Chapter 1: Death of a Nosy but Beloved Maid

This is the first time he ever been to two parties in one place. It made him curious to why the parents decide that it’s a good idea to have an engagement party and a birthday party in one place. Anyone who knows the Lan family can see who the parents truly favor, it’s not the engaged daughter but the daughter whose birthday is today.

Yixing remembers when he first met Lan Bingbing, she had a certain aura surrounding her. It was somewhat weird to see that a nice girl like Bingbing would have an aura full of killing intent. There was an incident when one of Jiaojing’s friend accused Bingbing of stealing her necklace, leading to Bingbing being whipped for refusing to admit her wrongs. It was a moment to remember because everyone got to see a very pissed off Luhan, Yixing and his friends even heard Luhan threatening Mr. Lan.

“If I find you hurt her once more, I will take her away,” Luhan said as he advanced towards Mr. Lan, threateningly. “As her godfather, I also have that right.”

Luhan turned to face Jiaojing, pitifully looking down, and her friend, observing her nails, he didn’t hesitate to speak his mind. “Even after finding your necklace, you didn’t apologize for wrongfully accusing her.”

“Brother Lu,” said Mrs. Lan, trying to pacify the situation. “They’re young and after all it was a misunderstanding. I mean Xiao Ai found out she left it buried deeply in her bag.”

Just as Luhan was about to answer back, Yixing cut him off, “It’s not a misunderstanding, she did it intentionally.”

Pointing to Xiao Ai, he answered, “If it wasn’t intentional, you would be looking the same way as your friend. Instead you look as if you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“How dare you talk to me like that?!” Xiao Ai shouted angrily. “It was a misunderstanding so I don’t see why I have to apologize.”

“Just a misunderstanding!?” Luhan questioned, sounding like he is ready to kill the girl. “She was whipped on the back of her legs until blood appeared! And you!”

Luhan turned to look at a frightened Jiaojing, who looked like she wished sinking into the couch will make her disappear. “I know you to be a nice girl but it seems like when it concerns Bingbing you are just like your parents.”

“Brother Lu!” shouted Mr. Lan. “There’s no need to talk to my daughter that way. If it will satisfy you, we can have Xiao Ai apologize to Bingbing.”

“That will not satisfy me.”

Everyone turned towards the door to see Bingbing, due to her injuries she walks almost as if she would fall. But Luhan had his subordinates, Chanyeol and Baekhyun, help Bingbing by holding her by her elbows as she walks.

“I have two solutions that will satisfy me,” Bingbing said. “But…I know that you will disagree with it. Do you want to hear it out, father?”

“What is your solution?” asked Mr. Lan.

“Number one, Xiao Ai can be given the same punishment you inflicted on me,” Bingbing said calmly. “Number two, if Xiao Ai doesn’t want to apologize or do solution one, Jiaojing can take her place and apologize to me.”

Everyone was speechless by the solutions Bingbing suggested. Yixing saw it, the cold yet calm look Bingbing had as she stared at Jiaojing and Xiao Ai. Her killing intent is directed at the two girls who brought trouble to her. To everyone, Bingbing looked calm but Yixing can see that Bingbing is out for retribution.

“Yixing,” a male voice called out from the distance. “Yixing.”

Yixing found himself still lost in the memory of Bingbing’s look. He didn’t know why but he felt himself being drawn to Bingbing. It was when her eyes met his for a split second that he broke away from that memory.

A hand was on his shoulder, shaking him lightly as if to wake him up.

“Did you fall asleep standing up?” Sehun, his partner, asked. “I know it’s possible to fall asleep with your eyes open but I’m not sure I know of people sleeping standing up.”

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was…thinking of something from the past.” Yixing said as his eyes landed on Bingbing with her fiancé, Wu Yifan.

Sehun followed his line of sight and smirked when he saw who Yixing was staring at.

“It’s a shame that she’s engaged,” Sehun said in an innocent tone hidden with mischief. “I kind of thought you and her look good together.”

Surprised, Yixing lightly elbowed Sehun, “What are you talking about?”

“It was an honest opinion.”

“We shouldn’t be talking about that at her engagement party,” Yixing said as he looked back and forth. “Someone could overhear us and report it to that crazy fiancé of hers.”

