Devil Mask Master

06. Diamonds and Mountain Stone

The young man’s robe shimmered with golden embroidery, his bearing refined as though nurtured in poetry and jade halls. Seeing such elegance, Shen Xu allowed herself a faint, graceful smile.

“Greetings, Young Master Xiao,” she replied, voice soft and cultured. “Shen Xu is honored to make your acquaintance.”

Xiao Tianzi returned her smile with equal polish. “The honor is mine. To encounter one as radiant as Miss Shen… truly, fortune favors me tonight.”

Before the moment could linger, a loud voice cut in.

“Beautiful indeed,” Xiao Si Tian, the younger brother, blurted without restraint. “But I think her sister is even more beautiful.”

The words fell like a pebble in still water, rippling across the table. Shen Xu’s smile froze; her eyes sharpened with irritation.

“What nonsense are you spouting, Si Tian?” muttered Xiao Tianzi, though too late.

Guo Yan, the inquisitive daughter of the Guo family, leaned forward with sparkling eyes. “Sister? A twin? Miss Shen, where is she? We’ve only heard whispers—come, introduce her!”

Shen Xu’s lips tightened. She kept her gaze fixed on her cup, unwilling even to acknowledge such a question.

But Guo Yan persisted, tugging at Shen Xu’s sleeve like a child demanding sweets. “Didn’t Little Master Si just say your twin is lovelier still? Come, where is she? Which one is your younger sister?”

At this, Shen Xu turned slowly toward the culprit. Xiao Si Tian was busy tossing peanuts across the table at his elder brother. Xiao Tianzi caught one effortlessly, placed it in his mouth, and chewed with an amused smile, as though this were a game of brothers, not a dagger aimed at Shen Xu’s pride.

With a sigh, Xiao Tianzi asked, “Si Si, where did you hear such nonsense?”

“I didn’t hear it,” Xiao Si Tian answered airily, cracking another peanut. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

Guo Yan’s curiosity only grew. “Saw her? Then where is she now? Tell us!”

Xiao Si Tian jerked his chin toward the corner of the hall. “There.”

Dozens of eyes followed the gesture. And there, sitting apart from the bright clusters of maidens, was a lone figure.

A girl, round in body and heavy in presence, slouched in her chair as though the weight of the world pressed upon her shoulders. Her skin bore angry patches of red from a chronic affliction, which she scratched absently when the itch grew unbearable. Her face, caked in garish powder, was neither radiant nor charming, it resembled more the painted mask of a street performer.

Laughter rippled around the hall. Some covered their mouths, others could not restrain their giggles. Astonishment, disgust, and cruel amusement flashed in every eye.

Guo Yan gasped aloud. “That … that is your sister?”

Even Xiao Tianzi’s refined composure faltered. “Her…?”

The girl was Shen Ji, Shen Xu’s twin. Born on the same day, yet fate had carved them into opposite forms. Where Shen Xu shone like polished jade, Shen Ji bore the burden of illness and ungainly flesh.

The gods had dealt her a crueler blow still: by arrangement of their parents, she was betrothed to none other than Yu Zhen, the second young master of the Yu family, a man whose beauty rivaled the immortals. His noble bearing captured the heart of every maiden who laid eyes upon him. Including, secretly, Shen Xu herself.

Shen Ji, feeling the piercing stares of dozens, lowered her head until her chin pressed against her chest. Shame and sorrow swirled within her, drowning any courage to meet their gaze.

“That… that is your twin?” Guo Yan repeated, her voice thick with disbelief.

Shen Xu refused to answer. Her lips curled in disdain, her body angled away as though the very mention tainted her robes. The truth was bitterer than bile. How she wished the earth would swallow that wretched girl, that humiliating shadow, whole.

Guo Yan sneered. “Among a chest of sparkling diamonds, there lies… a stone.”

“Stone?” Xiao Si Tian burst out laughing. “Bah! She looks more like an anteater!”

The cruelty unleashed further chuckles. Several young masters covered their mouths, while the young ladies exchanged looks of mingled pity and mockery.

Shen Xu’s nails dug into her palm. Fat wretch! Why was she dragged here? What were Father and Mother thinking? To flaunt such shame before noble guests, how could they humiliate me so?

“Oi, Fatty!” Xiao Si Tian called loudly, waving at Shen Ji with all the tact of a child tossing scraps to a dog. “Come join us!”

Shen Xu’s face turned crimson. “Why bother with her? I have never spoken with her, nor do I care to.”

Xiao Tianzi tilted his head, his smile thin, eyes glinting with subtle mockery. “But Miss Shen… is she not your own twin? Should you not show at least a little warmth?”

Shen Xu’s voice grew cold, sharp as glass. “Though we were born on the same day, she is nothing like me. I am a diamond. She… is but clay.”

A murmur ran through the group.

“Clay?” Shi Qin, younger brother of the fair Shi Qian, frowned. “Diamond and clay… what a cruel comparison.”

“Yes,” Shen Xu snapped, lifting her chin high. “She is the clay one.”

The words cut through Shen Ji like a blade. Her shoulders hunched further, her eyes stung with unshed tears. Every whisper, every giggle, pressed her deeper into the mire of shame. I should not have come. This place is not for me…

But before the cruelty could deepen, Shi Qian herself, graceful and gentle, spoke firmly. “Enough. Clay may not glitter like a diamond, but in the hands of a skilled craftsman, even clay can be shaped into treasures. Miss Shen Ji, do not let their words wound your heart.”

Her voice, like a bell of jade, silenced the giggles for a moment. Eyes turned toward her in surprise, admiration, or scorn. Yet for Shen Ji, hunched in misery, those words were a fragile lifeline in a sea of mockery.