Chapter 11 It would be a shame to go on a pilgrimage without falling in love.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Bai Zhenzhen woke up naturally. While washing up in the bathroom, she looked up at herself in the mirror. Her slightly upturned peach blossom eyes were particularly captivating. With her fair skin, delicate nose, and small, exquisite face, she was clearly a typical bright and beautiful woman.
But last night, Shen Huai'an ignored such a beautiful woman and still chose to sleep on the sofa.
This puzzled Bai Zhenzhen, and she was also a little annoyed, feeling that this man was too clueless about romance.
Although last night's hug was just a coincidence, she didn't seem to dislike Shen Huai'an when they were together, and his reaction didn't seem like he was unmoved. She thought he would be unable to resist going into the room last night, but nothing happened.
Is he made of wood? He really seems to have a blockhead.
Bai Zhenzhen muttered to herself in front of the mirror. Aunt Wang, who had set out breakfast in the outer room, was calling her to eat. She casually picked up a towel, wiped the water droplets off her face, and went out.
In the morning, Aunt Wang was worried about her, so she brought over a big bag of fresh ingredients to cook for her and continue to take care of her three meals a day.
Anyway, she was originally hired by the Bai family to take care of Bai Zhenzhen, so it doesn't matter where she takes care of her. Now it's just a little more trouble than before.
Moreover, although Bai Zhenzhen has a spoiled and willful temper, she is very kind to the people around her, especially to Aunt Wang and Uncle Liu, the two elderly people who raised her. She has always respected them, so the two of them also care about her very much.
While she was eating breakfast, Bai Zhenzhen's phone rang. She picked it up, glanced at it, and answered it.
"Zhenzhen, guess where I am right now?" The caller was Ren Lina, a good friend of hers. Before Bai Zhenzhen could guess, she couldn't help but say, "I'm back from Gangcheng. You can see how much I missed you. The first thing I did when I got back was to contact you. Oh, and I brought you a gift."
Ren Lina's family is also in business. Her parents own a garment factory in Shenzhen with more than a dozen stores. The scale is neither too big nor too small. Although she studied fashion design in college, she did not actually work in her family's factory after graduation. Like Bai Zhenzhen, she was just a carefree and leisurely young lady who only had to eat, drink and have fun every day.
She got a travel permit a while ago and went to the port city for a trip. It's been almost a month before she finally decided to come back.
Bai Zhenzhen held the phone in one hand, listening to Ren Lina ramble on about her experiences in the port city, while stirring the spoon in her other hand and occasionally taking a sip of bird's nest porridge.
It wasn't until Ren Lina asked her out as usual that Bai Zhenzhen said indifferently, "No, I'm not in the mood."
With a mountain of problems and rotten people still unresolved at the company, and her father's illness needing no delay, Bai Zhenzhen's only thought now was to quickly win over Shen Huai'an, spend some quality time with her and visit her father, and allow Bai Chuxiong to go abroad for treatment in peace as soon as possible. Only then could she ruthlessly drive away those parasites from the company.
She really wasn't in the mood to go out and have fun right now, and to be honest, Bai Zhenzhen was getting tired of her old lifestyle. Thinking about it carefully, karaoke bars and dance floors didn't seem to have much fun.
"Zhenzhen, I just got back and the first thing I contacted was you. How could you be so cruel to me? You heartless woman, you've broken my heart so much, sob sob," Ren Lina sobbed on the other end of the phone, her voice a mix of genuine and feigned sobs.
She loves watching all kinds of Hong Kong and Taiwanese dramas, so she can easily pull off these kinds of little tricks.
Bai Zhenzhen forced a smile, unable to bear Ren Lina's feigned crying voice, "Ren Lina, if you keep acting, I'm hanging up."
"Hey, no, no, Zhenzhen, I was just joking with you," Ren Lina said, knowing when to stop, and continued to pester her, "Zhenzhen, you're my best friend, we haven't seen each other for so long, don't you miss me?"
"Oh, by the way, I brought my boyfriend back with me this time. I'd like to introduce him to you, so please say yes?"
As she spoke, Ren Lina excitedly and mysteriously told her about her boyfriend, who turned out to be a male singer from Hong Kong who had recently become famous. She also mentioned that her boyfriend had brought a few band friends to Hong Kong and wanted to introduce them to her.
Bai Zhenzhen had no interest in male singers or handsome band members. It was the 1990s, and society was becoming more and more open. It wasn't unusual for young people in their circle to date male and female celebrities. Bai Zhenzhen had seen quite a few before. Sometimes when she attended banquets, many newly debuted stars would come up to her to say hello, and their intentions were self-evident.
Some celebrities, lacking background and acting opportunities, seek investment and support from wealthy individuals. It's also common to see nouveau riche men abandoning their wives and keeping beautiful young actresses as mistresses after achieving success.
Take Bai Chuxiong for example. He is only in his fifties this year. Because he lost his wife early in life, he has never remarried. There are many people around him who want to be Bai Zhenzhen's stepmother, and there are even some who are about the same age as her.
After hearing so many bizarre stories, Bai Zhenzhen had no curiosity about matters between men and women. Sometimes she even found men disgusting, except for her father, and now she could barely add Shen Huai'an to that list.
