Lin Xue, contemplating the situation, snatched the note from her grasp, advising, "You don't need to read it."
However, Fu Yuxin's eyes, filled with despair, pleaded, "Let me, please..."
Reluctantly, Lin Xue handed her the piece of paper. Fu Yuxin caught it with trembling hands, and as she read its contents, her face turned ghostly pale.
In a surge of anger and disbelief, she picked up the package and hurled it at the wall.
*Bam!*
Fu Yuxin's face contorted with a mix of disbelief and fury, struggling to comprehend the heartlessness that had been laid out before her.
Lin Xue sighed and shook her head, already knowing the gravity of the situation.
She had warned against reading the note.
The contents were callous and beyond what anyone should endure. It simply read, 'You can keep the necklace as well, complete set is yours now; consider it as payment for the Night.'
The cruelty of those words and the audacity to deliver them after such a heinous act left Lin Xue unable to fathom how a child of 12 years old could possess such sinister mind.
The weight of the horror they both had experienced settled heavily in the room, leaving them grappling with the aftermath of an unspeakable violation.
________
"Just to remind you, You shouldn't need to think about pursuing this matter; it would only make things worse for you, since you walked in at your own discretion here, and the cameras might have a recording of you walking inside as well..."
"Even if you try anything against him, he would be protected by law due to his ag—"
Fu Yuxin whispered in defeat, "I know..." Her voice trailed off, the weight of injustice settling on her shoulders, suffocating her.
She mustered the strength to stagger towards the waiting taxi that had been arranged for her.
The world seemed a hazy blur, her thoughts consumed by the brutality of reality.
Lin Xue sighed, torn between wanting to protect Fu Yuxin and the precariousness of her own circumstances.
She only wished for Fu Yuxin to avoid involving law enforcement agencies, understanding the potential repercussions not just for Wang Xiao but for the entire velvet shadows.
In the cold eyes of the CCTV footage, it was irrefutably recorded that Fu Yuxin had arrived with Wang Xiao, and she had even received payment afterward.
Fu Yuxin would face a daunting challenge trying to prove that she was drugged and violated, especially when she remained unaware of the drugs in her drink, attributing her condition to a falsely assumed low alcohol tolerance that Wang Xiao had taken advantage of carelessness.
The truth was an elusive shadow, slipping further away as the minutes ticked by.
________
Upon her return home, Fu Yuxin faced a gauntlet of suspicious stares from her mother, Mei Lian, who intercepted her on the staircase.
"Yuxin, where were you the entire night? I called Ni Jing's home, and you were clearly not there!" Mei Lian's voice carried a mix of concern and frustration.
A shadow crossed Fu Yuxin's face, casting a somber tone over her reply, "I was outside," she uttered, her words tinged with weariness, and she ascended the stairs with a heavy heart.
"Huh?" Mei Lian stood there momentarily stunned, trying to process her daughter's unusually indifferent response.
However, keen eyes caught the irregularity in Fu Yuxin's gait, and a sudden realization dawned upon her.
She shook her head in disbelief and helplessness, grappling with the changing dynamics and behaviors of the younger generation.
In her own youth, the mere thought of revealing her naked body to any man before marrying Fu Yuxin's father would have been inconceivable.
The rapid shifts in societal norms bewildered her, leaving her adrift in a sea of evolving values.
Unbeknownst to Mei Lian, a vast chasm of misunderstanding separated her perception from her daughter's reality.
Inside her room, Fu Yuxin let the façade crumble, the weight of the night's horrors crashing down upon her. She slumped against the door, her sobs echoing the torment she had endured.
The darkness of that night seemed to seep into her very soul, leaving her shattered and adrift in a world that felt callous and unforgiving.
______
As time trickled by since Fu Yuxin's departure, Lin Xue found it increasingly challenging to focus on the mundane tasks that usually demanded her attention.
Seated at her desk, she massaged her temples, her thoughts ensnared by the haunting echoes of the night's events.
Ordinarily aloof to the daily operations of the establishment, Fu Yuxin's harrowing experience had stirred a restlessness within Lin Xue, as if rubbing salt against her own wounds.
With a heavy sigh, she made the decision to step away from her desk, seeking solace in trying to calm her troubled mind.
But just as she rose, preparing to make her escape from the confines of her office, Chen Meili burst into her quarters with a sense of urgency.
The abrupt entrance jolted Lin Xue, and her earlier frustrations found an immediate target as she furrowed her brow and scolded, "How many times must I remind you to knock before entering?"
Chen Meili, however, seemed agitated and alarmed. She blurted out in a rush, "It's Wang Xiao, Madam! You need to come with me right now!" Her words hung in the air for a fleeting moment before she turned and hurried back out, leaving Lin Xue perplexed.
"??"
With a resigned sigh, Lin Xue shook her head, muttering, "Again?" She pondered what new calamity the infamous Wang Xiao had brought upon them this time.
Her thoughts drifted to the young troublemaker, and a mixture of exasperation and concern creased her features. "What a troublesome kid..."
Lin Xue seldom ventured beyond her room's threshold, except for matters of great importance.
Whatever had transpired must have been quite significant to prompt Chen Meili to personally summon her.
The urgency of the situation weighed on her as she reluctantly readied herself to leave her quarters, bracing for the challenge that awaited her beyond those walls.