Chapter 5

“Because…” Serenity swallowed the last bite of her bun which tasted mediocre, at best. In the past, she would have disliked it, but now, taste had become secondary to her. What was more important was to have enough food to fill her belly.

“I guess it’s because we’re the same kind of people,” she continued. “We’ve both been tossed aside by society, and we’re just trying to survive at the bottom rung. No one wants people like us, and nobody cares about us, but at least we can hug each other for warmth, and I can cherish you, and you can cherish me, right?”

She smiled gently. It was a smile full of hope, longing, and even nervousness.

“Is that so?” he murmured. “Sounds like we really are very similar…”

His gaze was that of a hunter who had just seen his prey falling into his trap. Perhaps life had been too easy for him lately. So easy that it had become boring. Anything he wanted, he merely had to stretch out his arm, and it would be there for him to reach it. As time went by, this easy kind of life became uninteresting to the point of being irksome. Yet, this game he was playing made everything exciting again.

“Sis.” He softly murmured the words that she had been waiting to hear.

In an instant, her smile bloomed till it sparkled like stars in the sky.

***

After dinner, Serenity took Jackson out to the night market so that she could buy him some clothes.

Although she ended up only choosing cheap used clothes, it still cost her 70 dollars. She immediately told Jackson to put on the padded jacket and asked him, “Is it a little warmer now?”

“Yeah,” he replied nonchalantly, his eyes looking down at the woman who was about a head shorter than him. “You didn’t have to buy all these clothes for me, you know. I’m used to the cold now. I would’ve been fine wearing my old clothes.”

“Even if you’re used to the cold,” she argued, “That doesn’t mean that you should stay cold. Besides, I didn’t spend all that much at all, and I couldn’t afford to buy nearly enough clothes for you anyway. At the very least, I could keep you a little warmer, so I’m glad.”

“Why are you so nice to me?” he asked in a low voice.

“Because I’m your big sister, that’s why!”

Serenity laughed, then she accidentally touched his hands and discovered that they were as cold as ice, so she held them firmly with both of her hands before leaning down to blow warm breaths onto them as she rubbed them repeatedly.

“Your hands are too cold,” she said. “If we rub them like this, they’ll get warmer.”

His hands stiffened a little, and the eyes behind the bangs narrowed. No woman had ever rubbed his hands just to warm them up the way she did.

In fact, he never liked anyone to touch him. But for some reason, he did not despise Serenity’s touch all that much. Was it because this woman was the most important part of this game he was playing, which made it easier for him to tolerate her touch?

Seeing that he did not react, she suddenly thought of something and glanced down at her calloused hands.

“Are my hands so rough that it hurts you…?” she asked before releasing his hands in a hurry.

He frowned slightly, almost as if he was upset that the warmth in his hands had suddenly vanished.

“I don’t think your hands are rough at all,” He told her before offering his hands up to her as he said, “My hands are still cold. Can you rub it a little longer, Sis?”

Serenity froze for a moment but then took his hands into hers again. Compared to his hands, hers looked quite small, but on that cold wintry night, those tiny hands tried their best to wrap around his big hands as much as possible as the palm of her hands rubbed against the back of his hands.

She bent down from time to time to breathe warm air onto his hands. Because of the cold weather, the tip of her nose was flushed red, and he found that quite adorable.

Jackson’s eyelashes trembled as he looked at his hands being wrapped around those tiny hands, and he felt as if he really was… getting warmer.

***

Two days later, Serenity received a call from Aria.

“Sis,” she said, “Dad said he was going to throw away that photo album, but I begged him not to do it. I want to give it to you, but can you come over?”

Serenity froze. She knew exactly which photo album Aria was referring to. It was the one with photos of her mother and herself before she turned three years old.

Aria continued in a gentle voice, “If you don’t come over, I might misplace the photo album and lose it. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

After that, she sent a specific address to Serenity and quickly ended the call without waiting for her sister’s reply.

Serenity stared at her phone. She knew that Aria would never just hand the photo album to her for no reason. She definitely must have some kind of sinister plan. Still, this concerned the memories of her mother. All of her memories about her mother came from that photo album.

“Sis?” A crisp baritone sounded in her ears.

She came back to her senses and took a deep breath.

“I’m going out for a while, Jack, so don’t wait up and just go to sleep before me, okay?”

As she spoke, she hastily got to her feet and put on her coat before stepping out of the door, oblivious to the pair of eyes that had been observing her constantly.

Once she had arrived at the address Aria had given her earlier, she realized that it was a club. She went inside and headed toward the private lounge according to Aria’s direction only to replace not just Aria in there, but also a slightly chubby man in his 40s.

The man looked Serenity up and down and asked, “Is this your sister, Aria? The one who used to be Zeke Shaw’s girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Aria replied, smiling. “Heiden, this is my sister. Sis, this is Heiden. He’s an assistant director. He’s been eager to meet you after replaceing out that you used to be Zeke Shaw’s girlfriend.”

“Where’s the photo album?” Serenity asked coldly.

Aria spoke in a soft voice, yet her tone was laced with threat, “If you want it, you’ll have to speak more to Heiden and keep him entertained. If he’s willing to cast me in more roles, I’ll hand the photo album over to you.”

“Come on! Since you’re here, let’s have a drink!”

Heiden then poured a full glass of red wine and signaled for Serenity to drink.

Serenity pursed her lips and stared at Aria. It looked like her dear sister had decided to sell Serenity’s body in exchange for more roles.

Aria picked up the glass of wine and offered it up to Serenity. Then, in a voice she would only use when there was just the two of them, she said, “It was you who ruined my chances back then, Sis. It’s only right that you should help me now. After all, in your current state, if you manage to keep Heiden happy, I’m sure it’ll make your life much better in the future. So, really, I’m helping you, you know.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say such shameful things so soberly and calmly,” Serenity retorted.

She then shoved the wine glass away, spilling the red wine all over the floor.

“Don’t you want the photo album?” Aria asked in a hushed voice through gritted teeth.

“I would never sell my body in exchange for it,” Serenity replied. She knew that her mother would never wish to see her do such a thing.

However, just as she was about to turn and leave, Heiden suddenly said, “Oh, so you think I’m beneath you, huh? Do you still think that you’re Zeke Shaw’s girlfriend? Aria told me that you’re cleaning the streets for a living now, so you should know that being invited to drink with me is an honor!”