The cool wind brushed against her as she dashed over the tall building roofs. Not far away she could see UM Apartments. She increased her speed as she headed towards its direction.
The minimal small decorative artistic protrusions on the walls of the apartment, always made climbing easier. As she made her way down to the 7th floor's corner balcony, she could smell delicious home-made food. As the mouth-watering smell hit her senses, she slowly made her way through the balcony door. She headed straight to the kitchen.
She leaned on the door frame as she watched Bo Xue make the dishes.
Xue always stood beside her whether she was right or wrong. They knew each other from high school. She still remembered how desperate Xue was during her high school. Her friend's betrayal had left her broken.
She floated away thinking how their friendship grew over the years. Her support during the hardest times of her life were one of the reasons she kept taking small steps to move ahead.
"Mei!" exclaimed Xue out of shock and happiness. Meilin was immediately pulled out from her train of thoughts.
"At least take of the mask. Did you come through the balcony?" questioned Xue as she prepared the table for the meal.
"Yes." replied Meilin as she took of her mask.
"You know what, the reason I have a door is that you can come in and out. So why do you stick to the walls? Do they seem interesting?"
"No, they always remind me of the reality. After all a slip is all that is needed."
"Mei. Then I will join you next time." Xue responded with a wink.
Meilin smiled seeing her actions.
They sat down to have their meal.
"So how was it today?"
"Hmm."
"Any causality?"
"A few minor." she replied thinking about the hooligans in the alley.
***********
Hui headed towards the direction of the club to pick Mey as soon as he received her call. Mey got inside the car. They were heading back home.
"Guess what? I saw around five to six hooligans beaten down in the alley between the club and the other building. They all had a well built body and they all were badly beaten down. The highlight was that everyone had a similar head injury." Mey spoke about what she saw.
Hui had his brows closed in and was not happy about what he heard, "What made you involve?"
"No. I have nothing to do with it. I came across it just as I wanted to take a call outside the club." Mey responded. Hui silently listened to what she said.
It wasn't a long drive. As soon as they reached home. Hui went inside the room and made a call,"I heard about a brawl that happened near the club Three alley. Get me the entire details of the incident. I will drop by tomorrow to get the information. I don't want anything missing." he ordered.
"Yes Boss. We will look into it."
"I don't need you just look it. I want solid information."
"Yes Boss", replied the voice from the other end.
Hui sat and pondered about the situation. They have come across so many incidents lately were hooligans have been beaten down badly. They all will be left in a remote place helplessly. They have been looking into the cases for clues. Always leaving to a dead end. He wanted to get to the bottom of this.
************
The meal was quite pleasing. Meilin and Xue sat down in the living room for a small chat.
"Mei" Xue called out.
"Hmm. What is it?"
"Is the contract with the company ending soon?"
"Hmm. It is."
"Have you thought about what to do after that?"
"No."
"Why not think about it?"
Mei slowly stood up and headed towards the balcony and opened the door and responded,"Hmm. I will let you know. Take care. Its getting late." with that said she headed outside not waiting for a reply.
She had always been like this when it was about the company. 'She sure needs time. After all the wound is deep.' thought Xue.
"The dark clouds doesn't stay long. The wind always eliminates them slowly. So don't loose hope."
