Chapter 21 - 21: Am I Not Allowed To Pamper You?
Inside the five-star hotel which was recently acquired by the Bai Enterprise, ladies were wearing an elegant and sophisticated long gowns and qipao while men were wearing their suit and tie. They were all busy socializing and making connections when the door of the pavilion opened to welcome the two breath taking pair who were locked arms and arms together. The lady was wearing a lace dress and her upper body was covered by the man's tuxedo.
The two looked ethereal together. They were just breathtaking!
The crowd immediately recognized the man but they could not do so for the woman. They tried to remember if they had seen her in some events but to their disappointment, they could not recall any.
How could a woman as beautiful as a goddess mysteriously appeared out of nowhere? That kind of thought was running on their minds.
They thought that she's a model or a rising actress under Starlight Entertainment, Corp., a subaidiary of Bai Enterprise, but she wasn't.
The ladies present which were from the noble families could not help not to be insecure and be envious of her beauty. They felt the urge to ruin her face.
The woman scanned on the area and her green and amber eyes showed a glint of coldness. She hated this kind of feeling. She should be proud that she's beautiful right? But on the contrary she wasn't.
She didn't like to be the source of someone's envy. But what should she do? She was the perfect combination of both Western and Eastern features.
"Good evening Chairman Bai!"
"Good evening Master Bai!"
Those who were working in Bai Enterprise and had already been informed of the change of Chairmanship called Nathan as Chairman rather than Master Bai.
On the other hand, those who were from noble families and business owners who eyed for partnership with Bai Enterprise greeted Nathan as 'Master Bai'.
Also present in the event were the members of the branch families who looked at Nathan with contempt in their eyes. Also his half-siblings together with their respective mothers were present in the event.
Some of them were working under Nathan and they could still not believe that a bastard son was able to snatch the Chairmanship away from them.
Yes, this breathtaking couple was none other than Nathaniel Bai and Kim Eunji.
They might looked like a loving couple because of how firmly Kim Eunji was holding on Nathan's arm but deep inside she was thinking of ways to get even with the man. Also her grip on Nathan's arm was strong enough to leave a print or even a bruise afterwards for days.
Nathan didn't tell her the whole truth why he asked her to be his date.
"Behave! You're my woman tonight." Nathan reminded her to not show any signs of displeasure.
"You'll pay for this Mr. Bai!" Kim Eunji grumbled in between her teeth.
"Oh Darling! Believe that this Young Master would give you everything in this world." Nathan said in a voice which was enough for everyone to hear. He then grinned when he saw Kim Eunji's adorable expression. He felt the urge to tease her more.
"..." Kim Eunji was uttered speechless.
'Since when did I become your darling?'
He then touched her cheek as he continued, "Stop throwing tantrum now, okay? Be good, I'll buy your favorite food later." Kim Eunji stiffened as soon as his hands touched her face.
"..."
Everyone were stunned when they saw this public display of affection from someone whom they called as 'Satan'.
He did showed up in private events and would always have a date every time and would then be said to be in a relationship with him but those who had seen him and his date could say that Nathan would never do such thing.
No one had seen him being affectionate to those women whom were linked to him. Only those women knew how they were actually treated by Nathan Bai.
'I never thought that Satan could have this side, too.' Someone thought.
Kim Eunji on the other hand wanted to scream on top of her lungs as she felt violated by Nathan.
"Good evening Master Bai!" The Senior Executives of Bai Enterprise then greeted them.
"Where's Patriarch Bai?" Nathan asked them.
"His inside the private room together with the Wan and the Elders." The Vice President of Finance Department who was also his first cousin, Bai Syaoran answered him.
Nathan had no reaction when he heard him. However, his blue eyes darkened as he looked at the direction of the door where his father was.
Other people might not notice but the lady beside him did. He could feel Nathan molding his palm into a tight fist. Upon seeing this, Kim Eunji's interest picked up a bit.
Then the Emcee of the event spoke on stage which marked the start of the celebration.
The Emcee politely greeted the guests present inside the hall. Since this was a private event, the press was not allowed inside. However, there were some who had managed to sneak in the crowd and was able to have stolen photos of Nathan and Kim Eunji.
They felt that they had the hottest scoop in their entire career.
Then Patriarch Bai came out of the room and went to the stage as he was called out to give some opening remarks.
