Jessica got so busy with work that she completely forgot about the whole party thing, until when it was getting close to the off-duty time and people around started getting excited and talking about it.
May's thrilling voice could be heard from half an office away.
She "whispered" to Jane, who was sitting next to her and one of her closest friends in the office, "Who do you think will be the 'queen' of the party this year?"
Knowing the purpose of her question, Jane didn't miss a beat but answered without hesitation, "You, of course! You still don't know your beauty? Just think how many guys whistle or secretly check on you wherever you go."
Candy pretended to be shy, "No, Jane. I'm just an ordinary and plain girl. There are so many beautiful girls in our office, and one of them will become the 'queen' and dance with Mr. **."
She lowered her voice at the tail so Jessica couldn't hear who she meant.
To be honest, Candy was indeed a very pretty girl with long and soft hair, doll eyes, and petite but shapely physique.
She prided herself as a very feminine, elegant and gentle girl, so she always tried to act that way, speaking softly, covering her mouth when laughing, and her doll eyes showing submissiveness when she asked for a favor.
In the culture of C Country, a girl like that was very popular with most men, as she could make them feel masculine and protective.
All Candy needed to do was to blink her doll eyes pitifully and pleaded softly, "Pleeeease! And you know it's easy for you but so important for me." And the man would surrender.
Jane had just said that Candy didn't know her beauty, but she did, and she always tried to make the most use of it.
Jessica figured Candy might indeed be the party queen and get to dance with Mr. Mysterious.
She thought of the dress again and wondered for the hundredth time if she should wear it and risk of dressing the same as Candy.
Maybe Candy wouldn't wear it for the party, as a girl like her would have countless beautiful dresses.
All she wanted was to attract attention as much as possible, so she would probably wear something more conspicuous, like a red dress with a really low-cut front or back.
The beige dress the other day was a bit too classic and "quiet" for the purpose.
But no matter what, Jessica had no choice but to wear it, as she had no other and better option.
She got home, had dinner with her mum, read a design magazine for a while, and started showering and getting ready for the party.
It would start at 9 p.m. but she decided to get there much later. If she just snuck in, nobody would notice her that much as she was new.
Jordan might come and talk to her a bit and that would be it. He was the only friend she had in office.
Or was he? Did he see her as a friend now?
She didn't do any sophisticated hairstyle but just coiled her long hair up on top of her head like a knot with a few strands running loose, and pinned a hairpin she had hand-made onto the front side of her knot.
She never liked heavy makeup, so she just slightly touched up her face, with faint eye shadows, and put on a pinkish-red lip gloss to match the embroidered flower on the dress.
She decided that if Jordan ever asked how she had gotten the dress, she would just say it was a gift from a family friend.
But then she felt funny about it. Jordan didn't know anything about her family, so he wouldn't know that she couldn't afford such an expensive dress.
She did a final check of herself in the mirror and thought of herself as presentable.
She didn't have any jewelry on, because she decided that her fashion jewelry would not be a good choice for the occasion.
Her mum walked up and handed her a small velvet box, "I think I should just give them to you now."
Jessica took the box over, opened it, and was surprised to see a necklace and a pair of earrings inside.
The necklace was just a simple gold chain with a pendant, and the pendant was the special part. It seemed to be a certain stone with a smooth surface, inlaid into a starburst frame of the same gold-like metal as the chain.
The stone was dark blue but also looked grayish, with a shred of smoke-like pattern running across it. Though the color was deep, the texture of the stone seemed translucent with a faint and soft glow, making it look as deep as the night. There were also tiny drops of stone set on the points of the star frame.
The earrings were of similar design, only that the stone on each piece was much smaller, and there was no tiny stone on the star's points.
They were perfect for the dress, as well as the occasion.
"Thank you, Mum! How did you get these?" Jessica had never seen her mum wearing any jewelry except a pair of gold studs she had on the whole time.
These pieces seemed expensive too, so she wouldn't have afforded them.
Her mum said, "They've been passing down for generations of the family. I thought I would give you when you are getting married or something, but now that you need some good jewelry pieces and you're a grown girl now, Jess, so I might well just give them to you now."
Her Jess had always been a good girl, not one of those crazy fooling-around girls nowadays.
Jessica gave her mum a tight hug, "Mum, thank you! They look lovely."
Her mum urged her, "You should get going. You don't want to be late. It's the first important occasion you're attending as a career woman instead of a student."
Though she had been living in seclusion, it didn't mean that her daughter should be forced to live like her. She wanted Jessica to be out there in the world, explore, and decide what she wanted.
Jessica left for the party. Though she had normally used public transportation to move about, she decided to drive her mum's shabby no-name car so that she wouldn't have to drag the beautiful dress through the city's hubbubs.
By the time she got there, it was well past the start time of the party.
But it didn't matter. She had wanted it that way anyway.
She went up to the floor of the JS Group's building where the party was held and saw that there were two entrances, one obviously the main entrance and the other a side door. Noises and music could be heard from outside.
Perfect! She went to the side door, quietly opened a crack, and slipped in.
All of a sudden, before she could get a good picture of the inside of the hall, she could sense the whole scene quieting down, as if everyone suddenly just stopped talking. The music went on for a few seconds but also started waning.
Jessica didn't know what was happening and it crept her out. She looked up and focused, and saw Jordan right there at the center of the crowd, tall and handsome, in a perfectly tailored tux with a bow tie.
He had his hands raised halfway up in the air, in a gesture that said "quiet", and it could be why the room had suddenly quieted down.
When his eyes caught hers, he smiled and started walking slowly toward her.
Jessica tried to pinch her palms with her fingernails. Was she dreaming again? Why had the world receded and there were only Jordan and her? But he was dressed like a modern man instead of the ancient warrior look he was like in the dream.
She held her breath and dared not move. She had no idea what was going on, but all she knew instinctively and clearly at that specific moment was that Jordan would not mean any threat.
He reached her, extended his hand, and held hers. He gave it a slight pinch as if to reassure her, and raised the other hand again in the air, and the noises and music were back on.
It seemed to Jessica like he had pressed a magical button or something to switch modes of the scene.
Jordan looked at her as they walked slowly to the center of the hall, "May I dance with you?"