It felt like a dream. A group of classmates had turned into wealthy young ladies from the Grand View Garden, free from the constraints of traditional etiquette, enjoying life to the fullest with the help of servants. As the saying goes, "living in a drunken dream."
But dreams eventually end.
Early Saturday morning.
Zeng, who had been relatively restrained the night before, opened her eyes. Her first sensation was the warmth and softness surrounding her. She was sandwiched between two classmates, with one leg draped over Mu Xiaowei's waist in a rather ungraceful manner.
She shifted her body to lie flat, staring at the ceiling for a while. Her thoughts swirled and eventually settled on one idea.
She needed to go on a diet these next few days.
Last night's dinner had been a lavish affair, with an endless stream of gourmet dishes and fine wines. From the two-foot-long lobster that still lingered in her memory to the simple yet exquisite cabbage and tofu, and even the expensive red wines they had only heard of before—even the wealthiest among the 96th class girls had never tasted such delicacies in their lives.
And they didn't dare calculate how much that meal had cost.
Even though they had sensed that Zhu Momo's invitation might have had ulterior motives, they couldn't resist. They ate first and thought later.
They inevitably overate.
After dinner, Zhu Momo suggested they go swimming to help digest the food. She led them to the eastern courtyard of the mansion, which, to their surprise, also belonged to the owner. Compared to the slightly smaller four-courtyard main residence to the west, this area was purely for entertainment and leisure, even featuring an underground level with a basketball court-sized swimming pool.
Even though the girls weren't particularly worldly, the sight of the underground pool gave them a profound sense of what it meant to be extravagantly wealthy.
Swimming on a summer night was pure bliss.
They played and splashed around until late at night, then headed to the private screening room also located underground to watch a movie. By the time it was past midnight, it was only natural that they stayed over.
If this had been their dorm, not only would three people sharing a bed be uncomfortable, but even being too close to each other would have been too hot. Last night, however, was undoubtedly the most comfortable night the girls of the 96th class had slept all summer.
It wasn't just because of the air conditioning.
Even the guest rooms in the eastern courtyard had soft beds, comfortable bedding, and air that felt noticeably fresher than outside—not an illusion, but a tangible sense of freshness.
More than once, not just the other girls but even Zeng, who was known in the class for her calm demeanor, couldn't help but wish they could live like this forever.
It was already late.
Feeling Zeng's movements, the two girls next to her also woke up. They all lay flat on their backs, staring at the ceiling, their eyes filled with ambition, confusion, anticipation, and even... a hint of fear.
Fear of never being able to experience such a life again.
Fear of the price they might have to pay to achieve such a life.
After a moment, Zhang Ziyi spoke up, "Hey, what do you think Momo's role is here?"
This had been on everyone's mind since last night.
Initially, they thought Zhu Momo might be a wealthy second-generation heiress, the owner of this place. But from the way the maids treated her, it didn't seem like it. If she were the owner, they would have addressed her as "Miss" without adding her surname. However, if she were a kept woman, Zhu Momo acted completely like the mistress of the house, and the maids, who were all quite attractive themselves, obeyed her. This didn't seem like the treatment a mere mistress would receive.
After all, how much did that meal last night cost?
If she were just a mistress, those wealthy men probably wouldn't let her spend so extravagantly.
It was truly baffling.
So Zeng and Mu Xiaowei didn't respond, and Zhang Ziyi didn't press for an answer.
They lay there for a while longer, and then Zeng, lying in the middle, finally spoke up, "We should probably head back, right? We still have to study for our exams."
"Mm..."
Mu Xiaowei responded weakly, sounding almost sickly. She thought about it and felt troubled. If they didn't do well on the exams and got expelled, what would they do in the future?
Zhang Ziyi paused and said, "Wait, let's talk to Momo. Maybe we can study here over the weekend. We don't need to stay on campus anyway."
Mu Xiaowei immediately perked up and glanced at the other two girls.
Zeng hesitated, "I don't think that's very appropriate, is it?"
There was more she didn't say.
