The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 2 - 8

Chapter 2 - 8

Yu Meng's pace was even faster.

The moment her divorce certificate was in hand, she acquired a social title and immediately launched into socializing. In truth, had it not been for her high standards, the mere spread of the news that she was divorced would have already sent men into a restless frenzy.

Yu Meng's suitors were numerous. Weng Yue's older brother, Weng Yang, was one of them.

It was also Yu Meng's own fault. Following her divorce, in order to maintain a certain persona, she threw money around with abandon. Weng Yue assumed that she had walked away from the divorce with tens of millions, so she eagerly rushed to pull strings for her brother. Weng Yang's ex-wife had a fiery temper, was overly competitive, and showed no respect for her mother-in-law. Her sister-in-law, Weng Yue, had strongly championed her brother getting rid of his wife. After six months of tumultuous drama, they finally divorced. The upside was that it helped save face for their aging mother and cleaned house of an undesirable element. The downside was that her brother brazenly leaned on Yu Meng for support, and he also had a daughter. Both father and daughter relied entirely on Director Weng Yue to sustain their livelihood.

Weng Yue felt like she was dragging a massive, burdensome weight behind her.

For this recent move, Weng Yue forbade her brother from coming along, arranging for him to stay behind and look after the ancestral courtyard in their hometown of Wenling. When Yu Meng suddenly got divorced, Weng Yue decided the timing was ripe, immediately summoning her brother out of the mountains and setting up a dinner banquet. If the two of them united, first, she could shed the burden of her brother, and second, she could cement her relationship with Yu Meng, making it much easier to conduct business in the future.

It was a win-win.

Who would have thought Yu Meng wouldn't buy into this scheme? The moment she heard she was supposed to meet Weng Yang, she flew into a rage, stomping her feet in anger. While removing her makeup that night, she couldn't stop complaining to Yu Shuang, "He even wants to eat off me! I don't even know whose food I should be eating yet!" Finding it amusing, Yu Shuang stoked the flames, "Didn't she also say her brother is completely sincere, willing to raise two kids together—oh wait, three—and has been crushing on you for decades?"

With a sudden turn of her face, pale and haggard like a white ghost of the underworld, Yu Meng snapped, "She might be willing, but I sure as hell am not! Are you out of your mind?!"

She wasn't going to fall for that trap. Suffering a crushing defeat right out of the gate would make Luan Chengyun look down on her even more! Having finally managed to break free, she could only look upward; looking downward was out of the question. Her dignity was at stake—how could she treat it like child's play? If she had wanted to find some poor man to live with, would she have waited until now?! Weng Yue was odious! Selfish! No wonder men dumped her.

Yu Rui hadn't returned home yet.

Yu Shuang casually dropped a mention, "Xiaorui found a boyfriend."

Yu Meng's interest was instantly ignited, and she eagerly pressed for details.

"Just some minor business owner."

"What does he do?"

"Runs a restaurant? Or deals in building materials? Anyway, he opened some kind of company, a local guy," Yu Shuang said.

Mediocre at best. Outwardly, Yu Meng called it not bad, but inwardly she felt a trace of disdain. A surge of superiority welled up inside her. Heh, she really is just a little girl lacking life experience. Unlike me with my discerning eyes, she just hands herself over to some small-time boss? Five years from now, when she looks back, her intestines will turn green with regret!

Yu Meng had always wanted to advise Yu Rui to study old Shanghai movie actresses. To live in a world of glitz and glamour, one needed revolutionary awareness and forward-looking vision. They were all actresses after all—look at how those women did it! One had to view problems with a developmental perspective! Since she had decided to walk this path, she might as well be bold; only by daring to dream did one stand a chance of succeeding.

What was a small-time boss? Not even enough to fill the gap between her teeth.

"What about yours?" Yu Meng asked, referring to Kang Long.

"No contact," Yu Shuang said.

It was the honest truth, entirely devoid of any spiteful posturing. Ever since their blind date "success" a while back, Yu Shuang and Kang Long had each been busy with their own affairs. Aside from occasionally exchanging voice notes and checking out video calls, the two of them hadn't even met in person again.

"I'm not going to curry favor with him," Yu Shuang said. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, but she had to exercise restraint.

"Being too Platonic is no good either," Yu Meng fretted.

"He studies his chestnuts, and I do my online education; meeting up would simply be a waste of time," Yu Shuang had her own theory.

