Though girls are sometimes more malicious than men, girls also get their own special forms of happiness - like retail therapy.
Apart from eating, what could one of the most enjoyably girlish activities be but to acquire a bounty of lovely items and dress up beautifully! Xia Wei and co. strolled casually around the Starlight Department Store and came looking brand new from head to toe.
"Whoever said that tan skin can"t be beautiful was wrong! Seriously, just look at that. I"m as gorgeous as a fairy!" Eight Treasures stood at the door of the Starlight Department Store, still admiring her new skirt in the full-length mirror. Xia Wei couldn"t help but take a selfie next to her. Her own heels and skirt were also brand new. Even the silk scarves around her neck had been tied by a guide from the dream wardrobe department.
Although troubles and anguish abound in life and society is unfriendly to women, when she looked at her beautiful self Xia Wei felt like even in the next life, she"d still want to be a girl!
The four indulged in their own beauty for awhile, attracting the eyes of numerous bystanders, and finally walked away with their hands linked. The number of heads they turned along the way was uncountable, and several people almost fell over themselves.
When they were almost at Tian Xia Restaurant, Xia Wei gave Jiang Zhi Zhou a call and he came down to meet them. Although Twiggy owned the apartment above him, it was the first time the two had met in person. "h.e.l.lo, Mr. Jiang. It"s nice to finally meet you."
She studied him carefully. He was more handsome in real life than in the photo previously taken by Eight Treasures, and excellent in both temperament and dress. He looked like a man with self-restraint.
Jiang Zhi Zhou shook hands with her politely and said with a smile, "Twiggy, isn"t it? Thank you for having Xia Wei in your home." He owed these girlfriends a lot for their roles in bringing him and Xia Wei together.
"You"re welcome. Our Xia Wei is a girl with many problems, so for you two to have found each other, should we say it"s like... two birds of a feather?"
"..." Xia Wei looked at her, speechless. "Is this what they talk about when you"ve been abroad so long you can no longer speak Chinese?"
Eight Treasures laughed, "Actually, I thought it was pretty well-said."
Jiang Zhi Zhou didn"t take their ridicule to heart and invited them all in. Xia Wei looked at him, puzzled, as he brought them to a different elevator. Curious, she asked, "I didn"t know there was an elevator here. It"s not the one we usually take."
Jiang Zhi Zhou explained, "This is a private entrance for VIPs. There are a few celebrities who come here for dinner. Since there are more people today, our usual private rooms are pretty booked up, and I can only bring you to the VIP sections."
"So that"s it!" Xia Wei nodded. "Which celebrities come here?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou thought for a moment, "A lot of the ones you see on TV. There"s a production crew here right now for a meal."
"A production crew! Could we peek?" Eight Treasures looked at him hopefully.
Jiang Zhi Zhou replied, "I"m afraid not."
Eight Treasures pursed her lips and glanced over at Twiggy, "I"ve heard that Film Emperor Mo often comes here to eat."
The corner of Twiggy"s mouth twitched. "Yes, yes, I know you went to see his concert, you met him in person, next please!"
"Hmmmm~" Eight Treasures smugly hummed a couple notes.
Upon arriving at the VIP room, they felt like they had stepped into a whole new world. The tiny room they usually ate at suddenly felt so shabby! The waiter was already standing by the door, and when he saw Jiang Zhi Zhou leading them over, he quickly began filling the table with dishes. Jiang Zhi Zhou handed the menu to them and said, "I"ve already taken the liberty of putting in an order for some of Tian Xia Restaurant"s signature dishes, and there are a few that Xia Wei loves to eat here as well. If anything else on the menu catches your eye, please feel free."
Eight Treasures whispered in a squeaky voice, "I think that your sentence, "the dishes that Xia Wei loves to eat" is pretty superfluous."
Tian Tian and Twiggy burst out laughing at the same time, while Xia Wei coughed in embarra.s.sment.
Jiang Zhi Zhou had ordered a great deal of food, and no one dared to order more. Only Eight Treasures called for a few additional bottles of drinks.
The girls dominated the conversation throughout dinner. Jiang Zhi Zhou didn"t interject much, but when he saw that every item on Xia Wei"s body was new, he whispered to her, "Did you just buy all your clothes and shoes today?"
Xia Wei nodded, "Well? Does it at least look good?!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou laughed: "It"s very nice."
"Hey, you two over there, I told you not to whisper and irritate all us other single dogs!" Eight Treasures pointed her chopsticks in their direction, dissatisfied. "We"re here to eat human food, not dog food!"
"Hahaha, Eight Treasures is right!" Twiggy chimed in, then deliberately asked Jiang Zhi Zhou, "Today, Xia Wei spent money like water. Don"t you think she lost control a little?"
"What"s to lose from buying a few clothes? Her being happy is the most important thing. Anyway, she"s spending her own money."
"Oh~!" When he said that, both Eight Treasures and Twiggy increased their tone of voice. "Who told us Mr. Jiang was uptight? His mouth"s sweeter than the desserts we ate this afternoon!"
