Dream of the Red Chamber

Even as Violate tried to soothe her, Lan continued hyperventilating. When the strangely-dressed girl came around in front of her still brandishing the gun, the Chinese girlâ€s heart leapt into her throat. For a second, she thought she might have imagined it. But now she was certain of its realness, and, when Violate pointed it at her forehead and pulled the trigger, Lan flinched and screamed—only to feel the wet splat of a small amount of water impacting her forehead. As it dribbled down her face, she collapsed back into the chair, her chest heaving, looking up at the Portuguese woman in confusion. “I…I…” she whimpered. “Iâ€m…s-sorry…you…should s-still squirt, uh, Allison if you want to…d-donâ€t let me ruin your joke.”

Before she could say much more, the Portuguese woman was out the door. Lan tried to give a goodbye, but the sound died in her throat. She felt exhausted—the terror of having the gun pointed in her face had taken a lot out of her. She closed her eyes, and kept them closed for those few minutes between Violateâ€s departure and Allisonâ€s return. When the spa owner opened the door, Lan would take a deep breath and do her best to come back to life, sitting up and taking another sip from her wine. “W-welcome back,” she greeted the British beauty, with a timid smile, noticing someone else who she didnâ€t recognize behind her.

Jocelyn's eyes sparkled when she saw Allison. It always made her heart flutter with joy. And such a greeting made it that much better. To see the woman actually greet her with the same sense of delight was all but heavenly.

But it was short lived. Jocelyn screeched when her hair was yanked and he struggled just to keep her balance and not be dragged along by the taller blonde. It didn't keep her from cursing and flailing though. Especially when she was tightly pressed against the wall. She hissed through her teeth and stared defiantly at Allison. Her fists clenched and in a moment she was ready to pounce on the blonde and start a fist fight. Even if she had words, the way Allison held her jaw prevented her from saying them.

And then the kiss came. Jocelyn moaned loudly and involuntarily when Allison probed her mouth. Her body melted and she forgot about the abuse she had suffered mere seconds before as she just tried to push back against the kiss as much as she could.

When she was thrown down, she grunted but was left flushed and panting for a long moment. Jocelyn stared at the floor bewildered before crawling a few feet and quickly getting to her feet. She charged into the room, barreling past Allison just as she finished speaking and was left in the middle between Allison and Lan. Her fists were clenched and she looked pissed until she noticed there was another girl. Her mouth opened but she stopped and looked at Lan.

Jocelyn's brow furrowed and she was about to rip into the girl when she noticed quickly how Asian the girl was. There was just one issue, and it was her hair. Jocelyn put her back to Lan and clenched her fists even tighter. She stared down the taller Brit but Allison would know that the normally boisterous Chistralian was suddenly not looking to say a single word. Jocelyn's eyes flashed as she looked at Allison

'What the hell is going on?' They barked silently.

Allison hardly gave Jocelyn a second glance. She proceeded to make herself comfortable on the couch, crossing her legs with her knees neatly stacked and her hands folded in her lap, and smiled at Lan.

"You look white as a sheet, darling, I hope Violate wasn't too much for you. She can be a bit forward with her... sense of humor." Finally she glanced at Jocelyn, but only for a moment. "Isn't it interesting? Both of you girls are Chinese, and you both have something about you that doesn't quite fit. You two make quite a dichotomy. Your hair is quite lovely, though I'm afraid Jocelyn's abnormality isn't as charming." She looked at Jocelyn. "Say hello, darling. Meet Yi Lan. What do you think of her hair? Isn't it wonderful? Amy does such good work, and the color is just sublime."

Jocelyn's fists clenched even tighter as Allison ignored her. She was doing it on purpose just to piss Jocelyn off and it was working quite well. The Chistalian followed Allison's movements with her head, still stubbornly prepared for some kind of attack. But Allison was never going to do that. She just started speaking casually about the other girl, confirming her suspicions and even giving her name.

Jocelyn's eyes widened and her fists unclenched. She turned and looked at Lan. Her cheeks were beet red and her body was shivering. What was Allison trying to do? Jocelyn inhaled soft breaths. She was trying to get her to say words. To give away her terrible secret so that this girl would undoubtedly mock and ridicule her.

Jocelyn took a step closer towards Lan and scrutinized her. Allison wasn't as clever as she thought she was. <You are Chinese, huh?> Jocelyn said in her native tongue, flashing a triumphant look at Allison. <What kind of Chinese girl has blonde hair? It looks ridiculous!> Jocelyn said and puffed out her small chest. She wasn't going to be on the receiving end of mockery by some girl with blonde hair! She then glanced back at Allison and back to Lan. <Don't listen to her. Call me Lu Jiao.> She couldn't very well have the girl thinking she didn't have a Chinese name because of Allison. At least, she certainly wasn't going to be addressed as Jocelyn by some blonde freak.

For whatever reason, the girl who had come in behind Allison—who was, interestingly, Chinese, as Lan was—did not seem to be happy when she saw the ash-blonde Chinese girl sitting in that high-backed chair in the corner of the room. Lan didnâ€t move, her eyes drifting slowly from this new girl, Jocelyn, to Allison, and back. She blushed a little as the spa owner gushed about how lovely her hair was.

