After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 62.1

Shen Xiaojiang and a few other socially anxious students had barely spoken since entering. Of course, they didn’t need to a graduate student and two seniors did all the talking. Among them were the Student Union President and a member of the Youth League Committee, both incredibly talkative.

Even though it was past dinner time, no one sat at the table. Instead, they hovered around the lounge sofas. It was as if the air in the rest of the room was toxic everyone huddled in that tiny square of space. Shen Xiaojiang, who couldn’t stand such scenes, felt like it was hard to breathe.

For the next twenty minutes, she either stared at her phone in silence or looked up to give a forced smile to prove she hadn’t fallen asleep.

“Hi, Student Shen.” A woman sat down beside her with a giggle. She carried a faint scent of perfume not particularly good, but not bad either just an indefinable fragrance.

Regardless, Shen Xiaojiang didn’t like it. But since she had been addressed, she had to respond. She turned to see the woman who had given her the business card earlier.

Bai Shuhua.

“Hello,” Shen Xiaojiang responded stiffly.

Bai Shuhua dressed youthfully and smiled in a way that didn’t look like corporate management at all; she looked more like a college student like Shen Xiaojiang.

“This isn’t the recruitment phase anymore, no need to be so stiff,” Bai Shuhua said, crossing her legs and smiling at her.

Shen Xiaojiang really didn’t know what to say to her. She wanted to say she wasn’t stiff, she just didn’t like this atmosphere. The two sat there, making disjointed small talk.

Finally, dinner was served. Shen Xiaojiang stood up first, nodded to Bai Shuhua, and walked toward the round table. She hadn’t slept well last night and was exhausted today she just wanted to finish eating, go back to the dorm, take a hot shower, and sleep.

“Student Shen, you don’t mind if I sit next to you, do you?” Bai Shuhua’s voice came again.

Before Shen Xiaojiang’s seat hit the chair, she was startled by the woman’s cat-like, light footsteps. She looked at Bai Shuhua, then at the students standing nearby. She felt cornered. Faced with these “donors,” what right did she have to refuse?

Fortunately, the “slippery” Dean came to Bai Shuhua’s side and politely ushered her away. “President Bai, how could you sit here? You should naturally sit with our University President…”

Shen Xiaojiang breathed a sigh of relief.

A student who had been standing near Bai Shuhua sat down and whispered in Shen Xiaojiang’s ear, “Hey, do you know President Bai?”

Shen Xiaojiang looked confused. The student pointed at Bai Shuhua’s back. “She’s the CEO of Wanning, and she’s also the granddaughter of Old Man Bai from Kaihua Real Estate.”

Old Man Bai?

Shen Xiaojiang wasn’t interested in the rest, but she remembered seeing the contact “Old Man Bai” on Chen Yi’s phone.

The next second, she looked toward Bai Shuhua. Coincidentally, the other woman was looking back and raised an eyebrow at her.

This sense of frivolity was somewhat similar to Chen Yi’s, yet entirely different. When Chen Yi gave a flirtatious look, Shen Xiaojiang felt it was playful intimacy, but Bai Shuhua’s look felt disrespectful. After all, they weren’t close.

A circle of people sat around the table, engaging in awkward small talk or forced laughter. Only Shen Xiaojiang remained silent, her eyes as dull as a fake flower.

She suddenly felt she could understand Chen Yi. Being surrounded by people, helplessly having to say things you don’t mean and wear a fawning smile. Because right now, everyone at the table except her was doing exactly that.

Perhaps society was just like this requiring duplicity and sycophancy, requiring one to become someone they dislike just to fit into a certain circle or reach a certain goal.

Shen Xiaojiang thought a lot and thus remained silent because of her silence, she thought even more. In the eyes of outsiders, her silence wasn’t annoying rather, it carried a noble sense of aloofness.

Sitting in the distance, Bai Shuhua held her glass and peeked at Shen Xiaojiang’s lowered eyes, a faint smile flashing across her face.

Late at night, in the Venus bar, Chen Yi also sat in the middle of a crowd. One moment she was chatting and laughing, the next she was raising a glass to the moon.

So tired, so annoying.

In the past, no matter how tired or annoyed she was, she could at least see Shen Xiaojiang afterward. That way, no matter how agonizing the wait, it seemed bearable. But today, once it ended, she would be alone in a hotel room, staring at the empty space.

The thought made Chen Yi feel suffocated. She didn’t wait for the gathering to end but walked out onto the balcony alone to catch the breeze. Her hands were loosely folded over the railing as she stared blankly into the distance. The brilliant neon lights looked like a faded black and white photograph in her eyes.

Today, Chen Yi wore a white halter neck qipao. Her slender neck and exquisitely defined shoulders were breathtakingly beautiful. Passersby couldn’t help but steal extra glances.

Another partner found her and respectfully offered a cigarette. Chen Yi glanced at it and gave a light laugh. “Sorry, I quit.”

Looking at the smoke curling from others, she couldn’t help but think of the taste of strawberry lollipops sweet, cloying, and throat achingly sugary. Why would anyone like that? It wasn’t good at all.

An image of Shen Xiaojiang with a lollipop in her mouth surfaced in her mind, and Chen Yi’s lips curled up subconsciously. A light breeze brushed her cheek, carrying the smile away as it dissipated into the wind.

After the party, Chen Yi watched her partners leave. At the door, she maintained a safe distance from all of them. In He Zhong’s eyes, this was unprecedented. Most of these men desired Chen Yi’s body even touching a finger, a light hug, or playing with a strand of her hair would bring them immense satisfaction. Chen Yi knew exactly what they were thinking, and usually, to achieve her goals, she would indulge them.

But today, she didn’t. She refused all physical contact, and even her smile was three degrees colder than usual.

“You go in first,” Chen Yi said to He Zhong.

He Zhong bowed to her back and turned into the bar.

Chen Yi stood alone at the entrance, watching the crowds and the daily flow of traffic. Suddenly, she thought of herself thirteen years ago, standing outside the zebra crossing, watching the dust kicked up by car tires in the middle of the road.

In the pouring rain, a little girl holding an umbrella, with eyes as big and beautiful as copper bells, smiled only at her. That smile seemed to have the power to penetrate everything, turning into a sturdy ladder that led her out of the darkness of her life.

Despite it being a pitch-black night and those pupils being equally dark, Chen Yi saw freedom and light in those deep eyes.

Years later, she saw that same freedom and light in Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes. Shen Xiaojiang was her redemption, her freedom, and her light.

Chen Yi’s eyes grew moist. She missed her so much.

“Chen Yi, you’re a coward, a super, super coward!” she muttered to herself. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was heard by someone walking toward her.

Suddenly, slow applause rang out from across the way. The sharp sound of high heels was piercing to the ear.

“Bravo!”

Chen Yi’s brow knit slightly. She recognized the owner of the voice almost instantly.

“So you finally know you’re a coward?” Bai Shuhua took off her sunglasses and spread her arms as she walked toward Chen Yi. “Come here, let big sister give you a hug.”