Chapter 2: The Sudden Lipstick Mark
Five years later.
The Ethan Fine Dining Restaurant.
Qin Mo, dressed in a black uniform with a necktie around her collar, wore a polite smile that lifted the corners of her mouth, but her eyes betrayed not a hint of mirth.
The two people in front of her were the ones she despised to the death; over these five years, they never ceased to appear before her, adding to her troubles.
Clang.
"Here's the steak you ordered."
She placed a delicately garnished, medium-rare piece of beef before the young woman.
"What kind of attitude is that? Sister, even as a waitress, you need to act the part. Right, Brother Chun?"
Qin Xue was dressed in a pink haute couture dress, the diamond ring on her finger conspicuously large; they were set to be married next month...
"Qin Mo, you are, after all, the young lady of the Qin Family. Why degrade yourself with such menial work?" Ji Chun still masqueraded as a gentleman, clothed in branded attire, hair meticulously groomed, that handsome face full of pity.
If it hadn't been for Qin Mo carrying another man's child back then, she would still be quite a charming woman.
"That's my own business."
Five years ago, she became the infamous woman of Jiangcheng, with all financial support from the Qin Family severed. Qin ZhenGuo demanded she kneel and beg him before he would begrudgingly forgive her.
How could she possibly plead with that man!
She'd never wronged them, just had the misfortune of falling for a scumbag!
Qin Xue's gaze shifted slightly, and she stuck out her foot. Qin Mo stumbled, yanking the tablecloth, sending a red wine glass tumbling down, spilling wine all over her, staining her with red.
"Oh dear, I am so sorry."
Qin Mo apologized, yet her eyes held no remorse as she covered her laughing lips, "Sister, since you lost a kidney, you can't even walk steadily. You should really take care... Ah!"
A bottle of red wine poured down Qin Xue's head, Qin Mo's almond eyes cold as frost.
She would never forget that day, the pain these so-called relatives had inflicted on her.
"Ah... Ah, stop!"
Her carefully styled hair, her makeup...
"Qin Mo, have you lost your mind? She's your siste—"
Qin Mo suddenly turned, the hatred in her eyes halting Ji Chun mid-sentence.
Bang!
She slammed the wine bottle onto the ground, its shards flying and slicing Qin Xue's exposed calf, who screamed wildly, heedless of the setting.
"I went mad five years ago, don't provoke me!"
Her voice was cool, the red wine stains on her uniform not diminishing her poise in the least. Qin Mo turned and walked out; she needed to go to the restroom to wash off these stains.
"Brother Chun, look at my leg... it's bleeding..." Qin Xue whimpered, eyes brimming with malice, vowing to repay the humiliation she endured today.
Ji Chun appeared slightly impatient but still consoled her tenderly, though the image of Qin Mo from just moments ago stirred something within him.
Qin Mo indeed possessed the allure to drive men mad.
The restroom.
Five years, and she had been under the Qin Family's thumb the entire time, that old fox Qin ZhenGuo even recently trying to deliver her into another's bed, the very thought was ludicrous!
Qin Mo rubbed her itchy eyes; the eye sockets were still shallow, she vowed not to fall into the same trap again!
She abruptly turned, colliding into a warm embrace.
Her lips grazed a shirt, and a cool, woody scent filled her nostrils.
Standing upright, she tilted her head to meet a pair of long, cold eyes, inscrutable and deep. The face of the man before her was frigid, covered with a thin veil of frost. The man wore a white shirt, and his whole demeanor was arrogant and aloof.
There, on his shirt, was a stark lipstick mark.