The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 2 - 4

Chapter 2 - 4

"You were the one who insisted you liked long hair." In the small park, Yu Shuang and Kang Long sat side by side as Yu Shuang suddenly started complaining.

Kang Long didn't speak. He didn't deny it; this was simply his preference, which wasn't inherently wrong. Yet he didn't dislike Yu Shuang with short hair either.

The tips of her hair were slightly charred at the ends. Yu Shuang kept smoothing them down with her hands, which instead gave her a somewhat girlish air.

"My apologies," Kang Long said. His reaction time was a bit slow.

"You don't need to apologize," Yu Shuang said. "I just don't understand why long hair always has to be good-looking."

"It looks good... a little." He was of the nature to speak the absolute truth.

"How much trouble is it to wash? For someone like me with an oily scalp, I have to wash it every day. If it were long hair, not only would it waste money and shampoo while polluting the environment even more, but it would also waste a tremendous amount of time. Is there any point to that?" This was the real Yu Shuang.

Her name suited her well. Crisp and straightforward.

"I never thought about it that way," Kang Long said.

"Do you guys always have such a high opinion of yourselves?" Yu Shuang suddenly blurted out, completely out of the blue.

Kang Long stood up with a stiff, wooden expression. Yu Shuang thought to herself: Good, it's about time I get cursed out and sent away. Who would have known that he stood up, took half a step back, and suddenly bent down to pull off one of his shoes. He fished out a height-increasing insole from inside.

It was quite a few centimeters tall. White plastic, with a layer of instant-noodle padding on the surface.

"Being over one meter eighty is also very hard work," he said, swiftly pulling out the other height-increasing insert. Clutching them in his hand, he walked toward the trash can.

Yu Shuang couldn't help but laugh, suddenly feeling that this chestnut PhD had a certain charm to him. When Kang Long returned, his first sentence was, "One meter seventy-six, when wearing shoes."

She had already forgiven him. From this moment on, the two of them could truly be said to have met properly; it was as if the two people back at the barbecue restaurant hadn't been them at all, but merely meticulously crafted disguises. They talked about their respective upbringings, preferences, past experiences, current statuses, and even discussed their financial situations. Yu Shuang never expected Kang Long to be so direct. Oh no, one could even call it blunt.

Whatever was on their minds was brought right out to the table, without any coy beating around the bush. It was sincere enough, direct enough, and effective enough. The two of them walked three laps around the small park.

Yu Shuang asked if he smoked. Kang Long replied, "I used to, but I don't anymore." When Yu Shuang asked why, Kang Long simply said he didn't want to smoke anymore.

There was a children's playground in the corner of the park, with quite a few mothers watching their kids play. Perhaps it was the setting sun playing tricks, or the melancholic mood of the twilight, but watching the little ones and their mothers laughing and frolicking made Yu Shuang's nose sting slightly.

Kang Long asked her what was wrong.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Shuang said, "My mom just passed away."

He let out a long, drawn-out "oh." Yuankai hadn't mentioned this. Sad news.

"I started looking for someone because my mom passed away," Yu Shuang added.

A three-second pause. Counted as a moment of silence.

"Me too," he said.

"What?"

"Me too," he repeated.

"Me too what?"

"My mom just passed away recently as well."

Yu Shuang was startled. Bai Yuankai hadn't mentioned that. Their background research hadn't been thorough enough.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No need to say sorry," he consoled her.

"What a... coincidence." Tears sprang from her eyes.

"Fate," he said, his tone remaining as blunt as ever.

"You started looking for someone because your mom passed away too?" Yu Shuang pressed further.

"More or less. I didn't want to keep living alone like this." He maintained his straightforward style. Yu Shuang liked it.

Against all odds, Yu Shuang was willing to give a renewed romance a try. Meng and Shuang were so happy they wanted to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. Shuang said, "Let's wait for Sister Jia to be free." Yu Jia had time on Saturday. When Bai Yuankai got the news, he was also very pleased, and Yu Meng praised him for truly living up to his status as an upper-class man holding a great hand of cards. She even counted on Yuankai introducing social elites to her in the future so she could conquer the world.

Yet Yu Shuang scoffed at the four words "upper-class society." "What upper-class society? He's just a bookworm who studies chestnuts."

