Chapter 148: with translation of chapter title

The next day, Xia Xi found a styling studio online and spent a lot of money to buy a new dress.

To match the dress, she pulled up her long hair, revealing a full forehead; her features were fully displayed, with no concealment, making her face look strikingly beautiful.

Xia Xi did her makeup in front of the mirror; she hadn't done such a detailed full face in a long time, taking unusually long—about an hour and a half.

Finally, the accessories: because the dress's upper half was studded with rhinestones, she didn't want to overshadow it, so she chose a plain silver thin chain for her neck, and her ears wore simple small diamond studs.

After Xia Xi finished getting ready, Wu Qinglu was still snoring in bed; Xia Xi got up, put on a cashmere coat, walked to Wu Qinglu's bedside, and pushed her arm: 'Wake up, get ready, let's leave early.'

'That early?' Wu Qinglu opened her eyes, fumbled for the phone on her pillow, saw it was before 2 p. m., prime nap time.

It's said the dinner is in the evening; going now might be too early, right?

Xia Xi rested her chin on the bed edge, her eyelids coated with fine glitter eyeshadow, blinking twice, sparkling like a little butterfly: 'Let's go early to have fun; I see someone's already arrived in the group.'

'Okay, wait for me.'

Wu Qinglu swiftly got out of bed, first went to the bathroom to wash her face, then changed clothes and did her makeup.

Her makeup wasn't as refined as Xia Xi's, done in half an hour; because she feared the cold, she wore a gray long-sleeve knit dress with a thin down jacket over it.

Wu Qinglu suddenly recalled how Xia Xi had picked out a dress the night before, curious what she was wearing; turning her head, she saw a black coat wrapping Xia Xi tightly from neck to ankle.

She was slightly surprised: 'Aren't you supposed to wear formal attire?'

Xia Xi curled her lips, gave a mysterious smile, and immediately opened the coat on both sides to reveal what was inside.

Wu Qinglu's eyes widened, she sucked in a breath: 'This… this is too beautiful!'

Xia Xi raised an eyebrow, pleased with her reaction: 'That's exactly the stunning effect I wanted.'

She grabbed her bag, and before leaving patted Zhao Lei, who lay on the bed looking lifeless: 'We're leaving; will you be okay alone? If you want anything to eat tonight, we'll bring it back for you.'

Zhao Lei had a hand warmer on her belly; hearing this, she lazily lifted her eyelids: 'I'm fine, I just took an ibuprofen and am waiting for it to kick in. I want the clay-pot soup from across the school; when you come back, please pack me a serving, lotus root and pork rib soup.'

'Got it.'

Xia Xi linked arms with Wu Qinglu and went out, pulling the door shut behind her.

After descending several flights of stairs to the first floor, a gust of cold wind rushed through the open doorway; Xia Xi immediately pulled her coat tight, shrank her neck, and hid half her body behind Wu Qinglu to use her as a windbreak.

Wu Qinglu knew Xia Xi's legs were bare; she didn't feel cold in the dorm, but once outside she'd feel the bite of a late spring chill.

'I don't know why she doesn't wear those magic leg warmers,' Wu Qinglu said, 'a woman who values style over warmth.'

Xia Xi narrowed her eyes, quickened her steps: 'You have to bare your legs to look good.'

At the school gate, a taxi with its 'vacant' sign lit happened to be stopped, presumably just having dropped someone off and not yet driven away; Xia Xi dove into it at sprint speed, shivering violently.

Wu Qinglu lagged a few steps, then got in.

Xia Xi gave the driver the villa's address.

About half an hour later, a white five-story building came into view, its appearance solemn and grand, the black iron gate gleaming coldly; to facilitate entry and exit, both doors stood wide open, with no blocking devices.

The driver eyed the imposing villa and asked, 'Can I drive in?'

'Yes, please.' Xia Xi spoke.

The driver slowed, drove in, circled the fountain island in the courtyard half a loop, stopped under the portico, and couldn't help sticking his head out to admire the fountain, larger than an ordinary house's footprint.

The pool's outline was a round, symmetrical auspicious-cloud shape; water jets all around sprayed onto the central white sculpture, forming a hollow ring of water columns in the middle.

Xia Xi paid the fare, opened the car door, waited a moment for Wu Qinglu, and they entered together.

