The first half of the evening was the time for formal introductions and small talk before moving on. The guests were all standing or sitting in small groups around the ballroom.
Since it was her Coming of Age Ceremony Su Li had to make the introductions herself without any help or assistance from anyone and Yu Jian couldn't accompany her as that would be a violation of traditions.
Before she could even begin making the rounds of the hall Yu Jian asked her to take Yu Yan along with her while reminding her to look after her younger sister. Smiling to herself in irony Su Li acquiesced to his request readily. Yu Yan followed behind her. Her temperament was like that of a newborn fawn who needed the protection of someone else to even stand upright.
Yu Yan's greatest strength was her weak appearance. Her pitiful gaze seemed to unlock the protective feelings of the opposite sex (but this was only true for the boys who had yet not gone through the fires of the society whereas, in contrast, everyone present here were giants in their own rights in their chosen fields. Standing atop countless bones metaphorically.)
With Su Li's earlier performance and Yu Jian's faux pas, everyone could clearly see the machinations happening behind the scenes.
Thankfully with the help of the system Su Li started delicately manoeuvring the male side of the ballroom. When she couldn't immediately recall someone's rank and position she would pause for a second or two and then continue greeting them seamlessly after some thought.
Su Li did this intentionally. With the system's help, how could she be unsure or ignorant of anything but if her performance was flawless it would raise eyebrows and wouldn't be conducive to her long term plan.
She behaved as if these pauses were subtle but she knew very well in her heart that they were probably akin to flashing neon signs to everybody else. This, in turn, would raise her impression as an intelligent but still wet behind the ears to the wider world in everyone's mind.
After greeting each male in a specific group individually, she would introduce Yu Yan to them collectively. She made sure not to use any words that could be distorted in any context as malice or unwillingness towards her new younger sister. After all, this was a mark of a magnanimous person.
The males should have greeted Yu Yan separately as a recognition to her station but in the mood to watch the further drama unfold they just gave shallow nods of their heads. Technically, this could be considered as having taken into account and responding to Yu Jian's earlier speech to take care of his second daughter.
Su Li thought that if it wasn't in these people's inherent nature to watch the world burn and enjoy themselves at other's expense, they wouldn't have even spared an iota of attention to Yu Yan. Besides everything that had happened till now had sent the correct message covertly to all the important personages.
These intentional snubs were like an icing on a cake and her smile became even warmer as she fluttered from one group to another on this side of the ballroom.
Looking at Yu Yan from the corner of her eyes Su Li realized that this new calf had also slowly but surely picked up on the disdain and mockery in the opposite sex's eyes. Yu Yan wouldn't have even dreamt about this kind of reception.
Yu Yan though disturbed by such blatant ridicule still decided to endure it silently for now and her performance got better with each subsequent introduction. She finally drew upon the blood flowing through her veins and gave a somewhat tolerable show but everyone saw how she greeted the well known public figures ingratiatingly while it was just a quick bob of her head to others who were not well known to the general populace.
This was the point where the difference in the education of the legitimate and the illegitimate was stark naked for everyone to view. Some of these males Yu Yan greeted with impatience were hidden pillars of strengths in various industries.
They had their hands in a lot of pies and their influence was far-reaching. Yu Yan, however, was ignorant of this fact as she did not know their importance which would incur her huge losses in the long run. Su Li could practically feel their sardonic smiles.
Ultimately these formidable men were the ones to return back ten-fold even an unintentional slight towards them by anyone, irrespective of anything else. Su Li was giddy inside due to Yu Yan's behaviour which clearly showed her materialistic and narrow-minded thinking.
Money and fame were not important to these people, rather it was the hidden power grasped within their hands to crush anyone who dared to displease them within a moment's notice which decided their status and the respect accorded to them.bu their peers.
Being done with the male side of the guests Su Li rested for a few minutes at an inconspicuous corner and then walked towards the female side of the banquet.
Though this half of the ballroom looked similar to the other side nevertheless, there were stark differences which could be spotted with the naked eye if someone had grown up in this circle. It seemed as if there were no clear distinction of cliques on this side but people in the know were cognizant of the fact that there was a strict hierarchical order in this faction which couldn't be shaken easily and it was no happenstance.
Women who had the right to be included in this group had done so with a lot of effort since it was no easy feat. To the general populace, these rich ladies looked gentle and benign who enjoyed all the luxuries provided to them but the truth of the matter was that these butterflies could make or break an individual or even a particular family with just a single flap of their wings.
Men may have cornered the market on politics and business in the city, but it was this group of women who had the monopoly on society and since most of the politics and business were based on society these women were the real alphas.
Su Li knew in her heart that though part of her plan had been successful yet it could fall through if these women didn't approve of her and started nitpicking on her.
It would take the good humour of these exalted existences if she wanted to become a shining star of the Debutant parade.