My Ex-Girlfriend Is a Zombie Queen - Chapter 10

Lu Yu’s memories of the Lu family began with her first birthday banquet.

Logic suggested that memories from such a young age shouldn’t persist so vividly, but for a child who had just gained a sense of self, that evening was a microcosm of her entire life; a scene she could never forget.

The celebration had been exceptionally grand. Under the blinding neon lights, she was surrounded by people she didn’t recognize. The clinking of glasses and the loud, buzzing drone of conversation merged into a cacophony that made her head throb. Four or five nannies took turns watching over her; she had food when she was hungry, water when she was thirsty, and toys to keep her occupied. Yet, no matter what, she had to remain perfectly behaved until the end. She wasn’t allowed to cry, and she wasn’t allowed to sleep.

She was like an exquisite doll displayed in a storefront window. She was required to have aesthetic value, but beyond that, she was required to be nothing at all.

For a long time, Lu Yu’s life followed this exact pattern. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, she occupied the role of the Lu family’s youngest child who’s spoiled with material excess, yet forced to play the part of a silent, beautiful vase. Her parents’ eyes only held a flicker of warmth when they looked at her during social galas. Even her older brothers and sisters, whom she rarely saw in private, would only speak to her with measured composure and performative concern when guests were watching.

It was a textbook example of family harmony. She had heard countless people praise them for it, but those outsiders only ever saw the polished surface. Her family, too, only cared about maintaining that facade.

As time passed, she found it increasingly difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was fake. Whenever she saw a family of three holding hands on the street, she would linger and watch them, unable to stop a surge of envy from rising in her chest. She would even feel a sharp jealousy toward children her own age whose parents actually attended their school meetings, rather than sending a butler in their stead.

She saw her parents perhaps once a year. At most, they would share a symbolic meal during a family banquet before boarding separate planes the next morning to head to different corners of the globe. In her mind, the image of her parents remained perpetually blurred. Even when she caused trouble at school, it failed to garner a shred of genuine attention; her parents wouldn’t even deign to ask what happened, preferring to let their subordinates “handle” it and, if necessary, hire a psychiatrist to deal with the aftermath.

Before meeting Ye Qianli, Lu Yu lived the life of a canary in a gilded cage, pulled by invisible strings to perform according to a script written by others. She had dreamed of escaping a thousand times, but she always lacked the courage to take the first step. Having been raised in a greenhouse, she had almost entirely lost the ability to face a storm on her own.

The final straw was the marriage her parents arranged for her.

“You’ll be married after the New Year.”

When those six words were spoken with such casual indifference, it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her. She stared at them, wondering if she had misheard.

“Mom, but—” She opened her mouth to protest.

“Cut off whatever needs to be cut off,” her mother interrupted, tossing a stack of photos onto the table, her tone laced with a simmering irritation. “I’ve seen plenty of people like her; people who rack their brains trying to climb the social ladder through a connection. Besides, it’s a woman.” At the end, she let out a heavy, mocking sneer.

Lu Yu stared at the photos scattered across the floor. They were all pictures of her and Ye Qianli. Even though they were surreptitious shots taken from a distance, the happiness radiating from her face was something that never existed within the walls of the Lu villa. Her heart felt as if it had been stung.

That was the fifth year they had been together, and the fifth year of their secret relationship. To avoid the family’s scrutiny, they had maintained the public appearance of being just friends; only a handful of people knew the truth.

“Mom, she isn’t…” Lu Yu wanted to say she isn’t the kind of person you think she is, but when she looked up, she saw only her mother’s retreating back; cold and detached, as if she couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on her.

Lu Yu bowed her head in silence for a long time. For the first time in her life, she felt a desperate, urgent need to grab hold of something for herself. The person she wanted to spend her life with was not some nameless, faceless fiancé chosen by her parents. For twenty years, she had drifted through life like a marionette. Now, her sudden resolve outweighed every uncertainty about the future. She realized that as long as she could be with Ye Qianli, it didn’t matter if she lost the title of “Eldest Miss Lu” or everything it represented.

In her lover’s eyes, she was simply herself. She wasn’t a status symbol or a means to wealth. After years of being surrounded by flattery, she knew exactly who was sincere.

On the day she decided to leave the Lu family, her brothers and sisters took a rare break from their busy schedules to gather. They looked at her with gazes filled with pity.

“You’ll regret this,” they said, certain that she was too soft to endure hardship and would eventually come crawling back in a few days.

Lu Yu simply smiled and said nothing. She didn’t want to stay for even another second. She walked out of that opulent, frozen villa with a light step, and in that moment, her only thought was that she was finally free. The road ahead would be difficult, but she was determined to walk it. She had used the name “Miss Lu” for long enough, and she was sick of it to her very core. It was time to take it off.

She never regretted her choice to pick Ye Qianli. Not then, and certainly not now.

*****

Lu Yu spent the entire day weighing whether or not to contact her biological family. She vaguely remembered Ye Qianli mentioning “the Lu family” while she was half-asleep. Just recalling that dream which felt so hauntingly real, made her chest feel tight with a mixture of sweetness and bitterness.

Another reason to love Ye Qianli, she thought, her lips curving into a soft, distracted smile.

Eventually, the hesitation in her eyes turned into a firm resolve. She couldn’t allow her own stubbornness to drag Ye Qianli into even greater danger. Although she didn’t know why the woman was keeping secrets from her, their years of unspoken understanding allowed her to trust her unconditionally. She was willing to wait for the day Ye Qianli was ready to tell her everything.

That evening, after taking her fever medicine, Lu Yu dialed the number she hadn’t called in years. When her parents said they were disowning her, they meant it; not a single call had come through since the day she left.

Ring—

To her surprise, the line wasn’t busy. In the past, she would have had to wait at least half an hour just to get through to a secretary. Amidst her swirling thoughts, a familiar, clipped voice came through the receiver:

“What is it?”

Lu Yu took a deep breath, her fingers tightening around the edge of the table as she whispered, “Mom.”

“Finished playing around outside?” her mother asked. She sounded as though she had expected this result all along. “Five years is long enough for you to have learned your lesson. Though, at your current age… it won’t be easy to find a suitable match for a marriage alliance.”

Lu Yu bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, but she didn’t feel it. She forced herself to suppress the urge to hang up, listening as her mother who usually had no patience for her, began to lecture her at length.

“…There is no position for you in the Lu family right now. However, next month, there is a major project. Tsk. You can go and try your hand at that for the time being.”

Before Lu Yu could ask what the project was, the line went dead. But in that final, split second before the silence took over, she heard a sound that made her skin crawl: a low, guttural animalistic roar.

How strange.

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