The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 1 - 2
Chapter 1 - 2
Fengolai Pavilion. Yu Meng embraced Yu Jia. Sworn sisters, Yu Jia was the eldest sister and she was the second sister, both of similar age. Yu Meng was willing to associate with Yu Jia because she did not compete and remained forever so modest, reserved, virtuous, and proper. If she wanted to be a peony, Yu Jia would be a secluded orchid, never stealing the spotlight.
Yu Meng held up her wine glass and protested, "If you hadn't come, none of us would get to see the leader. But now that you've come, you're still hiding the leader away and refusing to let us see him!"
Yu Jia's face flushed slightly. The wine had been brought by Yu Shuang. All four of them had been drinking, and none of them would be driving tonight.
"He's genuinely busy," Yu Jia replied with a smile.
That was the truth. Di Liren had been temporarily transferred to the major metropolis for quite some time. She had endured alone, raising their child and schooling her in the small town, dragging it out day after day. Now that Liren had been officially confirmed in his position and allocated housing, he no longer needed to live in a dormitory. She had finally achieved a successful outcome, able to bring their daughter Di Sisi along to reunite with her husband in the posture of a "leader's wife."
Actually, Yu Jia did not like going out at night. Tonight was just a coincidence; Liren had to go out for social networking. The fellow provincials in the big city were mostly in the civil service system. Bound by hometown ties, they stuck together tightly, forming a semi-secret small circle that one simply had to participate in. Therefore, once Liren left, she settled her daughter down with dinner, checked in advance on her homework situation, strictly forbade watching television, and locked away her daughter's cell phone. Only then did she remember to have her younger brother, Yu Yiyi, accompany Liren—Yu Yiyi was a master's student at the Mining University, so he could go see the world and serve as an undercover pair of eyes along the way.
It wasn't that Yu Jia didn't trust her husband; she was simply worried that in case of excessive drinking, having her own brother act as a designated driver to escort him would at least bring peace of mind. Consequently, she specifically instructed Yu Yiyi, "Don't you drink. Just say you're driving."
The drinking continued, with Yu Rui proposing a toast to Yu Meng. Even before Yu Jia arrived, Yu Rui had wanted to cozy up to Yu Meng. After graduating from university and working as a minor actress for a few years, she hadn't been reduced to a complete extra, but at best she was an eighteenth-tier supporting player or a "special guest actor." This path was exceptionally difficult. Yu Rui had become all the more convinced that acting for a living was entirely impractical. Moreover, the men she met on the set were all unreliable. She wanted to break into the "upper crust" through Yu Meng. After all, Sister Meng had arrived in the big city early, had her husband to back her up, possessed deep roots, wide-ranging connections, and a broad network of faces.
She had seen Yu Meng post photos of herself alongside a certain famous writer—a man with a fat head and a broad face. The writer had penned a character for "blessing" for the couple, and Yu Meng and her husband had been immensely proud of it. Of course, Yu Rui looked down on that writer; what she needed was an entrepreneur or an official. Therefore, the moment Yu Jia arrived, she had to show up immediately. For courtesy's sake if nothing else, Di Liren was now a person of considerable weight.
Yu Rui kept craning her neck while talking, leaving Yu Shuang somewhat uncomfortable sandwiched in the middle. She had no interest in the topics they were discussing—husbands, children, marriage, and romance. She came today for two reasons: first, to give Yu Jia face, as they were of the same clan and Sister Jia was even a distant relative; and second, to see Yu Rui. Yu Shuang was a bit older than Yu Rui. Back when Yu Shuang was in high school, Yu Rui was already the school belle of the entire middle school department. Although Yu Shuang's grades were excellent at the time, she lacked self-confidence, and Yu Rui's willingness to be friends with her lent a bit of spirit and confidence to her youth. Therefore, after all these years, Yu Shuang still remembered this old debt of human warmth.
Yu Shuang needed to use the washroom, and Yu Rui went along to keep her company. Yu Meng gazed at the backs of the two young women and sighed, "Look at them, and then look at us—we're all old." She was hoping Yu Jia would flatter her by saying she wasn't old. Yu Meng spent no small amount of money on her face and body. To her surprise, Yu Jia remarked, "Everyone has a day when they grow old. I'm actually worried about Xiao Shuang, all alone and desolate. A woman ought to have a family."
