Lai Hui woke up in the morning to see the luxurious gold carvings, but to her, it was all desolate and bleak, like a graveyard overgrown with withered grass. Barefoot, she jumped out of bed, stepped onto the cold floor, and did the first thing she did every morning – she pulled back the curtains to let the sunlight in. But today was overcast, with no sun. Her phone on the vanity rang, displaying a number all too familiar. She slid the phone to her ear. “Come to a banquet with me tonight, get ready early!” “Okay!” “I can’t go with you to pick out clothes, ask Cheng Lan to accompany you!” “Okay!” The sky was a blurry gray, and suddenly, it was as if a bucket had been overturned, pouring down heavy rain that battered the tender hibiscus petals, twisting the bright red in the gray rain mist. The road was full of puddles, and car tires splashed huge sprays of water. In the back seat, Lai Hui jolted, and the driver in front immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, Miss Lai!” “It’s okay!” she settled back, responding indifferently.
The car drove into a garden villa, where a woman in blue holding a white umbrella got into the car. “This rain is killing me, why do we still have to go out? Why don’t you book an in-home service?” Cheng Lan was a delicate woman, but inside, she was all sharpness and efficiency. Like Lai Hui, she was someone else’s mistress; the difference was Lai Hui did it for money, while Cheng Lan did it for love. “Booking in-home service costs a fee!” Lai Hui placed the dripping umbrella into a plastic rain cover. “A service fee?” Cheng Lan exclaimed in surprise. “Miss, Zhou Yuqian has plenty of money!” “It’s his money!” He hadn’t mentioned booking, so naturally, he wouldn’t give her money for the service fee; nor would she pay out of her own pocket. “I’m impressed, a mistress being more frugal than a wife!” Lai Hui closed her eyes to rest. It’s because she’s not a wife that she’s frugal. A wife can rightfully share her husband’s wealth, but a mistress can only get a limited amount. She wasn’t like Cheng Lan, who would sacrifice dignity for love. If she was to be a mistress for money, then she would save as much as she could.
After navigating through the rain, Lai Hui stood gracefully in front of the fitting mirror, her silver-gray dress revealing a smooth back, the hem trailing on the floor, its tailored design accentuating her perfect curves, the diamond necklace around her neck casting a dazzling light that stung the eyes. “Absolutely stunning, breathtaking!” Cheng Lan lavished praise, though slightly exaggerated, the reflection in the mirror wasn’t far off. Modern people have created such magical things like cosmetics, and with skillful application, it was incomparable to a bare face. “Let’s go!” Lai Hui took the handbag handed by the store manager, linking arms with Cheng Lan as they descended the stairs.
Night had fallen, the rain had stopped, and in the bustling, neon-lit city, Lai Hui looked up; the sky seemed like a punctured black hole. She laughed, what a bad metaphor? Who could have the power to poke a hole in the sky? The laugh was fleeting; her gaze met Zhou Yuqian’s figure, and her smile froze at the corner of her mouth. When Zhou Yuqian, dressed in a gray custom suit, stood before her, her face was already adorned with a coquettish smile. “Darling!” she said sweetly, taking Zhou Yuqian’s arm, walking together out of the parking lot and into the grand banquet hall. Amidst the clinking of glasses, the scent of perfume, and the murmur of conversations, Zhou Yuqian exchanged pleasantries with the gentlemen and socialites, while Lai Hui’s smile remained unchanged. The gentlemen, beneath their polite exteriors, eyed her with lust, while the well-mannered socialites looked at her as if they had swallowed a fly. Lai Hui mocked them silently: if you want to hide it, don’t let me see it. That pretense was merely out of respect for Zhou Yuqian; so what if she noticed?
Midway through the banquet, Zhou Yuqian had already left her side, and she surveyed the crowd with disinterest. The gentlemen and socialites were just cloaked in money, no different from thieves and prostitutes at heart. Lai Hui sneered, they looked down on the poor, not knowing that the poor who earned them their wealth were thousands, if not millions, times more innocent. After her silent mockery, she reflected, when did she become so cynical? She subdued her smirk, and among the well-dressed crowd, a figure suddenly caught her eye, causing her to pause, her gaze fixed on that figure.
Majestic and handsome! Lai Hui had once stolen these words to describe someone, someone who had long become a stranger to her. The person turned with a glass in hand, their eyes meeting hers. Those eyes, clear as a spring. She was thunderstruck… Then, a big word flashed in her mind – “Flee,” she hastily looked away, lifting her long dress, where to flee? The balcony? The garden? There was only one truly safe place.
In the cramped little cubicle, the toilet flushed with a loud “swish,” the water swirling down. Lai Hui leaned weakly against the door, one foot on the toilet’s edge, feeling a sharp pain in her palm, only then realizing her sharp manicured nails had dug into her flesh. It was him! He was back! Xie Jiayi, who had sworn to never let her live peacefully, had returned! Lai Hui trembled, she was actually trembling, after all these years she was still trembling. She stared at the white whirlpool in the toilet, her insides twisting in knots, spinning into an invisible black hole, her ears buzzing. Who was it? Whose voice was it? Who was cursing? “Lai Hui, you are so vile!” “Lai Hui, I hate you! I hate you! Remember this, unless you die, I will never let you live in peace!” “Bang,” her head hit the door hard, and her ears went quiet.
In this lifetime! They were not just strangers; they were mortal enemies. Years ago, when those clear eyes turned blood-red and fierce, he, Xie Jiayi, had only hatred left for her. Throughout her life, Lai Hui had never wronged anyone, except for Xie Jiayi, except for him. If his purpose in returning to the country was to make her life miserable, then he needn’t bother; she had never had a good day, never…
“Miss Lai, are you in there?” The sound of high heels pacing back and forth came from outside the door, followed by the sound of cubicle doors being opened one by one. Shadows flickered across the ceiling. Lai Hui collected her thoughts and quickly responded, “I’m here!”
“Mr. Zhou is looking for you! Should I tell him you’ll be out shortly?”
“Oh! Please tell him I’ll be right there!”
The sound of the heels “clack! clack! clack!” faded away outside the door. Lai Hui withdrew her foot from the edge of the toilet, the exhaust fan weakly humming. Her cheeks felt a cool sensation; she wiped her face, and her palm was wet with tears. Turning to unlock the metal latch on the door, she thought about how much she cried. This was something Zhou Yushun had said. In the first month with him, she had cried herself to sleep every night until the day Xie Jiayi found her. From then on, she didn’t cry anymore, she dared not cry; from then on, she only smiled at Zhou Yushun, with a fawning smile.
“Your eyes look like two black butterflies!” Lai Hui looked up, seeing a clear, oval face in the mirror with bright, smiling eyes. The woman behind her—herself—had smudged eyeshadow, truly resembling two black butterflies about to take flight. Lai Hui chuckled, stepping up to the mirror to touch up her makeup. “Your metaphor is quite vivid!”
“I get that a lot, probably because of my profession!” The girl smoothed back her short bangs with a wet hand, looking candidly at Lai Hui. “Writing requires a rich imagination!”
“Oh?” Lai Hui paused her makeup application, looking at the girl through the mirror. “What kind of things do you imagine?”
