The thought of Gao Xiaohai's girlfriend, whose skin was so pale you could see the veins on her neck, drove Lian Qing to the brink of madness with jealousy. Gao Xiaohai had even brought that pale-faced woman to a dinner party for his colleagues, essentially introducing his girlfriend to everyone. Seeing Lian Qing, Gao Xiaohai acted as if nothing had happened, completely relaxed. What was she then? What did their time together mean? Lian Qing felt a profound sense of humiliation at being manipulated, and she wanted him to pay.
After discussing it with Fang Hongyu for a long time, they decided that Gao Xiaohai should make compensation. Otherwise, they would let the beautiful woman he cared about know about Lian Qing's existence and make things difficult for Lian Qing. Then he wouldn't have a good time either.
Gao Xiaohai's response to Lian Qing's call infuriated her. He arrogantly said, "You want to blackmail me? Why should I compensate you? Have we ever been in a relationship? We're just consensual sex partners. I think you're just greedy for money."
"You scoundrel!" That was all Lianqing could say. He said he wasn't afraid she'd go after Xiaoyue, but Lianqing retorted bitterly, "Just you wait!" A burning desire for revenge, an anxiety that threatened to explode, consumed her. Lianqing suffered from insomnia, a rare occurrence for her. Lying in bed, her hands were clenched into tight fists, her limbs stretched taut, unable to relax.
The Butterfly Broken (Part 3)
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Qiu Ping stretched as he walked into the living room; he always liked to stretch after finishing his work. He went to Hu Ni's side and held out his hand. Hu Ni turned off the TV, placed her hand in Qiu Ping's, and the two of them walked back to the bedroom arm in arm.
On the bedroom balcony, Hu Ni leaned against Qiu Ping's chest. Bright, twinkling stars shone in the deep blue sky. The weather was gradually turning cold; a gentle breeze carried a pleasant, cool chill.
"It's so rare to see stars in this city, and they're so bright," Hu Ni murmured.
"Hmm, it's really too young." Qiu Ping stroked Hu Ni's hair with his chin.
"Are you sure your aunt and uncle can really accept me?" Hu Ni asked, looking into the impenetrable night.
“You know what, Hu Ni, your problem comes from yourself, from your inferiority complex and your pride. Stop torturing yourself like this. You deserve a happy life. We can rightfully live together because we get along so well, because we love each other, and because you are so wonderful. Hu Ni, stop struggling with yourself in vain. Face everything with equanimity, and you will feel much better.”
"...Am I okay? You really don't mind?"
"Forget about unpleasant things from the past. Let bygones be bygones about things that happen when you are still too young to control your own life."
"...But I...can't forget."
"Then face it calmly. It's just a piece of history, a history that will never come back. It doesn't represent anything. You live in today and tomorrow. The past is just some vanished images, like the title of your novel, Ashes of Time, which are the ashes after time has burned. You can completely disregard it; it no longer exists."
"The ashes left after time has burned... but it truly took away my mother, leaving me without children forever... It burned, but the ashes remain today."
"Hu Ni!" Qiu Ping hugged the trembling body in his arms tightly and said, "Stop fighting against yourself. Throw away all those burdens and look at how fulfilling our lives are. Some people say that in this city we live in, you can't see the stars when you look up or love when you look down. But we have all of these. Forget about those things and enjoy our lives now."
Hu Ni took a deep breath, her face cold and damp. The ashes of time, burned away, danced wildly in her life today and tomorrow, covering everything and leaving her nowhere to hide.
Under the soft, warm glow of the bedside lamp, they made love. At this moment, Hu Ni felt a deep peace; they possessed each other completely, truly. She wanted to give herself to him; there was no other more fitting or better way. He was very attentive to her feelings; sometimes Hu Ni had to fake an orgasm so he could fall asleep without any guilt.
Qiu Ping could easily ignite Hu Ni; his familiar scent and body temperature, the lingering smell of bathwater on his skin, all made it easy for Hu Ni to set on fire.
The weariness after the burning sensation settled lightly on the warm bed, as light as a feather. Qiu Ping's hand rested on Hu Ni's waist, a real sense of security. Hu Ni buried her head deep into Qiu Ping's side and fell asleep.
