The snowflakes slowly danced like ballerinas making pirouettes in the night sky shining like countless little diamonds. I watched their journey to the ground, mesmerized by the tranquillity they brought to the depths of my soul. Spring was my favourite season, but only the winter's snow gave me some sense of peace and calmness. If only it weren’t that cold, it would hold number one favourite instead. But, right now, the biting frost didn’t bother me in the same way as it did before. I couldn’t feel my hand or the toes of my legs, and my nose surely was as red as an apple. However, I couldn’t stop watching the street light, which illuminated the snowflakes. It was hard to part with the feeling of serenity.
However, I had no other choice but to do it. Slowly, I changed the direction of my gaze from the light to the two-storey house behind it. It was late into the night, and the house was dark and quiet. I
shàng xiào - a high ranking officer in the Chinese army (colonel)
Early in the morning, my phone started ringing. It took some time until my sleepy mind registered that somebody called me because they wanted to talk with me. However, even though I finally realised it, I still refused to grab it and pick up the call. Recently I had trouble sleeping. No matter if I tried to sleep during the night with lights on or during the day, I just couldn't. I was so desperate that I tried to sleep in full darkness, which I didn't do since the time was reversed. I only felt drifting to sleep three hours ago, which was five in the morning. So, which monster wanted to wake me up so early at eight o'clock?Disgruntled, I reached out and accepted the call. The not so pleasant voice of that man came through it."I want you in my office in half an hour." Before I had time to tell him to f*ck off, he hung up to me. I blinked slowly, contemplating whether I should listen to him. Nah, my sleep was more important.However, thanks to him, I couldn't d
Sometimes, when I got bored, I liked to imagine different scenarios in my head. One of them was when I was on the road, and a child was going to be run over by a car. I wondered if I would be fast enough to save it. Or would I even try? Would my instinct for preservation prevail at the crucial moment, making me freeze on the spot and watch the death of the other person, or would I be willing to sacrifice my life? The moment of hesitation or lack of it showed part of our true selves. And to be honest, I didn’t think I wouldn't hesitate to save the child even though I would look like a selfish monster.However, I didn’t know why, but when I saw the red dot moving to Kang Xianliang’s heart, I let my instincts take control over me. And surprisingly, they didn’t let me stay still. Before my mind could even realise what was happening, I throw myself at him hugging him tightly, and because of the inertia, we both fell down on the ground. However, there wasn&r
Ten minutes had left until we finally received the call that the sniper had been taken care of by Kang Xianliang’s right-hand man. At least, this problem was out of the picture. However, seeing what the CCTV footages on Kang Xianliang’s phone showed, it looked like we were far away from being saved. There was a group of seven sturdy men wearing black clothes and masks who invaded the building. Right now, they were approaching us undisturbed by no one. Even after the lifts were stopped, they used the emergency staircase, and within a minute or two would be here.‘’What will we do now?’’ I asked in despair.‘’You still can save yourself. Just go to the rooftop. They don’t want you, after all.’’ The man replied sleepily. Seeing how hard it was for him to remain conscious, I felt even more anxious from the dead-end we were in.‘’Can you use your power one more time?’’ If we wer
My senses were overwhelmed by the wound on my back and the dread from the fall. I gulped and tightly closed my eyes, trying to control my turbulent mind and pushed the pain to the back of my head. Once I was down, I had to take care of our safety until we were out of danger. But, while the trees of the park below were getting closer and closer, I started regretting my decision. What if this woman lied to us? Will we get smashed like cockroaches under somebody’s foot?It would be so annoying. Being saved once only to die again from the same person. Maybe I should stop being pessimistic and think logically. She didn’t have a reason to lie. Besides, right now, I had no other choice but to hope and pray.Just as I thought that my bones were a few seconds apart to break into pieces, I literally froze. I let out a deep sigh of relief and looked at Kang Xianliang, whose body was horizontally floating in the air like mine. His eyes were closed, and he was…sn
When I woke up in the morning, I was alone. This was the first night when I slept soundly for a long time ago. Maybe it was because I fall asleep sensing another person’s presence. However, now I was relieved not to see Kang Xianliang here. Yesterday night we spent a lot of time speaking about random stuff, and I asked him not to show in front of my family when they visited me. My mom and Yan Si still had hostile feelings towards him.Soon my mom opened the door of the ward and stared at me for a few seconds without saying anything. Then she put a hand in front of her face and started crying. I watched her dumbfounded, wondering why she acted like I was on my death bed, not just shot in the back with a bullet. Yan Si behind her left out a heavy sigh.‘’My baby Luo, who dared to do this thing to you? It’s all this man’s fault.’’ She rushed towards me, hugging me tightly and pressing my head towards her chest. A few
