Copycat - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

◎Zhou Ziyan’s Transformation◎

“Let’s move out, A’Yan.”

Zhou Ziyan’s expression was a little blank when she heard this. She passively accepted the embrace, her frozen mind making her movements overly slow. The hug lasted for a long time, long enough for her to appear less hesitant. After a long pause, she slowly contracted her forearms, her palms loosely clenched into fists, and gently rested them on the person she had yearned for.

She closed her eyes, trying hard not to think, and agreed in a muffled voice: “Mmm.”

That evening, the two of them went public with their relationship on social media. At three in the morning, the person in the bottom bunk was in a deep sleep, but Zhou Ziyan, lying in the top bunk, couldn’t sleep all night. She looked at the messages from the Zhou family, her expression growing more and more serious. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and blacklisted and deleted everyone from the Zhou family who had contacted her.

Just as she was about to turn off her phone and go to sleep, a new message popped up on her chat app from someone she hadn’t expected.

Cheng Junfeng: “Congrats, you finally got what you wanted.”

Two months later.

Qingming Festival, seven in the morning.

A taxi pulled up near a villa area. As the passenger in the back paid, the driver’s dark eyes flickered slightly. All taxi drivers knew this area—it was the wealthiest and most powerful place in A City. The people who lived there were either rich or powerful. He couldn’t help but glance at the girl in the back seat through the rearview mirror. With her brown hair tied up, a plain black hoodie, and jeans, her face was clean, and she wasn’t wearing any accessories. She didn’t look like a rich person who would live here at all.

“Thanks, master.” After Zhou Ziyan paid, she ignored the driver’s stunned and hesitant look and got out of the car.

Luxury cars became taxis, and private jets became buses. The sudden drop in living conditions had made her endure countless such looks over the past two months. She was used to it by now. Zhou Ziyan got out of the car with a somewhat cold expression.

The Zhou family’s old residence was in A City’s most exclusive villa district. Two kilometers away was a Christian church, where many people came to pray and worship daily. In the morning, you could often hear the songs of the believers, but almost none of them would take this shortcut. On one hand, God wouldn’t blame her for being a late, devout believer; more importantly, there were simply too many bodyguards in the vicinity.

The security in the city center villa area was more impenetrable than in most of the wealthy suburban estates.

It was said to be because of the Zhou family’s gray-market business.

Zhou Ziyan arrived at the gate of the old house and was stopped directly by the black-clad bodyguards at the entrance. Her face instantly darkened.

“Third Miss Zhou.” The bodyguards, all wearing long black coats, recognized her and greeted her. Zhou Ziyan’s tone was cold: “You know who I am, and you still dare to stop me?”

She raised her leg to bypass the bodyguard and walk through the Zhou family’s gate. The on-duty bodyguard stepped forward to block her path, his tone official: “I’m sorry, Third Miss Zhou, the master specifically instructed us not to let you in.”

Zhou Ziyan’s fists, which hung at her sides, slowly clenched.

After she and Wen Jiao went public with their relationship, they rented a small apartment of less than 30 square meters in a community near the school. For the past six months, her life had been sustained by Wen Jiao’s savings. She hadn’t taken a single cent from the Zhou family, but they were determined to drive her to her knees. Over the past two months, she had tried to find work many times, but HR managers would often fall silent after seeing her resume, then smile and tell her to wait for a notification, which never came.

It wasn’t until her most recent interview that she emailed the HR manager who had rejected her to ask for the reason. The person didn’t reply directly, but during a chance passing, they slipped her a small note.

The note only had two words, but Zhou Ziyan, who knew the Zhou family’s nature well, understood instantly.

【Zhou Clan】

Zhou Ziyan adjusted her expression, waiting motionlessly. Looking upset at a time like this would only make her a laughingstock.

Every Qingming Festival, the Zhou family would go to the cemetery to sweep the tombs together. Zhou Ziyan’s biological mother was named and had a headstone in the Zhou family’s genealogy, and the family cemetery was only open on Qingming and Spring Festival. According to the family tradition, they would finish their preparations in the morning and then walk to the suburban cemetery. Zhou Ziyan knew they would come out, so she stood calmly at the gate of the old house, waiting.

