After that news was announced, everything was in chaos but Feng Ping was none the wiser.

After collapsing onto the bed, she slept all the way until the next afternoon when room service woke her up to eat lunch. After eating lunch, she went to Yi Eryang's office as usual when his a.s.sistant notified her that he was currently with Zhou xiaojie for her dress fitting. Consequently, she switched directions and went to the fitting room in the back, only to find the male that she b.u.mped into yesterday sitting on the red couch when she opened the door.

It was the celebrity Han Yi, a singer who recently exploded into popularity.

This time he wasn't wearing any sungla.s.ses and after staring at her for three seconds with his phoenix eyes, he indifferently went back to reading the magazine in his hands again.

Feng Ping couldn't tell if he recognized her or not but didn't say anything and went directly inside. She wasn't even close before she already heard Yi Eryang's helpless and tired voice, “Zhou xiaojie, if you're still not satisfied with this, then I really…”

When she pushed the door open, all eyes in the room focused on her. Yi Eryang had a clear expression of relief on his face and took a couple of large steps to pounce on her, whispering by her ear, “my G.o.d(1), you're my king.”

Seeing that Zhou xiaojie‘s expression, Feng Ping secretly thought that his words weren't quite true and laughed as she whispered back, “nono, the customer is the king.”

This Zhou Xinzhu xiaojie was the ice beauty she met yesterday.

Her gaze was much sharper than the Han xiansheng(2) sitting outside. Coldly measuring Feng Ping, she looked at Yi Eryang and with a very haughty tone, coldly asked, “Who is she?”

Other than Feng Ping and Yi Eryang in the room, there were also two a.s.sistants responsible for helping with the fitting. Everyone s.h.i.+vered. As a male, Yi Eryang hated this type of condescending tone, and pretended he didn't hear anything. The female a.s.sistant was quick-witted and hurried to smooth things over and truthfully introduced, “She's our part-timer, her name is Feng Ping.”

Zhou Xinzhu raised her lips into a cold smile and let go of the evening dress that was in her hands. Setting her gaze on Feng Ping, she spoke in a measured tone, “That means…you're not a reporter?”

Other than Feng Ping, everyone else was bewildered. The a.s.sistant who just spoke had no idea what the situation was, and her smile was starting to become forced.

Yi Eryang suspiciously looked at Feng Ping, “Your main job is a reporter?”

Feng Ping faintly smiled, “No.”

Zhou Xinzhu spoke coldly again, “Eryang, this employee of yours sure has some skills…”

Yi Eryang already detected that something had happened between the two, but he detested her critical att.i.tude as well as her arrogant tone. Even though her words thinly veiled insults, he went with the flow, “En, Feng Ping is truly a genius, in the future she'll definitely seize all the prizes in the fas.h.i.+on world.”

Zhou Xinzhu was originally only half angry, but she was angered even more by these words. But she couldn't figure out what Yi Eryang was trying to say, and as her brain churned, she couldn't recall anyone important whose surname was Feng. But Ren Yao was suddenly kicked out of the hotel, so clearly it was because of what happened yesterday. However, even if this yatou(3) surnamed Feng had someone back her, what of it? When was she, Zhou Xinzhu, ever afraid of anyone?

Thinking of it like this, her face unconsciously revealed a smile. When she wasn't smiling, she looked like an ice beauty. When she did smile, she looked even more like an ice beauty, those red lips and white teeth along with those icy eyes really caused one's heart to freeze.

“Eryang, did you see today's newspaper?”

“I haven't had the chance to, what happened?”

“Do you know who Han Yi's manager is?”

“I do.”

“Yesterday he got blacklisted by s.h.i.+guang Hotel.”

“Ah? How did that happen?” Yi Eryang was truly surprised.

The type of men that Feng Ping hated the most were ones that didn't respect women. Yesterday that rained down insults to her face and his stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol caused her to almost suffocate. In a fit of fury, she wanted to kick him out because she didn't want to see him in the hotel. Who could've thought that Fang Botao not only kicked him out, he also blacklisted him.

Hehe, he sure did things quite thoroughly.

After hearing this news from out of the blue, she felt both vindicated and happy, her face betraying her emotions as the corners of her mouth lifting up. Seeing this, Zhou Xinzhu was boiling, and Yi Eryang had a face full of curiosity.

Spreading her hands, her voice was full of helplessness, “That can't be helped. That gentleman's character was too poor and was very rude, if he were to act so impolitely to the other guests in the hotel…”

“Other guests?” Zhou Xinzhu squinted her eyes as she evaluated her. Not a single article of clothing was from a brand she knew, and yet this woman could live in s.h.i.+guang Hotel?

“What? Are you also living in s.h.i.+guang Hotel?”

Zhou Xinzhu was originally quite tall and currently she was also wearing a pair of high heels, forcing Feng Ping to have to look up at her as she smiled, “Occasionally I'll stay there, is that unusual?”

Zhou Xinzhu furrowed her eyebrows. Even though she didn't like her (Feng Ping), she couldn't deny her beauty.