Hu Ni dreamt she was standing in a large, old, empty room, wearing a wide, linen robe. The room was tall, the walls peeling and crumbling. Large, faded pillars stood there, their paint worn away. Sunlight streamed in through the skylight, but it was clearly old, sunlight from thirty years ago, the beams of light saturated with dust, reflecting a blinding brilliance. Her bare feet crunched on dry leaves. In the intense light, she saw the back of a man, a figure exuding a warm, familiar aura. Hu Ni walked slowly and resolutely forward, maintaining that distance. The man didn't turn around, and she didn't catch up with the man with that warm aura…
The butterfly is broken (Part 4)
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The disco was noisy and chaotic. Several empty bottles were already in front of Xiao Yan, the alcohol burning intensely within her. Xiao Yan stood up, took Hu Ni's hand, and, swaying slightly, her alluring eyes sparkling with captivating charm, entered the dance floor.
All around were hordes of menacing demons, and crowds of people who had thrown themselves into the fray. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol, human body odor, and the scattered souls of the people wandering aimlessly. Hu Ni swayed, as if she could hear the shrill laughter of a little demon sitting on the rooftop. Xiao Yan, standing before her, was frantically shaking her long-haired head; Hu Ni had just seen her swallow a triangular red pill. She had promised Hu Ni not to touch it, but she wasn't in a good mood right now, and she insisted on taking it, saying it would only be once, and she wouldn't get addicted.
Someone squeezed through and hugged Xiaoyan.
His hand twitched, carrying a metallic scent of blood. Xiao Yan froze. Someone nearby screamed, the weak cries drowned out by the deafening music. The crowd stirred, scattering in all directions. Those on the periphery, bewildered, tried to stop the fleeing crowd, and chaos ensued.
When Hu Ni saw the blood spurting from Xiao Yan's lower abdomen, she froze for a full few seconds before lunging forward, trying to pull the man away. The man was Gu Peng.
"What are you doing! She'll die!" Hu Ni screamed hysterically, tearing at Gu Peng who was still holding Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan looked at the man in front of her in a daze, her face still bearing the expression from before: confused, distant, excited, ghostly, and alluring. A strange smile floated on her lips, like a splendid rose about to wither.
The man raised his knife-wielding arm again and stabbed down hard once more...
The crowd screamed and fled in panic. Hu Ni struggled against the incredibly strong man, unable to free Xiao Yan from his arms. The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood.
Xiao Yan's body went limp and slumped down. The man threw the woman in his arms aside and strode away into the crowded throng.
At the end of the hospital corridor, Hu Ni squatted outside the operating room door, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. Her body, face, and even hair were covered in dried blood clots. How much blood had Xiao Yan lost? How could a person's body contain so much blood? Not far away, a security guard from a disco was reporting the situation to the police, speaking loudly and gesturing wildly. His voice trembled with terror.
The red light outside the operating room went out, and Hu Ni went to greet the doctor. In Hu Ni's eyes now, the doctor was a god who controlled life and death. Hu Ni stared at the mouth of this forty-something-year-old "god".
"God" said, "I'm sorry! We've done our best."
Hu Ni slid down softly, feeling too weak to stand.
The cart was pushed out, and Hu Ni saw Xiao Yan—a serene, pale face, a stunningly beautiful face, a face that was breathtakingly beautiful, a face unlike any other. How could she not exist? No way.
But her eyes remained closed.
When he got home, Qiu Ping was still away on a business trip, and Lian Qing had not returned yet.
Hu Ni took off her blood-stained clothes, washed herself thoroughly, dried her hair, and then lay down on the bed. Everything would be over. When she woke up, Xiao Yan would still be standing alive in front of Hu Ni, uttering the same vulgarities she could never get rid of, and maintaining the elegant demeanor that everyone could see...
Turning off the lamp felt like a very important ritual; tomorrow, everything would wake up from the nightmare.
My beautiful baby, don't play such naughty jokes; my dear baby, open your eyes covered in blue eyeshadow and wake up from this nightmare; my lovely baby...
The nightmare is far from over...
Xiao Yan's assets were quickly frozen. The police received a report that her bar and nightclub were suspected of organizing and harboring prostitution, as well as drug trafficking and drug use.
Xiao Yan's world has been turned upside down.
The butterfly is broken (Part 5)
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The last time I met Xiaoyan, she was wearing heavy makeup.
