The memorial hall, solemn, yet deserted.
Dressed in funeral attire, Lin Kewei stands in front of her mother's portrait, her head bowed low, immersed in her own sorrow. Her original elegant and beautiful face is now pale and exhausted due to continuous fatigue.
Click, click, click!
Amid the silence, the abrupt sound of high heels echoes, followed by the appearance of a young woman in a red dress. Her face is heavily made up, bold and defiant. She walks all the way until she stops right in front of Lin Kewei.
Lin Kewei stares at the inappropriate red, her eyes surging with hatred. She questions, "What are you doing here?”
Michelle lifts her chin high, boasting a threatening and triumphant expression. She replies, “I’m here to deliver an invitation to you, of course." She pulls out an invitation from her bag, slaps it on Lin Kewei, and announces, “In a few days, Jing Dong and I are getting engaged. We hope to receive your blessings.”
Blessings?
Jian Jingdong once was her fiance, and the woman standing in front of her was once her best friend. Now they are betraying her, planning to live happily together, and even asking for her blessings?
Lin Kewei thinks it's ludicrous and also feels humiliated. Therefore, she doesn’t reach out to take the invitation, letting it fall lightly to the ground.
The golden embossed white envelope faces up, bearing their names and images. The young man in the photo is handsomely side-profiled, kissing the blushing would-be-bride.
"Uncle, rest assured. I will take good care of Xiaowei and Auntie, and I will never let them suffer any grievances."
Five years ago, Jian Jingdong had made this guarantee with warmth in his eyes. Because of his assurance, her father had confidently transferred all the company shares in his name before he was implicated. Soon, all other Lin family assets had been seized and confiscated.
Jian Jingdong ran the company well, and she was always grateful. However, she never expected that all these were merely his schemes to acquire the company.
Lin Kewei's eyes started to dry, her downturned hand suddenly clenched tight, the nails embedding painfully into her palms. But this physical pain was nowhere near the heartache she felt.
"Are you done?" Lin Kewei asked.
Though her heart was riddled with hurts, she didn't cry, and she refused to show any sign of weakness.
Michelle nodded smugly, her eyes full of unchecked laughter, evidently relishing her current pain.
"Here's to your everlasting farce of a union, may you have puppies soon," Lin Kewei said, her foot stomping on the invitation card, then she picked up her mother's portrait, preparing for the funeral.
The world was awash with chaos, and she didn't want these messy matters to disturb her peace anymore.
"You!", Michelle was irate at her words, but when she looked at Lin Kewei's frail silhouette about to collapse, she abruptly let it go.
Her squinted eyes were full of malice and triumphant enjoyment: Lin Kewei, now you are left with nothing, simply engaging in hollow bravado.
Yes, Lin Kewei was in an unbearable pain, struggling to breathe. She soldiered on until she had buried her mother, seen off the few guests, and then it seemed like all her strength had been siphoned away.
Her phone ringing in her pocket disrupted her, and although she didn't want to answer it, the persistent vibrations forced her to check.
The caller had hung up, but a news notification on WeChat caught her eye. Upon opening it, she found that Lin's enterprise had officially been renamed as JM Enterprise, with Jian Jingdong saying that JM were the initials of him and Michelle, and this was his engagement gift to her.
Her heart felt like it had been stabbed with a sharp sword.
Subconsciously clutching her chest, she tried to muster up her strength to leave, but felt dizzy and wobbly. As she hurriedly stumbled her way, she didn't realize the oncoming car.
All she heard was an urgent honk, followed by a sharp screech!
Reacting swiftly, Mo Shaozhen hit the brakes just in time, but still saw the woman in front of him tumble down and slam hard onto his car's hood.
