Huo Jinlan sat gloomily in her room, alone in the house. Exhausted from the pretense, she left her room and went downstairs to the living room to make a call.
The call went through, and a young maiden's sweet voice sounded through the receiver.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
Huo Jinlan recognized the voice. It belonged to Little Tao, the maid her mother had mentioned she had bought over.
"I'm looking for the madam."
"Please wait."
After approximately five minutes, Jing Tong's voice came from the other end. "Hello, may I ask..."
Huo Jinlan interrupted her before she could finish, sobbing, "Mom, it's me Jinlan! It's Jinlan, I miss you, I miss you so much!"
Jing Tong's smile slowly faded. After making sure no one was around, she quietly admonished, "Didn't I tell you not to contact me? Do you want people to know that we've been in touch?"