"I wasn't trying to spy on you." Zhao Lifei just wanted to make it clear first. She truly had no intention of snooping on his phone. It was just…she wanted to get the phone number of someone.
Yang Feng silently approached her, closing the door behind him. He stared into her eyes and placed his forefinger onto the button, unlocking the phone for her. "Care to tell me what you were up to?"
Zhao Lifei shook her head. "I'll tell you once I'm done."
Yang Feng didn't respond to her.
"I know we shouldn't keep any secrets between us, but I am unsure about the outcome of what I'm about to do. You might force it to work out, so that's why I won't tell you anything until I am finished with it."
Yang Feng wished her hopeful expression wasn't so blinding. He finally said, "Will you get yourself in harm's way?"
"No, of course not. I actually value my life, you know."
"Doesn't seem like it, you stubborn woman." He said under his breath. Then, he gave her a gentle pat on the head and pulled her closer. "I'll hold you accountable to your words. There better not be a single scratch on you."
Zhao Lifei beamed at him with a megawatt smile. "I won't. Promise." She held out her pinky to him.
He stared at the standing finger and shook his head. "What are you? A child?" He scoffed, but hooked his pinky and shook on it.
– – – – –
After dinner, the two laid on the bed in a comfortable stillness. Neither of them spoke and neither of them felt the need to. Zhao Lifei was resting her head on his arm while he held her body to him. She was lost in thought, pondering if she should bring up the topic or not. She played with the edges of his v-neck and stared at the grey material.
"Will you ever tell me who took it?" Yang Feng calmly asked her a question, his fingers curled into her hair. Why was it so fun playing with it?
Zhao Lifei wondered if he could read minds because she was thinking about the same thing. Should she tell him? It would be a very risky thing to do, especially because the outcome was horrible and that it was a long story in and of itself.
She swore to herself she would never acknowledge that foolish night where everything went haywire. One thing lead to another and she eventually found herself in the hospital. She was running from her mistake, from her past, and the truth. She always saw herself as a coward for doing so. "It's a very long story…"
Yang Feng hummed in reply, keeping quiet. Then they laid there for another five minutes in peaceful silence. His chest was steadily rising up and down while she conflictingly played with her fingers.
"Yang Feng…?" Her voice was meek and small, like a child waking her parents up in the middle of the night after experiencing a nightmare. "W-will you still love me if I tell you the entire story? The truth and nothing but the blatant truth…"
"Of course." He earnestly said to her. He would never judge her for the past that had already occurred and could not be changed. Except, he never predicted his reaction towards it…
Zhao Lifei deeply breathed in through her nose and held it for five seconds, then breathed out through her mouth. She raised her head to look at him and he instantly shifted his head so that he could stare into her shimmering eyes.
"Before we begin, how about we start from the beginning? When I turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism…"
– – – – –
Nearly three years ago.
Tremorous rain cascaded down the enormous window overlooking the city. The clear glass took up the entire wall and in front of it was a white couch. Slumped over the enormous furniture was a woman whose haggard appearance didn't do her beauty any justice. Olive green bottles, so dark they could've been mistaken for black, laid at her feet. There was enough wine to fill an entire shelf of a liquor store.
The lights were dimmed and the only sound in the entire house was the downpour outside. The atmosphere was dreadful and depressing. The spacious apartment with its three bedrooms didn't add a warm touch to the melancholic air. What was the point of owning such a large condo if only one person was going to occupy it?
Zhao Lifei stared at the broken wine glass on the floor. She didn't know when nor how it fell, but she was mesmerized by the shards of glass, pointy sharp and inviting. She had no one. No family by her side, no lover to keep her safe, no name to herself anymore, no crown, no friends…alone. She was all alone. Everything she had built for herself had come tumbling down when Xia Mengxi made herself known.
Thinking of the female lead, her expression changed. Her lips curled into a snarl.
CRASH!
She had smashed a bottle of wine on top of her coffee table. She wanted to scream. She wanted to kill. She wanted blood to spill. A rush of anger clouded her eyes, her face flushed red. She was so furious with herself.
Her head was hurting. She believed it was because of the eight empty bottles of wine at her feet. Or maybe it was because of her anger. She didn't care. The only thing plaguing her mind was the idea of ruining Xia Mengxi just as the mistress had done to her.
Tonight, Zhao Lifei nearly broke the Cinderella.
Zhao Lifei could feel satisfaction coursing through her veins. She saw Xia Mengxi cry. It was the first time she had seen that brittle woman break down and it was the most satisfying thing to her. She lied to the naive woman and told her the only reason Zheng Tianyi was with her because he wanted to have some fun with a commoner before he married Zhao Lifei.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Zhao Lifei was startled by the unexpected sound. Her head snapped to the door. The person outside was pounding it so loudly, the poor thing might as well have fallen off its hinges.
Slowly and hesitantly, she rose from the couch and edged towards the door. Defenseless and home alone, anything could happen to her. She couldn't think properly and the world seemed to spin. She hiccuped and caught a glimpse of herself from the mirror. Her face was flushed red and she was stumbling over her own two feet.
She was drunk.
"I-I'm coming." She slurred, wobbling her way to the monitor. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. She rubbed her eyes as if sand got into them. Was the alcohol making her hallucinate?
Not wanting to miss the opportunity, her hand latched onto the doorknob and she turned it. Her arms were shaking. 'This is a dream. It must be a dream.' She could die happy right now.
Zhao Lifei swung open the door.
Standing underneath the warm glow was the suave man of her dreams. Dark tousled hair, eyes that reflected the stormy skies, full lips, and tall nose, he was everything she could ever imagine. Her heart pathetically skipped a beat at the sight of him. He had ruined her life and destroyed everything she had worked hard for, yet she continued to be infatuated by him. When would she learn? When will she grow up? Tonight, she would find out.
