The next afternoon.
Zhou Suisui stood downstairs at her apartment building, clutching her phone in her hand.
The weather forecast had predicted rain today. The sky was an overcast gray, and the air felt damp and heavy. She wore an off-white turtleneck sweater, the collar high enough to completely conceal her neck. For her lower half, she wore simple black trousers and flat shoes.
Her phone buzzed.
Driver Xiao Li: Miss Zhou, I have arrived. Black Mercedes, license plate ending in 886.
Zhou Suisui looked up and saw a black Mercedes parked by the curb. She pulled open the door and got in.
The car was immaculate, carrying a faint scent of leather. The driver gave her a polite nod through the rearview mirror. "Miss Zhou."
"Hello." Zhou Suisui closed the door.
The car merged smoothly into the traffic.
Zhou Suisui watched the retreating streetscape outside the window. Her mind uncontrollably replayed the numbers she had calculated over and over during her sleeplessness last night—
Fifty thousand.
The cash Chen Boxu had casually left on the nightstand. The price of her first time.
Sixty thousand.
The price of Lin Xiao's creamy-white knit loungewear. Liu Weiwei had said it was conservatively estimated to start at sixty thousand.
Lying in bed last night, bathed in the faint light filtering through the window, she had stared at the ceiling, crunching those two numbers over and over again:
If calculated by the occasion, it was fifty thousand a time.
If calculated by time, last night took about three hours, making it roughly sixteen thousand an hour.
Lin Xiao's outfit was worth about one point two times of her work.
For her four years of college tuition and living expenses, her parents had given her less than one hundred thousand in total.
She had been working for half a year, and her after-tax income was less than fifty thousand.
The money Chen Boxu gave her for one night was more than she had earned in the past six months.
A set of Lin Xiao's everyday loungewear likely cost more than what she had spent in her entire four years of college.
These numbers were like a red-hot branding iron, repeatedly searing her mind.
But what it burned into her wasn't shame; it was something much sharper—
Why?
Why did Lin Xiao get to wear sixty-thousand-yuan loungewear, while she, Zhou Suisui, was only worth fifty thousand?
Just because she arrived later?
Just because she lacked that cold, porcelain-like temperament?
Or was it because... she had asked for too little last night?
The car finally stopped in front of a building that didn't look like a hospital. It had a grayish-white exterior and massive floor-to-ceiling windows. There were no signs at the entrance, only a small engraved metal plaque.
"We have arrived," the driver said. "Ms. Eva is waiting for you inside."
Zhou Suisui pushed the door open and got out.
The dampness in the air felt even heavier. She took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy glass door.
It was very quiet inside, with soft lighting. The receptionist, a woman in a light gray suit, smiled upon seeing her. "Hello, Miss Zhou? Ms. Eva is waiting for you in the second-floor lounge."
Zhou Suisui walked up the thickly carpeted spiral staircase.
With every step she took, the fire in her heart burned a little brighter.
They were both sleeping with him; why was Lin Xiao more expensive than her?
On the second floor, Eva was sitting on a sofa by the window, a tablet resting on her lap.
"Miss Zhou." Eva stood up. "Please, have a seat."
Zhou Suisui sat down in the single sofa opposite her, keeping her back very straight.
"Mr. Chen has given his instructions," Eva's voice was steady and professional. "Today, you need to undergo a comprehensive health screening. Here is the list of items."
She handed over a piece of paper.
Zhou Suisui took it and looked.
The paper listed over a dozen tests: HIV, Hepatitis B and C, HPV typing, Chlamydia, Gonococcus...
She pinched the paper, her fingertips pressing down slightly.
Lin Xiao must have done these too.
Perhaps even in the exact same clinic, on the same bed, with the same doctor.
But after Lin Xiao finished her checkup, she went back to wear her sixty-thousand-yuan loungewear.
After she finished hers, she would go back to wear the dozens-of-yuan t-shirt she bought herself.
This realization was like a needle plunging viciously into the fire in her heart, making it blaze even fiercer.
"Are all of these..." Zhou Suisui's voice was steady, "necessary?"
"Yes," Eva looked at her. "Mr. Chen takes health and safety very seriously. The privacy and professionalism here are top-tier, so please rest assured."
Zhou Suisui said nothing.
