Bai Meixin looked like she'd been struck by lightning. Her eyes, which had always been large and luminous, were wide as saucers now as she stared down at them with growing embarrassment.
"I—I'm so sorry," she stammered. "I remember seeing a variety show in the past where Mo Laoshi had eaten some fruits and there were strawberries in the mix, I didn't think there would be a problem so I chose to bake this flavour with reduced sugar because I recall Mo Laoshi saying he didn't like his desserts too sweet…"
[This is an interesting development,] Su Qiao thought. By saying this, Bai Meixin sounded like she'd put in a lot of thought into planning her surprise, even going so far as to tailor-make it to suit Mo Chen's tastes. On the other hand, it also revealed that she didn't put enough care into it; food gifts were always tricky because of the possibility of allergies. If Bai Meixin had wanted to be sure that Mo Chen would be able to enjoy her cake, wouldn't her best bet have been to check with his manager whether he had any dietary restrictions?
Or had she been afraid that Mo Chen's manager would have told her not to bother, in which case, she wouldn't be able to use his birthday as an opportunity to…to what? Curry favour?
No doubt she wouldn't see it that way. No doubt she would feel like she was genuinely trying to celebrate a special day for Mo Chen, never mind whether he wanted her to or not. As the protagonist, Bai Meixin had never had to consider whether people would require her special brand of attention or not. She was used to giving it and earning mindless gratitude in return, without having to think about the consequences of her actions. Interfering with other's friends or breaking couples up, it was never her fault, she had only intended to do good! What do you mean it was inappropriate for her to rally the crew behind her ostentatiously to celebrate Film Emperor Mo's birthday? What do you mean it would cause misunderstandings?
She only meant to be sincere, why did all these evil people misconstrue her intentions?
Su Qiao didn't have to interview Bai Meixin to guess what her responses would be. She'd been forced to be privy to this white lotus' thoughts for too long and could follow her train of thought without having to inquire about it. Instead of feeling sorry for almost harming Mo Chen, she was probably upset that Yun Zhou hadn't been more gentle when he'd pointed out her mistake, that Yun Zhou had a personality defect that made him so rude to her for no reason.
Whether he did or he did not, Mo Chen should have stood up for her but he didn't. That made him in the wrong too; didn't he recognise that she'd done this just for him?
Mo Chen, Su Qiao noted with a wry side-glance, definitely didn't look like he was about to truly recognise her efforts anytime soon. But as a veteran in the industry and someone who was used to playing the social game, he was going to pay her lip service, of course. He had resumed eating the cake Yun Zhou had brought, a polite smile on his face as he told Bai Meixin, "I discovered a newly developed allergy to strawberries last year and haven't been able to enjoy them since. Your gesture is appreciated, if you'd like, please share the cake amongst yourselves."
His smile turned more sincere as he regarded the rest of the staff members behind her, who were fidgeting uneasily as though afraid they had offended this influential person in the industry. Mo Chen was quick to reassure them.
"Thank you all for celebrating for me, I apologise that I'm unable to eat this cake but am still touched that you've all set aside some time in your busy day to come along and wish me a happy birthday," he said. "Dinner tomorrow night is on me, I'll make the arrangements and hope that everyone will humour me by attending."
The heaviness in the atmosphere lifted as Mo Chen was greeted by an enthusiastic round of thanks. Everyone seemed relieved that they hadn't accidentally ruined his mood and when the light was turned back on, Su Qiao had a clearer view of Bai Meixin's pale, distraught face.
She was halfway through considering whether it would be too villainous to 'advice' her not to be presumptuous when Yun Zhou did it for her.
"Pretending to be familiar," he murmured with a quiet disdain that somehow managed to feel more harmful than open scorn.
Tears welled up in Bai Meixin's eyes and she shoved the cake into the arms of the flummoxed logistics assistant beside her before dashing out of the room.
"Ah Zhou, play nice," Mo Chen said but the fond exasperation in his voice made Su Qiao think that Yun Zhou could have gotten away with being even meaner.
