The Rebirth of the Socialite's Glory (GL) - Chapter 19

Although An Ye’s face clearly showed an expression of impatience, Feng Hua seemed not to notice, still smiling gracefully and generously, extending her hand and saying, “Hello, I am Feng Hua.”

“Hmph.” An Ye snorted, as if he hadn’t seen the hand Feng Hua extended, turning his head away dismissively. When he looked at Ye Qiu beside him, his expression softened somewhat.

Feng Hua withdrew the hand suspended in mid-air, a hint of coldness concealed in her eyes.

Shi Kexuan glanced at An Ye, who was looking at Feng Hua with his nostrils, then looked at the woman beside An Ye, and finally back at Feng Hua. She seemingly naturally looped her arm around Feng Hua’s waist and chuckled softly, “Hua, how about coming with me for a drink? We had a nice chat just now, shall we continue?”

She finished speaking, nodded to the two of them, and then directly guided Feng Hua to the lounge area.

Feng Hua was quite cooperative and came over, but as soon as she sat down, Shi Kexuan saw Feng Hua looking at her with a half-smile, her deep eyes both captivating and harboring danger.

“Just now…” Shi Kexuan was anxious to explain her recent actions.

Feng Hua, however, interrupted Shi Kexuan’s explanation, placed a glass of red wine in Shi Kexuan’s hand, and lifted her lips, which were painted an especially deep red today. “Didn’t you want me to drink with you? Come on.”

After giving the red wine to Shi Kexuan, Feng Hua took a glass for herself. She put an arm around Shi Kexuan’s shoulder, and their wine glasses clinked. “Cheers.”

Feng Hua tilted her head back and drank the glass in one gulp. A drop of red wine trailed down the corner of her mouth to her neck and continued flowing down until it disappeared into the unseeable region… The trail left by that drop of red wine shimmered in the light on her fair skin, carrying a subtle allure and seduction.

Shi Kexuan swallowed, then also drained the wine in her glass in one go.

This was only the beginning. The guests were exchanging pleasantries, dancing, and comparing themselves, while the hostesses of the banquet were in a corner, pouring red wine for each other, glass after glass.

Feng Hua raised her empty glass, asking Shi Kexuan with her eyes, “Do you dare to drink more?”

Shi Kexuan’s vision was already blurry, but her courage had also grown. Forgetting Feng Hua’s status, she rolled her eyes at Feng Hua, her red lips slightly parted to reveal neat, white teeth. Then, she actually used her teeth to open a bottle of beer directly and said, “Whoever doesn’t dare is an idiot! Let’s continue!”

Drinking mixed alcohol would make one drunk faster. Feng Hua shook her head with a hint of schadenfreude, then took another glass of red wine and clinked it against Shi Kexuan’s beer bottle.

An Ye and Ye Qiu, sitting not far from the two, had been observing them. Seeing them drink for a long time, glass after glass, An Ye’s expression was very odd. He looked at Ye Qiu and couldn’t help but complain, “Are those two alcoholics? And how can their stomachs hold so much liquid?!”

Ye Qiu’s eyes had been glued to Feng Hua’s hand resting on Shi Kexuan’s, enduring the sight again and again. It was only when Shi Kexuan’s head got closer and closer to Feng Hua’s shoulder that she finally couldn’t bear it anymore. She pulled An Ye and said, “Let’s go take a look.”

Although An Ye didn’t know why Ye Qiu wanted to go see those two drunkards, seeing that Ye Qiu was already walking over, he had no choice but to reluctantly follow them.

What An Ye didn’t expect was that when Ye Qiu walked up to Feng Hua and said something—he didn’t know what—Feng Hua actually poured the unfinished wine in her glass all over Ye Qiu.

An Ye rushed over to Ye Qiu, asking nervously, “Are you okay?” Seeing that Ye Qiu’s clothes had become transparent because of the red wine, and wine was still dripping down her clothing, his face flushed, and he quickly took off his suit jacket and covered Ye Qiu with it.

Ye Qiu stared intently at Feng Hua, and upon hearing An Ye, she nodded slightly.

Only then did An Ye look at Feng Hua and blurt out a curse, “Hag!” [Literally: “Shrew” or “Vixen”]

Feng Hua glanced at An Ye. Her eyes, which looked moist and harmless due to the rush of alcohol, choked An Ye. Still, he opened his mouth to question her, “How dare you bully Ye Qiu? She is the person I brought, and looking down on her is looking down on me.”

Feng Hua looked down at her empty wine glass, thinking about what Ye Qiu had just said to her, not taking An Ye’s words to heart. To her, An Ye was merely a pet she favored. He was unruly now, but he would have to suffer more during his training later.

Ye Qiu had said, “You like her, and not me, because she has more utility?”

When Feng Hua saw Ye Qiu say those words with that face, her body reacted faster than her brain. The expensive red wine in her hand was directly “fed” to Ye Qiu’s clothes.

Just as the atmosphere between the three of them became tense, Shi Kexuan’s empty glass dropped onto the sofa, and her entire body slumped onto Feng Hua’s shoulder.

Feng Hua tried to push her, but Shi Kexuan was too heavily drunk. Aside from shallow breathing, her entire body was motionless—she was dead drunk. Feng Hua then had no choice but to lift her up. She walked steadily in her ten-centimeter heels without the slightest wobble, not at all looking like someone wearing ten-centimeter heels, holding a person, and being drunk herself. An Ye was visibly shocked.