The makeup artist probably didn't know what makeup trends were going on, and she made Xiaoyan's face look tacky and vulgar. Ignoring Hu Ni's requests, the makeup artist insisted that this was how it should be done.
It was somewhat regrettable; Hu Ni knew Xiao Yan couldn't accept such a regret. But Hu Ni also understood that without such heavy makeup, Xiao Yan's current deathly pallor, devoid of any signs of life, couldn't be concealed.
Xiao Yan is really gone.
She had no relatives with her that day, so Hu Ni notified them over the phone. Knowing there were no other funeral arrangements to make, her parents decided not to go and asked Hu Ni to help with the arrangements, as her grandmother was seriously ill from a stroke, and Xiao Yan's mother was also sick. Xiao Yan's father couldn't leave.
Hu Ni couldn't say anything more, so she sighed softly and hung up the phone.
Sitting by the window on the bus, Hu Ni gazed out at the bustling streets of Shenzhen, the vibrant Shennan Avenue, the towering buildings bathed in sunlight… The world was beautiful and full of life, yet it also carried the stench of shattered hope. But none of this mattered to Xiao Yan anymore. She had once been the master of this place, calmly enjoying the tranquility that only a select few could afford. But suddenly, she lost everything, even her life. Gu Peng, the man she loved, had dragged her into an abyss without hesitation.
When the car arrived at Huaqiangbei, Hu Ni got off early.
She and Xiaoyan had been here before, browsing through Tianhong Shopping Mall, visiting various specialty stores in Huaqiangbei, then finding a Japanese restaurant to eat sushi and sashimi that they both found hard to swallow, and then buying unbelievably cheap trinkets at Women's World and Daughter Kingdom. Xiaoyan was an absolute shopaholic with an extremely strong possessive streak. After a day of shopping, she would return home to find many useless items, ranging from trinkets costing tens of yuan to clothes or jewelry costing thousands. Then, not long after, she would enthusiastically throw herself into the next shopping spree.
Hu Ni wandered aimlessly through the streets, fear and sorrow tearing at her body bit by bit. Every corner bore traces of Xiao Yan; she seemed to still be there, yet she couldn't find her.
Beside the Causeway Bay shopping mall, Hu Ni sat down by a flowerbed. The shadowy figures on the street moved like ghosts, and a fine drizzle began to fall, an endless, chilling rain that enveloped Hu Ni in layers of deathly stillness. Hu Ni sat slumped in the rain, using tears to release the unbearable burden on her body. Night deepened, and the bright, colorful lights made the night more magnificent than the day, yet also eerie.
A woman beggar, around thirty or forty years old and physically healthy, was trying to appear sickly. She was hunched over, a towel wrapped around her head, and her facial muscles were contorted in a fake state of pain. She seemed to care about herself, wearing a worn-out straw hat. She stretched out her healthy, filthy hand in front of Hu Ni, her hunched back and furrowed brow, her eyes filled with feigned pleading. Hu Ni turned her head away in disgust, but the woman persisted, clinging to her side: "Miss, please have mercy...Miss, please give me some money for food..." Hu Ni abruptly turned her head back: "Get away! Don't disgust me here!" The woman, still undeterred, continued begging with her stubborn patience: "Miss, please give me some money for food..." "Get away! Don't stand in front of me!" Hu Ni shouted, her gaze almost malicious as she stared at the repulsive beggar.
The woman left hesitantly. Hu Ni remained seated, dripping wet from head to toe. She didn't want to stand up; she didn't have the strength. When Qiu Ping called, Hu Ni told him she couldn't move and didn't want to get up.
Then he sat and waited patiently, just like when he was a child, patiently waiting for Qiu Ping to come and pick him up. Qiu Ping had just returned home from the airport. He said he would come right away. Without him, she wouldn't have the strength to stand up.
"Miss, are you alright?" A woman in her thirties stopped in front of Hu Ni with an umbrella and asked gently.
Looking at her somewhat sagging skin, Hu Ni couldn't help but think of Xiao Yan's health regimen. For women in their thirties, maintaining their appearance is an essential and unavoidable task. These were Xiao Yan's words.
Hu Ni smiled gratefully at her and said, "It's okay, I'm waiting for someone."
"You're soaking wet."
"It's okay, I'm waiting for someone, thank you." Hu Ni could no longer control her teeth; they were chattering violently, just like her body.
