That night Liu Suya’s smile still hadn’t faded when she walked into her apartment. It was also located in Haidan so her Didi didn’t cost that much. 

 

Her apartment had been bought for her by her father two years prior, same with her car but that was currently at the garage for repair. The flat wasn’t needlessly big, which could be attributed to it being in a student district, but was still fairly expensive.

 

She put the shopping bags in her hand in her room and went to the kitchen for a drink. Their 'retail therapy session' as An Meiyu had dubbed it had left her feeling pretty tired out. They had actually ended not really talking about last night much to Liu Suya’s relief and had only brushed upon it. Mei had tacitly decided to leave that conversation for another time seeing as that wound was still pretty sore. 

 

Liu Suya went along with it not only due to her own personal feelings but due to An Meiyu’s as well. She had already known that Mei hated Zhou Wei and last night was probably the final straw for her. They had argued about it in the past and Liu Suya really didn’t want that weighing down on her as well. She knew it was selfish of her, but she couldn't help it. 

 

One glimpse of good in this situation was that not many people would actually recognise her from the Duyin video, seeing as it only showed the back of her head. Even those that did wouldn’t say and the online media wouldn’t dare to publicise her true identity; it was simply one of the perks of being the daughter of a billionaire. So it seemed that the hype around the situation was forcefully calmed behind the scenes by her father. 

 

That however wasn’t to say that her peers at university wouldn’t recognise her either, she had always been a high-profile figure due to being a rich heiress and for her first-class beauty. Although Liu Suya herself would probably sooner refute the latter claim.

 

Liu Suya lost sleep that night, thinking about her lecture hall the next day and having to deal with the looks and judgment of her peers. Little did she know that by the end of the following day that the glances of her peers would be considered the least of her worries. 

 

Liu Suya’s mind then moved to Zhou Wei. She wouldn’t say that she was by any means desperately in love with him. But she did like him; he was her fiancé after all. They needed to get along for the sake of this engagement at least. She knew his parents would never let him marry Cui Ting as she came from a common family. Not only this but there were benefits to be had when they married, more notably a project the Zhou and Liu family had in the near future. One that would give the Liu family the necessary push to be on par with the Mo’s. She needed to do this. It was her duty.    

 

Not to mention that the engagement had been settled between their grandfathers, as both men were very good friends. She just needed him to wake up from his momentary infatuation with the girl and become the heir to the Zhou family she was so proud to be engaged to. 

 

***

 

The next morning went by surprisingly quickly despite feeling her skin itch at the often curious and hostile gazes of those around her. She had, after all, accosted one of the schools Madonna's.

 

She yawned, before throwing her designer tote on her shoulder to leave the hall and make her way to the nearby canteen. She’d long put in her earphones knowing that others would take it as a sign to not approach her and most did to her satisfaction. Unfortunately, Liu Suya learnt once again that Cui Ting wasn't like most people. 

 

Cui Ting whether purposely or not had chosen to corner her in a more secluded area on campus. She was what most would describe as an elegant beauty. She wasn’t stunning, and most would agree that in terms of face value Liu Suya would in fact be ranked higher, but Cui Ting had a striking personality shined through her looks which often mesmerised the people around her. 

 

She was a strong woman and one that had worked hard for everything she had. Liu Suya would know, this girl was formerly a good friend of her’s after all. However, you wouldn't be wrong to claim that Liu Suya truly despises this woman with every fibre of her being.

 

“Liu Suya, listen I just…” Her face held a determined expression as if she was trying to set straight some major misunderstanding. There was no misunderstanding; this b*tch led astray her fiancé and she wasn’t going to stand here and participate in whatever soap opera this girl thought she was a part of.

 

Not wanting to give the time of day Liu Suya walked around her. It’s too bad that Cui Ting was not only annoying but also very stubborn to match. She was abruptly stopped from leaving as a hand encircled itself around her wrist. Liu Suya momentarily froze before attempting to pull her hand away. It wouldn’t budge. Her mind recalled a video that had popped up on the school forum of Cui Ting beating up some gangsters a while back. She internally sneered at the concern she’d held for Cui Ting once she found out it was her. 

 

"Can you please just listen to me?" Her voice pleaded as if she was the one being harassed here.

 

Liu Suya turned to look at her and frowned, “No.”

 

Cui Ting obviously didn’t expect such a direct answer but wasn’t deterred and instead saw it as a breakthrough. At least Liu Suya was willing to answer her. Now if she could get her to listen. 

 

“I just wanted to...”

 

“Just wanted to what? To tell me there’s nothing to worry about. That there’s nothing going on between you my fiancé.” Liu Suya’s caught a trace of guilt flicker through Cui Ting’s face. 

 

That was the last straw, this girl was looking down on her. 

 

How dare she.

 

“Well it’s too bad I already know that. You’re just some plaything for the time being. I’m the one who his parents have approved, the one who his family wants. Not you, some lowly common girl who doesn’t know her place. How dare you think that for one second that he loves you or that you’ve won, because you haven’t.” Yeah, that’s right she hadn’t lost. He’ll come back to her. He promised her.

 

Cui Ting was speechless, her mouth tried to form something to say in refute and she just blurted out “Do you really believe that Liu Suya?” Cui Ting looked her in the eyes and caught her slightly off guard.

