Chapter 10: Sweet love (pt. 2)

Warning: This part contains rape. I will put some asterisk before the part so you can stop reading if you feel uncomfortable.

The days with Tang Xiao Tian are filled with music notes that jump up and down, full of happiness in life. Whether it’s going to work, getting off from work, or hanging out with friends, they will always show up together, making everyone jealous. The people who are the most jealous are Xiao Xue and Zhang Jing Yu. Xiao Xue will glare at Yawang whenever Xiao Tian drops her off to work or picks her up from work. Yawang decides to introduce the two to each other so she can get rid of these third-wheelers. She will never think they will end up together.

“When I lay my eyes on him, I know it’s love at first sight.” Xiao Xue tells her.

“Finally!” Zhang Jing Yu tells her. These two are as cheesy as the couples in the movies. Zhang Jing Yu will wait for Xiao Xue outside of the company building while holding a stalk of rose in his hand. Whenever he sees Tang Xiao Tian waiting for Yawang, he will flash a cheeky smile to him.

“Hey bro, you’re early today.”

“You’re pretty early yourself.” Xiao Tian replies, trying to hold back his laughter. The two men lean against Xiao Tian’s car and chat for awhile while waiting for their girlfriends. Whenever Yawang sees this scenario, she will burst out laughing.

_______________________________________________________________

“What’s so funny?” Jing Yu asks, tapping his fist onto her head.

“How you look with the rose in your hand is funny.” She answers back, continuing to laugh at him. He ignores her and stride towards Xiao Xue, handing the rose to her. She will twist her body from side to side and accepts the rose unwillingly.

“Don’t bring roses next time, it’s embarrassing.” She murmurs softly.

“No!” He rejects. “I will bring them, bring a stalk each day so it will accumulate to 99999 roses!”

“Jing Yu.” She looks at him.

“Xiao Xue.” They give each other a tight hug, shaking their bodies violently from side to side. Yawang rubs the goosebumps off from her arm and tugs onto Xiao Tian’s arm while shaking her head.

“Let’s go, leave them here to act in their own movie.”

“Not bad, not bad.” He comments, looking at them. Yawang turns her head back when she sees Xiao Tian laugh, Zhang Jing Yu looks back at them and holds out a V sign, flashing his cheeky smile at them.

_______________________________________________________________

“Look at him being so cheeky, I should ask him for my matchmaker money next time.” She grumbles. Xiao Tian smiles and nods his head, holding onto Yawang’s hand as they climb into the car. He didn’t start the car right away, instead, he stuffs his right hand in his right pocket and bites his lips nervously.

“For this Chinese New Year, I want both of our families to meet for Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner. I want them to see each other.”

“But don’t they see each other often?” She asks with a confused look. Their families live close to each other; both of their mothers will go grocery shopping together and both of their fathers see each other at work.

“Yes they do, but I want them to see the main point, do you understand?” Her eyes flash suddenly and she displays a sneaky grin.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then pretend you do.”

“I really don’t understand.” She throws a strong glare to him, proving that she don’t know what he’s talking about. He glares back, pulling onto Yawang’s left hand and taking his right hand out from his pocket, thrusting a ring onto her ring finger. The platinum ring touches her skin, the cool touch quickening her heartbeat. Xiao Tian leans over and kisses her softly. She closes her eyes and kisses him back, holding onto their hands tightly. She can feel his breath, can feel how his lips move subtly onto hers. It’s a beautiful kiss that acts as a promise; it’s warm and intimate, imprinted onto them.

Shu Yawang leans her arm against the car window, looking at her ring as the sunlight beams on it. She sees the small stones reflecting the light. The corners of her lips slowly curves up, and when her smile reaches the maximum length, she forcefully hides her smile. Then the corners of her lips will curve up again…

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, the two families book a private room to eat dinner in a well-known restaurant in S City. Their families approve of their marriage and goes quickly to the planning. They will marry when Tang Xiao Tian turns twenty-five years old. His mother already chosen their wedding date which happens to be on the day Yawang turns twenty-five. She tells them it’s an auspicious date, it’s ideal to get married that day. Shu Yawang secretly holds onto Xiao Tian’s hand below the table. He grips onto her hand and she lowers her head, her face filled with shyness and warmth.