…no wonder Yun Zhou fell under the category of antagonist too, Su Qiao could already tell that they would get along. Like seemed to take to like; apart from Mo Chen, who hadn't shown up except in passing in Bai Meixin's Mary Sue storyline, there were two bad people seated at this table. A whole 66.7 per cent.
She sank her fork into the crepe cake with relish. New friends were always welcome.
——————————
After the strawberry fiasco, Su Qiao had excused herself to rush back to her suite, just so she could shower and choose appropriate attire for dinner later that evening. Lin Zixun had made it sound casual, dinner in a restaurant that served the Mo Chen's favourite local fare before they headed over to a nearby upscale entertainment centre with private karaoke booths.
It was pretty run-of-the-mill but she could see the appeal in just hanging out with a bunch of close friends. Her birthday parties in the past had always been grand affairs with chandeliers, ballrooms, and champagne towers. In hindsight, all that superficial finery added together couldn't compare to the worth of even one good companion.
She sighed. It wasn't time to get all maudlin.
The cupboard was filled with an array of clothes that she'd brought along after making a careful selection at Yao Xun's, whose guest room she was still shamelessly using as a storage space of sorts. Peng Lili had gone out of her way to ensure that Su Qiao's attire was all neatly pressed and arranged for ease of selection. Her eyes lingered on a couple of dresses but they didn't feel quite right, were either too formal or too flashy for the occasion. She was just about to give up and move on to trousers when a sliver of pink caught her eye.
It was a satin miniskirt from the latest Prada collection, with a long train behind it that trailed down to the floor if Su Qiao didn't give herself at least an extra five inches of height with her stilettos. It came in two colours, black and pink, and normally she would have gravitated towards the former but that day in the shop, for some reason, she'd been unable to tear her eyes off the lighter version, its colour reminding her of the soft lush petals of roses.
If she paired it with a conservative black blouse and belt, as well as a formal clutch and blazer, the skirt would become daring in comparison, a statement piece that was a dichotomy of bold and pure.
Her mind drifted unbidden to Lin Zixun's text messages, the two words 'little girl' lingering just long enough to bring heat to her cheeks.
His brother liked white lace and pink dresses. What did he like, she wondered?
But as soon as the thought occurred to her, she quashed it firmly.
It didn't matter what Lin Zixun liked. She was done tailoring herself to suit the preferences of others. Tonight, she wanted to wear what she liked and if Lin Zixun found her beautiful, then all the better. If he didn't, then that was his problem too, so long as she was comfortable and confident in her own skin, Su Qiao wasn't going to care about what others thought anymore.
Lin Zixun showed up at half-past-five in the lobby of her hotel, just as he'd said that he would. Su Qiao had been expecting a car that matched his colourful personality, and she was half-right about that. His Bugatti was loud in its design but instead of a flaming red, electric blue, or sour lemon sort of shade, it was a simple back with a glossy sheen that along with its aggressive edges made it look more predatory than she would have thought possible for a car.
A bit like its owner, whose eyes had darkened at the sight of her.
Su Qiao lowered her lashes and fought to keep the corners of her mouth even. She hadn't missed the effect her appearance had on him, had seen the astounded expression on his face that had vanished as soon as came, replaced with an appreciation that he kept polite by now allowing his eyes to wander down the length of her legs.
"I'm regretting everything now," he said, voice slightly hoarse as he opened the door to the passenger seat for her before the valet could. They weren't attempting to hide their interactions from the public eye and Su Qiao wondered if, in a couple of hours, they would trend on social media together. "Just so you know."
Su Qiao arched an eyebrow at him. "Everything?"
"Okay, not everything, but I'm definitely regretting inviting you to join us."
She didn't reply, just looked at him as she waited patiently for him to elaborate.
"You look beautiful tonight," Lin Zixun said dolefully as he explained. "And those other bastards later are going to get to see."
Su Qiao's merry laughter was lost as the car pulled out of the hotel's driveway and into the bustling peak hour traffic.