The woman left, and Hu Ni sat motionless, her fingers tightly intertwined to control her trembling. Her hair clung messily to her face and shoulders. A car sped by in the rain and mist and stopped at the street corner. Qiu Ping, wearing a cotton overcoat, got out and ran towards them.
Hu Ni looked ahead as Qiu Ping gradually approached, bringing with him the warmth of the past, the present, and the future. He was her source of warmth and security. If the whole world was cold, at least there was Qiu Ping; Qiu Ping was her eternal warmth.
Qiu Ping hurriedly took off his coat and draped it haphazardly over Hu Ni, then hugged her tightly: "Hu Ni, why are you torturing yourself like this? You'll get sick!"
Hu Ni leaned on Qiu Ping's shoulder and said, "Xiao Yan is dead!"
"What happened?" Qiu Ping was stunned in surprise.
"It was Gu Peng who killed her!"
Qiu Ping placed his hand on Hu Ni's forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever. He stood there for a moment, then put his arm around her and walked quickly towards the car. His broad shoulders were strong and powerful.
Inside the car, Qiu Ping took off Hu Ni's black trench coat; her shirt underneath was still wet. "You're soaked," Qiu Ping said. He abandoned the idea of taking off all her wet clothes. He simply draped the coat over Hu Ni, turned the car heater to its highest setting, and drove back as fast as he could.
Hu Ni glanced at Qiu Ping; his expression was very serious. Hu Ni suddenly felt a pang of sadness. "Qiu Ping, I'm sorry."
"Hu Ni, no matter what happens, don't torture yourself. It breaks my heart to see you like this."
"Xiaoyan is my only friend."
"...Are you telling the truth? Gu Peng? How could that be?"
"It was Gu Peng. Xiao Yan broke up with him... so he got a divorce, then he was framed and went bankrupt... so he killed Xiao Yan..."
Where is he now?
"I don't know!" Hu Ni said, already sobbing uncontrollably.
“Qiuping… In the past few years, when I needed friends the most, I only had Xiaoyan… We used to talk on the phone for hours on end in one night… We got through the most difficult times together… We dealt with boredom and loneliness together… She is very panicked, very scared, and I can feel it.”
Qiu Ping reached out and tightly grasped Hu Ni's trembling hands, which were tightly intertwined on her knees. "There are some things we can't control. All we can do is face them bravely after trying our best. I know it sounds cruel, but life has to go on, and we want it to continue more happily. I believe Xiao Yan feels the same way."
"After Xiaoyan came to Shenzhen, I realized that life can be fun, not just about living, not just about life itself... I realized there's so much joy in life... Xiaoyan is a simple and happy person. She wouldn't hurt others, at least not intentionally. She's actually very kind..." Hu Ni recalled the past and couldn't help but sob. She heard the sad sound coming from her throat, short and heavy, and her tears fell onto her knees with an unusually crisp cracking sound. And there was her mother's voice, in that cold winter... "Qiuping, life is so fragile."
Qiu Ping parked the car on the side of the street and pulled Hu Ni into his arms. He gently stroked her wet hair. What words could comfort such pain? After a long while, he finally said, "Hu Ni, you still have me."
Hu Ni's hands wrapped tightly around his neck: "Qiu Ping, promise me you'll never leave me, never leave me. If death can separate us, you must wait until I die before you can die." Her words were broken by the overwhelming fear.
"I promise you, Hu Ni, we will never be apart."
Hu Ni clung tightly to Qiu Ping, trembling and sobbing in his arms...
The butterfly is broken (Part 6)
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The car sped through the rain, splashing water onto two women waiting by the roadside. The two young women burst into curses, but after only a few words, one of them excitedly chased after the car, shouting, "Brother Qiuping, wait for me! It's Lianqing!"
The car didn't stop and quickly disappeared into the misty rain.
Disappointed, Lianqing staggered back to Fang Hongyu's umbrella, muttering a complaint: "What an unlucky day!"
"Just accept it, it's like being bitten by a snake."
“Is he a snake? Don’t flatter him, he’s at best a dog. No, he’s a pig, a rat…” Lianqing said incoherently.
"Are you sure you'll be alright going back like this?"
"What could possibly happen?"
"Your cousin won't be upset that you drank too much, will she?"