Contemplating this point, her brain suddenly lit up: Could she be…? If it was like this, then that wouldn't be out of the ordinary—She couldn't help but take another glance at Feng Ping.

Feng Ping clearly felt a sense of disdain from her eyes, and couldn't figure out why when she heard her coldly speak, “It's not unusual. It's just that Feng xiaojie, everyone is a part of this circle, so everyone interacts with each other quite often. Don't go too overboard when doing things.”

This sentence already revealed a thick sense of hostility.

Yi Eryang hurriedly tried to let Feng Ping escape, “I'm currently waiting for a fax from Paris, can you help me see if it's been sent over yet?”

How could Feng Ping not know what he was trying to say? She agreed and prepared to step out.

Zhou Xinzhu still wanted to continue with this topic of conversation when Han Yi suddenly came in, “Are you still not done?”

She could only stifle her words.

Zhou Xinzhu had a height of 178 cm and debuted when she was sixteen, grabbing the top award at model compet.i.tions, on top of that she also came from a wealthy family, so she had quite a bit of fame in Asia. Although she had a shapely figure, her hips were a little wide, which was one of her insecurities, so she was always very sensitive about them. Currently, she was unhappy with this evening for making her b.u.t.t look a little too big. In reality, this worry was just a manifestation of her own insecurity.

Yi Eryang spoke until his mouth was dry and still couldn't get her to stop worrying about her b.u.t.t. Han Yi simply said a couple of sentences to make it work. He said, “This evening gown is really creative, Xinzhu, if you wear this, you'll definitely be the belle of the ball at the event in two days.”

Zhou Xinzhu was slightly suspicious, “You don't think that the back…has a little problem?”

He seriously took a look and said, “It's perfect. I can't pick out any flaws.”

Zhou Xinzhu finally was satisfied and very happily faced Yi Eryang, “Alright. Then let's not alter anything. The day after tomorrow, send it to my house at six.”

Yi Eryang and those two female a.s.sistants wanted to vomit blood. Using their professional viewpoints, they explained each and every detail about the dress to her, from the materials used to the design, yet she didn't buy their explanations. Yet with just a sentence, Han Yi was able to accomplish this. No wonder why people said that women become dumb when they're in love.

After sending off Zhou da xiaojie, Yi Eryang immediately flew to the soft couch, and not even three minutes pa.s.sed before the sounds of his snores could be heard as he went off to dreamland.

Seeing how there wasn't anything for her to do, Feng Ping also went back home. There was a sticky note on her door with words written: After seeing this, please give me a call. Ah'Nan's signature was on the bottom.

Opening her door, she threw the sticky note into the trashcan and set her purse down. Taking off her jacket and changing her shoes, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and put on some lotion before going into her bedroom.

The bedroom was very s.p.a.cious since she renovated it after knocking down the wall in between the two rooms. With this, there was much more s.p.a.ce, and she felt she could breathe a little easier. The decor inside was quite simple; there was only a bed, closet, phone, office desk, and computer. She didn't have any TVs, DVD players, stereos, or anything else. The curtains on the windows were imported from abroad and were great at reducing outside noise. Occasionally when she wanted to forget about the world outside, all she had to do was close the door and not look at any newspapers, not listen to the radio, and not open her computer. Staring out from the thirteenth floor, it was as if she was looking into a mirror, as there was an identical apartment building right across fro her. If the distance was close enough and if her eyesight was extremely good, then she would be able to see her reflection in the gla.s.s.

Right now, all she could see was the cold gla.s.s of the golden skysc.r.a.per, causing her to feel a little sad. As you've probably guessed, when a person has already obtained a satisfactory standard of living, their minds always feel a little empty inside. If this person were to also be very sensitive, it would be very easy to go crazy.

Feng Ping was once this type of person.

There was a period of time when she held no interest in anything, and she had already grown tired of the b.a.l.l.s and banquets she had attended ever since she was young. There wasn't any fresh entertainment options either, and as for the type of youthful love that would cause one's face to turn red and their heart to jump, hehe, she really had obtained far too many things far too easily. Usually, of every group of ten young men that she met, there would be seven that would directly proclaim their love, and the other three would come up with all sorts of methods to hint at their interest for her. It's just that these people used a different way to profess their feelings, that's all.

She studied finance, business, philosophy, etc., basically a lot of majors, but she didn't finish studying any one of them. She didn't know what the purpose of studying them was. She had a personal team of consultants, with each person being at the top of their respective fields, and she paid them over seven figured each month. The thing she should do the most was generously show off and spend her wealth, and then quietly wait for death to take her away.

Truthfully, she really did do this until one day, she met An Yuesheng.

An Yuesheng, she liked that name of his. An, Yue, Sheng, each word was filled with happiness. So many beautiful names, the her at that time—

Ring ring!

The sudden ringing of the phone startled her.

She turned away from the window and looked at the caller ID first before picking up, “What's up?”

Hearing her short greeting, the other side spoke in one breath, “Teacher Zhang in the western area called to ask whether you have time to attend a school inauguration three days from now? Also, they are insisting that they want to name the school after you—”

“No need.”

