It was nighttime, the curtains were open, showing the starless night sky with the moon shining brightly, lights from buildings made the night sky even brighter.
Phoenix was lying on the bed holding her phone close to her ear. A smile graced her pink lips, making her normally aloof face shining beautifully. It was a rare sight to see her beaming in happiness, only the caller on the other side could make her this dazzling.
"How was your day?" Phoenix asked.
"We had seafood today. We went fishing today, and I caught a fish! It was a big one." the person on the other line said with much enthusiasm.
"Oh really? What type of fish?" Phoenix asked with the same enthusiasm.
"It's a carp. It was 30 centimeter long and 1.5 kilogram in weight. Sienna was jealous, seeing the fish I caught. She didn't catch any fish and was almost crying. So we went to the prawn farm to let her catch some prawn to coax her. Luckily, that works," the caller said.
Phoenix listened attentively, "So what did you guys make from the carp and the prawns?" She loved seafood, all types of seafood, she listed on her mind all types of dishes and cooking style for those two types of seafood.
"Madam Lo asked the chef to make Ginger Steam Carp and Butter Prawns from our catch. The fish meat was tender, and the prawns were cooked to perfection, it's not rubbery at all. I have to help Sienna peel the prawn shell, she is still bad at it."
Phoenix swallowed her saliva hearing the dishes' name, "Did you have vegetables to accompany those dishes?" she asked to be sure that the meal was well balanced.
"Yes. Don't worry. We had mixed vegetables along with the fish and prawns. The food was really delicious, Sienna even finished all the rice on her plate. She was so full that's why she went to sleep early today."
"That's good." Phoenix said, nodding her head although the person on the other line couldn't see her. "So…Have you made plans for tomorrow?" she asked.
"Sienna has been bugging me to go to the newly opened Barbie Theme Cafe. I guess we will visit the cafe tomorrow." the other person's voice sounded unsure.
"If that's the case, you should go with her," Phoenix said with a sad expression. She was jealous, Sky and Sienna were visiting new places and spending time together, it used to be the tree of them together, but now she was all alone, miles away in City M.
Sensing the sorrow in her voice, the other person said, "Don't be sad. We'll be together soon."
'He's too good at reading me,' thought Phoenix. "I know. Well, I think you should go to sleep, otherwise you'll be too tired to accompany Sienna tomorrow." Phoenix cut the call short, as she didn't want Sky to get worried about her.
"Okay. Good Night," said the person on the other line.
"hmm… Good night"
They both hung up the call.
Phoenix was about to put her phone on the bedside table when her phone suddenly rang. She looked at the unfamiliar number and scrunched her forehead.
'Who's this? I don't recognise the number.'
She contemplated if she should pick it up or not. She looked at the clock and it was 10.30 pm at night, and was puzzled.
'Who calls at this hour?'
Thinking that it might be an emergency, Phoenix picked up the call and heard a sweet voice on the other side.
"At last! Oh gosh, it's hard getting through to you. Who are you talking to for so long? Was it your boyfriend? Wait, did I disturb you?" The caller suddenly bombarded Phoenix with questions.
"I'm sorry. Who is this?" asked Phoenix.
"Ahhhh. I'm sorry. This is Mia Qin. Remember? Didn't I give you my number?"
"Oh, Ms Qin. No, I didn't have your number. You asked for my number, but you didn't give me yours," said Phoenix, 'I didn't ask either,' Phoenix added silently.
"Oh, Anyways, this is Mia. Now you have my number, you should save it. Maybe it'll come in handy." Mia's voice was as cheerful as Phoenix remembered.
Phoenix didn't answer that, but asked, "Can I help you, Ms Qin?"
"Yes. Are you free on Saturday night? I'd like to invite you out for dinner. Actually, my brothers want to invite you for dinner as a sign of appreciation for saving me that night," her voice sounded so eager.
"I told you it was not a big deal, I don't….."
Sensing Phoenix was about to decline, Mia cut Phoenix's answer short and said, "Please don't reject the invitation, Ms Li. We owe you a huge favour, my brothers really want to thank you."
"I…"
"Pretty please. It's just a meal. You'll make us feel bad if you reject us." Phoenix can almost imagine Mia's pouting at the other side, looking like an abandoned puppy.
"Do you mean this coming Saturday?" Phoenix asked for surety.
"Yes. Yes. This coming Saturday. Are you coming?" Phoenix was ure now that the sad little puppy has turned into an excited one, wiggling her tail, just by hearing Mia's voice tone.
"Okay. I'll meet you for dinner," Phoenix agreed.
"Great! I'll text you the time and place later. Good night Ms Li." Mia's voice was beaming with happiness.
"Alright. Good Night, Ms Qin."
Phoenix hung up the call, connected the phone to the charger and put it on the bedside table.
She sighed and put the conversation at the back of her head and walked to the bathroom to relieve herself.
After she was done with her business, she proceeded to the vanity table to do her nighttime skincare routine. One of the things she learned from her sister was to take better care of herself.
'Self care is self love', her sister used to say.
***flashback
"One of the ways to take care of yourself is to take care of your appearance, Phoenix," her sister said.
Phoenix used to have oily skin and big pores, and a dull complexion. Her hands were rough and full with blisters, not befitting of a girl. With her face, that was usually devoid of any emotion, she repelled people who tried to get close to her.
"Phoenix, come here. Look what I brought for you." Her sister walked in with several paper bags in her hand. She called Phoenix with her eyes shining bright, excited to share her shopping haul with Phoenix.
"What is in those bags?"
"It's skincare for you."
"Skincare? what is that?"
"It's stuff to put on your face and body, so that it will make your skin look smoother and brighter. Don't you want a skin like mine?"
Phoenix looked at her sister, her sister was the epitome of beauty, with smooth skin, curvy body and long healthy hair, she never saw anyone prettier than her sister. She wanted to look as beautiful as her sister.
So she took the bottle that her sister handed to her, squirted the content on her hand and rubbed it on her skin. Then she stared at her skin that she had lathered with the product.
"My skin looks the same."
Her sister chuckled at her adorableness, "That's not how it works, Phoenix. You have to wear it every day consistently, then your skin will become smoother and brighter."
Phoenix looked at her sister's moisturized skin and compared it with herself. She then grumbled, "What's the point? I'm ugly. I'll never be as pretty as you."
Her sister sighed and said, "You know, there's a saying, 'There are no ugly women, only lazy ones'. No one is ugly, being pretty is hard work. You need to be patient and consistent to get the desired result. Promise me you will not be lazy, taking care of yourself."
She was not happy with what her sister said, but her sister looked at her with hopeful eyes, "Fine. I promise.", she relented.
After years of following her sister's teaching, the right products and consistent care, her skin was now cleaner, brighter and her pores were invisible, like it was never there in the first place. Her hands were now silky smooth and softer to the touch. Her overall appearance was pleasing to the eyes and her beauty shone.
Well, there were really no ugly women, only lazy ones- Helena Rubinstein.