Both look at Yifan with one arm around Bingbing’s waist as they greeted some party guests. They decided to seat themselves at the same table with Chanyeol and Baekhyun while Luhan conversed with some of the party guests. Baekhyun was eating some of party food while Chanyeol looked heartbroken as he stared at Bingbing.

“What’s wrong with Chanyeol?” Yixing asked as he waved his hand in front of Chanyeol’s face.

“He’s heartbroken,” Baekhyun said as he popped a strawberry in his mouth and swallowed before continuing. “The love of his life is now engaged so he wants to stare at her before she is finally married.”

“Did you give her the gift Luhan prepared for her?” Sehun asked.

Chanyeol shook his head while still staring at Bingbing, “No.”

“Why didn’t you give it to her? Do you want it for yourself?” Yixing asked.

Chanyeol took a wrapped square shaped box out from under the table. “I do want to give it to her…but it…looks kind of…sad.”

Yixing and Sehun shared a look and turned to Baekhyun.

“What Chanyeol means is…” he trailed off, thinking of what to say. “Bingbing looks sad in the picture. He believes that if we gave her the picture, it might make her sadder.”

Noticing that Yixing and Sehun looked confused, Baekhyun explained further, lowering his voice, “Do you remember the time when Luhan have the two of us take photos of Bingbing with Yifan?”

Both shook their heads in an up and down motion.

“Luhan didn’t notice it but Chanyeol and I noticed it.”

“Notice what?” Yixing asked.

“Yifan looks…as if he didn’t want to be there,” Baekhyun said. “Actually, it’s more like he doesn’t look happy to be engaged to Bingbing.”

Baekhyun took out his phone and scroll through something before sliding it towards Yixing and Sehun. “Look at this picture and you will see what we mean.”

The two looked at the photo of Bingbing and Yifan in their white wedding clothes. Bingbing is smiling in the photo, while Yifan isn’t smiling. It almost seems like he’s frowning. Seeing the photo, Yixing finds himself thinking of a photo he saw in Bingbing’s room.

At that time, Bingbing wasn’t feeling well and Luhan asked Yixing to check on her. It was a glimpse but he saw a similar photo where Yifan isn’t smiling…but there was another photo of Bingbing with Jiaojing and her fiancé, Zitao, along with Yifan. In that photo, they trade places so Bingbing is paired with Zitao and Jiaojing is paired with Yifan. The funny thing about that photo is how Yifan and Jiaojing smiled as they stared at each other. Yixing felt their stare was almost a bit too intimate.

“I wonder if the rumors about him are true then,” Sehun stated as he hands Baekhyun his phone back. “There were some rumors going around that he is having an affair.”

The sentence snap Chanyeol out of his trance, he angrily scoffed in a low voice, “Affair? If he’s in an affair then he doesn’t deserve Bingbing.”

“How did that rumor even started?” Yixing asked curiously.

“Paparazzi claims that Yifan went on a trip to Jeju Island,” Sehun said as he finished his glass of juice. “But there was someone with him and when asked about her identity, Yifan claimed that the girl is a visiting relative.”

“There was also a time when he was spotted at a maternity ward,” Baekhyun answered with his mouth, a bit full of food.

“That one was fishier because he was there by himself,” Sehun spoke lowly and looked around to be sure no one is listening in. “But some witnesses claim that he was with a woman when he went in but he left by himself.”

“He probably went there to pay off his mistress,” Chanyeol said bitterly. “Or he wanted her to get an abortion.”

The boys were all deep in thought, each of them having their own thoughts about Bingbing and Yifan. Yixing wondered if Yifan was unhappy about the marriage because his rumored mistress is someone he loves. It does make sense for the way he behaves with Bingbing. But Yifan seem to have two sides to him, he becomes jealous of any men getting close to Bingbing yet he is okay with women getting close to him. Yifan even almost attacked him for holding Bingbing’s hand when he was helping her up.

If the rumors about Yifan having a mistress is true, then does Bingbing know about it. If she does know, she’s doing a good job of holding the pain in. The way Bingbing acts is almost like she could have been a Queen in her past life. In old days, Queens were not allowed to openly display jealousy when it comes to their husband’s mistresses. But right now, there are men who still have mistresses and their wives do get jealous more easily.

