The Ex-Wife Of A Wealthy/Powerful Family Tempts Me To Treat Her Badly/Betray Her - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: “Would you like to dance with me?”

Lu Linqiao fell silent again after Jiang Yu’s quick agreement.

Jiang Yu keenly caught a trace of hesitation in Lu Linqiao’s eyes and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Linqiao considered, “It’s a good thing you agreed, but there’s something I need to tell you beforehand.”

Jiang Yu glanced at Lu Linqiao, signaling her to continue.

“This cocktail party is hosted by Aunt Rens.”

Hearing the mention of Aunt Rens, Jiang Yu fell silent, not reacting for a moment.

Lu Linqiao explained, “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. If you don’t want to go, it’s fine. No need to force yourself.”

Jiang Yu smiled at Lu Linqiao: “I’ll go. We haven’t seen each other for three years.”

Jiang Yu turned and looked at Lu Linqiao with particular earnestness: “Thank you.”

Lu Linqiao sighed softly, “Why are you being so polite with me?”

“The final decision is yours. The person you should be most grateful to, actually, should be yourself.”

Even though she said that, Jiang Yu still returned a grateful look to Lu Linqiao, sincerely thanking her again.

…

The cocktail party’s address was chosen as Xisdun Manor in the suburbs of Li City. Lavender flowers were planted all around the manor. The Gothic style architecture was located deep within the flower field, looking exactly like a mysterious and grand ancient castle from a fairy tale.

Mrs. Rens is a well-known designer in the industry, having been popular for over thirty years, so her status in the circle is naturally self-evident.

This cocktail party was star-studded, featuring some of the heads of old money families who were on good terms with her.

The scene was grand, with many relevant media gathered at the entrance, and flashbulbs constantly flickering on the red carpet.

Jiang Yu hadn’t attended such an occasion for a while, and she was a bit unaccustomed to the dense flashlights for a moment.

However, she had left the frontline catwalks a long time ago and was not a particularly famous public figure, so not much attention was given to her.

Jiang Yu and Lu Linqiao could be said to have entered without much hindrance, going straight to the main area of the cocktail party.

Inside the manor, the decorations were even more magnificent. In the ground-floor activity area, there was a massive dome overhead with stained glass depicting goddess figures. Moonlight shone through the gaps, interweaving with the music from the symphony orchestra, creating a truly ethereal scene.

Jiang Yu was not unfamiliar with this manor; she had been here many times before.

Perhaps triggered by the familiar surroundings, Jiang Yu’s memory was pulled far back.

She recalled some things from her past, and these events were inextricably linked to her and Ms. Rens.

Those familiar with her know that her modeling career wasn’t particularly smooth.

At eleven, she was scouted by a modeling agency and came to Li City alone.

As a child, she was delicate and beautiful, and tall enough. In the first few years, she became the most famous youth model in the entire industry.

She thought she would have smooth sailing from then on, but as she grew older, she became even more beautiful, and her facial features grew more striking and aggressive.

This aggressive beauty became her original sin.

After all, in recent years, many clothing companies in the industry were unwilling to use models with too distinct personal styles; they preferred a perfect, expressionless coat hanger.

Because of this, Jiang Yu’s career development almost stagnated.

The fashion industry changes rapidly. Before long, the agency gradually forgot about Jiang Yu. As the contract expiration date approached, she hadn’t achieved much and faced the crisis of contract termination.

The survival costs in this industry were high. She was young, had no family support, and lived in a high-cost Eastern European country. For about three or four years, her life was very strained.

The turning point came when she was sixteen. Ms. Rens, a renowned figure in the industry known as the “Muse,” selected her to be the opening and closing model for her collection that season.

From then on, her career took off, and she carved out a place for herself in the modeling world.

After that, Jiang Yu attended almost all of the major shows designed by Rens, and it was fair to call her Rens’s exclusive model.

There was a time when many in the industry discussed the nature of their relationship.

Jiang Yu was naturally grateful to Ms. Rens. Over five or six years of working together, their personal relationship was also quite good.

All the changes happened in the year she fell ill and chose to withdraw from the catwalk.

Ms. Rens believed she shouldn’t end her modeling career like this, and the two parted unhappily, with no contact for a long time.

Three years had passed.

To be honest, Jiang Yu didn’t feel there were many conflicts left between them.

However, she was never the type to actively resolve crises.

This matter had always been a sticking point in Jiang Yu’s heart.

She and Lu Linqiao were long-time friends, and Lu Linqiao knew much of her past.

Jiang Yu understood that Lu Linqiao was worried about her and wanted to create an opportunity for her in a fitting setting.

So, she didn’t refuse and was very grateful to Lu Linqiao.

…

Jiang Yu looked around at everything familiar from her memory and let out a long breath.

Three years without meeting, and as one of the few elders who had been kind to her, she truly missed Ms. Rens.

They arrived neither too early nor too late. Soon, the dance floor filled with people, and the large doors in the corridor closed tightly.

Following the spotlight, Jiang Yu saw Ms. Rens’s figure.

She was sixty this year, a woman who had dominated the fashion world for most of her life, so her aura was naturally extraordinary.

