"President Zhang is here! That"s his car, the silver one! Hurry! Zoom the camera on him!"The mad dash to see Zhang Tianyu made the press temporarily abandon the distraction that presented itself in the form of the unknown woman and child who were yet to tell their side of the story. Before the car pulled up, those of Madam Cui and a.s.sembly man Ji was far ahead within the compound of the Zhang villa, the police were there to curtail the ma.s.sive number of reporters that stood outside the imposing black gates of the Zhang villa, by serving as a barricade to allow traffic to flow smoothly.
"That"s his daughter with him, coming out of the car! Take a quick shot of them!"
They pushed among themselves to see who would get the picture of the two, who gallantly walked into towards the main entrance of the tall magnificent building.
"Dad? I thought we are the only ones here to see Aunt Mi? Why are there so many people here?"
"Hus.h.!.+ What is the matter with you? Why are you so talkative today?! Young lady don"t make me change my mind, now that we just got in! Take the bag and let"s go inside!"
The other high profile figures around, including some from among the board of trustees at Zhang Corporation, gave Zhang Tianyu and his daughter a sideways look, which was a mix of pity and relish. As some, in spite of the somber mood still used the opportunity to gossip.
"Poor girl! I don"t know if she knew her cousin."
"How could she, their family is so messed up. This is the first time seeing the Cui, Ji and Zhang meet in one room. To think that only death can make a family come together under one roof. I tell you, That Zhang Mi sure had it rough."
"President Zhang we are so sorry for your loss..."
The cold look of full of hatred from the eyes of Zhang Tianyu, made the words choke in the mouth of the people who stood to give their solicitous condolence to the President of Zhang Corporation. The greeting was not only meant to show their sympathy but to make Zhang Tianyu notice that they were among the people that came to pay their respects to his niece, so that in the future he would consider them as staunch allies in the event they needed help from him. An audible inward inhalation of pensive breath could be seen on their faces, with some freezing from the shocking display of animosity from Zhang Tianyu.
"Dad, did somebody die?"
"...."
Speechless from what his daughter asked, the President of Zhang Corporation s.n.a.t.c.hed the two bags that was presented to him and his daughter, to place a band on his arm and those of his daughter"s and angrily pinned the flower to their chest, before pa.s.sing through the doorway covered in white linen where his niece was laid out in a flower bed on lilies.
"President Zhang, Miss Jie."
The mourners inside bowed in respect to the father and daughter who returned the greeting in a lighter manner. Hand in hand they both approached the open casket surrounded by scented lilies, the room was brightly lit by the light coming from the sparkling chandeliers in the room. The rich red rug on the marble floor and all the furniture in the living room had been stripped bare in readiness for the Zhang heiress funeral, therefor the guest stood on their feet in the s.p.a.cious room with somber expressions on their faces while talking in whispers to each other. Due to the nature of the funeral, being that it was a young person involved, no food and drinks or any form of refreshment was made in advance for the guests at the funeral of the Zhang heiress.
a.s.sembly man Ji dressed in all black like the rest, but there was no mistaking the quality of the clothes he wore, his carriage although advanced in years still spoke of one that held great power and influence, his wife Madam Ji but in public was referred to as Madam Cui due to her maiden family"s lack of a male child, stood beside her husband in a flowing gown and a mink coat of black. It was like looking at an older royalty.
Zhang Tianyu and his daughter stopped just a feet from the bed of flowers that served as layers of barrier to where the open casket stood.
"Where is Aunt Mi? I don"t see her?"
That caused everyone to gasp in shock at what the little girl said to her father.
"That is your Aunt over there."
"You mean in that box?"
"Yes Jie, in that box."
"But, why is she there? Is she suppose to be sleeping in there?"
The question bothered Zhang Tianyu for no reason, he told his aide he was going to break the news of his niece"s pa.s.sing to his daughter, but could not bring himself to, thinking that the only way was to take her along with him to her funeral.
"Do you want to say h.e.l.lo to your Aunt?"
"Yes Dad! Take me to her so that I can introduce myself."
The innocent child did not know the gravity of the words she spoke, to the shock and dismay of the people gathered, the President of Zhang Corporation carried his daughter and placed her on his shoulders, closing the distance by crus.h.i.+ng the beds of flowers under his feet to get close to where his daughter could see the face of his niece, the former heiress of Zhang Corporation, Zhang Mi.
"She"s sleeping, is it okay if I wake her up?"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"
This time the unmistakable gasp of utter shock could no longer be hidden by the miserable sympathizers in the living room. Taking a deep breath, Zhang Tianyu decided to break the news to his daughter.
"Jie, your Aunt Mi is dead, she died yesterday.
The dark pair of innocent eyes looked at sad ones of her father.
"She will return back soon, right?"
Sadly, Zhang Jie was at that age where a child is yet to understand that death is irreversible.