Yixing pitied Bingbing, imagining her marrying Yifan and being forced to accept his mistress is a sad picture. Almost as sad as how he pictured their ending, Bingbing becomes forgotten by Yifan as he spends his time with his mistress and child. Or Bingbing is murdered by the two in a way to make it look like she committed suicide.

“Are you all enjoying yourself?” asked a female voice, surprising the boys.

Bingbing came to their table accompanied by her maid, Hana, holding a tray of drinks. It’s a bit surprising to see Hana, who still looks the same from when Yixing last remember meeting her.

“Chanyeol,” Luhan said as he appeared, placing an arm around Bingbing’s shoulder. “Did you give Bingbing her gift like I ask you to do?”

“Uh…” Chanyeol trailed off before remembering that he had the gift under the table. “It’s right here.”

Chanyeol brought the gift out and walk towards Bingbing to hand the gift to her. His hands look as if he was shaking but the moment Bingbing touched his hands as she accepted the gift, the shaking stopped.

“Thank you, Chanyeol,” Bingbing said, holding the gift in her hands. “I had Hana bring some drinks over in case you all were thirsty.”

Chanyeol was still standing in a frozen state, his cheeks a bit red from Bingbing touching his hands. He snapped out of it as Baekhyun got up to bring him back to his seat.

“I think soon Jiaojing’s birthday cake will be arriving. Once she cuts it, I will have Hana give you all some cake.” Bingbing said. “In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the party.”

Bingbing left with Hana after she had her place the glasses on the table. As she walked away, Yixing felt compelled to stare at the back of her legs. The very legs where she was whipped badly, it looks faded but he can still see the markings of the whip. One time he asked Bingbing why she didn’t wear leggings to cover her legs so no one can see the scars. Many girls worried about scars because they see it as an imperfection to their beauty, but Bingbing was different.

“I think of it almost as a battle scar,” Bingbing said as she rubbed an ointment on her legs. “After all I did kind of rebelled against them.”

“You were wrongfully punished for something your sister and her friend did intentionally,” Yixing said as he handed a roll of bandages to Bingbing. “Some people don’t want memories of a time when they were badly hurt.”

“Actually…” Bingbing trailed off as she cut the bandages after wrapping one on her left leg. “I kind of want to punish my parents. I want then to be reminded of how they hurt me and never believed my side of the story.”

She had a smile on her face as she turned to look at him. Yixing noted that her smile had a trace of sadness in it.

Earlier he mentioned how Mr. and Mrs. Lan favors one daughter and that daughter is Jiaojing, not Bingbing. There were rumors about Bingbing’s birth, some about her being a mistress’s or a lover’s daughter and some about her being adopted. The only problem with the adopted part is how Bingbing somehow resembles Jiaojing, usually it would be coincidences but stuff with family secrets work in mysterious ways. Yixing knows that Mr. and Mrs. Lan knows about Bingbing’s birth but Luhan, who is her godfather, might know more than they do. He could see why Luhan treasures her which make him wonder if, perhaps, Bingbing is the splitting image of her mother.

In Luhan’s office, on his desk, there was a photo of him with two people, a girl and a boy. They looked to be in high school at that time due to the school uniform. Luhan didn’t like people looking at the photo so he sometimes hid it from others. A nosy Baekhyun wanted a look so he dragged them all to have a look, they were surprised by what they saw. The girl looked like a 17-year-old Bingbing but for the boy…it was a tip on the tongue because Yixing felt like he seen him somewhere.

His mind was interrupted by the sounds of people singing “Happy Birthday” to Jiaojing. Some party guests stood up to watch her blow her candles out while choose to sit down, their table was part of the sitting down group. Why? They aren’t that fond of Jiaojing ever since that incident where Bingbing was whipped and she basically did nothing to help her sister out.

As Yixing watched Jiaojing blow out her candles, he realized that Bingbing was nowhere near the family. He finds himself standing to see if he can spot her in the crowd, she was near one of the large windows with Hana by her side. One thing that caught his eyes is how Yifan handed Jiaojing a gift and she hugged him as she accepted it. It was a glimpse but he thought Bingbing either had a look of jealousy or a look of hurt as she turned away. It’s interesting Jiaojing received Zitao’s gift by giving him a smile and thanking him, a clear contrast from what she did with Yifan.

