Chapter 82: Chapter 72: A Nameless Flame (Part 2)
"You and your mother are becoming more and more alike," Chang Mei said with an inexplicable tenderness, directed at the familiar smile that played upon Su Ziceng’s face.
"Hello, Aunt," Yan Wuxu also greeted her nervously.
Listening to the voice, it was the female student she had met before. Chang Mei withdrew her gaze from Su Ziceng’s face, and with a turn, her eyes landed on Yan Wuxu again.
Chang Mei was generally a pleasant person, or at least she knew how to feign kindness in front of most people. But when she got a clear look at Yan Wuxu, her expression changed; it shifted from a benevolent elder to a spiteful woman in a flash.
She ranted senselessly, "Ziceng, what kind of ragtag friends have you made? Is someone as poor as her fit to attend tomorrow’s event? As the young lady of the Su Family, you should know your priorities when making friends." She spoke without consideration for feelings, like a bellows that had sprung a leak, huffing heavily as she went on.
"Tomorrow, distinguished figures from all society’s spheres, including the Hang Family, the Fei Family, the Liens, the Qius, and even the mayor will be in attendance. Imagine someone like her without a single decent piece of jewelry, don’t bring her along to embarrass yourself."
Chang Mei glared viciously at Yan Wuxu, and with just that one look, Yan Wuxu’s eyes reddened. Chang Mei’s glance was sharp as if she had already seen through Yan Wuxu as a wilted flower, simply there to ensnare men at such occasions.
"What do you mean by this?" Su Ziceng pursued her in anger, originally intending to console Yan Wuxu, but Yan Wuxu closed the door to the inner room and no matter how much Su Ziceng knocked, it was useless. Unable to contain her indignation, Su Ziceng turned back to argue with Chang Mei.
"I’ve made myself clear," Chang Mei, after having scolded someone, was still not out of breath. She held the chrysanthemum tea that the servant had brewed in her hand, not bothering to drink it, but replied rigidly. She didn’t look at Su Ziceng, her mind was completely filled with the sight of Yan Wuxu’s bewitching eyes.
How could there be such similar eyes, sly and foxy, born to seduce men? Even though their faces were not the same, it was clearly...
Chang Mei’s heart was a tumult of giant waves, and her tea cup trembled in her hands, as if she was enraged to the extreme yet also frightened to the extreme.
Watching from the side, Su Ziceng had never seen Chang Mei lose control like this. She thought that the time Chang Mei rebuked Chang Chi was her most out-of-control moment.
The chrysanthemums in the transparent teapot seemed unable to steep open, the dried Gongju flowers continued to float on top of the tea water, unwilling to blend in. Chang Mei threw the teapot to the ground with a sharp cry, "Where is everyone? Have they all died? The water is not hot enough; get me another pot."
Her voice carried a hysterical note, and Su Ziceng, knowing that further talk was pointless, warned her, "I’ve shown you respect by addressing you as Secretary Chang, but you really don’t know when you’ve got it good. Chang Mei, stay out of my room in the future, and if you mess up even one thing, don’t blame me for turning against you." With that, Su Ziceng went upstairs.
"You touch my stuff again, and don’t blame me for turning against you," Chang Mei’s mind echoed with a phrase that was almost identical, the sweet girl with two dimples when she smiled had also uttered that sentence before she left definitively.
The servant hurriedly provided Chang Mei with a pot of water, watching her as she sat on the couch with her eyes closed, not daring to make a sound.
From the living room came a sigh, and the corners of Chang Mei’s eyes moistened.
When Su Ziceng came back to her room, Yan Wuxu had already changed back into her own clothes, leaving the pink dress aside.
"Wuxu, pay no mind to that mad dog," Su Ziceng said still fuming, as she took out a complete set of diamond jewelry from her jewelry box, "What do you think about this set?"
"There’s no need," Yan Wuxu’s face still wore her usual smile, gentle and polite. Su Ziceng felt her return to being merely courteous behind that smile, "I remember now, this weekend my mom’s food stall is really busy; I have to go back and help her out."
"It’s fine, I’ll go with you later," Su Ziceng still insisted.
"Really, it’s not necessary. Besides, just now... Secretary Chang also mentioned it, the Fei Family will be there too. If we run into Fei Qing, it would only be more embarrassing," Yan Wuxu walked over and pushed Su Ziceng into the dressing room, "You’ve been fussing over me just now; you should take a good look for yourself. Tomorrow, Hang Yishao will also be there; you can’t lose in grandeur."
Seeing her insistence, Su Ziceng had no choice but to pick out clothes in the inner room.
Yan Wuxu sat to one side, waited for a moment, then carefully observed Su Ziceng’s room decorations: the outrageously large single bed, silk velvet quilt, ornate vanity, and an array of dazzling jewelry boxes.
Through the large French window, one could see Su’s backyard garden. At dusk, the setting sun cast its light on the soft lawn, creating a drowsy sensation.
Yan Wuxu unconsciously listened to the activity in the inner room. She could hear Su Ziceng muttering impatiently as she searched for clothes. All of this merged into a silent stream that flowed through the heart of Yan Wuxu.
She touched the earrings at her ear, the orange ones that still carried her body warmth. When Chang Mei scolded her unreasonably, they seared hotly, as if they were molten lava rolling out of a volcanic fissure, staining through her ears.
This was the first time, and also the last, that someone would speak of her, Yan Wuxu, in this way.
In the same room, in the same fine clothes, she, Yan Wuxu, would one day possess them all. When that time came, she would surely deal with that barking bitch, plucking out all her sharp teeth one by one, by whatever means necessary. Yan Wuxu’s thoughts, like a magic spell, firmly took root in her heart.
The door to the inner room opened, and Su Ziceng’s voice came through, "Wuxu, what do you think? Is this dress suitable?"
"It’s very suitable," Yan Wuxu walked up to Su Ziceng, grabbed her wrist, and turned in a circle, "Everything here suits you very well."
(Weekend prize quiz: The indestructible Fu Zi breezes by; do you know who Yan Wuxu resembles? There’s a prize for the kids who guess correctly.
Little hint: The answer is a very central character in the story.)