Chapter 58: Pearl Mother

Over on her side, Chu Susu was making excellent progress.

Her earlier report about fainting had already left a good impression on the client, so they had started out wanting to chat with her. After forgetting that she’d rejected them before, the conversation went smoothly and pleasantly, and they even exchanged contact info.

Chu Susu had prepared a rough proposal long ago. She gave a simple verbal rundown, and the client seemed quite satisfied—not only did they offer some valuable revision suggestions, but they also brought along some new potential leads.

From time to time, others came over to chat and network with the client, and Chu Susu just smiled at the right moments and handed out her business card.

Perfect was the only word that fit.

As she left the client’s table, she spotted Zhou Xiaoying and Li Le’er standing by a table on the right side of the hall, chatting while sipping their drinks.

Red liquid swirled in their glasses, and both their faces carried a tipsy flush.

Chu Susu walked over with a smile. “How much have you two had?”

“Just a sip,” Li Le’er said guiltily—she was notoriously lightweight.

Chu Susu shot her a glance. “Easy does it in a place like this. Don’t go drunk and crazy and end up the center of attention—that’d be a huge embarrassment.”

Li Le’er stuck out her tongue. “It’s fine, Xiaoying’s watching me. She won’t let me overdo it. Oh yeah, we saw you at the client’s table earlier. Did things go well?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re pretty impressive,” Zhou Xiaoying said, surprise in her eyes. But after realizing she hadn’t gotten distracted by some pretty face and messed up work, she breathed a sigh of relief. “They weren’t mad?”

Chu Susu couldn’t tell the truth, of course, so she brushed it off with an excuse.

Even at the banquet, Li Le’er hadn’t forgotten the novel she was reading lately. It was update time right now, and she was staring at her phone, giggling like an idiot.

Zhou Xiaoying: “…Is it that good?”

“Of course!” At the mention, Li Le’er perked up and launched into an endless explanation of her favorite novel.

“The female lead is a neglected heiress from a wealthy family—gloomy, moody, unpredictable—until she meets the second female lead, who’s like a ray of light shining into her heart. Then the second lead runs off, so she chases, she flees… and in the end, they live happily ever after in shameless bliss.”

Chu Susu, Zhou Xiaoying: “…”

They tacitly chose not to mention it to this veteran Yuri Channel user from Green River Literature City, or Li Le’er might actually scream right there in the banquet hall.

“That masked dance earlier was pretty fun,” Zhou Xiaoying said casually. “You line up to go in, then get randomly paired with a dance partner—no choosing.”

“Oh? Did you two dance with strangers?”

“Nah.” Li Le’er chimed in. “The staff put me and Xiaoying together, probably ’cause we’re friends.”

Zhou Xiaoying turned her back to her and shot a look that said, “What coincidence? Someone’s always carrying the weight.”

“Wanna give it a try? We’re beat and can’t dance anymore.”

Chu Susu glanced that way and tied her slightly loose long hair tighter. “Yeah, I’ll head over first.”

“…Don’t tell me you’re going to find Han Xuan again.”

Before the words were even out, Zhou Xiaoying saw her back already striding away—spine straight, lightly holding up her skirt hem to reveal just a hint of high heel.

She frowned worriedly, drawing a curious question from Li Le’er. “What’s up? What’s wrong with Han Xuan?”

Zhou Xiaoying forced a smile. “Nothing.”

“Do you not like Han Xuan or something?”

“Nah, we don’t even know each other. No like or dislike.”

Li Le’er went “oh,” half-believing it, but being straightforward, she didn’t dwell. “Oh yeah, what about Qiao Qian? Haven’t seen her at all.”

“No idea.”

Chu Susu returned to the dressing room where they handed out masks. The starry one Li Le’er had been holding earlier lay quietly on the velvet tray, as if waiting for her.

“Xingxing(Stars) are still the prettiest,” she murmured after comparing.

Then Chu Susu gently put it on. Black lace covered most of her brows and eyes, half-hidden, half-revealed; in the mirror, she could only glimpse her crystalline, limpid gaze.

