The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 5 - 9

Chapter 5 - 9

Regarding the breakup, Yu Shuang demanded absolute secrecy from Rui, warning her not to breathe a word to even Jia or Meng.

Yu Rui was in no mood to gossip anyway. Lately, she had been running all over the place trying out for casting crews, and though she had a bit of money in her pocket, her sense of crisis was intense. After pounding the pavement for a while without much luck from film sets, she unexpectedly landed several commercial gigs in a row—some for laundry detergent, some video advertisements, promotional videos for a VR company and a movie town, and even printed page ads for a lingerie manufacturer. When it came time to shoot the lingerie ad, Yu Shuang tagged along. The photo studio was an absolute den of decadence, with nearly naked male and female models wandering around. Yu Shuang couldn't fathom why they had chosen Yu Rui for this, given that she wasn't particularly tall. Yet the moment Rui stepped onto the set, Shuang understood instantly: Yu Rui had a mesmerizing figure, especially the twin weapons on her chest, which possessed lethal striking power.

The only thing Yu Shuang couldn't wrap her head around was why a men's lingerie brand would hire a woman to model. It wasn't until Yu Rui came off the set that she explained, "It's about pairing; women are the objects of male desire."

Yu Shuang's attention wandered, and she found herself staring at the male models.

Yu Rui laughed and asked, "Like any of them? I can introduce you."

Yu Shuang replied, "What's this, running a duck farm?"

Yu Rui let out an amused sound. "Just make friends, why overthink it?"

Yu Shuang asked in a low, probing voice, "So things like this... between male models and female models, male actors and female actors..."

Before she could even finish, Yu Rui immediately answered, "They happen."

"This..."

"Physiological needs."

"You too?"

"Not me," Yu Rui denied. "You can, though. You're single."

"Aren't you single too?"

"Is purely physical sex even interesting?" She sighed. "We're long past that age, and besides—"

"And besides what?"

"And besides, you can't actually talk to them."

"Why?"

"The moment they open their mouths," Yu Rui described, "you realize just how vapid they are."

Yu Shuang chuckled. "You're so used to feasting on rich, grand banquets that you've started craving plain millet porridge instead."

"Millet porridge? Right, let's go eat millet porridge." Yu Rui gave Yu Shuang a light tap. "Pull your gaze back! Stop staring at people's rears and letting your eyes get stuck there."

Right in front of them stood a line of male models. Their underwear hugged them so tightly they looked like festive meat dumplings.

"Isn't that just normal?" Shuang laughed in shock.

"You're eating too much tofu with your eyes," Rui retorted bluntly. Pausing for a moment, she added, "Though seeing this actually gives me some peace of mind. You do still like men."

"What, are you afraid I'll fall in love with you?" Yu Shuang asked.

"Fear isn't quite the word; it's more that you're too much to handle. An ordinary person could never keep up with you. Honestly, Teacher Kang is a rare find."

"Don't mention him." Yu Shuang wanted nothing to do with that topic.

"Which one do you like?" Yu Rui asked. "Purely from an aesthetic standpoint."

Yu Shuang pointed at the third one from the left.

"His face is definitely hideous," Yu Rui judged.

"You think so?" Yu Shuang didn't believe it. Muttering under her breath, she chanted, Turn around, turn around, turn around. When the models actually spun around, the third one from the left bore a striking resemblance to the Bull Demon King, complete with enormous nostrils that huffed air like a jet engine.

Shuang and Rui burst into roaring laughter.

There is no such thing as an airtight wall. News of the breakup eventually reached Yu Yuankai through Kang Long. Yuankai believed Yu Shuang was just acting on a hot head and blowing off steam, and that things would smooth out after a cooling-off period. At the same time, he criticized Kang Long, saying, "You think relationships are scientific research where you have to state absolute facts? Even if you like pine nuts, you shouldn't have told Yu Shuang about it." Kang Long replied that he was just afraid of making a mistake. Yuankai countered, "So what if you make a mistake?" He was currently dealing with a "girlfriend" of his own—a match arranged by his family, a girl who had acquired British citizenship. He didn't like her; he loathed her affectations. His grandfather's generation had fought in the War of Resistance, yet barely two generations later, she constantly droned on about how much she despised the rural villages of Henan. Yielding to family pressure, he had no choice but to date her for now. "Take me and Erika, for instance. I don't like her, but I can't just walk up and say it's not working," Yuankai used himself as an example. "You get my point, right?" Kang Long said, "I know, you have to put on an act, and I'm not stupid. But didn't Kang Long and I make a pact to be completely honest and transparent with each other? My relationship with Shuang is a meeting of gentlemen—a gentleman's romance."

