The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 9 - 3
Chapter 9 - 3
After the confession, Yu Shuang and Kang Long's relationship entered a freezing period. They temporarily stopped contacting each other.
Only then did Yu Shuang find the spare time to drop by Sister Jia's shop. Yu Jia didn't know that she had suffered a miscarriage, so at first sight, she only remarked that Yu Shuang had lost a lot of weight and immediately started ordering extra food for her—two portions of ribs and two portions of beef.
Following the uproar caused by the younger sister-in-law, Yu Jia and Bai Yuankai were also on "temporary suspension" of contact. There was a conference in Wuzhen that he had to attend, and following the conference, he went to guide the application of artificial intelligence at a large enterprise, keeping him busy once again. After turning it over in her mind, Yu Jia figured that Bai had probably only put on a show for her that day to save face and uphold justice, and that not everything he said was necessarily genuine. But whether sincere or fake, Yu Jia believed that meeting again would require both courage and, even more so, an opportune moment.
Yu Shuang consoled Sister Jia, saying, "His sister is simply inhuman!" and firmly declared her stance. Since what was past was past, Yu Jia didn't want to bring it up anymore. At worst, she could just have no dealings with that family, but Sisi still had to recognize her grandparents and her aunt. Yu Jia found it strange that Yu Shuang hadn't mentioned Bai Yuankai once the whole time. Could Yu Meng have deliberately left him out and avoided saying anything? Yu Meng likely also felt it was thoroughly awkward and wanted to save face for Yu Jia. In truth, it wasn't that Yu Meng hadn't mentioned him; rather, Yu Shuang had proactively filtered him out and didn't say a single word. After all, Yuankai had a deeply complex relationship with her. She planned to find an opportunity to ask about it. However, with things currently deadlocked between her and Kang Long, Yu Shuang was unwilling to take the initiative to contact old Bai, fearing that if Kang Long complained to Bai Yuankai, Yuankai might come try to work on her. That would leave her in a passive position.
After visiting Yu Jia, Yu Shuang went to see Yu Rui. This time, the younger sister-in-law came up in conversation, as did the clash between Bai Yuankai and Diling's sister. With a hint of jealousy, Yu Rui smiled and said, "Teacher Bai has had a thing for Sister Jia for more than a day or two." Yu Shuang had never cared much for gossip, but this matter was right on her doorstep, so her interest was piqued. "Are you saying that Diling's sister was telling the truth?"
Yu Rui quickly said it wasn't quite that.
"Then what do you mean by that?"
"My sister wouldn't lie, surely."
"Yu Qi?" Yu Shuang was even more surprised. Only then did Yu Rui tell Yu Shuang about Yu Qi's inner thoughts and mental journey leading up to her resignation. Yu Shuang analyzed, "The mindset of successful people is just impossible to figure out."
Yu Rui chuckled playfully, "Aren't you a successful person yourself?" She went on, "The mindset of a successful person is: knowing there are tigers in the mountain, yet heading straight for the tiger mountain anyway; the less they're supposed to do something, the more they insist on doing it. Take that French president, for example—didn't he marry his teacher, who was so much older than him? And she didn't look like much, either."
Yu Shuang let out a sigh of wonder.
Yu Rui then asked about her situation with Kang Long, including Chairman Kang's current status. Yu Shuang expressed that she still preferred a clean, crisp, and straightforward life.
"Did you break up?" Yu Rui asked.
"It's hanging in limbo." Yu Shuang rubbed her temples, hesitating.
They say that surviving a major disaster brings subsequent blessings. Yu Meng firmly believed this. Having fallen from the heavens back down to earth, she felt her luck had arrived like a raging storm. For the project in Myanmar, with the group stepping forward, the approval went through with astonishing smoothness. The Xin family was willing to take on a small equity stake, which served as an effective endorsement. When many other groups saw that the Xin family had bought in, they all wanted a piece of the action as well, and the capital was soon in place. Naturally, Yu Meng intended to keep a share for herself. She transferred her beauty salon shares, cashed out, and poured the entire sum into the Myanmar project. Her postpartum care center was still running, and as long as things proceeded step-by-step, she didn't have to worry too much about it.
Once matters were secured on this front, Yu Meng spent several consecutive months in Myanmar, conducting on-site surveys and giving field guidance. It had all the momentum of raising tall buildings from flat ground.
She named the project Moon City.
Why bother clinging desperately to a man? Men were merely ladders to climb the clouds; women needed to leverage their strength to go further. On her journeys back and forth to Myanmar, Yu Meng enjoyed reading biographies of historical figures, such as the biography of Wu Zetian and the biography of Cixi. She grew enamored with a single imagery: the phoenix above, the dragon below. Laughing aloud to the heavens, I stride out the door; am I, your humble peer, a mere common weed born in the wild? The golden age of Yu Meng was about to arrive!
Unbelievably, not long ago, she had merely been the boss of a shell company; today, however, she was able to integrate resources and forge a magnificent landscape in Myanmar. Yu Meng believed she was destined to be a legend.
