Lu Mian skipped down the marble steps of the Pei family mansion, laughter bubbling from her chest. For the first time in years, her truly felt lighter.
She twirled happily at the foot of the stairs and hugged her backpack closer Thank you mommy. Thank you for watching out for me and loving me so much. I will not let you down she smiled. Her smile was blinding. She was no more the Lu Mian of the past, weighed down by insecurities or the shackles of love. Her smile was of a woman who loved life, loved herself and wanted to live to the fullest. It was a smile of pure joy and happiness that lit up her whole being.
Pei Yan, who was just driving back after seeing off Lu Xinya saw her smile and his breath caught. She was breathtaking. He braked sharply and gaped, completely mesmerized by her beauty. Did mom promise her to fix our marriage again? he grinned fondly. The unknown tension he was carrying released. That must be it - that's why she was so happy.
As she walked closer, he noticed Lu Mian's red eyes and his heart clenched. They had grown up together after all. It wasn't that he didn't have any feelings for her. It was that he couldn't see past his pride and arrogance to see the true her.
Little did he know, that the arrogance would cost him her love not just once, but in two lifetimes. Forever.
He swerved to a stop and called out "Mianmian, you…"
Lu Mian stopped. She didn't turn back. "CEO Pei, we have no more connection. I have explained to aunty. Let's part ways amicably. Please don't seek me out again. Goodbye"
And without even waiting for his reply, she walked beyond the gates. Pei Yan's hands tightened around the wheel. The moment of tenderness and regret he felt was gone again in a flash of anger. "Get lost. Don't ever come looking for me again. I am not your fiance". He had no idea if Lu Mian even heard him. She turned a corner and disappeared from his sight.
He didn't know then that was his last chance for a decent conversation her.
Pei Yan watched her disappear and finally felt a sense of crisis. After a fight Lu Mian always apologised first. It was as though she couldn't bear to fight with him. She would send him some soup when he comes back home and urge him to drink it. She would even send numerous messages to his phone trying to coax him. This was the first time she had ignored him for a whole day and even refused to take the chance he offered.
He rushed home. His mother will talk to Mianmian and make it right.
Unfortunately, Lin Shuyin had retired to her room and refused to see him. "Young Master, Madam asked you to get busy with company matters. She will talk to you later."
Pei Yan walked back to his study, frowning. The work waiting for him did not improve his mood. It reminded him that his family needed a prescription from Mianmian.
If Mianmian doesn't talk to me by tomorrow, I will be the bigger person and ask her for it, he convinced himself. It would also give her a chance to come back. Satisfied by his "lofty" plan, Pei Yan settled to work, not realizing the person he was thinking of had long moved on.
Lu Mian walked towards her home with steady steps. She had declined Aunt Lin's offer for a ride back because she wanted time and space to think. So much has happened in the past 24 hrs.
She had woken up this morning detached and cold, determined to make people suffer, to "get back what they owed her". Now, after the adventure helping the soldier and Aunt Lin's profound revelations, her priorities changed. No one owed her anything. It was she who owed herself a good life.
There were still three more months before the college entrance exams. It was enough time for her to tie up her life here and leave forever. But things wouldn't be easy.
The first, is of course the Pei family. Pei Yan could never guess that the brilliant plans and the contracts that propelled him to being a CEO were Lu Mian's hard work. She had given Pei Chengyuan the prescriptions to their best seller drugs and those alone were responsible for over 50% of their profits. She regularly helped them draft and edit contracts, adjust Pei Yan's business plans so that their success rate was absolute. No, Pei Chengyuan wouldn't let her go, not even if she gave up the prescriptions.
The other challenge would be leaving her own "family". She didn't want to hide her genius and work away in the dark anymore. Neither did she want the Lu family to get credit for her achievements. Lu Mian's new perspective didn't make her a holy angel. It just made her more focussed. She had to find a way for them to voluntarily cut ties with her.
For someone who had once sketched war strategies that outmaneuvered generals, these were not problems; this was child's play. Time to make her first move Lu Mian smiled coldly.
The Lu family home was ablaze with lights when she walked in. Servants bustled about, cleaning and serving tea and pastries. In the hall, sat Jiang Huifen, the Lu family matriarch, resplendent in an expensive silk qipao, with pearls glittering around her thick neck, and buddhist beads around her wrist. Clearly, she had spared no expense in trying to look refined and elegant. Has someone ever told her the outfit has the exact opposite effect? Wondered Lu Mian idly.
Lu Xinya was nestled closely next to her grandmother, her school uniform swapped for a simple dress that made her look innocent and sweet. She was grinning bashfully at Grandma Lu's comments.
"I saw the Pei family boy drop you Xinxin. A beautiful woman and a talented man, what a great match" praised Grandma Lu. "Grandma" blushed Lu Xinya daintily. "Yan ge dropped me off only because Aunt Lin asked him to. It's not what you think".
"Oh, good!Good!" commented Jiang Huifen. "It means the elders value you - and want to make sure you are taken care of".
"Our XinXin is the best" smiled Xu Lihua fondly. "Of course the Pei family cherishes her. She ranks first in her entire school and is now participating in the Nine Strings Festival, hosted by the Lanting Academy of Music. Her work is shortlisted as the top 10 among the hundreds of entries across the whole country" she bragged with pride.
