Cheng Zhiwen grabbed her arm and leaned closer, as if she wanted to say something to her. She tried to shake off his arm, but couldn't.
He leaned closer and whispered, "Some things aren't..."
The conversation was interrupted by a voice calling out "Zhiwen".
Shen Qing looked up and saw a man about the same age as Cheng Zhiwen walking towards them.
This person also had short hair and a naturally smiling face. As soon as he came up, he warmly patted Cheng Zhiwen's arm.
Their attitude was intimate, like that of old acquaintances.
Cheng Zhiwen's face was stiff.
The other person looked Shen Qing up and down and asked with a smile, "And who is this?"
Before Cheng Zhiwen could answer, he laughed and said, "Zhiwen, you actually secretly brought a lady onto the ship. Are you planning to go on your honeymoon in Europe this time?"
Cheng Zhiwen's expression changed. She walked up to Shen Qing and shielded him behind her, preventing him from seeing Shen Qing's appearance.
Shen Qing heard him chuckle and say to the other person, "She's not my female companion. If I'm looking for a female companion to travel to Europe, she has to be a lady who has studied abroad, not a woman from the Qing Dynasty."
Upon hearing this, the other party immediately burst into laughter and said, "I just saw you holding hands and whispering in this secluded corner, so I assumed you had gone back to your hometown to get married."
Cheng Zhiwen smiled casually: "I do have a fiancée back in my hometown, and I was thinking of taking her to Europe, but she's not officially married yet, and her parents won't allow it. Respectable girls are very protective..."
Hearing this, Shen Qing felt utterly hopeless.
Yes, his fiancée adhered to traditional female virtues and did not easily go out with men before marriage, so he came to find her, a widow.
No responsibility, no commitment, just flirt and flirt when the mood strikes; if discovered, just kick them aside and wash your hands of it cleanly.
Shen Qing cursed "bitch" and stormed out of the banquet hall.
Because of her impulsive emotions, she forgot to take her suitcase and also forgot to lift her skirt. As soon as she ran out of the banquet hall, she tripped on her skirt and fell flat on her face.
Men and women dressed in European style and finery passed by her, laughing and pointing at her.
"Oh my god, why is she dressed like that?"
What's with her hair?
"Married women all wear this hairstyle..."
"Did she fall because she had bound feet?"
Someone actually came up and lifted her skirt to see if she had bound feet.
Shen Qing growled, "Get out of my way!"
She quickly stood up, lifted her skirt and swung it around: "What's wrong with wearing this? This is a Han Chinese jacket and skirt, clothing that belongs to the Chinese people!"
As she spoke, she pointed at the women dressed in European-style court dresses: "So in your eyes, wearing your own ethnic clothing is shameful, while wearing foreign clothes is glorious? Why don't you paint your dog eyes blue too?"
Those people were so angry that they choked and couldn't speak.
Shen Qing turned to look at the banquet hall.
Cheng Zhiwen and the man were still standing there talking when they saw her fall and the crowd laughing at her.
They didn't move an inch.
Shen Qing gritted her teeth and ran towards the deck not far away.
She stood forlornly by the fence, gazing at the stars in the sky.
Although she knew that there was no possibility between her and Cheng Zhiwen, and she had never thought about having anything with him, she was still a little sad to hear him tell his friends that she was a Qing Dynasty woman who was not presentable and that he preferred to take elegant ladies out.
She was just being delusional.
From now on, I'll go my separate ways with this person, and we'll have no further contact beyond business.
Thinking about the business, Shen Qing regretted it even more.
The original plan was to get to know the employees of Weiying Company through tonight's banquet and see if we could find the largest distributor for down jackets.
Unexpectedly, he had a falling out with Cheng Zhiwen, and he probably wouldn't introduce that person to her anymore.
She turned around, braced her lower back and arms on the railing, and looked at the sky in a daze.
So we still need to go all the way to the UK and then slowly find traders who are willing to buy down jackets.
She thought with some regret: I should have known better than to argue with Cheng Zhiwen.
Who cares whether they think imperialism or militarism is better!
Anyway, it has nothing to do with her. She doesn't want to marry him. She just wants to use him to sell the goods, make money, and go back to China!
Now, having had a good talk time, the road ahead is even more complicated.
Shen Qing stamped her foot in regret and turned to look at the sea.
Night had fallen, and the passenger ship was sailing through the sea.
All around was endless darkness, with only the unfathomable sea surface gleaming like a blue diamond.
In the face of such vastness, what do personal emotions matter?
"People from Weiying Company are here. Are you sure you don't want to go in and meet them?"
Cheng Zhiwen walked over at some point, said those words, and then stood at a distance from the railing.
Shen Qing looked at the several meters between the two of them and smiled mockingly.
This is because she discovered there were acquaintances on the boat, and she didn't even dare to speak to them at a normal social distance, standing even further away than strangers.
Just half an hour ago, he was offering to let her hold his arm, and now he's turned on her in such a short time.
Shen Qing stood up straight with a cold smile and walked towards him.
As he passed by him, he asked, "What's that person's name? I'll talk to him myself! I don't need you!"
"Clark".
Shen Qing remembered the name and walked quickly toward the banquet hall.
As soon as she entered, her out-of-place Qing Dynasty attire attracted attention.
The men and women who had confronted her at the door earlier continued to look at her with disdain and whisper among themselves.
Shen Qing ignored them all and walked straight to a waiter holding a tray full of champagne in one hand, asking in English, "Excuse me, who is Mr. Clark?"
A waiter standing a few foreigners not far away said, "The one standing in the middle is Mr. Clark."
Shen Qing looked over.
Clark was a slightly overweight middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties.
She said "thank you" to the waiter, grabbed two glasses of champagne from the tray, and walked towards the group.
Those people formed their own little circle, communicating and laughing in English.
Upon seeing Shen Qing approaching, everyone stopped their conversation and curiously examined her.
Shen Qing knew what these people were looking at, but he didn't care. He walked up to Clark in a generous manner, handed him a glass of wine, and said with a smile, "Mr. Clark, I am a silk merchant from China. My surname is Shen. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Clark raised an eyebrow at her, knowing without asking that she was there to discuss business.
His gaze became unrestrained, burning intently on her lips.
He reached out and took the champagne she offered, glanced at it, casually poured it to the side, then beckoned to the waiter and ordered a bottle of strong liquor.
He filled a tall glass with the orange-yellow liquid, handed it to Shen Qing, and said, "Drink it! Only then will you be qualified to talk business with me!"
Shen Qing looked at the glass of strong liquor, gritted his teeth, reached out and took it, tilting his head back to gulp it down.
She drinks frequently even in modern times, and she has a decent alcohol tolerance; one glass is all she needs, and she finishes it in one go!
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