It was a spring afternoon. The sunlight shone bright and warm, and there was a gentle breeze in the air.
Gu Nianzhi, wrapped in a thin fleece blanket, was asleep on a red European-style velvet sofa next to a bay window. She was in the penthouse apartment on the 28th floor of Apartment C, in the Fengya precinct.
The room was silent. Suddenly, a phone began to ring.
“The rain falls softly, my hometown is overgrown with grass and trees. I hear that you are still alone…”
The ringtone, “Fireworks Cool Easily” [1] woke Gu Nianzhi from her afternoon nap.
She gave a start, but didn’t feel like picking up the phone. She continued to lie on the sofa motionless, her eyes still closed. She was feeling lazy.
“The rain falls softly, my hometown is overgrown with grass and trees. I hear that you are still alone…”
The phone continued to ring. Whoever was on the other end was calling her phone over and over again, and was clearly not going to give up.
It was no longer possible for Gu Nianzhi to pretend to be asleep. She reached out a finger, unlocked her phone with a lazy swipe, and said, “Hello.”
Feng Yixi’s sweet, melodic voice sounded from the other end. “Nianzhi, you absolutely have to come over tonight! You’re my best friend! It’s my birthday today, and tomorrow we’ll both be taking the final test for our post-grad admission. It’s a double celebration!”
Gu Nianzhi laughed and said, “I haven’t forgotten. Your house, it’s in Dexin, isn’t it?”
Fengya precinct consisted entirely of apartments. Dexin, on the other hand, was the villa precinct.
Gu Nianzhi usually stayed at a penthouse in one of the Fengya apartments but her guardian, Huo Shaoheng, also owned a villa in Dexin, and it was currently vacant. If she used the villa, it would save her a lot of the hassle involved in attending Feng Yixi’s birthday celebration.
“That’s right. I’ll send the address to your phone.” Feng Yixi was standing on the balcony of her villa under a parasol. Her eyes were fixed on the azure sky. On her pearly white ear was a shell white wireless headset.
Sweet, honeyed words continued to tumble out of her dark cherry lips. The words, irresistibly charming and bewitching, were in complete contrast to the twisted, vicious expression on her face.
Feng Yichen stood across from Feng Yixi, watching her silently as she nursed a cup of cappuccino. Once Feng Yixi was off the phone, Feng Yichen shook her head disapprovingly. “Yixi, are you really doing this? Gu Nianzhi… it’s not like she’s done anything to you, right?”
“What do you mean she hasn’t done anything?!” Feng Yixi laughed coldly before walking away in a huff. “Big Sister, surely you can’t be this naïve?! Before Nianzhi transferred to our college, I was the top-scorer in my faculty! I was the faculty princess! Then she appeared, and took everything from me! How dare she?! She’s just an orphan girl! How dare she pretend to be one of us, the rich and the beautiful!”
Feng Yichen set her cappuccino down and followed Feng Yixi into the house. The two sisters stood before the French windows, whispering conspiratorially.
“Okay, fine, I know you resent her, but don’t forget that Gu Nianzhi’s parents are both dead. She has no relatives, not a single one. She needs her scholarship and the money from working part-time just to get by. We are leagues above her. Can’t you just grin and bear it?”
“I did, for two years! But not this time.” Feng Yixi’s voice had gone very, very low. She extended her left hand: on her middle finger was a pear-shaped yellow diamond ring. There was a tiny protrusion at the top.
A mysterious, self-satisfied smile spread across her face. “Look at this, Cousin Brother got it for me. Tonight, all I have to do is give Gu Nianzhi a tiny prick with this, and it’s goodbye to the rising star of our faculty, hello to our next internet celebrity! She’ll be making her ‘debut’ at the tender age of 18! I’m throwing a million yuan birthday banquet just for this, she won’t be able to accuse me of being stingy…”
Feng Yichen’s hand flew to her mouth as her almond-shaped eyes grew round and wide. “Are you serious? What on earth is that?”
“Hmph, that’s not all.” Dropping her left hand, Feng Yixi indicated the lawn beyond the French windows with her chin. “I spent a fortune getting pinhole video cameras with the highest possible resolution. When the video goes on the internet… teehee!”
Feng Yichen’s brow twitched. She said, anxiously, “Little Sister, don’t go too far. What if she goes to the police? What’s going to happen to our family then? Dad’s company will be going public soon. This is a very important time for us, so don’t go making trouble.”