Her figure was well-maintained, her skin wasn’t overly saggy, and she wore a dark green suit that made her whole person appear exceptionally elegant.

The opening remarks of the cocktail party were predictable.

Jiang Yu listened carefully to what Rens said, then skillfully walked to the location of the side hall.

She waited there quietly for Rens to return.

As expected, five minutes later, Rens returned, and their eyes met.

Jiang Yu opened her mouth: “Aunt Rens.”

Rens looked at the young woman who had suddenly appeared beside her, merely glanced at her, and then walked straight past Jiang Yu as if she hadn’t seen her.

Jiang Yu called Rens’s name again.

This time, Rens turned back, looked at Jiang Yu, and smiled.

“You child, you still remember to come and see me.”

Jiang Yu suddenly felt a pang in her throat. She walked to Rens’s side and affectionately linked arms with her: “I was afraid you were still angry with me.”

“So, you didn’t come to see me for three years. I was very sad.”

Rens, being a foreigner, was not subtle in her expression.

Jiang Yu smiled and said, “I’m sorry, I know I was wrong.”

A very light sigh came from Rens beside her.

“I also had issues back then. Since you loved this industry so much, you must have had your reasons.”

Rens’s tone was a little low as she spoke.

She didn’t want to bring up too many painful memories from that year, only saying, “Forget it, let’s not talk about those things.”

“It’s enough that we are doing well now.”

Jiang Yu looked at Rens and nodded after a moment.

“Come on, let’s go have a drink.”

“We haven’t seen each other for so long, let’s celebrate.”

Jiang Yu nodded and drank champagne with Rens.

Over the years, they had both been thinking of each other, and they were not unfamiliar with each other’s recent situations when they chatted.

Jiang Yu knew she was preparing for her final grand show before retirement, and Rens also knew she had just experienced an inexplicable online backlash.

With a five or six-year emotional foundation and having long put aside their conflicts, the conversation atmosphere was very harmonious.

Just as they were talking about the Qijiang project, Rens suddenly frowned.

“By the way, is Rece’s side signing many new models lately?”

Rens was an insider, so knowing about signing new models was not uncommon, but Jiang Yu didn’t understand why Rens would ask her.

“Yes, why?”

Rens was silent for a moment: “Recently, they recommended a newcomer to me. Her conditions are very good in all aspects, but I always feel that she has a very strong shadow of you.”

Jiang Yu frowned in surprise. A figure flashed through her mind: Qin Yan.

The next moment, a young woman’s voice came from behind Jiang Yu.

“Ms. Rens, it’s an honor to see you here.”

Jiang Yu looked in the direction of the voice and saw Qin Yan standing in front of her.

Qin Yan also had a bright and striking appearance. Today she wore a dark brown, sand-textured dress, making her look extremely bright and attractive.

However, this bright look felt somewhat familiar to Jiang Yu.

Qin Yan was also somewhat surprised to see Jiang Yu standing and chatting next to Rens at this moment.

She was taken aback for a moment, then greeted her, “Sister Jiang Yu, good evening.”

Jiang Yu remained silent for a moment, not speaking yet.

Rens noticed the subtle atmosphere between them.

She wasn’t actually clear about Jiang Yu’s family matters, but having been in the fashion industry for so many years, she could easily see that the girl in front of her was not simple in her intentions.

She didn’t dislike people with strong ambitions, but she hated it when someone tried to use her past experiences to play the emotional card.

Rens had a straightforward personality and said directly, “Miss Qin Yan, hello. As far as I know, the theme of our cocktail party is not a tribute to the classics.”

“I hope Miss Qin will adhere to the cocktail party rules next time.”

Qin Yan was silent for a moment, her face flushed red and pale in turns.

She knew about Rens and Jiang Yu and had inquired early on that Rens liked this style, intending to volunteer herself. She just hadn’t expected to see Jiang Yu here today, and even less that Rens would be so truly cold and heartless.

She pursed her lips and was very adaptable: “Apologies, I won’t disturb you.”

Neither of them paid attention to this small interlude, and they continued chatting after Qin Yan left.

About twenty minutes later, Rens looked at Jiang Yu and smiled, “We’ll chat again in a bit. I need to greet the guests over there too.”

Jiang Yu agreed, watched Rens leave, and felt exceptionally good.

A certain emotion was rekindled within her, and she felt a great sense of satisfaction.

All in all, Jiang Yu’s feeling about this cocktail party was quite positive. Time slowly passed until the end.

Rens designed a game where partners were randomly selected for a dance.

Jiang Yu followed the guidance, looking for the woman whose shoulder also bore a lily corsage.

The woman had fair skin, beautiful blonde hair swept up, and wore an all-black gown inlaid with diamonds. Yet, her temperament was steady, and the diamonds on her didn’t look vulgar; instead, they had an incomparably noble and ultimate charm.

She felt the woman’s figure was a bit familiar.

It wasn’t until the woman turned around that she met a pair of icy blue eyes.

Jiang Yu confirmed her feeling of familiarity.

Because the woman in front of her was Rong Wei.

Rong Wei seemed surprised to see Jiang Yu here.

She bowed and politely extended her hand: “Miss, would you like to dance with me?”