The Black Swan Trap - chapter 10

It seemed she really had been overthinking things.

No wonder Wen Hua felt uncomfortable-apart from her, Jiang Nie was always cold to other girls.

Helping Wen Ning out of kindness was simply not like him at all.

Standing by the window, Wen Ning had watched everything as Wen Hua questioned Liu just now.

Ding-dong-a message popped up.

It was Duan Wenhao inviting her to dinner.

One moment, Wen Hua was suggesting Wen Ning spend more time with Duan Wenhao; the next, he couldn’t wait to message her himself.

He hadn’t considered her injured foot at all.

Wen Hua really acted quickly.

The moment Wen Ning took Jiang Nie’s jacket, Wen Hua became restless.

She wouldn’t respond to Jiang Nie’s feelings herself, yet she couldn’t stand the thought of Wen Ning even slightly interacting with him.

Still, Wen Hua was actually helping her a lot. Wen Ning took out her phone to reply to Duan Wenhao.

“Brother Wenhao, do you have any recommendations for French food? I’ve heard my sister mention it so many times but never had the chance to try.”

“There are many famous places in Jing City, but your sister likes L’Éclat Noir best. I’ll take you there.”

Since Wen Hua had brought it up before, Duan Wenhao decided to take Wen Ning there.

Wen Ning raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Okay, thank you, Brother Wenhao.”

Just a moment ago, still in her suit, Wen Ning had overheard Wen Hua talking on the phone with Jiang Nie at the door:

“Suddenly craving French food-let’s go to my favorite, L’Éclat Noir…”

*

“Jiang Nie!”

Wen Hua, with perfect makeup and high heels, stepped down from the car. As soon as Jiang Nie saw her, his expression unconsciously softened.

“Miss Wen, it’s rare that you’re not late today!”

Wen Hua smiled and tossed her bag to Jiang Nie. “Aren’t you feeling honored?”

“Very much so.”

“Tch.” Wen Hua took Jiang Nie’s jacket from the passenger seat. “Didn’t expect you to play the knight in shining armor.”

Seeing it was the jacket he had put on Wen Ning last time, Jiang Nie suddenly remembered that Wen Ning’s hair tie was still lying in his car.

“Hey, what are you thinking about? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of Wen Ning?”

Seeing Jiang Nie spacing out in front of her, Wen Hua felt a pang of unease.

She pinched Jiang Nie’s pinky, the gesture quite intimate.

Jiang Nie snapped back, looked down, and Wen Hua quickly let go, clearing her throat in embarrassment.

“Listen, my little sister hasn’t seen much of the world, so don’t you get any ideas about her, or I’ll beat you up.”

“Miss Wen, would you really not know who I have my eye on?”

Hearing this, Wen Hua finally felt reassured.

As the two of them teased each other, Jiang Nie caught sight of someone out of the corner of his eye.

Who could it be but Wen Ning, with Duan Wenhao by her side, grinning brightly.

Whatever Duan Wenhao had said, Wen Ning smiled along, looking more at ease than Jiang Nie had ever seen her.

Following Jiang Nie’s gaze, Wen Hua also saw the pair.

Today, she had deliberately suggested that Duan Wenhao take Wen Ning out, but hadn’t expected they would choose the same restaurant.

“Wen Ning, Ah Hao, what a coincidence!” Wen Hua greeted them naturally.

Duan Wenhao was also a bit surprised-it was obvious he hadn’t expected to run into Wen Hua and Jiang Nie here.

Duan Wenhao returned the greeting, “What a coincidence. Your sister said she wanted to try French food, so I brought her here.”

No one would question it.

After all, Wen Hua was always flaunting her tastes and lifestyle in front of Wen Ning, mentioning things Wen Ning could never afford before, like French food.

Wen Hua just assumed Wen Ning was envious and wanted to try it.

“Sister, Mr. Jiang.” Wen Ning stood obediently before them and greeted them.

Duan Wenhao had other plans today; even though they ran into people they knew, he had no intention of dining together and was ready to take Wen Ning away.

