"Of course, you see." I quickly handed over the box, but then realized that my actions sounded a bit ingratiating, which was really awkward.
"Wow, it's a Prada design from this season! It's so beautiful!" Yi Rou exclaimed as she opened the box, eagerly taking the clothes out and holding them up to herself. I could see the longing in her eyes, so I said, "Want to try it on?"
"Is it okay?" Her expression was as happy as a little girl who had just received a Barbie doll.
I pushed her, clothes and all, into the room and closed the door to let her change. Seeing her so happy made me even happier. But I didn't understand why she had such a strong enthusiasm for pretty clothes. For me, watching the savings account grow day by day was much more exciting.
I played with the rascal in the living room for a while before she finally emerged, swaying slightly. To say she swayed was an understatement. The hem of her dress was slightly tapered, hugging her lower body and quite narrow, and it was also a bit too tight and short on Yirou. So she could only waddle out, though one could describe it as "graceful and swaying."
"So beautiful!" I'm starting to understand why she's so fond of fancy clothes; different outfits look amazing on her. This dress, for example, gives her a glamorous and elegant air, making her truly dazzling.
A familiar shy smile appeared on her face again: "The clothes are a little tight."
Yi Rou spent over half an hour giving me advice on what hairstyle to wear, and another half hour persuading me to give up the idea of just picking a pair from my pile of old leather shoes to match this dress, forcing me to buy a new pair tomorrow. Finally, before going to bed, she generously took out her jewelry box and found a set of almost indistinguishable fake diamond earrings and necklace, insisting that I wear the complete outfit tomorrow. I had no choice but to agree. But when I thought about looking beautiful tomorrow, meeting Willson, and letting him know that I can be very ladylike, which would surely surprise him, I felt that perhaps dressing like that wasn't such a terrible thing after all.
However, as it turned out, my Saturday, which I could have spent lazing in bed until noon, was completely ruined by the enthusiastic Yi Rou in order to prepare for the evening's party: she woke me up at eight in the morning, and before I even had breakfast, she dragged me to do a face mask. She smeared and rubbed her private collection of creams and lotions on my face for over two hours before letting me get up. I fell asleep several times only to be woken up by her, and I had a splitting headache. I thought she could let me go back to sleep after the face mask was done, but then she dragged me out to buy shoes. Her knowledge of various brand names was beyond my reach, and her consumer philosophy of not buying shoes unless they were expensive made my heart pound. I practically dragged her out of the Friendship Store, and we walked back and forth on Shangxiajiu Street three or four times before finally buying a pair of shoes that she wasn't too opposed to, but which didn't make me faint from the heartache.
It was already 4 p.m. when I got home. I was so hungry that my hands and feet were weak because I had only eaten a bowl of ginger milk curd in Shangxiajiu. I just wanted to go to my dear kitchen to get something to fill my stomach, but Yirou stopped me and said that there was not enough time to do my hair.
"I'll just wash my hair after I eat, there's no need for all that complicated stuff. Besides, you only ate a bowl of red bean soup, you must be hungry by now." I tried my best to persuade her.
"No, hair is the finishing touch to an overall look, how can I be careless? Besides, I'm not hungry at all." With that, she ignored my protests, pressed me down on the stool, and started working on me.
Seeing her so enthusiastically getting ready, I felt too embarrassed to object, so I let her do her thing on my head and face. By the time she finished getting me ready and then dressed herself, it was already 7 p.m., and we'd be late if we didn't leave soon. We hurriedly went back to our rooms to change, and I didn't even have time to look in the mirror before rushing out. Yi Rou in front of me was a sight to behold: a light blue off-the-shoulder dress that made her snow-white skin look even more radiant, and perfectly showcased her figure in a sexy yet tasteful way.
"Why are you still looking? We're running out of time!" Yi Rou pulled me and walked out.
"Slow down, slow down, Miss! These new shoes are pinching my feet! I'm not used to wearing such high heels yet!" I yelled, lifting my skirt high to avoid stepping on myself. I figured if this dress had feelings, it would feel much more comfortable on Yi Rou than on me.
Once in the taxi, Yi Rou kept reminding me not to lift my skirt so high again, and that I shouldn't limp despite my sore feet. She even complained that I bought such cheap shoes, saying the pain was my own fault. I ignored her, sitting beside her and just naggingly hoping that tonight's party would be a buffet like last year, so I could quickly soothe my rumbling stomach. When we were almost there, Yi Rou suddenly stopped talking, her expression a little strange. I thought she was nervous, so I patted her hand and said, "It's okay. Company parties are only for important people. For people like us, there's only one thing to do: eat and drink well."
