章 40: "I Actually Had Fun."
Zoe's heart was beating really fast as the cab dropped her in front of her house. What was she going to say she had been doing?
She pushed open the door gently and could only hope her mother wasn't in the living room. She wasn't a very good liar, and her mother knew that.
"You're back? How did it go?" Mrs. Jiang asked, making her jump in shock.
How did what go? Zoe wondered, wildly looking at her father, who was watching her. As though he realized she didn't know what her mother was talking about, he quickly asked.
"Yes, how was the welcome party? It seems everyone gets to have a welcome party these days," Chairman Jiang said with a small smile, making Zoe smile.
"It was fun. I actually had fun," Zoe said honestly.
"I'm glad you did. I'm sure glad you're growing up now and have abandoned your silly dancing dreams," Mrs. Jiang said, making Zoe wince.
"You can go and freshen up, and I'll ask them to serve you dinner upstairs," Mrs. Jiang said with a pleased smile.
"Alright. Thanks, Mom, thanks, Dad," Zoe said, going to give her dad a peck.
Immediately she got upstairs; she sighed in relief as she peeled off her clothes and rushed into the shower. She thought of Zhang Wei with a smile on her face... Maybe she didn't mind going on a blind date with him anymore. He seemed like a really nice guy.
Immediately she stepped out of the shower and dried her body, and had put on her bathing robe. She sat in front of her mirror to apply her face lotions.
"Come in," She said when someone knocked on her door. She smiled when Ann walked into the room. She had thought it was the maid who was coming with her food.
"Hi, sis. I was going to come see you after this," Zoe said, turning in her seat to look at Ann, who sat at the edge of her bed.
"Really? It's a good thing I saved you the stress. So tell me, where did you go to?" Ann asked with an unsmiling face making Zoe's smile falter.
They paused when one of the maids tapped on the door before carrying in a tray of food for Zoe and setting it on the dressing table in front of Zoe.
Just as she turned to leave, Ann cocked her brow at Zoe, who frowned, wondering what was wrong. Oh! She wanted her to thank the maid.
"Thanks," Zoe told the maid as she opened the door to leave. The maid paused with a look of wonder on her face. It seemed like a miracle was going on in the house. Both young mistresses were becoming more polite.
"You're welcome," The maid said shyly before rushing off to tell her colleagues.
"So? Back to my question," Ann told her.
"I told you I went out with a friend," Zoe reminded her as she started eating.
"Yes, you did. My question is, which dance academy did you sign up with? You never mentioned that," Ann said, watching her closely.
She might be acting like the nice dumb sister, but she still cared about the family enough not to want Zoe to make any silly mistake, so she needed to check out the academy.
"Do not think of lying to me. Else I will be really cross," Ann warned when she noticed Zoe was suddenly avoiding her gaze and biting her lips nervously. Why was she being nervous over such a simple question? Ann wondered.
Was it possible Jin had recognized her and had called Grace? Zoe wondered. "I'm sorry, sis," She said with her head bowed.
"I'm listening," Ann said, waiting to hear what Zoe was up to patiently. She had simply asked because she wanted to know, but now it seemed Zoe was hiding something or had lied about something.
"It's Everything Dance Academy," She said, biting her nails nervously.
"That's unladylike! Get your hands out of your mouth," Ann chided softly, making Zoe sit up immediately.
"Relax. It's not a board meeting," Ann said with a smile, making Zoe frown. Wasn't Grace angry about her attending Everything Dance Academy? She wondered.
"I saw your personal assistant," Zoe said, trying to change the subject.
"Really? What was she doing?" Ann asked with interest. She was really worried about Grace.
"She was just drinking by the bar," Zoe said.
Drinking? Didn't Grace say she never took alcohol? Ann wondered with a frown.
"Did she look okay?" Ann asked with a worried frown.
"She did until I left. Why isn't she coming home?" Zoe asked.
"Mom doesn't want her in the house. I will leave you to enjoy your meal now," Ann said before standing up to leave.
"Thanks, sis," Zoe called after her as she left.
As Ann left, she wondered why Zoe was reluctant to tell her the name of the Dance Academy. She decided to look it up immediately after she got to her room. She also made a mental note to check up on Grace before going to bed. She suddenly felt like a chaperone for both sisters.
************
"Welcome home, darling. I guess you had a lovely day," Madam Zhang said with a smile immediately after Zhang Wei entered his room, whistling happily.
His happy smile transformed into a frown when he saw his mother. "Why are you inside my room in my absence?" He asked, looking around to make sure nothing was shifted from its position.
"You don't think I, as your mother, know you well enough to know you don't like anyone touching your things or changing their position? And even if I do touch them, I know how you like to have them arranged," She said with a smile as she walked up to him to touch his cheek.
"That's not the point, Mom. I'm talking about privacy. Do I have to get my own place and move out of the house in order to make you understand my need for my personal space?" He asked, eyeing her wearily.
"Fine. I'm sorry. Okay? Stop threatening me by saying you will move out," She said with a frown of displeasure as she walked towards the door.
"I only came in to show you the pictures of the three ladies you'll be going on blind dates with and also to drop the document you'll be signing," She told him.
"So soon? And what document is that?" He asked, picking up a paper that looked like a contract.
"You've got to be kidding me! Why are you guys taking this stuff so seriously? And why did you make new rules? I thought we had an agreement?" He asked when he saw a clause in the document that he had to go on at least three dates with each lady, and if he failed to do so, the deal would be off, and they would bring any woman of their choice.
"Well, we figured that first impressions can be quite deceptive, so we decided that you need to at least spend six hours with a person to determine whether or not you liked them. And since we already agreed on you spending a minimum of two hours on every date, and we know you well enough to know you won't exceed those two hours, we decided to include this," His mother told him with a smile.
"How many pictures are there?" He asked without touching the pictures she had dropped on his table.
"You mean how many ladies? Well, I selected the top six. I felt I should at least give you the chance of selecting the final top three you would want to meet yourself," She said with a winning smile.
"How thoughtful of you," He said sarcastically as he took off his tie and slowly folded it up before unbuttoning his shirt gradually.
"Mom? Shouldn't you be excusing me already?" He asked when she still stood there.
"I wanted to see my son's abs so I can at least brag to my friends about it," She said with a wink before walking away.
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