Chapter one
Inside a small room which pieces of clothing littered the floor all the way from the entrance to where the window was, Xu Mei sat at the edge of the bed, her jaw working tirelessly as she gulped down the junk.
"Uh oh, why am I feeling like this?" The woman mumbled between mouthful. The cream from the doughnut staining the corners of her mouth as she munched on the last bite of the glazed doughnut.
Her small eyes that had more flesh covering them, rolled slightly as she felt a sharp bite in her protruding stomach.
She winced in pain yet she swallowed the last bite in her mouth.
Even though Xu Mei was sad and heartbroken, she could never say no to junks. She knew that was why she kept adding up, looking twice her age, like a 80-year-old, but those were cheaper and easier to find than real food.
And she had become addicted because she needed to save... To save a fortune and find love!
That had turned out to be an epic failure of all time when the supposed boyfriend she had managed to find after living alone for 38 years, swindled her of all she had saved and went off the grid.
"Mei Mei, I hope you won't cry or wallow in thoughts anymore now that you have gotten some sugar in your system?" Wang Meiling asked, her whole teeth outside in a somewhat crooked smile.
She had just got out of the bathroom where she had excused herself to, after consoling Xu Mei and offering her the doughnut she had brought along as she came visiting.
"No... Actually, I feel weird... Ha!" Xu Mei was saying but the sharp bite came again in her stomach and she doubled over on the flat mattress, thrown on the hard, cold floor without a bedspread.
Of course, anybody would expect Wang Meiling to rush to her friend's aid and try to find out what was happening; well instead of panicking, a satisfied smile crept on Meiling's face.
Her black high heels crushing a piece of clothes on the floor as she walked slowly towards where Xu Mei was.
"Meiling, I think my stomach is..." Xu Mei was saying but stopped mid sentence as she raised up her head slowly and saw her friend's expression.
"Is that a smile I'm seeing? No, my eyes must be playing tricks on me..." She shook her head even though that seemed to add to the pain she was feeling in her stomach.
"Why... You..." She stuttered, as the pain doubled and her eyes blinked repeatedly.
Wang Meiling heaved a sigh, shaking her head then went to bend down in front of the other woman so they could be at eye level.
"Don't fight... It's the poison doing its job. Allow it to ease your sorrows." She said and Xu Mei's scanty eyebrows shot up in shock and confusion.
"Po... Poison? What?"
A sharp laugh rumbled out of Wang Meiling's chest, loud enough to make Xu Mei's ears ring.
"Yes. I believe it's time you say goodbye to this miserable life of yours... And I know you will agree with me. I mean, what are you living for, anyway? Nothing." Wang Meiling said casually as if she was talking about the fine weather.
Xu Mei's eyes squinted and her chest heaved up and down.
"What... What are you..." She tried to talk despite the biting in her stomach and Wang Meiling cut her off.
"What am I saying, right? Okay, you just took poison from the doughnut I gave you." She revealed, her voice still casual and the crooked smile appeared again on her face.
Xu Mei's lips parted in shock and her head shook in disbelief. She tried to stand up from the bed but Wang Meiling shoved her back.
"I would advise you to not fight this. Lay there and die in peace. Go and get the peace you desire because you won't get that in this life. Nobody will love you!" She snapped at her, her expression morphing into anger as she dropped the crooked smile.
"No... No..." Xu Mei shook her head, still in denial that this was actually happening. This was her best friend for two solid years.
The first person that had shown her love, kindness and compassion. What changed?
As if she knew just exactly what was racing through her mind, Wang Meiling spoke up;
"Nothing changed, you naive ugly thing! You think I actually truly loved you? You? Ewww..." Wang Meiling scrunched up her nose in disgust, dramatically.
Xu Mei's lips quivered as her chest tightened; an instinctive reaction whenever she was getting bullied, bodyshamed and mocked. She should have been used to it by now given that she had been bullied all her life but yet...
It hit harder now that it was coming from someone she had seen as her only friend in the entire world.
"I was never your friend! I got closer to you because you're clearly naive and would be an easy prey..." Wang Meiling said.
Tears stung Xu Mei's eyes but they felt somewhat trapped inside, not falling.
"Easy prey?" She managed to repeat without stuttering but what followed those two words was blood.
A lot of it, spilling from Xu Mei's mouth, splattering onto the mattress. The poison was damaging her lungs already. She gripped the edge of the mattress as the pain intensified.
Wang Meiling stood up, her hands akimbo as she continued, not caring one bit about how she was groaning in pain.
"Yes, easy prey to swindle. After all, you had all that money stacked away, while depriving yourself of even the basic things all because you wanted to find love and not die as 'a lonely 100-year-old virgin!'" Wang Meiling shrugged nonchalantly then burst into laughter at the last part. Those were exactly Xu Mei's words when she was confiding in Meiling that day.
That day she had disclosed the fortune she had managed to save up after juggling different part-time jobs since she was 15.
Xu Mei's eyes widened as a realization hit her. Wang Meiling laughed harder, her hand hitting her left thigh in pure amusement, as she saw the knowing, appalled look in her eyes.
"You're so pathetic, Xu Mei! So, you thought a man like Chen Haoran would want you as a lover? Which man would want your smelly, obese body?"
At that point, whatever spell keeping the tears in her eyes from falling, broke and salty liquid relentlessly flowed down her cheeks, her parted lips welcoming some of them in.
"Well, you should be grateful, that even though it was a ruse, you still got to experience what it felt like to be wanted, for two years. It's just a pity that you still didn't get laid after all."
"I pleaded with Chen Haoran to do it but he said he couldn't stand you." Wang Meiling added, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"Just what have I done to deserve this?" Xu Mei's tears kept falling as she wondered inwardly. She was too tired to speak out.
Wang Meiling grabbed her bag from the other edge of the mattress.
"Enough talk. Let me leave you to rest in peace." She said and waved her hand at her cheerfully.
"Please... H... Help..." Xu Mei tried to beg for help but Wang Meiling was already walking to the door.
"I can't die like this. I can't..." Xu Mei thought and began to crawl towards the door, believing she could still get help after Wang Meiling would have gone. But before she could reach the door, Wang Meiling had walked out, slammed the door shut and locked it from outside.
Xu Mei gave up when she heard the lock clicking in place.
"I guess this is truly the end for me..." She sobbed as she coughed out more blood.
"If only I could be reborn, I will..." She couldn't complete her thought when her eyes closed slowly, her life slipping away swiftly.
Xu Mei was gone!