CH 31.2

“Chengyang, do you think Mary came here to pursue my cousin brother?” Xiao Lu placed a hand on her shoulder and said teasingly.

Su Chengyang lowered her head and replied with a “Maybe.”

“Do you think my cousin brother would agree?”

Su Chengyang shook her head, “I don’t know.”

“Take a guess?”

Mary was a very beautiful and bold woman who also pursued men actively. Su Chengyang was unsure and didn’t know how to evaluate her.

She was silent for a few seconds and said, “When Manager Lin left his previous company, maybe it was because he didn’t want to mix work and relationships, but now they are not in a working relationship, so Manager Lin…perhaps he will agree.”

Xiao Lu wrinkled her nose, “Really? But I feel that my cousin brother doesn’t like Mary. My cousin brother is a fake gentleman. If he really likes someone, how could he do nothing and wait for Mary to come to him? It doesn’t fit his character.”

“NONONO! Mr. Lin doesn’t like Mary,” Terry suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Su Chengyang and Xiao Lu looked at him in surprise, “How do you know?”

Terry said, “Mary told me that Mr. Lin cares a lot about looks. It is said that before they knew each other, they had met a few times, but Mr. Lin never remembered Mary.”

Terry took them to the dressing room where the makeup artist had been waiting for them.

The makeup had already been decided in advance, and only slight adjustments were needed.

After taking them there, Terry went to another dressing room.

About half an hour later, Lin Yu came over.

Xiao Lu was sitting next to him, eager to ask him what he had talked about with Mary, but she didn’t dare to speak up in the end.

After the styling and makeup were done, and before changing clothes, Su Chengyang went to the restroom for a break.

When she came out, she saw Mary leaning against the window sill in the restroom, smoking.

She turned to the side, her eyes red. She heard the sound of the partition door opening and turned to look at Su Chengyang.

Su Chengyang was surprised to see her there and called out, “Miss Mary.”

Mary took a deep look at her, took a drag of her cigarette, raised her chin, exhaled smoke, and the mist blurred her features, making her facial features appear softer.

“What are you doing here?”

Su Chengyang walked silently to the washstand and turned on the tap, “Senior, what do you think?”

Mary remained silent.

Since it was just a chance encounter, Su Chengyang did not plan to stay any longer. “Excuse me, I’ll leave now, Miss Mary.”

Mary turned her head to look at her, let out a low laugh, and the ash fell from her fingertips. “Do you want to know what happened between him and me?”

Su Chengyang was silent for a moment, and her footsteps hesitated. Her rational mind told her to leave, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.

“You know what, I was just…drunk, and I wanted to sleep in his arms. I begged him not to send me home. I thought he had at least some feelings for me, but the next day, he quit and left. He didn’t leave a word for me. That’s harsh, isn’t it?”

Su Chengyang did not respond to this.

Mary did not care if she received a response and continued to speak to herself, “I thought that after two years of not seeing him, when I saw him again, he might have some feelings. I came with that in mind. I overestimated my position in his heart. He even felt that my coming to China would bring unnecessary trouble to you. If it was two years ago, I might have acted like a child and thought you had taken my candy, and I had to take it back. But I have changed and grown in these two years.”

Su Chengyang didn’t know what to say. In fact, she had nothing to say. She didn’t even know why she had stopped to listen to Mary and Lin Yu’s conversation.

She didn’t know what Mary was trying to achieve by saying all these things, and she wasn’t sure how to comfort her. The only thing Su Chengyang could do was to remain silent.

“The things Lin Yu gave me, he has given to many people, so it’s not a big deal. But Su Chengyang, perhaps you can get something different from him.”

Suddenly, Mary sat up and looked straight at her.

Su Chengyang was taken aback. “What?”

But Mary didn’t answer her. She left the bathroom without saying another word.

When Su Chengyang returned to the dressing room, Xiao Lu and the costume teacher were discussing something, while Lin Yu sat on the sofa watching them.

“Chengyang, you’re back? Come and take a look!” Xiao Lu turned around and greeted Su Chengyang, and Lin Yu also looked over at her.

Su Chengyang’s eyes met his, and she recalled what Mary had said to her.

Could she get something different from Mr. Lin? What could it be?

