Around Christmas, the news of Qiao Qiqiao and Isla Ge's official engagement was published in the Nanhua Daily. On the day of the engagement, not only did Situ Xie send a grand gift, but even Qiao Qiqiao's father, Sir Qiao Cheng, gave Isla Ge a platinum diamond watch. Isla Ge went to thank him, and the old man was so happy that he bought her a black fox cloak. He was afraid that Mrs. Vivienne would be too worried, so he bought her a white fox cloak. Miles Qiao was still a little hesitant about this marriage, and Mrs. Vivienne advised him: "I think you should just make do! You want to marry a rich lady, and you have high standards. You don't like girls from poorer families. Girls who come from families with tens of millions of wealth are spoiled. How can they be as easy to talk to as Isla Ge? You are bound to be restricted everywhere. The purpose of your money is to have fun. If you don't have fun, what do you need money for? Of course, after seven or eight years, Isla Ge's income must have greatly decreased. When she can't earn money to support the family, you can divorce. Under British law, divorce is quite difficult. The only legal reason is adultery. It's not easy for you to catch the other party committing adultery." Miles Qiao was convinced by these words. They quickly announced their marriage and entertained guests at the Hong Kong Hotel, which was a lively occasion. There are very few apartments in Hong Kong. It is too expensive for two people to rent a house, and it is too conspicuous to live with others. Mrs. Vivienne was reluctant to part with Isla Ge, so she invited Miles Qiao to live with her and allocated three rooms downstairs for them to live in, which was almost like a self-contained apartment. From then on, Isla Ge was sold to Mrs. Vivienne and Miles Qiao. She was busy all day, either making money for Mrs. Vivienne or getting people for her. But she also had happy moments, for example, on the night of the 30th of the lunar calendar, she and Miles Qiao went to Wan Chai alone to watch the fun. Wan Chai was not originally the central area of Hong Kong. It was remote and full of low-class entertainment venues. Only the annual New Year's Market, similar to the temple fairs in the north, was held there. At that time, there were huge crowds of people, and many fashionable people were willing to squeeze in and buy some odds and ends. Isla Ge saw a pot of jade plum blossoms at an antique stall, and Miles Qiao squeezed forward to bargain with the clerk. The man squatted on the top of the display, wearing a tight-fitting double-breasted wicker cotton jacket, plain trousers, and a felt hat pushed back on his head. The strong green light of the gasoline lamp hanging in the middle of the street shone on his hard-lined face, which made the mountains and hills look more undulating and the valleys deeper. He put one hand on his knee and gestured with the other hand. He bargained for a long time, but just shook his head. Isla Ge pulled Miles Qiao and said, "Let's go!" She squeezed in the crowd and felt a strange feeling. There were dense layers of people, dense layers of lights, and dense layers of dazzling goods with purple hair on their heads---small blue porcelain vases with two handles; rolls of green velvet piled with gold; cellophane bags filled with "Badao shrimp chips"; amber tropical durian cakes; Buddhist beads with big red tassels, goose yellow sachets; small black silver crosses; big sun hats on the tops of pagodas; but beyond these lights, people, and goods, there was the desolate sky and sea---boundless desolation, boundless terror. Her future was the same---she couldn't think about it, and when she did, she would only feel boundless terror. She had no long-term plans. Only in these trivial little things in front of her could her shrinking and uneasy heart get a temporary rest. Although it was dirty here, it did have a bit of carnival energy, with messy fireworks flying all over the streets. She and Miles Qiao walked while shrinking their bodies to avoid the red and green little broom stars. Miles Qiao suddenly shouted with a smile: "Hey! You're on fire!" Wei Long said: "You're lying again!" Then he turned his head to check her back. Miles Qiao said: "When have I ever lied to you! Hurry up and squat down, let me put it out." Wei Long really bent her knees and squatted on the ground. Miles Qiao didn't care about the dust on the soles of her shoes, and put out the fire on the hem of her cheongsam with two or three steps. A hole had been burned in the blue brocade cotton gown with a small silver longevity character. The two laughed for a while and continued to move forward. After a while, Miles Qiao suddenly said, "Really, Isla Ge, I am a person who loves to lie, but I have never lied to you, and I feel surprised." Isla Ge smiled and said, "Still thinking about this!" Miles Qiao pressed her and asked, "I have never lied to you, right?" Isla Ge sighed, "Never. Sometimes, you know clearly how happy a small lie can make me, but - no! You are too lazy to worry about it." Miles Qiao smiled and said, "You don't need me to make up lies for you. You can fool yourself. One day, you will have to admit how despicable I am. At that time, you will regret that you have sacrificed so much for me! You might even kill me in a rage! I simply I'm so scared!" Isla Ge said with a smile: "I love you, what does it have to do with you? No matter how strange it is, it can't be blamed on you." Miles Qiao said: "Anyway, the distribution of our rights and obligations now is too unfair." Isla Ge raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly: "Fairness? There is no such thing as fairness in the relationship between people. I want to ask, why did you suddenly feel guilty today?" Miles Qiao smiled: "Because I saw you celebrating the New Year so happily, like a child." Isla Ge smiled: "You see me happy, but you have to say a few uncomfortable words to stop me from being happy." The two walked along and looked at the exhibits on the stalls. There were everything here, but the most important thing was to sell people. Under the tragic gasoline lamp, there were groups of girls standing. Because of the exaggerated light and shadow, each of them had a light blue nose, green cheeks, and large patches of rouge on their cheeks, which turned purple. The youngest among them, who looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, was thin and petite, dressed in a suit, a short blue tweed jacket, and a bright red pleated silk skirt. She was shivering from the cold. Because of the shivering, her smile kept swaying, like a reflection in the water, and her teeth hit her lower lip, biting it. A drunk British sailor came from behind and patted her shoulder. She turned her head and flew a seductive glance at him - she had a pair of watery, drooping eyes, and the corners of her eyes went straight into her hair. Unfortunately, she had bright red chilblains on her ears. She put her hands on the sailor's arm and leaned her head on him. The two walked side by side for a few steps, and then another sailor came, both of them were tall and big, and held her. Her head was only as high as their elbows. A large group of sailors came from behind, all drunk, throwing fireworks in all directions. When they saw Isla Ge, they all took her as their target. The fireworks flew towards them like a meteor chasing the moon. Isla Ge was so scared that she ran away. Miles Qiao spotted their car, pulled her to the front of the car, pushed her in, and drove away from Wan Chai. Miles Qiao laughed and said, "What do those drunken loaches think of you?" Isla Ge said, "Really? What's the difference between me and them?" Miles Qiao held the roulette wheel with one hand and covered her mouth with the other hand and said, "If you keep talking nonsense---" Isla Ge smiled and begged for mercy, "Okay, okay! I admit that I said something wrong. How can there be no difference? They had no choice, and I volunteered!"
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