Revenge Sevenfold

Hui Yin ended up with the room being closest to 'Chen Lin', so the two of them chatted with each other after they finished decorating their rooms.

Hui Yin was surprised when she saw that Yu Qiang's room was adorned with one dominant theme: roses.

Her bedsheets and pillows were embroidered with roses, her desk had a vase of roses, and Yu Qiang even had a wreath of roses hung up on her bedroom wall. Hui Yin chuckled when she realized that her shoes also had a rose glued on each of their toe caps.

"Is this because of your name?" she asked, since 'Qiang' meant 'rose'.

Yu Qiang laughed, waving her arm in embarrassment.

"No, that's a coincidence. I just love the look of roses, and their scent. I used to plant them everywhere at home. Do you want to have a potpourri? I have dozens of rose petal sachets with me."

Hui Yin didn't stand on ceremony and accepted one from her with a sincere 'thank you'. She was glad that Yu Qiang was easy to be with. As much as she delighted in the fact that Guo Liqin was here for her to torment, 'Chen Lin' and 'Gao Mei' were best friends after all.

No matter how good their acting skills, if they weren't cordial to one another behind the scenes, then it could really affect their performance.

Hui Yin spotted an open notebook by her desk, and a cut out of what looked like a picture from a newspaper. She was stunned to see that it was the couple photo of her and Lu Shen.

"This..."

Yu Qiang blushed, hastily closing the notebook. Her cute face was beet red, the same color as the red roses that filled every inch of her room.

"D—Don't misunderstand!" she stammered, flapping her hands at Hui Yin. "I was just interested in the 'Black Rose' dress that CEO Lu's fiancée was wearing. I don't...I don't have a crush on him or anything like that."

Hui Yin giggled, thinking that Yu Qiang's personality was as far from 'Chen Lin' as it could be. Well, she herself was not a timid 'Gao Mei' anyway. It made her feel pleased that the two of them were so alike.

And as for Yu Qiang's little crush towards Lu Shen? She felt that it was none of her business. Hui Yin knew the lethal effect of Lu Shen's looks on girls, and their screams of adulation was practically the background music of his day-to-day life.

"'Black Rose' dress?" she asked. "Is that the name of the dress his fiancée was wearing?"

Hui Yin couldn't say 'ex-fiancée' because as for now, the fact that the engagement was broken had not yet been publicized.

Yu Qiang nodded vigorously. "I saw it being broadcasted at a runway show on TV. Did you know that it was so expensive they didn't even name a price? I don't know who CEO Lu's fiancée is, but I'm betting she can't be that rich. It's obvious that 'Black Rose' was given to her by CEO Lu!"

You're right, Hui Yin thought, rubbing her nose. His fiancée wasn't rich. In fact, she's terribly poor. She's standing right in front of you wearing a pair of fifty percent discount jeans.

"What does it matter if that dress was given to her by CEO Lu?"

"Don't..." Yu Qiang looked confused. "Don't you find it romantic?"

"What's so romantic about it?"

If Lu Shen had given her some pension, then Hui Yin would have found it romantic. It could feed her stomach long after they stopped seeing each other. That black dress, on the other hand, wasn't worth squat. Hui Yin returned it back to the closet in the villa, together with the other untouched clothes Lu Shen had given her.

Yu Qiang frowned, looking at Hui Yin with disapproval.

"Don't you know what black roses symbolize in romance?"

Hui Yin thought for a moment. "Death?"

Surprised, Yu Qiang laughed.

"Well, I guess the black color does remind you a little bit of death. They say black roses signify hatred, or the ending of a relationship, but that's not what the designer had in mind when he introduced 'Black Rose' on the runway. He said that it had another meaning in romance, one that was not as well-known."

Yu Qiang grinned impishly at Hui Yin.

"He said his 'Black Rose' means obsession!"

Hui Yin choked.

And you call that 'romantic'?!