_______________________________________________________________

Not long after, Tang Xiao Tian returns to school before Valentine’s Day. He asks Zhang Jing Yu to give Yawang a large bouquet of roses and a box of chocolate. He speaks to Xiao Tian afterwards that day on the phone.

“You should have seen me, I have a beautiful lady holding a bouquet of roses on my left and another beautiful lady holding a bouquet of roses on my right. People who walked past were looking at me with envy.” Xiao Tian’s chuckle at Jing Yu’s bragging.

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me.” Jing Yu answers back in a serious tone. After awhile, Jing Yu speaks up.

“Xiao Tian, I really like seeing you with Yawang together. Just looking at you two makes me feel happy.”

“Aren’t you happy now?”

“I am, my Xiao Xue is much cuter and gentler than Yawang.” Xiao Tian lifts his head and looks out at the night sky, continuing to listen to Jing Yu’s rambling.

The days pass by smoothly like running water, Xiao Tian will receive one letter a day from Yawang. She will write letters to him during her office breaks, and sometimes she will give him a call. They are waiting for that day to arrive, the day to seal their promise to each other.

_______________________________________________________________

A year later, the company’s go-green project is finally completed. Chief Cheng and the other chiefs that participated in the project book a room in a grand restaurant in S City for a congratulatory work dinner.

“Everyone can bring a date along, you all have worked hard.” Chief Cheng proudly announce to the workers in the office. Xiao Xue calls Jing Yu to come and he immediately agrees.

“Yawang, you should go ask a friend to come along. We all had worked hard, and it’s a rare opportunity for the bosses to treat dinner, so we should eat our work’s worth.”

“Right, I shouldn’t go there alone, it wouldn’t be worth it.” Yawang agrees as she nods her head and twirls the pen in her hand. But who should I call? Yawang scrolls through her contacts list and realizes that she don’t have many friends. She scrolls through them, not being able to find who she wants to invite. She places her phone on her desk and grumbles as she lies her head on the desk. After a short while, she lifts her head up and opens her phone again. She scrolls to Xia Mu’s number and sighs unconsciously, her right hand touching onto the necklace around her neck. She bites her lips and press the call button.

The phone rings, but no one is picking up. Did he not bring his phone with him? Or he don’t want to answer it? She waits for a few more rings, then shuts the cover of her phone. Fine, I’ll go myself. I can eat enough for two people, and I’ll choose the most expensive dishes to eat too!

_______________________________________________________________

The dinner doesn’t start until 7pm so Yawang and Xiao Xue stay in the office until 6pm to wait for Zhang Jing Yu to pick them up. He shows up wearing a white suit, appropriate for this occasion. A man wearing a suit is the same as a woman wearing a mini skirt, they attract attention from the opposite sex. Zhang Jing Yu looks alright and with a height of 180cm, he emits a mature and stable aura.

“Why are you dressed like a groom today?” Yawang teases him.

“Handsome right?” He replies back, running his finger through his hair.

“Handsome!” Xiao Xue yells out, nodding her head.

“Sure.” Yawang laughs. Jing Yu reaches his arm out to hit her, but she is able to escape from him. Those three play around as they enter the restaurant. The room is at the second floor and the food is displayed in buffet style. On one side, there lies a variety of gourmet to choose from and the other side lies the dining area where they set up some long tables. They’re playing the most recent songs in the background while the three rushes to get plates to put their food in.

“Hurry up, or everyone else will get all the good stuff.” Xiao Xue rushes them, dumping her bag onto an empty seat as she pulls Jing Yu with her. She turns her head around and looks at Yawang.

“Stay here and watch our stuff. We’ll bring back good food for you.” Yawang nods and sits down on a nearby chair. The two return quickly to her side with two large dishes of food. Xiao Xue sits down and orders Jing Yu to grab some drinks for them. He listens to her obediently and goes to retrieve their drinks. Around that time, tens of people stand up from the neighboring table and they all turn their head around to look. They see the Hyde Industrial Group’s CEO walking with Qu Wei Ran by his side. As the CEO approaches them, he will chat among his employees.

“Sit, sit, continue eating.” Xiao Xue picks up some chilled jellyfish from her plate as she gossips with Yawang.

