Jin City, July.
The fragmented morning light sprayed onto Xu Yao's face, intensifying her already jittery expression.
Tugging at her white dress, Xu Yao turned her head, her voice soft and mellow as she asked, "Auntie Mei, will Brother Chi Han really not mind about my loss of smell?"
Standing on the side and helping Xu Yao with her hair, Mei Ying heard this question and immediately reached out to pat Xu Yao's shoulder in a comforting manner. She laughed and replied, "How could that be? Your engagement with Brother Chi Han was decided a long time ago. The Chi family can't wait to hold an engagement banquet out of fear that our Yao Yao might slip away. How could they mind such things?"
"Are you sure he won't mind? But as a perfumer without a sense of smell..." As she spoke, Xu Yao was nearly brought to tears.
Without a sense of smell, it meant that she could never intersect with the perfume industry again, an industry she'd been an excellent perfumer in. This was a considerable blow to Xu Yao, who had aspired to be a top-notch perfumer since childhood.
"What if you have no sense of smell? Yao Yao's grades are outstanding, and no matter what industry she chooses to work in, she will still be a hot talent. And our Xu family is not short of money, how dare the Chi family look down on Yao Yao." Hearing Xu Yao bemoan her fate, Mei Ying raised her voice to soothe.
The mother and daughter exchanged a few more intimate words. Finally, accompanied by Mei Ying, Xu Yao stepped into the room and made her way to the banquet hall.
Though it was only an engagement banquet, the Xu and Chi families were both prominent in Jin City. The event had to be grand to save face.
"Mom, sister, why did you take so long? I couldn't wait anymore." Seeing Xu Yao coming down, Xu Jiao hurriedly took a step forward, affectionately holding onto Xu Yao's arm and acting lovable.
Xu Jiao also wore a white dress today, her makeup on point. It made her look more mature.
"On a day as special as today, Yao Yao naturally has to prepare well." Hearing her younger daughter's coquettish talk, Mei Ying laughed and teased.
"Yes, it's only right for sister to dress up nicely." Responding to Mei Ying's words, Xu Jiao smiled back. The mother and daughter exchanged a look, an undercurrent of mutual understanding.
"Yao Yao." In the midst of their conversation, Chi Han, dressed in formal attire, came over. His warm face held a genial smile.
"Brother Chi Han..." When Xu Yao saw Chi Han coming, her face flushed "whoosh" all of a sudden, her hands anxiously fidgeting with her dress, rendered somewhat at a loss.
"Brother-in-law is here." Xu Jiao watched the two's minor interaction and called out softly, with a complex look on her face.
A moment later, Xu Jiao took out a small glass bottle from her handbag, then proudly said to Xu Yao, "Sister, I've made a new scent. Could you help me see if the base note is good or not? Or is it too cloying?"
As she was saying, Xu Jiao lightly sprayed towards an empty space and then fanned the air with her hand.
The elegantly light fruity aroma filled the air. The fragrance had a bit of a sweet richness that Chi Han didn’t particularly fancy, resulting in his slight frown.
But upon hearing this, Xu Yao's little face turned pale in an instant!
No one apart from Mei Ying knew about her loss of smell, but now...
Xu Yao had her head down a bit, not knowing what to do, her entire body was even beginning to tremble.
It seemed Xu Jiao did not notice Xu Yao's abnormal reaction, she only tugged at her arm and coquettishly said, "Sister, sister, you're the best at distinguishing scents. Give me some advice quickly, please."
"Jiao Jiao, I..." Tears were welling up in Xu Yao's eyes. After softly calling her sister's name, she turned to Mei Ying with a pleading look in her eyes.