Chapter 329: Chapter 329: I’m Sorry
She was a person without much confidence, maybe it was related to being from a single-parent family, or maybe it was because she was bullied in middle school. In any case, there was a deep-seated sense of inferiority within her.
So she could calmly face others’ ridicule, but was unable to handle someone else’s "like" or "praise".
When someone scolded her, she could scold back or simply ignore it.
But when others praised her, she felt at a loss and panicked.
Not to mention someone saying they liked her.
She wondered if there were others like her, having this issue. She knew her mentality was incorrect, yet she couldn’t correct it for now.
Maybe she needed to make herself stronger, and then she would gradually gain confidence.
Because she realized that Leo intentionally said "I like her", Ashley Shaw’s expression became calm and composed.
She smiled and followed Shane Coleman’s words, "Leo, don’t be angry, Attorney Coleman was teasing you. He actually envies you, that’s why he said it on purpose. I saw earlier that besides some aunts, there were many pretty young girls looking at you, you’re not just appealing to the aunts."
Leo was a person who loved to smile, but at this moment, there was no trace of a smile on his face.
He just picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea.
"I just want the person I like to like me, nothing else matters."
Ashley Shaw was at a loss for words, suddenly unsure of how to continue the conversation.
She didn’t know if his words held a deeper meaning, and the atmosphere inexplicably became slightly awkward.
It was at this time that downstairs, the host’s voice of gratitude was heard.
"Thank you for tonight..."
Ariana Grant was a bit disappointed, "Is it over already? I haven’t seen enough yet."
Just as she finished speaking, the host announced a final mysterious program.
"A mysterious program?" Ariana Grant’s eyes lit up instantly.
She forgot about eating, placing both hands on the window ledge to look down.
However, on the large rectangular stage, there was no performer.
While they were puzzled, music began to play.
It started with an introduction of an English song.
But upon careful listening, it was clear that it wasn’t a backing track but someone actually playing the piano.
Yet, there was no piano at the scene.
Only two dancers in modern attire hurried onto the stage, dancing gracefully to the music.
In the next second, a pleasant male voice with a hint of recklessness resounded.
"i’malittleusedtocallingoutsideyourname..."
It was also a classic old English song.
The original pitch of the song was high, but the singer had apparently lowered it by a tone, making it sound more pleasant to the ears.
The smooth sound of the piano accompanying the singing, together with the dynamic dance of the dancers, created an audio-visual feast.
After a rendition of "Freeloop" finished, there was dead silence below. Not until the dancers left the stage and were replaced by the host did the audience suddenly come back to their senses, erupting in waves of applause.
"That was great! This song was really great!"
"Where’s the singer? This was clearly sung live; why don’t we see the singer? Only the dancers?"
"Could it be another handsome guy, afraid of being surrounded like before, so he simply sang from backstage?"
"Wasn’t it that handsome guy from earlier?"
"Impossible! Both voices were great, but clearly not the same timbre. The current voice is slightly lower."
"Why not let the singer come out? We want to see the singer!"
Many people were making a fuss, but the host clearly ignored them, directly announcing that the performances at The Imperial Hall were completely finished for the night, and asked everyone to leave orderly with their courtyard’s "Palace Maid".
The five people in the box finally snapped out of it at this time.
Ariana Grant was the first to break the silence.
"Was the singing earlier by Warren Prescott?" she asked Ashley Shaw.
Ashley Shaw hesitated to nod, "Maybe? But it seems like it shouldn’t be..."
The voice indeed sounded like Warren Prescott’s voice.
But Warren Prescott had just made a flimsy excuse and wheedled out of it earlier, so how could he have gone to sing after Leo’s performance, putting himself into trouble?
It’s unnecessary.
But the voice was really quite similar to Warren Prescott’s voice.
Ashley Shaw wasn’t certain, but Leo was very aware in his heart.
Of course it was Warren Prescott?
But even he found Warren Prescott hard to understand.
Previously, everyone could see Warren Prescott’s attitude towards Ashley Shaw, but now, for unknown reasons, it seemed like their roles had reversed.
Just then, the door to the box was opened.
Warren Prescott walked in expressionlessly, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Seeing everyone looking at him, his lips twitched slightly.
"What? You’re all done eating?"
Ariana Grant bravely spoke up first, "Was the singing just now by you?"
Warren Prescott slightly raised his eyebrows.
"What singing?"
Ariana Grant looked surprised, "It wasn’t you?"
Ashley Shaw was also somewhat surprised in her eyes.
It really wasn’t him.
However, it’s normal that it wasn’t him.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
Warren Prescott said, and then picked up a spoon to scoop some steamed eggs into his bowl.
In the neighboring box, because the people weren’t right, he hadn’t eaten much. Now that he was here, he barely regained a little appetite.
"What are you all blanking out for, eat up."
The others snapped back to reality and began eating.
Ariana Grant’s mood gradually improved now, and her appetite followed suit.
The table, once full of dishes, was visibly diminished after her storm-like meal.
Ashley Shaw worried that if Ariana Grant ate too much, it could stress her stomach, so she softly reminded her to eat until she was seventy or eighty percent full.
Ariana Grant placed a piece of rib into her bowl, her mouth still full of roast duck skin, muttering, "I know my limit, I’m only half full."
"..."
That was for this meal.
Downstairs, she had probably eaten half-full already.
Five plus five equals ten.
Ashley Shaw knew Ariana Grant was a person lacking self-control.
If it weren’t for her monitoring, her recovery over the past few weeks wouldn’t have been so quick.
So she forcefully pushed two dishes away from in front of Ariana Grant towards the center.
"Alright, finish what’s in your bowl and don’t take more. Or have some soup instead, the mushroom soup here looks nice, quite fresh."
Ariana Grant looked aggrieved.
"Come on, let me indulge just once in such an upscale place like this."
Ashley Shaw was just about to list all the times Ariana Grant had "indulged" over the past month on her fingers when Warren Prescott’s voice suddenly chimed in.
"Eat, just eat if you want to. Not everyone who’s stick thin is beautiful. You’re just fine as you are. Unlike some people, I worry a gust of wind could blow them away."
Ashley Shaw was fuming inside, glancing up angrily.
"What do you know?!"
Warren Prescott was startled, not understanding why she reacted so strongly.
But then he remembered Ashley Shaw seemed to have been taking Ariana Grant to see a doctor starting two months ago. It seemed her concern wasn’t about weight loss but about Ariana Grant’s health.
Warren Prescott moved his lips and suddenly spoke, "I’m sorry, pretend I didn’t say anything."
Ashley Shaw was momentarily stunned, this apology was even more surprising than the one earlier outside.
He actually apologized to her in front of so many people?
How she remembered, Warren Prescott was a person who cared a lot about face?