Chapter 15: Whispers at the Party

The moment he left, Jiajia could hardly wait to drag me off shopping.
Having money to spend felt wonderful. Every tempting thing that caught my eye deserved to come home with me.
While Jiajia stood at the mirror, comparing one outfit with another, my patience ran out.
“We’ll take all of them,” I told the sales assistant, pointing at her selections.
Jiajia blinked, then gave an embarrassed little smile.
“Really? All of them?”
“All of them.”
Her eyes narrowed into two delighted crescents.
My gaze swept around the shop. Anything remotely appealing went onto the pile.
“This one. This one. That one…”
The sales assistant scrambled to gather everything, terrified of missing a piece.
Once I’d finished choosing, out came my card.
“Pack them up and have them delivered to my house.”
“Certainly!”
Her reply rang out loud and clear.
From there, we went into a shoe shop, where several assistants greeted us with respectful smiles.
“Welcome.”
The place was lavishly decorated. Shoes sat on all kinds of stands like jewels, some displayed behind glass as though they were priceless museum pieces. Soft piano music drifted through the shop. Between that and the luxurious surroundings, every pair looked irresistible.
A glass cabinet caught my eye. Inside stood five pairs of ankle boots, all the same design but in different colors.
“This collection has a vintage style,” the assistant explained. “Very elegant and feminine on the foot. It’s an unusual design—you won’t see many like these. They’re wonderful collector’s pieces.”
They’d already looked interesting. Now I wanted them even more.
“I’ll take all five.”
Even though I was a regular and had always spent freely, she looked taken aback.
“Miss Tang, they are rather expensive.”
My credit card came out of my bag.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I can’t afford them?”
Jiajia leaned closer to inspect the price and gasped.
“Yijun, you’re really buying them?”
“Yes.”
Several more shops followed. Mostly, we just browsed, buying anything we liked without even bothering to try it on.
“If you like it, buy it,” I told Jiajia. “We can sort through everything at home. Whatever we don’t want, we’ll give away.”
That swept away her last reservations. She shopped with abandon.
Spending without a care felt marvelous.
Then I remembered the two hundred yuan I still owed Supervisor Cai.
“Remember to go to Qinglang Hotel and give her five hundred for me.”
Jiajia nodded happily. Shopping had clearly gone to her head. Her eyes stayed fixed on the merchandise, afraid of missing something good.
“Song Jiajia!”
At last, she looked back.
“What?”
“Go to Qinglang Hotel and pay back that money for me. Soon.”
She thought for a moment.
“Yes, yes. Five hundred, right?”
My family had never restricted my spending. Come to think of it, compared with other wealthy girls, I wasn’t particularly extravagant.
A person only had one body. However many clothes you owned, you could wear only one outfit at a time. However many shoes, only one pair. However many bags, only one could go on your arm. Nor would any sane person hang every earring, necklace and other accessory on herself like a Christmas tree.
Mom bought most of my clothes and shoes anyway. Having never lacked anything, I’d never developed much sense of money. If I wanted something, I bought it. If I didn’t need it, I certainly wouldn’t waste time and effort shopping for it.
Looked at properly, that wasn’t extravagant at all.
Today’s spree was something else. Usually, I bought whatever took my fancy, but several of those earlier trips combined wouldn’t have matched this one.
All that time away from home had stifled my urge to spend. Now it had come back with a vengeance.
Swipe, swipe, swipe.
Neither Jiajia nor I had any idea how much we’d bought.
Deliveries arrived at home in batches, and I told her to come over and take her pick.
Mom’s only comment was a murmured, “Why so much?”
Before long, it was time for Jiajia’s grandfather’s eightieth birthday celebration. Our whole family was invited.
As usual, Mom had me dressed like a little princess. A Barbie princess.
Off we went together, one big happy family.
Once at Jiajia’s house, everyone went their separate ways. I went to find her. Mom joined her circle of society wives, Dad had business associates to entertain, and Big Brother and Tong Xueyou had their own friends.
“Look, Yijun’s here!”
Jiajia got up eagerly to welcome me.
Several pretty faces turned my way. All familiar: Zhuang Qian, Huang Yiyi, Li Yan, and… Sun Wenyuan.
“Come and sit with us!”