Then, the newcomer addressed her directly. She started off by mocking Lanâ€s hair, which the timid ash-blonde woman didnâ€t really appreciate, but she figured she might as well try to introduce herself and be friendly. Everyone else she had met today had, ultimately, been friendly, if perhaps a little eccentric. She got shakily to her feet and smiled thinly, extending a hand towards the other Chinese girl to shake. <Itâ€s a…pleasure to meet you, Lu Jiao,> she intoned timidly in Mandarin. <Iâ€m Yi Lan, like she said.>

Jocelyn took a step back as Lan stood up. She stared at the Chinese girl incredulously. She glanced back at Allison just for a moment before looking at Lan's outstretched hand. Jocelyn's cheeks were beyond flushed now. She couldn't believe what was even happening. What WAS this girl's deal.

Jocelyn's eyes narrowed and she looked over Lan. She stared down at the outstretched hand and thought about what she had said. HOW was it a pleasure to meet her? No one was EVER pleased to see Jocelyn. There had to be some sort of trick. Jocelyn slowly outstretched her hand and slid it up against Lan's. Then she squeezed, harder than she should and gave it one shake. but Jocelyn didn't let go. She stared at Lan, holding the girl's hand firmly and staring at her.

<Are you pure blooded Chinese?> Jocelyn asked, tilting her head. <You can't be with that hair!> Maybe Allison had found a girl like her. Maybe Allison was being a friend and helping Jocelyn out. That had to be it? Another Chinese girl who was forced to live a freakish life. Jocelyn's Australian blood and that accent. Lan's weird hair. She was a little curious where else the girl was from. It made her heart skip a bit of a bit as it thumped a little more rapidly in her chest.

Lan withered noticeably under the piercing, almost antagonistic gaze of Jocelyn—or, as she had insisted she be called, Lu Jiao. The dark-haired girl, for whatever reason, did not seem to be happy that Lan was here, and Lanâ€s suspicions to that effect were only strengthened when the girl grabbed her proffered hand and gave it a crushing squeeze, causing Lan to wince a little bit as her hand was pumped once, then held tightly.

She feared the worst, but, when Jocelyn started talking again, the girl seemed less angry and more simply curious about Lanâ€s unusually-colored hair. That gave Lan hope that, perhaps, she would be just as nice as the other women she had met here today. Knowing another Chinese girl here in Tokyo would be a big relief for Lan—after months and months without encountering one of her countrywomen, she had been beginning to fear that her Mandarin—not to mention her manners—would become a little rusty.

<I…I am, actually. Iâ€m pure-blooded Han Chinese,> she replied, smiling a little again and shrugging her shoulders. <I know my hair is, uh, a little unusual. Iâ€m not sure why, but my whole family has hair like this. I-itâ€s not like itâ€s blonde, like…like European blonde, though.> She gestured to Allison for reference, indicating how much duller her own hair color was when compared to the brilliant golden locks of the British woman.

Allison sat back and let the two girls chat in their own language. Well, in Yi Lan's, at least. Jocelyn's decision to speak Mandarin was so predictable it almost wasn't satisfying, but while Allison didn't speak a word of it she did notice that she re-introduced herself as Lu Jiao. That was amusing. She was so ashamed of herself that she not only avoided speaking English to conceal her horrible accent, but she avoided using the name that went with it. She didn't even need to say anything, given enough time Yi Lan's very existance would make Jocelyn shame herself to death.

She wore a placid little smile while she watched the girls, as if she were politely waiting to be included.

Jocelyn's eye twitched at Lan's response. She was so casual about it it was sickening. It was just like a pure blooded Chinese girl to be that way. What did it matter if they had a physical imperfection on the outside? They were pure on the inside.

Jocelyn's mouth opened and she began exhaling through it. Her free hand clenched tightly and she looked down at the hand that she held. Now she had been holding it for so long that she couldn't even feel the connection. It was like her hand was numb and the feeling was gone.

Jocelyn suddenly threw aside Lan's hand and reached up with her other hand and grabbed Lan's shirt collar. She gave it a hard yank and brought the taller girl closer, pressing her arm into Lan's chest and keeping only a few inches space between them otherwise.

Despite her threatening gesture, her head snapped towards Allison and she sneered. Allison just brought Lan here to wave over Jocelyn's head. "What the bloody fuck is this, you dish licking old gammer!?" Jocelyn spat in fluid English complete with abrasive Australian accent. She didn't even look at Lan while she held tightly onto her shirt and continued to stare hateful daggers at Allison.

Allison casually arched an eyebrow when Jocelyn collared poor Lan, but that was all. "I don't know what you mean," she said, as if she were genuinely confused about what could've upset Jocelyn. "Yi Lan is a well mannered young lady. She's a lovely girl, and all you've managed to do here is show your true colors. And my how they contrast... I don't know the most. Your hair and your voice, certainly, but... what do you think?"

She looked to Lan, and while she was gracious she offered no sign that she would intervene. "Darling, you wanted able to connect with people, and here is a most unexpected opportunity. Don't overlook the importance of this experience."