“I've already rejected them for you.”

“Heh!” Her lips twitched and raised her hands to tiredly rub at her temples, “Do I have anything on my schedule?”

“No.” The other party replied very concisely.

She laughed bitterly, “No one comes to find me anymore, have I already fallen this far?”

The other party also laughed, “If you want to calculate it this way, then let's take a look at the recent invitations you received at your home in England…ehem, in the upcoming week, you have five banquet invitations, there are others from the fas.h.i.+on world, cultural world, etc. where the chairs of several organizations personally wrote the invitation, there's also…”

“Never mind.”

You've already left the circle, yet they still send you invitations like always, never missing a single event. Hehe, nowadays, whoever is able to get you to come out would definitely bring a lot of pride to their guests.”

Feng Ping gently laughed, “My precious shortie dashu(4), how many chocolates did you eat today?”

“Not even a single one.” Dashu very serious answered her, “My precious Pingguo(5) xiaojie, have you made a decision? I have a pile of stuff to do every day.”

“I don't really want to move…” Feng Ping pouted as she drew out her words.

“I understand xiaojie, next time please don't recklessly commit acts of charity.” Dashu was about to hang up but then he decided to continue, “Oh, I almost forgot. A few days ago I received news that there will be some antiques being auctioned off in Shengying soon. There'll be a vase from the early Ming Dynasty, and it's starting bid will probably be around 3,000,000. If you're feeling bored and have free time, you can go take a look.”

“Alright.”

Feng Ping smiled as she agreed and hung up the phone. Laying back down on her bed, she was too lazy to move. Turning her head, she saw her reflection in the mirror. Seeing the prominent dark circles, her heart felt sour, why work so hard?

But no one can keep youthfulness from fading; time will take it away sooner or later regardless of what efforts one may try. If one were to ask her if there was anything in this world that she hadn't experienced yet or something that she didn't have much experience in, it would probably be working overnight with her colleagues to finish a project. This process still gave her a sense of accomplishment and inclusion.

After studying so many different fields, the one she was most accomplished in was when she self-taught herself how to tailor clothes. If she were to abandon her family and her background and be an ordinary person, this would be the only thing she could live off of.

Sighing, Feng Ping closed her eyes.

Many years ago, when she was still a youth and one that was sensitive towards matters regarding relations.h.i.+ps at that, she contemplated over life, destiny, the purpose of life, etc. But no one was able to give her a satisfactory answer. Her home tutor approvingly encouraged her to experience life, one where she would work for the things she wanted. Bingchen once said we don't need to do this at all because we were born to enjoy life. When people talked about empty topics like freedom and democracy, or when they criticized the luxurious lifestyles of the rich and how they squandered their wealth, they all had one goal in mind: to live the life we had. If they were this easy to get along with, one would be afraid that they had some other motive in mind, haven't we seen plenty of these schemes?

Bingchen very rarely would go off on such a long tangent. Every day he was busy fis.h.i.+ng and hunting as well as. .h.i.tting on pretty girls. Consequently, she didn't even put him into her eyes at that time, she only saw his shallow and frivolous side, disregarding the fact that was an honors student that graduated from England's top college. Afterwards, she spent a very long time to prove that Bingchen was actually correct.

At some point in time, she became lost while walking on the journey of life.

But the happy thing is, she made this mistake early on when she was still young so she had plenty of time to change and start fresh. However, from another perspective, it was a unique experience; it was when her love was the most innocent and fresh. As a result, it was something that was difficult to forget.

Take this Bai Ma Apartments on Yin Hua Street for example, take the numerous clothing warehouses that lined the streets of Yin Hua Street for example, take for example, the very first time when she saw An Yueshang at Xinyue Plaza, and the familiar route that bus 218 took. One time, she saw him when she went to Tanji Noodles, wearing a suit, he was with a group of people as they walked towards the hotel next door. That hotel was decorated very extravagantly and looked to be quite high-cla.s.s. Now that his status was different, naturally he would be picky about the location.

At that time, she only had one thought: Money or power, in the end, men will still choose on. The self-esteem of men are too reliant upon these two things to serve as the foundation of their ego, take a look at An Yuesheng if you don't believe me—

(1) This was said in English in the raws.

(2) xiansheng: Used to refer to a male one is not close with; equivalent to ‘Mr.'

(3) yatou: It's to refer to a girl significantly younger than them, but in this instance, it's used as an insult to refer to someone of a more insignificant status.

(4) The raws stated 矮人大叔, which literally translates to short uncle. If it later gets clarified that this is actually his name, I'll come back and edit everything. For the time being, I'm going to keep uncle as dashu because this is a general term to refer to a male that's around your father's age as well, not just an actual blood-related family member.

(5) Pingguo (蘋果): Literally means apple. The last character of Feng Ping's name is 蘋, which is also the first character for the word ‘apple', so calling her Pingguo is like a cute little nickname.

Forchen Notes: We finally get some more concrete information on Feng Ping's background! Also, if there's ever any spelling or grammar mistakes that you see, please feel free to let me know!