Yi Rou smiled, but her smile was somewhat enigmatic, and said, "Of course, I understand."
The doorman opened the car door for us. Standing in front of this only five-star hotel right next to the Pearl River, even though I'd been here several times, its opulence and grandeur still made me feel a little uncomfortable. Yi Rou followed behind me inside. People kept staring at us along the way, which made me very uncomfortable. This awful outfit!!! It made me feel like I was going to a ball. I only breathed a sigh of relief when I saw our company's reception flower arrangement in the distance. Getting closer, I saw Willson standing at the entrance chatting with someone, and I felt a little more at ease. He seemed to sense something and immediately turned around. Seeing us, a surprised and warm smile spread across his face. I smiled back at him, and it felt like the pain from my shoes wasn't so bad anymore. Seeing Yi Rou behind me, his gaze hesitated slightly before turning to me. I understood what he meant, and smiled and nodded slightly. He then broke into an even bigger smile, his white teeth seemingly gleaming under the lights. He was about to walk over when Jacky Sun, the CEO of Phone Tone HK, stopped him and started chatting. He gave me a helpless look, and I nodded in sympathy before walking away. Just then, A-Ce came running over, shouting, "Hey, who's this? Good heavens, I see you every day, and I completely forgot you're a beauty! But honestly, Li Hao, you never dress yourself up. I've never seen a girl give up on herself like you do!"
"That's because you're blind." Yin Tianyu suddenly appeared and forcefully pushed A Ce away from me.
I watched with amusement as A-Ce glared and puffed out his cheeks in anger, but there was nothing he could do. Suddenly remembering Yi-Rou beside me, I quickly pulled her over: "Come here, let me introduce you. This is Ms. Lin Yi-Rou, who just started working in the administration department. This is the manager of the expansion department, A-Ce, and this is Yin Tian-Yu, the general manager of Hengwei."
"If beauty is a sin, then you two are guilty of one sin tonight," Yin Tianyu said with a smile. It was clearly a cheesy compliment, but if it wasn't offensive, it was actually quite pleasing.
Ah Ce's eyes were now gleaming with unbridled shrewdness as he spoke to Yi Rou with overwhelming enthusiasm, "Would I have the honor of entering the venue with Miss Lin?"
Yi Rou smiled gracefully and said, "That's my honor." She nodded to me and then followed A Ce.
I suddenly remembered Yin Tianyu mentioning that A Ce had a girlfriend. How could that be?!
"Yi Rou! Come back! He has a girlfriend, be careful." I lifted my skirt and tried to chase after him, but Yin Tianyu grabbed me. "Don't worry, A Ce is just helping his subordinates get benefits. That guy, you could give him a hundred lives and his girlfriend would beat him to a pulp."
"Really?" Seeing him nod in assurance, I was still a little uneasy. "Let's go in too." With that, I led the way inside.
Yin Tianyu shook his head with amusement and followed behind. Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulder. I was startled and jumped aside, yelling, "What are you doing?!"
"Don't move." He grabbed my shoulder and whispered, "The zipper on your skirt is broken." I was startled and reached out to touch it. Good heavens, the zipper was split in the middle, revealing half of my back. I immediately blushed to the roots of my ears.
Thinking about how so many people had stared at me as I walked in because I was making such a fool of myself, I was so ashamed I almost cried: "What should I do? I want to go home."
"Don't worry, let's find a secluded place first and I'll help you think of a solution."
I did as he asked, letting him put his hands on my shoulders and shield my back with his body; thankfully, he was tall enough. We slowly walked to the door of a secluded restroom.
"Why is this road so short?" He actually made such a joke at a time like this. I was so angry I was furious: "I don't need your help, I'll go home by myself."
“I don’t believe you’d dare walk out like that?” he said with certainty.
I pressed my back against the wall, feeling utterly ashamed and indignant. I had never been so humiliated in front of anyone before, and the person I loved most was waiting for me not far away, yet I was powerless to do anything about it—tears welled up silently in my eyes, and I blinked hard to keep them from falling.
When Yin Tianyu saw me like this, his mischievous smile vanished completely: "Don't be like this, okay? How are you going to see Willson if your makeup is ruined by crying? I promise I'll fix it for you in five minutes, okay?"
“But I can’t let you see me there again.” I pointed behind me.
