Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 29 The Girlfriend in the Dragon Robe
"What should we give him for his birthday?"

After Li Xiaoshi left, Zheng Yi had been thinking about this matter.

This birthday party is destined to be extraordinary. Most of the top tycoons in Southeast Asia will come. This is also the first time that Zheng Yi appears in front of these bigwigs as a member of the Li family.

Of course, he may not be a member of the Li family in the future.

But no matter whether he is a member of the Li family or not, this birthday banquet will probably determine to a large extent whether he can gain a foothold in Nanyang in the future.

Then this birthday gift becomes particularly important.

"Master, I heard that the master was a Jinshi in his youth and loved poetry and the four treasures of the study. Why don't we go to the market and see if there are any good brushes, calligraphy and paintings?"

Hearing this, Zheng Yi rolled his eyes at Wu Wenhao.

You're crazy, spending money to buy a birthday gift for the old man.

"Master, you haven't left this villa for several days since you were injured. I know you must be thinking about designing something for the old man, or making something yourself, but you're just working on something behind closed doors."

"Why, you want to go out and play?"

"Yes, yes, Master, go out for some fresh air, change your mind, and walk around the market. Maybe you'll get some inspiration and know what to make for the old man."

"Go change your clothes, little ghost."

What Wu Wenhao said does make some sense.

After a few days of recuperation, Zheng Yi's injury has indeed improved a lot. The most important thing is that he really feels a little uncomfortable staying at home and wants to go out.

It’s boring to be a stay-at-home these days. There’s neither TV nor computer, and Zheng Yi can’t stay here.

In order to combine work and rest, Zheng Yi took Wu Wenhao to stroll around the streets for half a day, and ate at a snack stall in the evening. They accidentally walked into a place called "Qiongya Grand Theater". Wu Wenhao jumped up and down and insisted on dragging him in to see it.

"Master, look, this is Miss Wang's poster. Today's Cantonese opera features Miss Wang herself performing "The Princess of the Imperial Court." Oh, Master, let's go watch the opera, shall we?"

"What, you know him?"

"I'm afraid there's no one in Kuala Lumpur who doesn't know Miss Wang. She's the dream girl of all the young and old men in Kuala Lumpur. Hey, Master, please, let's go watch a show for a while."

"You've been out playing for most of the day, and you still want to watch a play? Have you finished your homework? Go home quickly. Do you think I'm as idle as you and have time to watch a play?"

"Oh~"

Wu Wenhao pouted unhappily upon hearing this. He lowered his head, carrying Zheng Yi's bags of shopping, looking rather pitiful.

Zheng Yi ignored him and was about to lead him away when he suddenly heard a voice behind him calling him, "Mr. Zheng? Are you coming to see the show too?"

Zheng Yi turned around and said, "Miss Jiazhi? You, are you here to watch the show?"

"Well, my friend is performing today, and I'm here to support her. Mr. Zheng, do you like Cantonese opera? Aren't you from Fujian?"

"Ah... yes, I like it. I like it very much, especially the Emperor's Daughter Flower. I like it the most and came here specially to listen to it."
On the side, Wu Wenhao couldn't help rolling his eyes, and hid behind Zheng Yi sensibly without saying a word.

"Miss Jiazhi, have you bought your ticket?"

Li Jiazhi shook her head and said, "No, has Mr. Zheng bought the ticket?"

"Ah, I don't have any either. Look, what a coincidence! Let's buy some together."

Li Jiazhi smiled and lowered her eyes when she heard this. "The Imperial Girl Flower is very popular and will be in bloom soon. I'm afraid it's not easy to buy it now. I'd better ask Jiazhi to ask a friend to see if they can save a spot for you."

"Ah, okay."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a loud shout from inside: "Jiazhi~~~,"

Looking back, I saw a woman in a dragon robe running towards me from the direction of the theater, holding the hem of the robe.

Then he hugged Li Jiazhi.

"Why are you here just now? The show is about to start. Come on, give me a kiss."

As he said that, he pouted his lips and tried to kiss Li Jiazhi forcefully.