Yu Meng argued, "A person like you is suited for finding someone who studies, someone in research, so he can stay behind and be bullied by you. Big bosses, wealthy tycoons, and high-ranking officials come with complicated interpersonal relationships that you simply couldn't handle." Yu Rui asked when their next date was. With an "oh my," Yu Shuang said that she hadn't even digested this one yet, so why talk about the next? Her appetite was small; eating one meal was enough to keep her digested for a whole month.

Growing interested upon hearing this, Yu Meng hurried over to Yu Shuang's side, crossed her legs, and said, "Tell me about it."

"Tell you what?"

"The specifics, the details." Yu Meng possessed an endless well of curiosity.

Holding her teacup, Yu Rui hurried over as well to listen with rapt attention.

"Nothing much. Just a guy."

"Did he meet all the criteria?"

"He passes."

"How tall?"

"Under one meter eighty."

"And his looks?"

"An ordinary person."

"So that means his personality is good."

"A bit blunt." Yu Shuang picked up her yogurt and sucked on it. A sizzling sound came from the bottle as it rapidly neared the bottom.

"Is he rich? Is his family background exceptionally good?"

"So-so. A bit better than me, but not by much."

"What on earth about him attracted you? You suddenly decided he passes?" Yu Meng was getting impatient.

"His mom just passed away too."

"What?"

"His mother just passed away, which is pretty much the same situation as mine," Yu Shuang rephrased.

"Just because of that?" Yu Meng found it unbelievable.

"We are both wretched people wandering far from home," Yu Rui offered.

Serving as the concluding remark.

"Meeting each other, why must we have known each other before," Yu Shuang capped the phrase and stood up.

She was in a good mood.

Yu Meng's morning had already been fully planned out. In the morning, she would tidy up her things and do yoga. The two apartments split from the divorce were currently placed under escrow, rented out and managed through an agency while she collected payments on a monthly basis. Yu Shuang asked her to stay. Until she found a new boyfriend, Yu Meng felt that hanging out with her best friend was quite nice.

In the afternoon, she had an appointment with Weng Yue to get her zygomatic arches shaved down.

Last time Weng Yue mentioned wanting to get her jaw angles shaved, Yu Meng hadn't accompanied her, but this time she had to show up and accompany her all the way. For this kind of endeavor, the only person she could turn to was Weng Yue. Shuang definitely wouldn't do it. Rui didn't have the time, and besides, she was still young enough that skincare was sufficient; her natural foundation was good, so she didn't need all this fussy effort. As for Sister Jia? She was still stuck in the phase of just smearing Lancôme on her face, regardless of whether her natural capital was already stretched to its limits. Yu Jia believed that nature was beauty, even though her entire appearance already looked far from natural.

Yu Meng lamented her misfortune while feeling angry at her lack of drive; naturally, beauty came with a cost, and natural beauty was without a doubt something that had been meticulously sculpted—it was just sculpted to look as trace-free as possible. Raw, untamed nature would, nine times out of ten, be a shocking wasteland.

Yet Yu Meng had her boundaries. For instance, Weng Yue had once asked her, "Have you ever considered breast augmentation?" Yu Meng firmly refused. Many things, even if you could fool yourself, could never fool a man. They had once mocked Kim Kardashian together, and that photo of her putting a wine glass on her buttocks had been used by them as a negative example. On the issue of beauty, Weng Yue and Yu Meng had reached a startling consensus.

Westerners beauty was far too realistic, whereas Easterners couldn't pull that off. A truly attractive Eastern woman had to be subtle and possess strength of character in her beauty.

Cheekbones were crucial. Weng Yue planned to do the zygomatic reduction and jaw angle surgery all at once. Hearing the consultation details, Yu Meng felt her heart skip a beat with terror and advised, "Jaw shaving is a Level 4 surgery; isn't it dangerous?"

Thank goodness she was a natural-born beauty who didn't need to suffer a second round of torment, only requiring minor touch-ups as she aged.

