Tonight is Christmas Eve, and Bai Xiaoyue has made a special trip back from England just to give her boyfriend a big surprise. On the phone, Xi Ze said that he had a very important matter to tell her when she got back. Bai Xiaoyue was hoping that maybe Xi Ze was planning to propose to her!
At half past eleven, she was filled with happiness and sweetness when she arrived at Xi Ze's front door, right on time. In the exquisitely wrapped gift bag, there was a scarf that she had knitted by herself for Xi Ze. Xiaoyue was about to take out the key, but looked down to find the door was slightly ajar.
Feeling a bit puzzled, she slowly pushed the door open to discover scattered rose petals on the floor and a candlelight dinner. There were strange noises coming from the upstairs bedroom. As Bai Xiaoyue climbed the stairs, before she even got to the top, she heard a woman's pleasured moans. The sound was terribly familiar to Bai Xiaoyue.
A frightening thought crossed Bai Xiaoyue's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. This was her Xi Ze, how could he possibly do such a thing? Anyone could, but not her Xi Ze. Never.
As she walked upstairs, she saw scattered clothes in the corridor—suits, ties, mini skirts, red high-heeled shoes...
Bai Xiaoyue's breath hitched, her legs felt like they were filled with lead as she slowly moved to the doorway. Inside the semi-open room, two bodies were passionately entwined on the bed. The woman beneath her boyfriend wasn't anyone else, but her cousin, Bai Yunxi.
"Dear, in these seven years, couldn't Xiaoyue satisfy you enough? You are truly amazing."
"It seems I haven’t been trying hard enough and can still let you think of others. Huh!"
"So, this is the important thing you wanted to talk about, right, Xi Ze?" Bai Xiaoyue stood at the door, feeling nauseous at the very thought of stepping inside.
Xi Ze's body froze as he suddenly turned around, spotting Bai Xiaoyue standing on the doorstep. A look of surprise flashed across his face, but he soon calmly got out of bed and dressed casually.
"Don't you want to explain anything?" At this moment, there was a glimmer of hope in Bai Xiaoyue's heart, hoping that he would say that all of this wasn't real, that he wasn't like this.
"Explain what? Didn't you see everything? We've been together for seven years, I'm a normal man. Yunxi, more than you, knows how to please a man," Xi Ze said, pulling Yunxi into his arms and gently kissing her on the cheek.
Observing this scene, Bai Xiaoyue felt heartache like being slashed by a knife, even her breath stung.
Just as Xi Ze got up, Bai Xiaoyue slapped him hard in the face.
"This slap is for you." Her heart was in agony. She lifted her head, staring at the ceiling, holding back her tears, refusing to let them fall.
Bai Xiaoyue, why would she be crying in front of this contemptible man? It was a definite insult to her dignity.
Xi Ze sneered, "Had enough of the drama yet? If you're done, get out."
Bai Xiaoyue looked at Xi Ze in disbelief. He actually wanted her to leave, when everything here was carefully selected by her, and now, it had turned into their love nest.
"Just leave when Ze asked you to! You're not his type. Thin like a washboard, how could you possibly attract him?"
"Huh! Want me to leave? Fine..." Bai Xiaoyue's eyes turned cold. She suddenly raised her hand, trying to slap Bai Yunxi’s face. Letting her leave would be giving this cheap woman an advantage.
She never knew that her cousin was so shameful, seducing her boyfriend. How could she swallow this anger?
"Have you had enough?" Just as Bai Xiaoyue wanted to slap a second time, she was stopped by Xi Ze, who pushed her aside.
Bai Xiaoyue sat on the ground, watching the man she sincerely gave her heart to, who at this moment only concerned about another woman.
Bai Yunxi leaned upon Xi Ze pathetically, with tears welling up in her eyes and one hand on her face sobbing. Xi Ze frowned, looking at Bai Xiaoyue.
"Heh!" Bai Xiaoyue, coldly laughing, stood up from the ground and picked up a shopping bag from the floor. "You know what? This is the New Year's gift I prepared for you. Now, you don't deserve it. Consider me, Bai Xiaoyue, as being blind..."
Taking out a lighter, she set the whole parcel on fire. Watching the bag burn to ashes, what disappeared along with it was the love she once had.
Next moment, she threw the burning bag onto the bed and resolutely turned and walked away.
Behind her, she heard the startled scream from a woman and the angry cursing from a man, but Bai Xiaoyue did not heed them.
The wind was exceptionally cold tonight, blowing tears into her eyes. Bai Xiaoyue smiled, dried the traces of tears on her face, pulled her suitcase out, and dialled a number.
"Where are you? Come out and have a drink with me. I'll be waiting at our usual place." Hanging up, Bai Xiaoyue got into a taxi. All she wanted was to release her feelings.
The lights were dazzling against the festivity of alcohol, within the ceaselessly bustling space. Bai Xiaoyue placed her suitcase aside and kept pouring drink after drink. She had lost track of how much she had consumed.
This place used to be frequented by her and her best friend Chen Jiajia. Of course, for a debilitated heiress like her, she could not have afforded such indulgences. Jiajia was always the one footing the bill, not allowing Bai Xiaoyue to insist on being polite.
It was Christmas Eve tonight. Merriment and joviality filled the air – midnight had just passed, and the festive jubilation was only beginning. Observing the smiles of those around her, Bai Xiaoyue felt heightened distress.
What an unforgettable Christmas Eve this year was proving to be.
By the time Chen Jiajia hurried over, Bai Xiaoyue had already drunk quite a lot.
"Xiao Bai, what's going on?" Chen Jiajia was the only one who addressed Bai Xiaoyue this way. At first, Bai Xiaoyue disliked the nickname, thinking it sounded like a dog's name. But as time passed, she became accustomed to it.
"Heh! Jiajia, hic... You're here! Wonderful. I'll tell you, guess what I just saw when I went to find Xi Ze? I saw that son of a bitch sleeping with Bai Yunxi. Hehe, I must be an idiot. Jiajia, tell me, am I not the world’s most foolish woman? Though, I’m not as heartbroken as I thought I would be. It's just... I feel...so stupid. Come on, congratulate me in seeing clearly the trashy man that he is... hehe."
Bai Xiaoyue grasped Jiajia's hand as she yelled hysterically, interspersed occasionally with foolish laughter. Her voice was quickly swallowed up by the surrounding music. Bai Xiaoyue didn't even know whether she was laughing or crying.
She only wanted to forget, to forget everything. Just for tonight. Come tomorrow; she would still be the original Bai Xiaoyue - resilient and unyielding.
There was nothing in this world that could defeat her. Absolutely nothing.