Her Imperfection for Wifehood - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

For several days, An Jing spent a significant amount of time accompanying the Suzhou-Hangzhou merchants on various visits. She even selected a capable young person from the factory to follow the two merchants to Suzhou and Hangzhou to learn technical skills.

She only had half a day to rest when she received an accusatory phone call from her friend, Tang Yunqing: “Is Boss Jing terribly busy lately? You can’t even spare a moment to see me and Xiaoyu. I order you: come shopping with me this afternoon!”

Tang Yunqing is the eldest daughter of the President of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce. She is twenty-seven years old, married with a five-year-old daughter, and another child on the way.

Her husband’s surname is Yang, a real estate tycoon.

Yang Qiyuan and Tang Yunqing were neither childhood sweethearts nor did they have a free-will romance; it was a business marriage, love after marriage.

Tang Yunqing had been a distinguished princess under the spotlight since childhood. Accustomed to independence, she disliked being addressed by her husband’s surname even after marriage and having a child.

Yang Qiyuan dotes on her and respects her, which is why the public generally still refers to her as Miss Tang rather than Madam Yang.

She knew An Jing before her marriage. The two equally free-spirited women met and became close at business receptions. There was no melodramatic “hero saving the beauty” plot, only the laughter of kindred spirits who regretted not meeting sooner.

On the street, a beautiful little girl in a princess dress ran toward An Jing with open arms, sweetly calling out “Godmother!”

“Xiaoyu is truly beautiful today, like a little princess from a castle.” An Jing kissed Xiaoyu’s face. Xiaoyu happily kissed both of An Jing’s cheeks in return.

Tang Yunqing slowly walked over, wanting the same benefit for herself: “Boss Jing can’t play favorites! After kissing your precious daughter, shouldn’t you kiss your precious best friend too?”

These mother and daughter were the only people An Jing had tolerated being physically intimate with over the years. When she was with them, she felt like an ordinary person without any burdens.

She poked Tang Yunqing’s nose with her finger: “Yunqing, you’re a mother now. Can’t you act a little more like one?”

This scene fell into the eyes of Madam Wei and Wei Yinxia.

“You see? That woman is not only entangled with the Lu Gang boss and the Qin family’s young master, but she’s also very intimate with Miss Tang from the Chamber of Commerce President’s family in private. She’s thriving in both the dark and legitimate worlds. If anyone says she’s innocent, no one would believe it.”

Wei Yinxia just listened, offering no comment.

Madam Wei continued her incessant chatter: “The Master originally intended for you to seduce An Xi. If you couldn’t be the official wife, clinging to him as a concubine would still count as a marriage alliance. No matter how powerful An Jing is, she’s a woman. If she marries and has children someday, her power and status in the An family will be over. The An family would never tolerate an outsider taking over the family business. If you then manage to get pregnant and give An Xi a healthy baby boy…”

“Madam, you’re looking too far ahead on something that hasn’t even begun,” Wei Yinxia retorted.

“Oh, talking back to me again, are you?” Madam Wei harshly twisted Wei Yinxia’s arm: “What good is just having a pretty face? Why don’t you use all your charms and seduce him in bed! A man who was practically yours can be snatched away by another woman, and you dare to act all pure and aloof in front of me?”

If the Wei family was hell, Wei Yinxia could still endure the hardship and barely survive. But Madam Wei in this hell made her feel more disgusted than flies or rats.

The autumn air was cooling, but the sun was bright. An Jing wore a light brown leather jacket and fashionable sunglasses.

She held Xiaoyu. She and Tang Yunqing stood very close, their heads touching. Tang Yunqing laughed, then took An Jing’s hand and placed it on her pregnant belly.

“If I get a little brother or sister, will Godmother still love Xiaoyu?”

“Godmother only loves Xiaoyu.”

“Godmother is the best.” Xiaoyu giggled again and cupped An Jing’s face for another kiss.

Madam Wei was intentionally waiting for An Jing and the others to approach the tailor shop: “What a coincidence! Isn’t this Boss Jing and Miss Tang? Are you two out shopping together today?”

The smile on An Jing’s face gradually faded. Tang Yunqing was the first to ask: “Excuse me, who are you?”

“Miss Tang, you forget easily. I am the wife of Wei Zhengqing, the owner of Zhengqing Department Store. We met at the Chamber of Commerce celebration banquet at the beginning of the year.”

“Oh, Madam Wei of Zhengqing Department Store. I just heard my father mention Boss Wei a few days ago. It seems Zhengqing’s revenue and profit haven’t been ideal this year. Department stores in Shanghai are springing up like mushrooms. The competition is indeed fierce.”

Madam Wei had sought a verbal sparring match but ended up embarrassing herself. She lowered her posture: “Would you two also like to go in and take a look?”

Tang Yunqing looked up at the sign, an old brand name, then stroked her daughter’s face: “No time like the present. We can order a few new outfits for our precious princess for the New Year.”

