The ball was held on the roof of one of the hotels owned by the Xu family, but it was an official event. So, all the parties involved with the elections were invited, regardless of the results.

As expected, the second son of the Prime Minister, Xu Manho, was reconfirmed Governor of Hei city's province.

Xu Mei was standing in a corner. She had a glass of wine that was no longer cold in one hand and a neutral expression on the face. With her cream-coloured dress, she was trying to blend in with the wall, hoping her family would forget about her, with no luck.

A waiter approached her and whispered to her: «Miss Xu, the Prime Minister wished for you to stay by his side.»

Xu Mei placed the glass with the warm wine on the tray the waiter was carrying around, and she headed to the centre of the terrace.

Her grandfather was chatting with his colleagues. He tenderly smiled when he saw the girl approaching.

Xu Mei felt her stomach revolt when facing that smirk.

«Xiao Mei, you're finally here! I was worried you would feel bored.»

The girl tried to smile, but her muscles didn't cooperate with her intentions. She bent her neck to avoid meeting anyone's eyes.

«Your granddaughter has grown up fine, Prime Minister. How old is she this year?»

«Twenty-two,» the Prime Minister answered, sounding proud.

«Ah, I have a nephew a few years older.»

«Then we can arrange for them to meet, but my Xiao Mei has to finish her studies first!»

The girl's gaze wandered on the terrace, unconsciously searching for familiar faces. She attended lots of events of that kind, but her brain seemed unable to remember the people she met.

«Prime Minister Xu! Congratulations, your son won again!»

Xu Mei winced when her eyes met two deep oceans. Lin Longwei was in front of her, just a couple of meters away. She hadn't seen him for less than three days, but she already felt like she missed him. She smiled lightly, trying to hide her face once again.

«Senator Lin, this time was a close win. Next time we may not be so lucky.»

The Prime Minister's answer was not as cold as the people around them were expecting. Their ears straightened to better hear the words they were exchanging, and their eyes opened wide to not lose any detail of their interactions.

«Long time no see, Prime Minister Xu,» Wang Meng greeted the elder from behind Lin Longwei. All the attention immediately shifted to the boy.

«You don't need to be so polite, I saw you grow up. You can call me Granpa Xu as you always did.»

Wang Meng smiled politely.

«I'm surprised to find you as my opponent, Xiao Meng. You could have asked me to introduce you to politics,» Xu Yanhuo continued.

«Prime Minister Xu right. There aren't more qualified politicians than our Prime Minister in the entire country,» one man agreed.

«I'm doing my best to learn from Senator Lin. He's also among the most outstanding businessmen in our country, isn't he?» Wang Meng defended his employer without a second thought.

«You're preparing to take charge of the family business, aren't you?»

While they were talking, Lin Longwei get closer to Xu Mei and discreetly examined her.

The girl took a glass of wine from a table nearby to keep her hands busy. She felt the man's gaze on her but didn't dare to reciprocate, in fear that someone would see through her.

«Miss Xu, are you feeling all right?» he inquired.

«Yes, Senator Lin.»

«You seem distracted.»

«I always am,» Xu Mei stated before sipping the wine.

The discussion among the men around them became louder, but the two of them weren't paying attention. They were in their own world.

«I like your dress, but I'm afraid you feel cold.»

Xu Mei was speechless. Lin Longwei had the guts to flirt with a girl in front of her grandfather! In that case, the said grandfather was also his principal opponent!

Xu Mei tried hard to find an appropriate answer but, before she succeeded, they were interrupted.

«Right, Senator Lin?» one of the Prime Minister's men voiced.

They turned simultaneously, with no idea what was the topic of the question.

Lin Longwei smiled artfully and looked at the man in front of him like he was meeting potential electors.

At that moment, Xu Mei could witness the full power of that man's charisma.

At that moment, if she could vote, she would vote for him.

«I think we all know, right?» he simply said and turned to Wang Meng before anyone could ask for further details. «I've seen someone I need to talk to. Let's go.»

The group was already back to the conversation, so they couldn't hear the exchange between the two men that were heading away. Xu Mei seemed to hear Lin Longwei praising his assistant: «good job, Wang Meng. You deserved a bonus for this month's salary.»

A few minutes after Lin Longwei left, a smiling young girl in a black dress ran to the Prime Minister.

«Grandpa, grandpa. We're finally here!» she said, holding the Prime Minister's arm.

«Xiao Bao, where is Manho?»

«Father is greeting some people at the entrance. He'll be here soon,» the girl explained

«It's predictable, Prime Minister Xu, that the new Governor has a lot of people wanting to talk with him. Your second granddaughter is grown up too.»

«I'm almost twenty-one, magistrate Shi. I'm no longer a child,» Xu Bao said with elegance while holding arms with the Prime Minister. Xu Yanhuo was smiling to her just like he did before with Xu Mei, but this time his eyes were full of warmth.

«Xiao Bao, the youth is all near the pool. You should go to meet your friends with your sister. You don't need to bore yourself with our talks.»

«Granpa, you are never boring to me. But I'll go if that's what you want.»

Xu Bao smiled to Xu Mei, and they headed together were some young people where gathered.

«That dress is so plain,» Xu Bao said the moment they were alone. «At least, it will become transparent,» she uttered after touching the material of her gown.

«What are you talking about?» Xu Mei asked, moving away from her cousin's hand.

At that moment, they were passing near the pool. Xu Bao pushed Xu Mei back while tripping her with her left foot.

The girl didn't expect her cousin to move so soon, so she didn't make resistance and just fell in the cold water.