She had only come back to lay a bouquet of flowers at her mother’s grave.

Before long, the gates of the old Zhou house opened at eight in the morning as she had expected. The corner of Zhou Ziyan’s mouth curled into a sarcastic arc, for her understanding of the Zhou family, and for her own self who had learned to use their rules.

A large crowd of people, all dressed in somber black, walked out of the huge manor.

Walking at the very front was Zhou Shancheng, leaning on a cane, his hair graying. He wore a black Zhongshan suit, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s. As he passed her, he gave her a cold glance, without sadness or joy, as if he were looking at an insignificant trinket.

Zhou Na and Zhou Cheng followed behind the family head, with the same cold expressions. Only her young niece, who was just in middle school, blinked her eyelashes a few times when she saw her, as if greeting her. Zhou Ziyan gave her a friendly smile, then silently lowered her head and followed at the back of the procession.

On the way to the suburban cemetery, a group of black-clad bodyguards carrying tools like shovels and spades joined the end of the line. Zhou Ziyan kept turning her head with some concern, but didn’t say anything.

Suburban Cemetery.

April was the season of rebirth. Dead grass and trees were sprouting anew in spring, and the cemetery, which should have been gloomy, looked less desolate and cold with the embellishment of green grass. The last time Zhou Ziyan had come to worship her ancestors was the previous spring. She followed behind the procession, along the stone-paved path, placing a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, symbolizing remembrance, under each headstone. Her gaze couldn’t help but drift towards a remote corner in the distance.

That was where her mother was buried. Every spring and winter, she would come here on time to sweep her mother’s tomb, but she hadn’t last winter. The headstone commemorating the deceased in that remote corner was now covered in dust. She wondered if anyone had gently wiped away the remaining drops of water from her mother’s tombstone when the snowflakes fell.

During the entire tomb-sweeping process, the Zhou family members remained silent, which made Zhou Ziyan uneasy. She felt that this year was different from previous years, but she couldn’t say why. As she followed the procession, her unease became a reality the moment the Zhou family head stopped in front of her mother’s grave.

Zhou Shancheng’s gaze shifted from the tombstone to her. Growing up learning to read people’s expressions had given Zhou Ziyan a sharp intuition. She reacted instantly, almost at the same moment the bodyguards at the back of the line were about to act.

“What are you doing?!” Zhou Ziyan questioned loudly.

A magpie building a nest dropped a twig and flew away hurriedly from the branch. Everyone present heard her voice, but the surroundings were silent. Only a few kind old women from other families showed expressions of pity. Zhou Ziyan forcefully tugged at the tool in the hand of the leading bodyguard. The shovel flew straight out and landed on Zhou Cheng, her half-brother, who was watching the scene.

“Ah, what the f*ck.” The flying shovel hit his lower body precisely, and Zhou Cheng grimaced in pain, covering his crucial part, the curse words slipping out. Zhou Shancheng, who was standing nearby, frowned slightly. His biological mother tugged at the sleeve of his suit, and Zhou Cheng immediately fell silent, his features scrunched up in pain.

Zhou Ziyan stood in front of the tombstone, and the person directly opposite her scrutinized her with cold eyes.

—A long silence.

This made her feel panicked. Zhou Ziyan bit her lower lip, the force of her voice slowly weakening compared to when she had started. She simply said: “This is my mother’s grave, you can’t do this.”

There was a hint of softness and pleading, but she was, unfortunately, a member of the Zhou family.

The Zhou family didn’t value kinship; they only cared about profit. Zhou Ziyan’s mother had not acted against the Zhou family’s interests, but—

“You have unilaterally severed ties with the Zhou family.” Zhou Shancheng repeatedly tapped the ground with his cane. “Your mother will naturally be removed from the family genealogy. How can someone who is not in my Zhou clan’s genealogy be buried peacefully in my Zhou family’s cemetery?”

“Do it.” Zhou Shancheng waved his hand, and several bodyguards in black coats immediately stepped forward with their tools. Zhou Ziyan tried to stop them but was held in place by people Zhou Shancheng had already anticipated her actions and sent.

“What are you doing?!”

