Rose Lock - Chapter 51

“No need,” Hua Manyi said, holding the food box, intending to pass her and return to her room.

Gong Ma thought she was just in a bad mood because of her parents, so she pulled her back, “If you don’t want to go out to eat, you can eat here. I have something to say to you.”

“Gong Ma, I’m tired today, I don’t want to eat,” Hua Manyi pushed her hand away.

“Tired?” Gong Yan reflected for a moment, “Then about last night…”

“What about last night?” Hua Manyi looked up, slightly puzzled.

It was Gong Yan’s turn to be stunned. She quickly recalled the day at the winery when Hua Manyi also forgot everything from the previous night. Thinking of this, Gong Yan pursed her thin lips tightly, “Are you doing this on purpose or is it something else?”

Hua Manyi thought about waking up naked in her bed this morning. She probably already knew that she had gone to her room to sleep in the middle of the night, even acting vulgarly on the bed.

If it were anyone else, they would surely overthink it, and might even suspect her of having some ulterior motive.

“Gong Ma, if you’re talking about me sleeping in your bed,” Hua Manyi glanced away faintly, explaining, “I didn’t mean to, and I don’t have any ulterior motives. Maybe I drank too much last night and accidentally went to the wrong room.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Hua Manyi felt the air pressure around her drop instantly. Without looking at the woman beside her, she said, “Gong Ma, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to my room first.”

“Stop.”

A cold voice rang in her ear. Hua Manyi was forced against the wall, and when she looked up, she saw the woman close in front of her, their red lips frigid. Hua Manyi’s delicate brows slightly furrowed, finding this posture too aggressive. Even without looking at her expression, she could imagine the scrutinizing look in Gong Ma’s eyes right now.

She turned her face away, unknowingly avoiding the kiss that Gong Yan was about to place.

“Gong Ma, if you don’t believe me, you can search my room. Although I went to the wrong room, I wouldn’t be light-fingered,” Hua Manyi’s gaze fell on the floor by her feet, the scene of being naked this morning flashing in her mind again.

A woman stripping naked and sleeping in her boss’s bed—if this couldn’t be explained clearly, she probably wouldn’t be able to stay in Fenghai.

“…nor did I have any intention of seducing you.”

“No intention of seducing?” Gong Yan was stung by her avoiding gesture, and hearing that sentence, she was genuinely angered into a laugh, “But you know I have those kinds of feelings for women.”

Hua Manyi tightly clenched her palm, fine sweat seeping from her forehead, “Gong Ma, I didn’t deliberately try to pry into your privacy. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t possibly do something like that. After all, Manyi has said she likes men.”

Likes men…

This was the second time Gong Yan heard her say this. Suddenly, she understood. If Hua Manyi wasn’t truly forgetting those things due to some reason, then she was simply using the alcohol to have a one-night stand with Gong Yan and then playing dumb the next day.

Gong Yan took a deep breath, “Hua Manyi, I’ll only ask you this one thing: Do you really refuse to admit what we did last night…?”

As luck would have it, Li Zhen’s loud voice suddenly cut through from the end of the corridor, her call of “Manyi Jie” covering the sounds of the words “what we did.”

The woman in front of her instantly had a sharp look in her eyes, full of accusation. Hua Manyi stared back blankly, and soon her eyes welled up with tears, but she desperately held them back, her throat slightly choked.

She gave a strained smile but tried hard to refute, “You don’t believe me. Why should I admit to something Hua Manyi didn’t do?”

Gong Yan was taken aback seeing her cry. She gently raised her hand to stroke Hua Manyi’s cheek, wiping away her tears, and pulled her into a hug to comfort her, “Gong Ma knows what’s going on, don’t cry.”

Li Zhen approached, her steps slowing down. This situation… should she stay or should she discreetly leave? It was killing her with worry. She should have come up a little later.

Hearing the footsteps, Hua Manyi quickly backed out of Gong Ma’s embrace, wiped her tears with her fingertips, and turned around to ask, “A-Zhen, what did you call me for?”

Li Zhen glanced at Gong Ma’s somber face, then at Hua Manyi’s visibly tearful eyes. She stopped the absurd speculation in her mind and cleared her throat, “Manyi Jie, Xiaoxiao twisted her ankle today, so she might not be able to attend to you for the next two days. She asked me to come and let you know.”

“Is it serious? Does she need to see a doctor?” Hua Manyi asked.