The moon’s cold light illuminated the starry sky, making it a picture-perfect view. I stood on the deck of the ship, watching it while trying to extinguish the flame of worry in my chest. But no matter what I told myself. I was unable to remove the feeling of incoming doom. Maybe it was caused by the event I had to attend. It was an auction where people would bid for ancient relics. However, the host and the other guest weren’t people with ordinary backgrounds. They were people from the underworld, politicians with power, CEOs of high–priced companies and some historians. At first look, at least, but I doubted any innocent historian would attend an occasion like this. They mostly reminded me of devoted fanatics.‘’What are you thinking about?’’ A man’s hands wrapped around my waist while I was lost in thoughts. I lowered my gaze in disapproval and tried to free myself from his grasp.‘’What are y
As the night progressed, I felt how my headache was getting stronger. Not only this, my sight was hazy, and I wanted to puke. Was it because of the ship’s rocking? I never had seasickness before. I leaned my back on the chair and took a look at the host. The bid had risen to 5 million US dollars.Kang Xianliang was waiting patiently for Xavier. As Leonardo’s representative, he was carrying his money in a black suitcase which laid next to his leg. If I was correct, there were 10 million dollars in it. But, I had no room for doubt as I used my phone to check Leo’s bank account. Just a week аго one of his debit cards lessened with the exact same sum. So, it was only logical to assume he was going to use it for tonight’s bid. However, even if I was wrong, I doubted he would pay more than Kang Xianliang, this crazy b*stard. If Xavier brought more than twenty – five million for this relic, I was going to rename myself.‘&rsqu
I slowly woke up tied to a chair. The ropes dug tightly into the skin of my wrists and ankles. I was pretty sure I would have bruises by them. But, right not, this was my least significant problem. As things were unfolding, it looked like I was going to have the same fate as before. The only difference was that this time there wouldn’t be anyone to save me.The room was the same. This was the cabin of Xavier, but he was nowhere to be seen. His absence, however, didn’t put me at ease. I didn’t know how much time I was unconscious and whether he would be back soon. I could try to use the opportunity to free myself but remembering how angry he got when I tried to escape before and how crueller he would get because I angered him, I was too paralysed to act.Was this how it was going to end? What was the point of my travelling to the past if I would die anyway? Twice, in the same manner. When I agreed to the unknown woman's offer, I hoped I would manage to
The morning air was crisp and fresh. The sun was shining brightly, and its warmth gently caressed my skin. I was lying on the concrete next to the pool in the yard of Leonardo’s two-story house. My eyes were closed, and I was exuding an air of tranquillity. Or at least I hoped my pretense was believable enough for the security guard whose eyes were glaring at me with murderous intent. I wish I could sigh, but that would give me away. Honestly, at this point, the constant threats to my life felt like an annoying chore I had to constantly deal with. A normal person would be scared, constantly on edge, looking behind their back to make sure there isn’t a crazy personal hitman or a mentally unstable woman trying to end them, but maybe because I died once, I became a bit indifferent. Or maybe my indifference was a result of me going cuckoo. Whichever one it was, I was too lazy to give a sh*t.The security guard looked around for the fifth time during the last ten minutes. No, not because h
Trigger warning, panic attack, suicide, ptsd 1 month later, Valetta, Malta I raised my hands wrapped in boxing gloves and tried to relax my shoulders. They shouldn’t be stiff or too high. That would make my belly vulnerable. I put my right leg forward and crouched a little just enough to easy to avoid an attack coming to my face. I looked at the man standing opposite me and once his eyes met mine, I tried to hit him with my right fist. He blocked it as always, but it didn’t’ mean it will stop me from trying to punch him again and again. When I tried to hit him for the fourth time, he raised his fist so quickly I couldn’t even see it before I felt pain on the left side of my head. I staggered backward and shook my head like a wet dog. ‘’ I told you to be careful when you attack because you leave your guard open.’’ Leo’s voice was even and unbothered. On the other hand, I was already breathing with difficulties. ‘’Don’t focus only on attacking. You need to prot
For the first time in a long while, I felt some semblance of satisfaction. Was it because Leonardo, the man I used to love so much without being reciprocated, was standing in front of me? No, definitely, not. It was because of the fear in the eyes of the woman who ordered my death and almost succeeded in taking my life. Her skin was as white as a sheet of paper, and her dark eyes were round with dread. Did I look like that when Xavier took a picture of me and sent it to her? Did she feel the same thing as me now? If the answer was yes, I could truthfully say that I understood her. I sincerely understood why she enjoyed watching the person she hated suffering. My gaze full of malice was promising endless pain if I got the chance to get near her. Noticing the promise in my eyes, she quickly hid behind Xavier. As always. God, I just wanted to see her alone without the protection of her dog. I clenched my jaw, sensing my boiling anger but then forced myself to calm down. I wante
