45 Dont Tell Ren Shirong (1/2)

Apartment 5

Li Xiuying assessed all the ingredients that she had displayed on top of the kitchen counter. She glanced at the kitchen clock; 12:30 pm.

Li Xiuying had her menu all planned out; she planned to cook stirred fried spicy beef noodles, shrimp wantons, Kung pao chicken, eggplant in garlic sauce and vegetable spring rolls. She was also going to make a light fresh salad, 2 dipping sauces and steamed rice.

Li Xiuying rolled up her sleeves and put on the apron she bought from the supermarket. It was a black and white stripped chef style apron. She felt very professional whilst wearing it.

Li Xiuying grouped the ingredients together according to the dishes they would go in to, she then started washing, crushing, chopping, slicing and dicing.

....

Ren Residence

Ren Daiyu was getting ready for her girls day with Li Xiuying. She wore an over-sized full sleeved nude cashmere jumper that came down to mid thigh, paired with long thick black thigh high socks. She looked at herself in the floor length mirror and was happy with her outfit choice.

This was the first time in a year that Ren Daiyu was socializing for personal reasons and she was both excited and nervous. This past year she only went to work functions or occasionally met up with some socialites to keep up to date with the latest gossip. Most of the girls in the upper circle were better than private investigators and news reporters combined at finding out information.

It was actually one of these very socialites she spoke to that had hinted at the the affair between her ex-best friend and her then boyfriend. At first Ren Daiyu didn't believe her words, but the seed of doubt had been planted and she ended up hired a private investigator to follow them for a month. The private investigator gave her two large packets of photos. Her ex-boyfriend and former best friend had been meeting up every day; whether day or night. She couldn't believe her eyes; there were pictures of them hugging, kissing, walking hand in hand there was even one that caught them going at in a ladies room at a restaurant.

Ren Daiyu push the unhappy memories to the back of her mind.

She put her hair back in a messy ponytail and sat down in front of her vanity mirror dressing table to apply her makeup.

There was a knock on her bedroom door.

Ren Daiyu answered whilst applying her foundation: ”Come in.”

The door was opened, revealing Ren Longwei who was still dressed in his pj's. He had messy bed head and was yawning.

Ren Longwei: ”I was coming to ask if you wanted to go out to grab some lunch. But it looks like you already have plans. Where are you going?”

Ren Daiyu: ”Over to a friend's house.”

Ren Longwei's face was a mask of calm but inside he was utterly surprised. This was the first time in a year that Ren Daiyu had mentioned the word ”friend.”

He thought to himself; maybe she's made up with her old friends.

Ren Longwei feigned nonchalance as he inquired further: ”Oh, who?”

Ren Daiyu: ”Dr. Li Xiuying.” She put down her mascara and started putting on a nude lipstick.

Ren Longwei's face now had shock written all over it: ”What Dr. Li?!”

Ren Daiyu ignored her cousin's surprise. She grabbed her small Black tasseled handbag that was on the side of her dressing table and took out her phone and checked the time; 1:20 pm. It would take approximately an hour for Ren Daiyu to get to Li Xiuying's apartment from here. She still had 40 minutes to kill.

She put her phone back in her bag, she also put in her lipstick, mascara and a small container of foundation. She rose from her chair and went to pick up the two shopping bags beside her chest of draws.

Ren Daiyu laid out the contents of the bags on her bed and started checking the contents of the bags for the umpteenth time. Yesterday she was so excited when she received Li Xiuying's text that she immediately drove to the nearest convenience store to pick up as many snacks and treats as she could get her hands on her.

The bags contained popcorn (sweet, salty and toffee), various types of chocolate, Wei long latiao spicy strips, WangZai QQ gummy in all the flavors she could find, snow cookies and she also bought some ice-cream.

Ren Longwei: ”Hey stop ignoring me, since when were you and Dr. Li so close, didn't you just meet her at lunch yesterday? When did you talk to her? Did she actually invite you? What are you planning to do?”