The Lost Lamb's Trap - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Stars (1)
The car was silent. Duan Jiayang’s fingers climbed up the car door. She was careful, wary of the person in the front.
“Little Lamb, I don’t like you two being in contact,” Lin Ke said. “Don’t play with her. Play with me.”
Duan Jiayang gripped the car handle and pushed it hard to get out. She was in such a hurry. If Lin Ke had been a little more ruthless and pressed the gas pedal, she would have been badly injured.
Lin Ke didn’t drive off. She looked out the window.
It was almost dusk, and the weather wasn’t that hot, but Duan Jiayang was sweating. She panted, her back to the car, and ran straight to the company parking garage without stopping.
That sentence was too evocative.
In the past, Lin Ke would always whisper in her ear, “Little Lamb, play with me. I’ll be good.”
Every time she heard that, Duan Jiayang would be so excited she wouldn’t know what to do. After Lin Ke discovered this secret, she would bite her ear, hug her waist, and even ask her in bed, “Little Lamb, am I fun?”
Lin Ke didn’t chase after Duan Jiayang. She just let her run away. The car door hadn’t been closed, and the inside was still filled with the scent of roses. She had never hated the smell of roses so much. It made her feel sick.
After hugging the flowers, Little Lamb’s body would be invaded by this smell. She wanted to grab her, drown her in the bathtub, bite her, and scrub her skin to wash the smell away.
Of course, she also wanted her to be covered in her own scent.
Duan Jiayang drove out of the parking garage and saw Lin Ke’s car in the distance with the back door open. At that moment, she remembered she hadn’t taken the bouquet of roses.
Lan Yao had sent her a message when she was in the hospital, but she was with Lin Ke at the time and couldn’t look at it. She forgot to reply later…
Now that she had received the flowers, it would be rude not to reply. But the flowers weren’t with her. She wasn’t afraid of anything else, but she was afraid that Lin Ke, in a fit of rage, would show up at her door with her clothes and the flowers Lan Yao had sent her.
Duan Jiayang thought about it for a long time and drove around aimlessly. She didn’t dare to go home.
Midway, He Xiao called. Duan Jiayang immediately put on her Bluetooth headset and breathed heavily. He Xiao asked, “Do you want to come out and get some fresh air? You weren’t in a good mood this morning, were you? What’s wrong? Why are you breathing so hard?”
Thank goodness. That was exactly what she needed.
Duan Jiayang replied, “Where should we meet?”
He Xiao said, “Your stomach is much better now, right?”
Duan Jiayang was much better now, but the doctor had said it was best to rest for a week. He Xiao said, “Let’s meet at Old Zhou Bridge. The food there is light. I’ll take you to eat something light. How does that sound?”
Duan Jiayang changed her navigation. “I’ll pick you up from the hospital.”
He Xiao said, “Gu Siyu is here. I’ll take her car. You’d have to drive all the way around to get here. If you get there first, just wait for us.”
Duan Jiayang couldn’t help but ask, “Are you and Gu Siyu hanging out together a lot lately?”
He Xiao said, “No. Siyu has been busy lately. Weren’t you sick these past two days? I didn’t switch shifts. We can hang out after you get better.”
Duan Jiayang couldn’t eat this or that. It was a drag to go out. “Sorry about that.”
He Xiao said it was fine, and that they could go to another province to play later. She paused for a moment. “Siyu’s car is here. I have to go. See you later.”
Old Zhou Bridge wasn’t far from the company. It would take about 20 minutes to get there. Halfway there, she looked in her rearview mirror. It was rush hour, and there were a lot of cars, but she didn’t see Lin Ke’s car. Still, she felt that Lin Ke was following her, like a shadow.
A lot of people came to the lake on Friday. Duan Jiayang couldn’t find a place to park. She scanned for a paid parking spot nearby. While parking, she was still furtively looking behind her.
Old Zhou Bridge was a small scenic spot that had been recently built. It used to be a large natural lake with a small island in the middle. People used to come here to fish a lot. As fishing became a more popular hobby, more people came here. The government allocated money to renovate it, and it became a scenic spot in the city.
Duan Jiayang had run away from home and come here in high school. At that time, the lake shore was surrounded by thick, rusty chains. The bridge to the island was dilapidated, and the wooden planks submerged in the water were rotting and smelly. There was a big sign far away that said, “Danger ahead, no entry.”
