This wasn't in the plan. This wasn't what she'd been promised.
When that person had taught Jiang Xin how to climb her way out of the rut she'd been stuck in, she had seized the opportunity presented to her. Jiang Xin might have many flaws but she knew her greatest strength; she was self-aware. She knew what her weaknesses were and didn't hesitate to get rid of them before they could be exploited. Plastic surgery to fix a nose that wasn't trendy. Etiquette lessons so that she could be marketed as a fashionable rich young woman instead of the grocer's daughter she was. As long as it could make her a star, she had no qualms doing it.
But even after all her best efforts, she'd remained unnoticed. The sea of new wannabe celebrities was fathomless and Jiang Xin had had to come to terms with being, well, being normal. She wasn't the prettiest, wasn't the most talented, wasn't the most charismatic.
In the entertainment industry, there was little difference between normal and mediocre.
Which was why, when that person had pointed a way out for her, she'd taken it. She'd heeded the advice, learnt the ropes, and laid the trap out for that sucker of a second-generation young master.
And it had worked like a charm. Before Jiang Xin knew, Qi Bing had fallen for her hook, line, and sinker. She'd reeled in this fat fish, along with the luxury apartment, fancy presents, and endorsements that had come with it as a package deal. For a while, she'd been content. Until that person had called again to remind her that all this was transient.
What she'd gotten, she could lose in a day. As soon as Qi Bing grew bored of her, she was easily replaceable by another pretty young thing looking for a big break. Sure enough, after a good business deal at the end of last year, it seemed like the Qi Family's stock market value and fortunes were on an upward trend. It didn't take long before new models, singers, and internet celebrities started flocking around Second Young Master Qi in the clubs that he loved to frequent.
Qi Bing was a joke, too easily won over by a well-timed coy smile. As for Jiang Xin, she wasn't ready to give up everything she'd earned from him.
Luckily, that person had helped her out one more time. Jiang Xin had already been trained for such a scenario, she'd just never considered having to go through with it.
That night, she'd convinced Qi Bing to try out something new in bed. He hadn't been sure about some of it, especially the gags and paddles, but she'd always been winsome enough to convince him, coaxing him with honeyed lips about how the great second young master of the prestigious Qi Family was so used to being in control all the time that it would feel amazing to relinquish it for a second and just relax, just put his pleasure in her hands and let her take charge of him.
It hadn't been the sort of thing Qi Bing had ever expected to enjoy. But she'd promised to let him fuck her in front of his equally sick friends if he didn't like it. She'd known that this was a kink he'd harboured for ages and that he wouldn't be able to resist, would let her push him past his limits so that when he took it out on her after the retribution would be even sweeter.
Qi Bing only ever submitted to her once—and Jiang Xin had paid for it with her pride—but it had given her enough footage to start her blackmailing of him. It didn't matter that he'd also had sex videos of her, the material she had of him was so humiliating that she was 100% confident he wouldn't risk having it exposed to the public.
Who would have thought that the arrogant second young master of the Qi Family would look so good on his knees?
Even though Qi Bing had discovered her true colours as a result, he'd had no choice but to cater to her every whim. Jiang Xin had warned him that she'd already made arrangements to have the photographs go live if her accomplices lost contact with her for more than 24 hours. It'd been an effective warning. Qi Bing hadn't dared to touch her. He hadn't dared to go to his father for help either, forced to present everything that she wanted on a plate.
Jiang Xin had foolishly thought that this would go on forever. In fact, this tactic had worked so marvellously that she'd become even more ambitious. Why had she settled for just the Qi Family's wastrel? There were so many other young masters out there from bigger, better families, such as the Yaos, Lins, or the Zhous.
But before she could engineer another ploy and create another meet-cute with her next victim, the photographs had leaked. Her accomplice was uncontactable. Her management company was livid and threatened to cancel her contract. Qi Bing, mad with rage, had retaliated with the videos of her being gang-banged by his friends. It was only now that she realised just how precarious her blackmailing scheme had been. For it to work, she'd had to ensure that she had a good hold on Qi Bing. And this hold had lapsed once the photographs had been disseminated. Now that Qi Bing was ruined, he was going to stop at nothing to drag her down with him.
It wasn't her, she wanted to scream. Who was it?
She didn't get it. Where had she gone wrong?
