Chapter 35 - Buy Me

Liu Meilien only had time to roll her eyes at the commotion. With a deep sigh, she forked the little sweet on her plate and shoved it in her mouth. She was not meant to have any sugar in her diet, but seeing Feng Xuan stole the show yet again, she just had to had one.

"Ah, look at that girl," her mother, Liu Lifen muttered beside. "'Oh no, help me! A scary witch screamed at me!' Ugh. I can't believe this people are enjoying this spectacle. Look at her in her husband's arms like a poor broken bird."

Liu Meilien took a look at Feng Xuan. Feng Xuan in a light gold dress that fitted all her curves in the right places. Feng Xuan who had gotten married just a few weeks ago. Feng Xuan whose face was being caressed tenderly by one of the most handsome faces she had come across.

Yeah, that was what she was taking a look.

She grabbed her flute glass and downed the contents in one huge gulp. "I'm getting a drink," she told her mother and without waiting for a reply, she went to the bar. "Something stronger," she whispered to the bartender whose eyes widened at the sight of her.

She just smiled sweetly at him as he handed a new glass to her with shaking hands. Liu Meilien walked back to the table, swaying her h.i.p.s like her mother taught her to before she was even thirteen. From the corners of her eyes, she saw heads turned to look at her.

Just then, the whole venue dimmed and the spotlight remained on the small stage. The emcee greeted the guests and explained the mechanics of the auction. Liu Meilien quietly sipped on her drink, feeling the sharpness of the alcohol on her tongue.

She had taken a look at the leaflet earlier but couldn't find anything to her liking. Everything was too grand and too much for her. The diamonds and the jewels were too bright and too big for her dainty features. The clothes were too extravagant and flamboyant that not a woman in her mid-twenties would wear it. Everything on the catalogue screamed "buy me" to older people.

"Let's start of with a special item tonight," the emcee said with a huge grin. The item that was shown in the projector was not in the booklet. Liu Meilien's heart leaped when she saw the thin strands of diamonds, layered with thin chains that winked at her from under the harsh spotlight.

The starting price would make a little dent to her bank account. But it was too beautiful. She raised their number as the price started to rile up. She made 1.5 million yuan last year. She deserved a little price with her hard work.

"300, 000," said the emcee.

She was about to raise her number again when a hand caught her wrist. "That's enough, Meilien."

"But, mother—"

"It's too much for a piece of necklace. Maybe in the future. We'll find you a husband who can afford you a million yuan worth of necklace. But for now, keep that number down."

Liu Meilien dropped their number on the table. She was trying to teach herself how to be financially independent. But without her step-father's wealth behind her, she might as well be considered broke with her spending habits. She bit her lip and sulked on her seat.

She was there and watched as the necklace sold off to half a million. Her mother was right, she couldn't afford that. That was a third of her last year's salary. Surely, she wouldn't waste all her working hours on such a beautiful diamond necklace that made her heart beat fast for a second.

And so she thought, "I really need to get myself a husband."

Meanwhile, Feng Xuan was just sitting peacefully beside Qing Chen, looking up at the stage. She was staring at the items but her mind was already in a different place. The words she heard earlier were ringing inside her ears, on repeat.

'She was killed.'

'She was murdered.'

Feng Xuan thought hard about her childhood and her memories of her mother. There wasn't anything that could've made someone hate her. No one had the motive to have her mother killed.

That was just impossible.

Her mom was a simple woman, always making Feng Xuan breakfast and dining with her for she mostly worked at home. She would spend most of her time in her drawing room and Feng Xuan would just be on one corner doing her own business—reading books or fiddling with her mother's art supplies.

"Are you still worried?" Qing Chen quietly asked her and soothed her back.

She blinked and look back at him. "I'm fine," she smiled. Despite being in shock earlier of what she had heard from Aunt Chunhua's lips, she made peace with herself by the fact that her aunt was already mentally unstable.

Qing Chen's eyes roamed her face. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, making her smile wider. "Definitely."

As soon as the party was over, she and Qing Chen made their way home. They were not the hosts so they didn't have to stay until everyone was gone.

After getting out of her beautiful dress and the thousand hidden pins in her hair, she took a quick shower and changed into more comfortable clothes. Qing Chen had just gotten out of the shower when she came in. He was still toweling his hair as he looked down on his phone.

"Your pictures with Wang Yimin came out great," he said. The cousins had a little photoshoot just after the auction which turned out to be a complete success garnering millions upon millions to support its cause.

There were some items that caught Feng Xuan's eyes earlier but after what happened with her aunt, she didn't think about the items again. Strangely, although her step-family had been there, her father was not. Qing Chen's father and grandmother was not there either.

She texted her father about it, he just replied that they have urgent business someplace else.

Feng Xuan was about to turn her light off when Qing Chen handed her a square box.

"To cheer you up," he said with a small smile. It looked almost tentative that it made Feng Xuan quirk the corner of her lips upward just to assure him that she was doing fine.

"I didn't even see you raise your number."

"I have a proxy," he said. "Open it."

Feng Xuan took the blue box in her hands. She didn't wait a second longer and popped it open. Her lips genuinely smiled when the jewels reflected the light back to her.

It was the hair comb from 1920. On its side, there were feathers covered with rhinestones, the leaves and flower buds were beaded with sapphires, and the petals were pearls.

She had seen the picture earlier and was at awe for a second before her mind drifted back to her aunt. "This is beautiful," she said to Qing Chen. "Thank you."

He nodded at her. "No worries."

Feng Xuan did not even know how much it had costed her husband. She flipped the case close and leaned to Qing Chen. He smiled at her, looking like a kid who was about to get a star at the back of his hand. He also leaned forward and met Feng Xuan half-way.

Her lips planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. Feng Xuan was about to lie back down when Qing Chen put a hand on her forearm. "I think I need another kiss for the comb."

For the first time since tonight, Feng Xuan felt a weight lifted from her chest and she laughed. "Sure," she told her husband.

He turned his face so she could kiss his other cheek. Feng Xuan's body was across him and made him aware yet again of how small their bed was. He almost didn't wish their old bed would be coming back by the start of the coming week. He could feel her body heat… it was as if she was feverish. "Are you sure you're alright?" he put a hand to her forehead.

"Yeah, just feeling a little hot."

To be honest, he was quite feeling thankful of what happened earlier. At least, the conversation about Feng Xuan's mother's death would be questioned.

He was wishing that Feng Xuan was going to do something about it. He had noticed her distant gaze at the party and the cogs in her mind working. But seeing her now, he almost felt the hope in his heart going up in a puff of smoke.

It was either Feng Xuan was a great pretender, or she had been too deep into the lie they had fed her years ago to even question what really happened that unfortunate day.