Morning slipped a blade of sunlight over the city, dressing the high-rises in bright clothes. In the park, birds chattered like silver bells, and runners flowed in like an easy tide.
In a shaded corner, a slender figure lay on a bench. The girl’s lashes trembled like moth wings, then her eyes eased open. She lifted a pale hand to block the stab of light. After a breath, she sat up straight and worked the stiffness from her sore frame.
Annoyance rose first, sharp as pepper. This body’s too delicate. Fine. I’ll train it when there’s time. Move. Work starts now.
Tang Coco tugged her clothes neat, wrapped herself tight against the morning air, and left the park in quiet strides.
At Jinxiu Garden Villas, Ye Yiyi had already finished her morning run and returned home. Her life ran on rails, like a metronome ticking. She was making breakfast when footsteps sounded from upstairs. Li Muyan came down in a light blue pajama set, rubbing the shadows beneath her eyes, and saw Ye Yiyi busy at the counter.
“Morning, Yiyi.”
“Morning. What’s wrong? You look sleep-starved.”
“My mom again. She drank last night, then called to chat. We talked past three. Honestly.”
Resignation tugged at Li Muyan’s mouth as she spoke.
“Ha. You two always make people jealous.”
The joke came easy, but the smile on Ye Yiyi’s face had a bitter edge, like tea steeped too long.
“All right, go wash up. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Got it. Heh, my Yiyi’s the best.”
Li Muyan skipped off to wash, light as a sparrow, while Ye Yiyi kept cooking, her mind drifting like a thin cloud.
At the table, the two sat shoulder to shoulder. Li Muyan ate while scrolling her phone, thumb flicking like a metronome.
“You, hurry and eat. We need to head out early. Uncle Wang called this morning. My dad has a business event at the same hotel as our reunion. I should go say hello.”
“Oh? What a coincidence. No wonder that hotel booked out three floors when we reserved. So Uncle Ye took them.”
Li Muyan set down her phone and demolished breakfast without a care, a whirlwind in human form. Ye Yiyi watched, speechless and a little amused.
Getting ready could be a maze for women, especially pretty ones heading to a banquet. An hour was nothing. Ye Yiyi was different; she didn’t like fuss. Li Muyan was the opposite. She swapped hairstyles like flipping pages and changed outfits one after another. Not only that, she dragged Ye Yiyi into the fun and dressed her up by force. Out-argued, Ye Yiyi yielded, calm as a swan on water while the current ran hard beneath.
Dressed and glowing, they headed out. Li Muyan wore a red short dress and red heels, a bright flame of a look. A lovely necklace lay on her snowy neck, adding a sultry gleam. Ye Yiyi took the other path—an elegant white knee-length dress, white heels, her glossy hair coiled at the nape. She gave off a clear, cool breath, like spring water. Together they were a flamboyant peony meeting a pure white lotus, contrast stamped into memory. They rode a silver Porsche toward the Dihao Hotel.
At the hotel entrance, a slim figure threaded through a forest of luxury cars and slipped to the back door. She went to the spot where she’d met the stewardess yesterday. The woman was waiting, sharp as a pin. She didn’t speak; she scribbled on a sheet, nodded to Tang Coco, and turned away. Temporary help, especially from the countryside, didn’t earn spare words.
Tang Coco took the hint. She didn’t greet, just moved to the supply room. She chose a roomy work jacket, grabbed a mop and several black trash bags, and headed for the service elevator. The woman watched her pass with a blank glance, then turned back to wait for other cleaners.
The elevator carried Tang Coco to the eleventh floor—the VIP guest rooms. Her first task was the corridor, then the rooms. The hallway stretched wide like a quiet river. She didn’t complain. She’d lived through missions in rougher worlds; this was a light drizzle, not a storm. She set to work.
Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan pulled up at the hotel. The moment they stepped out, they drew stares like iron to a magnet. Arm in arm, they floated into the lobby. The two guards who’d blocked Tang Coco yesterday stared, dazed as if under a spell, but the women ignored them and walked to the front desk.
A manager was briefing two servers. He spotted them and came over with a polished smile.
“Miss Ye, Miss Li, welcome. Miss Li, your venue is on the fifth floor, and your guest rooms are on the eleventh. Everything’s prepared.”
As a manager, he knew exactly who they were.
“Mm, got it. Yiyi, do we go to the room first or straight to the banquet?”
Ye Yiyi checked her watch. It was already eleven.
“Straight to the banquet. It’s almost time. Manager Li, my father also has an event here. Which floor is it on?”
“Of course. Chairman Ye is hosting on the eighth floor. You can join anytime.”
“All right. Muyan, you head to the class reunion on five. I’ll go see my father.”
“Okay. See you in a bit.”
They split, one to a single-deck elevator, one to a double-deck. Doors slid closed like calm lips.
On the eighth floor, the banquet was already humming. As expected of a business gathering, Ninghai City’s heavyweights clustered like constellations, laughing and trading bright words. Ye Yiyi quickly found her father and walked over. Ye Zhenghao was speaking with a few family heads. He spotted his daughter, excused himself with a nod, and came to her.
“Dad, I’m here.”
It was a simple greeting, no extra sugar. You couldn’t blame her. Her parents had been married to their work since she was small. A nanny or her grandmother had raised her. The grandmother died five years ago. Since then, she’d spoken little with her parents. In high school, she moved into a villa on her own, and these past years she’d lived with her best friend, Li Muyan.
“Mm. How’ve you been?”
Guilt softened Ye Zhenghao’s voice, like fog thinning in morning light.
“I’m fine. Muyan keeps me company.”
“That’s good. If anything comes up, tell me. I’ll help you.”
“Mm. I know.”
“Come home when you can. Your mother misses you.”
A small frown tightened Ye Yiyi’s brow, like a crease in silk.
“Does she? More likely she wants something. School starts soon, and time’s tight. We’ll see.”
He’d expected that answer. She wasn’t wrong. Last time her mother called her home, it was to introduce a young man—the son of a powerful chairman in Ninghai City. Her mother’s goal was smoother business, not her daughter’s feelings. So Ye Yiyi’s impression of her had soured into something hard.
“Anything else? If not, I’ll go. I’ve got a class reunion. Muyan’s waiting.”
“All right. Go ahead. We’ll meet when we can.”
He saw her displeasure and let it drop, like a stone into deep water.
“Mm. I’m going.”
She turned toward the elevator. He watched her back recede, sighed like wind through leaves, shook his head helplessly, and went back to the other guests.