“Wow, this illegitimate child, Qu Wei Ran, is going to be legitimate now.”

“Illegitimate child?” Yawang asks. Xiao Xue leans over to whisper.

“I heard from the workers in Hyde Industrial that the CEO’s first wife has a son, but he ran away two years ago to go to a mountain expedition. At the end, he died in the mountains, and Qu Wei Ran came along, so the CEO promotes him to be the project manager.”

“Oh.” Yawang nods her head in understanding. No wonder he got promoted so fast after graduating.“He’s pretty lucky.”

“Mhm,” Xiao Xue nods. “Hyde Industrial Group is worth several billions dollars, so, good for him.” Yawang lifts her head to look at Qu Wei Ran. He is wearing a black suit with a golden tie, his rimless glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. His playful gaze and warm smile makes people have a good impression of him, if the women didn’t know of his personality, they will definitely be head over heels for him.

_______________________________________________________________

Qu Wei Ran is able to find Yawang out of all the people in restaurant. He looks at her and smiles, like how a graceful aristocrat does.

“Scumbag.” She blurts out, turning her head away. Jing Yu walks back to the table with the three drinks and looks at Yawang innocently.

“What did I do?”

“I’m condemning you.” Yawang replies back indifferently. Xiao Xue bites her lips to hold her laughter.

“He is a scumbag. I don’t know who he offended, but he got beaten to the point where he needed to stay in the hospital. I heard he broke several ribs.”

“Whoa, really?” Yawang asks excitedly.

“Really.”

“Who are you guys talking about?” Jing Yu interrupts, trying to be part of the conversation.

“Him.” Xiao Xue points to Qu Wei Ran. He turns his head to take a look.

“Oh, him!”

“You know him?” Yawang asks. Jing Yu gives them a mysterious smile.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I saw him once.”

“When?”

“It’s a secret.” He answers, shaking his finger left and right at them.

“Say it.” Xiao Xue orders, hitting her fist on the table.

“Okay, it’s like this,” Jing Yu removes his suit jacket and rolls up the sleeves of his shirt.

“One night a long time ago, my friends and I were leaving from a karaoke place when we saw that guy harassing Yawang. When I wanted to approach them, that kid Xia Mu showed up. After you two left, I saw that guy still wanting to persist, and I was pretty drunk, so I told my friends to teach him a lesson. But then, they got beaten by him.”

“How many people were with you?” Xiao Xue asks. He lifts up his hand.

“Three men and two women. The two women saw us getting beaten up and got attracted from his good looks. My friends broke up with them that night.” Yawang looks at him disapprovingly.

“So useless.”

“Hey, he enlisted in the army before. Us regular citizens wouldn’t be able to beat him. If I had known, I would have enlisted with Xiao Tian. Men should enlist to the army.” Jing Yu argues back.

“And then?” Xiao Xue asks.

“And then I told Xiao Tian.” He looks at them and they nod their heads, now knowing how Qu Wei Ran got beaten up. Yawang looks at Qu Wei Ran again. No wonder when Xiao Tian is here, he disappears like thin air. The three continue to talk until Xiao Xue suddenly points to a woman sitting at the table across from them.

_______________________________________________________________

“What is she drinking?” Jing Yu takes a glance at the woman.

“Champagne.”

“I want it too.”

“Do you want it, Yawang?”

“Sure.” He stands up again and walk towards the buffet area. Qu Wei Ran is standing by the champagne glasses, and there are only five glasses left on the table. Qu Wei Ran tilts his body to the side and smiles at Jing Yu.

“You first.” Jing Yu glares at him before taking two glasses away from the table. As he turns back to walk away, he didn’t notice Qu Wei Ran lowering his head and lifting the corners of his lips into an evil smile.

Zhang Jing Yu walks back to the table and hands over the two champagne glasses to the ladies. Xiao Xue drinks the alcohol in heartful gulps.

“Ah! Much more delicious than juice!”

“You can’t drink it like that! You’ll get drunk!” Jing Yu shouts as he pulls her arm away from drinking more.

“I don’t mind being drunk.” She looks at him with twinkling eyes. Jing Yu’s face immediately turns red.

“Xiao Xue!”