But Su Chengyang was afraid to take on anything too troublesome.

Their gazes met briefly, and Lin Yu’s eyes lit up with a smile. Su Chengyang nodded slightly at him as usual, then walked over to Xiao Lu.

“Quick, look, this is your outfit, isn’t it exciting!”

Xiao Lu touched the fabric on the mannequin’s body. The white cloth was stained with a lot of dirt and bloodstains, wrapped in circles from below the model’s collarbone, only covering the chest area. The lower body was a tattered white skirt with many shocking bloodstains remaining on it, as if it had just experienced a disaster.

Black chains wrapped around the model’s bare skin, inch by inch, circle by circle, like a well-woven net, trapping the model within it.

The costume teacher said, “The top and skirt both have linings to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions. Su Chengyang, go change and see how it looks on you.”

Su Chengyang nodded, “Okay.”

In terms of dressing up, Su Chengyang’s thinking was not conservative, especially since it was related to her work.

The costume teacher led Su Chengyang to the changing room, helped her change clothes, and adjusted the position of the chains on her body. Then, she stood aside and looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, admiring, “Miss Su, you look very suitable in this outfit. The audience will definitely be touched.”

The icy chains stuck to her skin, feeling very strange. Su Chengyang was a bit uncomfortable and awkwardly furrowed her eyebrows.

“Chengyang, are you done changing? Come out and let us have a look.” Xiao Lu urged from outside.

“One moment,” Su Chengyang tugged on her top, and the chains on her body made a friction sound.

After she finished adjusting herself, the costume teacher pushed the door open and led Su Chengyang out.

Lin Yu leaned against the sofa, his fingers casually resting on his knee, tapping slowly. This was his little movement when he was thinking, but when Su Chengyang appeared in his sight, his tapping suddenly stopped.

Xiao Lu stood outside the door, staring at Su Chengyang in shock.

During the styling, Su Chengyang’s orange hair was dyed black and messy, scattered behind her. There were several purple bruises on her face and marks of injuries on her neck and collarbone. A white cloth wrapped around her chest, covering the important areas tightly, but with bloodstains all over it, like torn rags used to cover the body in haste when escaping from harm. Her white skirt was torn beyond recognition, with dried blood staining the pristine hem. There were several horrifying scars on her lower legs, and a black chain covered in blood was wrapped around her shoulder, passing through her left arm, entire upper body, and extending to her right leg, piercing through her skirt and wrapping around her thigh and calf, before being tied to her right ankle.

Su Chengyang’s fair skin contrasted with the black chain that wrapped around her body like a venomous snake, creating a striking image that left Xiao Lu speechless for a moment.

Xiao Lu was stunned and couldn’t recover for a while as she stared at her in amazement.

“Amazing, amazing! This outfit is so amazing!” Xiao Lu was extremely impressed and walked up to Su Chengyang, opened her arms, carefully looked her up and down, and not satisfied with just that, wanted to touch her with her hands.

“Lu Yin.”

Suddenly, Lin Yu spoke from behind.

Xiao Lu’s attention was diverted, and she pushed Su Chengyang in front of him, excitedly saying, “Cousin brother, doesn’t Chengyang look great in this outfit!”

Su Chengyang didn’t feel embarrassed about wearing this outfit at first, but being suddenly pushed in front of Lin Yu, her long-buried shame miraculously resurfaced, and she even felt a bit scared to look him in the eyes.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but she felt that the gaze falling on her was scorching hot.

Su Chengyang’s face and body were heating up, so Lin Yu’s calm gaze made her feel even hotter.

After a while, Su Chengyang tentatively lifted her head to look at him, but unexpectedly collided with a pair of pitch-black pupils.

Those eyes were clearly brown, but at this moment, Su Chengyang felt as if he was looking into a deep pool of water, as if he could see the emotions hidden beneath the sunlight.

His gaze, in the moment when it met Su Chengyang’s, became even more profound.

“Well, it’s not bad,” Lin Yu said, looking away, taking out his phone from his coat, and saying to the others, “There’s some business at the company that I need to take care of. I’ll come back later.”

Without waiting for a response from the others, Lin Yu got up and left.