Yixing decided to follow Bingbing to where she went, which happen to be the floor where her room is on. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he could hear Bingbing sounding almost like she is yelling. It wasn’t yelling, more like calmly speaking angrily while Hana tried to calm her.

“I’m sorry for bringing that up, Young Miss,” Hana apologized. “I know you hate hearing rumors but…”

“But what?” Bingbing asked. “If it’s that rumor about my parents then I already heard it.”

“What I meant, Young Miss, is the rumor about your father,” Hana continued. “I’ve been with your family for a long time, even though I never witness your birth, I thought I saw someone whose eyes were very familiar.”

Hana looked to be in thought as she tried to remember what she saw. As she waited for Hana to continue, Bingbing picked up a box where she stored photographs for her photography class. She smiled as she glanced at some of the photos consisting of her, Zitao, and their partner, Kyungsoo making goofy faces.

When he didn’t hear them continue their conversation, Yixing knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Bingbing asked, putting her photo box to the side as she got up towards the door.

“It’s me,” Yixing replied. “Yixing.”

Bingbing opened the door to let Yixing in but he chose to not go in.

“Can I talk to you in a more…private setting?”

“Uh…” Bingbing trailed off as she glanced at the still thinking Hana. “Sure.”

“Hana,” Bingbing called out, snapping Hana out of her thoughts. “I’m going to talk to Brother Yixing at the balcony. Can I trust you to leave my gift to Jiaojing in her room?”

“Yes, Young Miss.” Hana replied, bowing.

Bingbing steered Yixing into a farther end from the rooms to an area with a balcony. The balcony was filled with many flowers of different colors. The flowers were peonies, Bingbing’s favorite flower, which is sometimes known as “The King of Flowers” in Chinese culture.

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Bingbing asked.

Yixing think over what to ask as he stared at Bingbing, who was gazing at the peonies. He didn’t want to hurt her nor did he want to offend her if he talked about the rumors about Yifan. He almost wished that it was Luhan or Sehun that was in his position, they might be able to handle it better than he can.

“Are you okay?” Yixing asked, hesitating. “I thought you looked uncomfortable…when your sister hugged Yifan.”

Bingbing’s eyes widen just as her hand stopped at a peony that fell to the floor. Bending down to pick up the peony for Bingbing, Yixing held onto it as he waited for her answer.

“Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You…looked a bit sad,” Yixing said as he tucked the fallen peony behind Bingbing’s ear. “I’m guessing that it’s not the first time you see them behaving like that?”

“It isn’t,” Bingbing said as she turned away from Yixing. “But I’m okay with it, Jiaojing has always been sickly so I asked Yifan to be nice to her.”

“That was before she got engaged to Zitao. I was worried that she might feel a little jealous so being the nice girl I was, I thought of sharing my fiancé with my sister.”

Even though her face was hidden when she turned away from him. Yixing felt Bingbing looked to be on the verge of tears from the way she held herself.

“A few days ago, Zitao told me that he had suspicions about their relationship,” Bingbing continued. “Zitao had a fight with Xiao Ai over something so, as a petty revenge, she tweeted a photo to him.”

“I’m guessing it’s Yifan and Jiaojing in the photo.”

“Yes…it is,” Bingbing said as she let out a sigh. “Yifan looked like he was kissing Jiaojing. But he wasn’t, Jiaojing’s necklace fell so Yifan was putting it back on for her.”

“It seems that Xiao Ai still haven’t learned any new manners since I last saw her.”

“That’s true, even with Jiaojing accepting that apology in her place, she got mad and blamed me for being unreasonable.”

“I remember that,” Yixing chuckled. “She was saying how you couldn’t hurt her so you took your revenge on Jiaojing for not helping you.”

“I thought Xiao Ai would jump to her defense because she started that mess. I wanted Jiaojing to see that rich girls like that don’t care about their friends, they only care about themselves. Well, some rich girls are like that.”

“That’s true. I take it that you don’t have that many rich girl friends like she does?”

“No, I prefer befriending boys. It doesn’t matter if they’re rich or poor. With them, I can be whatever I want. With girls, I’d be commanded to be something I wouldn’t want to be,” Bingbing said as she turned to stare at Yixing. “That’s why Zitao and my classmate Kyungsoo are my only friends.”

