At nine in the evening, the ball began.
The lights in the hall gradually dimmed, and the band started its final adjustments.
At the center of the dance floor, the men and women exchanged smiles, clasped their partners' hands, and drew close.
Su Muzhi and Jiang Linyuan entered at an unhurried pace.
As they stepped onto the dance floor, Jiang Linyuan noticed that most of the women in the center were wearing white dresses.
With everyone dressed in snowy white, Su Muzhi's black gown was breathtaking and especially eye-catching. Her red blouse made the girl's faintly flushed neck look even more strikingly pale.
"Did you do that on purpose?"
He turned to the smiling Su Muzhi beside him and asked.
"Of course. I requested it. The rules say you have to wear white on the dance floor at the banquet."
Su Muzhi rested her hand lightly on Jiang Linyuan's and smiled.
"It's the host's banquet, so naturally I have to steal the show."
"You're so willful."
Jiang Linyuan smiled, took Su Muzhi's hand, and helped her stand straight.
"What if I step on your dress? It must be expensive, right?"
"Easy. You can make it up to me."
Su Muzhi beamed, her eyes bright and teeth pearly white. Her earrings swayed gently in the light, catching its glow as she said, each word distinct:
"You. Make. It. Up. To. Me."
"For the rest of your life?"
The band's violin began to play. Jiang Linyuan held her right hand in his left, their fingers passing between each other without interlocking. He lightly rested his right hand at her waist, tilted his head toward her ear, and asked with a smile.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You'd repay me with something I've already claimed?"
Su Muzhi's ears turned bright red, but