Duan Jiayang stood in line and bought two ice cream cones. When He Xiao and the others arrived, she gave them the cones.
Gu Siyu asked, “You’re not eating?”
Duan Jiayang took a note out of her bag and shook her head.
Most of the vendors by the lake sold fish and snacks. As they walked down the path, Duan Jiayang looked at the note and saw that there was nothing she could eat.
Gu Siyu tilted her head and asked, “Who wrote this for you? According to this, you can only drink cold water.”
Duan Jiayang crumpled the note into a ball. “No one.”
Gu Siyu bought a coconut for Duan Jiayang to hold. “Someone wrote a note for you, and you’re either carrying it in your pocket or your palm, and you’re obediently following it. It’s probably not a simple thing.”
This was where Duan Jiayang and Gu Siyu didn’t get along. If it weren’t for He Xiao, she and Gu Siyu would never have become friends. They were two extremes. Duan Jiayang came from a wealthy family and was a princess in a fairy tale who had never experienced any hardships. Gu Siyu came from a poor family and didn’t even have a home. She always spoke the truth, clearly pointing out the secrets in Duan Jiayang’s heart.
He Xiao, who was walking in the middle, looked at the two of them blankly. “What do you mean?”
Gu Siyu changed the subject and led them to the chairs by the shore. Duan Jiayang went ahead and scanned the QR code to pay for the chairs.
Duan Jiayang held the coconut and felt a little frustrated. She wanted to talk to someone, and she felt that Gu Siyu would understand. But He Xiao was in the middle, and she felt awkward asking Gu Siyu, so she could only look at the stars in the sky.
The stars in the sky poured all their light into the lake, creating shimmering waves. Duan Jiayang sat up and played on her phone. The shimmering waves made her feel restless.
Lin Ke hadn’t sent her a message. A few of her colleagues had posted pictures of a dinner party on their social media. She turned sideways and furtively clicked on Lin Ke’s posts.
LK: “Thanks for the flowers, Little Lamb @DuanMeiMei”
A picture was attached. The roses in the back seat of the car were blooming quietly, just as Duan Jiayang had left them.
Lin Ke had a habit. If she didn’t like something someone gave her, she wouldn’t touch it. Duan Jiayang couldn’t figure out what she meant. She was worried that she had done it deliberately for Lan Yao to see.
After she calmed down, Duan Jiayang replied, “I didn’t send them. Don’t misunderstand.”
LK replied in seconds: “If you didn’t send them, why were they in my car?”
Duan Jiayang: “You know why.”
LK replied in seconds: “Little Lamb, I don’t know. Explain it to me.”
Duan Jiayang’s face gradually grew hot. She couldn’t tell if it was from shame or anger.
“Jiayang, what’s wrong?” He Xiao was taking pictures of the lake with her phone when she suddenly leaned over.
“N-nothing.”
Gu Siyu also looked over.
Duan Jiayang covered her phone. She couldn’t do anything else. She stammered, “I left a bouquet of flowers in a colleague’s car. They thought I sent them, and now they’re thanking me on social media. The flowers were given to me by someone else.”
Gu Siyu said, “Are they that confident?”
It wasn’t confidence. It was deliberate craziness.
“…I’ve met too many of these guys who think they’re all that,” He Xiao said indignantly as she sat up. “I’m just a little nice to him, and he thinks I have a crush on him. You have to get rid of him early, or he’ll cling to you. He’ll be so greasy that you won’t be able to eat for days. Your stomach is already not good.”
Gu Siyu said, “You should just reply directly that someone else gave them to you and you want to get them back. Make him feel awkward and tell him not to overthink it.”
Duan Jiayang followed their advice, modified her message, and sent it. The other person replied in seconds: [The bra has dried]
“What dried…” Gu Siyu muttered. Duan Jiayang quickly turned her phone over. Gu Siyu narrowed her eyes, as if she could see right through her.
She didn’t want Gu Siyu to know. She really didn’t…
Gu Siyu’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed. Duan Jiayang’s eyes were also darting around. Gu Siyu said, “Duan Jiayang… Did this son of a b1tch just tell you to die?”
