Chapter 39


    Although Jack''s words seemed harmless, Rachel was on alert after the previous incident. She kept


    wondering if something was wrong and secretly checked herself again.


    Pretending not to notice her suspicious eyes, Jack leaned back and looked out the window. Even


    his profile looked cold and handsome, hard to get close to.


    Francis'' engagement banquet was held on the second floor of Seaside International Hotel. When


    Jack and Rachel reached the venue, they found that it looked grand and magnificent. On the first


    floor, there was a thick red carpet leading from the entrance to a heart- shaped door to wee the


    guests.


    The two of them followed a waiter upstairs. Just before thest step, Jack suddenly stopped, took


    Rachel''s wrist, and linked arms with her.


    Rachel''s heart skipped a beat, but she had no time to think about it as Jack immediately resumed


    walking forward, pulling her along with him.


    When they entered the banquet hall arm in arm, they drew the attention of many people.


    It was a western-style party, so all of the guests were drinking and happily chatting with each other.


    Jack and Rachel walked in quietly without making an entrance, but as soon as they arrived, the host


    of the party was informed. ■3


    Francis raised his eyebrows and waved the messenger away. Then, with his fiancee, he walked


    over to the guests who had just arrived.


    "Mr. Fu, here you are! Mrs. Fu, long time no see..." Francis snapped his fingers as he greeted them,


    summoning one of the waiters. Then, he took two sses of champagne from the tray in the


    waiter''s hand and handed it to them, his eyes lingering on Rachel for a moment.


    Then, he introduced his fiancee to both of them before taking Jack aside to talk to him privately.


    Francis'' fiancee, Wendy Wen, was a sweet and beautiful girl. Although she never treated people


    differently based on their identity and status, she knew that there was a difference between a


    normal guest and a distinguished one.


    Soon, the other guests at the party began to notice Rachel. They didn''t know her as she had


    seldom taken part in these asions.


    A group of them went up to Wendy to greet her, and then fixed their eyes on Rachel. Noticing the


    shift in their gazes, Wendy warmly introduced Rachel to them. "This is Mrs. Fu."


    Upon hearing that the woman standing in front of them was Jack''s wife, the expressions on their


    faces changed. They immediately went over to her and greeted her with warm smiles.


    Wendy, who was supposed to be the star of the banquet, was pushed to the side and awkwardly


    neglected all of a sudden.


    As for Rachel, she didn''t know any of the socialites who were enthusiastically greeting her, so ■3


    she felt a little embarrassed by the sudden attention on her.


    Most of the socialites seemed good- natured and tried to include Rachel in their mellow


    conversation, but Rachel felt awkward and out of ce.


    However, they all just continued talking as if they hadn''t noticed Rachel''s difort.


    Wendy, who had been left outside this circle, felt a little embarrassed after seeing the attention shift


    to Rachel. She quickly looked around for her fiance but he was nowhere to be found.


    She hesitated for a while and wondered what to do. In fact, she could see that Rachel wasn''t


    enjoying the attention at all.


    She was right, of course. Rachel didn''t like being surrounded by strangers. Although she was trying


    to be as polite as possible, she couldn''t pretend to be warm and friendly like these socialites.


    In their eyes, her cold and distant attitude made her seem arrogant and rude.


    While Rachel was wondering about what to do, a soft voice interrupted her from behind. "Mrs. Fu."


    Rachel turned back and saw Wendy standing nearby with a meek expression on her face. She


    immediately walked away from the crowd, and it wasn''t until a secondter that she remembered


    she had to excuse herself.


    When the crowd heard her apology, they all just nodded understandingly and watched her leave


    with Wendy. ■3


    Once she was out of sight, however, they began whispering among themselves.


    "No wonder she can''t keep a man by her side."


    "It''s true. Everyone knows that Mr. Fu has a secret lover and seldom goes back home."


    "Yes, it''s all because of her attitude. How can she act like she''s above us? Humph, she would just


    be a nobody without the Fu family''s support."


    Finally, one of the women said, "Hush. You''re all correct, but I think it''s better not to talk about this in


    public. But I''m looking forward to their divorce..."


    The group of socialites decided to find a quiet ce to sit where they could gossip about this matter


    at length. Meanwhile, Rachel and Wendy had already walked to the other side of the hall.


    Rachel didn''t like parties like these. She preferred traditional parties where guests would have


    dinner at a round table. At such parties, there was no need to drink or walk around to greet people.


    She could just eat in peace.


    She knew almost nothing about the people here. If they were just having a traditional dinner, she


    wouldn''t mind.


