On my birthday party, Lucas, my childhood friend and fiancé, brought a girl with him. He said she was strong-willed, resilient, and radiant – his true soulmate. And that a proud and aloof rich young lady like me could never be his future wife. The arrival of this girl disrupted my birthday celebration. But then I discovered she was the sister of a boy Lucas had bullied and disabled in high school. I had been told by Lucas’s friends that he’d been getting close to a girl recently. But I never expected him to bring her to my birthday party. Under the fiery glare of Mr. Thompson, Lucas still said those words: “This is my girlfriend, and my future wife.” The girl he was holding hands with blushed, her eyes shy. She didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with crashing my birthday party. Mrs. Thompson’s face clouded over. Catching sight of my mother’s darkened expression, Mrs. Thompson rushed forward and pulled Lucas aside. Lucas refused to let go of the girl’s hand, so they were both dragged to a corner of the banquet hall. Mrs. Thompson scolded in a low voice: “What do you think you’re doing?” Lucas glanced at me watching the show and said without any courtesy: “Lily is kind and strong. The moment I saw her, I knew she was my true love. I can’t cater to a snobbish heiress like Rachel.” If it wasn’t my birthday party and I wasn’t the one being embarrassed, I would have applauded for this pair of star-crossed lovers. But the Rachel he mentioned was still me. Whispers and murmurs spread around us, with many people giving me curious looks. They seemed to want to see how I, the pampered heiress of the Deer family, would handle this situation. I folded my arms and tilted my head slightly: “If you don’t want to cater to me, does that mean you’re looking for someone to cater to you?” There was no need for further words. Understanding my implication, Lily’s face turned pale. Lucas reached out and shielded Lily behind him: “Rachel, I know you’re angry that I broke our engagement, but Lily and I are truly in love. Nothing you say will change my mind.” I asked him: “Are you done?” Lucas stared blankly for a moment, then nodded. “If you’re done, then I’m going to cut the cake.” I turned and walked to my mother’s side. Mrs. Wilson, our housekeeper, pushed the cart with the cake closer to me. I picked up the knife, glanced at Lucas, smirked, and viciously cut the little figures on the cake in half. My parents’ friends were tactful. Despite the drama that had just unfolded, they still said things like: “Your Rachel has grown into such a beauty. My nephew is still single, why don’t we have dinner together someday?” As if I had never had Lucas as a fiancé, they dissolved the awkwardness of the scene Lucas had created with just a few words. I smiled slightly, occasionally responding with a word or two. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mr. Thompson angrily slap Lucas. The sound of the slap was so loud that it drew everyone’s attention again. In this tense atmosphere, Lucas grabbed the girl’s hand and left. Before leaving, Lily glanced at me. I felt her face was somewhat familiar. It wasn’t until the party ended and I was about to go to sleep after a rose petal bath that I finally remembered. The girl looked about 80% similar to one of my high school classmates. And that classmate had been bullied by Lucas, eventually becoming disabled and dropping out of school.
Lucas, like me, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But unlike his name suggested, he wasn’t a gentle young man, but rather had a violent streak. In high school, a poor student transferred to our class. But on his first day, this boy wore a pair of Air Jordans. For Lucas, Air Jordans weren’t anything special. But he couldn’t stand what he saw as poor people pretending to be rich. So he picked a fight, asking the boy where he got the money to buy Air Jordans, and if he had become a male prostitute. The boy wasn’t one to take things lying down, and immediately punched Lucas. But what he didn’t know was that Lucas’s aunt was one of the school’s shareholders. From that day on, the boy’s school life became a living hell. Lucas had strong backing, and bullying a powerless poor student was a piece of cake for him. The boy realized how powerful Lucas was and didn’t dare to fight back anymore. When Lucas was in a bad mood, he would kick the boy, and sometimes even drag him into the bathroom for a beating. Later, things got serious once when the boy fell down the stairs and became paralyzed. The Thompson family paid a sum of money to send away the poor student’s mother who came to make trouble at school. And Lucas was unaffected, graduating smoothly. I thought I would never see that boy again, but today, Lily’s face stirred my memory. Their faces looked as if they were cut from the same mold.
I asked my mother’s secretary to investigate this “Lily”. Within a day, the information was in my hands. Lily Ho, a barista at a coffee shop, met Lucas at the café. Lucas fell in love with her at first sight, pursuing her madly for several months, spending a fortune just to make her smile, and finally won her heart. I wasn’t so interested in these details, but Lily’s former name caught my attention. Lily’s parents were divorced, and she was given to her mother, taking her mother’s surname. Her original surname was Fung. Turning to the next page of the report, I got the result I wanted. Lily had an older brother named Felix Fung. He was that poor student who had been bullied.