The only thing to watch out for was minimizing contact with Luan Chengyun. The incident on the airplane had been a lesson. In truth, ever since that episode, Yu Meng had grown somewhat afraid of flying. Nowadays, trips to Myanmar were almost exclusively made by land, even though that consumed significantly more time.
Another good while passed. When Yu Meng returned from Myanmar, the sisters gathered together at Yu Jia's restaurant. Yu Meng's entire demeanor was radiant and high-spirited, her face wreathed in smiles as she said, "Old sister, once Moon City opens in the future, the catering will be yours." Yu Jia gave an awkward, sheepish laugh, saying she didn't have that kind of ability. Yu Shuang chimed in, "Sister Meng, you're rolling in wealth." Yu Rui also added a few words of flattery. That was when Yu Meng remembered her gifts, and she immediately pulled a brownish-yellow piece of amber beeswax from her bag, reaching out to hang it around Yu Jia's neck. "Wear this firmly—it's guaranteed to bring you a fortune." She added, "Bai even entrusted me to bring something back." Yu Shuang's interest was piqued. "Who is it for?" Yu Meng smiled and said it was probably for his mother. Only Yu Rui noticed a fleeting shadow of gloom across Sister Jia's face.
Following the uproar caused by the younger sister-in-law, Bai Yuankai had come to the shop once. To avoid awkwardness, Yu Jia took the initiative, smiling as she said, "Thanks for that day. My family members didn't know any better and caused you trouble. Let's just forget all about it and go back to how things used to be." When Yuankai tried to speak, Yu Jia quickly cut him off. "We understand each other, let's not bring it up." What did she understand, and what shouldn't be brought up? Bai Yuankai was left completely baffled.
Yet after that affair, someone back in her hometown actually invited her to give a lecture on family traditions—still tied to Di Liren. Yu Jia understood that this was likely the Di family's doing, meant to remind her of her status, status, status. Yet Yu Jia was left bewildered: must she carry the identity of a martyr's widow for the rest of her life? Was this a tight hoop spell around her head, forbidding her from having any new life? After Kennedy passed away, Jacqueline was able to remarry. And he was a president, for goodness' sake! Though Yu Jia confirmed she had no immediate plans to walk down that aisle again, her choosing not to walk it was one thing—she needed to have the freedom to walk it if she wanted!
Yu Meng produced another small jade pendant, slipped it over Yu Shuang's neck, and clicked her tongue in admiration. "Look at this luster! Where would you even find this?" She advised, "Jade and men are both things you can only hope to meet by chance, never by force."
Dull-witted though Yu Shuang might be, she could still catch the double entendre and kept silent.
Not long ago, she had taken the initiative to make a single phone call to Kang Long. He hadn't answered. She lacked the courage to call a second time. Where would she even put her pride? If he saw it, didn't answer, didn't care, and didn't call back, that meant he had let go, right? Yu Shuang gave a bitter smile. To be honest, she felt a trace of regret. Yet her self-esteem was as sensitive and fragile as a snail's antennae, shrinking back at the slightest touch. She had struck too hard, driving him to retreat in the face of difficulties.
Fortunately, there was some good news. Her sister-in-law called to say that Chun'er was throwing endless tantrums back home, demanding to return to the big city and go back to her aunt's side. Yu Shuang almost wept for joy. Her efforts had not been in vain; love carried power. Having worked in educational companies for so many years, she was practically prone to throwing around the word "emotional intelligence." In the past, her understanding of emotional intelligence was roughly equivalent to being clever, sharp-witted, and knowing how to coordinate relationships with others so as not to get the short end of the stick. But now she realized that high emotional intelligence wasn't about avoiding losses, but about knowing how to give. Emotional intelligence was responsibility; high emotional intelligence meant dedication and giving. Once responsibility, dedication, and giving reached a certain level, they transformed into a grand, selfless love. Why quibble over trifles? Great love was invincible. The rules of this world had always been that "intelligence quotient" is led by "emotional quotient." Thinking along these lines, Yu Shuang suddenly realized how foolish her previously held principle of "keeping accounts even and owing nothing" had been. Why fuss over giving, and why fear accepting what others gave?
"What are you spacing out for?" Yu Meng gently tapped Yu Shuang's cheek. Yu Shuang smiled and snapped back to reality. Yu Meng then pulled out another green tea amber pendant. It was shaped like a teardrop and meant for Yu Rui. Yu Meng introduced it, explaining that these were the "tears" of pine and cypress, gathering the essence of heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon. "Through vast seas turning into mulberry fields, after millions of years of waiting, you finally meet in the boundless expanse of time." Yu Meng's tone was deeply lyrical and highly inflammatory, sounding just like a home-shopping host.
Yu Rui thanked Sister Meng, feeling genuinely happy for her. Yu Meng had finally broken free from the dead loop of men and carved out a domain of her own; among all the sisters, Yu Meng was the undisputed pioneer.
Of course, Yu Meng didn't mention that Moon City would feature gambling operations. The local license hadn't been secured yet; it was still pending.
Holding the green tea amber up in front of her neck to inspect it, Yu Rui listened to the name—green tea amber—and couldn't help feeling that Sister Meng had mixed in a dash of mischievous dark humor, subtly mocking her for being a bit of a "green tea" bitch.