Yuankai sighed helplessly. "Yes, a gentleman's agreement, but don't forget—the person you're romancing is a woman."

"What's wrong with women?"

"What's wrong? Being prone to jealousy, refusing to listen to reason, and making unreasonable scenes are all their natural prerogatives."

"I don't like that kind of woman."

"Just tell me what you plan to do about it."

"Reconcile," Kang Long said. Reconciliation, however, wasn't going to be that simple. When Yuankai called, Yu Shuang guessed immediately that he had been sent as an intermediary, so she hung up and texted back: He sent you, didn't he? Don't bother trying to persuade me!

Direct persuasion clearly wasn't going to work. They had to take a roundabout path. Yuankai sought out Yu Jia for help. As the eldest of the sisterhood, she was reasonable and carried weight when she spoke. Hearing Yuankai's description, although Yu Jia felt Kang Long was a bit dense, it also corroborated her initial judgment: Kang Long and his colleague had indeed developed feelings over time. Her warning had been right on the mark. This time around, however, she had no intention of inserting herself back into Shuang and Long's romance. She advised letting things cool down. After this period passed, they could share a meal, offer an apology, and once Shuang's anger subsided, there would likely be room for a turnaround.

Taking advantage of the moment, Yuankai invited Yu Jia to practice Kunqu opera. Yu Jia politely declined. It wasn't that she didn't want to go—she did, as she adored Kunqu and her vocal cords were itching to sing—but she simply had no peace of mind right now. Sisi was about to fly to London, and she insisted on escorting her, even though her daughter protested that everything was already arranged over there. Moreover, Lirin had also mobilized some friends. Yet Yu Jia was unyielding. The plane tickets were already bought. Sisi had whined, "Mom, the moment you come along, it feels like you're escorting me to the execution ground!"

Yu Jia had a thick skull; let her daughter say whatever she pleased. She was the mother, and Sisi was merely a high schooler. Lirin was far too carefree, but she certainly wasn't.

Lirin's attitude toward her remained tepid and aloof. Lately, his emotional states had been swinging wildly. His immediate superior was about to step down, and at the farewell party, Lirin had gotten dead drunk. Until the very end, the boss never gave him a definitive promise or assurance. When Lirin questioned Yu Meng about it, she replied that she had already spoken to Liangcai. A man of his word, Liangcai would definitely bring it up as promised once he gave his word. As for whether it would actually work, she couldn't guarantee. Lirin's heart hammered with anxiety. Unable to cope, he used his drunken state to continue pledging loyalty to his superior while simultaneously venting the frustrations festering in his own chest.

He returned home and vomited violently, collapsing across the bed and ruining the sheets. Yu Jia hurried to change them. Lirin alternated between crying and laughing, every word he uttered an unfiltered truth spoken under the influence.

It was entirely centered around his career—his grievances, his unwillingness to accept defeat, his anxieties, and his distress, spilling out in fragmented pieces... Yu Jia listened, desperately trying to piece it all together to understand her husband's mental state. He truly had it hard. Yet he should have talked to her about it; they were husband and wife, husband and wife, husband and wife! Why wouldn't he say anything... Why on earth...

Watching her husband's agony, Yu Jia shed tears. What had been the point of coming to the big city? On the surface, it looked glamorous, but inside it felt as though thousands of needles were pricking her soul. How could it ever compare to the comfort of their hometown? Yu Jia regretted coming, but she knew there was no turning back now.

