After the phone call, Lu Chen returned to his office. His eyes lingered for a second on the only empty table before he returned entered his office. It seems like today will be another long day.

  In City D, Xiu Mei’s plane safely landed. She was picked up by the people hired by the company to accompany and drive her to places for the day. After checking in at the hotel, she quickly continued on her itinerary by visiting all the branches she had scheduled for the day.

  "After 3 months, draft a report and send it to my email." Xiu Mei instructed to the manager of the 8th store she had visited. She did a final run through before finalizing some other stuff and handing over the doc.u.ments to the manager. After wrapping up her work at the 8th store, she left to go have some late lunch. Or rather, an early dinner.

  She was just making her way to a nearby restaurant when she stopped on her tracks. Her gaze paused on the person walking nearer to her, and it seems she haven’t noticed her presence.

  She instinctively wanted to hide, yet her feet felt glued on the ground. Everytime, she would be filled with the same emotions.

  The other person finally noticed her presence and stopped. From it’s smiling expression, it quickly changed into a stern look. It was even mixed with disgust as she looked at Xiu Mei.

  "Mrs. Ying." Xiu Mei bowed a little bit as a greeting. When she lowered her eyes to bow, she quickly saw the lady take a step back.

  "I don’t dare accept the bow of Ms.Xiu, otherwise, your family might do something to our family again." Mrs.Ying’s voice was very transparent. She was clearly mocking her but Xiu Mei didn’t want to retort back as she understood where she was coming from.

  Hesitantly, she straightened her back again and looked at Mrs.Ying.

  "Looks like you’re living well." It was still laced with disgust. "Unfortunately." Mrs.Ying added.

  She saw Mrs.Ying’s eyes examined her up and down. Even after 10 years, Mrs.Ying would still look at her like she would automatically lunged at her to slap her and pull her hair at every opportunity when she lowers down her guard.

  "I am." Xiu Mei retorted. Xiu Mei actually questioned herself whether she was answering the latter part of her statement.

  Mrs.Ying sneered at her statement before revealing a mocking smile. "Good, live well. So I could enjoy watching you climbing high only for you to crash down so pitifully without having the opportunity to stand on your own two feet again."

  Xiu Mei’s hands clenched into a fist. Rainbow of emotions flowed through her—anger, disappointment, and self-blame.

  No matter how much Xiu Mei tried to pretend to be strong, she couldn’t escape from that cage.

  Ten years ago, the good relationship of the Yang family and the Xiu family was broken off. Xiu Mei never forgot how she was forced to leave by Ying Yue’s parents in her bestfriend’s funeral. She was kicked out after being slapped by Mrs.Ying. Xiu Mei’s blood continued to drip from behind her hand. It was from pulling out the IV needle stuck on her a few hours ago. Her feet was bare while her white hospital dress was dirtied with a trace of blood.

  At that time, Xiu Mei was still numb with shock she didn’t feel the pain at all. Her empty gaze stayed on the the framed picture of Ying Yue surrounded by flowers and candles. That bright smile was in contrast with the lifeless image of Ying Yue embedded in her mind.

  The words being yelled at to her by Ying Yue’s parents didn’t register in her mind as she dazedly stared at the picture. It was only when her hair was suddenly pulled by Mrs.Ying and forcefully dragged out of the room that she woke up from her current state.

  She found herself pushed to the ground, looking all pitiful. A complete difference from the usual Ms.Xiu that everyone knew of. She suddenly felt cold when something wet was splashed onto her. Xiu Mei looked up and saw the empty glass in Mrs.Ying’s hand as she condescendingly stared down at her. She even saw that Mrs.Ying was going to throw down the glass to her when she suddenly heard a bunch of heavy footsteps.

  She even saw Mrs.Ying halt her movements as she stared wide-eyed at the source of those sounds. The next thing she knew, she was pulled up into the embrace of her eldest brother. She faintly heard him say a few words to Ying Yue’s parents before he brought her out of that place.

  She remembered blacking out while she was making her way to the car. She was then kept under surveillance by her family for years after her multiple suicide attempts that followed after that event.

  "Talking to you any further is just a waste of my time. I do hope you’ll show a good play for me to watch, Ms.Xiu." Mrs.Ying said before she walked past Xiu Mei. Even after Mrs.Ying had completely left the place, Xiu Mei remained rooted on the ground.

  Her fists remained clenched, causing it to wound her palms and bleed a little bit. The pain instantly woke her up as she subconsciously unclenched her fist to relieve the pain. She stared at the her palm filled with five crescent wounds. Then her sight moved onto her thin wrist. It looked so smooth that no one would have ever thought it was once filled with countless scars. She lowered her eyes as she let out a self-depreciating laugh.

  Stupid Xiu Mei.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly counted one to ten in her mind before she opened her eyes again. Her feet finally took its first step forward after so long.

  She still had to go on with her life after all.