Her Imperfection for Wifehood - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Inverted V Start

Two bottles of strong liquor down, An Jing was surprisingly more energized.

She stood up, intending to go to the restroom, when she noticed several men shoving a woman outside another private room.

The Madam Boss was there, standing by and watching.

“I said, do you men have any shame, bullying a weak woman?”

Hearing someone interfere, the three men turned to look at An Jing. One of them, sharp-eyed, rubbed his hands and respectfully said: “Well, well, if it isn’t the famous Boss Jing! You’re also coming to a place like this for fun? What, you’re here to play with women too?”

The Madam Boss strategically moved to stand next to An Jing. With this important guest taking the initiative, she could assist and try to avoid offending either side.

The woman, with dishevelled hair, had been struck. She covered her face, exposing only one eye, and slowly turned, seeing An Jing like a savior: “Boss Jing! Boss Jing, help me…”

“You are…?” An Jing felt the woman looked familiar, but her messy makeup and hair made it hard to recall who she was.

At that moment, the man who had greeted An Jing slapped the woman’s face with a sharp, loud crack: “You dare to call for help? Call for what help, assistance from whom? Boss Jing is such a big shot. Do you, a filthy wh*re, deserve to call her name?”

The Madam Boss took a step back and whispered in An Jing’s ear: “This girl is Lixia from the former Xianle Gate.”

Lixia… Lixia? She remembered now.

“Gentlemen, please cool your tempers. Peace brings profit. I’ve met Miss Lixia a few times. Tonight, I’ll take Miss Lixia.”

“Of course we’ll give face to the woman Boss Jing fancies.” The man looked at the Madam Boss: “But we’ve spent a lot of money and haven’t had enough fun yet…”

“I’ll cover all your expenses tonight,” An Jing increased the offer.

“Then, thank you, Boss Jing.”

The men laughed and offered their thanks, and the man finished by patting Lixia’s face twice: “Don’t pretend to be innocent when you come to a place like this. You’re lucky today. Next time I come, if you don’t obey, you won’t last here.”

Trouble resolved, An Jing returned to her private room. Lixia followed automatically.

After seeing the men off, the Madam Boss returned to the room with some simple medicine for Lixia.

She explained to An Jing: “Xianle Gate closed down because of the murder case. Lixia had nowhere else to go and came here to be a hostess. Her card says she accompanies for drinks but not for sex, but some guests, seeing Lixia’s beauty, just…”

An Jing took a sip of liquor and a drag from her cigarette. Through the smoke, she glanced at Lixia. This woman was the kindest and most friendly to Hongying at Xianle Gate.

Wei Yinxia had no friends, and Hongying had no friends.

In An Jing’s memory, Lixia seemed to have had a one-night stand with Xu Weiqiang, assuming Xu Weiqiang hadn’t lied to her.

“How many people have you slept with?”

She was willing to sleep with men at Xianle Gate, so why the desperate refusal at the nightclub?

Lixia didn’t understand An Jing’s intentions and answered honestly: “Three.”

“Which number was Xu Weiqiang?”

“The third.”

So she did sleep with him. Well, Xu Weiqiang hadn’t lied to her. But that must have been over a year ago, right? Lixia answered without hesitation, showing how clearly she remembered the occasion.

There are usually two reasons for a deep memory: it was either too good or too bad.

An Jing gave her a meaningful look. Her background was a bit rough, her education lacking, but then again, Xu Weiqiang wasn’t highly educated either.

A sly smile appeared. She picked up the jacket from the sofa and tossed it to Lixia: “Put the clothes on.”

“I don’t deserve Boss Jing’s clothes,” she said. She wasn’t a materialistic woman, nor did she desperately seek to cling to the rich and powerful to elevate her status.

“Dare to be the woman of the Lu Gang Big Brother? Setting aside if you dare, do you want to? If you want to, put on the clothes.”

But this time, An Jing misjudged.

She thought that rather than floating through life, subject to bullying, Lixia would surely want to seek protection by following a powerful, wealthy man like Xu Weiqiang.