In an environment like this, how could they possibly focus on studying?
As the three girls lay in bed, unsure of what to do, they suddenly heard a ding-dong sound. It took them a moment to realize it was the doorbell, followed by Zhu Momo's voice outside, "Hey, lazybones, the sun's already up!"
Hearing this, the three of them sat up. Zhang Ziyi was the first to jump out of bed, wrapping herself in the light blue silk robe provided after last night's swim. As she dressed, a rather unambitious thought crossed her mind: Could she take this robe with her? It was so comfortable, and probably expensive, with the CK logo on it—a famous brand, right?
She went to open the door, and Zhu Momo stood outside, followed by two maids pushing a rack of clothes.
Zhu Momo didn't seem inclined to come in, just gestured behind her, "Your clothes are being washed. Wear these for now. Hurry up and get ready; breakfast is waiting."
She then pointed to the next room and walked over, presumably to wake the others.
After some chaos, breakfast was served in the flower hall of the neighboring garden. This time, it was a Western-style meal, equally exquisite and lavish. Combined with the simple yet clearly expensive new clothes they were wearing, the girls' thoughts grew even more complicated. The way they looked at Zhu Momo now was akin to how one might look at a witch offering a poisoned apple to Snow White.
However, the "poisoned apple" tasted too good. After breakfast, when Zhu Momo suggested they could study here over the weekend since the study building was spacious, the girls hesitated but ultimately didn't refuse.
After all, Zhu Momo wasn't going to sell them, was she?
Mo Wuling, who had been sitting in her usual spot in the study building early in the morning, heard the chatter of the girls downstairs. She still couldn't figure out what her niece was trying to achieve, feeling that this was too ostentatious. She planned to talk to Zhu Momo privately after her classmates left, but then she heard the sound of footsteps.
Today, there were no documents about the collapse of the Thai baht on her desk, so Mo Wuling wasn't feeling guilty. She flipped a page of the Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, which she had read more than once, and without turning her head, said, "This isn't our home. You should tone it down a bit."
"We have exams coming up. I just thought it would be nice for everyone to study here."
As she spoke, Zhu Momo casually picked up a notebook from her aunt's side and flipped through it. The scribbled notes inside were a bit messy, but Zhu Momo knew her aunt was trying to write a screenplay.
As she flipped through it, Zhu Momo remembered something and said, "Oh, Auntie, the My Fair Princess crew has already gone to Chengde. They'll probably start filming in a few days."
Zhu Momo mentioned this casually, thinking her aunt would have gotten over it by now after several months. But Mo Wuling snatched the notebook back and said, "Don't mention her in front of me again. And go study. Don't bother me."
Zhu Momo stuck out her tongue at her empty hand but stubbornly stayed put. She had been about to tease her aunt about how Ren Jingxi's project was already filming while she was still scribbling away, but now she couldn't bring herself to say it. She whined and pouted a bit, and Mo Wuling's expression softened. Zhu Momo leaned against the edge of the large desk, her eyes scanning the room. She spotted the iPlayer her aunt had been carrying around lately and picked it up.
Mo Wuling, who had just started to relax, was startled and reached out to grab it. Zhu Momo instinctively dodged and, seeing her aunt's annoyed expression, asked, "What's wrong? Is there some secret on here?"
She dodged a few more attempts by Mo Wuling to grab the player and skillfully turned it on, putting the headphones in her ears.
Seeing this, Mo Wuling gave up and pretended to focus on the book in front of her.
Zhu Momo, seeing her aunt like this, thought there probably wasn't anything important on it. She was about to return it but, out of curiosity, looked down at the colorful screen.
The iPlayer's hard drive had a large capacity, with two main folders: English lessons and pop songs.
Zhu Momo wasn't interested in the English lessons and went straight to the pop songs. When she opened it, the default sorting showed a few English songs first. She was about to scroll down when she saw a familiar title: Young and Beautiful.
Wasn't this... a song Simon had written?
