Westwing Court, Guangzhou.
12th Apr, 2016The conference room turned quiet as a tall man dressed in a cashmere coat walked in. His lips were pressed tightly and he oozed of charm and strictness as he made his way to the main seat. Sitting around the round table, were elites old enough to be his father but they all stopped chattering the moment he took his seat.
“How is it?”A man with a scruff beard got up and bowed before walking towards the BenQLK95 projector placed at a corner of the room. He fixed some things and an overhead lens slid down.“Boss, it's done”Their gazes were all focused on what was being displayed and the room was quiet except for the tapping sounds of the tall man knocking his fingers on the table and the man explaining things.“Has Dr Liuren confirmed that she is good to go?”“Yeah. Everything is ready.”“What about the home and the mother?”“Ready.”“Hm. Okay? We're launching in two days.”He got up and walked away directly with his assistant in tow.“Boss”“What?”“Young Master seems to have departed for Australia ten minutes ago.”He paused, frowning before turning to look at the other man and asked “My wife?”“She just left the villa.”He nodded and walked out of the building before getting into the car.…
Five years later…The rain came in torrents beating her skin as she knelt on the muddled red earth. Her dirty clothes danced in the razing wind but she seemed to have no care. Across her, a mound was in view. It seemed to be the grave of someone. The falling rain seeped into the mound soaking it. She looked like every other teenage girl but on closer look, one would see her slender fingers tightly clenched. Her countenance was blank as she gazed affront with her red puffy eyes. Her onyx orbs held no emotion in them as she gazed at the grave with cold eyes.Time slowly faded away but she still knelt in the same position. Then after what seemed to be hours, she lifted her legs and stood up. Her legs were wobbly and she couldn’t stand properly for some time. She lifted her mud stained hands and kowtowed thrice.“Mom, Xin Er will work hard. I’ll get justice for you”No other words left her lips as she lifted her legs and left without looking back. Behind her, the rain continued to fall and a dark shadow also disappeared.“…Boss, she's gone.”
“The woman?”“We’ve handled it.”“Alright”In a large villa, a man stood by a window and sighed
‘My Lady, I hope you can withstand the ups and downs of this world'…
Mo Xin Er trudged along the streets of Wuhan, battered and distraught. Her inky black hair was stuck with sweat on her face. Her eyes were threatening to shut as she glanced around. She had been trying to secure a job all morning. She realized that if she wanted to get justice for her mother, she needed to work harder.She seemed to have been exhausted and unable to keep up anymore. She collapsed!!…Her eyes fluttered open and what met her gaze first was the purple ceiling overhead her. She groaned in discomfort as she tried to sit up.“Sit down” a voice rang beside her and she looked back to see a middle aged woman seated. She had a gentle smile on her lips as she procured a bowl of porridge and handed it to herMo Xin Er's eyes gleamed as she looked at the food but she still vigilantly eyed the woman before collecting the bowl. With shaky fingers, she lifted the spoon and began to eat. She gobbled the food in a hurry and choked, coughing. The woman smiled lightly, raising a cup of water to her and patted her back.“How is it?” she heard after emptying the bowl and burping. It was only then she realised she had been eating unculturedly. Blushing with embarrassment, she whispered in a low voice “It was good, thanks!!”“Good. You should eat more when I cook dinner, okay? A girl shouldn’t be so lean.”“Thank you, …..” she trailed off and it was only then she realised, she didn’t know the woman's name.“It’s Mrs Mo.”“Thank you, Mrs Mo”“What is your name, little girl?”“Mo Xin Er”“Xin Er. It's a beautiful name. Rest well. My husband went out but he'll soon be back. He was the one who saw you passed out on the street.”“Ah, I…”“You should rest. He will come over once he returns from work.”“Thank you so much, Mrs Mo. I appreciate it”“No..no problem. I’ll go now.”Twenty minutes later, she was sitting on a sofa in the living room with the television turned on after being persuaded by Mrs Mo. It was at this moment, she could look around the house. It was a fairly good modern apartment compared to the dilapidated house she had lived with her mother. Moreover, it had an homely feeling. A woman scarf was hanging on the armrest. A man's shoe was lying side by side in a corner of the room. And then, a gaming console was on the center table. It seemed it was a family of three and they had a son who was a teenager.