However, Lixia remained silent for a moment, didn’t take her clothes, stood up, and said: “Boss Jing saved me tonight. I’ll always remember your kindness. I know I’m humble and don’t have much luck…”

“Fine, you can leave,” An Jing interrupted her. She didn’t want to listen. She had already done what she could to help.

Leaving the club, she drove to the Wei residence.

She honked the horn, drawing out the servant guarding the gate: “Tell Boss Wei that I have something to talk to Second Miss Wei about. Please ask her to come out for a moment.”

“Yes, please wait.”

A few minutes later, Wei Yinxia, wrapped in a cashmere shawl, appeared in An Jing’s sight.

An Jing’s heart suddenly began to pound fiercely. She got out of the car and opened the passenger door: “Let’s talk in the car. It’s warmer.”

Wei Yinxia obediently got in.

An Jing started the car and drove for about a kilometer before stopping again.

Silence.

Wei Yinxia hadn’t looked at An Jing since getting in the car. It was several minutes later that she plucked up the courage to look at her and called out, “Boss Jing.”

But the next second, An Jing’s hand moved from the steering wheel, cradled Wei Yinxia’s head, and kissed her directly, mouth-to-mouth. This time, the previous day’s instigator, Wei Yinxia, was the one wide-eyed and taken aback.

An Jing closed her eyes, feeling Wei Yinxia’s breath, feeling her own wildly beating heart. She parted her lips and carefully enclosed the beautiful woman’s lips with her own.

Snapping back to reality, Wei Yinxia’s eyes curved into crescent moons. She hugged An Jing back tightly and responded to the kiss with the same heartfelt passion and skill.

Whose tongue pried open whose teeth, and whose teeth lightly grazed whose lips.

Tongues danced, saliva mingled. They kissed with forgotten abandon.

It felt like a long time, and yet only an instant. When she felt her tongue going slightly numb, Wei Yinxia gently pushed An Jing away, feeling embarrassed.

An Jing, still lingering, kissed the beauty’s lips again and again: “Yinyin, your lips are so soft, and so sweet.”

Wei Yinxia’s face flushed even deeper.

She lowered her head, not wanting An Jing to see her composure slip, but she couldn’t help but ask: “Why would Boss Jing do such a thing?”

“Simply because I like you.”

An Jing didn’t make her wait, answering her simply and directly. She had figured it out on the way here: if she wanted to kiss Wei Yinxia, wasn’t it because she liked her?

Wei Yinxia looked up, staring at An Jing in disbelief, falling into her steady and affectionate gaze. She hugged her, crying tears of joy: “I like you so much too! I don’t want you to be my sister, Ah Jing, will you be my hero?”

“Yes. You be my beloved, and I will be your great hero.”

The quiet villa district was silent. Only the thump-thump of their hearts beat against each other, as if trying to break through their skin and reach the other’s heart.

Wei Yinxia cupped An Jing’s face, her eyes full of affection: “Ah Jing’s eyes are so beautiful. When I sang at Xianle Gate, you often sent me flowers but never once asked me to do anything for you. The distance between us felt like heaven and earth. Sometimes I would wonder what kind of person in this world was worthy of Boss Jing’s deep affection, what kind of person deserved to be seen and kept in Boss Jing’s heart. Ah Jing, you say you like me. Will I be lucky enough to be that person?”

An Jing took Wei Yinxia’s hand and kissed it, then placed it over her own heart: “Silly girl. My heart races for you. Everything in the world falls short compared to your every expression.”

“Have you ever said such cheesy things to other girls?”

“I’ve been wronged. I swear on my life, I’ve only said them to you.”

Wei Yinxia took An Jing’s hand and placed it over her own heart, blushing as she said: “Every time I see you, every time I hear you call me Yinyin, my heart is a mess.”

An Jing smiled proudly: “Yinyin, when did you start setting your sights on me?”

In her view, Wei Yinxia’s previous actions were all attempts to curry favor, so she had never thought about romance.

Wei Yinxia playfully punched her: “What do you mean, setting my sights on you! It’s clearly you who’s been hugging and holding me all day, saying things that make people overthink and their hearts pound!”

An Jing paused, recalling the details of their past interactions. It seemed she was indeed the one who had crossed the line first with certain words and actions toward Wei Yinxia.

