A LITTLE AFRAID

When Hu Lei arrived at the Demesne Hotel, she could not help looking around in awe. Though the property was built in the city, it was like a sky-reaching castle growing out of untouched lands once you passed the towering gates. Tall trees grew on the property, giving the land an Eden ambiance. Moreover, the manicured trees did not give the feeling of a scary forest, but rather quiet woods where elves frolic. She wondered wistfully what the place looked like in the bright light of day.

At the end of the driveway, a large castle reminiscent of old western palaces was revealed. While the architectural style had an ancient feel, the modern materials and decorative design gave it a fresh feeling. There was no the usual gloom-and-doom associated with old castles.

Hu Lei stepped out of the vehicle and allowed the driver to leave. As she stood at the entrance, she felt like she was finally experiencing the life she wanted. Three years ago, she would not have imagined that she could have this type of moment. Often, she had thought that she would not live this long.

She felt her eyes sting and become moist as she ascended the steps to the entrance of the hotel. She remembered how over a year ago she had looked at a shooting star while sleeping in the Congo rainforest and had wished that she could live a life like in a Carefree Clouds novel.

Though Carefree Clouds wrote modern romance without much deep content, she truly idolised this author. If not for those stupid books, she would not have thought that there was another life apart from the one she had been living.

After a short moment, she calmed down and smiled while walking with confidence and grace.

The evening gala had not officially begun when Hu Lei entered the grand party lounge. The room looked like it was filled with butterflies and penguins, sipping champagne from flutes and socialising with enthusiasm. She could not help smiling to herself at the imagery. She did not draw a lot of attention as she walked in the room because the people around were too busy trying to be fancy.

Luckily, this meant that she could look around without being gaze upon by curious eyes. She walked around the space casually looking for a familiar face. This was completely unfamiliar territory. She could not help feeling a little afraid in this gathering of strangers. Now that she was here, she did not know what exactly she was supposed to do.

Before she could decide to escape, a certain tall Amazonian appeared in her line of sight. She had never been happier about Lin Man's height. Her legs moved quickly to her for shelter. Compared to the other people, the manager looked collected like she belonged.

When she came closer, she realised that Lin Man was conversing rather heatedly with a beautiful woman dressed in a ravishing black dress. Standing next to Lin Man in her figure-hugging dark blue dress, they drew a lot of positive attention from the rest of the room. However, for some reason, no one approached them.

She could not help thinking it was because of their air of intimidation. However, a small part had to be because they did not look out of place. In truth, the difference with the other attendees was not only because their dresses were obviously high quality pieces. It was also their natural aura and bearing. Additionally, they did not pretend to be fancy like other attendees.

"Manager Lin, I am so glad to see you." She said softly.

"Oh, Hu Lei, I expected you a little earlier."

"I failed to manage my time well." She responded with a laugh. "Good evening, Manager Chu."

She smiled at the other woman. Though they had not interacted much, she had seen the woman severally over the past week.

"Ms Hu, it is a pleasure to see you again. I did not think that you would be attending." She said with some curiosity.

Hu Lei did not know her well, so she did not want to explain too much and end up making a mistake.

"Assistant Chen felt that I should attend in case of anything." Her words were true but gave no specific intel.

There was some awkward silence. Lin Man came to the rescue by complimenting her dress and asking about it. Hu Lei felt relieved and smiled at her. This topic was good because she could see that both women liked their pretty things.

"Thank you. V.W. had some good bargains online, so I could not help myself." She said with a giggle.

"There are bargains on V.W.?" Chu Heng asked in surprise.

Hu Lei could understand her shock. V.W. was not a very expensive or exclusive brand, but it was still a popular designer label. It was the brand of choice for most upper middle class. Their designs were perfect if one wanted to look great on a reasonable budget.

"There are some regular discounts if you have a membership card. You will get an alert if there are sales, and you can even use the card in physical stores." She said in a conspiratorial tone.

In truth, Hu Lei had not bought her dress on discount. She had been too busy to shop and had just ordered the dress on rush on Wednesday night. However, the thing about the sales was true. And it was the perfect way to get in Chu Heng's good books. No girl could say no to discounts on quality merchandise.

After that, the three of them began chatting about fashion. They were vastly different people, but when they talked about pretty clothes, shoes and bags, the distance between them closed.