She looked at the others: Blizzard—that meant "snowstorm," right? It seemed to be an instrumental piece. Also his song. And Dream It Possible—she'd heard that one before, the theme song for American Idol.
For some reason, Zhu Momo felt like she had stumbled upon something significant.
Mo Wuling, who had been pretending to be calm, glanced at Zhu Momo's expression and finally couldn't hold back. She explained, "This iPlayer belongs to Chen Qing. I borrowed it to listen to music."
This explanation conveniently pulled Zhu Momo's wandering thoughts back on track.
She nodded, but since she wasn't particularly interested in English songs—mainly because she couldn't understand them—she scrolled down. After a few English songs, there were only two Chinese songs: Love Transfer and The World Will.
Zhu Momo hadn't heard of either song, so she waved the player at Mo Wiling, "Whose songs are these?"
Mo Wiling glanced over and then looked away, "Both are by Simon Westeros."
Zhu Momo's interest was piqued again. She flipped between the two songs and decided to play Love Transfer first.
The melody flowed like water through the headphones.
Even though Zhu Momo wasn't as well-read as her aunt, the poetic and profound lyrics quickly captivated her. By the time the song ended, she even felt a bit teary-eyed.
Seeing this, Mo Wiling sighed inwardly, deciding not to say anything more.
That man was probably the "moonlight" her niece would never be able to catch.
Zhu Momo listened to the first song twice, her emotions calming slightly, and then moved on to the second song.
It was a completely different style.
Her mood inexplicably improved.
After listening to both songs, Zhu Momo shook the player, "Auntie, how come I've never heard these songs before?"
"They haven't been released publicly. How could you have heard them?"
Zhu Momo nodded, then remembered her classmates downstairs, "Can I let them listen to these?"
Mo Wiling immediately said, "Of course not. Love Transfer is the theme song for Love Call Transfer, which is still in production. It needs to be kept confidential. As for the other one... just keep it to ourselves."
"Then I'll copy them to my iPlayer first."
"Fine."
"But before that, I'll listen to them again."
Without waiting for Mo Wiling to respond, Zhu Momo ran downstairs with the iPlayer. As she reached the first floor, she ran into Jiang Shanwu, who was bringing snacks to the girls studying there.
Seeing Zhu Momo, Jiang Shanwu explained, "Chen Qing asked us to bring these over. She also said you should take good care of everyone."
Zhu Momo was surprised, "Chen Qing is back?"
"Yes, she just flew back from Hong Kong."
"I'll go say hello."
Jiang Shanwu nodded and, after greeting the girls in the study building, left with Zhu Momo.
When they reached the main courtyard on the west side of the garden, they found out Chen Qing was changing clothes. After waiting for a while, Chen Qing came out. Zhu Momo walked over, greeted her, and then asked curiously, "Chen Qing, didn't you say you'd come back after the handover ceremony?"
"It's because of what's happening in Southeast Asia," Chen Qing muttered, then smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. Just take good care of your classmates. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. As for tonight... well, we'll see. I might not have time to come back for dinner."
Hearing this, Zhu Momo felt a bit embarrassed.
Her aunt hadn't understood, but Chen Qing had seen right through her intentions.
Now she felt guilty.
But Chen Qing didn't tease her. After saying goodbye, she hurriedly left the inner courtyard with her entourage.
After driving away from the courtyard house in Mao'er Hutong, Chen Qing arrived at a government office near the Imperial City about ten minutes later.
In fact, when she received the invitation to return, she had already guessed the general idea.
The reality wasn't surprising.
"Chen Qing, let's not beat around the bush. This time, with the international speculators targeting Southeast Asia, is Hong Kong one of their targets?"
Chen Qing sat respectfully across from the high-ranking official and, after a slight hesitation, nodded, "Sir, it seems so."
The official wasn't surprised and continued, "In that case, can you contact Simon and help facilitate a discussion? See if those people can bypass Hong Kong. You know, Hong Kong is about to return to us. No matter what, we will do everything to protect the island. They won't gain anything here. If we can resolve this peacefully, without conflict, wouldn't that be better?"
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