“I’m taking Xiao Xuan to rest first.” Feng Hua held the person securely around the waist. With one hand, she tightly bunched up Shi Kexuan’s skirt, embracing her under the bend of her legs. She looked at Uncle Wang from a distance and nodded.

Feng Hua walked a few steps, but Ye Qiu grabbed her hand from behind. Wine was still dripping down, making the beautifully dressed Ye Qiu look utterly distressed at the moment. “Xiao Hua…”

The moment Ye Qiu gave her a look of imminent tears, it was often the moment Feng Hua couldn’t control her own consciousness. She subconsciously said, “Follow me.”

Ye Qiu smiled, satisfied, and turned back to say to An Ye, “See you later.” She then followed closely behind Feng Hua, taking quick steps and no longer sparing a glance for the bewildered An Ye behind her.

An Ye felt that everything tonight was a bit off. The relationship between Ye Qiu, whom he liked, and Feng Hua seemed complicated, and Feng Hua, his cheap fiancée—though beautiful and seemingly easy to control—An Ye felt there was something strange about her.

Feng Hua brought Shi Kexuan to the guest room, put her on the bed, took off her shoes, and covered her with a blanket. As for bathing and changing into pajamas, Feng Hua felt that even if she intended to befriend Shi Kexuan, she didn’t want to serve her this much.

Twisting her neck, Feng Hua ignored Ye Qiu, who was following her like a shadow, and walked into the master bedroom, which was Feng Hua’s room.

“Start running the water and wash up yourself. I’ll get you clothes later.” She pushed Ye Qiu into the bathroom and firmly shut the door.

Just as Feng Hua was about to find an outfit for Ye Qiu, the door was suddenly opened, and a group of tall bodyguards stood at the entrance. Feng Heng walked in.

Feng Hua’s heart tightened, and she immediately thought of Ye Qiu in the bathroom.

“I will be leaving soon,” Feng Heng said flatly, then placed the gift in his hand in front of Feng Hua. “Happy birthday. This is your present.”

Feng Hua blinked, and an expression of ecstatic joy slowly welled up in her eyes. “Thank you, Father.”

Feng Hua hugged the gift tightly, glanced at the small box, and then at Feng Heng, her requests written all over her face.

Feng Heng said, “Open it if you want to.”

Feng Hua opened the box as instructed. Inside lay an exquisite necklace. It was truly delicate and beautiful, more beautiful than any necklace Feng Hua had ever seen. Feng Hua guaranteed that in the jewelry world, no necklace could surpass it. Setting aside the ingenious craftsmanship, just looking at the blooming flower petals carved from an entire block of Imperial Jadeite and the chain made of Lantian Jade was enough to make one gasp at the preciousness of its materials.

“So beautiful…” Feng Hua sincerely praised it.

Feng Heng’s voice was low as he slowly said, “This was handmade by your mother. She personally designed and carved it. This was also the gift she prepared for you as a ‘meeting gift’ when she was planning to conceive you. I didn’t give it to you back then, but now you are growing up. Although you are only seventeen, you can already stand on your own, so I decided to hand the necklace over to you.” He paused, then continued, “This was originally given to you by your mother; it belongs to you.”

Feng Hua thought she probably understood why Feng Heng only gave her this gift, which her mother intended as a ‘meeting gift,’ when she turned seventeen. It was likely that Feng Heng looked at this necklace and missed his wife, perhaps even reaching a point where he couldn’t bear to part with the necklace and give it to Feng Hua.

Feng Heng was truly utterly devoted to his wife.

They sat in silence. Feng Heng and Feng Hua genuinely had nothing to talk about. Feng Heng’s arrival was sudden, and his departure was equally swift. In an instant, he and his bodyguards disappeared from the villa without leaving any trace, not disturbing anyone other than Feng Hua. It was as clean as if he had never appeared.

The stunning necklace was held in Feng Hua’s palm, but she had no urge to wear it around her neck.

This necklace was the meeting gift given by Ye Qiu’s mother to Ye Qiu. It was the only thing Ye Qiu’s mother had left her.

It was just a necklace; she disdained to claim it.

Feng Hua chose a dress and handed it to Ye Qiu. She didn’t walk into the bathroom without restraint as she did when she was a child. After all, she had grown up; it was no longer an age where she could casually see naked bodies.

When Ye Qiu came out, she saw Feng Hua intently looking at a necklace. The necklace was gleaming with a soft luster, so beautiful that one couldn’t look away.

Because Feng Hua’s gaze upon the necklace was filled with undisguised affection, and because the necklace’s extraordinary value was discernible at a glance, Ye Qiu thought her ears were playing tricks on her when Feng Hua said she was giving the necklace to her.

But Feng Hua personally put the necklace around her neck. Feng Hua’s fingertips were slightly cool but carried a real sensation, telling Ye Qiu that this was not a dream.

“Xiao Hua, I want to sleep with you tonight, okay?” Perhaps Feng Hua’s expression tonight was too gentle, as she impulsively blurted out this request.

Feng Hua paused but ultimately did not refuse, nor did she make Ye Qiu sleep on the floor.

She came back after her shower and lay down on one side of the bed, leaving the other side for Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu cautiously climbed in and lay on her side, looking at Feng Hua.

The noise continued downstairs, but the room was dimly lit and quiet. Their breaths rose and fell in turn. Just as both of them were about to fall asleep, Feng Hua softly whispered, “Happy birthday.”

The voice was so faint that Ye Qiu almost thought it was an illusion.