Chapter 336: Chapter 329: Four’s Company
Sisi chuckled by herself for a while before she started watching the opera again. Truth be told, she didn’t really enjoy it; the incessant singing in falsetto bored her to sleep. Glancing over, she saw Shangguan had already fallen into a deep slumber in her chair, while Zhang Jie, despite trying to keep up, yawned ceaselessly just like her.
Because Aunt Mo Ye had reserved good seats in the front row for them, their behavior had already drawn many disapproving glares, especially towards Shangguan, who might get beaten up by the audience if she continued sleeping like that.
Sisi quickly woke Shangguan up, asking her to hang on a bit longer. Shangguan, half-asleep with droopy eyes, sat up and tried to watch again. But soon, she slowly leaned to one side and began to snore gently, fast asleep.
Sisi couldn’t bother with her anymore and focused on listening to the opera. Although she didn’t understand it, Aunt Mo Ye’s movements were truly beautiful, and her singing was moving. People in the audience occasionally wept for the Wang Baochuan character’s eighteen years of waiting. When Xue Ping Gui finally returned triumphantly as King Fan to marry Wang Baochuan, the audience burst into cheers, the atmosphere incredibly lively.
By the end, Sisi was also captivated and joined the applause and cheers along with everyone else!
After the performance, Sisi and her friends went backstage to see Aunt Mo Ye, who was removing her makeup. Half her face was still heavily made up while the other half was bare, yet whether decorated or not, she looked equally beautiful, each with its own charm and a different kind of allure.
"Aunt Ye, your performance was truly amazing. I cried watching it from below!" Sisi praised with a smile.
Aunt Mo Ye gave a faint smile, "If Ah Nan enjoys it, come to listen more often. I’ll be performing in Beijing in October. You and your friend should come and watch then."
Ever since learning that Sisi’s nickname was Ah Nan, Aunt Mo Ye had taken to calling her that. Sisi quite liked hearing Aunt Mo Ye call her so, for her voice was very pleasant. Moreover, in Cantonese, ’Nan’ isn’t pronounced as ’nan’ but rather as ’luei’ with a second tone, sounding similar to ’lady’, very pleasing to the ear.
"Sure, I’ll definitely come watch," Sisi replied, her spirits high.
As usual, Aunt Mo Ye gave everyone red envelopes, which made Zhang Jie grin from ear to ear.
"Aunt Ye, I’ve brought you some beauty wine. It’s for nourishment and beauty. I’ve written down how to use it. Ah Liu will hand it over to you. Be sure to drink it—it really works; it’s personally brewed by my Daddy!"
"Thank you so much, Mr. He!" Aunt Mo Ye’s eyes glistened as she delicately parted her vermillion lips.
"Don’t mention it, it’s nothing!" He Xue Wen cast a look at Sisi, thinking, what’s gotten into this girl tonight, causing me nothing but trouble.
Sisi pretended not to notice and continued with a smile, "Aunt Ye, I’m already calling you Aunt, so why do you still refer to my father as Mr. He? It’s too formal."
"Yeah, like how I call him Brother Wen," A Ji added enthusiastically, raising his voice a bit upon seeing his idol.
Aunt Mo Ye laughed, "My apologies then. I shall call Mr. He ’Brother Wen’ from now on, and he can drop ’Miss Mo’ and call me by my name."
"Alright," He Xue Wen replied with an awkward smile, nodding.
Sisi breathed a sigh of relief; Daddy, oh Daddy, I’ve paved the way for you; it’s up to you to make the move now!
He Xue Wen glared: Mind your own business, you nosy girl!
Since He Xue Wen was in Guangzhou, Sisi naturally stayed with him. Because they were going to be in Guangzhou for some time, He Xue Wen bought a house there—it was a delicate garden-style property, also filled with pavilions, terraces, artificial hills, and a small lake. Although it wasn’t as exquisite as the Mo Family’s, it was still quite elegant.