Once he sobered up, Lirin began suffering from insomnia. He went to the hospital to pick up medication, took it, and found it useless. Lirin tossed and turned in bed until he couldn't take it anymore, grabbing a copy of Das Kapital to read. That proved useless too. In the past, this book had served as the ultimate sleeping pill. Their daughter was asleep. Deep in the night, hearing the commotion, Yu Jia padded across the floor from the next room in her bare feet. Completely silent. Hearing a shifting movement, Lirin turned over, caught sight of a human silhouette, and let out a startled yelp.

"What are you doing!"

Yu Jia was struck dumb. What was she doing? What else could she be doing? Caring about him.

"Do you want me to keep you company for a bit?" she asked.

Lirin shifted over to make some room—the right half of the bed had belonged to Yu Jia anyway. Reaching out, she grabbed a hoodie lying nearby and swiftly folded it into a rectangle to use as a pillow, lying down flat on her back. Lirin kept silent. The married couple lay there like that for twenty minutes.

Lirin finally spoke. "You should go back to the other room. With you here, I can't sleep."

Yu Jia sat up.

Lirin had already beaten her to it, scrambling out of bed. "Don't move, I'll go to the other room." He insisted on switching rooms to sleep. Surrounded by pitch-black darkness, Yu Jia suddenly felt a pang of profound sorrow. He literally couldn't fall asleep with her by his side. When had things deteriorated to this point? This marriage was as pitch-black and bitter as the night outside. Yet who could she talk to? How could she ever bring herself to voice it? Her self-respect didn't allow it either. Everyone assumed she was soaring to success alongside her husband, living a life as sweet as being soaked in a honey jar. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure.

After struggling for a few days, Lirin decided that his insomnia was the fault of the duvet. Drafts were leaking in from the edges and draining his vital energy. Yu Jia thought it was sheer nonsense. But since her husband had declared it, she had no choice but to center all her problem-solving efforts around that core hypothesis. Eventually, she ordered a sleeping bag online. That night, Lirin crawled inside the sleeping bag and zipped it up over his head. Problem solved.

Only when her husband stopped throwing tantrums did Yu Jia finally have the mental bandwidth to carefully sort out the arrangements for her daughter's departure. She sought out Yu Meng to ask about how Haoyu and Zhengyu had gone abroad in the past. Yu Meng wasn't entirely clear on the details, as those matters had been handled single-handedly by Luan Chengyun. Naturally, Yu Meng wasn't about to admit that she was a mother who knew nothing about and cared little for her sons' futures; she simply tossed out a few brief generalities that left Yu Jia profoundly impressed by things she didn't quite understand, and then handed over Haoyu and Zhengyu's contact information, saying, "Just ask them directly if you have any questions; it's fine, you're their eldest aunt." Yu Meng also offered a helpful reminder: "Why don't you just ask Old Bai? He's a ready-made grand master."

Indeed, countless people crowded around Bai Yuankai seeking guidance. She had completely forgotten about that angle. Yu Jia wasn't accustomed to troubling others, especially men, but for the sake of her daughter, she dialed Bai Yuankai's number anyway. He assumed she had come around and intended to join the opera troupe. He never expected she was actually calling to ask about studying abroad.

Yuankai answered thoroughly and professionally, while Yu Jia jotted down every detail in her small notebook. His explanations were remarkably comprehensive, covering every single aspect from academics to daily life, even analyzing down to the finest details which flight to take and what precautions to observe. He also mentioned that he had quite a few friends in the UK and would ask them to keep an eye on Sisi and look after her.

Upon hearing this, Yu Jia showered him with endless expressions of gratitude. Yuankai smiled and said, "All the club members are still waiting for you." He was referring to the Kunqu club. Yu Jia laughed, promising that once she got through this busy patch, she would definitely drop by. Bai Yuankai then asked if Yu Jia planned to attend the grand opening ceremony of Yu Meng's beauty salon. He had already received an invitation and intended to go show his support. Yu Jia expressed deep regret, explaining that Yu Meng had mentioned it, but her schedule conflicted; around the time the salon opened, she would likely be away in Britain accompanying her daughter through her school enrollment.