Chapter Twenty-One: Making Friends
As the sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains into suite 3306 on her day off, Cheng Yin had already been working for two hours. The numbers on her tablet kept changing, and the casino's revenue report for the previous week gradually took shape under her fingertips.
My phone vibrated, and the name "Cici" flashed merrily on the screen.
"Open the door!" Cici's voice was full of energy on the other end of the phone. "I'm at your door!"
Cheng Yin put down her tablet and walked barefoot to the door.
Cici was wearing a pink tracksuit today, her long curly hair tied in a high ponytail, looking like an internet celebrity getting ready to go to the gym. She was carrying two paper bags, which emitted an enticing aroma of butter.
"Breakfast!" Cici squeezed through the door, shoving a paper bag into Cheng Yin's hand. "Freshly baked Portuguese tarts and milk tea."
Cheng Yin took the paper bag, its warmth seeping through the paper into her palm.
Cici had already wandered around the suite by herself, drawing back the curtains and opening the windows to let the sunlight and sea breeze in.
"No shopping today," she announced, pulling two brand-new workout outfits from another paper bag. "We're going to the spa!"
Cheng Yin looked at the sportswear, which was clearly a size too small: "I don't do spa treatments."
"It's not up to you." Cici threw her workout clothes on the bed. "I booked an appointment at the most expensive beauty salon on the Macau Peninsula, and I've already paid the deposit."
Half an hour later, Cheng Yin was shoved into Cici's red sports car. The tracksuit was indeed a bit small, clinging tightly to her chest and thighs, making it difficult for her to breathe. Cici, however, was quite satisfied with her outfit, constantly praising Cheng Yin's "actually very well-endowed figure" and "just doesn't know how to dress."
Aura Beauty, the most expensive beauty salon on the Haojiang Peninsula, is hidden in an old colonial-style building with white exterior walls and dark green window frames, like a bright pearl set in the old town of Haojiang.
The moment I stepped inside, I was greeted by the enticing aroma of essential oils. A beautician in a light pink uniform smiled and approached me. "Cici, your royal treatment package is ready."
Cici nodded and pushed Cheng Yin forward: "Today's main task is to serve her."
The beautician led them through a quiet corridor to the innermost double suite. Soft lighting, soothing music, and two beauty beds covered with snow-white sheets were placed side by side, with scented candles and fresh flowers beside them.
"Please shower and change first." The beautician handed over two sets of silk bathrobes. "The therapist will be here in five minutes." Cici took off her clothes with practiced ease, while Cheng Yin stood still.
Cici raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Shy?" She grinned mischievously, "We're all women, what's there to be afraid of?"
Cheng Yin slowly unzipped her tracksuit, and when she took off her top completely, Cici's smile froze.
"Oh my god..." Cici's voice was as soft as a sigh, "Who did this?"
Cheng Yin didn't answer, but continued to take off her pants. She also had scars on her thighs, and her knees had scars from a fall when she was a child.
Cici walked over, her fingers hovering in the air, hesitant to touch. "Does it hurt?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern.
Cheng Yin shook her head: "I don't remember."
The beautician knocked on the door and came in, and gasped when she saw Cheng Yin's body.
Cici immediately regained her composure, pointed at Cheng Yin, and told the beautician, "Give her the most expensive scar repair package, no matter the cost."
Before the nursing care began, Cheng Yin grabbed Cici's wrist: "Give me the bill, I'll pay you back."
Cici almost blurted out "You don't need to worry about that," but quickly corrected herself: "We're just making friends, why bother with these things?"
Cheng Yin looked at her evasive eyes and said, "I don't know how to make friends...especially with the same sex."
Cici paused for a moment, then understood: "What kind of friends are those despicable people who bully you?" She grasped Cheng Yin's hand, "The friends I, Cici, have chosen will never betray me."
The treatment lasted three hours. Cheng Yin lay on the beauty bed, feeling the expensive essential oils and instruments working on her back.
Cici chattered on and on, recounting her romantic history, shopping tips, and celebrity gossip. Cheng Yin mostly listened, occasionally responding, but strangely enough, she didn't find it annoying.
"You know what," Cici suddenly lowered her voice, "the moment I saw you, I knew you were different."
Cheng Yin turned her head to look at her: "How is it different?"
"I can't quite put my finger on it." Cici paused the massage, turned over, and said, "It's just... you're not pretending. Everyone in Macau pretends, but you're terrifyingly genuine."
Cheng Yin thought for a moment: "Li Yaodong said the same thing."
Cici laughed loudly, "So he fell for it!" She suddenly leaned closer to Cheng Yin, "Honestly, Dong-ge is very special to you. I've known him for five years, and I've never seen him so attentive to any other woman."
Cheng Yin recalled the pink pearl, the warmth of Li Yaodong's hands when he taught her to swim, and the strength with which he held her wrist in the darkness... She shook her head, trying to banish these images from her mind.
"He's just my creditor," Cheng Yin said.
Cici gave her a meaningful look and then said nothing more.
At the same moment, inside a mansion with a blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles, Lin Shirong was kneeling before the shrine, offering incense.
The scent of sandalwood permeated the ancestral hall, and the mahogany furniture gleamed with a dull luster in the sunlight.
