Bottled Up

After two years of dating, Jiang Zhaoxue gets dumped. Outside her ex-girlfriend’s wedding, a poised and elegant woman she has met a few times sits beside her and calmly asks, “Want to be with me?” Jiang Zhaoxue, eyes red, responds, “What?” The woman, with features as delicate as a painting, speaks each word with precision: “Don’t you want to prove yourself? I have money, looks, and status. I’d be a marriage partner many would envy.” Jiang Zhaoxue, bewildered, asks, “But what’s in it for you?” The woman, with a faint smile, wipes away her tears and says, “It’s just an act, don’t worry.” She speaks lightly, “I just need a marriage partner, and we can both get what we need.

Later, Jiang Zhaoxue suspects that her life is a web meticulously woven by Cen Lubai. But Cen Lubai says, “The thread to close the net is in your hands. You are free, and I am the one under your control.” She holds her hand, tempting her: “Possess me, or sink me to the bottom of the sea.”

‘Nothing ever happens by coincidence; it’s always been me, plotting and scheming.’