Inside the master bedroom's spacious walk-in closet, Feng Mian and Hao Junli were in the midst of a standoff. Hao Junli at this time was more than a head shorter than Feng Mian, but his ego carried the difference in height by an extra thirty centimetres.
Multiple high-end dresses were neatly hanged and stacked inside the several wardrobes; from Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Prada, all the way to Alexander McQueen, there were all kinds of famous brands that come in several lengths and shapes designed to accentuate the different part of a woman's figure.
"I want a suit." Hou Junlin was stubborn about not wanting to wear a dress. He may be in a woman's body, but he was a man through and through.
"I told you, there's no suit here that can accommodate your size. We don't have the time to order a custom right now. It's just for tonight, Hao Junli, bear with it ah?" she tried to bargain.
"Cannot." He was unmovable to coercion nor persuasion.
Feng Mian grew exasperated from this dragging debacle. Her phone rang and she picked it up haphazardly without looking at the ID.
"What?" There was a twinge of annoyance slipping through her husky tone.
A familiarly coquettish voice sounded through the speaker. "Xiaocheng gege~ why didn't you tell me there's an event tonight at the company? I'll be there tonight along with daddy. If you had said something, we could've gone together."
At the side, Hao Junli picked up on the skittish voice through the receiver and frowned. This was a clear attempt at unashamedly flirting with someone's wif- husband. His mood became worse. Tsk, he would be an idiot to let some shrew cat grow put a green hat on him.
Hao Junli signalled for Feng Mian to pass the phone over.
"Hold on a second Huang Chun, my wife wants to speak with you. Here." The phone was smoothly passed to Hao Junli.
Chun Hua: 'Who is Huang Chun? Since when did she get her name changed on the register? And why are you letting me speak with your wife, isn't this covertly showing the mistress to the wife? I don't want to speak to your wife.'
Wan Junli's clear voice chimed in through the speaker, his voice cold. "Are you miss Huang Chun?"
Chun Hua: 'Her name was clearly Chun Hua.'
Hao Junli didn't wait for a response. "You don't have to worry about my husband not having a partner. I, his hus- wife, will accompany him tonight so miss Huang Chun shouldn't meddle about other people's husband so needlessly. We'll see miss Huang Chun at the banquet then." The line was immediately cut off.
Chun Hua who was still holding onto her pink mobile phone looked dazedly at the dimming screen.
Did she wake up the wrong way today? Or did Xiaocheng gege just snubbed her using Wan Junli?
Feng Mian felt the uncomfortable stare from Hao Junli after he cut Chun Hua off.
Hao Junli huffed sulkily. "Hmph, a red apricot tree that leans over the garden wall," he commented.
Feng Mian suddenly felt that she became a wife who was caught cheating even though the mistress didn't technically belong to her.
Feng Mian waved her hand in denial. "How can that be ah? I'm a female you know."
Hao Junlin studied his roommate's face carefully and tested her gingerly. "Who do you think is better looking, Angelina Jolie or Tom Cruise?"
Feng Mian couldn't understand what the question had to do with anything. It was too random. "Both are good looking," she answered after thinking through.
Hao Junlin's face became colder. "So you swing both ways."
"I find that pet dogs are also good looking, does that mean I'm a zoophile?"
Hao Junli still held doubts but decided to quieten down.
Recalling how this ex high school tyrant was also the school flower who attracted bees and butterflies regardless of gender, he was not assured of leaving her to go alone. Luckily, this flower was obtuse to the bees and butterflies buzzing around her, and Feng Mian was her own brand of insect repellant whose obtuseness wears down the pursuit of others. Ignorance is truly bliss. Bliss for him.
He said in a lower voice, "I'll wear a dress tonight. But you'll have to wear what I pick as well."
Feng Mian didn't really care what she'll be wearing but was thrilled that Hao Junli finally decided to compromise.
"Alright!" she beamed.
***
Hao Junli was an art student who devoted his life to painting, so it was not a surprise that his aesthetics were top-notched. He had picked a matching outfit that looked good when they stood next to each other.