She sighed and shut her eyes. She had promised and nothing could stop her from getting revenge for her dead mother. Her eyes reopened however there was no warmth in there anymore. It was glassy cold!!“Mom, where is my gaming console? You can't just keep seizing it. Okay, I promise I won’t go there anymore” she heard a male voice coming nearer to the living room. Must be their son. Soon enough, a boy came stumbling in and she couldn’t help but squint her eyes. They were of the same age!!He seemed to notice the presence of a stranger and mouthed an ‘oh’ before scuttling to her side. As she looked at the boy who seemed to be the chatty type, she suddenly had a bad premonition.“Hey.”“Hi.”“What’s your name?”She pursed her lips but considering that his father had helped her when she was down, she let down her guard a little. The family seemed to be nice after all. And she was hoping they would let her stay with them. She had nothing to eat after all and she wasn’t stupid enough to reject help when being granted.“Mo Xin Er”“Mo? We share the same family name? Are you a distant cousin. Ah…. I’m Mo Yuan”“Oh..”“I like your pair of eyes. It's blue.”She went silent for some time before looking up at him again. His eyes were pure and the held no animosity compared to others. Ever since middle school when she had learned to understand people, she was fairly aware that most were averse to the color of her eyes. Most of her peers called her a freak. And she had gotten used to blending perfectly in the crowd and hiding herself away from people.“Thank you” And she totally meant it!!“Which school do you go to? I’m from Qing Yu High
“Hello sister you'll be stuck with me for a while.”She whispered “What are you doing? You are attracting attention”He grinned again and the urge to wipe the smirk off his face grew bigger. She sighed, deciding to ignore him. The teacher walked in and her attention was successfully diverted.Minutes after the class, Mo Yuan went off to his group of friends while she sat for a while. Her emotions in disarray. She signed the adoption papers the day before and legally became a part of their family. She couldn’t deny that as much as it pleased her, she was baffled. Who in their right minds would adopt someone they knew nothing about. Maybe, they investigated her but still…. Anyway, she would accept things has they come.“Mo Xin Er. Earth to Mo Xin Er!” She heard and jolted from her thoughts, seizing the hand holding her arm. She sighed when she looked beside her and saw Yun Miaomiao looking at her earnestly.“What’s wrong?”“erm… You and Mo Yuan. What is b
“You don’t like her?” she asked, glancing at the young man.He snorted showing his disgust.“I don’t like her. She's too materialistic and proud”“Most boys in school like her. She is the school belle”“They don’t see her true colors. She tried to coax my friends into setting me up with her”“I don’t like her one bit” One of his friends grunted from behind....…Aim!Dodge!!Shadow!!!Array!!!!The sound of fists bumping resonated across the training room. A man stood on the stairs in his fitness attire and his hands fixed behind his back as he watched satisfactorily. It’s been five months since her adoptive father signed her and Mo Yuan up in a fitness school. She learned karate and taekwondo but surprisingly, she easily got the hang of it. She could fend off most of her opponents without worry that even the trainer seemed to believe she must have had a few lessons before.“Okay, enough. Pick your partn
She outstretched her hand casually towards Su Jing who received the handshake “Hi. Mo Xin Er”“Su Jing. I’m Liuying's boyfriend. Nice to meet you”“Oh. Nice to meet you too” But beneath her tongue, the words ‘I wouldn’t say the same. You’re disturbing my peace”She smiled lightly. And began eating.Su Jing looked at her dumbfounded. Okay, where was the usual pleasantries? She seemed like she would slaughter him if he said anything while she was eating.He looked towards Fan Liuying again and they both glanced at the other two simultaneously, their thoughts perfectly the same‘What a pair of weirdos. They'll make a good couple'Truth be told, they both didn't realise how perfect their thoughts were. However, let's leave that for the future.The dinner went that way, with a foodie concentrated on her food, a couple distributing dog food in the middle of a restaurant and a young man silently eating his meal, his eyes thoroughly fixed on the food.“It's
Fan Liuying looked really pissed as she made her way to the car. The owner didn't seem to have the decency to come out, afterall. She knocked impatiently on the car's window but when no one answered, she kicked the car door. Unexpectedly, it jerked open.But what met their eyes was a total tragic scene. A man was slumped on the driver's seat, his head bumped into the stirring wheel. There was a hole in his shoulder blade and blood gushed out of it in huge quantities.The two girls stood in front of the car, shell-shocked. Fan Liuying's fingers which was holding onto the door handle shook. She began to shake. Although Mo Xin Er was much composed, she was very shocked.His phone which was still powered on and a voice that kept calling and shouting his name jolted them out of their reverie. Mo Xin Er looked around. It was dark and the hostel was quiet. No one seemed to be in sight. She didn’t know what to do. She glanced at the other girl for a moment before taking
