Was the money not enough?
Yu Qingxue’s words drained the color from Feng Xiaohe’s face, turning it deathly pale.
“Mm, and you put on such heavy makeup. Did you think painting your face could win him back? If that’s truly what you believed, Xiaohe, you’re far too shallow.”
The words hid a biting edge, each one aimed at shattering the confidence and strength Feng Xiaohe so desperately feigned.
A hairline crack spread across the mask meticulously woven from money.
“I only wanted to see him once. I left in such a hurry last time, there wasn’t even a moment to say goodbye. Surely the Young Lady Tsukiyuki Rio you serve isn’t so petty?”
A mocking smile curled at the corner of Yu Qingxue’s lips, her dark pupils glinting with heartfelt disdain.
“Letting you meet my esteemed Lord Gao Sijin isn’t entirely out of the question. But there is one condition.”
“What condition?” Feng Xiaohe asked, her eyes brightening as if grasping at her last shred of hope.
“One million. If you can produce that sum, you can rekindle your past with him. Even if you two sleep together, I’ll turn a blind eye. So, I ask you: can you produce one million right now?”
Feng Xiaohe froze. She hadn’t expected Yu Qingxue to make this demand. It was precisely because she had accepted a bank card containing one million from Yu Qingxue back then that she had lost Gao Sijin and left Bincheng for Magic City.
The two sisters, accustomed to pinching pennies, hadn’t squandered the windfall despite suddenly possessing such a massive sum—aside from last night, of course. Feng Xiaohe didn’t even own a car. After paying the down payment, the vast majority of the remaining money had been saved.
Yet even so, she had still touched that money.
“Can’t produce it, right? I thought as much. After all, Xiaohe, you are a thoroughly destitute person. The rich use money to make money, and the poor? They only make children.”
The ruthless words shattered every last fragment of Feng Xiaohe’s vanity.
“You once used men as tools to survive, yet you always guarded your chastity, wanting to save your first time for your destined love. Did you think you were some pristine white lotus, rising unsullied from the mud?”
“Don’t you talk about Big Sister that way!”
Feng Xiaona swung her fist at Yu Qingxue. In a different body, she might have stood a fighting chance, but at only fourteen, her punch was effortlessly blocked.
“Xiaohe, you’re not even as good as your little sister. Her fist just now was filled with killing intent, but your eyes hold only the docility of a herbivore. With that level of resolve, you want to meet Sijin? You underestimate us far too much.”
“So… I can’t see him anymore, is that it?”
“Can you produce one million? If you can’t get the money, hurry up and leave. The one million I gave you back then was a transaction. You willingly gave him up. Now, don’t come back wagging your tail, pretending to be pitiful. The world is full of pitiful people, aren’t they all struggling to live, too?”
“I don’t think I’m pitiful…” Feng Xiaohe stepped forward, pressing her lips together. “I just wanted to see him once. That parting night was too hurried. Besides, he disappeared so suddenly; I was so worried about him. I wanted to know if he was doing well, if he was still writing. Little Ai… ever since he first started writing, I followed him. He’s a sensitive kid. It makes your heart ache…”
“He’s doing very well. You can rest assured on that point. After all, he’s been chosen by a nearly perfect young lady like Tsukiyuki Rio. He won’t have to worry about anything for the rest of his life. Money is a magical thing; it can solve ninety-nine percent of your troubles. Whether it’s love or a baby’s smile, money can handle it all.”
“Perhaps that’s true.”
“Go now, Xiaohe. If Sijin were mine, I might let you see him once. But he doesn’t belong to me now. Digging too deep into certain matters can invite utter catastrophe. Eldest Miss Tsukiyuki Rio isn’t some charitable, devout woman. Do you understand?”
Yu Qingxue glanced back over her shoulder, then lowered her voice:
“In this country, severed pinkies, bodies sunk in Tokyo Bay, and concrete-filled barrels aren’t jokes. Taking another step forward is Hell itself. Not everyone gets to encounter true love. Even I can only endure.”
Feng Xiaohe feared death and feared implicating Feng Xiaona. If seeing Gao Sijin meant risking their lives, she lacked that courage.
She was just an ordinary woman with a bit of charm, that was all. But Little Ai…
God, she really, really wanted to see him.
“Can’t I even get one look at him? Even a recent photo would do.”
“Xiaohe, are there many things you can’t let go of? A person needs to live a bit more freely. Loving someone doesn’t mean you have to stay with them forever. I like a certain flower; do I absolutely have to pluck it? I like the wind; should I make the wind stop so I can smell it? I like the clouds; should I make a cloud drift down to cover me?” Yu Qingxue patted Feng Xiaohe’s frail shoulder. “Go back. There are many beautiful people and things still waiting for you in this world. Kabukicho is full of host clubs; you can find young men far better at sweet-talking a girl than Sijin. Just forget him.”
Yu Qingxue used both coaxing and coercion. Looking at that glass door, she knew that once she stepped through it, she and her sister would face a fate beyond redemption.
“Is he truly happy?”
“He is very happy. At the very least, happier than he was in Bincheng. You showing up in front of him would only make him unhappy again.”
“Alright. I understand. Knowing he’s happy… that’s enough.”
She was just an utterly ordinary girl, without power or influence. What could she possibly use to contend with the heiress of a financial conglomerate?
Her eyes reddened, and her resentment materialized as liquid, spilling out. Those memories scorched her heart.
“Xiaohe, are you happy?”
It was Christmas. Gao Sijin had his arm around her waist as they watched a romance film in the cinema.
“Sijin…” Feng Xiaohe looked at the towering Tsukiyuki Building in Shinjuku Ward and said, “I’m not happy. Without you, I’ll never be happy for the rest of my life. But… I wish you happiness.”
“Don’t come to J-Country again, Xiaohe. Truthfully, the moment you bought that plane ticket, Young Lady Tsukiyuki already knew. She asked me to warn you: the next time you set foot in this country, she will see you as a true enemy… and erase you.”
“Mm. I understand.”
“Here. This is five million for emotional damages. This is the last time. Young Lady Tsukiyuki’s patience has its limits. Say goodbye to him.”
“Little Ai! I love you! Goodbye!”
Feng Xiaohe stood below the building, screaming at the top of her lungs toward the upper floors. She didn’t know if Gao Sijin heard her, but she had screamed with every ounce of her strength.
The wind blew all around, yet it deliberately bypassed Feng Xiaohe’s very soul. From this day forward, Xiaona would be Xiaohe’s sole emotional anchor.
Her tightly clenched fist slowly unfurled. Tears streaked through her heavy makeup. Love… did not belong to her.
