Chan Juan slumped on the bed, body facing up and hands crossed on her belly, different thoughts going in and out of her head that moment; her mother, the marriage she was forced into, and now still no news of Guo Daiyu. At the same time, she taking sudden interest into admiring the room she was in.
The room was sunny, beautiful and well lighted, with a magnificent touch of luxuriousness and simplicity in it, giving it vast and elegantly female decor. Chan Juan creased her mouth, in a way; showing her impressiveness in the uncommon decor and style.
She sighed deeply, stood up, and walked towards the window. She pushed the curtain slightly with her forefinger and pried her eyes all over the beautiful surrounding, it was one of a kind, everything about it was undiluted.
Chan Juan stood by the mullioned window and enjoyed the scenic and exotic view of the mansion and the vibrant energy it exuded; afterwards gazing into distance with a faraway expression, lost in her trance of longing and worries.
She has never had to make a decision of her life on her own, never, a tear slide down her marble-smooth cheek. She could remember that day, from six years ago, the memory was still fresh.
On her mother's sick bed, hanging between life and death, lips were bitter and pale as it slowly kissed the world goodbye.
Chan Juan sat next to her pouring tears as she watched her mother battling with last stage of breast cancer. Chan Juan had gone out of the ward to get something to eat after being persuaded earnestly by her mother;
Li Lou.
Only for her to come back, and see the nurses pull out her dead body on a stretcher to the morgue. Chan Juan was shattered, she didn't even get to say goodbye.
There was a knock on the door, Chan Juan cleaned her tears and trudged her way to the door.
"Good morning Lady Shao..." The female servant bowed, her voice was brittle and low.
Chan Juan creased her brows and paused her lips in a remorseful manner, immediately, she realized that she was already married. It gave her slight discomfort, but shrugged it off, she will get used to it anyway.
"Good morning" Chan Juan replied humbly, and saw the servant stretch out a two piece clothing, on the chest was a fine flower embroidery.
"What is this for?" Chan Juan asked curiously in a natural manner.
"Mistress Lan Shang, said I should give you this." Chan Juan eyed the deep blue and white traditional cloth, and inclined her head, with her hand still holding the door. Chan Juan had so many questions but choose not to ask, she wasn't familiar with anyone yet.
"Thank you." Chan Juan collected the neatly ironed cloth. The servant bowed again and left; shutting the door behind her, Chan Juan strolled to the bed and dropped the cloth on it.
She pulled of the heavy wedding dress and went to the bathroom;
About twenty minutes later, she came out of the bathroom wet, the droplets of water rolling smoothly down her porcelain white and pearly smooth skin. Her wet ebony-black hair cascaded over her shoulders, looking very subtle.
The lemon scent from the soap gave her body an alluring invite, spreading across the room. Thirty minutes later, Chan Juan was dressed, feeling impress, as she gazed at her twenty-two years old self.
Her hair was neatly packed in low ponytail falling gracefully to her waist.
In the large living room, which was dark and uncheerful, on the long dinning table, was different dishes ranging from continental to local;
Shao Jinhai on the first chair, at the left side, directly facing Lan Shang who was sitting at the other side. Master Shao was at the forefront, facing the table which had varieties of dishes on it.
It was quiet, only the clinks of forks hitting ceramic plates could be heard.
Chan Juan came out of the blues, looking as ravishing as ever. Master Shao's face which was sour propagated to a milder expression when he saw his daughter-in-law, he had never imagined she would be such beauty.
Not all blind marriage gets such advantage.
Lan Shang smiled, and coughed slightly to gain Shao Jinhai's attention; Shao Jinhai who was getting bored to death on his meal got distracted by his mother, he trailed her vision; lo and behold!
He saw her, dressed in white and blue, he immediately pretended not to have noticed her; he didn't want to, in her presence, perhaps. It could lead to something disastrous, his thoughts spiralled as he focused on his food with a visible frown.
Chan Juan stood next to Shao Jinhai, and bowed; greeting her in-laws.
"Gong Gong.... Po Po...."
There was a fine visible curve on Master Shao's lips, and then he spoke;
"Please have a seat, you are part of our family now. Formality isn't necessary."
Chan Juan gave a natural smile and sat next to Shao Jinhai. Thank heavens that he was intelligent enough to ignore her all through, same thought was also going through Shao Jinhai's head. Lan Shang was getting sick of the boringness, she decided to bring up a topic, with a wide and enchanting smile on her face.
"Guo Daiyu my dear, we were told you actually was a graduate of Business Administration from B University."
Chan Juan almost choked on her food, she thought she didn't hear well; Lan Shang just called her Guo Daiyu, and what what she saying about Guo Daiyu graduating? Chan Juan thoughts spiralled.
Guo Daiyu was never serious with her life, she was always the money squanderer and party freak.
Of all the greatest and wealthiest parties in X City, if Guo Daiyu wasn't present; then something was definitely wrong. Guo Daiyu dropped out of school to continue her extravagant life, while her mother; Eu Meh was shameful enough to conceal it from Guo Zhiqiang.
Guo Daiyu and Chan Juan attended the same universities, Guo Daiyu had a good time making Chan Juan's life a living hell. Guo Daiyu had always despised her, simply because of her beauty; Guo Daiyu and her jealous companies, who would frequently spread spiteful rumors about Gu Nianzhi's beauty, accusing her of applying makeup with a heavy hand, or of wearing circle lenses, or was even into cosmetic surgeries.
And of course her angelic nature and the ability to ignore the taunting from the outside world, which caused Guo Daiyu to always bite on her tongue miserably whenever Chan Juan does so. Still a bafflement to Chan Juan, how Guo Daiyu disappeared three days to her wedding and left no traces at all.
All through her long thoughts, Chan Juan landed on the conclusion that perhaps, Eu Meh had covered her up so as to squeeze her way in to the family.
Such despicable act, even taking all of Chan Juan's glory and buttering it on her daughter. So now, she will have to pretend that she's Guo Daiyu, will this continue forever? Strange thoughts began to lurk around Chan Juan's head. There is something wrong somewhere, definitely, like she had been used, used as a vessel; but wasn't really sure if it was true. She needed to call Guo Qiang, she was missing him already, he was the only one who could elate her from her perplexity.
Chan Juan was completely drowned in her thoughts, and was soon jilted by Lan Shang.
"Guo Daiyu?" Lan Shang called out in her countertenor voice. Chan Juan lashes fluttered, her cheeks flushed red of embarrassment.
"Pardon me, I was carried away."
"Oh it's okay, let's eat first.. then we can talk, and show you around perhaps, or even Shao Jinhai...." Lan Shang trailed off seeing Shao Jinhai wipe his mouth and stand up.
He bowed,
"I need to attend to some things."
Master Shao sighed hoarsely, and nodded, and Shao Jinhai left the table. Lan Shang shook her head, creasing the left side of her mouth.
Chan Juan watched him walk towards the hallway, he was so perfect, no hunching or slouching.
Chan Juan sighed, and continued eating.
Author's Note:
Gong Gong means Father In-law
Po Po means Mother In-law, translated from Chinese.