behind. Nine's snow-white coat looked orange and warm in the light.
After getting along with Nine for only two or three days, Nina was no longer afraid of him.
In fact, Nina found the dog to be excellent company. Because of Nine, she gradually forgot her prejudice against dogs. She actually enjoyed hanging out with him. She felt relaxed and less lonely.
"Good dog, Nine. Thanks for waiting for me." In her high-heeled shoes, Nina squatted down and gently patted Nine's head. His soft coat felt smooth against her palm. She found it comforting.
Nine was so happy that he jumped up at Nina and started licking her face. Nina lost her balance at Nine's sudden move and fell on her butt. She started giggling as Nine continued to lap at her face.
"Okay, Nine. Easy there, boy," Nina said in between snickers. She tried her best to calm the excited dog down, but he was just too happy. It even came to a point where she was already in tears because of laughing too hard.
Soon, Nine simmered down. Nina remained on the ground and scratched Nine behind the ear. She smiled at him and said, "You are just like your father, aren't you?" Since John was Nine's owner, Nina had always considered him as the dog's father, and she considered herself as Nine's sister. After all, she was still young.
John had no idea about it.
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