"Is that why you undressed for me last night? Do you want to follow in your mother's footsteps?"
It was like Zhang Yichan had dumped a cold bucket of water over Liang Mei's head. All her life, she had strived to be the opposite of her mother. She looked so much like her that people sometimes mistook them for sisters, so she did everything she could not to act like her until last night. It was a mistake that had cost her dearly.
Liang Mei stiffened and looked him in the eye. "I'm nothing like her."
Stepping carefully out of the tub while trying to keep all her privates covered, she moved her arm from her breasts to snatch the towel. She held it against herself and finally moved her hand off the juncture between her legs to wrap the towel around her.
"Of course you are," Zhang Yichan told her. "You've got the body to be a stripper too."
He smiled viciously at her surprised expression. "Yes, I know all about her illustrious past. With her good genes, you've got a great career ahead of you."
"Fuck you," she swore angrily, hating him even more for his condescending attitude.
"No thanks," he said. "Your friend already did last night and this morning. She's my girlfriend now. That was the deal."
With that bombshell, he opened the door. "Come on. You've got work to do."
Liang Mei stared at the maid's uniform, if it could even be called that. "I'm not wearing that."
"Yes, you are," Zhang Yichan retorted. "If you don't, I'll send that picture out to all my friends, and you can be sure someone will post it online."
Her heart constricted at the thought of that happening, but she couldn't abide by his plans for her either. "I'm not going to let you use me for sex."
"I never said anything about sex. I told you Linja already took care of that."
She looked at him warily. "Then why do you want me to wear that skimpy thing?"
"I'm just trying to help you get a head start on your career as a stripper."
Her heart began pounding, and she shook her head in desperation. "I can't... I can't strip for you."
He stepped intimidatingly close. "You'll do anything I tell you to do," he warned. "So don't argue with me, or I really will make you strip for me. Now put it on and get your ass downstairs."
He walked out of the room and shut the door. She felt grateful for the privacy and then angry that she was feeling grateful for something she was entitled to. Her anger surged when her eyes fell once again on the "uniform" on the bed. It was actually lingerie designed to look like a sexy French maid uniform. The black material that covered the breasts was sheer, so she went back into the bathroom and picked her bra up off the floor. She grabbed her shorts too and put them on over the black panties that had been provided with her uniform.
Zhang Yichan scowled when he saw her, but she spoke before he could. "I'll get arrested for indecent exposure.
"You're not going to be screwing her behind my back for the duration of our friendship," Liang Mei accused Linja, realization dawning. She was the only friend Liang Mei had that Zhang Yichan hadn't chased off, and now she knew why. "You've been planning this for a whole year?" she questioned him in disbelief.
"Brilliant, isn't it?" he bragged. "I had to be so patient this time. I had to give her time to earn your trust."
Liang Mei's gaze shifted to Linja. "So, you were never my friend?" she asked dejectedly.
Linja scoffed. "Who wants to be friends with you? Anyone can see from a mile away that you're a—"
"How could you do this to me?" Liang Mei finished in anguish, almost breaking down in tears again.
Her expression hardened. "Like you would give a shit about me if Zhang Yichan hadn't kept you from being popular."
"I never tried to be popular," Liang Mei insisted. "You know I can't stand those people."
"Girl fights are no fun unless you're ripping each other's clothes off, so let's go," Zhang Yichan said.
Liang Mei turned her ire on him. "You are such an asshole. I can't believe you want him to be your boyfriend," she snapped, though it sounded more panicked than threatening.
His cold gaze was fixed on her as he replied to Linja. "I don't associate with my inferiors. She's just a servant, and trash. The skank doesn't fall far from the skank tree."
"Yeah," Liang Mei retorted, "that's why Linja should be worried. Like father, like son."
Zhang Yichan stiffened. If his gaze had been cold before, it was glacial now. He had the pitiless, cold-blooded stare of a predator. His silver-gray eyes always held an animal magnetism, and now they looked like wolf eyes stalking prey.
Liang Mei took an involuntary step back from him, her heart stuttering like that of a scared rabbit. She actually jumped when he snapped at her, his terse tone cutting across her taut nerves, and she scurried out to his car like he commanded.
