Breakup Kitchen - Prologue

"Ms. Gao, your loan balance with our institution is 5 million yuan. The repayment date for this period is XX, 20XX, and the amount due is 40,000 yuan. Please be reminded that the repayment date for the XX installment is..."

Gao Huimei froze mid-motion while drying her hair, glaring at the phone on the dressing table that was blaring out unpleasant news.

It's the 5th again, she muttered to herself. Every payday, she has to pull out more than half of her salary, and it all goes to the creditors.

 If I had known better, I would not have answered this call from an unknown number. She held the towel up and down and covered the ends of her hair, pressing it dry. Even if you know it's not a scam, it can still be frustrating to receive a collection call. She put on her clothes and picked up the hair dryer to dry her hair. She would go to work later.

"Ding dong" Suddenly the doorbell rang. Gao Huimei put down the hair dryer and walked to the door. The doorbell was still ringing. Gao Huimei looked at the person through the peephole. When she saw the other person's appearance, she was stunned for a moment and took a few steps back. Staring at the peephole on the door panel. "Meimei, it's me, A-Bai. I'm A-Bai, open the door."

Accompanying the doorbell was the sound of knocking and calling out for someone to answer the door. The voice of the man outside came through the door panel, sounding faint and somewhat pitiful.

"Yes, despicable and 'cheap.' Gao Huimei mocked inwardly as she stepped forward to check the identity of the visitor again through the peephole—though the fisheye distorted the view, she could still recognize that person even if they turned to ash—her anger flared up completely.

'Who are you? What do you want?' Gao Huimei turned around, crossing her arms and leaning against the door, shouting at the door panel with the right side of her face towards it."

"Mei Mei, don’t be like this, I’m your dear husband, A-Bai," A-Bai anxiously shouted, the knocking on the door growing louder, "Do we really have to speak like this? My throat hurts from yelling. Can I come in first so we can have a good talk?"

"I'm sorry, but just a few days ago I had to arrange a 'funeral' for my husband. He's been cremated and is now in an urn, so who are you?" Hearing such shameless words, Gao Huimei almost rolled her eyes into the back of her head. "I have nothing to discuss with a jerk like you, please leave."

The person claiming to be Ah Bai shrank back a little at Gao Huimei's unkind tone but continued to try to persuade her, "Mei Mei, please..." His voice gradually lowered. "Hmm?" Gao Huimei noticed the sounds outside had stopped and assumed A-Bai had left.

The silence outside lasted for a while.

 "Beautiful." After a short while, A-Bai's voice was clear and very close. Gao Huimei was stunned, looking around, and soon she felt something wet and sticky under her feet. She looked down and was so frightened that she almost felt like her ancestors were coming back to haunt her.

The deep green viscous substance stuck to Gao Huimei's feet had A-Bai's eyes and mouth; she could see the reflection on the green surface.

That unidentified object spoke in A-Bai's voice: "Meimei, why...?" It rolled around, extending a hand to wrap around Gao Huimei's ankle. "Meimei, you are so heartless, can you, can you—"

"Can you lend me ten million?" It grinned, its upper and lower lips still dripping with green liquid.

Gao Huimei wanted to scream, but the intense shock only made her shudder, and she instantly lost consciousness.

Her feet trembled.

"Mm..." She slowly opened her eyes, and the blurry image in front of her was her pillow and the floral pattern of her sheets. She blinked and realized she was in her rental place.

Gao Huimei sat up, rubbed her face with her palm, and blankly stared ahead, feeling extremely irritable.

"Dammit, what a unlucky day."