CHAPTER 16
Ling hun:
"Are you done?" He asked.
"Listen, I am a girl okay. You can never know what can go wrong if we go there plus it is an entire week we are saying!" I said.
"So you call 50 undergarments, 20 dresses, a flat iron, a hair curler, 5 different palettes of eyeshadow, 6 varied shades of lipstick, 4 scents of perfume, 2 patterned sleeping masks, 13 high heels and 10 hair clips, tools for survival?!" He exclaimed.
"What can I say? A girl has to be armed. Oh and I almost forgot my cleanser, toner, exfoliator and moisturiser!" I exclaimed and chuckled.
"Besides you can say these are all of the ingredients which makes a girl who she is, and makes boys like you fall for them!"
"Well the ingredients you use sure does make you more desirable, which makes me want to kiss you right now."- Xiao Xu
"Xiao Xu we have to leave in a few hours, we have no time to waste!" I giggled.
(Ling hun phone rings)
"Ling hun! It is an emergency! Last night I placed these plastic hair curlers in my hair and now my hair is all knotted up. I have not packed my bag yet. I am running out of options of what to wear and I am dripping in sweat which is causing my makeup to leak." Lang Shi cried.
"Lang shi calm down.. Take deep breaths. I will be there in a few minutes." I said.
"Xiao Xu, Lang shi needs my help. I will be back."
"Lang shi I am here!"
"Ling hun thank god you are here, you are a lifesaver."
"So what should we start with?"- Lang shi
"I brought some products which I use from White Pearl. First we would cleanse the face, then we would put on some new makeup. About the hair, I brought a detangling brush which should help. The wardrobe disaster could be fixed if I help you pair your outfits appropriately."
"Lang Shi, where is Shang?" I asked.
"He went out to get some things settled before we got to the resort."- Lang shi
"Oh okay" I said.
"Applying this cream after the make up is done helps to give the skin a radiant glow. We can start with the hair. If you want your hair curled then we can use the hair curling iron I brought."
"Ling hun I have to tell you something."
"I may have appeared to be mean to you in high school. It was not because I was a bully. It was because you were always better than me. I felt inferior to you. My family always pushed me to "aim to be like Ling hun Hong, beautiful, kind and smart." I want to apologise for that and I will try my best not to be so in the future."
"Lang Shi, I am the one who should apologise. I mean at times I did cry when you spread rumours about me, like convincing the other students that I did plastic surgery or sleeping with the most popular boy. I did not look at your angle and how you felt. I am sorry for creating false standards which your parents wanted for you. I apologise for making you feel inferior."
"Ling hun you are making me cry. I think the curler is heated enough so maybe we could start." Lang Shi laughed.
"See I told you not to worry. Your face is glowing, the hair looks like one from an advertisement now it is just the clothes."- Ling hun
"So maybe you can pair this yellow crop top with these blue heels, for dinner you can wear something formal, maybe a cheongsam? For casual wear, these distressed denim jeans would go well with a floral shirt paired with long earrings. This black halter dress would stand out with this silver necklace piece and black stiletto. Lang shi I think you get the idea. All you need to look at is the colour contrast, the length and shape of your accessories and how well it goes with the clothing and most of all if you feel confident wearing it."
"Ling hun I do not know how to thank you enough."
As Lang shi showed me one of her dresses, it was patterned with a white butterfly. The gold analog watch on my hand fell to the floor. The flesh of my hand started to glitch as if it was going to fade. It was the third butterfly, if we did not get the hairpin soon and perform the ritual our souls would be embedded in each other.
"Ling hun what is happening to your hand?"
I placed my other hand to conceal what was happening but it was too late. Lang shi grabbed my hand and said, "Ling hun I am scared, what is happening? Should I call the ambulance?"
I took a deep swallow and I said, "Lang shi whatever I am about to tell you is out of the ordinary. It might be confusing or you may understand it right away. Since we are sort of friends now it is my right to tell you. You have to promise me you would not tell anyone."
"This is between us, I promise."
"Xiao Xu and I have some weird connection. Ever since we have met we began to experience these visions. We seeked help from a monk and found out that we switched souls, while crossing the bridge to the afterlife. This is because the soul was left without a body and became vulnerable at the time. Anyways, to return each other's souls we must perform a ritual that needs a powerful talisman. We have to find it soon. Why did the watch fall off my hand? This is because there is a deadline to which the ritual can occur. There would be ten butterflies Xiao Xu and I would encounter; representing the ten layers of the soul. It could be in any form such as an image, real life or even in a pattern like your dress. Whenever we encounter one it causes something. That is the real reason my forehead birthmark faded away. Once the tenth one comes and we fail to perform the ritual, our souls would remain in each other and we would forget our identities and everything around us. There is one more thing. I have gained nirvana in my past life. Currently, Xiao Xu has my soul but if we do manage to switch, it would activate my nirvana and I would cease to exist."
"Ling hun, I really am trying to take you seriously right now!" Lang Shi giggled.
"Lang Shi I told you the real explanation for why my hand was like that. You can believe it or not."
"It is not that I do not trust you, it is just a lot to take in. For starters, I didn't even know the afterlife exists. Then switching souls with another person is a bit complicated. Performing a ritual? Deadlines? White butterflies? What if the ritual works and you cease to exist how everyone who cherishes you would react?"
"Well that is the dilemma I am dealing with right now. Xiao Xu rather forget our memories and create new ones with our souls embedded in each other. However, I think it is natural that we switch back souls. I love him so much that I would rather cease to exist than forget the precious memories we had." I cried.
"Ling hun, I might have to side with Xiao Xu on this one because even I cannot face the fact that you would not be here. I must tell you to do what your heart says no matter what. If you think doing the ritual is right then go ahead."
"Thanks Lang Shi, I am surprised you took this so lightly it means alot."
"Looks like Shang came home."- Lang shi
"Ling hun do you mind going to open the door for him while I neaten up here and pack the rest of my things?"
"Sure." I said.
Before opening the door, I peeked through the glass hole. I saw Shang walking from side to side on the phone. I tried my best to hear what he was saying.
"Shang, I know why you are carrying us to that resort. You want to sex traffic your girlfriend Lang Shi. To keep your secret, I need something in return. Instead of Lang Shi I want you to traffic Ling hun!"
"She is your sister, how could you be so cruel?"
"Saids the man who wants to traffick his own girlfriend. Shang I know what you did to my best friend, Yi shi. When we were at the hourglass display, I thought I saw someone like you talking on the phone. Then when I went to the restroom and came back, Yi shi was missing. The car that pulled out of the parking lot was similar to yours. I placed a review of this hotel and what happened on the website. If you fail to comply with me I can easily disclose that it was you who kidnapped 16 year old Yi shi, maybe I would even get the 1000 renminbi granted by her parents for whoever finds her."
The voices were very disruptive and I barely heard a word, however I did not get a good sense of it.