“Jing Yu!” The two hug each other tightly. So cheesy. Yawang shakes her head and stands up, unable to look at the two lovebirds.

“You two continue acting your drama, I’m going to go grab something to eat.” She takes a clean dish and walks leisurely to the buffet area. She looks at the rows of delicious gourmet, indecisive of what to get. As she glance over the long table, she suddenly turn interested in the plate of egg custards. They are golden and flaky, which makes them look more appetizing. She walks forward, stretching her arms out to grab the tongs, but another hand grabs it before her. She turns her head and see it’s Qu Wei Ran who is holding onto the tongs. He dips his head and smiles at her, then grabs the egg custard with the tongs before putting it onto her plate.

“Here.” Her whole body stiffens as she nods her head.

“Thank you.” She bites her lips after thanking him, cursing herself for her habit of thanking people ever since she was young. He looks like he’s in a good mood as he starts to ask her questions like an old friend.

“So how’ve you been?”

“Without you around, my days have been great.”

“Are you reminding me to look for you?” He teases.

“You!” She glares at him angrily.

“But what to do? I’m no longer interested in you.” He says, folding his hands across his back as he smiles playfully at her.

“When I hear that from you, I’m more happy from that compared to winning a five million dollar lottery.” He lowers his head as he smiles, noticing the ring on Yawang’s ring finger. His eyes turn dark for a split second before he lifts his head back up.

“That’s a pretty ring, Xiao Tian gave it to you?” Yawang nods.

“Yes, we’re engaged.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” She bows her head slightly and turn her heels to walk away, but she seems to hear Qu Wei Ran saying something to her as she’s walking away.

_______________________________________________________________

Before Yawang reaches to her seat, she sees Jing Yu lifting Xiao Xue and helping her to walk.

“What happened?” She asks as she walks over to them.

“She really got drunk.” He answers in embarrassment, his face flushing a bright red.

“Oh…” She replies, wiggling her eyebrows and displaying a playful smile to him. He ignores her and rubs his nose.

“I’m going to take her home first, need me to pick you up later?”

“No, it’s alright, take care of her.” She laughs as she shakes her head. Jing Yu shakes his head as he talks.

“Then I’m leaving, don’t stay too late. Really, what kind of alcohol tolerance does she have, drunk already after one glass. Really…”

“Hurry up and hide your wolf tail already, I can’t take it anymore.” She shakes her head in disapproval. He laughs and walks away, carrying Xiao Xue on his back. She sits alone on the table, looking at the dishes of uneaten food. She wiggles her eyebrows and lifts her fork to start eating. At times, her coworkers will drop by and chat with her. She will smile and nod her head while talking, clinking their champagne glasses together before drinking. She don’t think champagne can make one drunk since it’s like juice, Xiao Xue is just those types of people that get drunk without having to drink.

_______________________________________________________________

When it’s 8pm, the phone in her pocket starts to ring. It’s Xiao Mu, she quickly picks up the call.

“Hello?”

“Were you looking for me?”

“Mhm, I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight, but…” She looks at the remaining food on her dish.

“I’m already done eating.” She laughs.

“Oh.” He answers indifferently. “Should I have Uncle Cheng pick you up?”

“No, it’s alright, it’s still early. I’ll leave by myself.”

“Oh.” He didn’t say anything afterwards. She waits for awhile, then speaks up.

“Then, I’m going to hang up.” Xia Mu didn’t reply back. She waits for a couple more minutes, and when she’s about to hang up, Xia Mu starts to speak.

“Yawang, I miss you.” Yawang feels her heart fluttering slightly. She grips onto her phone tightly before answering back.

“Don’t we see each other often?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Xia Mu?”

“I feel that you’re far away from me, very far away.” He says in a faint voice, but from his voice, she can imagine him in his small room with no lights on as the dark sky covers the windows. He is sitting on his bed, holding onto his propped knee loosely with one arm as he leans his back against the wall. He have his head down, his bangs covering his empty eyes, the light from the phone reflecting from his face. Yawang lowers her head when she feels her nose turning prickly.

“Yes, we are far away from each other.” There’s silence from the other end.

“Xia Mu, don’t miss me. It’s impossible.” She closes her phone and gulps down the remaining champagne, a subtle pain hitting her heart.