He chose to wear a floor-length A-line satin dress that was conservative but not tacky. The dress had an open shoulder style that cuts delicately around his shoulder lines to reveal smooth pale shoulder blades. Underneath his long dress, he wore a pair of lilac heels that Feng Mian had not deliberately asked how he managed to walk in. He deliberately dressed Feng Mian in a light grey Armani suit styled with a purple necktie that matched his own dress and her short dark tresses of hair was slid back for a more formal look.
Hao Junlin had even coordinated the accessories.
They were carrying millions of dollar's worth of jewellery on their bodies, especially Hao Junlin who had an affinity for rare, expensive diamonds. A diamond-drop earring worth one and a half million USD graced his ears while she wore the Li family's jadeite ancestral brooch. Even for a banquet filled with wealthy and influential families, they were a couple that turned heads.
Feng Mian felt just how strong the male lead's halo was. Even if what Feng Mian was doing was as mundane as walking down a flight of stairs, people stopped whatever they were doing, be it chattering or dancing, to stare at the couple making their grand entrance.
Feng Mian whispered in Hao Junli's ears. "These people look like they haven't seen someone walk before. I think we're doing it the wrong way. Do you think we should try walking in reverse?"
Hao Junli looked up at his taller date, amused. "Maybe we should have entered by moonwalking. You start first, then I'll follow."
Feng Mian laughed sheepishly.
At the banquet floor, Feng Mian dragged Hao Junli off to see the snack stands. Arrays of luxury food such as fresh oysters, Kobe beef topped with truffles, and caviar lobsters were served in small platters. Feng Mian grabbed the lobster plate first.
"This is good, try it Junli." Feng Mian squinted her eyes at the tender and chewy taste of lobster
Hao Junli grabbed a platter, tasted it, then grabbed another one continuously. Although it was initially Feng Mian who insisted they come over, it was him who ended up eating the most. Plate after plate of every kind of dish served was cleaned and piled up on Junli's end.
Feng Mian was also surprised by Wan Junli's tank capacity to store food. He really must have been hungry, she thought. Hao Junli had good etiquette growing up and it shows in the way he would elegantly pick up the food into his plate and brings it into his small mouth, but the speed of chewing was like a hamster hoarding food in their cheek pouches; incredibly fast. Feng Mian had stopped eating some time ago and only lingered to keep Hao Junlin company.
"Gege~~~~" a familiarly sticky voice called out to him from the other side of the floor.
Hao Junlin immediately stopped eating at once and wipe the nonexistent traces of crumbs on his mouth neatly with a single handkerchief. The handkerchief was then deftly thrown back into her arms. Feng Mian could faintly hear Hao Junlin cracking the joints of his neck, making clear popping sounds as he looked at the approaching female.
Hao Junlin stepped forward before Chun Hua could habitually attach herself to Feng Mian's arm. Now, he was sandwiched between the girl and Feng Mian, his ample chest almost making contact with the anointed homewrecker's.
He gave her a practised smile that showed insincerity he had not even bothered masking. "This… you must be miss Huang Chu. We've talked over the phone before, remember? I'm Li Xiaocheng's wife, Wan Junli. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Chun Hua felt that this woman couldn't be more annoying to her eyes. Nothing but a vase, but still wants to fight her for Xiocheng's attention. Today, right there and there, she wanted to let this Wan Junli know that she, Chun Hua, was Li Xiaocheng's true love and that she was nothing in his eyes.
She stood a little straighter, her limbs softening more seductively to enhance her sex appeal.
"Ah, yes, I'm Xiaocheng gege's--"
Hao Junli did not show her tact and cut her off mid-sentence. "Honey, this is my favourite song. Let's go dance."
Feng Mian was smoothly dragged off to the middle of the floor where couples were dancing the waltz without having a word in.
Chun Hua who was left ignored on the side: "....."
Why was Xiaocheng's nominal wife so fierce today?