"Good evening! We're gathered here tonight to celebrate many things. First is to celebrate the fact that our company was able to surpass the toughest and darkest point that we had faced ever since it was founded nearly a hundred years ago.
Second, is the announcement of the change of Chairmanship and third is the union that would even strengthen and boost our footing in this industry. But first, let's enjoy the sumptuous dinner prepared just only for you, my dear guests. Bon appetit!" Patriarch Bai enthusiastically uttered.
The guest happily clapped their hands as they showed support to the Patriarch.
Though the guests were clapping, Nathan and Kim Eunji did not follow them.
Nathan brought Kim Eunji to the main table.
"Bastard!" Someone sneered as soon as she saw Nathan.
Had it been in the past, he would be easily triggered if someone called him a 'Bastard's son' or 'someone born out of wedlock'. But now it was different. He had changed.
He was no longer the helpless son who would secretly looked at his mother as she was crying to her sleep at night.
Seeing that she was ignored, the woman scoffed in disapproval. "Ha! Look at how disrespectful you had become! You had just recently given the name Bai by my husband and now you're acting arrogant towards your elders?!"
The woman raised her voice which earned the attention of the guests.
"Oops! Are we allowed to witness this scene?" Someone asked.
It was undeniable that when Nathan came to Beijing no one knew about his background at all, except being this mysterious player in the market.
But because he kind of looked like the younger version of Patriarch Bai during his prime age, the business owners and media who happened to interact and caught a glimpse of him had speculated about his identity.
It was not hidden in the public how wild Patriarch Bai was when he was on his prime. In fact, he had a lot of children outside of marriage and he's friends with their mothers. He was the perfect embodiment of a modern-day harem.
Therefore, they were only a bit shocked when he was introduced as Patriarch Bai's son within his colleagues and at some events.
"Respect begets respect Madame Bai." Nathan uttered that made Matriarch Bai glared back at him. Nathan never recognized her as the Matriarch ever since he had met her.
"You ungrateful brat!" Matriarch Bai bellowed. She forgot that she was not inside the Bai Family Manor and was in a public event. She should be a representation of a fine and noble elegant woman but on the contrary, she was acting like a spoiled brat just because she had seen someone or something that displeased her.
"Enough!" Patriarch Bai snapped. "Do you want the public to see our dirty laundry?!" He continued.
Patriarch Bai somehow regretted why he married her and not someone else. Oh well, it was arranged by the elders. It was the fate that every future Patriarch of the family should accept.
They could fool around with any woman however they want but they would only marry the person recommended or selected by the Elders.
"Your Bastard son started it!" Matriarch Bai reasoned with an underlying message of blaming Nathan's existence. It would have been her son Bai Longwei who should be the next Chairman and not Nathan.
The man in question was however unbothered by his own mother making a fuss. He was not greedy for power after all. All he cared was for the betterment of the company that his ancestor had established from scratch. As long as Nathan could help them in maintaining their position on top, he's willing to support his half--brother.
Also, he was someone who recognized someone's skills and talent first and not his background.
But as he looked around and saw that the crowd was already staring on their direction, even the waiter serving their food halted from what he was doing as soon as the drama started, he had no choice but to step-in.
"Mom, that's enough! The people are already looking at us." He whispered and pointed out with his finger.
"Let us not embarrass ourselves here shall we?" He added.
Finally, Matriarch Bai calmed down and did not make more fuss. This made their dinner somehow peaceful.
As the waiter finished serving the food on the table, Nathan then took a steak and sliced them into pieces. After he did, he then changed his plate with Kim Eunji.
"What are you doing?!" Kim Eunji who was about to get her first dish asked him as soon as she saw what Nathan had done.
She was still angry at him though and didn't know how far she could keep up with this act.
"Am I not allowed to pamper you?" Nathan suddenly asked her which caught Kim Eunji off-guard.
'Are you really in the role of being my boyfriend right now? Or do you want me to suffer from indigestion because of how these women were threwing dagger like stares at me.' She thought.
She preferred to believe the latter.
"You are." Kim Eunji somehow played along.
Earlier, Nathan asked her to be his woman for tonight's event. Which also implied that they would act like a loving couple in front of everyone.
Nathan told her that she owed him three things therefore he asked her for the third one which was unfortunately being his woman for the night. (For now)
Nathan then gently smiled at her.
"Good girl." Nathan praised.
"--__--"