Early in the morning, Jing Yi was called out by Shen Xi.
Jing Yi dozed off in the passenger seat with her mouth slightly open. She only groggily woke up when the car stopped. As she followed Shen Xi's footsteps, she was still a bit unsteady. Seeing her 'dead tired' appearance, Shen Xi quickly stepped forward to pull her along.
Jing Yi yawned, "Xixi, what kind of party is worth you dragging me out of bed so early?" She had never heard of a party starting in the morning...
Shen Xi was leading the way, pulling Jing Yi along while also trying to make sure she didn't bump into any obstacles.
"Don't we need time to prepare? If we start getting ready in the afternoon, how could we possibly make it in time? Besides, Jing Yi Yi, it's already 10 AM!"
Even though she had dragged Jing Yi out early, it was already 10 o'clock after breakfast. How could she still be so sleepy?
Jing Yi couldn't help it. Yesterday, she was discussing going to the race track with Jing Zeqian, but he said he'd take her when he had time.
Unwilling to accept this, Jing Yi made a bet with him over a game - whoever lost would have to compromise. As a result, they ended up playing until very late...
Shen Xi pushed open a large door and ushered Jing Yi in first.
What followed was several hours of makeup and styling, during which they also managed to eat some takeout.
Jing Yi, who finished first, sat on the sofa watching Shen Xi, who seemed to be enjoying the process. She couldn't understand how someone could sit in front of a mirror for hours without changing expression.
As Jing Yi watched, she wanted to reach for some snacks on the coffee table, but the tightness around her waist stopped her.
The outfit she was wearing today apparently didn't allow for eating too much.
It was an ensemble with a touch of gothic style - a deep red, almost black, strapless form-fitting gown. The bodice featured a high-waisted lace-up design, while the skirt had two layers, one short and one long.
The stylist didn't do much with Jing Yi's hair, just some simple styling. A few strands at the front were braided into small plaits, while the rest of her wavy hair cascaded down her back, fully revealing her delicate face.
Around her neck was a choker necklace designed like a thorny rose stem.
Beside her lay an intricately crafted mask. Its outline was formed by delicate rose branches, with lifelike miniature rosebuds carved onto the twigs.
Shen Xi loved Jing Yi's entire look, but Jing Yi herself had no thoughts beyond sighing about how tired she was.
Jing Yi sighed again and continued to rest her face in her hands as she waited for Shen Xi.
Earlier, while they were getting styled, Shen Xi had told her that the party was being thrown by a friend of hers. To make it more fun, they had decided to make it a masquerade ball.
"You know how it is with rich people. When they're bored, they throw parties to liven things up," Shen Xi's tone suggested that she often attended such events.
Jing Yi looked at Shen Xi's satisfied expression in the mirror, propped her chin on her hand, and said lazily, "How would I know? If I had that much time, I'd rather sleep than throw a party."
"All you think about is sleep!"
On the other side, the makeup artist had finished the final touches and smiled at Shen Xi, saying, "Miss Shen, we're all done. You can go change now."
Just as Jing Yi thought it was finally over and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she realized that the styling was just the beginning of the ball!
When Shen Xi came out, she was wearing a silver-white pleated gown with a metallic silver chain shawl, holding a matching mask in her hand.
"Wow! Who's this young lady? She's so beautiful!"
Shen Xi glanced at Jing Yi with a smile, ignoring her teasing.
"But Miss Shen, I suspect this ball isn't just a simple party, is it?"
If it were really just a casual party thrown by a friend for fun, would Shen Xi spend an entire day preparing?
Seeing that Jing Yi had noticed something was off, Shen Xi laughed a bit sheepishly.
Indeed, it wasn't just for fun. This masquerade ball had invited many single young people from North river.
"So, you're going to meet handsome guys?"
Jing Yi and Shen Xi got into the car heading to the final party venue.
"What else? There will probably be lots of young people there, which means lots of handsome guys!"
Jing Yi was skeptical about Shen Xi's expectations. She even wondered how they would know if someone was handsome when everyone was wearing masks.
Shen Xi tapped Jing Yi's forehead lightly, as if disappointed in her. "It's not a full-face mask, how could you not tell?! Besides, what's important is the aura! The aura!"
Jing Yi could only concede, "Alright, alright! Good luck to you!"
"Good luck to us!" Shen Xi added.
Jing Yi politely declined. She wasn't interested in this ball. Even Jing Zeqian's company might not have many handsome guys, let alone a mere ball.
Her only thought was wondering if there would be food at the party...
Seeing that Jing Yi didn't respond, Shen Xi continued, "Come on, react a little!"
"What?"
Jing Yi seemed to have just snapped out of it, her round eyes wide with confusion.
Shen Xi sighed helplessly, "I'm saying, what if you meet a handsome guy at the ball, and he turns out to be your soulmate, and from then on you live happily ever after..."
"Stop right there!"
Jing Yi quickly cut off Shen Xi's dreamy imagination. It had always been like this - every time the topic of love came up, she would get this lovesick look on her face.
Yet ironically, she had never been in a relationship. Whenever someone was about to pursue her, her interest would immediately plummet, cooling off incredibly fast.
The most memorable instance was during their junior year in college. Jing Yi had just become close friends with Shen Xi, and during that time, Shen Xi kept going on about how handsome a certain senior was, describing him as her ideal type of a 'refined bad boy'. Jing Yi's ears nearly grew calluses from listening to it so much.
She even heard that Shen Xi had prepared an incredibly expensive gift for this soon-to-graduate senior as a graduation present. Jing Yi's first thought was just how expensive the gift must have been!
Later, she gave him the gift, and the very next day, the senior came to find Shen Xi.
Jing Yi was with Shen Xi at the time and witnessed the senior's confession firsthand.
But Jing Yi thought more deeply about it. The senior was about to graduate, and he came to confess the day after receiving the gift. She couldn't help but think there was more to it.
She was a bit worried that Shen Xi might get hurt, and even feared she might agree immediately. Who knew that Shen Xi's first reaction would be, "Huh? Date?" Her tone even carried a hint of reluctance.
Not only was the senior surprised, but Jing Yi hadn't expected this reaction from Shen Xi either. She had thought they were just in a simple 'gifter' and 'receiver' relationship.
From then on, Shen Xi's view on love remained a puzzle to Jing Yi.
"Don't worry about whether others can meet their soulmates. First, think about when you'll be able to stay put and not run away when someone confesses to you. Then we can talk about other things."
Shen Xi felt a bit defiant but couldn't argue back. After all, Jing Yi wasn't wrong. Otherwise, she wouldn't have remained persistently interested in handsome guys while staying single.