Copycat - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

◎A Prison Prepared for You◎

In the following week, Ren Li used every trick in the book to win the housekeeper’s favor. She finally earned the housekeeper’s trust. As the only maid who had signed a long-term labor contract, the housekeeper gave her a lot of work to do. She mingled in various circles and successfully gathered more information about the villa.

In the kitchen, the maids were chattering and gossiping. Ren Li pretended to work while secretly listening.

“Oh, CEO Wen is so good to Miss Zhou. She’s spending so much money on her, it’s insane. I’ve lost count of how many times CEO Wen has invited Miss Zhou’s favorite celebrities here this month. I’m so jealous of Miss Zhou. I wish I had her luck and could be liked by CEO Wen. I’d even be willing to be her mistress!”

“Come on, get real. Miss Zhou has a great figure and a beautiful face. You should look in the mirror and you’ll know why CEO Wen likes Miss Zhou and not you. I think you should just dream about being a wealthy lady in your next life.”

The maids burst into laughter.

Ren Li, who was cutting vegetables, also echoed a few words.

Only the head chef standing by the side gave an untimely sneer.

“What do you mean, Sister Wang—”

A maid who was on better terms with the head chef teased, “Those financial reports all say that CEO Wen values her partner’s inner qualities. Maybe our Sister Wang thinks she has a chance too.”

The maids in the kitchen roared with laughter. The head chef was over thirty, but because she looked old, she appeared to be a forty-year-old middle-aged woman. She had a strong sense of pride, so how could she tolerate being laughed at like this?

“Nonsense!” The head chef’s face was red, and her voice was a little loud. “Hurry up and get to work.”

“Oh, our Sister Wang has had her secret exposed~”

“I think CEO Wen should really sign a contract with you all for a few more months. She’s overthinking it. What can a bunch of uneducated idiots like you figure out?” The head chef was so angry that she stomped her feet. “Even if this villa were given to me, I wouldn’t want it. What’s there to be jealous of about a mistress a CEO keeps in her backyard? A canary in a cage!”

The maids’ laughter came to an abrupt halt.

The sound of meat being cut on the chopping board also stopped.

The head chef knew she had said something wrong. Her face was flushed, and she pointed at the maids’ noses with a fierce, yet cowardly, tone. “Why aren’t you getting the ingredients ready? If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll have CEO Wen fire you all early!”

The maids quickly dispersed and went back to their respective jobs.

“A bunch of idiots,” the head chef muttered to herself. “All they do is cause me trouble.”

The small kitchen quickly became busy. Everyone was doing their job.

The head chef made a round in the kitchen, her gaze falling on the young girl who had been lucky enough to be kept because of an accident.

The young girl hadn’t said a word. With those gossiping women as a comparison, the head chef was even more satisfied with this girl who had quietly and diligently done her job from beginning to end.

A chopping sound came from the cutting board.

The head chef walked over and pressed down on Ren Li’s hand that was cutting vegetables. “You’re doing it wrong. Is this fish your enemy? Why are you cutting so hard?”

“Look, your palm is all red.”

Ren Li looked down at her hand and gave an apologetic smile. “I’ve been doing farm work since I was a child, so my hands are strong. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“It’s okay.” The head chef took the knife and sliced the chunks of sashimi into even, thin slices with the blade. “Watch carefully. I’ll teach you how to make this dish.”

Late at night.

After Zhou Ziyan washed up, the housekeeper brought her medicine as usual. The only difference was that this time, the housekeeper didn’t supervise her to make sure she took it before leaving.

Wen Jiao, wrapped in a towel, came out of the bathroom and saw the pills the housekeeper had just placed on the table. “Why haven’t you taken your medicine yet, Yanyan?”

Zhou Ziyan was silent for a moment. Then, she stared directly into Wen Jiao’s eyes and asked in return, “Should I take it?”

Wen Jiao had just finished showering, and her skin was rosy. Her fingertips gently stroked the woman’s neck. “Of course you should take your medicine, Yanyan.”

“That way, you can get better faster.”

“….Oh.”

Zhou Ziyan picked up the pills and stared intently at Wen Jiao’s eyes, which looked particularly indifferent when she wasn’t smiling. She put the pills into her mouth one by one, trying to see a flicker of emotion in those light gray pupils.

“Wait.”

Zhou Ziyan was stunned for a moment and quickly stopped her actions, looking at the person in front of her with anticipation.

Wen Jiao stood up and poured a glass of cool water from the kettle. “Be careful not to choke. Take it with water.”

Zhou Ziyan: …

Zhou Ziyan was visibly silent. Wen Jiao stroked her head and said gently, “Be a good girl.”

Zhou Ziyan wasn’t confident that she could spit out the medicine under Wen Jiao’s nose, so she had no choice but to resume taking the medicine that she had stopped for almost a week.

After completing her daily task, Wen Jiao tried to take off her pajamas. To her surprise, Zhou Ziyan, who had never refused her before, suddenly grabbed her fingers. “Some other time, darling.”

“I’m on my period.”

Wen Jiao was stunned for a moment, but she quickly pulled her hand back and said calmly, “Okay.”

After the lights were turned off, Zhou Ziyan lay in bed, with her back to Wen Jiao. There were no streetlights outside the villa, so she could only see a faint, hazy moonlight through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She tried to sleep, but even though her eyes were closed, she couldn’t fall asleep. The medicine made her mind feel a little sluggish.