Listening to Ren Lina introduce her new boyfriend on the phone, Bai Zhenzhen was distracted and thought of Shen Huai'an. Although the two had been married for two years, they hadn't had much contact before, and their most intimate gesture was that unexpected hug last night.
Thinking of last night, Bai Zhenzhen awkwardly dropped her spoon. Just as she was about to refuse Ren Lina again, Ren Lina casually mentioned, "Zhenzhen, although you are already married, you are still a pure white flower when it comes to love. You have no idea how many people in our circle like you. Don't you really want to experience the wonderful feeling of being in love?"
Although Ren Lina is a woman, she is also a master of romance. She has dated at least twenty or thirty men since high school, making her a true love killer.
Who says women can't fall in love casually? Youth doesn't last forever, so of course we should enjoy life while we're young!
In Ren Lina's opinion, even if Bai Zhenzhen didn't have such an outstanding family background, with her bright and beautiful face alone, she could have a whole bunch of men flocking to her and showering her with attention with just a flick of her finger.
Of course, her good family background is not only the icing on the cake, but also a great protection for her. It's a perfect combination of timing, location, and people. It would be a real shame if she didn't take advantage of her youth to have more romances and meet more handsome men.
These were Ren Lina's heartfelt words. Her biggest regret was that her best friend had entered the grave of marriage before experiencing the beauty of love. Fortunately, the man's family background was not as good as hers, and he couldn't control her. Bai Zhenzhen could do whatever she wanted.
"How about it, Zhenzhen? Don't you really want to get to know him? There's a really handsome guy among Abin's band friends who can play the drums. Why don't you come and meet him? Let them sing for you, just consider it as making another friend."
Bai Zhenzhen was still not interested in the handsome guy she mentioned, but when she thought about her time with Shen Huai'an these past two days, she felt like something was missing. Now, after listening to Ren Lina's words, she vaguely understood.
Previously, she knew nothing about relationships, so she always felt at a loss when trying to cultivate her relationship with Shen Huai'an. She thought it would be better to ask Ren Lina for advice. Ren Lina had dated so many men, so she must be very good at relationships.
"Alright then, send me the address." Bai Zhenzhen changed her mind, thinking that once she finished her pilgrimage, she must win over this blockhead man, Shen Huai'an, as soon as possible.
"That's great!" Ren Lina was overjoyed and quickly told her the address, which was another newly opened dance hall in the city center. "Abin and the others are going to sing on stage tonight, and you can even request songs."
At six o'clock in the evening, before night had fully fallen, the streets and alleys of Shenzhen were already lit up with dazzling neon lights. Men and women who had just finished get off work were walking around on the streets, and various snack night markets were full of lively atmosphere.
Shenzhen is a city that is stepping into a new world. The high-rise buildings in the city center are connected with the dilapidated houses in the suburbs, which is also a great integration of the new world and the old era.
Uncle Liu drove Bai Zhenzhen to the dance hall ahead of time, where Ren Lina was waiting to pick her up with her new boyfriend at the entrance.
Ren Lina has long, red, shoulder-length hair. Her features aren't particularly delicate, but her eyebrows are thick and long, giving her a somewhat heroic air. She wears a black, knee-length, tight-fitting leather skirt, and with a little dressing up, she can be quite a striking beauty.
Her new boyfriend standing next to her seemed rather frail compared to her. His features were indeed quite good, but he looked thin and weak, and even wearing a suit didn't quite fill him out.
"Zhenzhen, this is Abin. He's also from Pengcheng, but he moved to Gangcheng with his relatives later." Ren Lina introduced the two, linking arms with Bai Zhenzhen.
Bai Zhenzhen had long, wavy hair cascading down her back. She had dressed up a bit before coming out to meet people, wearing a bright red halter-neck dress and black strappy high heels. She looked radiant and even more like a star than Abin.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Ah Bin's eyes lit up. He politely stepped forward to greet her, "Hello, beautiful lady, just call me Ah Bin."
Ren Lina hadn't seen her good friend for a long time. After introducing the two, she took Bai Zhenzhen's arm and walked inside. She only nodded slightly to Abin as a greeting, without lingering on him at all.
The nightlife hadn't officially started yet; the dance hall had just opened its doors. After the three of them went inside, the owner personally led them to the best booth in the lobby, which was also the closest to the stage.
Later, several more friends that Ren Lina and Bai Zhenzhen knew came to join the gathering, and Abin also invited his bandmates.
Among them, a man wearing a black vest and with medium-length hair was specially arranged by Ren Lina to sit next to Bai Zhenzhen. He was the drummer in the band. Abin introduced him as Ajian, whose real name was Qi Yongjian.
Ah Jian is indeed handsome and polite. He didn't sit close to Bai Zhenzhen right away, but deliberately kept a distance and slowly started a conversation with her while holding his wine glass.
As night fell, the dance hall gradually came alive. The lights in the lobby were dim, and the colorful spheres overhead reflected a spectrum of colors. Many people were dancing to the music on the dance floor.
At the same time, Shen Huai'an was also pulled by his colleagues to the entrance of the dance hall.
A note from the author:
----------------------
The couple will meet again in the next chapter! [Dog head with rose in hand]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
