Rose Lock - Chapter 4

The job she took was very simple. Fortunately, her appearance was refined, with a pair of expressive eyes and a charming smile. The lobby manager had her put on the Cheongsam uniform of Yuelai Hotel to attract guests in the magnificent hotel.

Yuelai Hotel was said to be a century-old hotel. The front entrance still retained the traditional style of ancient towers and flying eaves, but stepping inside, one could clearly feel the luxurious and elegant interior decor: stained glass doors and windows, glazed lamps scattered throughout, and a floor shining like a mirror, giving an impression of opulence.

The coming and going guests were either rich or powerful, and many of them had familiar faces. On the first day, Hua Manyi had to endure the occasional scrutinizing glances from them—some doubtful, some disdainful, some waiting for a show—all kinds of eyes.

Around seven or eight o’clock, when the streetlights came on and the electric lights suddenly brightened, people began to crowd in. Young masters and mistresses of prestigious families, followed by their servants, walked in self-satisfied. People from various circles, having just concluded important business, conversed joyfully. Hua Manyi watched the influx of people with a sense of déjà vu. She, too, had once followed her father and mother here for dinner, but ultimately, things had changed drastically.

Suddenly, a cold splash on her face—ice-cold water was unexpectedly thrown on her, wetting the red plum and dark green cheongsam she was wearing, leaving a patch of water on her chest.

Hua Manyi shivered all over.

“Hua Manyi, I can’t believe you’ve fallen to this! How embarrassing.” A mocking and sneering female voice rang out. Hua Manyi wiped the water off her face and clearly saw the person in front of her. Her anger immediately surged.

“Lai Xiaoyun, are you crazy!”

This Lai Xiaoyun had been jealous of Hua Manyi since middle school, and had even ganged up with other female students to bully her. The most egregious incident was when they held her down and messed up her hair with scissors, forcing Hua Manyi to cry all the way home.

At that time, when the Hua family’s power and status were not as formidable, the Hua couple couldn’t even stand up for her. Later, to keep her hair from looking so bizarre, she had to cut all her long hair short. The shoulder-length bob made her look like a silly student, and it took her three years to grow her long hair back.

“Do you dare say that again?!”

“Not only will I say it, but I’ll also…”

Lai Xiaoyun lifted her chin, putting on the airs of a wealthy young lady from Haicheng, and looking at Hua Manyi’s distressed and pathetic state, she retorted, “You’ll what?”

Splash! A cup of water mixed with lemon flavor was instantly thrown onto Lai Xiaoyun’s face. Her carefully applied makeup immediately ran, and her freshly permed hairstyle suddenly drooped limply. She looked even more wretched than Hua Manyi.

“Ah—” A shrill scream accompanied by the surrounding laughter echoed in the lobby. “Hua Manyi, I’m going to kill you!”

“Hey! Lai Xiaoyun! Calm down!” Someone tried to hold her back.

“Get lost, don’t stop me!”

“Come on, Lai Xiaoyun, if I don’t teach you a lesson today, you won’t know your place!”

“Hua Manyi—ouch, ouch, ouch—”

The two wrestled together. Hua Manyi was taller than her. Before the people around could react, she grabbed Lai Xiaoyun’s hair and dragged her to the front desk, picked up a pair of scissors, and snipped a few times.

“Lai Xiaoyun, giving it back to you!” Hua Manyi released the few strands of hair in front of her, successfully driving the person insane.

Lai Xiaoyun went mad, continuously clutching and smoothing her own head, unable to believe that she was humiliated to this extent by a ‘dog of misfortune’ (a derogatory term for someone who brings bad luck, similar to ‘harbinger of doom’ or ‘star of misfortune’).

“Ah, Xiaoyun…” Lai Xiaoyun’s friend didn’t dare to approach her. “Your hair…”

“Quickly, catch her for me, I want to kill her, woo-woo—Dad, Mom, woo-woo—”

“Miss Lai! Miss Lai! Please calm down!” The lobby manager of Yuelai Hotel rushed over, hurriedly comforting this furious young lady, and at the same time, instructed the people next to him to catch Hua Manyi. “Grab her for me!”

