Chương 27: News From Yue

October 30, 20XX (Tuesday)

The Grand Royal Palace Hotel- Milan

It was a sunny autumn day in Milan when Mei Li woke up the next day after spending her night yesterday talking nonsense with Ru Shi after the grand dinner; they had using Yang's credit card to the insistence of the Actress. Mei Li had been nervous about using his card for her purchase. But the fact that he had dared to challenge her to spend his money had been classic rich douchebag move on Yang's part and it made her angry that he could just throw away his money like it could be picked up from the floor in piles which he could probably do, now that she thought about it.

Having made his own successful IT business made him more than comfortable enough to spend on lavish things while getting VIP treatment but the fact that he had inherited four other companies from his family made him far above the wealthy one percent of the population.

Those facts still did not calm her nerves. Would you be calm if you use a card that is paid by someone you can't say was even your friend? But the fact that she could afford to pay Yang back was what calmed her. She had achieved her success too. Although not as high as Yang's, she could still puff her chest up and indulged a little in Milan.

If Yang were anywhere like Father Zhao, he would still probably insist that she use the card or else she'll receive a large reprimand about being like family, etc. so that she would feel guilty about not receiving his help. All member of the Zhao Family knows how to guilt trip a person in accepting what they want.

Mei Li suddenly remembered that she had many things to say to Yue, so she quickly took her phone and texted her best friend, 「Yue, are you working?」

The reply came fast; 「Yeah, I'm free. There's another shoot, but that's 4 hours from now. Why?」

Mei Li: 「I heard you started to take big projects again?]」

Yue: 「Who did you hear it from? Dad must have talked about it. Did he begin lecturing you too? Mom's the only one supportive.」

Mei Li: 「I support you also! But it was your brother that told me...」

「What?!」 Yue's reply was followed with three different horrified and shock emojis.

Mei Li jumped when the phone on her hands rang. She answered it was knowing the overreaction that will follow that is the chaos named Zhao Yue.

"Are you texting my brother?! When did you become so close?! Is that the reason why he asked for your phone number?! Why am I only knowing this now?! TELL ME!"

And Mei Li proceeded with telling her all the things that happened with Yang, from the way she met Yang at a cafe in France to the day they had bid their goodbyes at the airport.

She told her Yue everything that had happened, no matter how small the issue she perceived it, and snorted with exasperation when Yue said, "…I'm going to use your name, so he's going to reply to me. You won't be angry, right?"

Mei Li shook her head in fondness at her best friend, "Go ahead. Did he gave you the Gucci dress and the tracksuit yet?"

"Yeap, It was amazing to see him carrying that many paper bags." Yue snickered as she continued, "… so you have a credit card big brother pays from his pocket at the same time he challenged you to make him flinch with regret?"

Mei Li raised her eyebrows as she cautiously answered, "Why?"

The painter scowled when Yue's laughed reverberated from the phone's audio to her ears. Mei Li helplessly touched her nose as she listened to Yue ridiculed her, "You do know how much of a miser, you are right? Aside from your buying probably three pairs of Louboutin Shoes, I don't see you going anywhere else and let me tell you… Mom had bought a private Yacht more than 10 Million Dollars before Big Brother called her out, but he still paid for it and then casually bought the other yacht for himself. You shouldn't have tried to rose up from the challenge. He was baiting you, and you ate it like a fish."

"Then I'll buy an apartment here in Milan!" Mei Li snapped while repeatedly cursing Yang and all of the millionaires and billionaires for being too costly.

"You need to buy a building if you want to irritate Big brother." Yue's reply made the painter's eyes widen comically, sad reality drowning her like a tsunami.

She was a painter that could earn a couple of million dollars with her paintings. Her last collection had made her a net total of 9 Million… a million short to buying the yacht Yang had just casually paid for Mother Zhao.

Mei Li briefly cursed herself for being too prideful to dare to call out the challenge before returning to cursing Yang in her mind with profanities that would make the CEO laugh if he heard it. What a difference a millionaire to a billionaire truly is.

"But besides that! Let's talk about your exhibition? How's that doing?" Yue changed their topic with a grin knowing how much Mei Li would have been pouting now. The petite Wu Mei Li had always been a sore loser.

"Doing great! We're opening the day after tomorrow on the second!" Mei Li's enthusiastic reply made the Model smile.

"…I heard my brother's foreign friend and his wife would be there. They're a fan of you too… I think you know his wife? I remember you mentioning about her and Louboutins." Yue trailed, remembering the first time Mei Li had bought the red bottom shoes with her first hard earn money.

"You mean the Li Alexandre and Li Ru Shi? Didn't your brother tell you? I hitched a ride with them to Milan. Your brother is a blabbermouth and exposed my identity. Are you guys fighting or something?"

"Or something... He won't reply to me. No matter what I do. He's still doesn't like me working as a model." complained the model to the painter.

"To tell you the truth, we did talk about this matter a little bit." Mei Li admitted, feeling guilty if she would keep what she knew to herself.

"About me? Tell me more, please?" Yue pleaded. If they had a video called, she would have seen the colossal pout Yue had.

"He hinted at me that he inherited only half of the companies because he wanted you to have the rest… If you talk to him more about your side in this, I think he would approve."

Mei Li heard Yue sigh loudly from the other side. She could understand the frustration even miles apart from her.

Yue, as the only other child aside from Yang, is the presumptive heiress in case anything happened to her older brother. She had all the making and teachings of a successful leader and businesswoman, but she had no motivation. Yue had always hated leading people and making substantial and permanent decisions. Being a model had been the career that had let her shed her image as the heiress Zhao Yue of the Zhao Conglomerate and become the simple girl named Yue.

"Alright, I'll do that… You be careful there in Milan and try not to hurt yourself overthinking and…" Yue and Mei Li had a short, tense moment before Yue continued, "Although, I like the idea of your being my sister-in-law. I think you should not act on your attraction for my big brother yet… Your feelings are like haywire now… The two of you need to take this slow. Grow your relationship, you know?"

Mei Li's eyes soften as she replied with affirmation, "Yeah."

This was the side of Yue that only Mei Li can see. Her family always treats her like a little kid; they don't see the 26-year-old woman who had risen from the ground up into modeling.

After their call, Yue, with a smirk, texted her mother about the 'challenge' her big brother had issued which was just basically another way to track Mei Li's habits and location. She had also texted some of the things that Mei Li told her about her brother that even Yue, his sister, had been surprised to know, e.g., how attracted and out of character, her brother had acted.

'I'll continue texting mom about you and Mei Li if you don't reply to me. I'm sure you'll know that I was the one that told.' Yue snorted to her brother mentally. Her evil smirk making her beautiful face closely resembling Yang's.