“Kyungsoo?”

“He’s in the same photography class as Zitao and I. You might be able to meet him, he told me he’d be here if his boss let him out of work early.”

Suddenly, Bingbing placed her arms around Yixing’s neck. He stumbled a bit towards her in shock and surprise. She pulled him close, it was almost like she wanted to kiss him.

“It’s kind of like this,” Bingbing said while positioning them to look like they’re dancing. “From both our backs, it will look like we are kissing. We’re actually dancing, that’s the point of this kind of dance.”

“In a way, it’s an illusion.” Yixing said as he and Bingbing danced. They could still hear the music from the party, moving their bodies to the beat of the slow song.

“What happen after Zitao talked to you?”

“I got those two to clear it up for Zitao, otherwise he’d beat Yifan to death.”

“Beat him to death?” Yixing questioned. “You don’t mean like…murder him?”

“Zitao practiced wushu since he was young. Before he hurt Yifan, I pointed out to him that his father told him to only use it for self-defense not to hurt people.”

“That got him to stop?”

“Zitao always looked up to me as an older sister. You could say that I have a way with getting him to listen to me,” Bingbing said with a smile on her face. “I even told him that I’d move my engagement party date early to stop his uneasiness.”

“So, your plan worked since we’re here right now, at your engagement party.”

“It’s actually not what I expected because…it happens to be on Jiaojing’s birthday.”

“I take it your parents are the reason?”

“Actually, Yifan suggested it. It’s funny I agreed with it because it will save time and money from having two different parties in the same month.”

Bingbing placed her head on Yixing’s left shoulder, letting out a sigh.

“I wonder if that was the reason Yifan seemed mad at me? He didn’t talk to me until this party started, I didn’t text him or tried to phone him because I thought he needed time. Maybe…he didn’t want us to be this close to getting married.”

Yixing stayed quiet, allowing Bingbing to finish her story.

“I know some men like to have a little freedom before they are committed to marriage. I guess by rushing the date of my engagement, I made Yifan felt like he doesn’t have long to be as free as he wanted to be,” Bingbing’s voice was almost like a whisper as she continued. “Maybe he prefers being with Jiaojing because she understands him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even though I’m their eldest child, my parents raised Jiaojing with the intention of having her take over their business. In a way, Jiaojing doesn’t have any freedom due to their expectations so I can see why Yifan is close to her.”

Bingbing closed her eyes, burrowing her head in Yixing’s shoulder. If they had paid attention to their surroundings, they would have noticed a figure watching them, from inside the house. It looks to be a male in black clothing, not dressed like a thief but dressed like a businessman or a dangerous person. It depends on how one sees it; some gang leaders even look professional in their suits. The person left just as Bingbing open her eyes and she and Yixing continued their little dance.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m hurting you,” Yixing said unsurely. “But you’ve heard the rumors about Yifan having a mistress?”

Bingbing frowned, her head still on Yixing’s shoulder. “Yes, I’ve hear about them. I take it you’re curious of my opinion on the matter?”

“Yes.” Yixing said as he nodded his head.

“I felt angry when I first heard about it which I’m sure happens to every woman. Since it was a rumor, I’ve thought of letting Yifan explain himself before I start questioning him about it. Even when he told me it’s just a rumor, I saw how he looked as he talked about “his rumored mistress”, he must have loved her very much to hide her from the public. I never asked to get married so I felt like I was the bad guy who forced him to pick me over his lover.”

When Yixing heard Bingbing let out a sniffle, he thought he made her cried and tried to pull away from their embrace. But Bingbing tighten her grip on him, almost as if she didn’t want Yixing to see her cry.

“I told him that if he’s in love with someone else then I’d…” Bingbing seems to have choked up a bit on her words. “I’d be okay with divorcing him just as long as he tries to make our marriage work for a year or two.”

“You’re alright with divorcing him?” Yixing asked. “Won’t your parents get mad at you for that?”

“I’m prepared for that, if my parents find out, he’d be the one to explain it to them. I would tell them myself but I know they wouldn’t listen to my side of the story. If Jiaojing was in that position, they’d listened to her immediately. You can see why there are rumors about me being adopted.”

