Chapter 1: Prologue
North City, 7:30 PM on a summer evening. On the 17th floor of the Emperor Hotel, a grand engagement party was underway. The lavishly decorated hall was packed with people, elegantly dressed men and women holding wine glasses, all intently focused on the stage ahead.
A spotlight illuminated a middle-aged man dressed in a Dior's latest black suit. Holding a microphone, he smiled smugly with a sense of pride.
"Honored guests, dear friends, I'm delighted that you've taken time out of your busy schedules to attend the engagement party of my daughter Li Fei and her fiancé Zijun. On behalf of our family, I thank you all for coming! I hope tonight will be a relaxed and enjoyable evening for everyone! Please make yourselves at home! Thank you all!"
Applause broke out below the stage. In a corner of the room, Bai Shasha rolled her eyes disdainfully as she glanced at her friend Li Si, who was absently caressing the tulip-shaped wine glass in her hand. Helplessly, Shasha nudged her friend's shoulder.
"Snap out of it, Sisi. I really don't know what's going through your head. Just because your aunt scolded you a bit, you actually came here to attend the engagement party of that two-timing bastard and the mistress? Aren't you just torturing yourself for no reason?"
Li Si raised her head, her gaze tinged with a trace of self-mockery. "Shasha, you're not me. My parents are gone, and I'm still living at my uncle's place. His family is hosting this event—how could I not come? So many relatives and family friends are watching. If I didn't show up, it'd look bad, wouldn't it?"
"Dear Lord, girl, I'm begging you, can you stop being such a doormat? Meng Zijun is yesterday's news, and now the flower has bloomed in your cousin's garden. Show some dignity, will you? Pull yourself together, move on, and find a tall, rich, and handsome guy to piss off that Li Fei bitch!" After finishing her tirade, Shasha angrily raised her wine glass and took a large gulp.
Bai Shasha often felt a deep frustration for her friend. Dealing with those vile relatives of hers—you endure, and they just push even harder. An endless cycle of advance and retreat. If it were Shasha, she wouldn't have attended this engagement party at all. Was this about breaking her heart, or breaking it again and again? Wasn't this just offering herself up to be humiliated? But at the end of the day, everyone is their own person. Even though she and Li Si were inseparable friends, she couldn't make decisions for her.