There are some things she intend to not remember, there are some things she intend to forget. Like that night, the tight embrace, the child who is unwilling to let go, the love confession, the things that are not supposed to happen. She tries to forget them, it’s like if she forgets them, they can be like what they were before.

A long time ago when her father told her about Xia Mu’s past, she decided to take good care of him. A long time ago when Xia Mu tells her in a broken voice,

“My father often says I’m his pride, my mom will often cry because of me.” She decided to become his family, giving him all the love he can get. However….it turns out to be like this. Why does she have to hurt him?

_______________________________________________________________

She stays still on her seat, her heart feeling heavy from the conversation. A bitter taste rises up from her throat and she feels a little dizzy. Her focus also starts to wander and she shakes her head, pressing her palm against her forehead. That’s weird, I only drank one glass of champagne, with my alcohol tolerance, there’s no way I’m drunk this easily. Shu Yawang suddenly have a bad premonition, so she quickly stands up and wobbles forward. All of a sudden, an arm pulls her back and she stumbles to the person’s embrace.

She smells a men’s cologne, and she lifts her head. The ceiling lights are reflected off to his necklace, causing Yawang to squint her eyes. She sees the man’s profile, a handsome yet carries a hint of evil face looks back at her. His lips are formed into a concerned smile, his arms holding onto Yawang tightly as he speaks softly to her.

“Yawang, are you drunk?” His voice rumbled from his throat, his smile displaying his proud accomplishment. It’s at the moment Yawang realizes what happened.

“What did you do to me?” Qu Wei Ran bends his waist and hugs Yawang tightly.

“Nothing much, I just added something to your drinks before that man took them away.” He murmurs in her ear.

“Get away from me!” She yells, trying to escape from his embrace. No wonder Xiao Xue is drunk so quickly, no wonder I’m also…

“You’re telling me to go away?” He gaze at her lovingly in his embrace. “Yawang, I told you before. You two will not get married, I won’t let you two marry.” He lifts his arm and hands his credit card over to a server.

“My girlfriend drank too much, can you find a room for us, please?” Shu Yawang’s heart is beating extremely fast, and she wants to say something, but she feels nauseous and nearly puke when she opens her mouth. The server retrieves the card and looks at Qu Wei Ran, not being suspicious at all from his elegant looks.

“Yes mister, please wait.”

“Let go of me.” She tries to push him away. She don’t know what kind of drug he have given to her, but the nausea worsens and she vomits all over him. Qu Wei Ran frowns and pulls her slightly away from him. She keeps on vomitting and the server notices the scene as he returns. The server quickly hands over the room key to him and have him sign the receipt before finding someone to clean the mess.

_______________________________________________________________

Qu Wei Ran carries Yawang to the elevator. As they are riding the elevator, the rising sensation causes her to vomit on him again. His eyebrows narrow and he sucks in his breath as he carries her into the room. He opens the bathroom door and dumps her into the bathtub. She feels dizzy from the throw, so he turns on the sprayer where a blast of cold water hits Yawang. She screams from the coldness and tries to get out from the bathtub, but Qu Wei Ran pushes her back in with one hand.

“What are you doing?!” She trembles from the cold water, looking at him frightenly. He takes off his eyeglasses and looks at her with a malicious gaze.

“I’m going to clean you off, then eat you up.”

_______________________________________________________________

******

Shu Yawang scrambles to crawl out of the bathtub, and Qu Wei seems to enjoy watching her struggle. He laughs as he unbuttons his blazer, throwing it off to the side. He pushes her down with one hand as he pulls off his golden tie with the other, tying her hands with the tube part of the bathtub sprayer.

“No!” She struggles, her hands hitting against the golden faucet, making a piercing sound as she hits her hands against the wall. At that time, the water starts to heat up and steam starts to spread. He bends over and takes off her jacket, lifting her shirt up, exposing an exquisite corset wrapping around her body. He can’t resist the temptation and stretches his arm out. Shu Yawang’s eyes widen and she cries out,

“Stop! Stop!” He laughs and bends over, whispering in her ear.

“We didn’t even start yet and you’re crying already. Don’t tell me…Xiao Tian haven’t touched you ever since he came back?” She continues to cry as she struggles to escape.

