The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 2 - 2

Chapter 2 - 2

Yu Shuang threw herself back into work, frantically so. She had originally thought this would allow her to forget her mother and escape her mother's influence. To her surprise, the feeling of loneliness only grew more intense. The company was undertaking a major project, and the headquarters was relocating from the big city to Xuzhou. Unwilling to move with the headquarters, Yu Shuang naturally became part of the "left-behind" staff, leading a small team of a few people. Although she was still the boss, her workload was much more leisurely.

Suddenly, she felt like she was shooting arrows without a target. She was willing to work overtime, but there was no overtime to be had. She only needed to go to the company two or three times a week, leaving the rest of her time entirely at her own disposal. If there was business, she would go; if not, she stayed home.

Yu Rui was also taken aback, never expecting that Yu Shuang, with her reduced workload, would turn into such a homebody. She constantly migrated between two spots in the house: the bed and the couch. Clutching a book under the fine-sounding pretext of "studying," this state of affairs continued for half a month, during which Yu Shuang gained around ten pounds, her cheeks becoming full and rounded, yet looking thoroughly dull and slow-witted.

To nip the problem in the bud, Yu Rui dragged Yu Shuang to the gym at the first opportunity. There were quite a few trainers there who met the standards of good looks, but after going a few times, Yu Shuang disliked every single one of them. When discussing her criteria for a partner, Shuang argued eloquently, "He has to have some kind of education—not necessarily a very high one, but at least a master's degree." There was one other underlying standard that Yu Shuang left unsaid: it would be best if he had some experience studying abroad.

Yu Shuang liked men who had seen the world. Parentheses: older men excluded. Yu Rui mocked, "This of yours is a complete paradox. You want him to have seen the world, but you won't allow him to be old—where are there so many young men who have seen the world? Even Bai Yuankai is someone you can't swallow."

"He's a buddy," Yu Shuang said. Pausing for a moment, she added, "Didn't you let him get swallowed by you, anyway?"

Yu Rui blushed with embarrassment. After that dinner banquet, Bai Yuankai had never contacted her again. She had given "likes" to his posts, but he never returned the favor, making her too embarrassed to like them anymore. Perhaps he was just too busy. Unlike people like them, who were idle. That was the only way she could think about it.

Just establishing a "like-based friendship" with someone of his caliber wasn't easy. Furthermore, both Yu Meng and Yu Shuang had his contact information. If she kept liking too many things, her intentions would be too obvious; Shuang might not say anything, but Meng would definitely notice. Yu Rui didn't like others seeing through her intentions.

Yu Rui changed the subject. She didn't want to talk about "Old Bai." He made her feel a sense of defeat—he was a man beyond her ability to control.

Shuang was walking at a fast pace on the treadmill, complaining, "I just don't understand why people always have to use their own time to please someone else."

Round and round went the same old talk. Wasn't this because of the sense of crisis after their mother's passing? Yet Rui couldn't bring up their mother's death. She could only advise, "You're young now, and you can handle things. When you're single, nobody else goes hungry—but what about the future? Have you thought about it? When people get older, it's still better to have a family, a child, at least some sustenance, some destination."

Shuang was about to retort when Rui immediately cut her off. "Don't argue. Nobody likes loneliness, nobody likes solitude. You've got 'single-itis.' It needs to be cured."

Yu Shuang kept running, trying hard to recall when her last romance had been. She couldn't remember. It felt like an ancient legend.

One after another, Yu Rui suddenly found herself getting busy. Through some indirect connections, Liang Cai had arranged a public relations position for Yu Rui at a certain satellite television station. It was even a minor leadership role, with four young women under her command; her daily duties primarily involved negotiation and reception.

There were banquets aplenty.

Being busy was a good thing, Yu Rui told herself. The most crucial part was that through this platform, she could come into contact with more people. This was precisely what she wanted.

Because of Liang Cai's indirect connections—and rumors that the backing was quite influential—no one dared to mess with her for the time being, and Rui's position remained rock-solid. However, the public relations department was inherently a place with heavy socializing; even if it wasn't busy, it felt busy. Drinking, in particular, was an everyday occurrence. Fortunately, Yu Rui was young and could handle it. Whenever she couldn't quite hold her ground, she would pop a couple of sobering pills or take a protective supplement beforehand to get ready.

Once you reached this position, you could no longer afford to be coy, nor could you put on an act of being reserved. You were a PR girl, and people stereotyped you as someone who could let loose and drink freely, especially if you needed to pull off business results. Yet on this particular day, Yu Rui felt excruciatingly awkward. Halfway through the banquet, several people suddenly arrived, introduced as important figures.

