บท 105: First (1)

Three Years Before:

Long Mei was tired. 

She put on a smile on her face in front of everyone. It used to be genuine. It did not take much effort before, but now…it felt exhausting. They say it takes more muscles to smile than to frown. She wondered when her smiles stopped becoming real and false instead. 

She was happy for most of her life. 

She had parents she adored. She had four older siblings that would back her up at any given time. 

Then what was it? What was she missing?

"You look bored," said a friend she had met the other night. 

Long Mei had many friends. It did not take much for her to sweet talk herself into someone's company. That's how she got invited to the best parties, the best events in the city. But she started to believe that not all of them showed their true colours yet.