After a long time, she vaguely felt a pair of cold hands exploring her back.

“….Wen Jiao?” Zhou Ziyan said in a muffled voice. “Don’t do this. I’m on my period.”

“Why did you lie to me?” In the darkness, a cold voice came from her bedside. Zhou Ziyan felt her neck being gently squeezed, and she was pressed down on the bed, unable to move.

“Hmm?” The coldness crept up Zhou Ziyan’s neck. The force that she couldn’t refuse whispered in her ear, “Your period is in the middle of every month. It’s only the end of the month now. Why did you lie to me? Or do you think you can get away with lying to me?”

“Wen Jiao, I really don’t want to tonight.” Zhou Ziyan tried to pry open the fingers wrapped around her neck, but she only heard a chilling sneer.

Zhou Ziyan’s entire body instantly stiffened, and she didn’t dare to move again. In the darkness, she carefully spoke, testing the waters. “….Wen Jiao?”

“Did you refuse Cheng Junfeng like this when you slept with him?”

Zhou Ziyan: …

The deprivation of freedom, the endless deception, and the questionable medicine—everything had stretched Zhou Ziyan to a breaking point. Wen Jiao’s words made her feel ashamed and even more humiliated!

The long-suppressed anger was ignited.

Zhou Ziyan pushed away the person on top of her. “Yes, I love sleeping with men! You can’t satisfy me at all! I’m leaving right now to visit my ex-fiancé in prison! Are you happy now?!”

The already quiet villa fell into a deathly silence. It was so long that Zhou Ziyan’s anger, along with her returning reason, slowly subsided. Zhou Ziyan sighed and spoke slowly, “I’m sorry, darling. I was just saying that out of anger. I actually didn’t…”

She didn’t finish her sentence. The response she got was a hand around her neck and the sudden tightening of its grip.

For a moment, the world spun. Before Zhou Ziyan could react, the smart lights in the room had already turned on. Her eyes were momentarily blurred from the intense light, and she couldn’t help but scream. “Ah—”

When her eyes adjusted to the bright light, Zhou Ziyan slowly opened them, but she saw her former lover’s indifferent gaze. She was stunned for a moment. In her memory, Wen Jiao had never looked at her with such a gaze.

No matter what kind of big trouble she caused, Wen Jiao had never looked at her with such a cold and fierce look.

The hand around her neck casually squeezed her jaw, forcing her to lift her chin, as if she were a temperature-sensitive toy that wouldn’t break.

“….Wen Jiao.”

This position was very uncomfortable. Zhou Ziyan, with tears in her eyes, tried to kiss her lips to appease her, but the woman unhesitatingly turned her head away.

Zhou Ziyan was momentarily lost, but she quickly became like a piece of duckweed floating in the water. No part of her body completely belonged to her. She was passively sharing her body with the person on top of her.

Although Wen Jiao wasn’t gentle enough, she had never been this rough before.

Tears streamed down her face from the corners of her eyes, running into her temples. Zhou Ziyan passively endured the impact. She grabbed the corner of Wen Jiao’s clothes and begged her in a humble tone to slow down, but the only response she got was more intense movements.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Zhou Ziyan opened her eyes, and the white ceiling came into view. She tried to move her body but found that there was no part of her that didn’t ache.

This wasn’t the seaside villa. Where was she?

“Miss, you’re finally awake!”

A sobbing voice reached her ears. Zhou Ziyan saw Ren Li sitting by her bed, her nose running and tears streaming down her face. Zhou Ziyan raised her hand to wipe away her tears but found a needle in her vein. She had no choice but to give up. “Why are you crying?”

“Where is this? How did I get here?”

This was a VIP room in a private hospital. The layout of the surroundings was a little familiar, but it didn’t seem to be the same place as where she had seen the psychiatrist before.

Ren Li’s face was a little red, and she whispered, “Miss, did you forget?”

The maid’s awkward attitude made Zhou Ziyan pause. “Bring me a mirror.”

Ren Li held up a mirror and stood by Zhou Ziyan’s bed. Zhou Ziyan looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing clean clothes, but a sticky feeling was still pervasive in every pore of her skin. In the mirror, her face was as pale as paper. Although she was wearing new clothes, the marks of their lovemaking were still very obvious, especially the strangulation marks on her neck. They were so strong that they hadn’t faded overnight.

Zhou Ziyan looked at herself in the mirror for a very long time, so long that Ren Li’s arm was starting to feel numb. She asked, “Miss, should I keep holding it?”

Zhou Ziyan looked blankly ahead, nodding and then shaking her head.

A chilling laugh suddenly echoed in the ward. Ren Li was confused. “Miss, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Ziyan lowered her head and used her IV-free hand to pinch her own neck. She would suddenly burst into laughter and then quietly sob.

Ren Li looked at her worriedly. “Miss…”

How could her benefactor be hurt like this? Ren Li could no longer stand it. She put down the mirror in her hand, looked around, and mustered up her courage. “Miss, I’ll help you escape.”

“I’ve gotten to know the housekeeper and the head chef over the past few days. The reason CEO Wen replaces a new batch of staff every month isn’t because of your illness at all. She’s just worried that after a long time, a maid might realize something is wrong and call the police, causing trouble.”

“This place is a prison built for you!”