Crossing the line was fine. She loved the charming and shy Wei Yinxia, and she embraced her both with her arms and her words: “Okay, okay, it was me who hugged and held you. It was me who had wicked intentions toward you. It was me who was smitten by your beauty. It was me who couldn’t maintain the propriety of a gentleman. It was me from the very start. I like you so much!”

It was a beautiful moment for pouring out their hearts, but a certain clueless person had to ask: “You kissed me yesterday because you were jealous of my intimacy with Yunqing?”

Wei Yinxia offered a subtle “Mm-hmm.”

“Yunqing is my good friend. Her family is rich and powerful. She wouldn’t try to take anything from me.” The ineloquent Boss Jing was truly hopeless.

Luckily, she quickly added: “And she’s already married with children…”

It was getting more ridiculous.

An Jing frustratedly chastised herself: “I’m sorry. I’m clumsy with words. I’ve never wooed another girl. Just take everything nice I say to be true, and don’t take the awkward things to heart…”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.” Wei Yinxia lovingly stroked her lips: “I don’t blame you. I was the petty one. I can’t stand seeing you smiling at other girls. Does Ah Jing think I’m being unreasonable?”

“No. From now on, I won’t smile at any other girl.”

“Not men either.”

“Mm, not men either. From today, I will only smile at my Yinyin.”

“What about Young Master Qin?” Wei Yinxia rested her head on An Jing’s shoulder: “Father said you urgently need the support of the Board members and publicly invested in Young Master Qin’s department store to show him favor, so the possibility of a marriage alliance between the An and Qin families wasn’t ruled out. I was very upset when I saw you link arms with him at the party, which is why I said those angry words to you in the car later.”

So that was it.

With the misunderstanding cleared, An Jing explained: “Don’t worry. Qin Zhe and I are merely casual acquaintances. There will absolutely be no talk of a marriage alliance. Furthermore, I have already confessed my feelings to you. My heart only has room for you.”

“Mm, I believe you. My heart only has room for Ah Jing.” Wei Yinxia confessed: “I… haven’t liked anyone else before.”

“Mm, I believe Yinyin too.”

After careful consideration, An Jing decided not to fully disclose the humiliation Lixia endured at the nightclub tonight.

Less trouble was better. Lixia and Wei Yinxia were not sworn sisters. Lixia had her own fate and her own path to walk. Anything more would be useless.

After reluctantly parting with Wei Yinxia, An Jing immediately called Tang Yunqing when she got home: “Is it true that Zhengqing Department Store is losing money?”

She had heard every word of what Tang Yunqing said to counter Madam Wei on the street that day.

A prominent family’s business loss was a major issue. Wei Zhengqing would not let such a thing leak out easily. If competitors or those who held a grudge against him found out, they would certainly go to great lengths to target him.

No wonder he was so eager to marry Wei Yinxia off to An Xi. It seemed he wanted to use Wei Yinxia to influence An Xi. Once An Xi took over the An enterprise, both publicly and privately, he naturally wouldn’t stand idly by while his father-in-law’s family faced a crisis.

“I haven’t paid much attention to business matters. I just happened to overhear a bit of their conversation.” Tang Yunqing was raised in privilege. Her noble temperament was innate. She seemed strong and shrewd, yet she didn’t take business matters seriously.

“Help me ask around the Chamber of Commerce about the current situation of Zhengqing Department Store.”

“What are you going to do?”

“A while ago, Wei Zhengqing tried to get me to partner with him on a deal with foreigners. I refused him. But he subtly warned me that I was making myself a target. You must have seen the news reports, and then there was the fire at my factory.”

“The Wei family is truly despicable! Wait for my news!”

“Good, I appreciate it.”

With An Jing and Wei Yinxia confessing their feelings for each other, planning for their future naturally became An Jing’s biggest challenge.

If Wei Yinxia were from an ordinary family or the Old Town, An Jing could easily find an excuse to bring her to the An house to live permanently, allowing them to be together day and night.

But she was the daughter of the Wei family.

That identity, simply put, was a thorny obstacle. Put more complexly, it was a ticking time bomb.

Difficult though it was, An Jing wasn’t afraid. She would create conditions and squeeze out time for dates. An Xi was the best helper and cover.

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