Weng Yue's attitude, however, was resolute. Her face was large, a broad square face, and what was trendy nowadays were egg-shaped and melon-seed faces. She was definitely going to do it, but this visit was primarily focused on preparatory work. The two procedures combined came to one hundred and twenty thousand. Money wasn't the issue; Weng Yue was still worried about the results and said she needed to think about it more. They would reschedule the time. On one hand, Yu Meng admired her; on the other, she looked down on her just a bit. In order to become beautiful, she was pulling out all the stops, which ultimately looked rather unsightly. It seemed she had new plans brewing. Beating around the bush, Yu Meng found out that Weng Yue's sudden arrival in the big city was also due to heartbreak. There were no secrets in this world, especially within their little circle. Yet Weng Yue had always had plenty of men on hand; the source of her injury remained uncertain.

After the consultation, the two women did a simple hydrating facial. Yu Meng had actually accompanied her with another motive in mind. Even if she brought it up, she had to do it very casually, as if it were a sudden inspiration. Lying side by side on the aesthetic beds, Yu Meng smiled and asked whether Weng Yue still kept in touch with that fat woman from last time. Failing to catch on at first, Weng Yue asked what fat woman. Yu Meng said, "The one from the Japanese restaurant."

Making the connection, Weng Yue said she still saw her occasionally.

"Is she still the vice president?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, Weng Yue understood. The fat woman was the vice president of the Women Entrepreneurs Association.

"Still holding the post."

"She's in the embroidery circle too."

"She's in the Qipao Association as well."

Yu Meng smiled, remarking how active she was. "When are you going to hook me up with a social position too?" She didn't say "please help." She said "hook me up," as if it were something she could pluck effortlessly out of thin air.

Weng Yue didn't take the bait. Yu Meng fell silent, which served as her way of showing displeasure. After a moment, Weng Yue said, "It's not that you can't join the Women Entrepreneurs Association, but you have to run an enterprise first." The implication was that she wasn't qualified. Yu Meng had a cultural company—a shell corporation that was even more illusory than a trading agency.

"What about other things?" she asked, refusing to give up.

Weng Yue replied, "Economic Development Zone Consultant—once you get a business up and running, you'll naturally have those." Meaning she still didn't make the cut. Pausing for a second, she continued, "As for the rest, like the Qipao Association or the Embroidery Association, do those even catch your eye? They don't carry any weight. Why don't you consider the Nurses Association?"

Yu Meng felt an itch of hatred; who wanted to join some Nurses Association? She rarely mentioned her humble background to others. Out of the corner of her eye, Weng Yue sensed her best friend's discomfort and said, "If you get Lao Luan to transfer a well-running company over to you, or if you participate in one, getting into the Women Entrepreneurs Association shouldn't be a problem."

Weng Yue was provoking her. She already knew about Yu Meng and Luan's situation. Lao Luan himself had told her about it and even asked her to look out for Yu Meng. Weng Yue had agreed on the surface, but felt a bit envious inside. They were already divorced, yet he was still looking out for her? Did she really have such good fortune? Why were men always falling head over heels for her?

The moment Weng Yue mentioned Lao Luan, Yu Meng understood quite a bit. Since Weng Yue knew about her emotional trauma, she likely had wind of the whole affair between her and Luan as well. In the past, she might have turned around and interrogated or satirized her. But right now, she was the one asking for a favor. She needed to secure a social title to make it easier to move about in society. Where to? Announcing her affiliation: The Women Entrepreneurs Association. And then pulling out a name card. Impressive.

She certainly couldn't introduce herself to outsiders as a housewife.

When it was time to bow one's head, one had to bow. Yu Meng let out a hollow laugh, conceding a bit. Once everything was finished and they got into the car, she was responsible for dropping Weng Yue back before heading off to her evening dinner banquet with the girls. Out of the blue, she dropped another line: "Lao Luan and I have split up."

Suddenly tossing out the truth. Naked and unvarnished. Weng Yue was a bit caught off guard. She was used to Yu Meng's beating around the bush and speaking in code.

"What a pity." She grasped Yu Meng's hand.

"Don't get in the way of my driving." Yu Meng gently slapped her hand away. Weng Yue hurriedly pulled it back. In that exact instant, the two women suddenly grew as close as if they were the same person. The reason was simple: they were both single women now. Belonging to the same category, they ought to sympathize with one another.