But Jiang Nie casually asked Wen Hua, “Do you want to bring your sister along?”
Running into her younger sister outside, under normal circumstances, the elder sister would be willing to be with her.

Wen Hua gave an awkward smile, finding it inconvenient to refuse-after all, to outsiders, their sisterly relationship seemed good.

“Sure, let’s go together.”

Seeing both of them agree, Duan Wenhao naturally could only nod in assent.

No one asked Wen Ning for her opinion, so she quietly followed behind the three of them.

Jiang Nie noticed she was trying to keep up, but was always a bit slower, her steps not particularly steady.

Jiang Nie glanced down at Wen Ning’s ankle-it wasn’t swollen anymore, but it clearly hadn’t fully healed.

Was she really in such a hurry to go on a date before her body recovered?

Inside the private room, Wen Hua elegantly ordered in French.

Duan Wenhao then started ordering for Wen Ning as well.

Because Wen Hua had signaled that Duan Wenhao could pursue Wen Ning, he unabashedly ordered a bottle of foreign wine.

It was a bottle that didn’t taste strong but could easily get someone tipsy.

A must-have for picking up girls.

Duan Wenhao’s little schemes were obvious to all four, but Wen Ning pretended not to understand, sitting there with an innocent look, chatting with Duan Wenhao.

Like a graceful, well-behaved kitten, her eyes full of curiosity.

Jiang Nie was a bit worried, seeing the sly look on Duan Wenhao’s face.

But since Wen Hua said nothing, he felt he had no standing to speak up.

Once the wine was served, Duan Wenhao eagerly coaxed Wen Ning into drinking a glass-he was utterly captivated by her.

At first, he thought Wen Ning was just a dull, obedient girl, not much of a thrill to pursue, but since Wen Hua kept trying to matchmake, Duan Wenhao decided to give it a try.

Who knew that seeing Wen Ning today would completely enchant him.

She was even more beautiful than last time-pure and alluring, with a deadly kind of contrast.

Duan Wenhao had seen countless women and knew Wen Ning was a top-tier beauty, no doubt about it.

So when he picked up Wen Ning, he had already made up his mind: tonight, no matter what, he had to win her over.

Wen Ning thought, since she was already here, she might as well try the French food-she’d never had it before.

But Duan Wenhao’s intentions were too obvious; after just a couple bites, he was clinking glasses with her.

Wen Ning sat next to Duan Wenhao, with Wen Hua and Jiang Nie across from them.

This meant Wen Ning was sitting directly across from Jiang Nie.

So her expressions were clearly visible to Jiang Nie.

Jiang Nie saw Wen Ning awkwardly trying to refuse, but as always, this well-behaved girl didn’t know how to say no.

So Wen Ning could only sigh softly and drink glass after glass.

After being coaxed into several drinks, when the flush of intoxication reached the corners of her eyes, her porcelain-white cheeks were tinged with a rosy glow.

She looked like a flustered young girl, greedily curling her pink tongue around the wine at the corner of her lips.

Completely unaware that her drunkenness had cracked her usual pure image, letting slip a hint of seductive charm that didn’t belong to her, yet somehow fit perfectly.

Such an expression was especially fatal in the eyes of the two men.

Wen Ning was a master at controlling her beauty. She pressed her hands to the table and stood up.

Her voice was a few shades brighter than usual, no longer timid:

“I’m going to the restroom.”

After a while, seeing Wen Ning hadn’t returned, Duan Wenhao smiled triumphantly:

“Wen Ning hasn’t come back yet, I’ll go check on her. You two enjoy.”

Wen Hua heard but didn’t care.

She didn’t care at all what Duan Wenhao might do to Wen Ning.

Inside the restroom, Wen Ning’s drunken look faded a bit-she wasn’t drunk at all.

With less than two months before she was sent off to university, Wen Ning couldn’t just sit around waiting for Jiang Nie to take the bait.

This time, she was going to use Duan Wenhao.