8 This World Is Full of White Lotuses

It was a Monday night and yet the queue to enter Club Apex snaked around the building. This was the ritziest nightclub in town at the moment, occupying 5 storeys from the 70th floor of a skyscraper in the business district. Because of its reputation of attracting the rich and famous, Club Apex was never short of party-goers.

Gasps broke out around Su Qiao as she stepped out of the passenger's seat of Yao Xun's Aston Martin. She was still wearing shades even though it was dark out, not because she was trying to remain incognito or earn herself some B points, but because she was didn't want the people around her to notice how nervous she was.

Sure, it was exciting, but this was not an atmosphere that Su Qiao was used to. And although she was confident that she would carry herself well even in a strange, new environment, it didn't hurt to have a little armour on her side.

Yao Xun tossed the keys to the eager valet before sauntering over to her. He didn't wrap an arm around her shoulder like he his other female companions and Su Qiao was grateful that he was being mindful of her reputation.

"It's noisy, isn't it?" he said with a cheeky grin. "But don't worry, I've got tables near the dance floors as well as a VIP room booked, so you can retreat into a private area at any time."

She smiled back at him and the whispers around them grew louder.

"Thanks, Ah Xun." It was a pity they knew each other too well to be each other's type. Yao Xun was a good man, despite what his exes might say.

They ignored the queue and walked straight up to the bouncer and the door bitch. Su Qiao didn't expect to get stopped, especially since she had gone out of her way to dress up for the occasion in a sleek satin D&G corset band dress that accentuated her silhouette. It was bolder than anything she'd ever worn in the public eye before, a complete contrast to her good girl image, but she had paired it with Cartier earrings and Valentino rockstud heels that gave her a more aggressive vibe.

It was surprising that she was still recognisable to her fans, all things considered.

"S-Su Qiao?!" It was the door bitch who called out to her as Su Qiao stepped onto the black carpet of the cordoned area that was VIPs only. It led to a set of private lifts that would take them straight into the private rooms section of the club.

Su Qiao blinked and looked back at the door bitch. She didn't think there was anything wrong with outfit and she had styled her hair according to Max Lao's instructions too so hopefully she wasn't about to become spectacularly embarrassed.

Thankfully though, the door bitch wasn't judging her in a critical manner. Her eyes were bright as she tore off a corner of the bouncer's guest list and borrowed a pen. "Could I please have an autograph? My sister and I really love your acting as Noble Consort Yang, it's our favourite drama!"

Noble Consort Yang. This was the hardest drama that Su Qiao had acted in to date, having to portray a great beauty while keeping the audience guessing whether she was truly innocent or secretly cunning. Su Qiao had relished the opportunity and in her past life, it had been longing memories of this set that kept her going, motivated her to try and get another acting role.

Su Qiao breathed out and gave this fan a trademarked sweet smile. She didn't have to force it because she was genuinely grateful for the appreciation.

"Sure," she said, reaching for the pen. There was a slight shake in her hands as she signed her autograph but because she wasn't doing this properly on a table, no one would be able to tell that it was because she was so emotionally charged right now. "Thank you for watching my dramas, I hope you'll enjoy the next one too."

"All the best! We'll keep supporting you!"

This little interaction didn't go amiss. More and more of the queue started trying to clamber over and catch Su Qiao's attention but the security guards monitoring the crowd prevented them from breaking through the barricades that kept them in line.

Yao Xun chuckled. "You dress like you should be speeding down the motorway on a bike but you're still so gentle with your fans."

Su Qiao returned the laugh but she didn't explain further. No need to tell Yao Xun that just a day ago, no one loved her anymore.

Once they reached the rooftop, the music blasting out of the superb sound-system reverberated throughout Su Qiao's body.

"The gang is near the dance floor at the moment, shall we go and say hi?" Yao Xun yelled in her ear to try and be heard.

It didn't make sense to go to the private rooms now if no one was there, so Su Qiao agreed. She knew that the 'gang' Yao Xun spoke of was his group of close mates that he often hung out with. And she did see some familiar faces, with the Zhou Group's crown prince, who was Yao Xun's best friend, conspicuously missing. But Zhou Ye was a busy man and Su Qiao rarely ever saw him at social events unless they were important functions.

On top of the couple of young masters that she recognised from her social circles, all who greeted her with big cheers and enthusiastic waves, there were a couple of others that she didn't know. Perhaps they were from less-wealthy rich families. The upper echelon wasn't just one big category, after all. They might all be considered high society in the eyes of the others but within the circle itself, there were different tiers too. The Su Family, the Zhou Family, and the Yao Family amongst a couple of others were in a class of their own.

And the Lin Family, of course.

Su Qiao looked around. She was surprised that she didn't see any Lins today. Apart from the 2 brothers who seemed to be in direct succession, the children of the less successful side branches were notorious for their partying ways. But there were only a couple of other people whose faces she vaguely recognised but couldn't put a name to.

Oh, and the girls dangling off their arms, of course. Ironically, Su Qiao recognised them more than the young masters, because most of them had something or another to do with her industry.

"Qiao Jie, what a surprise to see you here." The girl pressed against the side of one of the unknown boys gave her a saccharine smile. She had too much gloss on her lips and her makeup was thicker than normal, but Su Qiao recognised her as a new starlet that DFE had just signed on after a talent scout at her acting school. Su Qiao was her senior and they shared the same alumni but she had never spoken to this girl before and definitely didn't know her name.

It was obvious why a newbie like her was here and it made Su Qiao lose respect for her. This girl's contract with DFE should still be very new at this point and Su Qiao recalled her rising quickly to fame without much hindrance on her journey. Was this how she did it? Did she willingly come out here on her own to pick up a sponsor?

She nodded to the girl and took a seat next to Yao Xun without trying to make conversation. It was cold to the point of being discourteous but Su Qiao knew trouble when she saw it and wasn't interested in getting tangled up with white lotuses or green tea bitches anytime soon.

But just because she had plans to avoid trouble didn't mean that trouble wasn't going to seek her out.

"Qiao Jie, can I sit with you?" the girl asked, occupying the space next to Su Qiao before Su Qiao could reject her. "I'm a bit nervous," she confessed. "This is the first time I've been invited to a party, I don't know what's expected of me. Is it just drinks? Qiao Jie, can you teach me what to do?"

Su Qiao raised an eyebrow. Anyone who so much as clicked on a fan page of Su Qiao would know that she didn't party, didn't drink socially, and didn't smoke. That was the image her company crafted for her and as DFE's current no. 1 little red flower, Su Qiao might not be as renowned as a film empress, but she should be famous enough for this new girl to know that her 'Qiao Jie' didn't attend parties on the regular either.

Was she implying that Su Qiao often played around with these young masters, just to get a rise out of Su Qiao? Or was she recording the conversation?

Call Su Qiao paranoid but she'd had enough of being framed.

"I don't know, little sister," she drawled, leaning back to nudge Yao Xun so that he could listen in on this ridiculousness too. "Unfortunately, your Qiao Jie only knows these boys in the capacity of a young mistress and she's never been asked to provide her services before. Why don't you experience this yourself and then let me know what it's like afterwards? Not that I'll be using the knowledge but now I'm really curious."