Lin Xiao sat in the salon's soft leather chair, watching her reflection as her hair was trimmed layer by layer.
The stylist's fingers were light, and the snip of the scissors was soft and rhythmic. The newly cut layers made her face look even smaller.
"This length is perfect, Miss Lin," the stylist said gently. "It really suits your elegance."
Lin Xiao's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She looked at the pale face in the mirror. The last time Chen Boxu touched her, he had said the exact same thing.
"Thank you," she heard herself say softly.
The mirror reflected the overhead lights, and she suddenly thought of last night. Chen Boxu was sitting on her sofa. When Zhou Suisui pushed the door open and walked in, those amber eyes instantly lit up—so vivid, so vibrant.
Yet Chen Boxu hadn't even spared her a single glance.
That feeling was absolutely thrilling.
What was the use of being pretty?
It was cheap.
Lin Xiao's fingertips tapped unconsciously. She remembered this morning, when Zhou Suisui stood in the living room, staring at the creamy white knit sweater she was wearing with a jealousy that practically burned in her eyes.
It was something Zhou Suisui could only dream of touching after working herself to the bone, starving and saving for more than half a year.
The thought brought a trace of cold pleasure to her heart.
Letting her move in was the right decision. Watching Zhou Suisui carefully hide her envy and clumsily imitate her manners every day—that performance itself was a kind of enjoyment.
It was like watching a one-woman show staged exclusively for her.
And every perfectly timed gasp of awe and envy from Zhou Suisui was, in Lin Xiao's eyes, the most valuable ticket to this performance.
And the price she paid for it?
Nothing more than that jar of face cream in the bathroom, which Zhou Suisui had secretly used more than half of—something utterly insignificant to Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao deliberately left it in the most conspicuous place, just to watch Zhou Suisui pretend nothing was amiss after every shower, unscrewing the lid and scooping out a tiny bit with a look of both guilt and longing.
Consider it a treat for a dog.
After all, she was acting so hard.
"All done, Miss Lin," the stylist said.
Lin Xiao opened her eyes. The person in the mirror was even more exquisite, more fragile, looking even more like a meticulously polished piece of porcelain.
She stood up, and Eva handed over her cashmere cardigan and bag. As Lin Xiao took them, her fingertips brushed lightly over the soft fuzz of the cardigan.
"Mr. Chen called just now," Eva's voice was steady and flat. "He asked if your haircut was finished."
Lin Xiao draped the cardigan over her shoulders.
"Mhm," she said softly. "Tell him it's done."
---
The coffee shop.
When Zhou Suisui pushed open the door to the cafe, Liu Weiwei was already waiting there, an iced Americano sitting in front of her.
"Weiwei." Zhou Suisui sat down, her voice a bit hoarse.
Liu Weiwei looked up to study her, frowning slightly. "What's wrong with you...?"
"I know you've seen a lot of the world," Zhou Suisui lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting together. "That's why I came to find you."
She looked up, her eyes turning red at just the right moment.
"Weiwei, lately I keep thinking about our college days." Her voice dropped, carrying a hint of a choke. "Back then, the four of us in the dorm, even though we bickered and made noise, whenever someone bought new clothes, we were genuinely happy for them. Not like now..."
She paused, as if holding something back.
"The roommate I'm living with now... she's usually quite polite to me, but the way she looks at me... it really hurts. That thing with the clothes last time, I'm sorry, I lied to you. It wasn't my cousin, it was her."
Liu Weiwei raised an eyebrow but didn't speak.
"I'm going to a cocktail party on Friday..." Zhou Suisui's voice lowered even more. "I don't know what I should wear, what I should use, how I should speak, or how I should smile... Weiwei, you're the most worldly person I know. My parents are just ordinary factory workers. What they taught me... isn't enough for a place like this."
"I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life." She looked up, her amber eyes shining, washed with tears. "Weiwei, teach me, please? If... if there ever comes a day when I actually make something of myself, I will never forget you."
A tear slipped down at the perfect moment, and she didn't wipe it away.
She spoke very slowly, every word seemingly squeezed out of her throat with difficulty, carrying the clumsiness and sincerity of someone who had just entered society.
Liu Weiwei watched her in silence.
The light in the cafe hit from the side, illuminating Zhou Suisui's young and pretty face. Those tearful eyes, that expression mixed with unwillingness, shame, and longing...
Liu Weiwei watched her formerly proud roommate bow her head to her. She couldn't describe how she felt, but the only thing missing was the joy of winning.
"Alright, stop crying." She pulled out a tissue and pushed it over, her tone softening. "You'll look even uglier with ruined makeup."
Zhou Suisui took the tissue and whispered, "Thank you, Weiwei."
"First of all," Liu Weiwei said awkwardly, "show me a picture of the dress you plan to wear to the party."
Zhou Suisui quickly pulled up the photo of the red dress.
Liu Weiwei glanced at it, and her frown returned. "It's too try-hard. Do you know the biggest taboo for truly high-end things?"
"What?"
"Being terrified that others won't know you're beautiful." Liu Weiwei handed the phone back to her. "This face of yours is already a trump card. If you dress like this on top of that, you might as well write 'I'm looking for a sugar daddy' on your forehead."
Zhou Suisui's face paled.
"Mute the colors, keep the style simple. Don't overdo the accessories—one piece is enough, but it has to be real." Liu Weiwei opened her own shopping cart. "See this? These pearl earrings, just tiny studs, but the luster is different. No matter how good a fake is, the shine is dead."
Zhou Suisui leaned in to check the price, and her heart clenched again.
"Also," Liu Weiwei looked at her, "don't initiate conversations with people at the party. Especially men. Just sit there quietly, eat and drink as you please. If someone approaches you, just smile and speak less. Talk too much, and you'll reveal your hand."
"And... what if no one comes over?"
"Then it means you're not their type, so give up while you're ahead," Liu Weiwei said bluntly. "But with your face, it shouldn't come to that."
Zhou Suisui bit her lower lip and nodded.
"One last thing," Liu Weiwei stared into her eyes. "Don't wear your ambition on your face. Men like beautiful women, but they don't like beautiful women who are too smart. Especially... the kind of woman who can see right through what they're thinking at a glance."
Zhou Suisui's fingers tightened under the table.
She thought of Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao never wore her emotions on her face. She was like a delicate doll—quiet, submissive, always waiting for her master's next command.
Did that kind of woman make men feel safe?
Or did they find her... boring?
"I understand," she said softly.
Liu Weiwei went over a few more details and finally said, "This is all I can teach you. The rest is up to your own luck."
"Thank you, Weiwei," Zhou Suisui said earnestly. "Really."
After leaving the cafe, Zhou Suisui didn't go straight home.
She wandered around the mall for a while before finally walking into an accessible luxury jewelry store. The lights inside the glass display counters were bright, illuminating every piece of merchandise until it was dazzlingly brilliant.
She had her eye on a pair of delicate pearl stud earrings. The price tag equaled half her monthly salary. If she actually bought them, she hardly dared to imagine how she would scrape by for the rest of the month.
The sales associate took the earrings out for her to try on. The moment the cold metal pressed against her earlobes, Zhou Suisui looked at herself in the mirror. It was the same face, yet something was undeniably different.
That subtle glimmer felt like a silent declaration.
She thought of Lin Xiao's face,
thought of that indifferent, dismissive gaze.
She couldn't lose.
Gritting her teeth, she swiped her card.
The sales associate tucked the earrings into a small, deep blue velvet pouch, then placed it inside an elegant branded paper bag. As Zhou Suisui took it, her fingers trembled slightly.
It wasn't because of the earrings.
It was because of the very first step she was about to take.