Li Zhen replied, “It’s not very serious. I took her to see a doctor. The doctor said she shouldn’t move around for the next two days and should rest in her room. She asked me to cover for her, since I’m free anyway.”

“No need, A-Zhen. I can take care of myself for the next two days. You should attend to your own matters.”

Hua Manyi declined her kindness, and Li Zhen had no choice but to agree and went downstairs.

Only she and Gong Ma were left at the room door. The interruption had sobered and calmed her down. Hua Manyi considered her words, “Gong Ma, thank you for being willing to believe me. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to my room now.”

Until the room door was closed, Gong Yan deeply shut her eyes, looked at the closed door, and then walked towards her own room. She went to the desk, picked up the telephone receiver, and dialed a string of numbers.

After a moment, Butler Fu’s voice answered the phone, “Madam? What is it? I’ve already booked the private room at the hotel. The room number is…”

“Butler Fu, wait a moment. Cancel the private room for now,” Gong Yan rubbed her temples. Thinking about what she had just figured out, she was speechless, “Also, please ask Dr. Huarnason when he’s free.”

“Alright.” Butler Fu suddenly remembered on the other end, “Oh, Madam, I just ran into Dr. Huarnason. He said he’s free these two days. Would you like to invite him over tomorrow?”

“No, ask him if he’s free next week,” Gong Yan contemplated, refusing immediately. Hua Manyi had just explained that she wasn’t light-fingered and hadn’t tried to seduce her. If Gong Yan turned around and took her to see a doctor, it would be impossible to explain again.

Even if her statement that she “didn’t try to seduce me” was utterly absurd.

“Understood, Madam.”

…

That evening, Hua Manyi had a performance. As usual, her singing voice was clear and melodious, with a unique charming style. The crowd of admirers below was as numerous as ever.

Probably because she was thinking about the confrontation with Gong Ma earlier in the evening, she was in a bad mood, putting on a forced smile. Hua Manyi was careless and was poured several glasses of wine, her eyes becoming bleary with intoxication.

“What time is it?” Hua Manyi rested her elbow on the table, half her body leaning against the edge, a glass of red wine hanging between her fair, slender fingers. Most of the red wine in the glass had been drunk by her, but it was quickly refilled by someone next to her.

The young master refilling the wine glanced at his watch and replied, “Half past ten.”

“Half… past… ten?” Hua Manyi spat out the words one by one, the tail end of her voice carrying a naturally seductive, whining tone. She drank the glass of wine in one go, “Then I should go back. Gentlemen, please help yourselves. Xiaoxiao… Xiaoxiao…”

She called Xiaoxiao twice, but no one came.

“Hey, hey, don’t be such a spoilsport, Miss Manyi. I heard it was your eighteenth birthday yesterday, and none of us properly celebrated it with you. How about this, we’ll throw a birthday banquet for you. Whether it’s at my house or somewhere else, as long as you like it, we’ll make it grand and lively!”

“Throw a banquet?” Hua Manyi’s remaining consciousness could only follow the other person’s fragmented words. Suddenly, she spoke, “Alright, I love throwing banquets! I want to have a banquet every day… every single day!”

“A banquet every day… this…” The young master was momentarily speechless. Even if he had mountains of gold and silver, he couldn’t afford to spend money like that every day.

“Is that okay?” Hua Manyi stared blankly at him, “I want the whole of Haicheng to be filled with fireworks. I want everyone in Haicheng to eat my birthday cake… and drink the most expensive wine at my birthday… Is that okay, Third Young Master? It must be very beautiful, very spectacular, right?”

Third Young Master Xu: This one dinner would practically cost him how many Xu families?

Third Young Master Xu felt he shouldn’t have opened his mouth. How was he supposed to get out of this situation?

Another person next to him gave him a meaningful look, “Third Young Master, she’s talking nonsense because she’s drunk. Don’t take it seriously, just humor her.”

Third Young Master Xu thought that was right. What kind of nonsense wouldn’t a drunk person say? Phew, he was scaring himself.

“Alright, Miss Manyi, I promise you, I’ll throw you a grand and lively banquet. Should we go out and do it now?” Third Young Master Xu coaxed her with smooth talk. As long as Hua Manyi left Fenghai with them, wouldn’t everything else fall into place naturally?

“Third Young Master… Third Young Master.”

Someone nearby called him, calling him several times, making Third Young Master Xu impatient, “What is it? Speak quickly if you have something to say, or let it out if it’s gas.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a shadow fell over his head. Third Young Master Xu frowned, ready to see who was trying to ruin his plans.