“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.” Never in my life did I believe there would be a day when a quote from a comic would relate so closely to me. But recently, I started feeling that the bad days in my life are far more than the good. I was so tired of fighting to keep my sanity. To fight to stay afloat of the sea of misery that was pulling me to its depths with every passing day. I didn’t think I had more strength to swim. I gave up.I looked at the woman kidnapped and wanted to torture me for some unknown reason. Earlier I tied her wrist and ankles with the same rope she tied me before breaking free. My eyes found hers, and I noticed the slight trembling of her body. Her nostrils flared because of her heavy breathing, probably caused by her fear. Yes. It wasn’t funny to be let at the mercy of other people. But I was curious. Did I also look that pathetic
When I was left alone, I used the time to go to the bathroom and pull the lid of the toilet bowl. There I sat in for a while, not thinking about anything. I watched the white door blinking and not letting any thought or emotion in my head. For the first time in a while, I felt some semblance of peace. Why was my life like that? In the beginning, I blamed Leonardo and Bianca. But now? After this hallucination, I didn’t know what to think. Was what I saw something created by my stressed subconsciousness? It was possible, but it couldn’t explain the familiarity I felt. I had that feeling of being aware of it at some point but forgetting about it.However, I couldn’t accept the other option. I wasn’t strong enough mentally to do it at this point. So, for now, I would just bury my head in the sand and believe it was a bad dream caused by the constant stress I lived in. I went to wash my hands, and while doing so, the door opened, and another woman came in.
The door opened to a spacious hall bearing an ancient ambience. I blinked confusedly, wondering what was happening. Many people were inside wearing traditional Chinese clothes, their gazes pointing expectantly at the place where I was standing. Just a moment ago, the make–up artist was preparing me for the interview, and now suddenly, I was on some set for an ancient drama tv-series together with many other unknown people. I must be dreaming. But, normally, people didn’t realise they were dreaming while I was keenly aware that what I see wasn’t real. Then my body started moving on its own accord, making everything even more surreal. My back was as straight as an arrow, my head held high and my breathing steady. But deep inside, I was feeling anxious. Why was I moving without wanting it? I felt like a marionette. I tried to move my head around and better look at the environment, but it was impossible. The only thing I could see was the red hem of my clothes and t
On the next day was the interview which Kang Xianliang and I had to give in front of the press to dispel the rumours of my ‘’affair’’. I woke up tired with no will to live as always, but this time there was an additional reason for my lack of good rest, which didn’t include my nightmares. I was mostly tossing all night, feeling that something unpleasant is about to happen. However, I tried to be positive and just ignore it. While I had my breakfast at Xianliang’s kitchen, I was reading the file he sent me yesterday about the woman who hated me enough to try to tarnish my reputation.To be honest, there wasn’t anything interesting about her. She was an actress who tried for years to become popular and successful, but unfortunately, her acting skills were lacking, and all the movies she starred in were criticised for her performance. Maybe, because she could not achieve her dream, she became a cruel and wicked person who wanted to vent
A hand crept on my back, slowly caressing it, making my hairs stood on ends. My heart started palpitating, and I wanted to step away from that burning tip which I felt was getting closer and closer. However, the moment I tried to move away, the grip on my waist got stronger, and he pulled me even closer, making our bodies touch without even a gap. I put my hands on his shoulders, keeping my face away from him. ‘’What are you doing?’’ I asked, irritated, trying to hide my nervousness caused by our closeness. ‘’You are going to burn me.’’ ‘’It won’t be that bad. It will hurt at the beginning but eventually, you will get better.’’ I blinked a few times, astonished at what he had just said. During the time we spent together, I realised that this man had some really black and twisted sense of humour. So, I knew right now he wasn't serious. But, there was one problem. One moment he was joking, and the other, he was serious, doing exactly what he had been joking about. Seei
The name of the woman who supposedly was behind this whole ordeal didn’t invoke any memories in me. For the sake of my life, I couldn’t remember if I had ever met her, nor could I think of a situation where my actions could directly or indirectly implicate her. We didn’t have common friends or acquaintances. So, why the bloody hell did she do this? But maybe, it wasn’t because of me. Maybe it was because she had a history with somebody close to me and was using me as a revenge tool. However, I could hardly think of a person here in China who cared so much about me they could get upset if I was hurt. While I was thinking about this, I arrived at Kang Xianliang’s mansion. When the butler let me in, I hurried to his office wanting to ask if he knew that woman by some chance. However, I only made one step when the butler’s hand stopped me on my way to the stairs. ‘’Young Master isn’t in a very good mood today. Be careful not to worsen it.’’ My eyebrows furrowed a