She folded the paper and stuffed it into her bag.
"Let's begin."
---
For the next two and a half hours, every passing minute and second added fuel to that fire.
When drawing blood, as the needle pierced her skin, Zhou Suisui stared at the vial of dark red blood.
Fifty-thousand-yuan blood.
Sixty-thousand-yuan clothes.
Lying on the ultrasound examination bed, cold gel was smeared across her lower abdomen.
What was Lin Xiao thinking about when she lay here?
Did she also grit her teeth and endure it?
Or was she already used to it, as accustomed to this kind of examination as she was to getting a haircut or wearing silk pajamas?
The gynecology examination room. The sharp sting during the sampling.
Zhou Suisui gripped the sterile pad beneath her, her nails digging into her palms.
Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao.
The name echoed repeatedly in her mind like a curse.
They were both slept with by Chen Boxu, both had to lie here and be examined. Why did Lin Xiao get to receive more?
Just because she was earlier?
Because she was cleaner?
Because she was more... obedient?
Zhou Suisui bit her lip until she tasted blood.
"All done." The female doctor took off her gloves. "The results will be handed directly to Ms. Eva once they are out."
Zhou Suisui sat up and slowly put her pants back on.
Her legs felt a bit weak, but not because of the pain.
It was because the fire that had been burning for two and a half hours had hollowed out her strength.
She pushed the door open and walked out.
Eva was standing by the window. Seeing her come out, she put away her phone.
"Thank you for your cooperation." Eva handed her a bottle of water. "The driver will take you back."
Zhou Suisui took the water, twisted it open, and took a large gulp.
The water was warm, but it couldn't suppress the dryness in her throat.
"Let's go," she said.
Zhou Suisui followed Eva downstairs and got back into the car.
As the car pulled away from the grayish-white building, it was still raining outside.
Fine raindrops hit the car window, meandering down the glass.
Zhou Suisui leaned against the backseat and closed her eyes.
Various parts of her body still held the lingering discomfort from the examinations: the bruise where her blood was drawn, the sticky feeling of the ultrasound gel, the dull ache from the sampling.
But what felt even clearer was the fire in her heart.
It burned away the last bits of her grievances, forging something much harder—
Defiance.
She was going to make Chen Boxu feel that she was worth it.
Worth more.
By the time the car came to a steady stop downstairs at her apartment, the fire in her heart had burned down into a piece of cold iron.
Heavy, pressing hard against her chest.
"Miss Zhou," the driver handed over an umbrella, "the rain is heavy."
"Thank you."
Zhou Suisui took the umbrella and pushed open the car door.
The moment she opened the umbrella, freezing raindrops splashed against her face.
She walked into the building, closed the umbrella, and pressed the elevator button.
The elevator ascended slowly.
The metal doors reflected a pale face, but the eyes were incredibly bright.
As bright as the glowing embers left after a fire.
The elevator doors opened.
She walked to the door of 502 and pulled out her keys.
Before opening the door, she paused for a moment to let the expression on her face relax.
Then, she turned the key and pushed the door open.
In the living room, Lin Xiao was still sitting in her usual spot, a thin blanket draped over her legs, looking through an art book.
Hearing the noise, she looked up.
In the dim light, her light brown eyes looked like two pools of still water.
"You're back?" Lin Xiao's voice was very soft.
"Mhm." Zhou Suisui bent down to change her shoes. "It's raining really hard."
"Yeah." Lin Xiao's gaze lingered on her face for a second before shifting away. "Your clothes are wet."
Zhou Suisui looked down and noticed a small, dark damp patch spreading across her shoulder.
"It's fine." She slipped off her coat and hung it up. "I'm going to my room to change first."
"Alright."
Zhou Suisui walked into her room and shut the door.
Leaning her back against the door, she did not move right away.
The sound of the rain was sealed outside the window, leaving the room in a profound silence.
It was so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat.
Beat by beat, steady and calm.
She walked over to the window and watched the torrential downpour outside.
Then, she picked up her phone and tapped into her chat history with C.
That burgundy silk chiffon dress. A deposit of six thousand, taking about a week to make.
This time, she was going to make him realize something.
She was worth a much higher price.
She would wear that delicate, easily torn dress the next time she saw Chen Boxu.
