Chapter 49
That day, the ladies of the circle were hosting a tea party, and of course Song Luokui received an invitation. The ladies had previously lived in the grand manor for a while, but she felt it was too small and not fun enough, and the rules were quite strict.
Afterwards, the ladies moved out to live elsewhere, only occasionally returning to the manor to visit their grandfathers and grandmothers.
The lady's name was Weng Jiao. As a child, she loved playing house, and as she grew older, she developed a fondness for the Lolita fashion and hosting small gatherings.
"This time, I want to introduce a newcomer, so all of you must come," she announced regarding this gathering at her small estate.
In the capital city, the newcomers who could join their circle were few and far between.
Zhang Xiyue asked, "Could it be someone new to the capital, someone who just came up from below? Luokui, are you going?"
Song Luokui nodded, "Yes, I'll go." She and Weng Jiao had a good relationship, and she usually attended the gatherings Weng Jiao hosted unless something urgent came up.
Zhang Xiyue said, "Then I'll go with you. Weng Jiao recently posted in the online group that she bought a new Lolita dress, so she'll definitely wear it this time. I'll wear one too."
Song Luokui replied, "You all can wear them, but I won't."
Zhang Xiyue said, "It's fine, Weng Jiao didn't ask us to wear anything." She went up and pinched Song Luokui's cheeks affectionately. "After all, my Luokui is so beautiful that even a burlap sack would look good on her."
Soon, they arrived at Weng Jiao's small estate. Although called a "small estate," it occupied a considerable area, with just the house being a small castle spanning five hundred square meters.
Surrounding the castle were lawns, forests, pools, and more. This tea party was being held on the lawn beside the castle.
When Song Luokui and Zhang Xiyue arrived, the lawn had already been set up with long tables laden with delicious food. Weng Jiao, dressed in a Lolita outfit and holding a small parasol, came to greet them.
"You're here! Welcome!" Weng Jiao's voice was whiny, as if she was always pouting. It wasn't an affectation; her voice was just like that.
"Your outfit isn't bad, but of course, I think mine looks better," Weng Jiao appraised Zhang Xiyue's Lolita dress.
Zhang Xiyue didn't mind, "Yes, yes, yours is the best."
Weng Jiao sidled up to Song Luokui and put an arm around hers. "Luokui is the most beautiful." She took a deep breath. "Luokui even smells lovely. If I were a guy, I'd definitely pursue Luokui."
Zhang Xiyue laughed, "Aren't you afraid her brother would beat you up?"
Weng Jiao tilted her chin up defiantly. "Not afraid!"
Weng Jiao came from a good family, and this estate was a birthday gift from her family. She usually lived here.
Weng Jiao led them to the tea party area, chatted for a bit, then left to welcome other guests who had arrived.
"Xiyue, Luokui, you're here."
"Come sit over here."
"Xiyue, you look great in that outfit today too. Where did you buy it? Recommend it to me."
Zhang Xiyue happily went over to chat with them. "I had it custom-made at the Suihua Studio. I'll introduce you to the designer."
"Okay, great, I'll have one custom-made too."
Song Luokui also went over to chat with everyone. "Long time no see, what have you all been up to lately?"
"Our school has a dance competition coming up, and I'm participating in it," said one who studied dance like Zhang Xiyue.
"My school also has all sorts of activities. I've participated in a lot of them, so I've been quite busy," said a popular student leader.
"Other than attending classes, I've just been traveling around. The school activities don't interest me at all," said a travel enthusiast.
Everyone chatted casually, laughing and joking.
Soon, Weng Jiao brought someone over and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, look over here, I'm introducing the newcomer."
Song Luokui and the others all looked over to see a young girl standing next to Weng Jiao. She had big eyes and looked quite cute, with a dimpled smile, though she seemed a bit shy at the moment.
"This is Chen Xinyuan, a new member of the Chen family."
Upon hearing she was a new member of the Chen family, everyone understood what was going on. Recently, certain departments had been undergoing leadership changes, so it was normal for fresh blood to be coming into the capital.
Chen Xinyuan also nodded at everyone. "Hello everyone. By the way, since this is my first time at such a gathering, I've brought gifts for you all." Chen Xinyuan's servants then brought out the gifts.
Chen Xinyuan handed them out one by one, and as the host, Weng Jiao introduced the other ladies to her.
"This is Lou Sasa."
"Hello, I'm Lou Sasa. Thank you for the gift."
"This is Song Luokui. We all call her Luokui."
Chen Xinyuan paused when she saw Song Luokui, then smiled. "Hello, Luokui."
Song Luokui smiled back. "Hello, thank you for the gift."
Chen Xinyuan's eyes sparkled. "You're welcome."
After everyone received their gifts, they all chatted for a while and became acquainted.
The ladies sipped tea, gossiped about the circle, discussed skincare, bags, clothes, and more. The afternoon passed quickly.
At some point, they even took a group photo.
Weng Jiao hugged Song Luokui for one photo, which turned out great, but Weng Jiao wasn't entirely satisfied. "Luokui, next time you should wear a Lolita dress too. We need to have matching sister outfits."
Song Luokui agreed, "Okay, let me know when you custom order yours next time."
"Sure, sure."
After the afternoon tea concluded, everyone went their separate ways.
However, just a few days later, Weng Jiao angrily posted in their small group chat: "From now on, I'm not inviting that Chen Xinyuan to our little gatherings anymore. She looked so innocent and sweet that I thought she was a good girl. If any of you invite her to your gatherings, don't invite me!"
"What happened? What did she do to upset you?"
Weng Jiao: "Don't ask, I've learned there's a type of girl called a 'tea sister,' and I've encountered a real one."
Weng Jiao: "My father originally told me to get along well with her and introduce her to people since her father works with mine. She seemed quite cute and sweet, and she didn't criticize me for how I talk either, so I thought she was alright."
Weng Jiao: "I was being nice by introducing her to people and inviting her to the gathering. Do you know what happened just now?"
Weng Jiao: "Today was the Ji Family Patriarch's birthday banquet, right? My family has a decent relationship with the Ji family, so it was just a matter of eating and drinking. I brought her along."
Weng Jiao: "The Ji family has an even better relationship with the Chi family, and the Chi Family Heir was there too. Do you know what the 'tea sister' did?"
Lou Sasa: "What did she do? Did she go after the one from the Ji family instead of the Chi family?"
Weng Jiao: "She knew better than that and went for the best one. The 'tea sister' pretended to accidentally spill her drink on him, then batted her big eyes and said in a tearful, fairy-like voice that she was sorry and didn't mean it. She even offered to help clean it up and asked for his contact information..."
Zhang Xiyue: "Hahaha, how ridiculous! Then what happened?"
Weng Jiao: "The Chi Family Heir just glanced at her and walked away. The 'tea sister' tried to go after him."
Lou Sasa: "Did she catch up to him?"
Weng Jiao: "She was stopped by someone from the Ji family."
Song Luokui read what Weng Jiao had written, then looked at the message the Chi Family Heir had sent her: "Are you going to the Ji family banquet?"
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter