The streets were quieter than usual as Ruoxi made her way home from the small café where she worked part-time. She had turrned 19 today. Instead of joy she felt lost Her black apron clung to her slender frame, and her exhausted feet shuffled along the rain-slicked pavement. The dim glow of streetlights cast long shadows, their faint yellow light reflecting in the puddles at her feet.
It was almost midnight.
She had learned to appreciate the silence of the night, the brief moments where she could let her mind wander and forget about the noise and chaos of her daily life. The small, cramped apartment she shared with her adoptive family felt like a prison — a place she wanted to escape from, even if only for a few hours.
The scent of stale coffee lingered in her clothes, mingling with the faint trace of the cigarette smoke from the barista. Her fingers instinctively reached up to adjust the string of pearls around her neck — a rare gift from her mother before her passing. It was the only thing she had left of her, the only part of her past that wasn't tainted by the cruelty of her stepfamily.
Her steps slowed as she approached the building, the towering block of grey concrete looming in the distance. The light in her adoptive family's apartment was still on, a small flicker under the door as if her stepmother was waiting for her.
Ruoxi's heart sank.
She had never been welcomed by her stepmother, never been treated as one of the family. Her stepfather, a silent man who kept to the shadows, had no interest in her. And her stepsister, Lin Yue, the golden child of the family, had always been the center of attention. Ruoxi was invisible to them — just a tool, a means to an end, a cheap servant who was expected to serve without question.
The door creaked open as Ruoxi reached it, the stale air of the apartment rushing to greet her as she stepped inside. The faint smell of burnt food and sourness clung to the walls.
"Ruoxi, you're late again," her stepmother's voice snapped from the kitchen.
Ruoxi flinched but didn't respond. Her stepsister, Lin Yue, was sitting at the dining table, her face glowing with an almost smug expression as she scrolled through her phone, likely reading about her latest success. She had made it big recently, signing with a major record label, and now it seemed like everyone around her was clamoring to be a part of her rise to fame.
Ruoxi dropped her bag onto the floor and went to the kitchen, where her stepmother was preparing a pot of rice. Her hands moved mechanically, the dull ache in her wrists from a long day of work still lingering.
She didn't even want to look at the woman. She didn't have to. The years of mistreatment and the way her stepmother belittled her had made it clear that Ruoxi was nothing more than a servant in this house.
"You should've been home earlier," her stepmother muttered, not even bothering to glance at her. "You're good for nothing."
Ruoxi swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I'm sorry."
"I'm not talking to you." Her stepmother turned, her face twisting into an almost cruel smile. "Sit down, I have something to tell you."
Ruoxi's heart began to race. The air in the room seemed to grow thicker, her stepmother's tone chilling. Something was wrong.
She slowly made her way to the dining table and sat across from Lin Yue. Her stepsister's face was still buried in her phone, oblivious to the tension in the air.
Her stepmother slid a document across the table, the harsh scraping of the paper against the wood causing Ruoxi's skin to prickle.
"What's this?" Ruoxi asked, her voice small, barely a whisper.
Her stepmother smiled that same cruel smile, the one that made Ruoxi feel like she was nothing more than a pawn in their game. "It's a contract. You're going to be sold to The Red Lotus."
The words hit Ruoxi like a physical blow. She froze, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.
"Sold?" she repeated, her voice shaking. "What do you mean... sold?"
Her stepmother leaned forward, her lips curling with a cold, practiced smile. "It's for Lin Yue's future. She's going to be a star, Ruoxi. A big one. The Red Lotus can make her famous. But they need you."
Ruoxi's chest tightened, the blood rushing from her face. She felt lightheaded. "You're... you're selling me?"
Her stepmother's eyes narrowed as she watched Ruoxi's reaction. "It's your place to make sacrifices for the family, Ruoxi. You're nothing but a burden here anyway."
The words pierced her like knives, each syllable cutting deeper than the last. Her throat tightened, and she had to swallow hard to keep herself from crying. She looked across the table at Lin Yue, who still hadn't lifted her eyes from her phone.
"Yue, you knew about this, didn't you?" Ruoxi asked, her voice raw, desperate.
Lin Yue glanced up for the first time, a small, satisfied smile curling at her lips. "Of course I did. This is the best way for me to rise to the top. The Red Lotus is a great opportunity, and you're just a tool for that."
Ruoxi felt the world tilt around her. The words echoed in her mind, but they didn't make sense. This can't be happening.
Her stepmother continued. "They'll take you there tonight. You'll perform, and then... well, you'll belong to whoever pays the most."
Ruoxi's hands trembled as she reached for the contract. The paper felt cold, foreign, as though it didn't belong to her at all. Her fingers traced the name The Red Lotus at the top of the page, but she couldn't bring herself to read the details.
Her stepmother's voice cut through her thoughts again. "We'll get a huge sum of money, and Lin Yue's career will be set. You won't have to worry about anything anymore. You're just a... a stepping stone. A sacrifice."
Ruoxi couldn't breathe. Her world seemed to collapse around her, every piece of it shattering into sharp, jagged fragments.
Sold.
Her body felt numb, like she was watching herself from the outside. She had lived with rejection, with cruelty, with constant belittling, but this — this was different. This was betrayal on a level she couldn't even begin to fathom.
She was nothing more than a commodity, something to be traded for money and fame.
She tried to speak, to find words, but nothing came out. Her throat was dry, her stomach twisted in knots.
Her stepmother stood up, as if the conversation was over. "Get ready. The car will be here soon."
Ruoxi looked at her stepmother, her heart breaking in pieces. "Please, don't... please don't do this. I don't want to go."
Her stepmother's face twisted into something crueler. "You don't have a choice, Ruoxi. You never did."
Her stepfather entered the room, silent as always. He placed a small, black bag on the table.
"Take this with you. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."
Ruoxi stared at the bag in disbelief. It was packed with the few things she had ever owned — a change of clothes, toiletries, and the last remnants of the person she had been before they had turned her life into a nightmare.
She stood up slowly, her legs shaking. The tears that had threatened to spill for so long finally started to fall, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. She was numb, unable to process the weight of what was happening to her.
As she turned to leave, her stepmother's voice called after her. "Don't forget to smile, Ruoxi. They like women who know their place."
The words followed her like a shadow as she walked to the door.
Her steps were slow, almost mechanical.
She wasn't sure she would survive what was coming next.