The moment she looked up, Bai Yuankai was standing right there. Yu Rui's bravado instantly fizzled out quite a bit. She wasn't used to letting loose in front of him. Her persona was still that of a reserved, modest little actress; how could she suddenly transform into a woman who knew how to thrive among a pack of men? She felt an inexplicable sense of shame.

"I really can't drink anymore." This was the sentence Yu Rui said most often after Bai Yuankai appeared.

The men were unwilling to let her off the hook, endlessly claiming that Director Yu's capacity was much more than this.

"I'll take it." Unable to bear watching any longer, Bai Yuankai offered to drink in her place.

Not knowing they knew each other, the crowd chimed in with teasing remarks. "Oh, President Bai is already stepping in to protect the flower? Come, come, change seats!" Sure enough, someone stood up to offer Yuankai a seat, and he was pressed down right next to Yu Rui.

For the entire evening, the two of them felt an indescribable awkwardness. Yuankai drank in her place out of a sense of friendly camaraderie and gentlemanly chivalry, while Yu Rui felt ashamed of her dust-stained, worldly line of work. Although everything was completely legitimate and proper, deep down inside, Yu Rui still felt that this reception work carried a slight hint of Du Shiniang's courtesan tragedy. She and he were simply not in the same social stratum.

You couldn't drive after drinking. After sending off a few of the older men, Rui went to the restroom to touch up her makeup. Yuankai was still waiting for her. He had called a designated driver and said he would drop her off.

For the second time.

Being in the same car compartment felt slightly different from the first time. The designated driver was a young man, and because a third party was present, the two of them found it rather difficult to converse. When they arrived downstairs at Shuang's apartment building, Yu Rui got out of the car, and Yuankai stepped out to walk her as well.

"Thank you," she said. He repeatedly told her not to mention it. She had originally wanted to say, "I bet you didn't expect me to be doing this kind of work," but the words died on her lips. She thought better of it—why bother explaining? It was a legitimate job anyway, and once you started explaining, it would only take on a weird flavor.

The lady doth protest too much; it was a confession without being asked.

The two of them said goodbye. Yuankai had nothing extra to say. Yu Rui felt a twinge of disappointment. She would rather he had offered a few words of comfort, even if that comfort might hurt her self-esteem and bruise her pride, because it would at least show that he cared about her.

She pretended to be strong, so he genuinely believed she was strong.

Fortunately, this time she had given money to the driver in advance, so at least it didn't look like she was always freeloading off him. She was an independent woman—or at least she had to look like one on the surface.

Opening the door, she found the living room in utter chaos, piled high with clothes.

Yu Meng poked her head out from the "mountain of clothes" and said, "You're finally back, come help out." Shuang was lounging on the couch "studying," showing zero interest in Sister Meng's "family property." Fearing that Shuang would only make a bigger mess by trying to tidy up, Yu Meng had no choice but to do it herself.

"What are you doing? Opening a store?"

Yu Meng laughed. "These are all things I don't wear anymore. Want to pick out anything you like?" She seemed to be in a good mood. Clothes, shoes, bags, and some unnamable small accessories from various eras were scattered around, while the corner of the room was clustered with cosmetics of all descriptions.

This was a woman—a beautiful woman—who over the course of decades had gradually accumulated "property" like an ant moving grains, representing her evolution history as well. Yu Rui had never seen Yu Meng's wardrobe, but she had anticipated that a quasi-wealthy wife like Yu Meng would certainly have plenty of things. Yet the sheer volume before her eyes still far exceeded Rui's predictions. Moreover, did the appearance of all these items signify that Sister Meng was about to make a major move?

Yu Rui stood there in a daze.

"Aren't you going to move?" Yu Meng urged her. Yu Rui quickly put down her bag and joined the cleanup effort. By eleven o'clock at night, Yu Shuang had gone to bed. Her daily routine was very disciplined now. Meng and Rui busied themselves until nearly twelve. Things were basically in place and had some order to them; Rui picked out two dresses and a coat as her reward. Meng also indicated that she could borrow or wear any of these clothes at any time.

Throughout the whole process, Rui kept her mouth shut. She knew how to behave. Meng didn't speak, and she didn't ask.

Yu Meng went to run the bathwater. Rui noticed something resembling a small pocket watch lying on the floor. When she opened it, a tiny photograph was embedded inside: Luan Chengyun and Yu Meng were smiling like blooming flowers. Had it been taken during the height of their passionate romance? Or perhaps shortly after they got married? They were still so young.

"What, you like it?" Yu Meng walked over and asked.

Yu Rui gave an awkward smile, feeling as though she had been caught snooping through someone else's belongings. Not good.

"Pry the photo out, keep the watch," Yu Meng said generously.

Yu Rui looked at her with a slightly startled expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yu Meng said. "We're getting a divorce soon." The excitement in her tone was as if she were about to be released from prison.