He came striding out as she tried to take a breath, not giving her time to compose herself before being trapped with him in his car. He was coiled tight with anger, making the atmosphere in that enclosed space almost unbearably tense. She clutched her knee as she kept her left elbow pressed against her side to keep it off the armrest and as far away from him as possible. He didn't say a word until they arrived at his house. It was similar to hers, a Colonial-style home that was a dream come true for her. "This is where I live now," he said in a harsh, disparaging tone.
"It's nice," she replied timidly, still cowed by the tension emanating from him.
His head turned toward her, and she regretted speaking. "Nice," he repeated in scorn. "Maybe for trailer trash like you. I grew up on an estate that was in my family for generations."
She remembered the place. She had felt like Cinderella at the royal palace during the short time she had lived there—before her mother got them kicked out. She hadn't met Zhang Yichan, because he had been away at boarding school. She had seen pictures of him though, and had dreamily imagined him as her handsome prince. What a naïve fool she had been, but she was only twelve at the time. He got out of the car, and she reluctantly followed him into his house. She immediately noticed the dust on the entryway table. He saw her looking at it.
"My mother isn't much of a housekeeper," he remarked.
She rolled her eyes before she could stop herself.
"What?" he questioned.
"Nothing," she replied.
"Tell me," he demanded.
"It's just, your assumption that it's her job to clean the house just because she's a woman. You live here too," she added, gaining confidence in her argument.
"So, you're a feminist," he commented, surprising her with an amused expression. "This is going to be fun." His eyes took on a wicked gleam that unnerved her again. "I'll show you where the cleaning supplies are."
He led her to the laundry room where there were cabinets containing all the usual cleaning products. He pointed to a corner of the room where a mop rested inside an empty bucket. "Bring the bucket," he instructed. She grabbed the mop in one hand and the bucket in the other, but he told her to leave the mop. So she brought the bucket, and he had her fill it halfway with water from the faucet over the laundry tub before pouring in some Pine-Sol. He then had her carry the bucket to the kitchen as he walked empty-handed. She felt like Cinderella again, but he was no Prince Charming.
As she set the bucket down on the floor, Zhang Yichan grabbed a brand-new pack of cleaning rags from the kitchen counter and ripped it open. "Here," he said as he handed her a rag.
She wet it at the sink and began to wipe the countertop.
"No," he snapped. "Mop the floor with it."
"But there's a mop," she protested.
"You know what will happen if you argue with me. Do you want everyone to see that picture?"
His cruel expression left no doubt in her mind that he would do it, and she cringed at the thought of everyone seeing her naked and in such a pornographic pose. Dropping the rag into the bucket, she began to crouch down.
"Take your shorts off first," he ordered.
Despite his threat, she opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off before she could speak. "The shorts or the bra. It's your choice."
"Now!" he barked as she hesitated. "Or you'll take off everything."
She quickly pulled down her shorts and stepped out of them, feeling immediately exposed in the black lace panties covered only by the sheer, short skirt. They were so small that her ass cheeks were hanging out.
"Get down on your hands and knees and mop the floor," Zhang Yichan commanded.
As she silently complied, she understood now what he was doing. Linja had been wrong. None of this was about sex. He wasn't making her expose herself to him because it aroused him to look at her. He just wanted to humiliate her. And it was working. She had never felt so humiliated in her life as she did with him standing behind her as she wiped the floor in this demeaning position.
"Shit," he swore, "your body is fucking insane!"
His exclamation threw her. It sounded like he had uttered it spontaneously, and it was obvious that it wasn't part of his humiliation plan.
"Get up," he said gruffly. "Go get the fucking mop. It'll take you forever this way, and I've got a party to prepare for."
She hurried to comply before he changed his mind, but he didn't say another word as he watched her mop the floor. It was infinitely less degrading while standing on her feet, and there was actually something satisfying about removing the dirt to reveal a sparkling clean surface. Zhang Yichan appeared restless rather than satisfied though. "I've got to go get some supplies for the party. Finish cleaning the rest of the house. Mop the bathrooms too before you dump the water."
Without waiting for a reply, he left her alone in his house. She immediately put her shorts back on, so she wouldn't be caught in her underwear by his mom if she came home. She wondered how he would explain her presence, and her outfit, to her.
Wary of his threats, she got to work cleaning the rest of the house. She also wanted to get it done and get out of there.