Xia Wei coughed again and said, "When we first met, he wasn"t at all like this." She deliberately imitated Jiang Zhi Zhou"s voice: "Do you know the harm nail art brings to the human body?"
"Ahahahahahaha!" When she made the imitation, even Tian Tian burst out in laughter.
The meal came to an end amid the happy chatter of a group of girls. Jiang Zhi Zhou felt that it was quite interesting to listen to, and changed his mind on some of his previous a.s.sumptions. Perhaps it was true that there was a young girl in every woman"s heart, no matter their age.
After the meal, the girlfriends went to sing karaoke and didn"t get home until eleven. Since Suns.h.i.+ne was still with Jiang Zhi Zhou, Xia Wei first went downstairs to the 18th floor. "Twiggy, you go home first. I"ll pick up Suns.h.i.+ne."
"Okay." Twiggy had played until she dropped that evening, and her voice was a bit subdued. Xia Wei proceeded to the door of 1808 and pressed the doorbell. She wondered if Jiang Zhi Zhou had slept yet?
Naturally, he hadn"t, since he was waiting up on her. Xia Wei had originally intended to quickly pick up Suns.h.i.+ne and leave, but caught sight of the publicity brochures Jiang Zhi Zhou had put to the side. "What"s this?"
She picked them up. It was the real estate brochure for Kerry International. Jiang Zhi Zhou walked over and said to her, "Don"t you remember I wanted to buy another place. I was hoping we could tour it together, but I got delayed since we were meeting my parents."
"Ah..." Xia Wei had unintentionally begun flipping through the booklet and found the houses inside very appealing. "Look, this one has a garden!"
"It would give Suns.h.i.+ne and Tangerine a little more s.p.a.ce." He looked at Xia Wei. "Why don"t we go and tour it someday?"
"Of course."
Jiang Zhi Zhou smiled and asked, "Are you in a hurry to leave?"
Xia Wei replied, "I"m not in a hurry, but won"t I be bothering your rest?"
"Not at all." Jiang Zhi Zhou went to the kitchen and pulled out a gla.s.s jar. "I made strawberry whiskey a few days ago. It"s only just ready today. Would you like to try it?"
"Strawberry whiskey?" Xia Wei immediately perked up. "Yes please!"
Jiang Zhi Zhou brought out two wine gla.s.ses and poured some pink whiskey in, then added soda. "Would you like ice?"
"Just a few pieces. But I want a strawberry!"
He placed a strawberry in her gla.s.s. Xia Wei took a sip and leaned back on the sofa with a sigh. "It"s great." It would be even better with some mood music.
Jiang Zhi Zhou poured a cup for himself and sat down next to her. "Tastes good."
Xia Wei drank a little before remembering to inquire, "Is this alcoholic?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou laughed, "It has whiskey, so of course it"s alcoholic, but I"ve added both ice and water to it, so it isn"t as potent as it could be."
"Oh..." Xia Wei held his gaze and changed her tone a little. "Getting me drunk in your home at night, are you? Any ulterior motives?"
Jiang Zhi Zhou chuckled. He put down the gla.s.s in his hand, tightened his arm around Xia Wei, and lowered his head to her lips: "Probably this."
Perhaps it really was the alcohol, but Xia Wei felt more intoxicated than ever before by the kiss. As Jiang Zhi Zhou deepened it, the gla.s.s in her hand gradually became unsteady. He seemed to know, and moved her gla.s.s to the table.
Once his hand moved back, he placed it conveniently around her waist and slowly moved it higher. By then, Xia Wei had slid down the sofa and the two were lying side by side. Jiang Zhi Zhou placed one hand on her leg and the other unconsciously moved to her chest.
Xia Wei"s dress hung off her shoulders, and was easily pulled down. His kiss slid along her neck down to the collarbone, lower and lower.
"So you do have bras in other colors." Jiang Zhi Zhou looked at the white lace in front of him and smiled. Xia Wei had by this time already been kissed senseless and immediately struck back in embarra.s.sment. "Don"t you be so arrogant!"
She attempted to pull her collar up, but her hand was held down by Jiang Zhi Zhou. He leaned back down to kiss her lips. The tongue in her mouth entangled her again, unwilling to let her go, and his hands did not stop roaming. Yet somehow, Xia Wei did not feel the discomfort she had imagined she would, but somehow felt... at ease.
Was it the alcohol?
When she finally realized that a change had taken place in his body, Jiang Zhi Zhou stopped. Xia Wei, embarra.s.sed and shy, wondered what she should do. In short, the safest course of action was going back upstairs right now!
"I-- I"ll be heading out!" She sat up and tried to slip away, but Jiang Zhi Zhou caught her waist and held her in her arms.
"You, let go!" Xia Wei said to him, an indignant expression on her face.
But she didn"t scare him at all.
He gazed down at her, his eyes besotted, intoxicated. "Would you like to move in with me?"