The youthfulness of the night slowly started to fade as dawn crept in. Her apartment was minimal and aloof just as she preferred. The dark shades of black and grey paired with a bit of white gave off a boring and lonely feel. She was used to being lonely and she enjoyed how it left her with space and thoughts.She took out a paper and pencil and sketched out the route she took this night. She checked the locations to spot for CCTV cameras to see if anyone of them had recorded her. She had gotten her findings about the cameras mixed up last time, almost getting herself into trouble. If not for her to check the map of the location out of instinct, she would have been trapped. She had to get Chyou to look into it to clear the footage.As her hands flew through the familiar keyboard she found something strange. There was only one CCTV camera that could have captured her. The footage that might have recorded her was missing clips. She headed to the 'Black Room'. The room oc
The serious conversation Meilin was having with her subordinates were interrupted as An Cheng, Su Lin's assistant requested her presence in a currently held meeting. She furrowed her brows upon hearing the request.She handed the files to Chyou before heading to the meeting leaving Cheng behind.She pushed open the doors and walked in to the conference room. Her pump heels echoed in the room screaming authority. She sat in the vacant chair crossing her legs idly.The atmosphere turned dense upon her arrival. The earlier lively meeting died the moment her domineering presence filled the room.The silence was broken as one of the directors mustered up his courage to speak up,"I hope you know why you are here?""I wouldn't have bothered to come here then." she stated as a matter of fact.She quietly studied her surrounding atmosphere. She could understand that they were all planning to trouble her again. The last time they found trouble for her
He closed his eyes and replayed what just happened. He grabbed the resignation letter breathed in deeply and calmed himself down before heading out of the room. An Cheng followed him behind closing the door.His steps were a bit hurried. He went straight into the designing department and pushed open her cabin door.*****She had left the room with an airy feeling. It was a sudden and immediate decision. As she came in the cabin she halted and looked around. She learned how to conceal and cover. It was over an year since she had smiled freely. There was a time when this cabin was everything. It held her happiness and beautiful memories.Now it is over. No more of holding it in. Nothing lasts after all. She went ahead and started collecting empty boxes to pack up her belongings. Sensing the door being pushed open she turned around to see Su Lin.He glanced at Ai Chyou who was standing beside Meilin. Ai Chyou hurried out of the cabin followed by An Ch
The words calmed her down. She looked at the figure protecting her. She felt safe. She wiped off her tears and hummed in agreement to her words.Mei was surrounded by the goons as she sheltered the little girl. She attacked as they headed against her. The little girl stayed close to Meilin.As two of them closed in she kicked one down and punching down the other one. When she got a gap, Mei carried the child and hurried out of the park. She ran down a narrow road to a crowded street to lose them.The goons halted as they saw them heading towards the crowded street."How could I lose that little girl!" said one of them with anger."Let’s not move in and act now. We will be discovered." reminded one of them among the group."Retreat" shouted the head.Mei and the girl watched them withdrawing. She sighed in relief. She slowly put the child down. She held her hand and walked down the street. As she was around the corner of the stre
Su Lin never expected Mei to quit. 'Mei I can't let you go that easily. All the effort that I put in, I don't want it to end like this.'He was pulled out from his trail of thoughts as he heard a knock behind him."Come in." he said.An Cheng entered and walked in to the front of the table. Su Lin turned around to face An Cheng."The files regarding Hu Meilin's resignation." An Cheng said after placing the folders on the table.He glanced at the folders on the table and said,"An Cheng call Shadow. Tell him to meet me in our usual place." He picked up his jacket and headed to the door."Are you sure? Have you thought about the aftermath?" asked An Cheng with concern."An Cheng, I delayed it way too long and my benign manners only ruined my calculations. This time I am going to do it my way." He replied with a firm tone before heading out, leaving An Cheng staring at the closed door.*****Hui listened to Liliang as she na
The unusual knock on the door disturbed the silence she was immersed in. She waited for it to die down as she leisurely sipped a glass of wine. The cool breeze from the open balcony rushed in to caress her. Knock! Knock! Knock-Knock-Knock-Knock! The slow paced knock slowly increased as the visitant became impatient with the lack of response. Mei slowly closed her eyes and patiently waited for the knock to stop as she savored the remnants of wine inside her mouth. The silence crept back in as the dissonant knock drew to a halt. Click! Her eyes shot open upon hearing the sound. 'Someone just picked the lock'. She grabbed her phone to check the visitor outside. Seeing the tall thin figure outside the door just made her think deep as what to do. She got up from her chair and slowly headed towards the door. She stood in front of the door unmoved as she contemplated her next move. Bohai had already decided to barge in only to find that the d