According to He Xue Wen, the house was found for him by Tian Xinhua at a cost of thirty thousand yuan, purchased under Sisi’s name for her future dowry. He also bought a set for He Chengsi.
The next day, He Xue Wen hastily left Guangzhou for Suzhou. Sisi found it amusing, as he had said he’d stay a few days longer in Guangzhou only if there was no rush—could someone be this hurried if there were no pressing matters?
Having learned the previous day from Sisi that they were going to Hong Kong, Mo Liu excitedly ran over first thing in the morning to find Sisi, eager to tag along on the trip.
He Sisi held her forehead, wondering how the number of people kept increasing. But whether it was two or three, taking them along shouldn’t be a problem with Boss Qiao, right?
In the evening, A Ji brought them to the seaside, and once again, they were being picked up by Qiao Xingbang. As soon as Qiao Xingbang laid eyes on the stunning Shangguan, his eyeballs nearly popped out.
What a beauty!
"Hello, beauty, I’m He Sisi’s second brother, Qiao Xingbang. You can call me Xingzai or Ah Sam. What’s your name, beauty?"
Qiao Xingbang struck what he thought was a suave pose, grinning cheekily, extremely eager to please. However, he was facing Shangguan, who had no interest in flirting. After using a glance to ask He Sisi for guidance and receiving a ’no need to be polite on my account’ response, Shangguan coldly said "Shangguan Feifei" and then kept silent.
"Shangguan Feifei, what a beautiful name! It suits you perfectly!" Qiao Xingbang loudly complimented.
"Feifei, I’m 20 years old. How young are you?"
He Sisi found it amusing that Qiao Xingbang would actually use an old-style literary phrase; he must have some ink in his belly to know that.
Qiao Xingbang was proud of himself: He specially learned a few such phrases for flirting with girls.
"20"
"Ah, we are the same age! I was born in July, which month were you born in?"
"January"
Qiao Xingbang’s expression froze momentarily, then he laughed again, "Close enough!"
"Feifei, when we get to Hong Kong, I’ll take you horse racing, car racing, and to watch boxing matches. It’s super exhilarating, you’ll definitely love it!"
It has to be said, Qiao Xingbang was like a blind cat running into a dead mouse; he had inadvertently struck a chord with Shangguan’s interests, which were all her favorites!
"Sure!"
Shangguan’s eyes lit up as she blurted out a word full of vigor.
Qiao Xingbang snickered, feeling supremely smug inside. Based on his many years of experience in wooing the ladies since the age of 14, he was confident that after taking a girl to race cars, run horses, and box, it wouldn’t take more than three days to end up at a hotel!
Oh ho ho, the weather today is truly great! He Sisi, this bargain sister of mine is really considerate, knowing that I’m in a dry spell and immediately bringing over two beauties. Tsk tsk, I’ll handle the tall one first, then the short one. Oh, how wonderful life is!
He Sisi sneered: Wait until Shangguan makes her move, then you’ll know just how ’wonderful’ life can be!
Qiao Xingbang chuckled to himself in a sleazy manner while Shangguan completely ignored him. She had already run off to the cockpit to learn how to steer the boat. She knew how to drive things that flew and ran on land, but she hadn’t learned how to handle things in the water yet. Now was the perfect opportunity to learn.
Zhang Jie whispered to He Sisi, "He Sisi, who is this guy? He doesn’t seem like a good person."
"He’s my nominal second brother. No worries, he won’t dare to do anything to us. You and Shangguan don’t need to worry about saving face for me. If you want to scold him, scold him. If you need to hit him, hit him!"
With the backing of Boss Qiao, Brother Li, Brother Fei, and the others, He Sisi didn’t give a fig about Qiao Xingbang. Although Qiao Xingbang wasn’t a good man, he wasn’t a completely evil villain either. He valued loyalty and kept his promises, which made him much better than that guy Qiao Zhenbang!