——————————
The sun had just set by the time Wen Rui reached Xijing Road, the longest shopping street in SH city and a commercial haven with everything imaginable under the sun. From luxury chains in shiny new malls to cute, indie shop-house rows featuring local brands, there was something for everyone.
Zhou Ye was already waiting outside Wen Rui's favourite bubble tea shop. He already had a cup of Wen Rui's usual order, handing it over once Wen Rui jogged up to him. The evening was cool and the warmth from the paper cup spread through Wen Rui's fingers and to his heart. Before losing his memories, Wen Rui would have been shocked to learn that Zhou Ye knew what type of bubble tea he favoured over the rest. But after living together, Wen Rui was no longer a stranger to Zhou Ye's conscientiousness.
[Whoever Zhou Ye ended up with for real in the future was going to be a very lucky person.]
Wen Rui didn't like the way that errant thought left a peculiar queasiness in his belly. It was a different sort of fluttering to that one he felt whenever he reread Zhou Ye's text messages.
[Good boy.]
"Are you feeling ill again?"
A hand cupped itself over Wen Rui's forehead. He flinched slightly and met Zhou Ye's concerned eyes.
"No? I don't think so?" He shifted slightly away from Zhou Ye's touch, suddenly paranoid that Zhou Ye would be able to hear the frantic drumming of his heart against his rib cage. Something was very wrong with him. Wen Rui could recognise these 'symptoms' but the last time he'd been afflicted with them had been back in high school—
Zhou Ye frowned. "Your face is flushed," he said sternly. "You've just had a bad cold, could it be that you aren't fully recovered yet?"
Wen Rui insisted that it was fine. "It's probably just because the car dropped me off a distance away and I rushed over." He tugged on his scarf, which was starting to feel a bit suffocating under Zhou Ye's intense scrutiny. "Really, I'm all right. It's just a bit warm, that's all."
"Don't start removing layers."
Wen Rui nodded obediently. He was covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat and knew that if he walked in the streets without his jacket on now, a second bout of illness was going to be hot on the heels of the first.
"Come on, let's go? I wanna drink my tea." The entrance of the shop was too crowded and Wen Rui didn't dare to remove his mask for fear of being recognised. Zhou Ye was wearing one too, a nondescript black cloth mask that matched his equally boring black hoodie and jeans. Together, they resembled a pair of simple college kids taking a break after a long day at uni. But even so, they were already attracting curious looks from the young girls in the shop.
Zhou Ye didn't want to linger either. They started walking towards the electronics mega-mall that was their main destination for the day. Now that Wen Rui was gaming more again, he wanted to replace his mouse with a newer model and Zhou Ye had suggested accompanying him to take a look.
Lowering his mask a little, Wen Rui took a sip of his taro milk tea before letting out a contented sigh. It might just be him but these pearls just kept getting squishier and chewier every time.
"What was up with the photographs?" he asked. Zhou Ye had said that he would explain later and now was as good a time as any. Wen Rui didn't want to talk about it over dinner later, there was no surer way to spoil their appetites.
Zhou Ye didn't seem all that interested in discussing it though. He merely said, "We bribed her best friend and discovered that she might be collaborating with someone."
Wen Rui turned to look at him. Zhou Ye was looking straight ahead but his gaze was distant and very cold as he described what he'd done like it was nothing more than a meeting brief. But yet, it was this pragmatic man who had taken such gentle care of him.
"Do we know who she's working with or for?" he asked quietly.
"Not yet." Zhou Ye's jaw tightened. "We're still working on it."
Wen Rui nodded. Although he was the one personally embroiled in this, he couldn't bring himself to feel troubled by it. His mood at the moment was rather lighthearted and he nudged Zhou Ye in a show of camaraderie to try and alleviate some of the sombre mood that had settled around them like a shroud.
"Did the photographs come from her best friend too?" he asked.
"Yes. Her best friend was holding onto them with the instructions to upload them online if required."
But instead, her best friend had chosen to sell her out for…? For how much?
"One year's school fees."
Wen Rui had to laugh at that. "What a farsighted young lady." He couldn't feel any pity for Jiang Xin but he did marvel a little at how the world worked. There Jiang Xin was, trusting her best friend with her biggest secret only to have it backfire in her face.
And here Wen Rui was, strolling down the streets side by side with his ex-love rival turned husband, who had just taken revenge for him.
Maybe it wasn't just the future love of Zhou Ye's life who was lucky. Wen Rui seemed to have a bit of that in his pocket as well.