Wishful thinking

The afternoon of the auction banquet.

Sam helped Jinjing dress up for the evening. The auction was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. followed by the banquet.

Sam was good at make-up. She did a smoky eye for Jinjing, customizing it for the Asian eyes. A little bit of contouring here and some highlighting there, a lip tint in the shade of red… voila! A spellbinding Jinjing stood elegantly before a full length mirror at Luwei's.

She kept the accessories to a minimum with only a pair of pearl earrings and a single strand diamond bracelet adorning her tiny wrist on the left while, a chunky statement ring on her right index finger. Holding a white clutch encrusted with faux pearls, she stood tall and graceful on her 6-inch silver ankle strap heels.

A light knock sounded on the door of her room, opening to reveal a striking Luwei, who was completely floored by the ethereal beauty before him. He slowly made his way to the ladies, with his mouth still agape.

Sam and Jinjing chuckled looking at his expression. Jinjing slightly pushed his lower jaw up to close his mouth, teasing "Mr. Yun close your mouth, you'll catch a fly." Just at the end of the sentence the two ladies could not control themselves anymore and laughed their hearts out.

An embarrassed Luwei could only imitate them mockingly "ha..ha…haha.. silence!!!"

Wiping the tears accumulated in the corner of her eyes, Sam said "Jinnie don't you dare ruin my efforts. Come here let me fix your make-up before you leave."

Even though, Sam and Jinjing knew each other since country A, recently due to Luwei, they had grown comfortably closer. There was no space for jealousy and insecurity between them, as Luwei very responsibly, treated the two most important ladies in his life, according to the role each played. One a dear friend, the other a lover.

The best friends departed for the event in a swanky limousine. Sipping on a glass of champagne, Luwei and Jinjing enjoyed the ride to the venue.

Luwei was more interested in the banquet as, it was a great opportunity to broaden his business horizon. They eventually skipped the auction and reached two hours later for the banquet.

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On the contrary Liang had left for city S ahead of schedule, in order to avoid Jiaying. He had checked in to a luxurious hotel close to the venue. He was in talks with another company for a new project and had to attend this dinner to meet up with the partner company.

He rested the entire day and headed for the auction on time. The auction was just a stage for the rich to show their wealth off. Liang was sitting there for attendance sake. He unwillingly bid for a couple of items on the list, so as to not stand out as a sore thumb.

Later he made way to the banquet held in the adjacent room.

The banquet hall was full of successful businessmen, chatting, greeting and clinking glasses with each other. The organizers had invited the crème of the business world and made excellent arrangements for the event. The venue was a grand gothic style banquet hall.

Even though he was bored to the core, he still felt relaxed as for once there was no Jiaying around.

His wishful thinking.