Mr. Thompson brought Lucas to my house to apologize. When Lucas saw me, his suppressed resentment surfaced again: “I just wanted to pursue true love! I don’t like Rachel, why should I be with her?” Mr. Thompson was about to slap him again. I interrupted with a smile: “It’s okay, Mr. Thompson.” Lucas glanced at me: “Don’t pretend to be nice!” “I’m not speaking up for you,” I leaned back on the sofa, “I have suitors lined up from here to New York. If you’re gone, there’s always the next one. Who cares?” Hearing this, Mr. Thompson’s face darkened even more, probably thinking my words were unpleasant. “Lucas, I don’t care if you want to find true love and go against your family, but why did you bring someone I don’t even know to ruin my birthday party?” I looked him up and down. Probably because of the issue with Lily, he looked unusually haggard today, even wearing the same suit from yesterday’s birthday party. You should know that in the past, Lucas always carefully coordinated his outfit from head to toe to maintain his image as a young gentleman. He would never let others see him in such a state. Mr. Thompson apologized first. “Rachel, I’m sorry about this,” Mr. Thompson said, “but I will never allow Lucas to be with that girl…” Lucas, who had always been willful, went crazy upon hearing this: “What right do you have to control my life?” “Because I’m your father!” “I don’t want you to manage me!” Lucas turned and ran. Mr. Thompson’s face turned red with anger: “Do you believe I’ll cancel your credit card?” I laughed so hard my shoulders shook: “Mr. Thompson, Lucas isn’t a child anymore, don’t threaten him with that.” After graduating from university, Mr. Thompson had invested in a clothing company, and Lucas became the general manager. The threat of canceling his credit card couldn’t scare him anymore. Mr. Thompson forced a smile: “This rebellious son, I won’t cover for him anymore.” Lucas was arrogant and self-centered, never considering market demands, just producing whatever clothes he wanted. The clothes he made either violated ergonomics or went against popular aesthetics. The designers in his company often complained bitterly. But he would say: “The clothes I make were never meant for the lower-end market.” His clothing line was ignored as soon as it hit the market. Each time, Mr. Thompson had to dig into his own pocket to cover Lucas’s losses. Lucas’s fragile ego was bruised, and when facing me, he would make excuses: “Those people just have no taste.” To protect his little bit of self-esteem, I never said anything negative.
After Mr. Thompson chased after Lucas and left, Mrs. Wilson placed a bowl of noodles in front of me. She nervously wiped her still-wet hands on her apron: “Miss, in our hometown, we eat longevity noodles on birthdays. It means wishing for a long life.” “You ate cake yesterday and went to bed early, so I thought I’d make this for you today.” Mrs. Wilson was hired as a maid when I was born. She had worked for our family for over twenty years, always diligent and never overstepping her boundaries. I took the chopsticks from her hand and put two strands of noodles in my mouth. Seeing that I had finally eaten, Mrs. Wilson relaxed and smiled: “Although it’s a bit late now, but, Miss, happy birthday.” There were tears in her eyes, as if she was looking at someone else through me.
I thought Lily would be patient. But to my surprise, just a week later, she came to find me. My mother had an entertainment company, which she had handed over to me to manage before I graduated. Perhaps one of Lucas’s friends had let it slip. Lily waited for me at the company entrance when I came to work. I glanced at her and walked straight into the company building. Lily followed behind me, looking as if she wouldn’t leave until she talked to me. So I instructed my secretary: “Get a cup of tea for that young lady.” After I finished dealing with some urgent matters, I finally had time to see Lily. Her face was already displeased, but she still didn’t say a word. I laughed at her: “You’re quite patient.” She finally spoke: “Lucas’s card has been canceled by his dad. Can you tell his dad that you voluntarily gave up the engagement, so he’ll unfreeze the card?” I was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: “Is this how you ask for a favor?” Lily said: “What’s the use of holding onto him? If this continues, he’ll only hate you more.” Seeing that I didn’t respond, Lily played her trump card: “Don’t worry, I’ll just make a quick buck from Lucas and leave. He’ll still be yours in the future.” Lily’s words made me laugh. I asked her: “Are you sure you just want to make a quick buck and leave?” “Isn’t it because Lucas’s card was canceled, making it impossible to pay for your brother’s medical bills, that you came to find me?” “Or are you trying to completely ruin Lucas to avenge your brother?” Lily’s face turned ashen the moment I mentioned her brother, and when I spoke of revenge, she turned pale. The next second, her face flushed red as she slammed the table: “You investigated me?” I shook my head: “I just thought you looked familiar, didn’t expect to dig up something big.” She asked me: “You remember my brother?” In my mind, I recalled the boy who always sat in the back row, his eyes hidden behind long bangs. Probably because his bangs were so long, it was hard to see his face clearly, which is why Lucas couldn’t see the resemblance between Lily and Felix. A tear fell from the corner of Lily’s eye: “Then why didn’t you help him back then? If you had said something, Lucas and the others would have listened, right?” I said: “At that time, Lucas and I weren’t that close anymore. Boys and girls needed to keep their distance. I had other friends to hang out with, and although we were in the same class, I didn’t interact much with Lucas and his group.” “I’m sorry about what happened to your brother.” Lily collapsed onto my desk, sobbing. A moment later, she raised her head, looking at me with tear-filled eyes: “Can you help me?” “Help you with what?” Her eyes turned cold: “Help me bring down Lucas.” “But what’s in it for me?” “You can take over his company. Isn’t that good?” I raised an eyebrow: “That’s not a bad suggestion. After all, who doesn’t like more money?” Lily added: “But after it’s done, you must ensure my safety.” I pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly: “Alright, I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.”
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