Inside the parked car at the spa's parking lot, Gao Q'ling sat motionless, her mind blank. The world around her had blurred into absolutely nothing. Her thoughts were trapped in the horrifying scene she had witnessed earlier.
The screeching tires, his laughter, the deafening crash, the blood… It replayed in her mind like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.
But it was short-lived because the knock on the car window jolted her back to reality.
A sharp tap-tap-tap against the window.
"Q'ling! What are you doing, spacing out like an idiot? Get out!" Shin Li's cold voice pierced through the glass, her perfectly manicured nails tapping impatiently.
Blinking, Q'ling looked around. They were already at the mall? How long had she been sitting here, lost in her own head?
Her eyes drifted to Shin Li who rolled her eyes and yanked the car door open. "Move it! I don't have all day to waste on you."
Swallowing hard, Q'ling forced herself to step out, her legs unsteady. The bright lights of the shopping mall felt too harsh, the chatter of people too loud. She was still suffering from the shock from earlier.
Why was she affected when she didn't even know who that person was?
Shin Li on the other hand, didn't care... She was already marching ahead, her designer heels clicking against the polished floor.
"Hurry up, I don't have all day to waste!"
The moment they stepped into Eternal Radiance, Shin Li's favorite high-end boutique, the sales associates bowed slightly, their smiles practiced and polite.
"Miss Shin! Welcome back," one greeted warmly with a polite chuckle, adjusting her smile when her eyes trailed to the physique behind the glamorous Shin Li.
Q'ling who was looking so out of place, wasn't appalled by anything... She wasn't in her right mind first of all to pay attention to their attitude.
Shin Li hadn't even responded to their greetings when a voice called out from behind them.
"Shin Li? Is that you?"
A woman in a sleek black dress approached, her lips curled into a smirk. She looked so prestigious and classy, flinging her long bouncy black hair behind her neck as she smiled warmly. Lao Lao – Shin Li's old friend from university.
They both embraced, exchanging air kisses.
"Oh my god, it's been ages!" Shin Li gushed, feigning fake sweetness.
Lao Lao's sharp eyes strolled toward Q'ling, her nose wrinkling slightly as if she smelled something unpleasant. "Why did you bring her along?" she whispered, though loud enough for Q'ling to hear. "Is she still playing the role of your shopping maid?"
Shin Li grinned, glancing back at Q'ling with a mocking glint in her eyes. "Yeah, but she's been acting like a brainless zombie today. So disrespectful, hmph!"
Q'ling clenched her fists but said nothing. She was used to this and honestly, she didn't care. She only followed them closely, praying intently for this to be over.
She could already picture her bed, dreaming to lay her tired body on it when she remembered that it was soaked this morning by her heartless stepsister.
Hahh...
While Shin Li and Lao Lao browsed the latest collection, laughing and gossiping, Q'ling wandered idly, her mind drifting back to the accident briefly. The way the man had been thrown...
No. Stop thinking about it.
She exhaled shakily, picking up a silk scarf just to keep her hands busy. She didn't notice the way Shin Li and Lao Lao kept glancing at her, whispering behind their hands.
Then, Shin Li called out, her voice sickly sweet.
"Q'ling! Stop daydreaming and come here."
Obediently, Q'ling approached like the naive girl she was and strolled towards Shin Li who shoved several shopping bags into her arms. "Carry these. We're done here."
They were all so heavy so she tried to adjust the weight of the bags. At that point in time she was so focused on not falling anything that she didn't feel the slender fingers slipping something cold and hard into the back pocket of her pants.
Shin Li slipped something into her pants oblivious to her.
While Q'ling backed them to steady her feet, she could only hear their giggles but as usual, paid no mind to it. After all, they were old friends catching up so they could mock her to their heart's content as they pleased.
They were finally going home anyways and this will all soon be over. She thought.
But just as they reached the door exit, the store alarm went off.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
It was the theft alarm. The red lights began flashing vibrantly.
Before she could even blink, security guards rushed forward, blocking Q'ling's path with stern looks on their faces. She was so shocked as they closed in on her like a criminal.
What's going on?
"Miss, stop right there!"
Q'ling froze, confused. "Wh- what's going on?" She muttered, shocked.
Within seconds, mall security surrounded her cautiously.
"Ma'am, raise your hands. We need to search you."
Q'ling stood terrified. "What? Why?"
Shin Li and Lao Lao stood to the side, their hands covering their mouths in feigned shock.
"Oh my god…" Lao Lao gasped. "Did she… steal something?" She asked but they ignored her completely, focusing on Q'ling.
"Raise your hands. Now!"
Q'ling gasped from the aggressiveness from their voices. Her heart pounded as she raised her hands and as rough hands patted her down.
She held her breath, allowing them to search when the man put his hands in her pocket, he yanked out something.
"Ah! Found it." He announced, pulling out a dazzling diamond bracelet, its gems glittering under the boutique lights.
Gasps erupted from the crowd who had gathered due to the loud alarm.
"Ma'am, you stole from this shop." The security man's voice was strict.
Q'ling's blood ran cold, her eyes opening wide from fear. "Wh-what? No!"
With a gasp, Shin Li clutched her chest dramatically. "Oh my god!" Covering her mouth with both palms.
"Q'ling, how could you?"
Lao Lao feigned shock. "I knew she looked shady!" Looking at Q'ling with pure disgust.
Q'ling's face paled.
What is this? What's going on here?
"No... I didn't... I-I". She stuttered.
But before she could even defend herself, the five fingers of Shin Li's palm greeted her face.
WHACK!
The sharp sound of the slap echoed through out the entire room.
"You shameless thief!" Shin Li yelled, her eyes blazing with false fury. "After everything I've done for you! You've brought shame on our family?"
The crowd murmured, phones raised, recording every second.
Q'ling's vision blurred from the sting of the slap, from the betrayal, from the injustice. She couldn't even explain herself because the moment she opened her mouth to speak, all the words in her head vanished.
The look in the eyes of everyone was clear evidence that no one was going to believe anything she was going to say. They all stared at her with judgement in their eyes as though she was guilty.
She stood still, unable to move as warm tears rolled down her cheks.
She had been called so many things in this life from bastard to slave to disgusting... but never had she been called a thief or accused of theft.
Conspired against and accused not just by anyone, but by her own family. Her own step sister. In front of the world. In front of strangers.
She trembled from the anxiety.
But worst of all?
The triumphant smirk on Shin Li's face as security dragged Q'ling away had her weak in the knees.
Q'ling's cheek burned as warm tears kept spilling from her eyes.
It wasn't from the pain, but from the realization that this was a setup.
Shin Li set her up.