C2 The Taste of Betrayal

The torrential rain swept the earth clean, pelting Ruan Ruan's face with its drops. Yet she didn't feel the chill; instead, the rain seemed scalding hot, as if each drop seared her skin, leaving grotesque wounds in its wake.

Her heart ached more fiercely than a burn, devoid of any sensation but pain.

A man's call echoed from behind, but Ruan Ruan sprinted forward, ignoring the voice that cut through her like a knife's edge.

Memories of recent events tormented her, each thought a fresh laceration, making even breathing a painful endeavor.

Her phone rang, displaying his number. She couldn't bring herself to answer, unwilling to hear any excuses.

Just an hour earlier, Ruan Ruan had been contentedly writing at home. As a web novelist, she wasn't widely known, but she had felt like the luckiest person alive.

She cherished her career, had a loving boyfriend, and the companionship of her best friend. Now, all that remained were the scars marring her heart.

"Come to XX Hotel, room 502, for a surprise," read the text from her boyfriend.

Ruan Ruan chuckled at the message. Romance wasn't his strong suit, so what prompted today's surprise?

She slipped into a dress she seldom wore, one that her boyfriend had gifted her for her birthday. As a writer, she usually lounged at home in comfortable clothes she bought online.

Dressed and made up, Ruan Ruan headed out, her heart brimming with sweet anticipation.

The hotel was a short distance from her home. As she ascended in the elevator, her pulse quickened. Just last week, amidst familial pressures to wed, she had asked her boyfriend if he would marry her. He had said yes.

She suspected the surprise might be a marriage proposal. After all, who else would arrange a surprise in a hotel room?

"502, this must be it," Ruan Ruan said with a radiant smile, outshining even the day's bright sun.

She had convinced herself that the surprise awaiting her was a marriage proposal. What would her response be? She should say yes, right? After all, she had been eagerly anticipating his proposal for quite some time.

As she reached out to knock on the door, she noticed it wasn't locked. With a gentle push, the door swung open.

Ruan Ruan stepped inside and immediately spotted a white shirt on the floor, marked with a lipstick stain. She bent down to pick it up, wondering if she had mistakenly entered the wrong room. How embarrassing that would be.

Retreating a few steps, she exited and checked the room number: 502. She was in the right place.

The red stain on the white shirt in her hands seemed to glare at Ruan Ruan, and her grip on the fabric turned her knuckles white. She found even breathing to be a struggle.

With her lips pressed tightly together, Ruan Ruan entered the room. On the large bed, a couple was entwined in an intimate embrace, the woman's moans of pleasure cutting through the air like a knife to Ruan Ruan's heart.

The woman caught sight of Ruan Ruan and, with a smug embrace of the man, said, "Jinnian, is it really okay for Ruan Ruan to find out this way?" Her voice was laced with a unique allure that could captivate any man.

The man ceased his movements and bit the woman's chest, murmuring, "She mustn't know about this."

"But we're about to get married," the woman retorted, glancing at Ruan Ruan with a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

Ruan Ruan's hands, clutching the shirt, began to tremble. She turned and walked into the adjacent bathroom. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but scoff at the irony.

Before she had entered, she had believed Yuh Jinnian was about to propose to her. Now, he had not only betrayed her, but he was also planning to marry her best friend.

Best friend. The thought of Shi Xuerong's moans beneath Yuh Jinnian made Ruan Ruan feel sick to her stomach. The same person who had eagerly offered to be their bridesmaid—what did Xuerong really think of her?

Ruan Ruan bowed her head and splashed water on her face, washing away the tears. Shedding tears for them was utterly pointless.

She grabbed a basin and filled it with cold water, then poured the icy contents over the two on the bed.

Yuh Jinnian recoiled from the cold water, his anger flaring as he turned to see Ruan Ruan. Pushing Xuerong aside, he wrapped himself in a towel and pleaded, "Ruan, it was Xuerong who seduced me. You have to believe me."

Ruan Ruan, driven by fury, hurled the basin at him. It clattered to the ground with a heavy thud, causing Yuh Jinnian to wince in pain. He hadn't anticipated Ruan Ruan's aggressive retaliation.

Next, Ruan Ruan turned to Xuerong and delivered a stinging slap across her face, leaving a vivid red imprint. The force behind the blow was unmistakable.

"I blame myself for being fooled, for falling for a dog," Ruan Ruan said through clenched teeth, addressing them both.

Xuerong, the pampered heiress of Haoshi Group, was unaccustomed to such treatment. She had always been adored and coddled. The slap sent her into a rage. She screamed, leaping up from the bed, intent on returning the slap. But Ruan Ruan was quicker, seizing Xuerong's hand and striking her again, sending her tumbling back onto the bed.

Yuh Jinnian reached for Ruan Ruan, stammering apologies. Ruan Ruan turned to him with a smile that was more a sneer, a testament to her sadness, her first smile not born of joy.

"Don't touch me; you're filthy," Ruan Ruan said, her voice icy and detached.

Yuh Jinnian's face turned a ghastly shade, his grip on Ruan Ruan's hand tightening. Her words had struck a nerve.

Feeling the pain in her wrist, Ruan Ruan forcefully wrenched free from Yuh Jinnian's grasp.

"Yuh Jinnian, we're done," Ruan Ruan declared. Betrayal was the sin she despised most, having seen her own father leave her mother for another.

With those final words, Ruan Ruan turned and walked away from the stifling room, leaving behind the sordid scene of her best friend and boyfriend entangled in deceit, while she had been played for a fool.

This was the "surprise" Yuh Jinnian had in store for her.

A surprise she would never be able to erase from her memory.

The hotel was bustling with activity, yet not a single person was familiar to her. She clenched her jaw, holding back tears, the sourness in her eyes nothing compared to the ache in her heart.

She had never known heartache could feel so intense.

Just moments ago, the sky had been clear, but now it had begun to rain, as if the heavens were weeping alongside Ruan Ruan.

Drenched by the rain, Ruan Ruan walked slowly down the street, her pace so sluggish that passersby wondered if she was unwell.

The rain cleansed the earth of its grime and dust, yet it could do nothing to quell the rage burning within her, nor could it wash away her fury.

Ruan Ruan covered her ears, blocking out Yuh Jinnian's cries from behind. She refused to reflect on the recent events, but the memories of their time in bed together stabbed at her heart like a venomous thorn.

She ran back home, bolted the door, and slowly slid down against it. She was a pitiful sight, soaked to the skin, her hair plastered to her face like a specter from a horror film, with only her bloodshot eyes visible.

Reflecting on their history, she realized it had all been a farce. Was this the wealthy's version of a love game?