After Being Taken by the Eldest Young Lady - Chapter 3

The old friends’ group chat had already grown to sixty members, all of whom were classmates attending tomorrow’s reunion. Upon joining, everyone was required to change their nickname to their real name. A few familiar names were particularly active in the group, remaining just as talkative as they had been years ago.

xxx: [@Fang Yize Holy crap! Who just joined? There should only be one Fang Yize in our graduating class, right?]

xxx: [@Chen Li Calling the group admin! Calling the admin!]

xxx: [Wait, is this really Fang Yize? Look at the profile picture!]

xxx: [@Sun Lin Nice job, Xiao Sun! You actually managed to get the School Beauty to come!]

Sun Lin: [Look who you’re talking to! I am the bestie of our great School Beauty Fang!]

Rainwater: [What School Beauty? Wasn’t the School Beauty pageant never officially decided back then?]

Sun Lin: [Who is this? Why haven’t you set your real name?]

Rainwater: [We haven’t seen each other in so many years, let’s keep a bit of mystery. For the new arrivals, how about we don’t use real names and play a game of “Guess the ID” when we meet tomorrow?]

Chen Li: [Most people have already updated their names, and many of us were in different classes, so that probably won’t work, right?]

Rainwater: [Well, then you guys can just try to guess who I am tomorrow.]

Sun Lin: [Guess what? Aren’t you just Fang Yu, the one who used to follow Nalan Jing around back then?]

xxx: [Fang Yu? Fang Yu and Fang Yize both have the surname Fang. Back then, I actually thought they were sisters!]

xxx: [You really shouldn’t assume that. Fang Yize is the daughter of the richest man in Yuegang! Can an ordinary person even compare?]

xxx: [That was only because there aren’t many people named Fang in Yuegang.]

Fang Yize felt a sense of familiarity with these names; her popularity back then had been more than just average, with over five hundred friends on her Q-Q list.

Many people used to post various Q-Q numbers in their Q-Q Spaces claiming they belonged to Fang Yize. Some even tried to sell her actual account number for money—the most ridiculous part was that people actually bought it for ten yuan.

However, despite the familiarity, she sat and thought for a long time without being able to match those names to the faces in her memory.

Consequently, Fang Yize brought out her high school graduation photos to cross-reference the group members. They had three graduation photos: one of their specific class, one of the entire grade, and one of all the faculty and students.

Every time she spotted a classmate she had been close with in high school, she would let out an enlightened “Oh!” She was “previewing” now to avoid the embarrassment of not recognizing her old classmates at the reunion tomorrow.

Soon, her gaze fell upon a name: Jiang Xule. The profile picture was a dead-leaf butterfly.

Fang Yize froze for a moment. Her finger, acting against her will, tapped into Jiang Xule’s profile, only to find that her moments were not visible to non-friends.

She hurriedly checked the grade-wide group photo. Fortunately, Jiang Xule had been there for the graduation photos before Fang Yize left.

Back then, Jiang Xule hadn’t fully matured yet; her features were still slightly juvenile, and she wasn’t as tall as she was now. She had been placed in the front row of the girls.

“If she had participated in the School Beauty pageant back then, I probably wouldn’t have had anything to do with it,” Fang Yize muttered to herself.

Jiang Xule was the type who was stunning at first sight. While not necessarily “classic” in the traditional sense, her face shape gave her a massive advantage, making her look exceptionally balanced and striking in a crowd.

The only reason Fang Yize was being self-deprecating was simply that she didn’t accept her own “sweet and cute” looks. She dreamed of being a “cool girl,” but every time she dressed up to look more mature, people would say she looked like a child playing dress-up in an adult’s clothes.

Of course, this was entirely due to Fang Yize’s lack of makeup skills.

She wished she looked like her older sister! If only they were twins…

Then she sighed. But that wouldn’t be good either; her sister had too many suitors, and they were all men. Not good—she didn’t like men.

On the contrary, Fang Yize’s appearance was very popular among girls, easily evoking a sense of protectiveness in them.

If Jiang Xule really showed up at the reunion tomorrow, it would be perfect. Fang Yize could take the opportunity to sincerely apologize for the incident at the stall. Surely, for the sake of being old classmates, Jiang Xule would forgive her?

Fang Yize immediately put down the photos and ran to her walk-in closet to pick out an outfit.