“Huh?” Duan Jiayang was dumbfounded.
Did Gu Siyu read “dried” as “died?”
“Y-yes, I think so.” She replied.
“What? Let me see. Is he that bad?” He Xiao was also furious. They both leaned in to see her phone.
“It’s… It’s nothing. I’ll have my dad fire him. This dog! How dare he insult me! I’m not looking at it anymore. It’s upsetting. Let’s look at the scenery, let’s look at the scenery.” Duan Jiayang gave an awkward laugh. Gu Siyu still looked at her suspiciously. “Your dad will take care of this, right?”
“Yes. I’m his only child. If I die, he’ll have no one.” At this moment, Duan Jiayang was extremely grateful. It was a good thing that Gu Siyu hadn’t graduated from high school and was illiterate in English. Otherwise… she really wouldn’t have been able to explain herself.
“No, what does this have to do with dying? What else did he do to you?”
Because she wanted me to eat grass, I was too embarrassed to face anyone and wanted to die.
Duan Jiayang squeezed her phone so tightly that it was hot. She was going crazy. Why did Gu Siyu have to be so smart?
He Xiao also said, “You have to go back and talk to him properly. This person doesn’t seem normal. He even used a sheep as his profile picture. Did he use this before? It might be because of you.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.”
…
They left at 8 p.m. It was already dark. The housekeeper had also called to rush her home. Duan Litian usually didn’t care about her, but whenever he wasn’t home, Duan Jiayang had a curfew and had to be home on time.
Duan Jiayang held the coconut and went to get her car. He Xiao went back on Gu Siyu’s motorcycle. He Xiao sat on the back of Gu Siyu’s motorcycle and asked Duan Jiayang, “Did you have fun today?”
Duan Jiayang nodded hard. “Yes, thank you.”
Gu Siyu’s car rumbled away. Duan Jiayang turned her car around. In that moment, she really wanted to move out. They lived relatively close to each other. It was just that Duan Jiayang lived in the villa area, which was in a different direction from them. So, she involuntarily thought of Lin Ke’s home again.
Duan Jiayang was preoccupied with something, and she had a gloomy look on her face. She took the coconut upstairs to her room. She showered, changed into her pajamas, and put the coconut on the cabinet. The coconut water had a high sugar content and wasn’t suitable for drinking at night, but Duan Jiayang didn’t want to throw it away. Duan Jiayang sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her phone. She didn’t receive any messages. She lay down, and there were still no messages. She got out of bed, crouched down, and carefully walked to the balcony door to open the glass door.
She looked downstairs. Lin Ke wasn’t there.
Duan Jiayang let out a frustrated sigh, lifted her arm, and patted it randomly. She typed a message: [Delete that post from your social media.]
Lin Ke didn’t delete it and didn’t reply to her message.
At this moment, Lin Ke was still outside. Her car was parked in front of a car wash. She was wearing the gloves the owner had given her and took the flowers from the passenger seat and threw them in a nearby trash can.
The car wash employee was smoking a cigarette. Seeing that the boss was a clean freak, he didn’t light it. He bit the cigarette and said, “This car has been washed once already. You want to wash it again, boss?”
Lin Ke pointed to the back seat. “That.”
“It’s very dirty.”
And so, she washed the car three times. The night was over.
…
That night, Duan Jiayang had dreams of murder scenes. She and Lin Ke ran to school together and crouched under a desk. Footsteps could be heard from time to time outside. She was so scared that she couldn’t control her heartbeat. Her mouth was open, and she was panting heavily. She covered her mouth. Lin Ke crouched and squeezed next to her to comfort her. “Don’t be afraid. They won’t do anything to us. At worst, I’ll rush out and kill them too.”
“Too?”
Duan Jiayang was so thirsty in the middle of the night that she didn’t dare to get up. She just lay there with a dry throat… She closed her eyes, and her mind was filled with Lin Ke, who was inscrutable and expressionless. The look in her eyes and her words from the dream made it difficult for her to sleep peacefully.
Lin Ke’s social media post was still there. She had to go to Lin Ke’s house, make her delete the post, and get her clothes back. Otherwise… life would be unbearable.
Lin Ke sent her a message: “Saturday, I want to see you.”
Duan Jiayang, with a bit of courage, replied: “Are you angry?”