Yu Meng replied, "She has her mother keeping her company."
"Can her mother accompany her for a lifetime?" Yu Jia's tone was lingering and deep.
"Even if you get married, it doesn't guarantee a lifetime."
"That's different."
"Shuang has good luck, managing to get such a huge apartment. She caught the right wave."
"There's no one else in it. Just having a big house attracts yin energy," Yu Jia analyzed. "Shuang is still a child, while Rui is an adult, but she worries just as much." She turned her head to look at Yu Meng. "You're the lucky one. Your kids are grown up, you have everything, and you're free. You've lived your life back—you're young again."
Having spent the whole evening grinding away, she finally heard this word of praise, and Yu Meng felt that her two hours of dressing up hadn't been in vain. However, she could not agree with Yu Jia's assessment of her current situation. Yu Meng suddenly leaned close to Yu Jia's ear and whispered, "Keep this confidential." Yu Jia shrank her neck and stared at her. Yu Meng continued, "I'm planning to say bye-bye to Luan Chengyun—" The moment she sent her son off on a plane, she turned around and handed her husband a divorce agreement. Let him deal with that! Inviting Yu Jia to dinner was also a way to psych herself up.
Yu Jia's eyes bulged as if they might pop out; she couldn't believe her ears. Yet since Yu Meng had already spoken these words, she must have thought them through thoroughly, treating her as one of her own people by disclosing it, so she couldn't immediately oppose it. She had no choice but to express her emotions with an expression of utter shock.
She was fundamentally opposed to divorce. Down to her core, Yu Jia believed in lifelong devotion. When two people live together, friction is inevitable. A woman is water, and a man is clay; a wife must be accommodating and know how to smooth things over.
Marriage is a marathon, and Yu Jia looked down on those who dropped out halfway. Even if she dropped dead from exhaustion, she would run to the finish line.
Seeing Sister Jia's flustered expression, Yu Meng went ahead and explained herself, "The man is hopeless! I've seen right through him all these years!" She let out an extremely long sigh, brimming with infinite grievance. "The kids are grown, and it's time I had my freedom." She didn't mention being subjected to domestic violence, as that would cause a loss of face.
Yu Jia still remained silent. Fearing that Yu Meng might misunderstand, she quickly added, "I didn't have an affair!"
She was a virtuous and decent woman.
The second half of the sentence went unsaid, but the implication was clear: Luan Chengyun having external entanglements out there meant the fault lay entirely with him.
"To know one's errors and be able to reform is the greatest of virtues," Yu Jia said in a bookish manner. Hiding behind the words of the ancients made the situation seem slightly less awkward.
"No, no, I can't drag this out anymore." Yu Meng's mind was made up. In this transitional phase where she was neither young nor fully old, she felt she still had a chance to fight for herself. She had to overpower Luan Chengyun, vent her pent-up fury, and prove her "commercial value."
Recently, Yu Meng loved to take Chu Lingling as her role model—leaving one wealthy tycoon to marry another wealthy tycoon.
Thinking about it, she corrected herself: Bah! Luan Chengyun was hardly a wealthy tycoon. But the second half of that ambition was something Yu Meng had to fulfill.
Shuang and Rui returned, and the group sat together for a little longer. With the wine exhausted and the food finished, Yu Yiyi arrived to pick up his sister. Yu Jia was somewhat surprised and asked in a low voice, "Where is your brother-in-law?" Yu Yiyi indicated that he had already been delivered home. Yu Meng chimed in first, "Is this Xiao Yi? He's grown this much?" In front of Yu Meng, Yu Yiyi would always be the little younger brother. Yu Rui pursed her lips into a smile and remained silent. Yu Shuang said, "Xiao Yi is in graduate school." When Yu Yiyi was preparing for the graduate entrance exams and choosing a mentor, Luan Chengyun had lent a considerable amount of help. A teacher from their hometown's mining institute had transferred positions, and Luan Chengyun had kept up relations with them all along. Finally, the brother-in-law's academic pursuits had put those connections to use. Consequently, Luan Chengyun held even greater weight in the Yu family.