“You believe those rumors?”

“Part of me believes it while another part of me doesn’t believe it. I mean despite the rumors, there are people who said that Jiaojing and I could pass off as twins born apart because of our similar looking face.”

Yixing realized how true that was because he remembers thinking something similar when he first got introduced to the girls. Sometimes parents do name their twins with a similar sounding name, like “Mina” or Gina”. He can see why Bingbing and Jiaojing were mistaken as twins due to how their name sounds. Bingbing’s name mean “luminous ice” while Jiaojing’s name mean “beautiful looking crystal”. The meaning of their names almost corresponds to their personalities.

Bingbing is known for having a personality people described as “Kuudere”, meaning she can be cold yet warm. It looks like Sehun and her can relate to each other, since both seem to have a face people view as cold. While for Jiaojing, she is like a spoiled princess except she is kind unlike the haughty type of spoiled princesses. Although the only problem with that is how her kindness seems to be reserved for people of her standards, she didn’t help Bingbing about the Xiao Ai problem but helped her friend over her sister. Yixing wonders what is it about Bingbing that Jiaojing doesn’t like yet Bingbing treats her the way sisters should treat each other.

A light bulb popped into Yixing’s mind, he decided to try to cheer up Bingbing with his question, “If you do go through your marriage and divorce Yifan, would you consider dating Chanyeol? I happen to know he has a very big crush on you.”

Bingbing let out a laugh as she and Yixing stopped their dancing. Yixing chuckled a bit hearing Bingbing laughing.

“Chanyeol is a sweetheart but I don’t want to break his heart if I reject him.”

“He had a crush on you ever since you complimented on his ears, most people talk about how big his ears are. You’re the first one to say something different to him about it.”

“Maybe,” Bingbing said as she thought of Yixing’s suggestion. “Maybe I could give him a chance even though he’s at least a year younger than me.”

“You like older men?”

“In a way, depending on their personality. But I don’t like them to be too old like having grey hairs. Maybe a certain older kind of like Luhan.”

“So, you mean…the flower boy type?”

Bingbing blushed and hide her face, “Their looks aren’t the only thing I’m looking for. I did mention their personality is a must for my standards.”

“Did you know Chanyeol used to dye his hair gray?”

“Are you playing matchmaker with me here?” Bingbing asked. “I’m not married yet but you’re already picking a suitor for me.”

“Think of it as a suggestion for the future besides Baekhyun told me that Chanyeol claimed that he will be happy if you’re happy.”

Bingbing looked surprised by what Yixing told her, “I don’t really deserve to be the object of his affections.”

“Just so you know, he doesn’t like Yifan, he feels that you’re too good for Yifan.”

“Then that makes it harder for me because I have a feeling that I won’t be in a happy marriage with Yifan.”

“What do you mean?”

“This morning while I was picking out a dress, the cup I was drinking out of had a crack.”

“A crack?”

“It was a cup Hana made for me as a birthday present, she told me that since it broke it could be a bad omen or the cup was like that when she made it for me. The funny thing is I believe it’s an omen because the cup never had that crack when I used it.”

A moment of silence passed between the two. Yixing looked at his watch for the time and surprisingly it was close to 12:00 pm.

“Were we here for that long? It’s almost 12.”

“Should we go back to the party then?”

Bingbing and Yixing head for the stairs to go down until something stop them in their tracks.

“AAAAHHHHHHHH!”

They stopped and turned to rush into the direction they heard the scream. It was in front of Bingbing’s room and Jiaojing was on the ground in a frightened state.

“Jiaojing,” Bingbing asked as she try to comfort her. “What’s wrong?”

“D-D-Dead…” stuttered Jiaojing. “Th-Th-Th-There’s a d-d-d-dead body in your room.”

Yixing opened the door to the room and saw what appears to be Hana lying on Bingbing’s bed and a trophy lying next to the body. The trophy had some blood on it, meaning this is the murder weapon used to kill Hana.

“What’s going on here?!” Yifan asked. “We heard a scream.”

A group of people consisting of Yifan, Luhan, Sehun, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun along with Mr. Lan and some party guests went to check up on the noise.

“Luhan,” Yixing said as he pointed to the body. “There seems to be a murder.”