Amid her screams, several large, burly men pried up the tombstone. Dozens of shovels dug at the ground unscrupulously. The neatly trimmed green grass lost its vitality as chunks of soil were removed. The inscribed tombstone was carelessly thrown into a corner, and scoop after scoop of dirt buried it. Even a person buried in the wilderness wouldn’t be treated this way.

Zhou Ziyan cried hysterically, using her hands and feet to try and stop them. She struggled with all her might, and the neckline of her black hoodie was torn open, revealing a patch of her fair skin, barely enough to cover her. Two well-trained bodyguards nearly lost their grip on her, but they eventually managed to hold her, sweating profusely.

Several noble ladies who had once known Zhou Ziyan’s biological mother showed complex expressions, but in the end, no one dared to plead for a deceased pawn at a time like this. Everyone who had come to sweep the tombs knew that Zhou Shancheng’s intention today was to lure her into a trap.

The bodyguards sweated profusely, digging for about ten minutes, and finally hit something hard. It wasn’t a coffin, but a small, dark box. When Zhou Ziyan’s mother was buried, she hadn’t been laid to rest in a coffin with her body intact; instead, she had been cremated at the funeral parlor and then buried in the cemetery. Few people knew about this. Just as the people present were feeling surprised, Zhou Ziyan viciously stomped on the two bodyguards’ feet. In the moment of their pain, she broke free and sprinted towards her mother’s ashes.

“Mom!”

Zhou Ziyan fell to her knees in the dirt, clutching the small box containing her mother’s ashes tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Mother and daughter, just alike.”

She heard someone click their tongue and then say these words. The voice came from right behind her. She held her mother’s ashes and turned her head to look at Zhou Shancheng, who was looking down at her from above. She saw a fleeting look of contempt on his face and he didn’t seem surprised that a simple urn was buried under the tombstone.

Zhou Ziyan’s gaze swept over all the Zhou family members present, and finally fixed firmly on Zhou Shancheng. There were two very obvious tear stains on her cheeks, and even as she glared, tears were still rolling down from the corners of her eyes. The hatred in her brown pupils was so intense it almost felt like it would turn into a sharp sword to tear everyone apart. Her lower lip was bitten through by her teeth, leaving a clear wound that was dripping bl00d.

The crimson bl00d, diluted by tears, flowed into the very land her mother had sought as her final resting place her entire life.

Her escape had, in the end, destroyed her mother’s efforts for half a lifetime.

“Why?”

Zhou Ziyan stared at Zhou Shancheng’s old, somewhat cloudy eyes, as if questioning him, or perhaps just talking to herself. She asked: “Why?”

She had already given up all her inheritance rights and accepted the Zhou family’s attempts to drive her to ruin, but she couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t even spare her mother’s grave. That kind and intelligent woman had been obedient her entire life, dedicating her whole existence to the Zhou Group. She had made contributions, and her hard work deserved some credit.

Zhou Shancheng didn’t seem to care: “Your engagement ceremony with Cheng Junfeng is scheduled for the end of the year. If you had been obedient, the family would still have left you a portion of the family assets, and your mother’s grave would have been temporarily kept for you.”

A bolt of white lightning streaked across the overcast sky. Suddenly, thunder rumbled and rain fell heavily and abruptly. The younger members of the Zhou family hurriedly held up umbrellas for the family head, the black canopies blocking his view of Zhou Ziyan. It was a sudden thunderstorm. In the cemetery, black umbrellas were hastily opened one after another. The raindrops furiously hit the canopies, and the strong wind almost ripped the umbrella frames off. Even holding onto the edges couldn’t stop the torrential downpour.

Everyone wanted to leave, but no one dared to move.

“It’s over.”

Only when the family head spoke did the group fall into a chaotic mess, getting into their cars and leaving. They hadn’t even had time to sweep the tombs for the people behind, and the farce came to an abrupt end.

Thunder rumbled. In the vast cemetery, only Zhou Ziyan was left kneeling on the ground. The torrential rain soaked her thin shirt. A child’s black umbrella lay at her feet, left behind by her niece who was just in middle school. She knelt there silently, holding her mother’s urn, her face somber, as calm as death.