"Okay, okay, I won't look. Wait for me here." He turned and left. Standing there, there wasn't a soul in sight, yet I could hear the noise and music coming from nearby. I felt as if I were isolated from the world by a thick wall. This feeling of abandonment suddenly transported me back to when I was about five years old. One day, after waking up from my nap at kindergarten, I realized I had wet the bed in my sleep. I felt the same shame and fear. Lying in bed, I heard the other children getting up to share cookies and play games, but I remained motionless, pretending not to wake up. I slept like that for four hours in the cold, damp bed until my mother came to pick me up from work. My mother had told this story jokingly before, but I had no memory of it at all, so I suspected it was just a joke she made up. But at this moment, I could clearly see the broken spiderwebs fluttering in the wind on the kindergarten ceiling and the damp stains shaped like the colorful clouds I imagined Sun Wukong riding. The overwhelming loneliness and helplessness made me feel like that poor little girl lying in the crib back then. Looking around at the silence and hearing the distant music, I suddenly began to doubt whether Yin Tian would be so heartless as to abandon me and leave me to wait foolishly. This doubt grew stronger with time, until I trembled with fear, thinking it had become a reality. When I finally saw Yin Tian running towards me, panting, I couldn't help but rush to him, hug him, and burst into tears.
Yin Tianyu didn't understand why I had such a strong reaction, but he didn't ask anything. He just gently patted my head and said, "Okay, okay, don't cry. I'm here. It's alright, it's alright."
Seeing that I had calmed down, he handed me a dress with the tag still on: "Put this on first, take off the one you're wearing and give it to me, I'll fix the zipper for you."
I went into the bathroom, changed my clothes, and came out to give him the dress I had taken off. I saw him use pliers he'd borrowed from somewhere to clamp and tap the zipper, then pull it up and down a few times. The zipper looked perfectly fine, as if it had never been broken before. He looked puzzled: "Strange, this is a Prada product, how come a tooth is missing from the zipper?"
"Who cares? As long as it's fixed and still wearable, that's fine." I don't understand what's so strange about him. I've bought clothes that have broken after only a few wears, especially the zippers, which are even more likely to break.
After changing my clothes, I figured the party would start soon. I just wanted to get back to the lobby as quickly as possible; I was afraid Willson would be upset if he didn't see me.
"Wait, look in the mirror. Your eyeshadow is all smudged from crying. How are you going to show your face? No wonder A-Ce laughs at you for not looking like a girl," Yin Tianyu reminded me helplessly. I looked in the mirror, and sure enough, I looked like a cat with a smudged face.
Yin Tianyu took out a handkerchief and handed it to me. I thoroughly wet the snow-white, starched handkerchief with water and wiped away the smudged eyeshadow completely. Yin Tianyu stood behind me and nodded, saying, "Hmm, this is better than before, much cleaner. Light makeup suits you better."
His words calmed my terrible mood considerably, and some confidence returned to me.
He offered me his arm: "Come on, beautiful, from now on, we're going to conquer the world." I felt like a high school student secretly wearing my mother's high heels to a dance for the first time, a mix of excitement and apprehension. I slipped my hand through his arm and followed him out with the innocent anticipation of a little girl. Only after we were outside did I realize that he had been with me in the bathroom of a five-star hotel marked "LADY." Only someone like him could be so comfortable in a place like that.
Sure enough, I could see Willson standing at the entrance of the hall looking around from afar. When he saw Yin Tianyu and me walking over, he paused for a moment, then greeted us without any hesitation. After handing me over to Willson, Yin Tianyu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, my mission is complete. Don't lose your girlfriend again, or someone else might pick her up and not return her."
“Even if I lose the whole world, I won’t lose her,” Willson said confidently, then tightened his grip on my hand. I looked up at him and smiled; only then did my heart finally find complete peace.
"Ugh, I can't stand you two, it's so cheesy. I have to catch a plane to Madrid for some comfort, I can't keep you company." Yin Tianyu waved his hand, turned and left, his figure disappearing from our sight with a carefree air.
When I entered the hall, the cocktail party had already begun. However, Willson was immediately pulled away to attend to other social engagements, while I was captivated by the row of buffet dishes and couldn't tear my feet away. I didn't care if it clashed with my outfit; I just grabbed the largest plate on the table and started stuffing it with food until it was piled high like a small mountain before finally finding a table to sit down and start eating. I'd barely taken a couple of bites when someone slapped me hard on the shoulder, almost knocking my fork out of my hand. I turned around angrily, only to hear a high-pitched female voice: "Oh my, it really is you, Li Hao! You've gone from pheasant to phoenix!"