Chapter 113: This Dress Suits You Well

"Enough, Yixian!" Ye Yiyi hurriedly stepped forward, positioning herself between the two men. "What exactly is going on here?"

He Yunqing gave a slight shrug and released Luo Yixian. Regardless of anything else, Ye Yiyi was a very important person to Jiang Yao. He owed her that much.

Luo Yixian straightened his wrinkled collar, choosing to play the victim first. "What else could it be? This Miss Jiang followed me here all by herself. I suppose she’s trying to seduce me."

"You’re a grown man—have you no shame?" Jiang Yao felt it was laughable. "You were clearly here saying unspeakable things to someone else, and I just happened to overhear."

Luo Yixian cast a disdainful glance at Jiang Yao before turning to Ye Yiyi. "Between her and me, who do you believe?"

"I..." Ye Yiyi bit her lip in silence.

"Who do you believe? Well?"

Perhaps it was Jiang Yao’s imagination, but she felt a distinct hint of threat in Luo Yixian’s tone.

"Ye Yiyi, you don’t have to consider me a friend," Jiang Yao said, cutting in. "But I’ve recorded everything he just said. You really should listen to it—"

"Enough!" Ye Yiyi snapped, cutting her off. "Don’t say another word. I don’t want to hear it!"

A look of defiance and smugness appeared on Luo Yixian’s face.

"Ye Yiyi, have you lost your mind?" Jiang Yao held up her phone. "If you just listen, you’ll see exactly what kind of person Luo Yixian is!"

"I know exactly what kind of person Yixian is, and I don't need you telling me!" With that, Ye Yiyi splashed the red wine in her glass onto Jiang Yao.

The sudden, unexpected splash left Jiang Yao frozen in place. She stared at the crimson stain spreading across her clothes, unable to speak for a long moment. Ye Yiyi had truly grown up; she was no longer the little girl who loved to follow her around, smiling foolishly at her.

"Leave! Why aren't you leaving yet?" Ye Yiyi shouted at her.

"Ye Yiyi, has your brain rotted?" Cheng Yanchi finally arrived, pulling Jiang Yao behind him and pointing at Ye Yiyi. "I swear, I want to unscrew your head just to see how much water is sloshing around inside!"

"You know what Luo Yixian is like, but you don't know what A-Yao is like? Have all these years of friendship been for nothing?" Cheng Yanchi was so furious his eyebrows seemed ready to fly off his face. "With intelligence like that, you’re in the entertainment industry? You should be thanking the heavens that others haven't chewed you up and spat you out!"

Stung by the barrage of insults, Ye Yiyi’s eyes turned red, though she fought back the tears. "I don't need your concern! I don't need any of you! Get out, all of you, get out!"

"What is going on here?"

The sound of their arguing finally drew the attention of the birthday girl, Jin Nana. She didn't look like she was enjoying the spectacle, but she walked slowly between them and offered a faint smile. "Has the Jin family failed to host you properly this evening?"

The group fell silent. After all, this was Jin Nana’s birthday party; causing such a scene was incredibly rude.

Jin Nana’s gaze fell lightly on Jiang Yao. "Oh my, what happened to your clothes? Come with me and change." Without waiting for a response, she pulled Jiang Yao away, leaving everyone else standing there.

Jin Nana didn't particularly like Jiang Yao, but she detested Luo Yixian even more—that plastic-surgery-faced male star who, despite his looks, seemed greasy and repulsive from the moment she first saw him. Some temperaments were etched into the marrow of one's bones; no amount of external grooming could cover them up. By giving Jiang Yao face, she was essentially slapping Luo Yixian’s.

Jin Nana led Jiang Yao into her walk-in closet—a vast, spacious room. She paced inside and gestured toward the racks. "Pick whatever you like. If these aren't to your taste, there are two more rooms nearby. Just not this one." She pointed to a pale pink dress. "That one was a gift from Brother Yunqing."

Jiang Yao didn't consider herself a vain woman, but she couldn't help but feel dazzled by the room full of clothes. She suspected that any random item here would be beyond her means. She shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Don't stand on ceremony with me," Jin Nana said with uncharacteristic generosity. "My parents love buying me clothes, and I can't possibly wear them all. They’d just go to waste sitting here, so you might as well wear them. It’s better than them going unused." She seemed to remember something else. "Oh, and these."

Jin Nana pulled open a drawer filled with jewelry. "Pick whatever you like from here, too. Take anything that catches your eye."

Jiang Yao lacked the expertise to value these items, but she knew the jade bracelets and emerald earrings must be worth a fortune.

"How about this?" Jin Nana pulled out a high-quality emerald bracelet and held it against Jiang Yao’s wrist. "I don't care for this one; it feels a bit old-fashioned on me, but it looks quite good on you. It complements your skin tone."

The display of wealth was blatant, and her way of speaking was truly grating, but her generosity was undeniably genuine.

"Nana, how can you give someone else things you don't like yourself?" A soft woman's voice drifted into the room.

Jiang Yao looked toward the source of the voice and saw an elegant, slim woman with impeccably maintained features standing at the doorway, smiling faintly at them.

"Mom, just because I don't like it doesn't mean the bracelet isn't good," Jin Nana said, fluttering over to the woman like a little bird to act spoiled.

The woman laughed helplessly. "You, chatterbox. How is she supposed to pick out clothes with you going on like that? Let’s head out and let her choose in peace." She nodded to Jiang Yao, then led Jin Nana away.

Jiang Yao couldn't help but sigh inwardly; she truly lived up to the title of Madam Jin.

She didn't stay in the closet long, selecting the most understated goose-yellow dress she could find. Watching Jin Nana act spoiled with her mother reminded Jiang Yao of her own mother, who had loved wearing dresses of that same color in her youth.

When Jiang Yao emerged, she found that Jin Nana and her mother had already left. She looked around, searching for Jin Nana, when she heard the voice of a middle-aged man behind her.

"You... you..."

Jiang Yao turned instinctively and found herself face-to-face with the weathered, aging features of Master Jin. His expression was strange, and something seemed to be flickering in the depths of his eyes.

"Hello," Jiang Yao said, offering a polite bow.

Master Jin froze for two seconds, then steadied himself, his expression returning to normal. "Nana is already downstairs. You should go down, too. That dress suits you very well..."