James and Emma had not shown up yet at the banquet hall. James' parents, Daniel and Angela, welcomed all their friends and guests. They did not sit down until Emma's parents arrived. They looked very harmonious from afar.
Wearing an elegant long dress, Vivian walked through the crowd with a smile. She asked one of the waiters where the bathroom was.
There were two bathrooms in total, one for the guests and one for the staff.
Vivian went into the guests' bathroom first, walked around, and then went into the staff's.
The staff's bathroom was a certain distance from the banquet hall. To get there, she needed to cross a small garden full of lovely, blooming roses.
In the bathroom, Vivian stood in front of the wash basin, put her handbag aside, and turned on the tap. She washed her hands and checked her makeup in the mirror.
The staff was busy at the moment, so the bathroom was empty and quiet.
Vivian listened to the sound of flowing water for nearly two minutes. Then, she heard footsteps approaching. She turned off the tap, took out a lipstick from her bag, and applied some on her lips.
"Miss Ye." A waiter came in and greeted Vivian while turning on the tap next to hers.
Vivian nodded slightly and asked, "How is it going?"
The waiter squeezed out some liquid soap from the ornate bottle on the sink and unhurriedly lathered his hands. He didn't cast a glance at Vivian.
The two did not make eye contact their entire conversation and pretended to be strangers.
"A special person was assigned to oversee Mr. Shi's red wine, but I made sure he called in sick tonight. I filled in for him. The red wine will be tested before being sent to Mr. Shi. We can't drug it then."
Vivian paused and looked at herself in the mirror. "Don't worry. Before you give Mr. Shi his red wine later, you should walk past Jessica. I will be with her."
As soon as she finished speaking, Vivian stuffed her lipstick back into her bag and walked out of the bathroom as if nothing happened.
The waiter did not leave until three minutes later.
When Vivian passed by the garden, she took out a hand cream from her bag and applied it on her hands.
She lifted her hands to her face and smelled that sweet, jasmine fragrance that Jessica liked.
She returned to the banquet hall and looked for Jessica. She saw her sitting with her family. John and Nina were also there.
Vivian approached quietly and made sure that none of them spotted her. She stood by close enough to hear the Shi family's conversation.
Sam was holding a walking stick. He was smiling, but he was obviously growing weaker by the day.
"Honey, is Dad all right?" Nina gently pulled on John's sleeve and looked at Sam worriedly.
"He's fine. That's how it is when people get old. The doctor said he would be okay as long as he's not stressed out." Although John looked calm, his eyes were filled with sadness.
Nina twined her fingers with John's, comforting him silently.
Emma's father and Daniel were welcoming guests elsewhere while Emma's mother and Angela were chatting about their children.
"We have been spoiling Emma since she was a child. She's not good at doing housework or taking care of people. I hope you don't take that against her." Emma's mother was still a little anxious. She still had not wrapped her head around the fact that her daughter was about to marry into a rich family.
Emma's family was not of equal social rank as the Shi family.
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