Disappointed by her lack of ambition, Yu Meng muttered, "If you're afraid of wasting time now, the days of wasting time are still way ahead of you. A person still needs a companion."

When Yu Rui finally returned, the three of them discussed the matter and agreed it was necessary to host a gathering at home. Kang Long definitely had to come so Yu Shuang's friends could take a look at him and vet him. Bai Yuankai should come as well since he was the matchmaker and deserved a thank-you. Upon learning that Yuankai would be attending, Yu Rui vowed that nothing on earth could make her bring up Shi Tongguang. The two of them weren't even an official couple yet, and it wasn't time to introduce Shi to her friends. Even if their relationship deepened in the future, as long as Yuankai made an appearance, Yu Rui had no intention of letting Shi show his face.

She was afraid she wouldn't act naturally.

Besides, Sister Jia was coming too, and since Yu Yi had been given the cold shoulder, there was no guarantee Jia wouldn't be displeased. Yu Rui intended to assess the situation first before deciding. Faced with Yu Meng's "interrogation," Yu Rui simply claimed he was just a friend.

An official conclusion, of sorts.

The next day, Yu Shuang arranged to meet Yu Jia and Bai Yuankai, while Yu Meng took the lead on behalf of the family to invite Kang Long. Yu Jia couldn't come at first, claiming her child had tutoring and she had to accompany her. She wanted to steer clear of the situation initially. Yu Meng wouldn't take no for an answer, calling her back a second time and pestering her relentlessly until she agreed that coming over after tutoring finished would be fine. Yu Jia had no choice but to say she would see how things went. Bai Yuankai agreed to come, though he had a meeting that day and might run late, but he promised he would definitely show up. Kang Long was straightforward, readily accepting over the phone.

Because of the gathering, this week seemed exceptionally full of anticipation. Yu Meng wasn't one to sit idle. She met with Weng Yue and Weng Yang. However, right on the spot, Yu Meng ruthlessly mocked, ridiculed, and bantered Weng Yang into silence. Seeing her older brother had zero hope and not wanting to unnecessarily offend Yu Meng—after all, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and at her age, trusted girlfriends who could actually talk to her were few and far between—Weng Yue decided she didn't want to lose this friendship. Consequently, to make up for her past faults, Weng Yue took the initiative to recommend Yu Meng for entry into the district's "Women Entrepreneurs Association"—though originally, she had just wanted to deliberately put her through some difficulties and elevate her own status. More than happy to go with the flow, Yu Meng forgave Weng Yue right over the phone, and the two of them looked ready to swear a blood oath of sisterhood.

Bai Yuankai and Kang Long were coming. Yu Shuang maintained an attitude of complete indifference, going completely bare-faced and even deliberately working overtime on the eve of the gathering (purely by coincidence). As for Yu Meng, she viewed the matter with an ordinary frame of mind; whoever was coming belonged to the younger generation and weren't her targets. As the eldest sister and head honcho, once she put on airs of high moral standing, she naturally had to look somewhat dignified. She didn't need much preparation. Furthermore, with her "career" experiencing a sudden breakthrough, she was met with happy occasions and naturally radiated glowing energy.

Only Yu Rui braced herself for battle.

On Friday afternoon, she left work early to get a facial skincare treatment. She had originally wanted to do something with her hair too, but worried it would look too deliberate, she dropped the idea.

Despite appearing lighthearted, her subtle signs still didn't escape Yu Meng's discerning gaze.

Only Meng and Rui were left in the house, once again sorting through clothes. In Yu Rui's impression, whenever she was around Yu Meng, it was either visiting a beauty salon or sorting clothes. She once joked that Sister Meng's wardrobe was like Doraemon's pocket—endless no matter how much you pulled out.

Glancing sideways at Yu Rui, Yu Meng let loose a remark, "You went to Daiman, didn't you?"

"No."

"Youthful hydrating ultrasound skin-tightening Korean eyebrow-lifting swan neck," tilting her head, she scanned Rui 180 degrees like rattling off a rap chant, "Good thing you didn't get Botox; you don't need it yet."

"I just got a hydration treatment," Yu Rui laughed, "and you hand down so many charges against me."

Maintaining her verdict, Yu Meng said, "At your age, doing all that isn't necessary, but your attitude is right. Investment might bring returns; zero investment brings zero returns. A woman's appearance is bound, absolutely bound, to depreciate over time."

Well, duh. A man's appearance wasn't going to appreciate either.

Yu Rui chuckled.

