Emily frowned slightly, as if she felt that Henry was going a little too far, but she didn't say anything to stop him. She just picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and looked away.
The other men and women around her had undisguised looks of watching the fun, a mixture of curiosity and a touch of contempt.
The blood drained from Su Xinghui's face in an instant. She held the mechanical bird in her hand, her knuckles bluish white from the strain, her fingertips icy cold.
She could clearly feel the muscles in her face twitching uncontrollably, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest, hitting her ribs with a dull thud that made her eardrums buzz.
It's not anger, it's not grievance, it's a kind of naked shame and coldness that I have never experienced before, being stripped naked and thrown into the spotlight.
It turns out that the hobbies and passions that she considered extremely precious and worth sharing were just "gadgets" and "space-taking" garbage in the eyes of these people. They were the label of "Asian nouveau riche" that was branded by her background and smelled of money.
Her carefully prepared "stepping stone" became a joke in the eyes of others, proving her vulgarity and incompatibility.
Her family background, which she was proud of, was not a pass here, but instead became a sin.
Her lively, cheerful and sharing personality was probably seen by them as just a clumsy performance by a "new rich" who was eager to fit in.
Time seemed stretched countless times, and every second felt like a century, long and unbearable.
The sound of champagne bubbles bursting on the wall of the glass and the suppressed laughter around her seemed to be magnified countless times, sharply piercing her nerves.
She could even clearly see the undisguised mockery in Henry's eyes, like a poisoned dagger.
Su Xinghui suddenly lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling violently like the wings of a dying butterfly.
She almost used all her strength to control herself from losing her composure on the spot.
As quickly as possible, almost roughly, she stuffed the delicate mechanical bird back into the velvet box and snapped the lid shut. The hard corners of the box even left red marks on her palms.
"...Sorry to bother you." Her voice was as dry as sandpaper, squeezed out of her throat with a tremor that was unfamiliar to her and she tried hard to suppress it.
She didn't even dare to look at anyone, and she turned around abruptly, bumping into a waiter carrying a tray behind her. The wine glasses collided with a crisp sound, and the champagne spilled all over the floor, drawing a few low gasps.
Without looking back, like a cannonball out of control, she stumbled out of the bright and cold bustle, and rushed into the damp and cold night of late autumn in London, amid the gazes of the crowd, some of which were surprised, some understood, or still full of amusement.
The high heels made a hurried and broken sound as they stepped on the slippery cobblestone road, just like her broken heartbeat at the moment.
Su Xinghui slammed the door of the apartment with her back, making a dull thud that even shook an abstract painting hanging in the entrance.
Darkness instantly swallowed her, blocking out the blurry light of the city outside and the low hum of traffic.
She leaned her back against the cold door, and her body slid softly to the floor as if all the bones had been suddenly pulled out of it.
The rapid breathing was particularly harsh in the dead silence.
The sour taste of the champagne at the party, Henry's frivolous "Asian upstart", Emily's averted gaze, the eyes of the onlookers around her... countless fragments spun and cut wildly in her mind with cold sharp blades.
The heart beat heavily and chaotically in the chest, and each contraction brought sharp dull pain and an overwhelming feeling of suffocation.
She fumbled, her fingers trembling as she turned on the ceiling light in the entrance hall. Pale white light instantly poured down, illuminating the apartment she once called her "happy base."
Wherever the eyes fell, it suddenly became extremely dazzling.
The huge white workbench in the middle of the living room was now piled with the "debris" left over from last night's club activities - several half-dismantled mecha model parts were scattered around, colorful spray paint cans were tossed around, and several opened bags of potato chips and leftover pizza boxes exuded a greasy smell.
In the display case against the wall, there are her treasured limited edition figurines - the ice-blue "Wings of Dawn", the gorgeous golden "Myth of the End", the steampunk-inspired "Gear Knight"...
Glittering under the bright spotlights, each one was a source of pride that she excitedly showed to her friends and earned countless admiration.
But at this moment, these brilliant colors, exquisite shapes, and cold metallic luster looked like countless grinning, mocking mouths in Su Xinghui's eyes.
They silently scream: "Look! Toys of the Asian upstarts!" "Garbled garbage taking up space!"
"Your boasting is ridiculous!"
Henry's contemptuous tone and Emily's scrutinizing gaze echoed in her ears like a spell. Su Xinghui's stomach churned, and a strong feeling of nausea suddenly rose in her throat.
"Uh..." She covered her mouth and retched, tears instantly forced out.
No! I can’t watch this anymore!
She almost climbed up from the ground using both her hands and feet, and with an almost morbid eagerness and a destructive impulse, she rushed towards the huge display cabinet! Her fingers twisted from exerting force, and her nails scraped against the glass door, making a harsh sound.
Crash——!
She yanked the heavy sliding glass door open.
Without even looking, she reached out and grabbed the one closest to her, the ice-blue "Dawn Wings Zero Kai" that she had once held on the bay window to show off to Ye Fanshuang in her senior year of high school! With a resolute force, she yanked it out of the display!
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