    But now, they kept approaching her and making small talk, which was hard for a quiet person like


    her to adapt to.


    Rachel and Wendy chose a quiet corner and sat down together. The first thing Wendy did after


    sitting down was rub her ankle, and a trace of unbearable pain appeared on her beautiful face.


    "Miss Wen, did you sprain your ankle?" asked ■3


    Rachel with concern.


    Wendy looked up and nodded, pursing her lips in embarrassment. "It hurts, but it doesn''t matter."


    Her voice was soft and thin. For some reason, Rachel felt that there was something wrong.


    Before she could put her finger on it, however, Wendy asked, "Mrs. Fu, what would you like to eat?"


    Being addressed as Mrs. Fu made Rachel feel extremely ufortable, so she immediately smiled


    and said, "My name is Rachel Shen. You can just call me Rachel."


    Wendy was surprised to hear this. Then she nodded and shed a smile.


    As Rachel watched her, she couldn''t help but think that Wendy was a delicate woman who would be


    swallowed up by the people here.


    Confusion clouded her heart as she thought about everything that had happened since her arrival.


    It seemed that the people at this banquet did not have the courtesy of taking Wendy seriously.


    They only cared about their own interests. As soon as they had learned about Rachel''s identity, they


    had ignored the legitimate hostess of the party and surrounded her instead.


    Rachel had nevere across such people before. Even if they only cared about their own


    interests, how could they act so obviously? After all, it was Wendy''s engagement party.


    After sitting in silence for ten minutes, Rachel set her ss of champagne down on the table and ■3


    turned to look at Wendy.


    Even before conning here, her n had been to keep a low profile and leave once the banquet was


    over.


    So for her, things were going ording to n.


    But why wasn''t Wendy entertaining the guests, or walking around with her fiance, or even sitting


    with her friends?


    Her behavior just didn''t make sense. Sitting in this small corner, Rachel and Wendy were like quiet


    princesses that had been forgotten in the bustling world. They were just watching from afar as


    people dressed in elegant clothes clinked their sses and chatted happily.


    Finally, Rachel couldn''t help asking, "Miss Wen, why aren''t you mingling with the guests?"


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    A shy and embarrassed smile appeared on Wendy''s face. "I... These people... I don''t know any of


    them."


    Her voice was low and soft, like thin ice on the surface of a pond in the winter.


    Rachel was surprised to hear this.


    How could all the guests here be strangers to the hostess? However, considering that she had also


    met Wendy only minutes ago, she didn''t think it was proper to ask any more questions.


    The two of them fell into awkward silence once again.


    After a while, Rachel thought of something else to say, but when she turned to look at the woman


    beside her, she realized that she was lost in her ■3


    thoughts.


    "Miss Wen?" Rachel called her name softly.


    "Miss Wen?


    Wendy..." It was only after hearing her name three times that Wendy reacted.


    "What?" she asked, slowlying back to reality.


    Rachel was going to suggest that they should get something to eat, but before she could, Wendy


    abruptly stood up with a nervous expression on her face. Her eyes flitted around, as if searching for


    something. A momentter, they paused and darkened.


    Rachel stood up too and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    A smile emerged on Wendy''s lips, and she shook her head as if nothing had happened. "Nothing. I


    saw an acquaintance. Let me show you around, Rachel."


    Rachel paused for a moment and then answered, "Okay."


    She was really not used to such parties, and it was embarrassing for her to walk around with the


    hostess, but she had no choice.


    At that moment, there was a waiter frantically looking around the hall. Upon seeing Wendy, his eyes


    lit up and he strode toward her.


    "Miss Wen, Mr. Cheng is looking for you."


    Wendy seemed surprised to hear this, but she nodded and then turned to Rachel. "Rachel, do you


    ■3


    want toe with me? Mr. Fu might be there as well."


    Seeing the hint of a request on Wendy''s face, Rachel couldn''t say no, so she nodded her head in


    agreement.


    They followed the waiter to the back of the hall, where there was a door to a private room.


    As soon as the waiter pushed open the door, the ttering sounds of people ying mahjong came


    through.


    Wendy''s body seemed to stiffen in nervousness as she walked forward.


    Rachel hesitantly followed her inside.


    When they entered the room, someoneughed and said, "Wow, our Francis'' babe is here."


    Francis, who was sitting at the table, looked up. FHis eyes were full of affection as they fell on


    Wendy.


    The voice of that man drew everyone''s attention to the door. Flowever, most of their gazes passed


    the gentle Wendy andnded on the woman behind her.


    FHer refined facial features and graceful temperament immediately attracted most of their


    attentions.