Lin Yu left the dressing room and took the elevator all the way down to the underground parking lot. Sitting in the driver’s seat, he opened the car window and leaned his forehead against his hand, taking a deep breath.

He didn’t want to admit it, but when he saw Su Chengyang, he felt a sense of impending loss of control. If he continued to stay in the room, he couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t have any inappropriate reactions.

He thought that temporarily removing Su Chengyang from his sight would prevent him from losing control, but when he was alone in the dark parking lot, he still couldn’t escape it. He had lost control after all.

In this situation, driving is obviously unrealistic. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the car, even though he didn’t like the smell of them, but now he hoped that smoking one would calm down both his mind and body.

Chengyang’s appearance is not a custom, but a kind of exhaustion and pitifulness after suffering. A normal person should not feel excited and out of control because of the harm she has suffered.

This kind of mistake is very shameful.

He’s finished.

He no longer looked at Su Chengyang innocently.

To him, Su Chengyang is like a jade that can be polished. He hopes that she can become more crystal clear in his hands, and wants to present her to the world and turn her into a collection.

After the feeling of losing control passed, Lin Yu felt regret and remorse again.

Although he rarely experiences these two emotions.

After Terry finished styling, the costume teacher connected their chains together and did a final rehearsal with the original music before the show, as expected, Terry was very satisfied.

As the evening approached, the group waited backstage.

This program is a singing and dancing competition, there are no restrictions on the song style, and it seems to be quite popular in China. Terry was also invited to participate, and this episode is already the finals with only four guests. The show is broadcast live on the internet.

Half an hour before the show started, Xiao Lu used Su Chengyang’s Weibo to post a promotional photo. Immediately, many comments flooded in.

【Did the company starve my sister again!】

【Su Chengyang’s outfit has a terrific vibe.】

【Sister is stunning! She can hold anything!】

As time passed, a large wave of audience members entered the studio, and there was no empty seat in sight for over ten minutes.

Su Chengyang and Terry were the third performers, still in the waiting room at this time.

Xiao Lu came back from outside after making a call, and Su Chengyang was browsing Weibo.

“Boss Lin is in the front row of the audience. You’ll see him when you go on stage later,” Xiao Lu said.

Su Chengyang nodded and said, “Oh.”

Terry approached Su Chengyang. He had a disheveled appearance and an air of apathy. Sitting next to Su Chengyang, he looked like a dirty old rogue bullying a poor little thing. It was very unpleasant to look at.

“Move a bit closer to the other side, away from Chengyang,” Xiao Lu squeezed in between them. She had just watched their rehearsal and was still angry about it. Su Chengyang was like an injured bird tied to Terry, desperately trying to escape but unable to break free. Xiao Lu was so angry that she almost went up to beat Terry.

Terry pouted and said, “Dear, don’t be nervous. I just want to comfort her.”

“No need.”

“Xiao Lu,” Su Chengyang nudged her, then said to Terry, “Sorry, Xiao Lu has a straightforward personality. She didn’t mean anything else.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

At exactly 8 o’clock, the program started on time.

There was a television in the lounge playing the performance on stage.

The host went on stage and exchanged a few words with the audience, warmed up the atmosphere, and then invited the first guest to perform.

Su Chengyang didn’t understand music, let alone musical styles. She watched and listened in a daze, but it seemed like the audience was responding well.

After the first guest finished performing, the host went on stage and gave a speech, and then invited the second guest to perform. At the same time, the program staff found Su Chengyang and her Terry and asked them to prepare backstage.

Su Chengyang and Terry came to the entrance of the stage with the costume teacher by their side. Since there were no issues, she greeted the costume teacher and went to the audience to find Lin Yu.

“Miss Su, are you nervous?” Terry asked.

Su Chengyang curled her fingers into a fist, pressed them against her palm. To say that she wasn’t nervous at all was unlikely, especially since she had only found out two hours ago that this was Terry’s finals. If anything went wrong, they might miss the championship.

Terry became very relaxed and comforted her, “Don’t be nervous. I didn’t choose this death metal song to win an award. I just want to use this stage to present my work. You should know that my songs and dance styles are not easily accepted by Chinese audiences, but I hope to use this method to let everyone understand the inner feelings of special-needs groups. Whether they are men or women, I hope they can be treated kindly.”

