Ding Jingman sat on the bed crying for a while, gradually calming down. Yu Yi brought a basin of warm water from the bathroom and wrung out a hot towel to wipe her face. Ding Jingman harshly wiped off her remaining makeup.
Yu Yi softly reminded, “Madam, be gentle. Wiping too hard can roughen the skin.”
Ding Jingman looked at Yu Yi suspiciously.
Yu Yi continued, “When there’s powder on the face, hard wiping will grind it into the skin.”
Ding Jingman looked half-believing at the towel in her hand.
“Madam, please lie down. Let me help you clean your face.” Yu Yi took the towel, washed it in the water, wrung it nearly dry, then gently placed it on Ding Jingman’s face.
After a while, she used the towel to remove the remaining makeup. After cleaning the towel, she wiped her face again, then changed to a basin of cool water and applied a cold towel.
After completing this process, Yu Yi took the mirror from the table and handed it to Ding Jingman. Looking in the mirror, Ding Jingman noticed her skin looked more taut and had a slight translucent quality. She looked at Yu Yi in surprise: “A Ju, how do you know these things?”
Yu Yi replied, “I used to serve a lady who always did this.”
Ding Jingman happily looked in the mirror for a while, then suddenly asked, “A Ju, was that lady good at styling herself?” This had won Feibaai’s heart. If she could style herself well, she was sure she wouldn’t be inferior to Yu Taoge.
Yu Yi smiled, “That lady was known as a socialite.”
Early the next morning, Ding Jingman appeared at the dining table in this attire, seeing Tu Feibai’s admiring gaze and Yu Taoer’s jealous eyes, which made Ding Jingman extremely happy.
Chapter 20 Warlords of the Republic (2)
Yu Yi taught Ding Jingman how to stand, sit, and walk to highlight her figure. Ding Jingman had practiced these for many days. Yu Yi instructed her to describe everything as if she had seen how that socialite behaved, avoiding being too direct.
Yu Yi hinted that the socialite rarely got angry and always maintained a charming smile, even when angry, paying attention to her image. With just a glance of suppressed anger, she could make men willingly do her bidding.
Ding Jingman practiced expressions in front of the mirror, focusing on how to look angry.
That evening, Tu Feibai came home around eight or nine o’clock. As he got out of the car, he heard faint music from the house, becoming clearer as he walked up the steps. He recognized it as a song by a popular singer.
Entering the downstairs living room, he saw Ding Jingman dancing alone, moving as if with a partner, extending her arms and spinning to the song’s rhythm.
She wore a well-tailored apricot-yellow cheongsam that traced her elegant curves, her enchanting eyes half-closed, a sweet smile on her face, completely absorbed in the dance and unaware of his return.
A slight smile crossed Tu Feibai’s face as he quietly approached her, extending his hands, his left hand grasping her raised palm, his right arm encircling her waist.
Ding Jingman was startled, her eyes wide. Recognizing Tu Feibai, she smiled shyly, a blush rising to her cheeks: “Feibai.”
Tu Feibai hushed her and began dancing with her. Ding Jingman was secretly delighted, and to hide the triumphant gleam in her eyes, she lowered her gaze.
A’Jie’s method was indeed effective.
After dancing a couple of rounds, the record ended. Ding Jingman looked up at Tu Feibai, who leaned down and kissed her. They passionately kissed for a while, then fell onto the sofa.
Ding Jingman felt A’Jie was her lucky star. Since her arrival, Tu Feibai had begun to like her again, often spending the night in her room. Sometimes, when he had no social engagements, he would come to her room after dinner.
Therefore, Ding Jingman rarely made A’Jie do heavy work. Besides helping her with makeup and dressing, she often shared details about her relationship with Tu Feibai, seeking her advice.
One afternoon, after Ding Jingman fell asleep, Yu Yi quietly left the room. Downstairs and seeing no one, she entered the left corridor of the main hall. Tu Feibai’s study was at the end of the corridor, and she wanted to search for something potentially useful.
Before reaching the study, Yu Yi saw the door suddenly open, and a person emerged. She had seen this person several times before – a military officer named Gong Shi, who worked under Tu Feibai. Gong Shi looked somewhat nervous when he saw Yu Yi: “What are you doing here?”
Yu Yi raised the feather duster in her hand: “Third Mistress is napping. A’Jie is afraid of disturbing her, so she wanted to clean downstairs.”
Gong Shi closed the study door behind him and spoke sternly: “This area doesn’t need your cleaning. Hasn’t Wu Ma told you?”
Yu Yi spoke softly and timidly: “A’Jie just wants to do more, so the Mistress will like A’Jie more.”
Gong Shi lowered his head: “Yes.” He hurriedly left the living room.
Yu Yi only gradually calmed down now, lowering her head to straighten her clothes and braids, her cheeks still red. She never expected Gong Shi would touch her inappropriately in the living room.
Fei Bai lit a cigarette, sat to the side quietly waiting for her to finish, and asked: “Is Jing Man upstairs?”
Yu Yi answered: “The madam is asleep.”
Fei Bai said: “Are you done with your work?”
Yu Yi nodded: “A Ju will return to her room now.”
“Come, go out with me,” Fei Bai said decisively, extinguishing the half-smoked cigarette and standing to leave.
Yu Yi was uncertain but could only follow.
Outside, she saw Fei Bai had already walked to his black sedan, opened the car door, and gestured for her to get in. Recalling Gong Shi’s earlier actions, Yu Yi shook her head: “The madam will wake up soon…”
Seeing her reluctance, Fei Bai frowned: “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you. Get in the car!”
Since he spoke so firmly, Yu Yi couldn’t refuse, fearing she might lose her job. She carefully climbed into the car. Fei Bai closed her door and walked to the other side, sitting in the driver’s seat and starting the car.
This was Yu Yi’s first time in a car. Although she had seen cars before, actually sitting inside and feeling this “car” that moved without horses made her involuntarily nervous. She didn’t even lean back, sitting rigidly straight.
Fei Bai glanced sideways and saw her tension, curving his lips and suddenly stepping on the accelerator. The car suddenly sped up, and she let out a low cry, involuntarily leaning back against the seat. He burst out laughing.
Yu Yi looked at Fei Bai, saw his hearty laughter, and began to laugh too, finally completely relaxing and leaning back, watching the scenery fly by outside.
Fei Bai spoke while driving: “Gong Shi is good at everything, just too lustful. But you can be at ease – as long as I’m here, he won’t dare touch you again.”
Yu Yi remained silent.
Seeing no response, he continued: “Is Jing Man good to you?”
“The madam is very good to me.”
“That’s good.” After a pause, he added: “She’s not my wife, just a concubine.”
Yu Yi turned to look out the side window. She already understood Fei Bai’s situation – his wife had died of illness when he was not yet successful, and after meeting a patron and becoming a militia leader, he married a second concubine who then ran away with another man. Since then, he had not remarried a main wife but had taken two more concubines.
Fei Bai found another topic: “Your first time in a car?”
“Mm.”
“First time in a car and not getting carsick? Quite rare.”
Yu Yi’s heart tightened, secretly glancing at Fei Bai – was he suspecting something? She half-genuinely, half-feigning ignorance asked: “Can one get carsick in a car?”
“Hahaha!” Fei Bai laughed loudly again. In the end, he didn’t take Yu Yi anywhere, just drove around and returned home.