Since Yu Meng lived farther away, she called a cab for herself. Yu Rui went to crash for the night at Yu Shuang's place. Yu Jia insisted that Yu Yiyi make a detour first to drop off Sister Shuang and Sister Rui. Yu Yiyi was more than happy to oblige. He fancied Yu Rui quite a bit. In the past, Yu Jia hadn't taken it seriously, but now that her younger brother was older, she could see it too and was willing to put in the effort to create opportunities for him. Still, Yu Jia knew better: Yu Rui worked in the entertainment industry and might not necessarily look favorably on a student like Yu Yiyi.
Once in the car, Yu Jia took the front passenger seat, while Shuang and Rui sat in the back. Yu Jia made polite conversation, "Coming here so suddenly—having you all makes things so much better. Otherwise, I'd really be like a headless fly, totally unacclimated."
Shuang didn't pick up on the remark. Rui noticed Yu Yiyi glancing at her through the rearview mirror and couldn't help feeling a bit smug. Yet the more he looked at her, the more she deliberately averted her gaze, so as to maintain her dignified air.
Yu Jia continued, "Let's visit each other more often in the future. Being out away from home isn't like being back in Yuyingzi; we need to support one another. Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang the master strategist." Then she added, "Shuang, give my regards to your mother. Once I'm settled in, I'll go visit her." As she spoke, Yu Jia urged everyone to exchange contact information with each other. In truth, this was primarily to build a bridge for her younger brother.
Yu Yiyi was slow-witted and didn't move, but Yu Jia had already pushed his name card forward to Shuang and Rui. After dropping them off and bidding farewell, the car turned back around. Only then did Yu Jia relax. Even when socializing with her younger sisters, she had maintained twelve points of vigilance, terrified of any impropriety, which had kept her muscles taut with tension. Now facing her brother alone, she dropped her defenses and asked, "How is your brother-in-law?"
Yu Yiyi replied, "Eight liangs of liquor."
Drunk again. Needless to say, Di Liren was probably completely incapacitated. Yu Jia blamed her brother for not trying to dissuade him, though before leaving she had told Yu Yiyi not to drink, so he couldn't have substituted for Liren. Still, even if he couldn't drink for him, he could have talked him out of it, right? Yu Jia fell into a momentary silence; she didn't want to criticize her brother directly, so she conveyed her feelings through her tone.
Yu Yiyi turned the steering wheel. "Sis—brother-in-law was just happy."
Happy about what? Happy that she had come to the big city for their marital reunion? At least during the days she had been here, she hadn't seen it, nor had she felt it. Over the successive days they had been together, they hadn't shared marital intimacy for a very, very long time—so long that she was almost beginning to forget what that feeling was like. It felt like something from a past life. The last time had been when he went back home to visit relatives and fulfill his duties. At her age, Yu Jia could understand that things weren't the same as before in various aspects, but heart calling to heart, after turning it over and over in her mind, she still felt there was something wrong between them.
There was no third party. She was certain Luan Chengyun wouldn't dare. Working within this political system, lifestyle issues were an absolute taboo.
He was a good husband.
As the car drove into the alley, Yu Jia asked, "Did he throw up?" referring to Luan Chengyun—meaning Liren.
Yu Yiyi said, "He threw up once at the restaurant and once in the car, but both times he caught it." A faint smell of alcohol still lingered in the car. Fortunately, they had been drinking themselves, otherwise it would have been a bit embarrassing.
"Sisi is at home, right?" she continued asking.
"She said she finished her homework," Yu Yiyi reported, adding, "The auntie is there too."
Auntie? Which auntie? Yu Jia didn't react immediately. She stared at her brother. "Brother-in-law's mother," Yu Yiyi explained. A jolt went through Yu Jia's heart. Her mother-in-law had always been a woman of discretion. Arriving at this hour without calling beforehand was definitely out of the ordinary.
In her heart, she blamed her brother for not mentioning it earlier and failing to report it sooner. On second thought, however, she had no choice but to understand her brother; he probably assumed Luan Chengyun's mother had always been living with them, or perhaps thought there was nothing amiss about the old lady being at home.
After all, when she wasn't by Luan Chengyun's side, Yu Yiyi rarely stepped foot in their home anyway.