Guided by the staff into the passageway, there was no light inside—pitch black. She had to feel along the wall to move forward.

Staff darted about, pairing up strangers who didn’t know each other.

Chu Susu felt a soft hand land on hers, then gently clasp it, forming a loose but inseparable knot.

She slowly advanced with the person beside her until the exit, where she finally saw the face.

No need to say who it was.

Chu Susu was long used to Han Xuan’s knack for this, so she wasn’t surprised at all. Or rather, she’d guessed it.

The moment they stepped into the dance floor, the music started—slow rhythm, like they’d hired a live band.

The mellow violin and crisp piano wove together, building from quiet to soaring.

Han Xuan wore a mask too, hiding those unusual eyes, leaving only her delicate, petite lower face—sharp chin, slender and thin.

Her steps were a bit clumsy; she even accidentally stepped on Chu Susu’s skirt hem and drew a quick breath. “Sorry, I’m not very good at this…”

Chu Susu smiled faintly. “It’s fine.”

Truth be told, she wasn’t great either. They just mimicked the others, swaying gently to the beat.

The lighting was dim anyway—no one would see if they looked awkward. No worries.

“How’d the talk go?”

“Pretty smoothly, thanks to you.”

“How could it be thanks to me?” Han Xuan said softly. “You prepared thoroughly yourself. Besides, it’s because of me that…”

“Shh.” Chu Susu pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t say that.”

The mask ribbons fluttered in the air with their dance steps.

“You changed dresses? It’s pretty.”

The lighting had been bad earlier; only now did she notice Han Xuan’s dress was different. No longer somber black, but light purple; collarbone and arms bare, half-covered by loose black hair.

“Yeah, I borrowed from Han Yao.”

Chu Susu thought, at least this Eldest Miss had a conscience. “Will she warn those people for you?”

“Maybe not.” Han Xuan hesitated. “After all, I didn’t dress up properly—embarrassed her. And my gift wasn’t anything special.”

Everyone invited to the banquet had prepared a decent birthday gift as courtesy.

“But what can you do?” Her tone held a hint of bitterness. “If I showed up all dolled up, wouldn’t that be even worse?”

Chu Susu fell silent. “True.”

If she dressed to the nines, others would think she was deliberately stealing the spotlight from Han Yao that day, trying to get under her skin.

If she didn’t come at all, people would gossip about the bad blood between the illegitimate and the official Eldest Miss.

Damned if she did, damned if she didn’t.

“For these occasions in the future, just show your face and leave,” she said softly, stroking Han Xuan’s head. “Staying longer does no good.”

Han Xuan obediently lowered her head for the pat, hand hanging at Chu Susu’s waist.

They didn’t speak anymore, just kept swaying clumsily to the music.

The second-floor lounge was actually a conference room—plenty of people using it to talk business.

Chu Zhen emerged from one, exhaling deeply. He’d gotten lucky; the connection he’d made today was going smoothly. If it closed, the returns would be huge.

Fang Chen accompanied him, chatting idly about work as they glanced down casually. In a sweep of the lights, they spotted the apricot gown in the center.

“Isn’t that Su…” Fang Chen cut himself off.

The one dancing with Susu was a woman’s figure.

Sure, there were plenty of male-male and female-female pairs here, and it might not mean anything—but considering Susu’s orientation…

Fang Chen glanced beside him. Sure enough, Chu Zhen’s face was black as coal, good mood gone.

“Uncle, don’t overthink it. Maybe just friends having fun. Susu has a bunch of friends here today.”

He tried to reassure, though he knew it wasn’t true.

For a long time, Chu Zhen said nothing.

He just stared at Chu Susu’s face when the lights occasionally caught it.

It was clearly a bright, vivid face—always stubborn and angry at him, cold-eyed. But now, facing someone else, it truly bloomed into a smile.

For a moment, Chu Zhen was dazed, as if seeing his late first wife, gone many years. She’d smiled just like that—so open and joyful.

