Reflection
TangShi stared absently out of the restaurant window, reserved and low in mood now that the excitement of being reunited with Linlin had calmed down. Cuddles and tears out of the way after their long separation and now comfortable camaraderie once more. As if they never parted.
YuZhi agreed to drop her off here on the way home instead of taking her all the way back to the house and Linlin was happy to oblige in rushing out to meet.
“I never saw that one coming at all. Really? What is wrong with him? I thought a red-blooded lothario like him would at least take advantage of a new squeeze in his bed and a free pass to do whatever he wants with her for two years.” Linlin crossed her arms and leaned on the table while observing TangShi. Digesting the details about the clinic.
TangShi didn’t respond, instead she was still smarting and touchy about the ordeal she had just experienced in the last hour. The clinic was clean and pleasa
TangShi put down her brushes and arched her back to work out the kinks from scooping over for too long. Leaning back to admire her handywork on the canvas in front of her and smiled at the results. Watercolors were her favorite medium, and she loved the way the colors subtly blended into soft hues in the pond scene she had created like a beautiful harmony. Gentle white and orange Koi meandering under a rippling blue surface and bringing peace to her as she worked.It had been a quiet few days of getting used to the workings of this family and settling into a life she didn’t want. And things didn’t seem as terrible as the first couple of days here if today was anything to go by. Now that a lot of her appearance demands had been met, her wardrobe changed and her body primped and preened to Hollywood standards, Aunty was leaving her to find her own busy.She had been to the clinic twice now this week, both times as soul destroying and shameful to her, making h
“How are you holding up with this chaos?” ZhengLi perched his ass on the end of YuZhi’s huge desk and dropped a few folders in front of him that required signatures for ongoing projects.“Hmmm” YuZhi didn’t lift his eyes from his laptop screen and carried on typing. Shrugging in a non-committal way.“Still being followed and hounded by the press?”“It’s dying down, but they are still lingering. The articles online seem to be less regular now too. We’ll be old news soon enough.”It had been a full week since the announcements and despite the Leng and Lei collaboration being bigger news in the business world, the media were more interested in his breakup, and it was really starting to grate on him. He couldn’t go anywhere without a mask, baseball cap and sunglasses as they were invading his life way worse than before.“How’s’ Rhea holding up? She seemed di
TangShi held her breath as the sound of the familiar and confident steps of YuZhi strolled in, her skin goose bumping all over at his presence. Even if she didn't like him, her body could still differentiate between him and others in the house like a weird sixth sense, his looming aura of being nearby. She sunk down under the sheets and closed her eyes tight. She wanted to be asleep before he came up tonight and now, she would have to pretend given it was early for him to be up here.She lay as still as a statue as she listened to him wander into his study, right across from the bed, after he entered the room but he left the door open and didn't seem intent on settling in there to work. Not that he used it much anyway. He came back out a moment later, seemed to dump something like a file on the dresser, and then proceeded into the bathroom by walking past her side of the bed and shut the door.TangShi peeked her head out and squinted at the glimmer of light under the b
“Stop fidgeting and act natural.” YuZhi hissed at TangShi, lacking patience as he led her into the dark nightclub by the hand, guiding the way and keeping an eye out for their group. He was dressed in faded jeans and a black tee tonight, paired with a black leather biker jacket that made him seem like a different person to TangShi. For the first time she felt unattractive and inferior beside someone who could pull off this look. He was suave, and the casual style made him seem sexier than usual, especially over boots rather than his normal Italian leather shoes.Rhea had set them up at a table in the centre of the club, for maximum exposure, with various friends from their social circle and guaranteed attention attractors. A few were known public figures while most were famous for being rich kids, or heirs to conglomerate families. Tonight, the aim was for pictures to be leaked of the two of them with their respective dates and seemingly happy about it while
TangShi had had enough. A night of noise, invasive people around her, dancing on a crowded floor while surrounded by drunk women she barely knew, and Rhea was clinging to her and pulling her around like a puppy dog. Rhea was so drunk she had begun to behave like a needy child and TangShi seemed to be her anchor. It was suffocating and she longed to leave and go back to the peace of home.Her head was aching, her body hurt, and her stomach was cramping like crazy due to having her time of the month at the worst moment. She was tired, fed up, and emotional about being bombarded all night with questions, interrogative stares, and constant alcohol pushed her way which she tried to dodge. In the end she had drunk maybe three red wine tops all night and was feeling woozy and unsteady on her feet, but she was sober enough to still have her senses. It didn’t taste good, and she didn’t like the sensation of dizziness or dreaminess.YuZhi had stayed mostly with the m
YuZhi tossed the bundle of newspapers and magazines across the desk, so they slid in all directions, and one dropped off before ZhengLi scooped down to pick it up and threw it back on the pile. Amused at his friends agitated behavior.“Looks like our PR campaign so far is going smoothly. Nice pictures by the way, I hate how damn photogenic you are.” He laughed at YuZhi’s sour expression, who was leaning back in his chair scowling ZhengLi’s way. “Shanghai’s Golden couple double date outing! Really catchy. Or this one …. YuZhi Leng and Rhea Cheng find love again so soon! Bit cheesy but it’s better than this one…” ZhengLi held up a known gossip magazine and waved it with a mischievous grin on his face. “Foursome dates for the Heirs of Shanghai!” He laughed heartily at that one. Shaking his head at the implications, before laying it on top of the others with equally bad healdines.“Can you stop
“You stupid girl! Pick it up, don’t you dare leave a single piece on the floor. I am not moving until you pick it all up!” Aunt RuiZi was screeching at TangShi so loudly it was hurting her already delicate head. Suffering from her first time being drunk, and she was trying to ignore the washing machine stomach or pounding fluffy brain. Auntie her usual mean self and picking out absolutely anything she could to make TangShi’s life hard. If it wasn’t restricting her food, criticizing her hair, clothes or make up, day in and out, then it was finding random things to scold her for, like this.She was suffering from last night and was being unusually clumsy today. Having accidently walked into aunt who was carrying a glass of water and knocked it out of her hand in passing. The shards all over the floor were mixed with the undrunk water and Xiaosu was screamed at for trying to help her tend to it. Aunt was in a bad mood, as usual, and TangShi wa
“Are you sure this is the place?” TangShi wandered around the beautiful scenic courtyard of the traditional building, looking like something out of a historical drama with a curved tiled roof. It framed with billowing cherry blossom, draped over the eaves, lit by the sun of the day in an almost magical scene and she pulled out her phone to take a picture. It was too pretty not to.“Mmm hmmm” Linlin was already glued to her own cell, oblivious to this breathtaking view, checking the address and pulling up the details of the teacher she had been corresponding with. “We’re lucky he is going to meet with us. He rejects ninety percent of applications right off, but when I told him your name, he jumped to meet you. Seems you have a fan.” Linlin raised a brow but not her focus.“He’s a teacher, a well-known one. Why would he want to meet me?” TangShi was dubious. She hadn’t been sure about this when Linli