Chapter 51: The Eve of Snowfall

On the next morning, the first ray of sunlight streamed into the bedroom. A stiff body lay atop the white bed sheets. With her already sore eyes dazzled by the glaring sunlight, Zhou Xue slowly sat up from the bed. The sheets slid off, revealing a body covered in bruises, especially the noticeable marks on her slender waist. Ignoring the pain radiating from her body, Zhou Xue walked straight to the bathroom in the bedroom like a soulless doll. She knew where the bathroom was, because she had regained consciousness last night, when that beast violated her, her awareness slowly returned. However, her struggles, her cries were all in vain. It’s not that they were completely useless; these only excited He Wei even more. He Wei enjoyed Zhou Xue’s "naivety" in this aspect, it gave him a sense of achievement. Rarely did he not leave after the act, instead, after a simple wash, he once again drew Zhou Xue into his arms, murmuring what he thought were sweet words before falling asleep. All the while, Zhou Xue didn’t close her eyes; she didn’t cry or make a fuss, just quietly stared at the ceiling. Around four in the morning, He Wei received a phone call and left. Before leaving, he only left Zhou Xue a substantial check and a bland warning: "Keep your mouth shut, don’t forget your aunt and brother rely on you. I’ll contact you when I have time." After he left, Zhou Xue continued to lie quietly until the glaring sunlight filled the bedroom, prompting her at last to rise slowly and head into the bathroom. Leaning against the cold ceramic wall, Zhou Xue slowly slid down, her tears finally fell. She turned the red knob to its maximum, using the scalding hot water to wash her body, desperately scrubbing her skin until the original fair skin became red and swollen, covering those disgusting marks. Even as the hot water coursed over her already tainted body, the cold wall against her, Zhou Xue’s emotions finally broke down. With her arms wrapped around her legs, her forehead pressed to her knees, she wept bitterly. She didn’t understand, why did these things happen to her! Clearly, she had worked so hard to climb up, to elevate her status. She achieved in the shortest time what others possibly couldn’t in a lifetime, so why couldn’t she avoid those so-called "unspoken rules"! She had people she wanted to protect, so she had to become strong. She thought she was strong enough, but never expected that a party in the name of her birthday would shatter all her illusions. Birthday? Ha, what a "wonderful" gift! It made her realize that there’s no equality in this world! Those so-called fairness are all baits thrown by capitalists, luring ignorant and naively hopeful fools! She was too naive. Clearly realizing there might be issues with last night’s party, why did she still attend?! Clearly knowing there was something wrong with that drink, why did she still consume it?! Would she eventually become that despicable person her aunt talked about? "Sob, sob, sob sob sob." The entire villa was quiet, except for the intermittent sounds of Zhou Xue’s painful sobs. Until finally, the sobs faded away. Zhou Xue appeared again at the villa’s door, seemingly her original bright and lively self. Nobody noticed the light in her eyes had disappeared. In the following month, Zhou Xue continued to busily shuttle between various events, occasionally receiving invitation calls from He Wei. Each time, she would attend on time, because she had no other choice. Her aunt and brother still needed him, and she had made an agreement with her aunt, next year when her aunt’s child enters high school, she would divorce her uncle. By then, her aunt and brother would move in and live with her. The future life seemed so beautiful, just at the cost of a sullied body, she could accept that. When she left that villa, she had figured it out; if she couldn’t fight it, then she would accept it, nothing would be harder to endure than losing her body. And some things, once there’s a first time, there would invariably be countless more. This time He Wei chose the same hotel as before, out of respect for Zhou Xue’s extraordinary popularity, they always entered the hotel separately, and straight to the point once in the room. He Wei didn’t leave as he usually did after a romp, after bathing. He leaned against the headboard, lit a cigarette. Taking a deep drag, he exhaled a smoke ring and spoke faintly, "Tomorrow night, you’ll accompany me to a party." Zhou Xue ignored him, seeing He Wei had no intention of leaving, she rose to dress, clearly indicating her desire to leave. He Wei spoke again, "Tomorrow afternoon at five, I’ll be waiting for you at the company. Don’t be late." "Got it." Zhou Xue calmly replied, packed up, donned her mask and hat, and pushed the door to leave. Zhou Xue didn’t expect this appointment, not only made her further disappointed with this world, but also led to her permanent departure from this disappointing world. Punctually arriving at the company, He Wei naturally walked into Zhou Xue’s agent’s office, sure enough, Zhou Xue was already waiting inside. Satisfied, he nodded and said, "Let’s go." Zhou Xue obediently rose and followed He Wei. Today, she was as beautiful as ever, a red off-shoulder long gown, with waves of long hair cascading down her back and an exquisite makeup, which made every staff passing by freeze and stare in awe. In fact, Zhou Xue also liked this kind of being the center of attention feeling. She was, after all, a girl, it’s natural to have such a proud vanity. "Sister Xue is really beautiful!" "She’s practically a celestial being! And she’s super kind too! Last time our manager urgently needed a document, and when I rushed to deliver it, not watching where I was going, I accidentally bumped into Sister Xue. Not only did she not blame me, but she also helped me pick up the documents. Love her!" "I also heard from Sister Xue’s assistant, she is super nice usually, no difference from how she is now." "But, don’t you think she’s been quite close with Vice President He recently? What’s their relationship?" "Shh... don’t talk nonsense now, is this something we can discuss? Be careful, you don’t get heard by Vice President He’s people! I heard, the last one who badmouthed Vice President He, was dumped on some isolated island and ’kacha’!" The person finished by making a throat-slashing gesture. "Pfft, you’re even more exaggerated than me! Careful you might be the next, hahaha." The group in the pantry burst into laughter, but one of them still was quite curious about the relationship between Zhou Xue and He Wei, couldn’t resist but ask again, "Do you think, could they be in a relationship?" The pantry was filled with a sound of inhalation. "Hiss, no way." "It’s possible though, Vice President He is quite handsome. But isn’t it said Vice President He is pretty fickle?" The group knew the "fickle" was rather a euphemism, He Wei was well-known in the circle, not just for his ruthlessness in profit, but also for his "fickleness". He Wei once set a record of changing ten "girlfriends" in one month. Hearing this, Zhou Xue disdainfully glanced at He Wei who had reached the elevator entrance, internally scoffed and was about to leave. "But, ever since we knew he frequently contacted Sister Xue, it seems Vice President He hasn’t sought other young stars, has he?" This statement made Zhou Xue pause again, indeed, ever since engaging in this sordid relationship with herself, He Wei hasn’t had any other women around. "What if Vice President He has turned over a new leaf? How could we know, alright, let’s not babble, better get back." The group left carrying cups of coffee from another direction. But Zhou Xue was stunned in place. Maybe, did He Wei truly like her?