It was getting colder and colder every day, so Gu Nianbin bought a full set of autumn clothes for Du Xiaoxian. She did not go to the shop, the manager brought the catalog to their apartment for her to choose. She was still not good at picking clothes. Fortunately, Gu Nianbin helped her with it for a whole morning. Finally, she chose some, but Gu Nianbin thought those weren’t enough, so he took the catalog over and chose other clothes for her with his unique taste decisively. Du Xiaoxian kept saying from the side, “Enough, enough, those are enough for me!”
Standing respectfully aside, the manager’s eyes narrowed into slits from her big smile. She was really lucky to have such a generous customer.
When they were done choosing clothes, the manager asked a shop assistant to hang up the dress for Gu Nianbin for a look. This was the gown that Du Xiaoxian would wear to attend Yang Liying’s Debutante Ball. It was fruit green with a fine texture, looking fresh and clean. Because Du Xiaoxian was not tall, it was specially tailored for her. A bubble hem and wide sleeves were added. The bat sleeves were sewed to the tightened collar in the front. It also has a low back design with beautiful curves.
Gu Nianbin felt that it was not bad and said to Du Xiaoxian, “Try it on.”
Although Du Xiaoxian always wore trousers, she liked skirts. Moreover, it was such a beautiful gown. Hearing Gu Nianbin’s words, she immediately took it into her room happily.
When she came out, Gu Nianbin was in a trance for a moment. Du Xiaoxian’s skinny body was perfectly wrapped in the dress. The fruit-green color made her skin shine. The large bat sleeves covered her thin shoulders, and the tightened collar in the front revealed her delicate collarbones. Under the bubble hem was a pair of beautiful legs. Her black hair scattered along her shoulders, and there was a coy smile in her clear big eyes. At that moment, Gu Nianbin felt that everything was unreal, as if she was an elf who had accidentally fell into the mortal world, and in the blink of an eye, she would disappear.
The manager and the shop assistant clapped their hands and kept saying loudly, “So beautiful, really beautiful!”
The praise made the little girl become even more shy, she stood there and moved her body uncomfortably.
Gu Nianbin stood up and smiled as he reached his hand to her. Du Xiaoxian slowly walked over, her fluffy skirt slightly undulating. The light green muslin swayed like the wind blowing through a grass field.
“Not bad, this is it.” Gu Nianbin pulled her hand and spun her around. He frowned slightly when he saw the low-back curve revealing her snow-white back.
“Changed the curve into a straight line in the back, and move an inch upwards.”
“Alright,” said the manager, “I’ll fix it as soon as possible and send it here on time.”
Gu Nianbin nodded. Seeing that Du Xiaoxian was still full of excitement, he smiled and pinched her face, “If you don’t want to take it off, just keep it on.”
Hearing this, Du Xiaoxian finally realized that she still needed to take it off to make some alterations. She ran into the room with a red face and changed her clothes.
When the manager and the shop assistant left, Du Xiaoxian asked, “What present should I give Yang Liying this time? It seems like this ball is more important than the last one. Something also very expensive? Last time, Wang Qian said that the purse is very expensive and can’t be bought even with money.” She was slightly confused, “Is there anything else that can’t be bought with money?”
‘”The limited edition is only fancy because rarity meant expensive. Money is not important, but identity is. Don’t worry about Miss Yang’s gift. She will like what I picked for her.” Gu Nianbin said, “The Yangs can also be considered a wealthy family. There will be many guests that day. Don’t be nervous because there are so many people. Call me if you don’t want to stay there, I’ll ask Xiaoding to pick you up.”
Du Xiaoxian didn’t ask him why he wouldn’t go. Subconsciously, she didn’t want him to go. As for the reasons, she couldn’t remember that for now. She felt a little uneasy in her heart, as if she had forgotten something very important that she could not recall at all.
When she walked into the Yang Family villa on that day, Du Xiaoxian finally remembered that important thing, Xia Xiaowan was here!
Of course she would be here. She was Yang Liying’s cousin!
Xia Xiaowan was dressed in a black evening gown long enough to reach her ankles. Her hair was coiled high above her head. Her exquisite makeup, elegant temperament and gentle smile made Du Xiaoxian freeze. She wanted to escape.
But Xia Xiaowan had clearly seen her already. She was very surprised and greeted her with a light smile, “It’s you! I almost couldn’t recognize you. How beautiful you are!”
“Miss Xia.” Du Xiaoxian greeted her in a reserved manner.
“You can call me sister.” Xia Xiaowan said with a smile, “You are Liying’s classmate. Call me sister like her.”
Du Xiaoxian’s lips trembled, but failed to call her sister.
Xia Xiaowan took her hand and smiled, “No wonder Nianbin had said that you are timid. Don’t be nervous. I’ll take you to Liying.”
Du Xiaoxian’s mind was completely blank, as if it had stopped working. Being held by Xia Xiaowan, her palms were sticky, all covered in sweat. However, she did not dare to break free and was pulled into the hall by her just like that.
Tonight’s star Yang Liying was in the hall, chatting and laughing with her friends. She was wearing a silver gown with a long train on the ground. The low-cut dress was decorated with pink roses on the front. The slim fit of the design at the waist revealed her good figure. Two strands of her fluffy wavy hair were taken from each side and made into two braids, hanging behind her ears. She looked lively and cute. Her wavy hair trembled slightly as she moved, making her look very dynamic. But the only thing that Du Xiaoxian couldn’t take her eyes off was the crown on her head, which shone brightly under the giant crystal chandelier.
