Chapter 46: Chapter 47: Cinderella Turns Back to Her Original Self after Midnight
Translator: 549690339
Gong Xue’er seemed to be lost in the past, she said, “When we graduated from middle school, Lu Haotian specially organized a graduation dance. You invited me to come, but I said I didn’t have a dress or high heels. So, you led me into your dressing room to choose freely. You helped me pick out a white dress and a pair of pink crystal high heels. When I put them on, for a moment, I felt like I was just like you, a little princess living in a castle. That day, I was so happy to go to your graduation dance.”
Xia Yangyang remembered, but Xia Yangyang also remembered that Gong Xue’er did not show up that day.
Xia Yangyang said, “That day, you told me you were feeling unwell and didn’t attend.”
Gong Xue’er said, “I was so happy and excited that day, I came early. At that time, there were no other people at the party venue, only Lu Haotian was setting up. Though I had seen him many times over those three years, it was the first time I saw him up close. He was in a suit and looked just like a prince on a white horse in a fairy tale…”
Xia Yangyang said, “So that’s why you fell in love with him at first sight and betrayed our friendship. You used me to get close to him, didn’t you?”
Gong Xue’er laughed, “Do you know what the first thing Lu Haotian said to me was?”
Xia Yangyang remained silent.
Gong Xue’er said, “When he saw me, he came towards me. I remember my heartbeat and anticipation at that time. I knew he was your boyfriend and I had no ulterior motives. I thought, I’m your best friend, at least I can consider myself his friend, right? But when he came to me, he frowned, looked me up and down, and asked, ‘Why are you wearing Yangyang’s clothes and shoes?”‘
At that time, Gong Xue’er was a little embarrassed and blushed, “Yangyang lent them to me.”
Without hesitation, Lu Haotian said, “Are you a beggar? Don’t you have your own clothes to wear? These shoes are a graduation gift that I worked two months to buy for Yangyang. Do you think you’re worthy of wearing them?” Gong Xue’er still remembers that enormous feeling of humiliation.
Gong Xue’er said, “Xia Yangyang, do you know how that feels? It’s like turning back into an ugly toad after Cinderella’s magic wears off at midnight. At that moment, I knew that you and I lived in different worlds. You lived in the clouds, while I was in the mud and swamp. Even if you occasionally reached out to me, it only made me see my shortcomings even more clearly. It was then that I swore that one day, I would climb to the top of those clouds. And I did.”
There seemed to be a sense of triumph in Gong Xue’er’s eyes, “Can you imagine how I felt when Lu Haotian, the man who once looked down on me, was lying beside me, sweating heavily? It was a great satisfaction. I felt that all the humiliations of the past were compensated for. I was even the first woman to… have him!”
Xia Yangyang said, “Stop, I don’t know what Haotian said to you back then, but even so, this is no excuse for you to become what you are now. You care too much about what others think, and are too afraid of being looked down upon. But regardless of poverty, the freedom of the soul is more important than others’ judgments and views.”
“Xia Yangyang, you say it so simply because you’ve always had a privileged lifestyle and have never experienced hardship.. Do you know what it’s like when the teacher visits your home every day because you can’t pay the school fees? Have you spent days wearing clothes with patches while all your classmates were dazzling, discussing their limited-edition sports shoes? Have you experienced a whole semester of having just plain water and a steamed bun for lunch? You’ve never been through this, so you don’t have the right to judge me!”