That didn't go as planned.
Roulan gulped when she heard the door lock. Deep laughter from outside the dark storage room was heard.
"Go rot."
Her ears picked up a familiar and distinct, annoying tone from outside. Her mind quickly went towards the annoying jock of the school.
Chang.
Footsteps went away, with still haunting laughter coming from him and his friends.
Now, how did this happen?
After the eventful weekends inside the mafia household, Roulan practically gets bombarded literally every minute by Yanmei's affection.
Witnessing Yanmei's jealous side all over again just because a female doctor treated her.
Heck, she even went full-blown upset towards her father, scolding him that she was the only one who could touch Roulan like that.
Like how the doctor touched her wife.
But she couldn't do anything because she knew she'd hinder Roulan's fast recovery.
She also gets to see how Yanmei beat Peizhi, causing the guy to scram his way out of the Zhao Mansion.
And Roulan couldn't help but feel a little bit worried about the guy.
When Monday came in, she felt as though she wasn't in condition, but she still went to school.
Of course, she was bombarded with multiple questions as to why she has a beaten face, bruised body, and slow walking phase.
And her situation causes Huiqing to stay by her side the whole morning, overseeing her wounds and aiding her.
Which potentially made Yanmei's mind go crazy. Their interactions make Yanmei jealous, and Roulan can clearly see that Yanmei doesn't like how Huiqing clings to her.
Roulan looks around the pitch-black room, her heart beating faster, and seems to be wanting to get out of her chest.
Her breathing deepened, thinking of possible things that might happen to her inside the small room.
"Ok, Roulan, this is nothing, right? You got beaten last Friday, and that's worst."
She said, calming herself down before using her hands as a guide.
Her hands quickly came into contact with the wall; she used it as a guide to sit down on the floor.
"Ok, let's stay calm."
She said this to herself, sighing deeply and closing her eyes. But she quickly opened them when her mind traveled back down to something she wanted to forget.
"No, this is not because of her; this is because of Chang."
She couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. Her chest heaved up and down, and her mind was trying to calm herself.
*
"Auntie, it's not me!"
A crying girl pleads with her auntie, trying not to let the older woman pull her towards the small and pitch-dark room under the stairs.
Yet, it seems as though the older woman turned a blind ear, not hearing any of her please.
The girl continued to cry, her hands trying to pull herself away from the older woman's grip, but because of the anger the woman's feelings, she couldn't do so.
"Auntie!"
"Shut up! It was because of your reckless plays on the beach!"
The older woman slapped the girl, causing her to shut up a little before holding her cheeks. The older woman looked at her coldly before throwing her into the room.
"Auntie!"
The girl desperately knocked on the door, pleading with her auntie to let her get out of the storage.
"If I could kill you, I would, Roulan, but because I need to get my share of the inheritance, I need to stop myself."
The young Roulan didn't understand what her auntie just said and cried herself until she felt exhausted and faint inside the room.
Only then, when she woke up, did she feel the soft mattress of her bed and the kind voice of her aunt talking to her parents.
And the mental and physical abuse she received towards her auntie lasted for 10 years, until one day, her parents died.
She was 17, and when she heard what her parents' lawyer told her, she had to live with her auntie before she could get the inheritance her parents left her.
*
Roulan couldn't help the sob that came out of her mouth. Her tears continue to fall as her mind haunts her with the continued abuse she receives from her auntie.
Is she living her trauma again?
Is she going to stay here until later?
Is she going to let her mind win?
For all the questions that she can think of, her answer is yes.
-
"Where is she?"
Yanmei looks around the school premises as she's trying to find Roulan. It has come to her attention that Roulan didn't come back after half an hour.
Huiqing doesn't seem to mind the taller woman's absence, as she's busy talking and laughing with some people around.
Mostly men.
And she couldn't help but feel the anger going through her body. She didn't want to cause any fights, so she decided to leave and look for Roulan.
She reached their classroom, walking towards her desk and grabbing her phone inside her bag. She quickly dialed Roulan's number.
Her head looked towards Roulan's desk, hearing a phone ring inside her bag.
"What the fuck? She didn't bring her phone."
Yanmei scoffs loudly; her hands slam on her desk, not minding if her phone cracks in the process.
The commotion inside the classroom was heard by Lanfen and Yu, who are both looking for Yanmei and Roulan.
Thinking that the two might be inside, Lanfen looks towards Yu and smirks at her.
"Ready the car we bet on."
She said before they went in, but her smile flattened upon seeing the upset expression of Yanmei.
"Is there any problem?"
Yanmei doesn't need to look at the two newcomers; she already knows that they're the two best friends of Roulan just by hearing Yu's voice.
Lanfen went towards her, her eyebrows furrowing as she saw the upset expression she had.
"I can't find Roulan."
"Huh? She said she'd grab food."
"It's been half an hour."
Yu raises her hands upon seeing the venomous glare Yanmei throws towards her. Lanfen nodded, and she sat down at the table that's near her.
"Let's call her."
"I already did; her phone's in her bag."
Yanmei then put her phone in her pocket, walking away from the room, causing Lanfen and Yu to follow her outside.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find Roulan."
"What's with you and her?"
Yanmei stops in her tracks, her mind contemplating whether to tell them the truth or lie in their faces.
Lanfen and Yu are not dumb. Being one of the sociable and student councils for the smartest and most respected students on the whole campus, they know something is happening between the two.
All the glances Yanmei throws towards Roulan, even back when Roulan and Huiqing were still things.
And they can also see how Roulan seems to look cautiously towards Yanmei whenever Huiqing's around.
Speaking of Huiqing, the woman's eyebrows furrowed upon seeing the three standing in the middle of an empty hallway. They seem to be talking about something important.
She shrugs her shoulder, goes inside the bathroom beside her to wash her hands before going out again, and was about to interrupt the three when Yanmei speaks.
"Nothing's going on with Roulan and I."
"Don't take us for fools."
"Fine, you guys wanna know? I was the reason why Roulan's beaten up."
Yanmei couldn't tell them the truth, but all she knows is that she wanted to find Roulan as fast as she could and check her wounds.
"What did you say?"
Huiqing spoke, her eyes looking directly at Yanmei as the older woman glared at her.