Li Jiazhi tried to dodge but couldn't, she kept saying: "Oh, don't do that, you're still wearing makeup, and you kissed my face full of rouge." "mua~mua~, mua~, mua~, just kiss, just kiss, hehe, you're finally here."

Seeing this, Zheng Yi couldn't help but look at the theater's poster and discovered that the person who forcibly "molested" Li Jiazhi was actually Miss Wang, the dream lover of all the men in Kuala Lumpur, as Wu Wenhao said.

She is indeed good-looking, but with heavy makeup, it is hard to tell her underlying complexion, but she looks heroic. Wearing a dragon robe and dressed like a man, she looks quite dashing.

"A performer? And she's actually her best friend? Is she such a big fan of opera?"

"Eh? You brought a male companion today, Aoyou~~, my big brother will be so jealous if he sees me, I'll go tell him."

Li Jiazhi: "Oh, you, stop it. This is the Zheng Yi I mentioned to you, Mr. Zheng. He's also a fan of yours. We just ran into each other at the theater entrance."

"Mr. Zheng, this is my best friend, Wang..."

Before Li Jiazhi could finish her introduction, Miss Wang, who was wearing a dragon robe, suddenly jumped up in surprise: "Zheng Yi! Mr. Zheng! Oh my God, it's you! I admire you so much. Hello, hello, hello."

As she spoke, the woman grabbed Zheng Yi's hand and actually took the initiative to shake hands with him, shaking his hand back and forth for a long time.

"Oh my God, Jiazhi always mentions you to me, and my dad too. My dad has been mentioning you every day lately. I've been hearing about you for months, and today, I finally saw you in person! Hahaha!"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

This woman is really outgoing and not shy at all.

"Mr. Zheng, do you like listening to my plays? That's great. Come on, I'll sign one for you and you sign one for me."

As she spoke, the woman untied her dragon robe, took out a photo of herself from the pocket of her short-sleeved shirt and shorts, signed her name with a pen, and gave it to Zheng Yi.

"Hurry up, sign one for me too. I really admire you."

"Wang...Qiao...Yun?"

"Eh? You don't know me? Don't you like my plays?"

"Um... no, sorry, I didn't buy a ticket."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi took out a notebook from his pocket, tore off a page, wrote his signature on it and gave it to her.

Although he didn't know what was so good about collecting his own signature.

"Hey, it doesn't matter if there are tickets or not, they are all our own property. Come on, I'll arrange seats for you."

After saying that, Wang Qiaoyun put Zheng Yi's signature into her pocket, and without adjusting her dragon robe, she reached out, grabbed Li Jiazhi with one hand and Zheng Yi with the other, and led them inside hand in hand.

Finally, they found a few seats on the edge of the backstage and temporarily added stools for them to sit on.

"Right here, let me tell you, this is the best seat for watching a show. Oh, I'm not going to tell you anymore. I have to go put on some makeup. Don't leave after the show. Mr. Zheng, I'll buy you a drink later."

As she said that, she said "mua" again, kissed Li Jiazhi again, and then ran away in a hurry.

"Oh, you're going to die!"

Seeing Zheng Yi's curiosity, Li Jiazhi explained, "Qiaoyun and I were classmates in middle school. Singing opera is her hobby, and this is her family's opera house."

"You two have such a good relationship."

"Yes."

Li Jiazhi: "She is my best friend."

Zheng Yi was sensitive to Li Jiazhi's mood swings. Thinking back to the day when she told him about saving him and bragged to her friends about it, he asked in surprise, "Are you being accommodating to her?"

Sometimes friends are divided into strong and weak ones, and judging from Li Jiazhi's expression and actions, she seems to be the weak one. In front of Miss Wang... why does she feel a little humble?

You have to know that she is the daughter of Li Jiqian and the sister of Li Xiaoshi. Among the Chinese in Kuala Lumpur, her background is almost at the top. Since Miss Wang is Chinese, it is impossible that she is inferior to her in background.

Upon hearing this, Li Jiazhi didn't deny it, but rather admitted generously, "Yes, I really do envy her. Being friends with her is the luckiest thing in my life."

(End of this chapter)