The heavy rain continued until dawn. In the middle of the night, Zhou Ziyan left the cemetery alone.

The cemetery returned to its usual desolate emptiness, leaving only a propped-up black umbrella leaning against a tombstone, preserving a small patch of soil that had not been drenched by the storm.

…

Zhou Ziyan’s behavior was so natural that even the person next to her didn’t notice anything was off.

Wen Jiao had pulled another all-nighter. She looked tired when she came home, but she didn’t forget to buy breakfast from the steamed bun shop downstairs and bring it back to their small apartment.

She pushed open the door. Zhou Ziyan was sitting at the dressing table, putting on a pair of jade earrings she had just bought at an auction. Through the mirror’s reflection, Zhou Ziyan saw Wen Jiao’s gaze on her. She turned slightly and smiled, asking, “What’s wrong, my dear?”

Her phone had just received a notification from the bank that her balance was insufficient. Wen Jiao was silent for a moment, shook her head, and said softly, “Nothing. I might be busy again tonight. You should go to bed early. Don’t wait for me.”

“Okay.” Zhou Ziyan flashed a sweet smile. Wen Jiao put down the breakfast she had brought up and left with her laptop. As the apartment door closed, Zhou Ziyan slowly took off the jade earrings, and the smile on her lips gradually faded.

Coffee shop.

A bright red Lamborghini sports car parked near the coffee shop. Mu Siyu pulled out the car key and got out with a swagger. The two transparent glass panes on either side of the coffee shop’s front door allowed people to see inside. Mu Siyu spotted Wen Jiao by the window at a glance. She was wearing a white T-shirt today, with a cup of steaming coffee to her left. Her back was ramrod straight, and her slender fingers were typing on the keyboard with focused speed. It was unclear how long she had been sitting there.

It wasn’t until her friend sat down in the seat opposite her that Wen Jiao snapped out of her work: “You’re here, Siyu.”

Mu Siyu snorted, taking a sip of the iced coffee in her hand: “Finally have time to see me? You’re a busy person with a harvest in both love and career.”

In response to her teasing, Wen Jiao gave a shy smile. Mu Siyu sighed helplessly and tapped the table: “So, what’s up?

“You wouldn’t just be asking me out for coffee, would you?”

Wen Jiao was silent for a while, then said bluntly: “Siyu, I need to borrow some money from you.”

“I thought it was something serious.” Mu Siyu had thought it was a big deal. When she heard it was just about borrowing money, she immediately let out a sigh of relief: “It’s just money. I can lend you as much as you need.”

Mu Siyu’s peripheral vision caught Wen Jiao’s slight frown. The spoon she was casually stirring her coffee with suddenly hit the side of the cup, making a crisp clinking sound.

Her tone became hesitant, and she tentatively finished the second half of her sentence: “Lend you?”

“Thank you.” Wen Jiao nodded.

After a moment, she paused slightly, adding: “I will pay you back with interest, at the highest legal limit, over two years.”

Mu Siyu looked at her suspiciously.

She knew Wen Jiao’s life wasn’t easy. When they were freshmen, she would often see Wen Jiao in a blue vest at the school’s work-study convenience store, standing at the cash register. She wore faded jeans and a loose white shirt, and her detached eyes seemed uninterested in anything.

Wen Jiao had never asked for her help during her most difficult times, so why now?

Realizing the problem, Mu Siyu’s expression became serious. She put down her coffee cup: “Wen Jiao, tell me the truth, what happened?”

Wen Jiao’s movement of sipping her coffee stopped, and a hint of hesitation flashed in her eyes. Mu Siyu didn’t miss the fleeting pause. While watching Wen Jiao’s expression, she tentatively asked: “Is it because of Zhou Ziyan?”

The moment she saw Wen Jiao’s hesitant expression, Mu Siyu was almost certain of her guess. When she spoke again, her tone was definite: “Your savings aren’t enough to support your life anymore.”

After a long silence, Wen Jiao finally gave a slight nod.

“Yes.”

.

The next day, IFC Luxury Store.

“Miss, your credit card limit is insufficient.” The store assistant smiled, handing back the platinum card with a respectful tone: “What other payment method would you like to use?”

