Ruo Yu silently followed Xue Yan out. They were silent until they left the place, and then finally Xue Yan spoke. "I'll give you a simple task."
"How simple? I'd like some clarification." "I'd like you not to interrupt me while I'm talking." Ruo Yu rolled her eyes and looked away in annoyance. He didn't mind her interrupting him, but he liked that he had a little bit of control over her now, even though inside he was certain that it was impossible for him to possess or control her no matter how much he wanted. No matter how hard he tried.
Then he continued again, "You will be working in a place, you don't really have to work. But adapt. You will work for a temporary period that depends entirely on you. But if it is longer, you will die there. Because I don't need someone who spends a lifetime on a ridiculous task." He paused for a moment and then continued, "Your main objective will be surveillance. Watch every move and every action, try to reach the person in charge of that place, who appears to be the master, and who appears like a fox, hiding and messing around behind a false identity."
"And can I ask what this place is anyway?" Ruo asked. Not knowing if this counted as interruption, she hated the way he spoke. Full of mystery and strangeness, and carried a faint treachery.
Xue Yan stopped walking. The sky was in golden hour. The shops around them were lit up with colorful lights, which reflected on their faces. "Lotus Pavilion." He said. Ruo Yu stopped as well and looked at him. She seemed to understand everything and yet nothing. A multitude of strange emotions came over her. He said to her, "I know what you're thinking, and I understand that you finally understand why I chose you. You have previous experience, so I chose you for this task." She laughed briefly, sneering, "What previous experience?" He walked over to her and moved a strand of hair that was in her face. "Previous experience as an unhappy mermaid in a vast palace, or as a bird with its wings cut off." His eyes, which appeared cruel, blended with the colors of the street, making it seem as if all the stars in the world were shining within him. At that moment, his cruel eyes seemed like a meticulously painted painting.
"And I chose you too, because I know you're not the type who would hate me for that reason."
"That's right, and it's also true that I would hate you for no reason."
"It doesn't matter, I give you a job and a place to call home, and you fulfill my wishes." Ruo Yu sighed, "I'm not a fairy who fulfills dreams, and there's absolutely no place I can call home in this miserable country." Xue Yan looked at her for a moment, before he looked away and moved past her to continue walking, the lights flying with the winds colored her with the most beautiful colors, giving the wind a chance to play with her hair before she caught up with Xue Yan.
The reason why Xiu Yan chose Ruo wasn't really any of the reasons he'd mentioned, but because he saw in her a strength that wasn't just embodied in violence but in her ability to change color with places and situations. He wanted to push her to use a weapon greater than any weapon: her mind.
He was testing her and her motivations, even though he knew that with every hardship, she would be freed, and with every time Ruo Yu faced misery and oppression, she would become stronger, and yet more miserable. He knew that her ability to change color meant that one day she would live without any color in her soul at all.
Rio Yu stood together with Xue Yan in front of the Lotus Pavilion, "Then go for it. And remember not to draw attention to anything strange. No violence." He told her.
"I'll try. Although I still don't even understand why I'm here."
"You're disappointing me like that, being of low intelligence." he said before leaving, she turned to look at him, "did he just call me low intelligence? That lowly pervert... damn it."
But she quickly pulled herself together, ready for a new role in a play that she had to master. Life was a game and she was skilled.
From the outside, Lotus Pavilion glowed with false warmth—pink walls and too many flowers. Ruo Yu entered and was welcomed by a lady who looked cheerful. Ruo Yu was dressed and looked miserable, just following Xue Yan's instructions. The lady patted Ruo Yu's hand, "Did you come here from the street, my dear?" Ruo Yu nodded with tearful eyes. The lady spoke, "Don't worry, I'm Madam Wen, you've come to the right place."
Ruo Yu looked around at a glance, the place was filled with women, it looked like a women-only entertainment hotel.
A beautiful girl stood at the reception desk, and there was a beautiful girl playing a beautiful tune in the middle of the room. The women sitting there looked like the elite of the nobility, the laughter seemed fake, and the atmosphere, though sweet, was rotten to Ruo Yu's.
Madam Wen showed Ruo Yu to a room, brought her water, and sat beside her. "This place helps helpless girls. We will train you to work here." Ruo Yu smiled and nodded happily.
Madam Wen put her hands on Ruo Yu's hair, "You are such a beautiful and kind girl, what an oppressive, unjust world." Her tone was harsher than when she first saw Ruo Yu, and her gaze was on Ruo Yu like a fox searching for new prey.
Maybe it's true, people's true selves are slowly revealed in the shadows.
The idea of the place seemed ridiculous and absurd, and this was one of the reasons for Ruo Yu's suspicions. She didn't understand why she had to observe here, but Madam Wen, who acted so kindly, was more suspicious than anything. Ruo Yu hated it when others acted nice for no reason. Nice people were liars - or fools, that was Ruo Yu's logic.
Madam Wen gave Ruo Yu some clothes and told her to rest for a while and then go out, saying that Ruo Yu must be distracted, tired, and very scared since she had been on the street for so long. Ruo Yu held herself back from laughing at Madam Wen and calling her a silly snot. Finally, before leaving the room, Madam Wen asked, "What is your name, my dear, if you have one?"
Ruo Yu took a moment before answering, she looked in the mirror in front of her, for a moment it was Ruo Yu, and the next second when she spoke, she was no longer who she used to be, just like life, every moment and every second, we are no longer who we used to be.
"Lily."
"Ah, what a cute name for you. Okay, rest, my dear, and go out when you want." Ruo Yu nodded gently.
Ruo Yu put on the clothes given to her. the outfit was different from any outfit she had seen before in the city. She walked with tired steps and sighed as she rested her back on the bed in the small room. She was looking at the ceiling, her looks pained and sometimes innocent. Every actor has to adapt to the life of his character. She lived a thousand lives while sleeping on her bed, and created a thousand stories about her past and her dreams.
Ruo Yu smiled, "I think it's an enjoyable play this time. Unlike those high-paid actresses, I get to be part of the most luxurious, tragic, bloody works. I'm good at shedding tears and killing." She sounded intoxicated by the role, as if it whispered promises of power only pain could grant.
She closed her eyes, until it was time for her to open them and become Lily.