After the Feast

The celebration gradually faded into quiet conversations and departing footsteps. Guests began leaving one by one, their laughter dissolving into the evening air.

Later, Li brought Kuo upstairs to her room.

The corridor was softly lit by warm golden lamps. Their footsteps echoed gently against the marble floor. Li walked slightly ahead, her pink dress flowing elegantly behind her. She seemed lighter now, pleased that the feast had gone smoothly after the earlier disturbance.

As they passed by the opposite room, Kuo slowed his steps.

From behind the closed wooden door, a faint sound reached his ears.

Soft crying.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic.

It was the kind of crying someone tried very hard to suppress.

Kuo’s gaze lingered on the door for a brief moment.

Li noticed.

“That’s Yue’s room,” she said lightly, almost casually. “She’s probably crying.”

There was no cruelty in her voice — but there wasn’t sympathy either.

Kuo’s expression remained calm.

“This morning she raised her hand against your grandmother’s maid,” he replied evenly. “Now your grandmother slapped her. Actions have consequences.”

His tone was rational. Detached.

But his eyes remained on the door a second longer than necessary.

Inside the room, Yue sat on the floor beside her bed, her back leaning against the wall. Her fingers clutched the hem of her dress tightly.

She had tried to stop crying.

She really had.

But humiliation does not disappear just because someone wishes it away.

The image replayed in her mind—the sound of the slap, the silent stares, Li stepping forward gently like a heroine.

Her cheek still burned faintly.

Her chest felt heavier than before.

Outside, footsteps shifted again.

Kuo’s phone rang, breaking the moment.

He answered briefly, his voice low and composed.

“I need to leave now,” he said after ending the call. “I have an early meeting tomorrow.”

Li’s smile faltered slightly. “So soon?”

“I’ll visit properly next time,” he replied.

There was politeness in his tone. Nothing more.

Li nodded, masking her disappointment. “Alright… see you.”

She walked him downstairs. The sound of the main door closing echoed faintly through the hallway.

Silence returned.

Moments later, the head maid approached Li respectfully.

“Miss Li, Grandmother wants to speak with you alone.”

Li’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

A small spark of anticipation flickered in Li’s chest.

Perhaps it was about praise for organizing the feast.

Perhaps it was about something more important.

Inheritance. Responsibility. Or…

Marriage.

Meanwhile, Yue had quietly opened her door just a little.

She stood hidden behind it, unnoticed in the shadows of the corridor.

She heard every word.

“Grandmother wants to speak with you alone.”

Yue’s fingers tightened against the doorframe.

I think Grandma is planning something, she thought.

Her mind raced quickly.

Maybe she wants to give Li something valuable…

Maybe she’s discussing her future…

Maybe it’s about marriage arrangements with Kuo.

The thought struck her harder than the slap earlier.

Yue slowly closed her eyes.

For years, she had tried to gain her grandmother’s approval.

For years, she had been compared to Li.

And tonight—

She had been humiliated in front of everyone.

Her tears stopped falling.

The weakness faded.

Something inside her shifted.

Not anger.

Not jealousy.

But clarity.

If she continued acting impulsively, she would always lose.

If she continued chasing what Li had, she would always stand behind her.

Yue wiped her cheeks with steady hands.

Her reflection in the mirror looked different now.

Not fragile.

Not wounded.

But awakened.

She clenched her fists slowly.

The tears in her eyes had turned into something sharper.

Something stronger.

Not sadness.

But determination.

And for the first time that night—

Yue did not feel like running away.

She felt like preparing.

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