She was clueless too. It was meant to be just a simple eat out and they would come back to their room. She never expected such a scene. And she desperately wished, she was doing the right thing.She was about to reply the girl again when a pair of lights flashed on their faces. They looked into the distance and saw a motorbike headed their way. Soon it sped and parked beside them. The rider was clothed all in black. He pulled his helmet off hurrying down from the bike and walked towards them. The moment he got in front of them, she watched as shock plastered on his face for a few seconds. And before she could blink, it was gone.He walked towards the car and after probably confirming he got the right person, he turned towards them.“Thank you so much. And also for not the calling cops. I promise you'll not be implicated in anyway regarding this matter. To express my thanks, please accept this. If you need any help in the future, make sure to come looking for me. I’m v
A turn of the key woke the engine and she veered the car out of the driveway. She glanced at the phone and smiled seeing her dad's face emerge on the screen amidst the sounds of things falling. She smiled knowingly – he was being clumsy again.“Hi Dad”“Hey there, princess. You’re driving?”“I’m on my way to school”“Okay.”“I heard some things falling. Is everything okay over there? “He scratched his head awkwardly and veered the phone in the direction of the floor as he showed her the while room. “Totally collided in the hotel's vase. Will be refunding the money before checking out later”“Oh. But you said the partnership will be concluded in two days'? In the past eight months, the family business has been moving on well. It was a total contrast to when she first knew them. And like her mom would say, they were socialites. It was evident though. Owing to the way those rich ladies would come looking for her to chat and shop with.“Some things went wrong th
“By the way, I’m Yun Shao”“Mo Xin Er”“You’ve not been in class throughout the previous weeks?”“I just arrived yesterday”“Oh. You’ve got some bits of catching up to do then”“Thanks” she smiled lightly as they walked into the hall. There were a lot of people seated already. Some were sitting in groups, most were browsing through their phones. But what surprised her the most, was that there were only two seats left. She thanked the young man and walked towards one of the seats with her hands in her pockets.When she pulled off her back, she noticed that there was someone beside her. His head was rested on the table and he only wriggled slightly on his seat making space for her. Pulling her bag off, she took her seat beside him. Soon enough, the teacher walked in and the class started.It was only when the class began, did the person beside her, lift his head. He leaned back on the seat, clasping his hands. She had wanted to ask him about what she m
Mo Xin Er woke up a few hours later, she could hear Fan Liuying talking to someone in the other room. Ignoring the slight headache that seemed to be taking over her whole head, she scrambled out of bed, her phone falling on its face onto the cold floor. Letting out a few curses, she bent down slightly and grabbed the phone from the floor. It wasn't broken; just a little scratches here and there. Her legs wobbled as she made her way to the door, turning the knob and slid out of the room.She had barely made it out when her head suddenly felt heavy, her legs trembling and she hurriedly grabbed hold of the door knob to steady herself. At that moment, Fan Liuying's room door opened and Fan Liuying stepped out, beaming slightly.When she saw Mo Xin Er who looked weary and on the verge of collapsing, the smile stiffened on her face. Nearly tripping, she rushed over to her, gripping her by the shoulders. Worry encased her face as she helped her to one of the sofa.&nbs
When she looked back at the screen, she had seen that everyone had began to move towards their respective positions. She also picked her pace and made her way towards her position too.What Mo Xin Er liked the most about the game was the way it always felt as if she was in a real war zone. As she gazed at the tall pyramid shaped building that stop fairly two kilometers away from her, she felt like an assassin on a mission.She couldn't see most of the other players avatars anymore; they must have gone far ahead. She made her way towards the attic, her black cape dancing in the wind. Her steps were light and nimble as she scoured through the empty alley leading towards the attic.She was about to step in through the large gates of the attic when she sensed movement from inside. She quickly hid behind a wall and watched as one of the vanguards march past her, not noticing her standing her behind on if the walls. The avatar then proceeded again to wall through the
About an hour later, Mo Xin Er sat in front of Fan Liuying's desktop, her gaming console in hand. She put on her headphones and plugged in a mouse. The interface flipped and a game cover covered the screen. An EDM music flowed into her ears through the earphones matching the current interface.She wondered, 'It's been a while since I played Villain's Abode. Who knows, there might be a good competitor this time.'She typed in her user ID and password before leaning back and clicked enter.A string of words that read, 'WELCOME BACK TO WSR A, PHANTOM' appeared on the screen.She was about to place her hand on the mouse when strings of messages exploded on the screen.Big Nick: Eh... Phantom is online.TsoRukshi: NEWS FLASH! The King is online. King is online.Player#25: You guys should come online. Phantom is online.Big Nick: It seems there will be lots of dead bodies in today's war *grins*She grinned and outstretched her slend