Xiaoyu clapped her hands happily when she heard about new clothes: “Yay, yay! Xiaoyu will wear new clothes, and Mommy and Godmother have to wear new clothes with Xiaoyu!”

“Yes, yes, yes. Mommy will buy new clothes for Xiaoyu and for Godmother. We’ll all wear new clothes,” Tang Yunqing said dotingly.

“Miss Tang and Boss Jing, please go ahead.” Madam Wei gestured for them to enter.

Tang Yunqing offered a polite smile, straightened her posture, and walked into the shop, linking arms with An Jing, whispering in a low voice: “Her words are so passive-aggressive. So annoying.”

An Jing replied: “Indeed, very annoying.”

Looking at the backs of the three—two adults and one child—Wei Yinxia felt an indescribable ache in her heart. Was it jealousy?

She was jealous of Tang Yunqing and Xiaoyu, a jealousy even stronger than the one she felt when she saw An Jing walking with Qin Zhe that day. So this was the bitter taste of jealousy.

Although Tang Yunqing was a privileged lady from a prestigious family, she didn’t have any bad habits of being overly picky. She only bought things she liked, regardless of the price.

An Jing removed her sunglasses and leaned against the counter, absently flipping through various fabrics. Her peripheral vision occasionally flickered toward Madam Wei and Wei Yinxia.

Wei Yinxia barely spoke or touched anything the entire time. Madam Wei, while muttering to herself, casually browsed and selected a few items, telling Wei Yinxia to take them into the fitting room.

“If the Master hadn’t specifically instructed me to take you out to buy a few new outfits, I’d be at the Mahjong table right now. I wouldn’t have the free time to come out and endure this frustration with you.”

Wei Yinxia could only endure.

The tailor measured Xiaoyu. Tang Yunqing picked up a pure white Western suit and held it up against An Jing: “This set is nice. Go try it on to see if it fits. If it does, we’ll buy it. If not, we’ll use this as a reference to custom-make one.”

Tang Yunqing forcibly pushed An Jing toward the fitting room stall: “Don’t come out until you’ve changed!”

The curtain lifted. Inside was Wei Yinxia, who had just changed into a cheongsam.

The predominantly white cheongsam was embroidered with ink-colored branches and red plum blossoms. Light white gauze was used for the shoulder and head decorations. The East-meets-West combination perfectly highlighted Wei Yinxia’s transcendent and pure temperament.

An Jing had seen Wei Yinxia enter.

The two faced each other. An Jing was stunned by the person in front of her. Although her gaze was bright, her expression was as usual: cold.

“Boss Jing,” Wei Yinxia softly called out: “You go ahead and change. I’ll step out first.”

An Jing said nothing, and Wei Yinxia brushed past her.

But just as she lifted the curtain, Wei Yinxia changed her mind. She dropped the curtain, took a deep breath, and turned around, her crimson lips slightly parted as she asked: “What do you think of this cheongsam on me, Boss Jing?”

An Jing thought she had left. Startled by the sudden question, she turned and stared foolishly at the smiling Wei Yinxia, a stark contrast to her humble, obedient demeanor just moments ago.

Since their last meeting was less than amicable, An Jing thought Wei Yinxia had decided to cut all ties with her. She had been respecting her wishes, maintaining the appropriate distance. They weren’t sisters, nor were they friends.

“Boss Jing?”

Wei Yinxia took two steps closer. An Jing slowly, belatedly, said: “Beautiful.”

“Is the dress beautiful, or is the person beautiful?”

“You are beautiful.”

Hearing the satisfactory answer, Wei Yinxia covered her mouth and chuckled, then raised her hand and placed it on the zipper over An Jing’s chest: “Let me see the wound on your shoulder.”

The beautiful woman’s breath was so close. An Jing didn’t dare to move. She was a complete paper tiger.

Previously in the Old Town, capitalizing on Wei Yinxia’s shyness and the cover of night, she had shamelessly not only allowed the other woman to bathe her but had also looked at the wound on her arm.

The tables had turned.

It was her turn now.

In broad daylight, with Wei Yinxia in control, she was nervous. Even her ears were inexplicably starting to burn.

This ambiguous tone, this ragged breathing, this chaotic heartbeat, and this bizarre atmosphere—everything felt wrong.

But what exactly was wrong, she couldn’t articulate.

An Jing caught Wei Yinxia’s hand on her zipper. Her voice was stiff, hiding an undetectable nervousness: “I appreciate your concern, Second Miss Wei, but my wound is healed. You…”

Wei Yinxia’s smile vanished, replaced by a pitiable, wronged look: “Does Boss Jing no longer wish to call me Yinyin?”

“…”

“Are you still angry with me?”

“…” An Jing was asking herself the same question in her mind. Was she angry?

“Is Miss Tang also your sister?”

“Yunqing? She…”

Before An Jing could figure out a concise way to explain her relationship with Tang Yunqing, Wei Yinxia gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Can we let bygones be bygones? Please don’t hold a grudge against a little girl like me, okay?”