“Since Third Young Master is so generous and willing to host an unprecedentedly grand birthday banquet for Yiyi, then I will thank you on her behalf first.” Gong Yan took the cigarette from her red lips, her expression languid. She leaned over and scooped the person from the sofa into her arms. She glanced at Hua Manyi’s flushed and charming face from the alcohol, then her gaze fell on Third Young Master Xu, “Tomorrow, when Yiyi wakes up, she will surely be very happy.”

Third Young Master Xu met Gong Ma’s eyes, and a chill suddenly ran up his spine. He instantly sobered up, feeling a bit guilty, “Gong Ma, this… this, Miss Manyi is talking nonsense because she’s drunk, are you taking it seriously too…”

“Otherwise?”

Third Young Master Xu was choked, “Gong Ma, don’t joke with me.”

This unprecedentedly grand birthday banquet, let alone him, few people in the whole of Haicheng could pull off.

“Third Young Master Xu, do you really think you can trick our Yiyi with just a few empty promises? Don’t you even bother to find out whose territory this is!”

The sarcasm rained down on him, and the pretense was publicly ripped away. Third Young Master Xu’s face turned pale, “Gong Ma, listen to my explanation…”

“See them out!”

The waiter, Little Fu Ge, immediately responded, politely asking the people to leave. Just before they left, he heard Gong Ma’s final instruction, “Don’t forget to pay the bill!”

“Third Young Master, you better go back. The Bailaomén is actually more suitable for you to listen to music,” Little Fu Ge made a kind suggestion after making them settle the bill.

Third Young Master Xu stood at the doorway, “What do you mean by that?”

Little Fu Ge sighed, “Third Young Master, Gong Ma is very angry tonight. It means you probably can’t come to our Fenghai anymore.”

Third Young Master Xu was immediately enraged, “What do you mean we can’t come to Fenghai anymore? Do you know who I am?!”

“Third Young Master, Third Young Master…” The other two young masters were clearly more sensible and pulled him back, “Forget it, forget it. Don’t provoke a woman like Gong Ma. Even Boss Sun of Bailaomén respects her seven parts. She’s not someone we can afford to mess with.”

Third Young Master Xu then sheepishly shut up. His male chauvinism flared up, and he spat out a threat, “You guys just wait, let’s go!”

Little Fu Ge saw them off and turned around, bumping into Xiaoxiao, who was limping with a cane, coming to the dance floor.

“Little Fu Ge, what happened?” Xiaoxiao decided to come out and see what the noise was about, “I heard Gong Ma was very angry? Was it because of Manyi Jie?”

“Indeed. That Third Young Master Xu, a toad aspiring to eat swan meat, was caught red-handed by Gong Ma. She mocked him a bit and told them to scram. It looks like they’re still not happy,” Little Fu Ge shrugged.

“It’s good that nothing happened.” Xiaoxiao was worried that because of her, she couldn’t pull her back tonight, causing Manyi Jie to be bullied. But now it seemed that with Gong Ma around, Manyi Jie was safe for the time being.

Xiaoxiao glanced at the tightly closed door upstairs and then hobbled back to her room with her cane.

Meanwhile, the safe Hua Manyi was half-reclining on the leather sofa, slightly propping up her body, her two long, slender legs crossed and resting on the arm of the sofa.

The slit of the qipao was on her thigh, the skirt fabric slid down, revealing the evenly-toned, fair skin of her legs.

“Gong Ma…”

Her eyes were blurry with intoxication, but she stared directly at the woman standing not far away, pouring water for her.

Gong Yan heard the call, took the cigarette away from her red lips, slowly exhaled a plume of white smoke, put down the hot water kettle with her left hand, picked up the water cup from the table, and turned around.

The next second, her eyes slightly froze.

She saw the woman on the sofa reclining very seductively. Her right hand reached into the slit of the qipao. With a hook of her finger, Gong Yan narrowed her eyes, watching her pull out a pair of black lace underwear from the slit of the qipao. The thin fabric was circled into a delicate ring from the friction, sliding over her knee… ankle… round toes, and finally, it snapped out with a very light sound, dangling on her index finger for a couple of shakes.

“Hua Manyi… what are you doing—”

Before she could finish her sentence, the black fabric slipped from Hua Manyi’s hand, flying towards Gong Yan, landing on her curvaceous chest, and then with a very soft pat, it fell to the floor.

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