At home, besides the money in her wallet, she had more clothes, bags, and shoes than anything else. Strictly speaking, she had the most clothes, as one pair of shoes could be paired with many outfits. She never wore the same outfit twice, with the exception of her loungewear.

Her style wasn’t fixed. Even if people said she looked like she was wearing an adult’s clothes, she would wear them anyway because “looking like a child” didn’t mean she looked bad—and no one had ever called her unattractive.

For an occasion like a class reunion, one shouldn’t be too dressed up, but one couldn’t be too casual either. Thus, she chose a black shirt dress, layered over a white lace-trimmed slip dress that was slightly longer than the black one. She spent a long time scrutinizing herself in the mirror.

Finally, from her collection of waist chains, she selected a triangular headscarf with a pattern similar to the inner slip dress and tied it around her waist. This emphasized her waistline while adding a touch of visual impact.

Shoes were easier to match: either black leather shoes or white sneakers. In the end, she chose to wear ankle-length white socks with black short-heeled leather shoes.

Fang Yize herself wasn’t short, standing at about 165 cm. With a frame that was neither too small nor too large, she was quite the “clothes hanger.”

The banquet was in the evening. On Saturday, Fang Yize made a call to her omnipotent best friend to come over.

“Every time I come here and see your walk-in closet, I feel exhausted, you know that?” Sun Lin stood leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, looking genuinely tired.

“What’s wrong?” Fang Yize asked, knowing full well what she meant.

Sun Lin shook her head and sighed. She really wanted to take a photo of this “celebrity’s” closet to show all those people who admired and liked the Great Young Mistress just how messy she was in private!

But in the end, she decided to protect the Young Mistress’s public image.

However, that didn’t mean Sun Lin was going to stop complaining. She advised earnestly, “Yiyi, let’s just go back home to live, okay? Or at least hire a cleaner to tidy up this rental apartment of yours.”

Her tone was more of a command than a suggestion.

There was no need to elaborate on the kind of house Fang Yize’s family lived in; the walk-in closet alone was probably larger than this entire rental unit.

Fang Yize loved buying new clothes every day, and now this closet could no longer hold them all. A huge pile was heaped on the sofa in the center. To put it nicely, it looked like a clothing store that had just received a shipment; to put it bluntly, it looked like a landfill.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do a ‘minimalist declutter’ one of these days and donate all the clothes I’m tired of. Happy?” Fang Yize said.

Only then did Sun Lin nod in approval, adding, “Though with you, that decluttering will probably take several rounds. You won’t finish it in one go.”

With Fang Yize’s “self-imposed hardship” as a teacher, she was usually impossible to find.

“Alright, stop nagging me! Hurry up and do my makeup!”

“I might as well be your personal makeup artist.”

Sun Lin had studied fashion design and beauty since she was young. She owned several successful beauty brands, and she had opened several beauty salons and clothing stores in Yuegang. She didn’t need to rely on her parents’ wealth to achieve financial freedom.

Fang Yize said, “Linlin, that toner you gave me last time was really good. It’s not inferior to those high-end luxury brands at all.”

“Look who formulated it,” Sun Lin raised an eyebrow at the mirror.

“Send me two more bottles.”

“Sure, as many as you want!”

After two hours of prepping, they finally set out. Sun Lin drove her G-Wagon. Arriving at the reunion, they realized the event was a chaotic mix of all sorts of people. Someone had even rented a Ferrari to show off, only to get into a fender bender right at the hotel entrance, wailing and crying about it for a long time.

“Don’t look, don’t look, let’s just go inside,” Fang Yize pulled on Sun Lin’s arm, leading her in.

Sun Lin still looked like she wanted to see more. “Guess who that was?”

“Fang Yu.”

Sun Lin was instantly stunned, her face full of disbelief. “Whoa! You actually recognized her? No way!”

Being a teacher, Fang Yize had to remember many students’ names every day—sometimes even different faces sharing the same name. It truly wasn’t easy to remember people’s names and faces, but this time she had “studied” beforehand for a long while.

“What’s with the big fuss? You’re acting like I have Alzheimer’s.”

“My apologies, my apologies,” Sun Lin laughed. “Did you see the group messages yesterday? she was singing and dancing in the group just to gain attention so everyone would remember her. Well, now she’s done it—rented a Ferrari for two hours and scratched it within thirty minutes. It’ll be hard for everyone to forget her now!”

The two walked in arm-in-arm and were soon met by the group admin and former Student Union President, Chen Li. He approached them with a smile and outstretched hand. “Long time no see!”