Zhou Ziyan sat on the sofa, with more than a dozen packaged luxury bags at her feet. She stabbed a fork into the pastries the assistant had prepared. The sweet scent of cherries and strawberries filled her nose. She took a bank card from her cardholder and handed it to the assistant at the checkout counter: “Try this one.”

After a moment, the assistant put on a flawless smile: “I’m sorry, miss, the balance on this card is also insufficient.”

“Hmm.” Zhou Ziyan slowly finished the oolong tea in the paper cup: “Then I don’t want any of these.”

The store assistants: ?????

The well-dressed, wealthy customer got up and was about to leave with her bag. The assistant tried a last-ditch effort: “Wait, miss!”

Zhou Ziyan looked back, her eyes asking if there was anything else. The assistant maintained her professionalism to the end, smiling courteously: “You haven’t tried one of your cards yet. Would you like to try paying with that one?”

Zhou Ziyan glanced at the simple constellation card in her cardholder. This was the first one she had successfully overdrawn. She held the card between her fingers and handed it over, her tone casual: “You can try it if you want.”

The balance on this card had already been used up. Although Wen Jiao had good credit with the bank, a university student without a stable job couldn’t possibly have a credit card limit of over seven figures. The assistant, without much hope, swiped the card for the customer on the POS machine.

Zhou Ziyan glanced at her watch. It was two in the afternoon. Wen Jiao should be back from her meeting soon.

“Are you done? I have things to do.” Zhou Ziyan was getting a little impatient with the assistant who was trying to meet her sales target: “Just set these aside. I’ll come back for them later.”

“Okay, miss, we’ll pack them up for you.” The assistant gave a genuine smile: “Our store offers courier service. As long as you provide an address, we can deliver it on the same day. If you want to take it back with you directly, we can arrange for a special car to take you.”

The sudden enthusiasm made Zhou Ziyan frown slightly. The assistant smiled sincerely and handed back the black and gold constellation card: “The total is 1,222,444.76 yuan. We welcome you to visit again.”

Zhou Ziyan was stunned, her gaze fixed on the black and gold card. The assistant looked at her with some confusion: “Miss Zhou?”

“Miss Zhou, are you alright?” The customer’s expression was very solemn, and the assistant asked with concern. Zhou Ziyan didn’t speak. The assistant then asked: “Are you feeling unwell? Do you need us to send you to the hospital in a special car?”

“No need.” Zhou Ziyan took the constellation card and stood up to leave. The assistant hurriedly followed her, asking: “Where should I have these things couriered to?”

Zhou Ziyan’s steps paused, and she pursed her lips: “Just leave them here for now.”

….

In the early morning, night had fallen. The apartment’s floor-to-ceiling window offered a view of the sea. The sea at night was a vast expanse of black. Zhou Ziyan stood barefoot in front of the window. The sound of a key unlocking the door echoed. Zhou Ziyan put on her slippers and opened the bedroom door.

Wen Jiao was standing at the entrance with a canvas shoulder bag. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and from a distance, the smell of alcohol on her was obvious. Zhou Ziyan’s throat tightened, and she completely forgot the words she had prepared. She walked up to her and snatched her shoulder bag away fiercely: “Why didn’t you reply to my messages? What were you doing out?”

After drinking, Wen Jiao was more silent than usual. Alcohol would bring out a person’s truest self, and Zhou Ziyan knew better than anyone that Wen Jiao’s underlying nature was cold. Wen Jiao’s voice was a little hoarse. She took off her jacket and changed into slippers: “Work stuff.”

Zhou Ziyan scoffed: “What kind of drinking party lasts from two in the afternoon until early morning?”

Wen Jiao didn’t respond. Zhou Ziyan continued to press, her attitude aggressive: “Why exactly were you drinking, and with whom?”

“A top investment bank would actually send an intern to drink with clients?!”

After a long silence, Zhou Ziyan’s eyes grew redder and redder. Wen Jiao’s eyelids were droopy, and her voice held an undisguisable weariness: “… Ziyan, stop making a scene. This is work.”

“I’m making a scene?” Zhou Ziyan bit her lower lip, breaking the scabbed wound with her canines: “Wen Jiao, I’m your girlfriend, but you don’t tell me anything. Do you think that’s right?”

