Imprisoning the Black Moonlight

The car turned into Bagua Hutong and stopped in front of Shuangjiao Beauty and Hair Salon.

Yao Gongyue got out of the car. "Uncle driver, please wait a moment. I'm going to ask my mom for the money!"

After saying that, she turned and rushed into the store, her mind blank, "Mom, Mom, Auntie, Auntie!"

Yao Jiaona was inside teaching a new apprentice how to perm hair when she suddenly heard her daughter's voice. Thinking she was hallucinating, she wondered what had happened to her daughter—wasn't she supposed to be at the Royal Theater in Japan for an exchange program? What had gotten into her this time? She rushed out to greet her, and what she saw nearly made her faint.

"Oh dear, honey, have you been robbed? Why are you dressed like that? What happened?"

She could hardly believe that the dirty little cat in front of her, dressed in sloppy camouflage, with frizzy hair and no sunscreen on its face, was her delicate and pampered daughter.

"Mom, give me fifty yuan first. I haven't paid the driver yet!" Yao Gongyue's mind was blank, and she couldn't keep up with the situation. All she knew was that she had to pay the driver's fare first.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Yao Jiaona took out her phone and handed it to her daughter. "Go, go, scan it for them!"

After paying, Yao Gongyue felt a sense of relief, and her emotions slowly began to surface.

She turned around, walked into the store step by step, sat on the sofa, smelled the familiar scent of hair dye, forgot to cry, forgot to laugh, and just sat there straight.

"Baby, baby's back!" Yao Jiao'e, who was giving a massage to a customer on the second floor, heard the commotion downstairs and quickly called for her staff to come and take over before running down herself.

The two stood opposite each other, looking at Yao Gongyue, who had a strange expression and remained silent, both filled with doubt.

However, having weathered most of their lives, they had seen all sorts of storms. This time, the child's delicate girlishness had vanished. Even in ill-fitting clothes, she exuded a mature charm, her eyes and brows carrying a captivating allure...

The two sisters looked at each other, and there was nothing they didn't understand. Tears instantly welled up in their eyes.

"Baby, sweetheart, wait a minute. The customers upstairs will be finished in ten minutes. Once they're done, we'll close up shop and go home early. I'll cook you something delicious, okay?" Auntie was the first to react. She nudged Da Jiao, who was almost crying, and said, "Da Jiao, go to the market to buy groceries first. Baby and I will come back together later!"

Yao Jiaona then realized, "Hey, hey, Mom will go buy groceries now, and also buy some pretty dresses for my baby to celebrate our baby coming home!"

Yao Gongyue finally reacted, looked up at her mother, then at her aunt, and burst into tears.

She felt like she had cried all the tears she had in her life. Da Jiao and Xiao Jiao didn't rush to comfort her. They turned their heads away and wiped their tears together. Then, they told the apprentices and upstairs staff to leave early, gave the upstairs customers an extra physiotherapy session, and hurriedly sent them off, closing the door behind them.

"Mommy, Auntie, I'm hungry!" After crying, Yao Gongyue sniffled and looked pitifully at Da Jiao and Xiao Jiao.

"Let's go home, let's eat at home!" Mom pulled her towards the door, and Aunt went out to get the car.

"Wow, we've struck it rich? We're even driving a BMW now?" Yao Gongyue looked at the red BMW that drove up in front of the door, tears still on her face, but she couldn't hide her excitement.

"Hmph, this is what that scoundrel gave to Auntie! Not only did he compensate for the car, but he also gave her a house and 500,000 yuan in cash!" Auntie opened the car door and winked at Yao Gongyue.

"That scoundrel paid for it? So many years have passed, has he stopped being a dog? Has he become a human?" Yao Gongyue asked her aunt as she got into the car.

"I don't know which hero is doing justice for God, but that guy's son was almost killed in jail, and he even said that if he didn't ask for my forgiveness, he would make sure that his lineage would be cut off." Yao Jiao'e said as she drove, "You didn't see the pathetic sight of that dog kneeling in front of me, holding the keys to the RV and money, kowtowing and begging me."

"Yes, is that so!" For some reason, Yao Gongyue's heart skipped a beat, and she replied with a stiff face.

"That's right. I didn't want to forgive him at first, but his wife came too. She knelt down in front of me crying and apologizing. Sigh! They're all women. Although I was deceived by that scoundrel, I still did something wrong to him. And so many years have passed, I don't want to live in the past anymore, so I finally agreed!"

My aunt spoke with a nonchalant air, saying that time never defeats beauty. Even though she was over forty, she still had fair skin, delicate features, and the standard features of a beautiful woman. If it weren't for the burn scar from her ear to her neck, she would definitely be more than ten times more beautiful than she is now.

“Our little Jiao is right. What’s past is past. People shouldn’t live in the past!” Yao Gongyue patted her aunt’s shoulder to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry, baby, you've suffered so much, but your aunt can only get some compensation!" Yao Jiao'e said, her nose tingling and her voice choked with emotion.

"No, Auntie, I've never blamed you. So many years have passed, and you still bring these things up? Don't you even consider me your baby anymore?" Yao Gongyue pouted and acted coquettishly, afraid of upsetting her aunt.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You're the only one Da Jiao and I have ever had in our lives. You're just spouting rubbish all day long!"

"Alright, alright. You start bickering as soon as you meet. Honey, do you want ribs or shrimp? Or crab?" Yao Jiaona interrupted them, changing the subject.

……

The meal was incredibly enjoyable. After digesting the food, taking a shower, and changing into her fragrant pajamas, Yao Gongyue slowly made her way to the living room.

Just because her mother and aunt didn't ask doesn't mean she can't give them an explanation. She's the child they raised with so much care, and when it comes to such a major life event, she can't hide it from them or treat them like outsiders. There are some things that a twenty-year-old girl like her can't understand; the whole family has to face them together.

"Mom, Auntie, I want to tell you about what's happened these past few months." She nestled into the sofa, hugging her doll, organizing her thoughts and trying to explain things as simply and clearly as possible.

*****

"So, you weren't injured because of a momentary oversight by your employer, and they gave you their only spot for a six-month exchange program at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in J country as compensation because they were afraid you would cause trouble?" Her mother asked in astonishment after hearing her story.

“Yes, Hong Jin lied to you all!” Yao Gongyue nodded.

Hong Jin, you're really something else. You even came up with such an excuse. You're something else.

"Fortunately, Da Jiao and I were so excited that we thought you had been noticed by your company and would be promoted after this exchange. You said you were busy with classes, so we didn't even dare to call you. We could only send you WeChat messages every day, or stare at the photos and videos you sent."

"What photos and videos?" Yao Gongyue asked curiously.

"These are all, I've saved them all!" Auntie took out her phone, opened WeChat, and there were chat history, photos, and occasionally videos between "Yuebao" and her.

However, she recognized the background immediately; the photos were taken at the manor, not at any so-called school. Furthermore, her WeChat messages were consistently "Good morning" and "Good night," accompanied by pictures of the food she ate and descriptions of local customs and traditions.

"So that's why you withdrew the police report, right?"

"Didn't you send us a message telling us to remove it? Saying that the company made a mistake and that we shouldn't worry about it? If you had really lost it or something had happened to you, Da Jiao and I would probably be in a mental hospital by now. How could we possibly still be open for business?"

Yao Gongyue sat on the sofa, unable to come back to her senses for a long time. Hong Jin, you really are something else.