"As expected of our XinXin" beamed Jiang Huifen. "Even if you place in the top 3, the Pei family will look at us differently."
"Grandma, it's not just me". Protested Xinya. "Sister helped…"
"Don't talk about that jinx" huffed Grandma Lu immediately. "And don't learn from her. So late and still not home yet. What poor manners.Our Lu family is clearly unlucky to have her with us"
Lu Mian watched the show with a faint smile. A life time ago, she would've wanted to know why she was denied this affection and family warmth. Now, she didn't care in the slightest. In fact, it would help my plan along nicely.
"Is grandma finding fault with my upbringing? You shouldn't blame Aunt Xu. As a mistress, she did all she could" Lu Mian gracefully walked in.
The noise stopped abruptly. Once her words sank in, Xu Lihua flushed a bright red. "Unfilial creature. Apologise to Aunt Xu right now. Is that the way to speak to your elders?" scolded Grandma Lu immediately.
"Sister, that was indeed not a nice thing to say about mommy. Grandma was simply worried that you were out so late…" started Lu Xinya without missing a beat.
"Then why didn't dear sister relieve her worry?" asked Lu Mian sweetly. "Sister saw me at the Pei family after all. I was standing right next to Aunt Lin when she scolded Pei Yan for behaving shamelessly with you. Did sister forget?"
"No, that's not.. I." stammered Xinya.
"Don't talk nonsense Mianmian" cut in Xu Lihua sharply. She wouldn't stand idly seeing her daughter slandered. "When a girl is excellent, there will naturally be a lot of people admiring her. The Peis are not an ordinary family, you should know. Young Master Pei simply admires her talent. Don't be so narrow minded."
"If not for your wretched mother's prescriptions, do you think the Pei family would even put you in their eyes" spat Grandma Lu.
Lu Mian's eyes sparked with fury. No one talks about her mother like that. With a flick of her wrist she aimed her empty cup across the table. It flew in a perfect arc and hit Grandma Lu's hand exactly when she was taking a sip of boiling hot tea. Startled badly, grandma's hand shook, with a few scalding drops of tea falling on her lips.
"Ow// Oww" she screamed.
"If you slander my mother again, the cup I throw won't be empty" promised Lu Mian, her eyes glittering dangerously. "The woman you look down on helped the Lu family regain their business and play in the upper circles of society again. What your precious family couldn't do for a decade, my mother did in less than a year. I wonder how Grandma Lu has the face to look down on her"
"You.. You.." scolded Grandma holding her lips.
"Grandma Lu please take your time. I will not be accompanying you anymore" replied Lu Mian with perfect composure, elegantly turning to walk up the stairs.
Lu Xinya watched her go with mounting hatred. Lu Mian was so beautiful she wanted to scratch her eyes out. Now, with her strange new confidence, she was absolutely dazzling. Even if she dressed her best, her most extravagant, Lu Mian could easily outshine her wearing just a lousy school uniform. She absolutely cannot walk away victorious.
"The Pei family didn't send someone to drop you and made you walk back didn't they?" yelled Lu Xinya, jumping up from the couch, her composure slipping. "Maybe even Aunt Lin finds your temper awful sister and treats me better"
Lu Mian's curled her lips secretly - the prey has taken the bait.That didn't take long.
Pretending to be furious, she yelled "That's because you stole Pei Yan. Now he doesn't want me any more and would rather marry you! Lu Xinya, I will never forgive you. Wait till I steal him back from you. I will make you cry"
She ran upstairs, the very picture of heartbroken rage and slammed her door, leaving behind a trio of dumbstruck Lu family members.
"Is it true XinXin?" Xu Lihua asked her daughter urgently. "Did Pei Yan promise to marry you?"
"Not just yet mommy" said Lu Xinya shyly. "Yan ge took me home today because he wanted to talk about the latest music scores. Sister was already there, stirring up trouble for him. In frustration, Yan ge told sister he preferred girls like me and wished she wasn't his fiance any more".
"It shows the boy really has sense - and has finally woken up! Our Xinxin is such a treasure, which boy will not be attracted to her?" celebrated Grandma Lu.
"Grandma! Sister is good too… in fact, I always knew it was an engagement meant for her. Even though I liked Yan ge, I was ready to just watch from afar…"
"Nonsense. We should always fight for our love girl. Now that the boy has chosen you, let's close the deal."
"Mother, is right" chimed in Aunt Xu. "It's also the best for Mianmian. A forced melon is not sweet and, with all the Pei family rules, she will suffer with her temper. But mother.. As a stepmother, if I say this to my husband, he will misunderstand…"
"Leave it to me" dismissed Grandma Lu. "This time, I will make sure the engagement comes to our Xinxin."
Leaning behind her closed door, Lu Mian grinned with delight. It was so satisfying to see the Lu family jump into the pit she dug for them. This could be my new favourite hobby, she chuckled Inciting her dear family to scheme the engagement from her is the easiest way to get rid of it. It would save her a lot of trouble - and, she could use this reason to break off ties with them. .
With the first part of the plan moving smoothly, she moved to her desk to open her very ordinary looking laptop. No one would guess that her system is wired to encrypt, hack, and process enough data to rival a supercomputer. She herself had strengthened the firewalls and had made it absolutely impenetrable.
She ran her fingers gently over the keys as she waited for the system to load. It was time to begin the next portion of her plan.