It wasn't long before she was hit with dizziness followed by realization. As her eyelids turned heavy she placed the wine glass on the table clumsily before trying to get back on her feet. She tried to support herself, only to loose her balance each time. She gathered all her strength and turned towards Bohai and asked him,"The w..i..ne.?" She could hear him say as he lowered his head, "I am Sorry". She cursed herself for letting her guard down before loosing all her consciousness. Bohai rushed to hold her to avoid her hitting the ground. He held her up closely and placed her on the chair. He gazed at her closely. At the thought of what he just did resurfaced on his mind he turned his head away in remorse. He stood up and texted,'Done.' He stared outside the balcony into the endless darkness. 'I can't go back to the past to change what I have done but I hope I could just see your nonchalant smile again.' It didn't take a while to hear
As Mei stared right into his eyes, he held his breath. Silence engulfed the room for a moment. "Let me go. I don't want to see you even for a moment." said Mei. "I will give you sometime to recover. Lets continue when you have calmed down." Su Lin turned around to leave only to hear a loud 'THUD'. He turned around to find Mei lying down as the floor started to slowly dye red. "Bring me a doctor right now. Hurry up. What are you waiting for?" He rushed towards her, only to find her loosing her conscience. He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He took his shirt off and pressed it down on the wound to stop the flowing blood. *** Mei had slowly tried to get up supporting the wall only to loose her hold and fall down. She hit her head at the edge of the nightstand near the bed as she came down. As the blood poured out profusely, she could hear Su Lin shouting to bring in a doctor. As she could feel a stinging pain from h
Hui had impulsively decided to head to her place to return the jeep. It was halfway that he thought about her staying back at Xue’s place. Therefore, he was not expecting to run into her. This unanticipated situation that leads to their encounter brought him a millimeter of joy. He wanted to know her more. As she turned around to leave, he called her out, “Wait!” She looked back at him. He was fidgeting not knowing what to say. Just then he saw her bandage turn to a darker shade of red. “Bl.. Bloo.. Blood” “Wha-” before she could question what he was saying she felt something trickle down from her forehead. She lifted her fingers and brushed the side of her forehead. She saw blood on her fingers. Irritated she rubbed it of with her sleeve. ‘I should have been a bit more careful. Where the hell did, I hit my head.’ Before she could complete cleaning, her forehead Hui grabbed her hand and pulled her along his direction. She struggled to
Mei decided to go out for a walk to enjoy the night breeze. She wanted to organize herself after coming across loads of information. She paired a random hoodie with sweatpants and a pair of shoes before heading out.She walked down the street with no direction and destination. The moonlit night created an ambience for healing and relaxing. She took a turn into the alleys and went where her legs took her.After searching up Hui she understood the farther she was away from him the safer she would be. She could also guess for sure that he would look her up based on his background.She was halfway out of the alley when a loud bang caught her attention. She halted and went in the direction of the sound. She walked faster towards it.She halted seeing the scene that unfolded. It was something she was not expecting to be. Hui stood at the center facing two bulky guys. He was in a bit of a situation. She scanned him and the surroundings once again to see what she
Mei didn’t utter a word as she stood there staring a hole at Xue. Not knowing what to do Xue just pulled out an awkward smile before continuing with the phone call.Mei ignored it as she walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.“How is Mei?” asked Su Lin from the other end.“What do you think? You should have an idea?”“It was my mistake.”“You are always ready to apologize but also the first one to hurt her. How could you even think of something like that? I really don’t want to spend another minute on you. If you wanted to know about her you called up the wrong person. I’ll leave you here.”She hung up the phone and looked around to see Mei exit the kitchen.“Mei!”Mei turned around to see her walking towards her. “What did he call for? Routine Checkup or what?”“You could probably say that. Anyways what are you up to
The dark sky laid the perfect background for the bright moon that hung up high above. Hui drove to his base to investigate further into today’s incident. As he parked the car in the compound, he saw Lei right outside walking towards him.He got out and gave the keys to Lei and said, “Find whose jeep is this and get me all the details related to it. Also look into this license plate number and find me whose car is it. Hunt them down.” Hui handed a piece of paper with the mentioned license plate number.“Yes Boss, I will work on it.”As they walked into the building Hui stopped midway turned around and told him, “One more thing. Look into a person called Mei. Get me all the details you can get about her. Don’t leave out any details. Do you get me?”“Boss, I don’t think I will be able to dig deeper with just one name.”“Ah… That is right”“We have no clue
Mei pondered about the events that happened as she ate her sandwich. She got up and went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. She decided not to waste her time and give up her thoughts to go get a good nap. On the way to the room, she bumped into a table nearby. As the books on the table fell on the floor an old photo slipped out from one of the books. She slowly bent down to pick it up. A single tear escaped from her eye as she looked at the picture.The picture had a lively feeling. A man held a child high up in the air and a lady was sitting on the ground looking at you and waving. It seemed like she was calling someone to join her. Mei stood there not moving.Xue had come around hearing the sound. She was met with the sight of Mei looking at the picture longingly.“Mei…”Despite the call she didn’t make a movement.“I still can’t get over it, Xue. It still hurts….. I still see them in my sleep.