“Why are you the only one among the new hires who has to go?”

“The investment bank you joined wants to force you to leave this way, don’t they?”

Wen Jiao didn’t want her to blame herself, so she just remained silent, walked straight into the room, lay on the bed, and closed her eyes wearily.

Zhou Ziyan stood at the bedroom door, silent tears flowing down her collarbone and into her cold chest. She had dragged too many people down with her.

After a long time.

“Let’s break up, Wen Jiao.”

Zhou Ziyan’s voice was very soft. Outside the window, the faint salty scent of the sea breeze blew in. The wind that came through the window crack made every word fragmented. The only response she got was the sleeping person’s even breathing and the slow, cracking heartbeat in her left atrium.

Before dawn, the sound of retching and the toilet flushing came from the apartment’s bathroom. Zhou Ziyan sat at the dressing table, calmly looking at the messages on her phone, using foundation to cover the dark circles under her eyes, her gaze hollow.

When Wen Jiao woke up again, she was the only one in the apartment. The bathroom floor had been cleaned. The morning sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling window onto her face. As she got up to wash, she found the bag she had been carrying last night on the floor. Inside were two dolls that she had won for Zhou Ziyan on her way home last night, a little bear and a little rabbit.

She picked up the dolls and placed them on the bedside table. When she passed the kitchen, Wen Jiao’s footsteps paused. A bowl of warm vegetable porridge was on the counter. She gave a sincere smile.

Wen Jiao opened her phone to check her chat with Zhou Ziyan, but there were no new messages. She walked around the kitchen, trying to find a note Zhou Ziyan might have left her, but still found nothing. She finally just smiled helplessly, drank the warm, nutritious porridge, and considered it a response to her lover’s silent concern for her.

She had asked for the afternoon off from work today. Wen Jiao looked down at her watch. It was still early before her flight, so she reported her itinerary to Zhou Ziyan in advance.

…

Sunny beach. A group of men and women in cool clothes walked barefoot on the soft sand. It was the scorching summer in Southeast Asia. The phone on the small table next to the beach chair vibrated.

Zhou Ziyan lay on a beach chair, basking in the intense sun of Zone 7, and lit up the screen.

Wen Jiao: “I have to go to M Country this afternoon. There’s something there I must handle personally. Don’t go out too late alone at night.”

Zhou Ziyan’s eyes were shadowed. Her fingertips lingered on the pure white profile picture, not moving for a long time.

“Ziyan, come play beach volleyball with us!”

A long-haired beauty in a bikini and sunglasses, holding a water gun, walked over with large strides.

Zhou Ziyan quickly turned off her phone and put on a smiling face: “Okay!”

The long-haired beauty took Zhou Ziyan’s arm: “Ziyan, you’re finally back! I’ve missed you so much. I didn’t dare to reply to your messages before.”

“Sigh, you know, right? I had no choice. People like us rely on our families to make a living. If the elders in the family don’t allow it, there’s really nothing I can do. You must understand, right?”

“These things can’t be helped.” Zhou Ziyan said with a playful laugh: “But I’m back now, aren’t I?”

“But I’m really curious about that girlfriend of yours who made you cut ties with your family. Just how beautiful must she be to have you so head over heels?” Li Qing said with a laugh, putting her arm around Zhou Ziyan’s shoulder, a hint of teasing in her tone. Zhou Ziyan’s face noticeably cooled: “It’s a happy day, don’t talk about her.”

Li Qing waved her hand: “Look at me, what a mouth. Let’s go quickly, Senior Cheng and the others are waiting for us over there.”

The two of them walked barefoot on the beach. Soon, a group of people joined them. Most of them were the children of famous merchants in A City. As long as you knew their surnames, you could find the businesses their ancestors had left behind.

Amidst the laughter, Zhou Ziyan looked back. A group of footprints were left on the blank sand, some deep, some shallow. It was hard to distinguish which one was hers among the mass of marks.

The scorching sun hung high in the sky. She was walking in the sunlight, but it felt cold all around her. The high-hanging sun only failed to illuminate the path in front of her.

She seemed to have embarked on a path of no return.