“Is Chu Susu really that willing to be with women?” he muttered low. “Why won’t she just listen to me?”

All these years, why wouldn’t she change?

Or was it her nature—unchangeable?

Fang Chen didn’t know how to answer those questions.

The complicated father-daughter relationship was something only they knew.

Fortunately, Chu Zhen wasn’t asking him to—just stared a bit longer, then said nothing more and strode off.

The people in the dance floor knew nothing of it.

The band switched to a slightly more upbeat tune, but they were all struggling to keep up with the rhythm.

This time, it was Chu Susu who stepped on the other’s foot, and the two couldn’t help but exchange a smile.

“After this is over, do you have any plans?” Chu Susu asked. “Want to grab something to eat together?”

Everyone knew full well that mentioning food was just an excuse—after all, there was plenty of catering at the birthday banquet.

Han Xuan softly hummed “Mm,” then fell silent for a long moment, seemingly lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?”

Han Xuan still didn’t speak. She simply stared into the eyes behind her mask until their skirts lifted slightly, curving into a graceful arc. Only then did she softly speak up.

“I’m wondering… what exactly is our relationship right now?”

The moment those words left her mouth, she felt as if she’d returned to a very, very long time ago.

—

“What exactly is our relationship right now?”

By the bus stop after school, skinny little Han Xuan watched the spirited girl beside her chatting animatedly with her classmates, head bowed. She gently tugged at her sleeve, leaned in close to her ear, and whispered.

“Ha?” The girl didn’t react right away.

Just then, the bus arrived right on time, and her classmates had to go. They waved goodbye, leaving the two of them alone on the bench at the stop.

The girl muttered softly, “What relationship? You’re still so young—what are you even thinking about, you little kid?”

Hearing this, Han Xuan felt a pang of sadness but didn’t dare show it. She just lowered her head sullenly and muttered an “Oh.”

Then her head was given a gentle knock.

“Wait until you grow up, okay?”

“Ow, that hurts.” Han Xuan rubbed her head and whined softly. “What… do you mean, grow up?”

“Yeah, you’re only fourteen or fifteen. I can’t even see you as someone my age.”

“What’s the difference between grown up and not?”

“Of course there’s a difference.” The girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she blinked. “When you’re grown up, you’ll be taller, your face won’t look childish anymore, and you’ll have some womanly charm.”

The more Han Xuan heard, the more her face drooped until it completely fell. Her lips pursed, and she was on the verge of tears.

She hurriedly turned away, not wanting the girl to see the tears welling in her eyes. She wiped at them messily with her sleeve, but her eyes only grew redder.

Seeing this, the girl rushed over in a panic. “Aiya, don’t take it seriously—I was just joking!”

“Don’t I… have any womanly charm?”

The girl hesitated for a moment before telling the truth. “Well, yeah, you’re a bit lacking. But it’s not your fault!”

She gently wiped the little teardrops from Han Xuan’s cheeks with her finger, coaxing her.

“You’re still so young—a little girl who hasn’t developed yet. If I thought a girl your age was… sexy, I’d be a total pervert.”

Han Xuan mulled it over. It did make sense.

Her tears gradually stopped, and with a sniffle, she said, “Then… when I grow up, can I ask you what our relationship is?”

“Of course.”

The girl pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped the lingering water marks from her eyelashes. “Our little star is already so pretty. When you grow up, you’ll be even more beautiful than now.”

“You’re lying. Where am I pretty?”

“If I say you’re pretty, you are.”

“Pinky promise then. When I grow up and ask you again, you have to answer me.”

“Okay, pinky promise.”

—

Han Xuan’s thoughts snapped back to the present. She heard Chu Susu say:

“Friends.”

But… just friends?

The flash of disappointment in her eyes couldn’t be hidden. Han Xuan twitched her lips, about to force a smile, when Chu Susu continued:

“Because… I haven’t pursued you yet.”

She tilted her head playfully. “As for when to start…”

“Right now.”