Wu Qinglu whispered, 'No wonder he's the richest man in Nancheng; this villa… tsk tsk, I've only seen such descriptions in novels, never on TV dramas. No wonder the novel's heroine, locked in by a domineering CEO, can't escape—I'd get lost too.'

Xia Xi: '……'

In the hall of several hundred square meters, crystal chandeliers blazed like fallen stars. A dozen or so people chatted merrily inside, all dressed lightly, mostly girls, with most boys not yet arrived.

Xia Xi's gaze quickly locked onto Zhou Xiaoyu among the few.

Zhou Xiaoyu was dressed even more elaborately than Xia Xi, wearing an eye-catching royal-blue velvet backless gown, exaggerated tassel earrings dangling to her collarbones. Beside her was her close friend Zhao Yinshu, in a wine-red fish-tail strap dress.

Xia Xi had previously competed with Zhao Yinshu for cheerleading captain, which ended unhappily.

Wu Qinglu glanced around without changing expression, then leaned close to Xia Xi's ear: 'Compared to them, I think you should tone it down.'

Xia Xi snorted a laugh.

The indoor climate control kept it at a comfortable 25°C; Xia Xi unfastened her coat's belt and buttons, took it off, and hung it on the floor-standing rack against the wall, instantly becoming the focus of the room.

The dress's straps were thin, like two strings, holding her beautifully lined shoulders; the upper body was made of flower after flower, each studded with dazzling diamonds; the skirt was an irregular wave of sheer gauze, varying lengths, like the tail of a glowing jellyfish in an aquarium, dotted with a few white feathers that fluttered up and down with the slightest movement, very lively.

Overall, the dress was a low-saturation bluish-purple hue.

Even though Zhou Xiaoyu hated Xia Xi to death, she couldn't help staring, and a feeling of envy filled her chest; compared to Xia Xi's fresh, natural look, she and her friend seemed overdone.

Having known each other for a semester, the other Student Union members knew Xia Xi had a good personality; now, stunned, they couldn't help praising her.

'Xia Xi, you look really good.'

'I also want to say, since you arrived, the hall feels a bit brighter than before.'

'This dress really flatters you!'

'It's not the dress flattering the person; clearly the person makes the dress look good.'

Facing the compliments, Xia Xi never felt embarrassed; she smiled, nodded, and openly took Wu Qinglu's hand to sit on the sofa area, chatting with them.

'Xu Yan… Chairman, hasn't he come yet?'

Everyone knew Xia Xi was chasing Xu Yanfeng, so when she asked about him, no one found it odd. One girl replied: 'We've been here a while and haven't seen him; midway a butler came by once, brought us food, and said if we needed anything we could find him—he's in the kitchen, supervising the chefs' prep to avoid any slip-ups.'

After a pause, the girl covered her mouth and said, 'Senior is really good to us; he specially hired a hotel chef team to come prepare our dinner.'

Xia Xi took a green-skinned tangerine from the fruit platter and put it in Wu Qinglu's hand, remembering she liked tangerines.

Wu Qinglu peeled the tangerine in a few quick moves, popped a segment into her mouth, raised her eyebrows: 'So sweet!' She broke off a few segments and placed them in Xia Xi's hand: 'Try some.'

Xia Xi ate the tangerine, one hand supporting her chin, eyes darting around, occasionally glancing at the doorway or the stairwell, guessing whether Xu Yanfeng was still outside not returned, or upstairs not yet come down.

More and more people arrived; by around five p. m., almost everyone was there, and the room with several dozen didn't feel crowded.

The boys, energetic and restless, wandered around, discovering two basement levels with a huge media room and a fitness entertainment room; the side of the first floor also featured an indoor swimming pool enclosed in panoramic glass.

At that moment the main door was pushed open, and a young girl in a dark green long dress that clung to her lovely figure stepped in; everyone exchanged glances, not recognizing her, assuming she was a friend brought by a Student Union member.

Behind the girl followed several tall and dignified young men; one of them was named Fu Li, and he was from their Nan Da.

The last one, before seeing the person one hears his voice: "Xu Er, you dull gourd, it's rare that you take the initiative to host a party; even if I have to fly back from the neighboring city, I'll come to attend."

Xia Xi did recognize them; the girl at the front was Ling Yan, and the several boys behind her were, respectively, Luojinnan, Fu Li, and Tang Yizhou.

Xu Er's childhood friends, all of them well-off, as soon as they appeared, the so-called Student Union gathering's classiness increased considerably, turning a simple get-together into a banquet.