An Jing’s eyes widened, her body rigid, swallowing hard, her mind a mess.

Wei Yinxia pressed her advantage, giving An Jing no time to think. She hooked her arm around An Jing’s neck, slightly tilted her head, and, under An Jing’s astonished gaze, drew closer little by little.

Four lips touched.

For a long time, neither made a further move.

Time seemed to stand still.

“Xiaoyu, quickly ask your Godmother if she’s changed her clothes! Why has she been in there for so long?” Tang Yunqing’s loud voice from outside the curtain roused the two lost souls.

Wei Yinxia, like a child caught doing wrong, quickly lowered her head, turned, and left. The white Western suit in An Jing’s hand had already fallen to the floor.

Tang Yunqing pulled back the curtain: “Why are you so quiet? Doesn’t it fit? Why are you staring into space? Why is the suit on the floor? Don’t like it? If you don’t like it, forget it. It’s fine, we have plenty of time. We’ll go look somewhere else.”

That night, An Jing lay in bed, her mind and heart filled with the image of Wei Yinxia in the red plum cheongsam kissing her.

She only remembered the faint scent of roses on her. She only remembered that her lips were cool and soft.

Her heart was pounding violently.

Can women kiss women like this?

She had only kissed Xiaoyu’s face. It was tender, smooth, elastic, and smelled of milk. It was completely different from the sensation and scent she felt from Wei Yinxia.

Tang Yunqing sometimes teased her, telling her that kissing on the cheek or hand was an open Western custom. But she couldn’t do it with anyone. The most intimate gesture she allowed Tang Yunqing was to link arms with her.

And now, her “intimacy” with Wei Yinxia had escalated repeatedly, from hugging to sleeping in the same bed, to kissing. How was this behavior any different from lovers?

But how could they be lovers?

An Jing wasn’t the only one who was sleepless that night; Wei Yinxia was too.

Their encounter today was an accident, and the kiss was also an accident.

This “accident within an accident” gave her unprecedented courage, and she didn’t regret it one bit.

In the dead of night, she thought for a long time: When did she develop such feelings for An Jing?

Was it when she was still Hongying?

Or was it the first time An Jing held her on the street?

She only knew that in An Jing’s presence, her eyes and heart were solely on An Jing. She would feel a frantic heartbeat and immense happiness from An Jing’s affection, and would feel downcast and deeply sad from An Jing’s distance.

Impulsively, she kissed An Jing. She kissed the person she wanted to kiss without any preparation.

This was not the best moment that Wei Zhengqing had meticulously arranged for her to ingratiate herself with An Jing.

And precisely because of this, her kiss was pure.

Consider it self-consolation.

Wei Zhengqing was running out of patience with her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked her nothing tonight after Madam Wei disclosed the chance encounter with An Jing and Tang Yunqing.

What would be the next step?

Would An Jing take the bait and come to her to ask the reason for the kiss? Or would she wait for An Jing to be utterly disgusted by the kiss and never see her again?

The following evening, An Jing went to a nightclub alone to pass the time. She slammed a thick stack of money onto the table: “Call all the prettiest, most expensive, and most popular girls here for me.”

“Right away!”

A short while later, six well-proportioned girls with varying charms lined up in the private room. There were long-haired ones, short-haired ones, some wearing cheongsams, some in Western dresses, some in sexy backless outfits, and some in school uniforms…

An Jing walked past them, pausing for about a minute in front of each girl, examining them from head to toe. What she stared at longest were the girls’ lips.

In the nightclub, no one, neither the boss nor the girls, thought it was out of the ordinary for a prominent figure like Boss Jing to seek pleasure.

Their job was to be companions for drinks and sex. Accompanying men or women was all the same. However, women coming to a place like this were very rare. At least, officially, none of the girls had been called to accompany a woman for sex.

But several of them had seen Boss Jing come here to talk business with other bosses, and some had even accompanied Boss Jing for a drink.

There were some differences between a nightclub and a dance hall. Dance halls focused on music, dancing, drinking, and socializing. The girls’ prices were not explicitly posted, and whether they accompanied a customer for sex depended on their willingness and was negotiated privately.

Nightclubs focused on drinking and sexual transactions. Most girls had two prices, with only a very few only providing company for drinks and not sex.

“Boss Jing, is there any girl here who catches your eye?” the Madam Boss asked.

An Jing shook her head and waved her hand: “All of you, leave. Bring me two bottles of strong liquor. Don’t let anyone disturb me unless I call for you.”

No, no, they’re all wrong.

No matter how beautiful, alluring, or charming those girls were, none of them were Wei Yinxia. An Jing looked at them for a long time and didn’t even want to touch them, let alone kiss them.

She had endured social formalities at gatherings before, but she only tolerated women sitting beside her and drinking. She had never had a lustful thought for any woman.

To be precise, she hadn’t had one for either men or women until today.

Yet, in this moment and place, she felt she was going crazy. She was madly missing Wei Yinxia, and madly wanting to kiss those soft red lips again.

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