"Is that my sister with my love rival?", Rong Xinghe asked later. She had already downed three shots of vodka by then. Although her alcohol tolerance was pretty high, she had started to feel a tad bit dizzy. She blamed it on the party-ish vibes surrounding her. And the fact that she was really tired. From all the work she had dealt with before showing up at this party. "Hey, hey! Go easy on the drinks.", Xi Wei pinched the s.p.a.ce between her brows before he s.n.a.t.c.hed the flute of champagne from the girl, "Why are you so grumpy tonight? What happened, Sister-in-law?"
Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at the man before she extended her hand towards him in a domineering manner. "Give me the bottle, Little Panda!", she said, indignant.
"No."
"Wei. I had a very bad day. Give the d.a.m.ned bottle.", the girl scowled.
"Then talk to me about it. Don"t drink too much.", the man shrugged his shoulders, "Tell me. Come on." He couldn"t let her get wasted. Not under the vigilant scrutiny of her two brothers, at least.
"Guess who showed up at my office today.", the girl smiled wryly, "My beloved grandfather. Rong Quiang."
Xi Wei was stunned for a moment before he turned to look at the girl. And d.a.m.n, she looked miserable. Even her light makeup couldn"t conceal the pain in her eyes. He knew she wasn"t up for dealing with Huang Biu tonight. She couldn"t care any less about her when her mind was trying to dispose of the dark memories floating in front of her eyes.
"Sister-in-law, I am so--"
"Give me the bottle, Wei.", the girl commanded this time. She was here to drink. And she was going to drink, no matter what.
__________________
It had been an hour since Huang Biu and Rong Xiao were "mingling" with one another. It was actually fun. Rong Xiao was genuinely enjoying this "putting on a pretense" drama. All of a sudden, she had a newfound respect for her twin. Getting into someone"s head wasn"t as easy as it looked like. She had been trying it for so long and yet she was only able to make Huang Biu fess up about her feelings for Xi Yuan.
"I like him.", the woman said, draining the last drop of wine from her gla.s.s, "But I don"t know what"s on his mind."
"Uh-huh.", the girl grinned, swaying her hips side-to-side gracefully, "So why do you think you have a chance with him? No offense but don"t you think he has thousands of women surrounding him already."
"None taken.", Huang Biu smiled smugly, "For starters, we have been to the same school, so I have been the closest girl to him. Ever. Secondly, well... Huang family has connections with the Xis. Thirdly, my capabilities can"t be just underestimated, you know?"
"I am sorry to break it to you, Ms. Huang...", Rong Xiao chuckled, "But as far as I can remember, you aren"t the one President Xi trusted with Xi Corporations" emergency share transfers. It was-"
"It was Rong Xinghe.", the woman"s eyes turned a few shades darker as she interrupted the girl. It was something she felt humiliated about. Even today. "But I wasn"t in Country X then, Dr. Rong.", she stated nevertheless, "Anyhow, I support him in each one of his decisions. I will see you around."
As Huang Biu vanished through the crowd, Rong Xiao couldn"t help but giggle to herself. That was fun!
Was she really counting upon the Xi family elders to pressure her Brother-in-law to marry her? How stupid did she think Xi Yuan was? That man wasn"t someone who allowed his family to have access over his life. He couldn"t be controlled. Not to mention, this had her sister involved. He would never compromise his Xinghe for just anyone, that was something Rong Xiao was very sure of by now.
At this time, a pair of strong hands snaked around the girl"s waist and pulled her against a firm chest. The girl lifted her head up to look at her boyfriend smiling at her. "What have you been up to all this time?", she asked, raising her brows ever so slightly.
"Well. Taking care of your sister.", Xi Wei answered, handing her his gla.s.s of tequila.
"She is here?", Rong Xiao turned her head to look towards the barside. There she was, drinking her beer, leaning her back against the Black leather armchair, waving at her, "I almost a.s.sumed she wouldn"t show up. But what is up with her? She looks... upset."
"She is. Something about work.", Xi Wei decided to not ruin the mood of the other sister too. He could handle only one drunk girl at a time, after all. He would tell Rong Xiao about the old Rong"s appearance later. After two-three days, maybe.
"Ok. So there won"t be more drama with Huang Biu?", the girl was disappointed. She couldn"t deny that her sister was way better at face-slapping than her. She was really looking forward to it.
"Nope. But didn"t you have enough entertainment already?"
"Oh no. I did! That was amazing. Let me tell you about all of it.", Xi Wei could see the girl"s eyes s.h.i.+ne, even in the darkness. He didn"t know if it was because of the alcohol or the music, but he found himself capturing her lips with his, their bodies moving in unparalleled sensual sync. "Oh, I love this doctor.", he mumbled to himself.
______________________
2:00 a.m.
Rong Xinghe looked at her sister and Xi Wei enjoying and dancing, hand-in-hand and a smile slipped her lips. They were so in love. And they did befit together.
She could feel the earth rocking beneath her, her mind drifting in and out with each second pa.s.sing. Her cheeks, her ears and even the tip of her nose, revealed a faint and feminine rosiness. Her lips seemed to have softened and reddened even more than they were before she"d walked in. She could feel the heaviness of her eyes. And she could feel the cold liquid oozing out the pain from her heart gradually. She knew, better than anyone, that she was drunk. That she was way out of her senses. But for this one night, she wanted to stop thinking or cursing her destiny. She just wanted to smile. Effortlessly.
Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated her bliss, her elation. Not people like Huang Biu, at least.
The girl had just stood up from her seat, intending to order another drink for herself when a huge clammy hand rested over her back, trailing down her waist, stopping at her right hip.
"Shall we have some alone time, Darling?", a disgusting old voice resonated from her behind, pulling "everyone nearby"s" attention towards Rong Xinghe.