Chapter 138 You Have Bad Taste
It was seven o''clock in the evening.
The party had officially begun. The melodious music from the string quartet ying at the corner
gradually quieted down as the head of the Ye family entered the banquet hall with his wife on his
arm. As the spotlight followed the esteemed couple across the hall that smelled like fresh roses and
champagne, everyone apuded. Cameras shed everywhere like striking lightning. Howard took
a sidelong nce at his lovely wife, thinking that he was right where he wanted to be.
Gently ushering his Julie, Howard ascended the steps up on the high tform set up on one side of
the banquet hall. From where he stood, he could see the entire hall and the garden beyond. At the
moment, he was looking at everybody who was anybody in the city. The rich, the famous, and the
powerful filled up the room nicely, and Howard was standing over all of them.
He began his opening remarks before the party went full swing. Atst, he said, "Thank you for
attending my daughter''s twenty-fourth birthday party. I hope you all enjoy yourselves tonight. Here''s
to all of you and my lovely daughter." Howard raised the ss of champagne that Julie handed him
and proposed a toast.
The guests raised their sses in turn, ncing and smiling at one another, and took a sip of their
champagne.
Stepping aside, Howard then let Julie have the floor. She was shaking a little in mixed nervousness
and excitement as she approached the microphone. Then, she took a deep breath and said in all
her grace and elegance, "Today is my daughter Vivian''s twenty-fourth birthday. She has been
nothing but an obedient and loving daughter, and she excels in all the fields of her choosing. In just
the past year, she has won the balletpetition and the pianopetition. I''m very proud of her.
Thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate her.
Vivi, happy twenty-fourth. I love you so much, dear." Tears welled up in Julie''s eyes as she closed
her speech.
Then, the spotlight shone on the stairs on the other side of the hall. With a smile on her face, Vivian
slowly descended the steps. She wore a simple but elegantvender slip dress, and her dark hair
was meticulously coiled at the back of her head with small flowers carefully weaved in.
The high-waist design of the dress showed off her well-proportioned body, and the petals adorning
the waistline were like little butterflies sitting once. When the light hit the dress, it could be seen
on closer look that its color was actually avender gradient. The color was more intense at the top
and then fading to the hemline, which was decorated simrly to the waistline. The dress fully
complemented Vivian''splexion, making her look like a fairy princess right out of a bedtime
story.
All the people present apuded and praised Vivian''s beauty.
Dora and Vivian were actually dressed in simr fashion tonight, and they both looked like royalties
in different shades of purple.
When their eyes met, they nodded at each other and smiled.
Then, it was time for the first dance. Howard led his daughter to the dance floor to begin. After a few
moments, the guests joined in.
Jessica said with satisfaction, "Kristina, Vivi is indeed a beauty and also an elegantdy from an
eminent family. She''s the one my brother deserves."
Kristina would have totally agreed with Jessica, but now that she had met Nina, she was not so sure
any more about Vivian being the perfect girl. She shrugged and said, "I guess she''s not that bad,
although I''ve met ady tonight who I think is amazing. She''s a little mysterious, but I think she
"Oh? She sounds a little too good to be true. If there were really such a woman, I would''ve found
out about her and made my brother stick an engagement and wedding ring on her finger." Jessica
did not take what Kristina said seriously. She just looked at Vivian with appreciation.
Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
She promised her that John would be her second dance.
Vivian smiled at Jessica who was watching her from the sidelines. After getting the approval of her
future sister-inw, she felt delighted in her heart like she never had before. Even if she had not
seen even John since the party began, she firmly believed that they would dance the second dance
together. She was tonight''s most beautifuldy in the entire world. How could John resist her?
Kristina nced at Jessica who was staring at Vivian fondly. They had been friends for more than
ten years, so Kristina said bluntly, "Jessica, I know you to be ady of good taste, but sometimes,
you just slip in a way I don''t really understand."
"What''s that supposed to mean?" Jessica rolled her eyes at Kristina and then went back to watching
Vivian with a smile on her face.
As long as the Shi family and the Ye family were united by marriage, they would remain stable and
prosperous in Lexingport City even in the next hundred years.
"You have bad taste sometimes," Kristina muttered, not afraid at all of offending Jessica. She had
told her that before anyway.
Jessica had been spoiled too much. She had been spoiled by her father, her two elder brothers, and
even her youngest brother since she was a child. After she got married, she had been spoiled by
her husband, and she had never suffered any hardship or setback. As a result, she had be too
self-centered and had never gained the ability to look at problems from all angles and anticipate
their possible oues.
Because of that, Kristina had always viewed her as a personal project that she always had to
manage. She always corrected her when the need arose and pointed out her faults in her face.
Kristina cared so much about Jessica that she had never been scared of hurting her feelings in the
name of straightening her out. But she was worried about her now, especially about the way she
was pushing her brother John to marry Vivian.
"Have you even bothered to ask John if he wants to marry Vivian?" Kristina did not want to see
Jessica have a falling out with her brother just because she was sticking her nose in his business.
On the other hand, she did not think John was such a catch either. Rumor had it that he had dealt
with the Zhang family because of a woman.
She once thought John was in the wrong. But after she saw Isabe today, she guessed that maybe
it was Isabe who did something wrong.
What kind of a man John was? That did not seem like a rational thing to do, especially for a man
who was always calm and collected.
The woman that John cared about must be one of a kind. After all, nobody went to great lengths for
ordinary people. Kristina guessed she could not exactly me John for fighting for a woman. She,
too, would bully anyone for the one she loved.
"What''s wrong with you? Vivi is your niece. As her aunt, shouldn''t you be happy that I''m pushing for
her to get engaged and married to someone like my brother?" Jessica was now a little impatient.
She was very satisfied with Vivian. Vivian had won her favor, and she deserved to be John''s wife.
Kristina simply shook her head. She did not want to argue with Jessica anymore and turned away.
She went to look for Nina.
She needed to know more about her and find the right opportunity to match her to Noah.
She found talents for countlesspanies, and she was good at it. How could she not find a wife
for Noah? It was just a matter of strategy.
When Nina called her Aunt, Kristina felt warm in her heart. She was so happy that she jumped right
to naming her and Noah''s unborn children.
At the party, Dora smiled and told Chester, "Vivian is going to be our aunt. Isn''t that exciting?"
"She won''t," Chester answered tly.
"Why not? There are so many people here tonight because Uncle John will propose to Vivian." The
engagement was not exactly advertised in the invites, but everyone thought something more was
going to happen tonight.
The party was too grand to be just a birthday party. It had to be something more, and everyone
expected it to be a spectacle of John''s marriage proposal to Vivian.
Without saying another word, Chester looked around but did not find John. Instead, he saw Nina
who was being followed around by a snow-white Tibetan Mastiff. She looked like she was looking
for someone.
"Are you cold?" Chester asked out of the blue. The sudden question confused Dora.
"No, I''m not. I mean, I don''t mind the cold. I just want to look beautiful," she answered. Before
Chester could speak again, Dora did a twirl in her pretty little dress and said, "There are three
dresses in this series, and I saw ady earlier wearing one of them. I wonder where she has gone."
"I know where she is." Chester walked through the crowd to the door where Nina was standing.
"Aunt Nina," he called naturally.