Xia Xiaowan called her in a gentle voice, “Liying, look who’s here.”
Hearing this, Yang Liying answered as she turned this way. She stopped smiling for a moment when she saw Du Xiaoxian, but immediately revealed blossoming smiles the next second. She left her friends, walked over to welcome her, “Xiaoxian, you’re here.”
Du Xiaoxian quickly gave her the bag in her hand, “Happy birthday!”
“Thank you!” Yang Liying smiled sweetly and opened the paper bag. Inside was a rectangular box with simple English letters printed on it. There was a faint fragrance pervading the air. Yang Liying let out a cry and said in surprise, “Limited Edition of GSG Perfume, that’s exactly what I wanted!” She gave Du Xiaoxian a big hug and added, “Thank you, I like it very much!”
“I’m glad you like it.” Gu Nianbin often say this to her. Now she used it herself.
Only now did Yang Liying look at Du Xiaoxian from head to toe, “Wow, you’re so beautiful today!”
Du Xiaoxian blushed and said, “You are the prettiest, like a princess.”
At this moment, Xia Xiaowan interrupted, “Xiaoxian really looks like a little fairy today!”
Hearing her words, Du Xiaoxian became nervous right away. She didn’t know whether she should laugh or show another expressions. The kinder Xia Xiaowan treated her, the more nervous she became. She didn’t dare to look at her. She took a glance, but saw Cheng Mingchi instead. She was stunned because she never thought that Yang Liying would invite Cheng Mingchi as well.
Yang Liying followed her look and said with a smile, “I’ve invited your boyfriend as well. Happy?”
“No, no.” Du Xiaoxian hurriedly waved her hands, “He’s not. We…”
“Isn’t he?” Yang Liying asked, “Then who is?”
Xia Xiaowan looked at her and smiled, “Xiaoxian has a boyfriend? Does Nianbin know?”
Du Xiaoxian’s face turned pale immediately, her heart started to beat violently. Her head was covered in a thin layer of cold sweat. She was so frightened hearing Gu Nianbin’s name at this time, especially from Xia Xiaowan’s mouth.
“What’s wrong with you?” Xia Xiaowan looked at her worriedly, “Are you not feeling well?”
Du Xiaoxian shook her head with a pale face. Yang Liying said, “Maybe the room is too stuffy, cousin, would you please take her out for a walk? With guests here, I can’t leave.”
Xia Xiaowan agreed and walked Du Xiaoxian through the hall to the back, where there was an open-air pool. A lot of people were here. Some were swimming in the pool, some were chattering at the edge of it with red wine in their hands, others were sitting on the wooden chairs near the bamboo fences. Compared to the hall, this place was even more lively. Du Xiaoxian saw a few girls in bikinis swaggered about in the crowd. Their long legs, slender waist and plump chest which would make her blush, were all showing their youthful vitality and sexuality!
Xia Xiaowan took her to a corner to sit and asked gently, “Feeling better now?”
Du Xiaoxian said softly, “Yes.” Actually, she was much more outgoing than when she first came to G City. She could look into people’s eyes to talk and laugh normally. However, she could not do it in front of Xia Xiaowan. She would only be nervous, restrained and uneasy with her.
The waiter served two glasses of wine, and Xia Xiaowan handed one to Du Xiaoxian, “This is cocktail. It’s good. Have a try.”
She couldn’t drink. Last time, she drank a mouthful of Gu Nianbin’s red wine, and she still remembered the bitter and spicy taste of it. She didn’t want to try it when she heard it was alcohol, but she didn’t dare to refuse. Xia Xiaowan looked her take a sip with a gentle smile. It was actually pretty good, sour and sweet like a beverage. She took another sip and kept it in her mouth for a while before swallowing it. The liquid flowed down her throat and took the coolness to the bottom of her heart, making her calm down a little.
She had never been a good choice for chatting, especially when she was with Xia Xiaowan. However, Xia Xiaowan did not feel that she was dull and boring at all. Since Du Xiaoxian did not speak, she would find some topic to talk with her. She would point at some people from afar and talked about them to Du Xiaoxian.
She pointed at a man in the pool with dark skin and big eyes, looking a little like Yang Liying.
“He is Liying’s cousin, also mine.” Xia Xiaowan said, “Pretty handsome, huh?”
Du Xiaoxian nodded gently. Yang Liying was beautiful, her cousin naturally wouldn’t be ugly. She only took a glance at the man and did not dare to look at him again, because he was actually kissing a woman in public. Du Xiaoxian was very frightened, shouldn’t he do this kind of thing in private? The young master also liked to kiss her, but he never kissed her in front of others.
Xia Xiaowan added, “That’s his new girlfriend, a new star.”
Du Xiaoxian answered softly.
“His wife isn’t here today, otherwise he wouldn’t dare to be so outrageous!”
Xia Xiaowan’s casual words shocked Du Xiaoxian so hard that she opened her mouth wide. He had a wife, and he was still doing this kind of things with other women…
Xia Xiaowan seemed to notice Du Xiaoxian’s shocking expression, she smiled and said, “No need to be so surprised. There are many such things in rich families. He doesn’t love his wife. He only married her for the sake of his family. Even if the two of them don’t have feelings for each other, they can still get married. After the marriage, they won’t interfere with each other, just play their own games. The only obligation they have to fulfill is to attend some important occasions together. “Xia Xiaowan smiled bitterly,” This kind of marriage is basically just there for show, but they will never divorce, because they are closely intertwined with common interests.”