"W..what did you just..say?" Karen stuttered. This was one of the moments where she cursed herself for not paying one damn second of attention on magazine covers to recognize the models and their names. Naturally, she always hated seeing women who were more beautiful than her on those covers, so she joined conversations by spitting empty, meaningless compliments.
"I think Miss Karen Yin here can forget about the request you just made to Tian Yuo to look for me for modeling. Also, forget about any collaboration or partnerships with Jiang Corps. You'll be lucky if I didn't throw you out of my sight right now for dirtying my mall. You seem to not recognize me, yet dared to ask me to be your model?" Lily humiliated Karen on purpose, showing her the clear difference of statuses between them.
"Also, I choose my friends as I like it. Unfortunately, you're only an eyesore to my sight. Now excuse us; we need to go cleanse our eyes. If I see you again, make sure you walk the opposite direction or I'll have someone dump trash on you. If you understand my meaning, it'll be great that you actually processed a word of human language. If you don't, then I wouldn't mind emptying the garbage container in the lady's bathroom to clarify my point."
Lily noticed Susu's complexion looking slightly pale compared to before, so she quickly wrapped up the scene and dragged her away from chaos. Meanwhile, Tian Yuo's focus had been on Susu. He also realized that something was off with her, but since he wasn't in the position to ask, he continued observing her.
Karen shook Tian Yuo's arm, begging him to say a few good words for her, "Brother Yuo! It's all Susu's fault! She provoked me and then Lily came in. She misunderstood my intentions, and she's saying all these bad things about me because of Susu. Brother Yuo, you must help me. I need her to model for me. Only she could be qualified enough for my designs."
The frost level of iciness from his tone had not lower, as he said, "You didn't forget anything in the candle store." After saying this sentence, he walked towards the exit to the parking lot, leaving Karen behind.
Actually, Tian Yuo had seen Karen throwing her shopping bags onto the floor and rolling up her sleeves like a hooligan against Susu and Lily. The reason why he and Lily became great friends is that he knew her personality well and that she wasn't someone greedy. Though she was rich, she never used her status to look down on others. She also hid her powerful background while modeling for her agency because she didn't want to be treated differently because of her status.
"Today was the first time I ever saw her say something harsh at somebody. She also used her power to prove this point." The words that Lily shouted as she slapped and punched him from earlier repeated in his mind. He knew that Lily would never associate herself with anyone she didn't like. That was how straightforward she was.
Karen grabbed her shopping bags and ran after Tian Yuo. She noticed that he was in the driver's seat, staring out into space. She smirked, 'He didn't really mean to leave me on the spot. He must be regretting it.'
She walked towards the car and tried pulling the handle, but it was locked. "Brother Yuo! Look at my face. They slapped me, and there's not even a scratch on them. I was the one suffering from them. They were bullying me. Why are you mad at me when you are supposed to comfort me?" Once again, she used her most effective weapon; tears.
His ears clearly heard her pitiful voice from outside the car, but he didn't want to tilt his head to look at her. He felt a bit tired of hearing her cries. Suddenly, he missed the peace and quiet that he once had.
Seeing that he wasn't the least affected by her crying, she wiped the tears off her face and continuously pulled on the handle of the car. If pulling and knocking on his car door didn't work, then it would at least annoy him enough to turn facing her.
After three minutes of continuous attempts of trying to break into Tian Yuo's car, she started feeling tired. Her fake nails were scratched up and turned ugly. Her hair was messed up, and clothes were wrinkled. The shopping bags that were hanging from her arm earlier are now sitting sloppily onto the floor.
Tian Yuo received a call from his father, saying that his mother collapsed and was sent to the hospital. He quickly started his car and drove off without looking back or stopping for Karen. She stood there and watched him drive away until his car was nowhere in sight. "Yin Susu!! It's all your fault!! Since you're dying regardless of whether I told you about it or not, then you can just die faster!"
Back inside the mall, Susu used her last bit of strength to walk away from Tian Yuo and Karen's sight. Even if she was to collapse, she would never allow them to see her at her lowest point. Lily hurriedly bought a bottle of water, loosen the cap and handed it to Susu who was sitting on the bench.
Lily remained calm and said in a convincing voice, "Susu, we need to get you admitted to the hospital." Susu was taken aback by her words and faintly smiled, "No need."
This is not the time to hide the truth from her, so Lily held onto her shoulders tight enough to get Susu's concentration. "Susu! You have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. You need to get treated as soon as possible."
Susu closed her eyes, breathed a deep sigh, and bitterly smiled, "I already knew about it. That's why I don't need to go to the hospital."