Old Master Lin stood to one side, his expression solemn. "May our ancestors bless the continuation of the Lin family line." He turned his head and said in a deep voice, "Shirong, you may also say a few words."
Lin Shirong lowered his head, mechanically repeating the words he said every year during the ancestral worship ceremony. His phone vibrated in his pocket, the sound particularly noticeable in the quiet ancestral hall. Lin's father frowned and glanced at him.
"Sorry." Lin Shirong took out his phone and muted it. A spending notification appeared on the screen. He quickly locked the screen, but his father had already spoken.
"About the company?"
Lin Shirong shook his head: "Personal expenses."
Lin's father snorted, "You haven't been focusing on anything important lately." He turned and walked towards the living room. "How's things going with Li Yaodong?"
"Everything is normal." Lin Shirong followed his father's footsteps.
Lin's father sat down in the armchair and picked up his teacup: "I heard he's recently become obsessed with an accountant?"
Lin Shirong adjusted his glasses: "Cheng Yin, from Ernst & Young, is quite capable."
Lin's father took a sip of tea: "Don't follow his example. He's over thirty and still unmarried; what kind of person is he?"
Lin Shirong remained silent.
The housekeeper brought over a plate of fruit, and Mr. Lin picked up a piece of cantaloupe with a toothpick: "I've found a few girls with good birth charts; I'll meet them next week."
"Dad, the company's been really busy lately..."
"Busy?" Lin's father interrupted him. "Li Yaodong has time to play around with women, but you don't have time for blind dates?"
Lin Shirong looked down at the tips of his leather shoes: "Brother Dong is different."
"Of course they're different," Lin's father sneered. "He's an only child, both his parents are dead, and nobody can control him. What about you? The Lin family has had only one son for three generations. Do you want the family business to end in your hands?"
Lin Shirong stopped arguing. He knew that any explanation on this topic would be futile.
The sandalwood incense in the ancestral hall had burned out, and the ashes fell into the incense burner, like his crushed self.
That evening, Lin Shirong invited He Jingwen to have drinks at a private club.
The deep blue whiskey formed an amber swirl around the ice puck. He Jingwen raised his glass in a gesture of respect: "I heard Cici and Cheng Yin have been getting quite close lately?"
Lin Shirong tapped his fingers lightly on the rim of his glass: "Don't pry into girls' affairs."
"I'm just curious," He Jingwen said with a mischievous grin, "what's Dong-ge's attitude?"
He didn't say anything.
"Interesting." He Jingwen took a sip of his drink. "Cici is notoriously snobbish, yet she's actively trying to curry favor with Cheng Yin..." He glanced meaningfully at Lin Shirong, "Unless someone authorized it?"
Lin Shirong pushed up his glasses and changed the subject: "I envy you, you're in your early twenties and your family isn't pressuring you to get married."
He Jingwen laughed loudly: "Who said that? My mom nags about it every day!" He imitated his mother's tone, "'Ah Wen! Do you know that when your mom was your age, you could already walk and buy groceries!'"
Lin Shirong smiled wryly: "At least your dad doesn't force you to find someone whose birth chart is compatible."
"Grandpa Lin still believes in this?" He Jingwen's eyes widened. "I thought only my grandmother's generation was into this."
"More than that," Lin Shirong shook his head, "It requires compatible birth dates, the ability to have a son, and a respectable family background..." He took a large gulp of wine, "It's like living in the Qing Dynasty."
He Jingwen patted his shoulder: "These days, which girl wants to be stuck at home having babies?" He thought for a moment, then suddenly grinned mischievously, "Unless she's an honest person like Cheng Yin, who looks like she'd just accept whatever comes her way."
Lin Shirong paused, his eyes behind his glasses sharpening: "Don't talk nonsense."
"Just kidding!" He Jingwen quickly raised his hands in surrender. "But seriously, Cheng Yin is quite special. So many people are fawning over Brother Dong, but she's the only one who acts all businesslike." He leaned closer to Lin Shirong, "Do you know why Brother Dong treats her differently?"
Lin Shirong put down his wine glass: "I advise you not to pry into Dong-ge's private affairs."
He Jingwen wisely shut up and started talking about the recent ball games.
Outside the clubhouse window, the night view of Haojiang is as dazzling as a galaxy.
He tilted his head back and downed the drink in his glass, the ice puck hitting his teeth with a crisp sound. Like some kind of warning, or perhaps self-mockery.
It was already evening when the treatment at Peninsula Beauty Salon ended.
Cheng Yin stood in front of the full-length mirror, surprised to find that the old scars had faded considerably, and her skin had regained its long-lost luster. Cici put her arm around her shoulder with satisfaction: "How about it? Wasn't the money well spent?"
Cheng Yin nodded: "Thank you. I will pay you back."
Cici rolled her eyes: "Here we go again!" She straightened Cheng Yin's collar, "We don't talk about this between friends."
On the way back, Cici opened the convertible top.
The night wind tousled their hair, and Cheng Yin's scars tingled faintly in the wind, as if something was healing, or as if something was about to sprout from the ground.
"I know an amazing shop!" Cici yelled through the roar of the engine, "See you next time!"
Cheng Yin did not answer. The phone screen displayed the Siamese dictionary: Cham-Cham means "moist, abundant" and is often used to describe rain or tears.
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