 

“What?”

 

“I said, do you really believe that? Because if you do…then…then” Cui Ting shook her head with a complicated expression on her face, as she tried to get the right words out. Like she was the one who needed to be let down slowly. 

 

“Then what huh?” She snapped. It was at that moment that Liu Suya dearly regretted not walking away as she watched pity enter two caramel brown eyes and that same pity to be replaced with that inextinguishable fire. A fire she used to respect. How could she forget? That it was Cui Ting’s sense of justice that had initially caused her to become friends with her. The same sense of justice that was now being used against her. 

 

Liu Suya was shaking. Whether it was with anger or fear she couldn’t really tell. “If you really love him so much, don’t you want him to be happy?” Cui Ting’s voice was so sharp. Her chocolate brown eyes bore into her own set of jade green to search for something, anything to say that Liu Suya had understood where she was coming from. 

 

“Don’t you want him to…” Liu Suya doesn’t remember when exactly it was, she had raised her hand in the air. All she wanted was for this vixen in front of her to leave her alone. Correction; leave her and her fiancé alone. 

 

However, before Liu Suya got there, her hand was stopped in mid-air in the same place Cui Ting had held earlier. A chilling voice spoke. “Just who do you think you’re trying to slap?”

 

“Zh-Zhou Wei…” Cui Ting looked shocked. “I thought that you would be outside…”

 

“You didn’t show up, so I came looking for you” His voice instantly lost its coldness. Even his painfully tight grip on her wrist loosened a little. Liu Suya thought about the mark that would most likely leave in the near future. 

 

“Oh...right. Thank you.” A small blush made its way onto Cui Ting’s cheeks as she bashfully looked to the side.

 

Why her? What did she have?

 

“Mmn,” he affirmed, before letting go of Liu Suya’s now throbbing forearm. 

 

Did she need to enter the Zhou company like her and excel at accounting and mathematics like Cui Ting? Was it her pretty straight hair? Her tall and skinny supermodel-like figure? The elegance and precision in her every action that one could only ever mimic but never perfect? Which was it? What did she need to change about herself?

 

Or perhaps it was that Cui Ting had yet to be tainted with the stains of high society, unlike herself who’d had to survive the countless schemes made to threaten her position?

 

“You can't marry her. Aunty and Uncle won't let you. Why fight the inevitable? Why not just accept what can't be changed? What’s so great about her?” Liu Suya spoke aloud.

 

Zhou Wei had long gone to Cui Ting’s side as he meticulously gave her a once over to see if she had been injured in any way. He turned to her, his eyes cold and uncaring. 

 

Zhou Wei already deemed this evil woman to be unworthy of his time, but as was about to ignore her question he looked at his good and pure Cui Ting. She had told him how she wanted to clear up the bad relationship between them, despite his belief that it was beneath her. He pondered, perhaps answering this damned woman’s question would get her to give up her useless persistence. 

 

“Everything. Everything about Cui Ting far surpasses you whether it be her beauty, her temperament, her drive to better herself, her sense for what is right and wrong and lastly my love for her. She’s worth fighting for. Nothing can stand in the way of our relationship. ” Part of Liu Suya couldn’t believe he’d actually answered her. 

 

“You are simply an evil woman who can’t even comprehend the goodness of Ting’er’s heart and her willingness to forgive you for everything you’ve done to her. I, however, am not that the same. Do not test my patience Liu Suya.” 

 

 Liu Suya refused to cry. She can’t let this happen. 

 

***

 

The next couple of days went by fairly quickly and Liu Suya could tell that most of her peers were beginning to forget her embarrassing episode at the Winston Blues charity function, the hype on Weibo had also long since died down as other things took their place, much to her relief. Her arm also got a lot better and after a forceful doctor’s visit, courtesy of An Meiyu, it had been bandaged up.

 

She hadn’t run into Cui Ting since that day which wasn’t too strange considering they were a part of different departments. Nevertheless, as checked her schedule that day, she realised that her luck had run out. The meeting for all the contestants of the yearly departmental beauty pageant was the next day. 

 

She had eagerly signed up for the contest as soon as she’d heard that Cui Ting would be joining a few months back. The organiser was more than happy to sign her up since she was one of the campus belles. But now looking back it was a pretty impulsive decision made on her part, especially considering her social standing.

 

Her mobile phone started ringing and picked it up to see that it was her father calling. Liu Suya instantly knew that something was wrong, seeing her father never called during the week and during the weekend she would usually meet, so in conclusion father never called her. This must be important, she thought.

 

“Suya?” The worst came to mind as she heard him use her name.

 

“Yes, father.”

 

“Yeah, I’ve just gotten off the phone with the Zhou’s…” 

 

Oh.

 

“They approached me about cancelling your engagement. Their son Zhou Wei says he has found someone else.”

 

“Oh, okay.” 

 

What else could she say to that? She couldn’t refuse and be difficult. Her father had been embarrassed enough. 

 

“Well, it’s alright, I guess. I wouldn’t want to force you two together if there wasn’t any love.” 

His acceptance on the matter couldn’t the slight disappointment in his voice. She felt like all her insides had been carved out and thrown onto the floor in front of her. 

 

“Y-Yeah.” She managed to get the words out. Her father ended the call.