“Fang Yize! The School Beauty, I remembered correctly, right?” Chen Li rubbed his hands and then looked at Sun Lin. “Boss Sun!”

Sun Lin brushed her bangs aside and gave a very poised smile, nodding. “It’s not exactly ‘long time no see’ for us. You and your partner often come to my stores to buy clothes.”

“Yes, yes! She loves your brand’s clothes and that toner!”

“Go straight inside, it’s the first door you see. Go ahead, I’m going to wait for a few more classmates.”

“Alright, thanks for the hard work, President.”

As they walked further in, Fang Yize whispered, “Chen Li has changed quite a bit. He used to look like a nerd, but now he looks like an executive.”

Sun Lin covered her mouth and giggled.

“Everyone, look who’s here!”

As soon as Fang Yize and Sun Lin entered the room, they heard that shout. What met their eyes was a crowd of handsome men and beautiful women all turning their heads at once to look at the pair. Subsequently, several people swarmed forward, thrusting glasses of champagne into their hands.

“The great School Beauty Fang is still as beautiful as ever!”

Fang Yize was an “E” (extrovert) and rarely experienced social anxiety or awkwardness. But now, surrounded by a group of old classmates whose faces were both strange and familiar, her hair stood on end. She felt so awkward she didn’t know where to look.

“Why is everyone blocking the door? Are you going to let people in or not?” Fang Yu said with a miserable expression, looking as if everyone owed her money.

Actually, it was she who owed money.

Fang Yize quickly stepped aside to make a path for them.

Fang Yu and Nalan Jing were wearing floor-length gowns. This wasn’t actually that unusual, as many classmates in the hall were wearing formal dresses and suits. Fang Yize was actually dressed quite modestly in comparison.

Nalan Jing hadn’t changed much; she still had that “better than everyone else” attitude. As a dance student, she had great posture, but she always used it to look down her nose at people, which felt very uncomfortable.

As she entered, she spared a side-glance at Fang Yize. Fang Yize rubbed her neck uncomfortably.

“Oh, look who it is? Isn’t it the Great Miss Fang who used to bribe people behind the scenes to call her School Beauty?” Fang Yu sized Fang Yize up from head to toe. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Haven’t seen you in so many years, and you’re doing this poorly?”

After saying this, she exchanged a meaningful, mocking look with Nalan Jing.

“I told you not to wear this outfit; someone was bound to pick a fight with you,” Sun Lin whispered into Fang Yize’s ear.

Fang Yize didn’t really care. The money in her wallet and her family background wouldn’t disappear just because of a few idle remarks.

“Yeah,” Fang Yize smiled. “You’re certainly doing better than before. A Ferrari doesn’t come cheap for even an hour, does it?”

“You!”

Fang Yu had been worried that Fang Yize and Sun Lin would see that scene at the door. That was why she hadn’t stayed to argue with the person who scratched the car for too long. She didn’t expect that in that short time, not only had they seen it, but Fang Yize had now announced it in front of all their old classmates!

Sun Lin raised her eyebrows and gave Fang Yize a secret thumbs-up.

The confrontation was interrupted by waiters serving snacks. Everyone began to disperse into the room, standing in small groups, holding either a glass of champagne or a plate of small cakes, chatting enthusiastically.

Fang Yize hadn’t eaten dinner after the afternoon’s bustle and was truly hungry now. Sun Lin went off to greet other classmates. Fang Yize had no interest in networking, so she stood by the dessert table near the door.

Because the desserts near the door were the most complete, and everyone else was further inside, few people came out here. Plus, if the food ran low here, it was replenished quickly. She could eat whatever she wanted.

Fang Yize picked up a plate of cream cake. Just as she took a spoonful and put it in her mouth, she turned around and collided head-on with someone. The cream cake smeared all over the other person’s black formal dress.

At first, she thought it was a waiter, but looking at the clothes, it seemed to be a classmate. Fang Yize didn’t even lift her head before she started bowing and apologizing, all while secretly mourning the mess of the cake on the floor.

The person who had been covered in cake took two steps back, frowning as she wiped the cream off her chest. Seeing the sincere apology, she thought she’d just accept the bad luck; at most, she’d have to pay the dress rental shop some compensation.

But the “sincere” classmate lifted her head the next second and met her eyes.

In an instant, Jiang Xule’s temper exploded like a violent blast at the top of her head.