“Heh, she won’t go to the cops. Cousin Brother said that one tiny drop of the stuff in the ring cost him a million yuan. It’s the good stuff from Japan. No one can resist it!”
Feng Yixi waved her left hand; the yellow diamond ring on her middle finger reflected the sunset outside the French windows, creating a rainbow halo. “You’ll get what I mean once you see the video. Nianzhi suing us? Fat chance!”
Feng Yichen narrowed her eyes. She hesitated for a long moment, then said,carefully, “You just have to teach her a small lesson, that’s all. You don’t have to go so far. What if she decides to sue us anyway? She’ll go to the hospital, get a blood test…”
“Big Sister, are you really this stupid, or are you just playing dumb? The final exam for post-grad admissions is tomorrow! She’s the top-scorer in the admission exams, I’m second behind her—and Professor He Zhichu, the one from B University’s Law School, will only take one student!” Feng Yixi swore so viciously the foundation on her exquisitely made-up face was in danger of flaking off. “I can’t let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers! Besides, Cousin Brother said the stuff I have here only lasts for 24 hours. Once the 24 hours are up, there won’t be any trace of it left! And she won’t remember a thing!”
…
It was now evening. The street lamps had just flickered to life. In the main hall of one of the Dexin villas that looked out towards the main street, several long tables had been set up. These tables were laden with the best food and wine from the biggest restaurant in town.
In the hall, before the French windows, was a redwood screen with a carved depiction of the Eight Immortals as they crossed the sea [2]. Seated between the screen and the French windows was an orchestra playing melodious music that drifted out from behind the screen leisurely and elegantly.
The entire hall had been decorated extravagantly in varying shades of gold. The wallpaper was dark gold, the sofas were a lighter shade of gold, and even the European-style tables and chairs were gilded. Everything glittered in the light of the crystal chandelier.
The female guests milling in the main hall were also lavishly dressed, each and every one of them. Anyone looking in from the outside would think party goers were in danger of going blind from the sheer brilliance of it all.
Dazzling gold and extravagant flowers everywhere—it was truly a magnificent feast for the eyes!
The delicately styled hair, the scent of perfume, and the clink of champagne glasses indicated that half of the wealthy elites of C City could be found here tonight.
Feng Yixi was the Feng family’s youngest daughter, and it was her 22nd birthday.
Compared to the other more established families in C City, the Feng family was a newcomer to the scene. However, their business had been expanding rapidly, and everyone had heard that their company was about to go public.
Their company going public was the success the Feng family needed to seal their transformation; it would propel them into the ranks of the rich and powerful.
This was why there were so many people at the banquet: they were all eager to get into the Feng family’s good graces.
Gu Nianzhi changed into her evening gown once she arrived at Dexin. With the invitation Feng Yixi had especially given her in hand, she walked, all alone, on a small path that took her to the Feng family’s villa and to the main entrance of the banquet hall.
The noise and merriment in the hall suddenly died away.
All eyes were on the girl standing in the doorway, the girl dressed in a violet, one-shoulder organza evening gown.
She was extremely fair, with delicate, clear skin that was truly whiter than snow. She was so fair that the blue veins on her long and slender neck were visible to the naked eye.
The violet organza gown clung to her shapely body, outlining her figure. The dress was a modest affair; only her arms and the upper half of her shoulder were exposed. But, against the puffy violet organza, her bared skin looked like a tender and delicate lotus sprouting from a bud of purple, a lotus so fragile and lovable, one could not help but feel the urge to hold it lovingly in the palm of their hand and caress it, over and over again.
Gu Nianzhi scanned the crowd, a smile on her face.
Mei Xiawen quickly walked over to her and offered his hand as he said, “Nianzhi, finally, you’re here.”
“I see the class rep [3] made sure to be here early,” Gu Nianzhi said, giving him a cheeky nod. “Where’s Yixi? I haven’t congratulated her yet.”
“She’s over there, let me take you to her.” Mei Xiawen looked Gu Nianzhi up and down as they walked. “That evening gown looks amazing on you.”
He had always known that Gu Nianzhi was a beautiful woman, but he did not expect her to look so stunning with just a bit of dressing up.
[1] “Fireworks Cool Easily” is a song by Jay Chou. It is part of his tenth studio album, “The Era,” released in 2010.
[2] For more information on the legend of the Eight Immortals (Baxian): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_Immortals
[3] In case this was unclear, Mei Xiawen is Gu Nianzhi’s class rep(resentative).