The heavy aura covered the room with pin drop silence. No one uttered a single word. As Su Lin rested in the tall wingback chair with creased eyebrows beads of sweat slowly formed in the forehead of the people surrounding him. Everything that happened was not within his calculations. He was not even able to complete a quarter of his plans. It all went awry. He contemplated what to do next to fix this mess. As he got into his line of thoughts, he got interrupted by the loud noise that came from opening the doors. He turned his head to see Bohai barge in through the doors. He clearly seemed irritated and ready to take out all his frustration. He slowly leaned back to take in what was coming. “What the hell did you do? Did you just let her go like that?” “No. I didn’t let her go. She escaped.” “You know the mess you have created right.” “It is not something to stress on. We could just try harder.” “Despite how calmly you are stayi
Mei was already tired with everything that happened. She really wanted to take a nap. She knocked at the door as Hui stood by her side keeping a distance. It didn’t take a while for the door to flung open. “OMG! What happened? Did the sun rise in the west? Why are you coming throug-” Mei immediately held her hand over Xue’s mouth not letting her complete the sentence. Then she whispered near her ear, “Keep it in we got company.” Xue immediately looked around to find someone standing a few meters away from her. Standing a bit taller than the average he had an athletic build. His tanned skin gave of a warm and friendly backdrop. She traced her sight back to Mei with wide eyes, “Where did you pick him up from?” “Not me, it was the other way around.” Saying so she pushed her aside and walked into the apartment. “What do you mean? He picked you up?” she followed behind her resuming the convo. Hui tried to pick up whatever was happen
The atmosphere seemed a bit tense. Mei always hated the idea about relying on someone. So, Hui’s intrusion was kind of irritating for her. “Anyways, you will have to get admitted tonight. You have lost quite an amount of blood and you are weak with all the added wounds. I suggest you lie down for the night and leave tomorrow morning.” said the nurse. Hui asked for the forms to fill for her stay only to come across her rejection over and over. The nurse couldn’t resist glancing at them. “You know fights happens; you don’t have to drag it when you are sick. It will only make it worse.” advised the nurse throwing a meaningful glance at the two. Mei gave up realising that it was better to rest. He completed the papers and headed towards her bed. Only to find her fast asleep with her guard down. “She looks much more approachable with her eyes closed.” He found a comfortable spot and closed his eyes. ***** The early m
Mei held her head as a sudden wave of pain hit her. Hui closed in seeing her action, “Hey you alright?”.He met a face stained with blood and he could see a small trail of red making its way down from her forehead. Before he could act his eyes turned towards the beam of light that grew brighter.He immediately picked her up from the ground, “I am sorry, I can explain my actions later but right now we need to get out of here.” Her head was throbbing with pain leaving her no way to repulse his actions. He headed towards the parked jeep, laid her in the back seat and he sat behind the wheel. He turned on the engine and slowly drove towards the direction of the incoming vehicle. As he drove past the vehicle right around the curve, he ensured to obstruct his face view. He kept an eye through the rear-view mirror until they got farther away.Mei slowly observed his actions. Her suspicion grew seeing his actions and she raised her guard up. He h