Hua Manyi watched several burly men heading towards her without a word, and her heart tensed up. She turned and ran towards the second floor, a group of people chasing after her.

“Don’t run!”

“Stop right there!”

“The two of you block that way, the rest follow me. Remember not to disturb the other guests.”

After all, those who came here to dine were all rich and influential; none of them could be offended.

The waiters in black vests and white shirts immediately complied.

The second floor was decorated even more luxuriously, even featuring private rooms. Waitstaff carrying dishes from the kitchen were walking down the corridor, serving the various private rooms.

Hua Manyi, wearing high heels, stumbled blindly, turning corner after corner. At one turn, she didn’t see that the floor was carpeted, and her heel got stuck. The huge resistance kept her from taking another step, as if her legs were tied, and her upper body fell straight down.

By instinct, her hand swung twice in the air, and her elbow hit a door. As she fell, she also pushed the door open.

The conversation inside immediately stopped.

“This…” Jiang Yin was startled, stood up slightly, and looked helplessly at the fallen woman in the dark green cheongsam, clutching her handkerchief tightly, her eyes revealing a hint of panic. She then turned to the woman sitting motionlessly beside her.

“Mrs. Gong… how about we call it a day? I, I’ll go back first.” Jiang Yin bowed slightly and walked quickly to the doorway. Hua Manyi was currently covering her knee and slowly getting up. Jiang Yin turned sideways to avoid her and hurried away.

“You two check over there!”

“Yes.”

A man’s clearly hushed command came from not far away.

Hua Manyi’s heart tightened. Ignoring who might be inside, she picked up one of her fallen high heels, limped into the private room, and quickly closed the door.

After the footsteps outside faded away, the high-strung heart of Hua Manyi finally relaxed. She put on her high heel and finally looked up at the person inside the private room.

“Uh…” Hua Manyi looked at the woman sitting at the table, smoking with one hand. The familiar face came into view, stopping her in her tracks.

“Aunty Gong?” Hua Manyi called out softly, her large, round ‘peach blossom eyes’ blinking. If she remembered correctly, the people at the dance hall seemed to call her Aunty Gong.

However, the other party seemed unwilling to acknowledge her, her eyes deep, her red lips cold and seductive. The cigarette between her fingers was only occasionally smoked, as if she was staring at Hua Manyi, yet also looking through her at someone else.

The table, with its complex patterned tablecloth, was set with typical Western steak, two or three delicate pastries, and even the most expensive Jacob’s Creek red wine. Unfortunately, the red wine in the two glasses hadn’t been drunk much.

“Did I disturb you?” Hua Manyi recalled a figure running out when she was getting up at the doorway.

Knock knock knock—

The door behind her suddenly received a knock. Hua Manyi’s heart tightened.

“Mrs. Gong, it’s like this, our Yuelai Hotel is running an event, giving every customer a bottle of White Horse Red Wine, you see…”

Hua Manyi gripped her handkerchief, her heart skipping a beat. These people were definitely using this as an excuse to look for her.

Aunty Gong lifted her eyelids, glanced at the person who had already ducked under the table to hide, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. “No need.”

The person outside was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. “Then we won’t bother you.”

After a long while, Hua Manyi slowly crawled out from under the carpet.

“Thank you, you really are a good person.”

However, the other party showed no intention of responding to her. Hua Manyi bit her lip and continued to praise, “You will surely live a long life and have a peaceful life.”

“Miss Hua Manyi, I’ve helped you twice, is your only repayment two verbal compliments?”

The woman’s sarcastic tone made Hua Manyi’s face burn with embarrassment. She felt a little awkward. She knew the magnitude of the trouble she had caused today. In her current situation, without any backing or connections and being labeled a ‘dog of misfortune’, she had dared to teach Lai Xiaoyun a lesson and even cut her hair.

She didn’t even need to think; the other party would definitely not let her off. As soon as she stepped out of the room, she would be caught, and having a layer of skin peeled off would be the least of her worries.

“Then… what do you want?”

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