She replied in seconds: “No.”
“I have a much better temper now.”
When it came to Lin Ke, Duan Jiayang was naturally lazy and procrastinated. Lin Ke said she wasn’t angry, so even though she was unable to bear it, scared, and worried, she still held on and postponed the time until Sunday.
Coincidentally, Duan Litian came back on this day. He was slumped on the sofa, and his secretary was whispering something to him with a file in his hand. Duan Litian’s expression wasn’t good. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he muttered, “What is it, challenging me?”
Duan Jiayang didn’t understand their business world, so she didn’t bother to listen. She called out to her dad and her uncle and changed into her heels on the stairs. She was carrying her bag and walking out.
Duan Litian called out to her from behind. “Where are you going?”
Duan Jiayang really wanted to say, “Mind your own business?”
But she was a little guilty. “I’m going to hang out with He Xiao.”
“Really?” Duan Litian leaned back, his big belly jiggling as he breathed. He took a box and threw it at Duan Jiayang.
Duan Jiayang thought he was going to hit her. She jumped up and almost blurted out, “Freeloader,” but thankfully, she held it back. Duan Jiayang bent down to pick up the box. It was a pair of cabochon ruby earrings.
“Didn’t you go to Tashan?” Duan Jiayang asked him. She held the earrings and looked at them. They were very beautiful. The design was a hexagram, and the certificate said each stone was six carats.
“I had a layover in Hong Kong,” Duan Litian said.
The secretary praised him. “He flew all the way to Hong Kong to bid on them. He said they would suit you…”
Duan Jiayang didn’t listen to his rambling. She took out a jewelry sanitizer and sprayed the earrings. She put them in her bag. She turned to go to the parking garage. Duan Litian called out to her again. “You’re coming with me later.”
“Huh?” The smile on Duan Jiayang’s face slowly froze. “Where?”
Duan Litian said, “A dinner party. A social gathering for people in the business. Didn’t you say I never take you out or teach you anything? Today, you’ll come with me, and I’ll teach you everything firsthand.”
Was this compensation?
Duan Jiayang was a little unsure. It was rare for Duan Litian to compensate her. She also felt that it was strange, and that she didn’t really need this kind of compensation. She wanted to go out instead…
“You don’t want to go?” Duan Litian saw right through her. “Then why do you complain all the time?”
“I just… don’t have a dress,” Duan Jiayang said.
“What about the ones you have?”
“I’ve already worn them. I don’t want to wear old clothes.” Duan Jiayang made an excuse and pretended to be spoiled.
Duan Litian said without a second thought, “Call Dior, Chanel, and the other stores you usually shop at. Have them send you a few sets. If a dress isn’t enough, just get a formal gown. It’s not hard to get clothes. Xiao Liu, contact them.”
The secretary said, “Jiayang, the chairman wants to introduce you to people so that you’ll have people to help you and protect you when you do things and negotiate collaborations in the future.”
The housekeeper and chef also said, “This is a good thing!”
Duan Jiayang got goosebumps. In the scorching summer, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
She made a call, and in less than half an hour, three brands came to deliver clothes. Why was her dad so fat and still had women willing to be with him? For one, he had a good reputation, and for two, money makes the world go round.
The brands were waiting for Duan Jiayang to try on the clothes and makeup to see the effect. Duan Litian drank his tea nonchalantly. He waved his hand, proud and confident. “It’s fine. I’ll take all of them. Are you worried that she’ll ruin your brand?”
Duan Jiayang’s looks combined the best features of her mom and her dad when they were young. Her appearance was flawless, and she had a graceful and spoiled aura about her. You couldn’t find a second person like her in the entire industry.
Duan Jiayang took the clothes upstairs and sat in her bedroom for a long time with her phone in her hand. She unlocked the screen and typed: [My dad is back. I have something to go to…] She hesitated and struggled, scratching her head and cheeks.
Finally, she closed her eyes and sent it. Duan Jiayang changed into a retro green gown, put on the earrings her dad had brought back, and the rubies sparkled brightly in her ears.
She removed all her elaborate makeup and used a simple jasmine French hair clip to pin her hair from her cheek to behind her ear, revealing her slender neck and delicate collarbones. She was stunningly simple.