His words moved Su Chengyang.

She took a deep breath, nodded at him, and then closed her eyes, digging out her own emotions.

“Special trauma… What will they endure?

Physical and mental harm?

Just like a person who is intact, suddenly shattered by a huge stone.

Shattered the body and crushed the soul.

They are bound by the ropes of guilt, hurt again and again.

The music on the stage stopped, and Su Chengyang slowly opened her eyes.

She enjoyed immersing herself in other people’s emotions, as if she could experience someone else’s life in the same way.

Seeming to know that Su Chengyang had entered her emotions, Terry did not disturb her, quietly standing behind her.

The host went on stage and introduced the song and dance they were performing, and then all the stage lights went out.

“Chengyang, let’s go.” Terry whispered.

The two of them walked slowly into the passage leading to the front of the stage.

In the pitch-black environment, the audience remained silent.

In the silent and peaceful environment, the sound of iron chains dragging and rubbing suddenly sounded, like the shackles on a prisoner’s feet.

“Swish一”

With a sound, a beam of light gathered in the center of the stage.

Under the light stood a strange woman.

The woman had disheveled hair, sweat wetting her forehead, sticking to her face. There were purple bruises around her eyes and forehead, and her face was as white as paper.

Her upper body was wrapped in fabric to cover important areas, while her lower body was covered in a blood-stained skirt. Her throat was wrapped in a chain, and the chain wrapped around her left arm and right leg, causing the skirt to flutter on one side of her foot while sticking tightly to her skin on the other.

She seemed to have taken a step back, and the sound of the chain rubbing echoed throughout the studio, making people shudder.

The slow prelude began, and the woman, seemingly startled, panicked and ran to the side, all the way to the end where a chain connected to her body stretched taut in the darkness and appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

A male hum sounded in the studio, accompanying the woman’s terrified expression, making people’s scalp tingle.

Even though Xiao Lu had watched their rehearsal beforehand, this scene still made her feel a bit uneasy.

The man’s voice was like that of a wild beast finding its prey, with a relaxed and playful tone.

The next moment, all the lights in the studio came on, while the stage lights dimmed again.

An unkempt man stood in the light, while the woman was in the shadows.

The boundary between light and shadow is like the black and white in the world.

The audience’s eyes involuntarily followed the figure in the dark corner, watching her struggle and resist, as if their hearts were squeezed by a hand.

As the woman’s struggles became more intense, the man pulled the chain, dragging her towards him.

The woman was silent, while the man roared like a demon from his throat.

The audience was so engrossed that when the man pulled the woman back to his side, there was a gasp from the audience.

The woman was pulled to his feet by the chain in his hand.

He bent down, his hand stroking the woman’s face as he shouted and screamed at her, mocking her foolishness and helplessness.

The woman clung to his leg, as if pleading for him to spare her. The man stood up straight, emitting a smug growl.

The woman knew begging him was useless, but she never gave up, always trying to escape even if she was pulled back by the man every time.

Watching the woman lying breathless at his feet, he leaned over and grabbed her hair, forcing her to look up at him. He pressed against her back, shaking his body and performing a kind of crazy desire.

When the music entered a slow rhythm, the woman gave up.

She fell to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks, her expression became empty, about to be dragged into hell by the chains on her body.

Xiao Lu in the audience was moved to tears, and some even made small sobbing sounds.

Faced with the man’s roaring, the woman became numb, while the man was pleased with himself, thinking that he had successfully corrupted a soul.

He let out a satisfied sigh, swaying his head to the gradually accelerating music rhythm, and released the chains in his hand, believing that the woman would not escape again.

In fact, the woman did not run away again. In the increasingly frantic drumbeat, the woman raised her head, her face covered in tears, and showed a pitiful smile towards the audience.

Like a dying light, she suddenly sprang up from the ground, pounced on the man, and fiercely bit his neck with her mouth. The man let out a painful muffled groan, his tall figure trembling slightly, and he knelt in front of the woman with bent legs.

In an instant, the music stopped, and the whole audience fell silent.

It seemed that no one had reacted, all were stunned by the scene before their eyes.

Finally, someone started clapping, and the audience erupted in thunderous applause that lasted for a long time.