They sounded warm enough.
The truth was, none of them really enjoyed my company. They were just putting on a show to avoid offending me.
“Your dress is lovely, Yijun.”
“It’s all right.”
“Why have Boshan and Xueyou postponed their wedding?” Sun Wenyuan suddenly asked.
“Yes, why?”
Curious eyes turned toward me.
“Didn’t you hear? They’re busy with work, and an unexpected business trip came up. They’re choosing another date.”
My reply was neither warm nor cold. That was what Mom had told me.
“I even had a dress specially made. Now I won’t get a chance to wear it.”
That sugary voice of Sun Wenyuan’s made my skin crawl.
“Miss Wenyuan! What a pleasant surprise.”
A smartly dressed man approached and greeted her enthusiastically. Their glasses touched in a flirtatious little toast. Only after a sip of wine did his attention turn to the rest of us.
A closer look told me who this supposed young gentleman was.
Ma Shaoqi.
Handsome on the outside, an utter lecher underneath. Nothing but a playboy, as far as I was concerned.
“Oh, Yijun’s here too!”
He made a show of surprise.
“It’s been ages.”
“It has.”
I smiled at him. How generous of him to smile so brightly and let bygones be bygones.
After a nod to the others, he made himself scarce.
With me there, why would he stay?
A few years earlier, I’d slapped him. He’d hated me ever since and avoided me whenever we met.
My temper was famous. Everyone chose their words a little more carefully around me.
During the party, several men came over.
“Would any of you ladies care to dance?”
Couples were already turning across the dance floor to our right. Colored lights played over them, their bright clothes swirling like butterflies.
Before long, I was the only one left at our table.
Everyone was having such a wonderful time.
That idiot Jiajia lost her head at the sight of a handsome man. Sun Wenyuan looked like a complete temptress, all fluttering smiles and laughter.
Then a familiar figure caught my eye.
Without meaning to, I followed his back across the floor. Another couple turned and blocked him from view. A little later, they spun away, revealing him with a long-haired beauty.
Ji Feiyang.
A cold little smile touched my lips. Usually so stern, yet he could look quite romantic when he danced.
His partner wore a strapless white gown, her straight hair falling over her shoulders. Pretty features, a gentle air, lovely eyes gazing at him with tenderness.
So that was the sort of woman he liked.
His hand rested on her waist.
For some reason, the sight bothered me.
“What a lecher,” I muttered.
A sip of wine, then a look around.
Where was Big Brother?
Getting up, I carried my clear stemmed glass in one hand and lifted my skirt with the other, weaving among the guests. No sign of him.
At the edge of the dance floor, I stopped.
Was he dancing too?
He was.
His dark eyes rested lovingly on Tong Xueyou. They stood so close, so terribly close. So intimate.
My heart ached. A tear slipped down my cheek.
Then the voices of Sun Wenyuan and Ma Shaoqi reached me.
They’d left the dance floor and noticed from a distance that my seat was empty.
Sun Wenyuan gave a derisive little snort.
“Wonder who was brave enough to ask her to dance.”
She hadn’t noticed me standing behind her.
“Exactly,” Ma Shaoqi agreed. “That shrew. Can’t stand the sight of her.”
Sun Wenyuan covered her mouth and laughed.
“She really is a tigress. Slapping you in front of everyone! If I were you, I wouldn’t have cared whether she was a man or a woman. I’d have slapped her right back.”
“A gentleman uses words, not fists,” he said with a strained smile. “I wasn’t going to stoop to her level.”
“What a coward. A grown man letting a little girl slap him. Aren’t you ashamed?”
His head lowered in embarrassment.
“How about I teach you a way to get even?”
Sun Wenyuan was full of nasty ideas.
“How?”
“Later, pretend you’re drunk and spill wine on her. Make it look like an accident.”
He hastily waved the suggestion away.
“Oh, no. Forget it. I’m a grown man. Why would I bother with some little woman? A little girl, really.”
“What are you afraid of? I’ll hold her back. You can get away.”
His reluctance earned him a glare.
“Coward.”
She pushed past him to leave, but he caught her arm.
“Who says I’m afraid? I just don’t want to stoop to her level. Fine, I’ll do it. As if she scares me.”