Fan Liuying gasped – Yu Ran? What was she doing in her dorm. To taunt her?Mo Xin Er looked at the girl who seemed to have just came out of a glitter store considering that she was all donned in glittery attire. The shiny light coming from her clothes threatened to blind her."What do you want?" she finally asked taking a protective stance by the side of the door. She didn't want her to see Fan Liuying in such a state.It seemed the other girl disdained for she looked her up with a glare. Seeing that she didn't care enough to explain why she was at their door, Mo Xin Er gave her a penetrating glare and prepared to shut the door.Yu Ran bit her lips with frustration. She groaned, "Where is Fan Liuying?""Why do you want to see her?""How is that your business?" Yu Ran hissed. She was beginning to find this showdown annoying. How dare someone who wasn't even fit to dust her shoes talk to her like this? She would definitely remember to deal wit
She dropped the phone beside her and returned her attention back to the screen. Her smile faltered slightly and her gaze turned colder as she grabbed her phone again. She clicked on a tab and but on her bluetooth earphones.Soon enough, she called out, "Hey, Anne."A vibrant voice rang out almost immediately and it seemed to make the cold glint in Mo Xin Er's eyes diminish. "Phantom. Did you get my email?""Yeah. I just saw it." Mo Xin Er replied as she returned her focus to the interface. "Is this true?"Anne groaned from the other side of the receiver, "Damn you, Justin. I swear I'm gonna make sure I milk you dry tonight." Mo Xin Er couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her words. She had always known her friend was very simpleminded. Probably, it was one of the reasons they seemed to click. But to think of it, she seemed to be clicking with all sorts of people these days.With a light tone, Mo Xin Er asked, "Is Justin there?" But what answered her wa
Mo Xin Er asked, “What vacation is that? We are still on resumption.”“He can go anywhere he wishes to, Xin Er. As long as he says it.”“But did he tell you why he is going with her?” Mo Xin Er probed. “There ought to be a reason, right?”“He said he met her at his family dinner yesterday and she had managed to convince his mother to let her come along with her cousin. And she agreed. “Fan Liuying smiled bitterly as she shook her head. “He said he had no choice but to agree. But now, that I see things clearly, who can force him to do something he doesn’t want?”Mo Xin Er nodded in unison. Who can force him to go on a trip with someone he didn’t want to be with? But she still felt something was wrong. So she took a guess and face Fan Liuying. “So, you told him that you wanted to go with him but he didn't agree.”“Yes. According to him, he had promised his mot
Mo Xin Er looked out through the window, her eyes fixated on the tall buildings the car passed by. She thought back to what happened at the penthouse she had left.‘Is he always being spied on that way?’ she wondered. She knew someone of his caliber would likely be in constant danger but she hadn’t expected that paparazzi would also be on his trail. He probably even didn’t know that someone took his pictures. But wasn’t he supposed to have bodyguards? Maybe shadow guards. Otherwise, wouldn't he be much more prone to danger without one? He didn't even know martial arts. She deducted that if the did, he should have been able to sense the third party.But what she was worried about the most, was the pictures. She was also captured in those pictures. Anyway, since she probably wouldn’t even find the culprit anywhere, she would take it slow and see if anything will happen in the coming days. She sighed and leaned back with her eyes closed.
He was about to continue when a knock came resounding on the door. Lu Yichen glanced at the door with furrowed brows before he called in a deep voice, “Come in.”“Boss, it's me,” The assistant called out as he made his way into the room, two boxes in hand. He walked towards them and continued, “Boss, you haven't eaten.”“Just drop it on the desk over there,” Lu Yichen finally said before he returned his attention to the laptop interface. He commenced, “In the Han Dynasty, the date of the festival was finally fixed on the first day of the first month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. And since then, the Chinese New Year was celebrated in each dynasty that followed.”His fingers that lay on the keypad paused and he looked at her. Mo Xin Er also raised her head and looked at him with questioning eyes.“What's wrong?”“Done.”She looked confused as her gaze darted between
She raised her head to look at him with furrowed brows. Her eyes held a complicated gaze which made him aware of the several thoughts that could be running in her mind.“Why would you do that? I mean, what is the essence of the group work then, if we are not even doing it ourselves.”“I never said it was a must. Just an opinion.”“Well, I don’t want your opinion,” she rebuked.“Okay.”She pulled out her laptop from her backpack and waited for him to get his. He walked over to the study desk, retrieving his laptop and took his seat again. She watched as his fingers danced nimbly on the keypads. The next minute, he turned the screen to face her and she gaped at the interface.There was an image of Chinese people celebrating the Chinese New Year. Of course, he would place his country first.“How about you compile the projects while I do the research. We aren't supposed to be taking advantage