"Ah, finally, peace and quiet", with a cup of coffee, a pair of blue shorts and a loosely fitted white shirt, Cora sat down at her desk to complete the main arc of her new novel, it had been a long time since she had written anything, she had either just been too lazy or too busy to care,
*Ping*
"URGH,", She looked up groaning, it hadn't even been up to thirty minutes, "can't a girl go a day without being bothered", She grumpily picked up her phone, only to have her annoyance turned into panic
[Cora, please help], was the short message from Lihua, there was an address attached to it and before she knew it, she was already out of the house with a black coat draped over her shoulders, a pair of flats, and the keys to the car she had recently bought two weeks ago,
Her head filled with dreaded possibilities, and her heart raced as she drove there, fast, but careful not to run past any traffic lights, 'What if she was kidnapped, but then why would she contact me instead of Fu Hao, maybe she couldn't reach him, or what if they had a quarrel or something, did she go back to her old ways...", She continued like this till her destination, each one of her possibilities becoming more and more unlikely than the last,
As she approached the weirdly familiar destination, she parked her car nearby. She got out and looked up, and then it occurred to her, She hadn't wanted to believe it since, but now, it was in fact, undeniable, 'That little...', It turned out she had been led right in front of the mall,
"Cora", She was assaulted with a bear hug from Lihua, "Gosh, I was starting to worry you wouldn't come"
"Su Li Hua", She spat out her friend's name, emphasising each letter, "Umm, yeah Cora", Lihua had let go and was now staring at her guiltlessly with innocent wide eyes,
"Why did you call me over here asking for help when you obviously don't need it, do you know you interrupted my work", Lihua sensing the anger from her friend looked down demurely, she played with her perfectly manicured nails and bit down on her lips saying "I'm sorry, but it was the only way I was assured you'd come, you value your writing above me most times, please don't be mad, I'll end up being sad"
Lihua's coquettish voice tugged at her heartstrings and her anger dissipated instantly. Sighing defeatedly and crossing her arms, she shook her head, "You really are an entitled brat, aren't you"
"Mhmhm, the entitled brat you can't help but love, so come on", Dragging her by hand, she brought Cora into the mall and to a large jewellery shop on the second floor. The place was lavishly decorated in purple, white and hints of gold, each piece of jewellery displayed costing up to a million Yuan if not more, and every customer present there was either a rich miss/Mrs of a prominent family with high social standing.
They were given complacent stares from different individuals as neither of them was extravagantly dressed or flaunting money on their necks. Lihua who was a little more appropriately dressed was only in a short red dress and a pair of white wedge sandals, but little did they know those two, although dressed plainly, actually possessed immeasurable backing in high society. Lihua being the wife of Fu Hao- the scion of the Fu family, one of the top three families in the country-, and the daughter of the Su family, meant she was very dignitary as those two names held unfathomable power. Cora, who despite the fact did not show it, was the young mistress of the Cui family, her full name, Cui Chun. The Cui family was also one of the oldest powerhouses in the country, specializing in the construction and IT industries.
They both ignored the stares and walked straight to the VIP area where they were welcomed by a beautiful woman. "Cora, Lihua, you two are finally here"
"Hey Lei", They chuckled saying at the same time, "You know you don't have to be in that get-up, the dare ended last month" Lihua pointed at her dress as she said her part,
"I know, but I quite like it, I also think it suits me",
"Okay then, whatever floats your boat", now they were all sitting next to each other in a huge lounge hidden in the store, its decoration was similar but lusher. As it turns out, the woman was the store owner, and she was in fact, not even a woman. His full name was Hu Lei, the young master of the Hu family, which was also a big name in high society.
Lihua discreetly turned to Cora and smiled evilly. She widened her eyes and pouted her lips, a process she called cute-ining up. "Cora" she called coquettishly, "Could you, um, maybe help me get a coffee, please"
"And what stops you from getting it yourself?", She eyed her friend warily with cocked eyebrows, just what was she up to.
"Oh come on Cora, please, my legs don't feel like going anywhere, plus I have to check all the catalogues of designs, so I can make a final decision, and I won't be able to do that if I'm standing in a line, you can also get one for yourself if you want"
When Lihua finished, there was an apathetic expression on Cora's face, she was definitely, not amused, She stood, sighing to herself, she could hardly ever say no to Lihua, maybe she should take a vacation, somewhere far from her, cause where ever Lihua was, headaches followed, plus it would allow her to write her book in silence,
She walked away seriously considering her options leaving an evil smirking Lihua and confused Hu Lei behind her.
"Hey, Lei, the designs", Just as Cora left, She abruptly turned her attention to him and clapped her hands to get his attention,
"Oh, right", He fetched them and handed her a portfolio filled with different sketches of matching rings, each with a different design. Some were flamboyant, some simple, beautiful, or screaming affluence and luxury, but only one enthralled her, and as she looked on, she knew she had already found the perfect one.