“Let go of me! Let go!” He smiles at her, showing a very pleasant smile.

“From the looks of it, he really didn’t touch you.” She throws him a strong glare.

“Qu Wei Ran! If you dare to touch me, I won’t let this go! Ever!”

“You won’t let this go, how so? Tell Xiao Tian to beat me up again? Or tell your dad to shoot me? Keep being stubborn, don’t ask me to spare you afterwards!” He stands up afterwards, and all Yawang can hear is him unhooking his belt and unzipping his zipper. She trembles in fear and despair as he pulls her pants down. She inches backwards, but there’s nowhere else to go.

“Help, help!” She screams aloud.

“No one can save you now!” He kisses her, imprinting his brutal proclamation.

“If I want a woman, I will have her, you are no exception.” He forcefully spreads her legs and climbs on top of her.

“Yawang, tonight is just the beginning…” The warm water splashes out from the tub as it follows his movements, the water drops hits against the floor like shattering glass. In the bathtub, all you can hear is the woman’s sobbing and weakening voice as she asks him to stop and the man’s lustful grunting. After some time, the sounds gradually stop.

_______________________________________________________________

Late in the evening, Yawang curls up in the hotel’s bed, hugging herself as she stares at the wall blankly. She’s cold, hurt, and scared. The man beside her have his arm wrapped loosely on her waist, burying his face in her soft hair, sleeping soundly on the bed. Her eyes wander to her satchel and she slowly lifts the man’s arm away from her, struggling to get up. When her feet touches the floor, her legs shake slightly, but she continues to walk forth towards her satchel. She bends down and unzips her satchel, revealing a red knife. It’s one of her necessities for work, and she likes to put it in her satchel since it’s convenient for her.

Yawang turns her head and looks at the man coldly. She pushes the blade up slightly as she inches towards the bed. There is not even one ray of light entering the room, just like her eyes that are filled with hatred and vengeance. She will kill him for revenge of bringing pain and shame onto her body!

She brings the knife close to his neck, gripping onto it with both hands. Her body is shaking slightly with fear, but she didn’t back off. She will kill him, who cares if she will need to pay a bigger price for it? She lifts her hands, preparing to strike, the silver lighting of the blade flashes as it travels down, causing the man on the bed to open his eyes. He quickly grab her wrists with one hand to stop her, but the knife already makes a cut on his neck, his blood slowly oozing out from the laceration.

His eyebrows narrow from the pain and he pulls her towards him, having her lie on top of him. Then he flips her over and squeezes her wrist, making her loosen her grip of the knife. He picks up the knife and looks at the sharp blade, then looks back at her. The blood continues to flow down his neck, dripping onto her face, making it look like red tears as it rolls down her face. He gently wipes the blood away from her face, his touch causing her to tremble in fear.

“I thought you wouldn’t be able to do this.”

“Are you kidding me? I want to cut you up in a million pieces.” He throws the knife away and touches his neck, it’s not a deep cut, so he don’t feel anything from it. He suddenly starts to laugh and hold onto Yawang.

“Look, you made me bleed too.” He kisses her cheek softly. “Now we’re even.”

“Let go of me.” From the position they’re in, she’s terrified of what’s going to happen.

“Yawang-ah…” He kisses the ends of her eyebrows and the corner of her lips.

“I’ll take responsibility, okay? I’ll marry you.” She hits him with both hands.

“Go die! You go die!” Her refusal infuriates Qu Wei Ran as he glares at her.

“Since you have enough strength to hit me, you should have enough strength to play with me.” He lowers his head, holding onto her hands tightly as he tears her bathrobe with his mouth and slides his tongue all over her body. Yawang’s tears gather up into a pool in her eyes, ready to be poured down on her face.

“I will sue you, definitely will sue you!”

“Go ahead, I’m not afraid.” Qu Wei Ran is enjoying the sexual pleasures from her, he can’t deny that her body fascinates him. Her throat hurts from all the crying and screaming, her lips are sore from the biting, and her hands loosen their grip as her eyes loses their expressions.

Her life, her happiness, they all crash down before you. They’re like those colorful bubbles, floating in the air until they burst right before her eyes.