As if guessing her inner thoughts, Yu Meng followed up, "Men are different. Some men look ordinary when they're young, but the older they get, the more flavor they have. Appearance included. Being bald when you're young is a heinous crime. When you reach a certain age, having half a bald pate sometimes actually radiates an air of success."

She certainly knew how to make excuses for men.

"So?" Yu Rui waited for the other shoe to drop.

"So before it depreciates to a hopeless degree, you absolutely must secure a boat ticket and get on board. Otherwise, out in the vast open ocean, are you going to swim by yourself? You'll exhaust yourself to death."

An interesting metaphor. Following her line of thought, Yu Rui remarked, "Yet you're the one crying and shouting about getting off the boat."

"It was practically sinking; if I didn't jump off, was I supposed to wait around to die?" Yu Meng put on a bizarre expression. "Now that we're divorced, I don't want to speak too ill of people." Hanging up the garment she held in her hand, she continued, "Hmph, previously I boarded a small sailboat, but this time I'm boarding a cruise ship. My specifications require nothing less than a cruise ship."

What Yu Rui admired most about Sister Meng was precisely this—she never bothered to conceal her ambition.

Yet, she didn't think Yu Meng's approach was clever enough. Who didn't want to board a cruise ship? She wanted one too. But what genuine cruise ship wouldn't be on guard against a woman who wore her ambition plastered across her face? Direct warnings and constant preaching were bound to startle the prey. This society had no tolerance for women who were overly ambitious—even if their target was merely a man.

Yu Rui believed in playing the fool while keeping one's wisdom hidden, and women doubly so—no matter how smart you were, you had to act a little silly on the surface. A woman who looked too shrewd lived an utterly exhausting life; men would be on guard against you, afraid you were digging traps for them, while other women would be on guard against you, afraid you'd steal their resources. The worst-case scenario was looking utterly calculating while actually being a complete fool; such women ultimately ended up defeated across the board, kicked while they were down by everyone, with not a shred left standing.

Conversely, Yu Meng looked down on Yu Rui's secretive and guarded nature just as much. In her view, the absolute best way to win was never defense, but offense, offense, and more offense! It was just that the method of attack needed to be a bit smarter—ideally throwing the city gates wide open and inviting the enemy right into the urn. She liked guiding men into her own encirclement and then, out of nowhere, securing a decisive victory! Beauty was her weapon; she attacked and conquered all, victorious in every battle.

Changing her tone, Yu Meng asked, "Are you really planning on sticking with that small-time boss?"

"No," Yu Rui gave a soft denial. Shuang was running her mouth again; she hadn't been able to keep the secret. Not because her lips were loose, but because in her eyes, these romantic entanglements weren't secrets at all.

"You're doing it for Xiaobai, aren't you?" Yu Meng teased. A veteran of the social scene through and through. Caught right at the bullseye of her secret, Yu Rui felt her face burn, but she certainly couldn't admit to it.

"My membership is about to expire, so I might as well use it." It made for a good excuse.

Continuing her lecture, Yu Meng said, "If I were you, I wouldn't go for a small-time boss; I'd definitely lock onto Xiaobai. What does having a little money matter? Someone like Xiaobai is the future, the one with hope. Staying with a man like that elevates your spirit and keeps you from aging so fast." Yu Rui forced a bitter smile inwardly; everyone knew Bai Yuankai was a catch, but who could actually capture him?

She certainly didn't have that kind of confidence.

Toward Yu Yi, she looked down; toward Shi Tongguang, she looked horizontally with a sidelong glance; but when it came to Bai Yuankai, she could only look up.

Unwilling to let Yu Meng guess her thoughts, Yu Rui deflected, "Sister Meng, we can say whatever we want in private, but once everyone arrives later, you mustn't make jokes like that. We aren't even quite friends yet; we've only met twice. Many things can't be forced; you just have to leave it to fate. But thanks for always worrying over me, Sister Meng. Heh, I'm just lacking a sister like you to guide and elevate me, otherwise I wouldn't have wasted so many years."

Yu Meng had originally wanted to say a bit more. But flattered by Yu Rui's praise, she couldn't help floating on air and completely forgot the rest. Still, she firmly promised that once Bai Yuankai arrived, she definitely wouldn't play matchmaker too aggressively. Emphasizing her point, Yu Meng declared that the main characters of this gathering were Kang Long and Yu Shuang; as long as they played their supporting roles well, that would be enough.