Summer 5The two girls are having a good time laughing. Then Mu Han Xia stands up and walks to the waters edge. She can see the clear reflections of the lights from the skysc.r.a.pers on the other side of the river. That is River City’s most prosperous commercial district.
A surge of pride swells up from within her. She takes a deep breath, then shouts: “I am the King of the universe.”
He Jing laughs until her body aches. Occasionally, some pedestrians walk past. The looks on their face suggests they wonder if the two girls are crazy.
It’s been ten years since the movie “t.i.tanic’. But for some reason, those the words came to Mu Han Xia as she stands on the waters’ edge.
He Jing jokes to her: “Someone is looking for a boyfriend! You want to find a Jack?”
Mu Han Xia answers: “Of course! If there’s a Jack in this world that is willing to give up everything for me and jump into that icy water, I will definitely fall in love with him.”
He Jing laughs. Mu Han Xia turns her head towards the water and continues: “But… I am not Rose. I will not live alone. I will jump into the water with him. We will not separate.”
————-
It’s getting late. The girls take a bus back to the supermarket. He Jing walks to the connecting bus station to catch another bus. Mu Han Xia is about to walk away too when she sees light coming out of the new Yong Zheng supermarket. They are at the final stage of construction. It’s almost ready for business.
A brand new building, painted in white, with their name “Yong Zheng - Your mart” written in a simple black font. Mu Han Xia doesn’t like their design. Even though it’s trendy, it seems to lack a certain warmth and joy when compared to the red colours Le Ya uses.
And it’s dark. And it’s quiet. Mu Han Xia decides to sneak into the shop to check out the compet.i.tion.
She crosses the road and walks past a few construction workers as if she is just pa.s.sing by the area. Then, when they are not looking, she walks down an alleyway that leads to the rear of the building.
She is standing in a newly constructed carpark. It’s empty except for one car parked in the corner. Mu Han Xia recognises that Porsche Cayenne. So, looks like the boss is still working in the office.
One of the roller doors of the warehouse is still open. She wants to ‘accidentally’ walk in to take a look at what products are stored there. But before she gets a chance, she hears some footsteps coming down a flight of stairs.
She quickly runs around the corner and hides herself. She takes a peep.
It’s Lin Mo Chen.
Mu Han Xia keeps her body as straight and as close to the wall as possible. But every now and then, she leans forward to watch what Lin Mo Chen is doing.
He is walking towards the car with his hands in his pocket. Then when he is next to his car, he takes out the keys and press the remote control b.u.t.ton to unlock the car doors. Then he pauses. Lin Mo Chen is not getting into the car. Instead, he starts walking in the direction of where Mu Han Xia is.
Mu Han Xia quickly leans back. Her heart starts to pound. The lighting in the area is pretty dim. The gra.s.s beside her feet gently moves with the wind. The place is very quiet. She is not making any noise. And neither is he.
Mu Han Xia decides this is not a place to linger. She takes small steps and quietly walks back toward the front of the building. But it’s dark and it’s hard to see where she is going. She is feeling the way with her feet. Occasionally, she steps on a pile of dirt. But it’s not the time to think about whether her shoes are dirty. She just wants to leave the area. And just as she starts to feel relieved, she hears a dry laugh from behind her.
“Ah…” She panics and loses her balance as she steps into an undulating pit. she falls face down to the ground. “Ough.. ough..” She coughs because of the irritation caused by the dust going into her nostrils. Her face is full of dirt too.
She begins to feel pain on her elbows and knees. She tries to get up, but the heels of one of her shoes is stuck in the crack on the ground. Then she hears some footsteps. She looks up and sees Lin Mo Chen standing next to her.
He bends down and look her in the eyes. Mu Han Xia blushes. She can see his bright eyes clearly, even in the low light conditions.
“A humble salesman who is unwilling to turn from the dark side. What? She is planning to be a spy too?”
Mu Han Xia retorts: “Who says I am a spy? I just happened to walk past here.”
Lin Mo Chen looks around and says: “You so happened to walk past my warehouse at 9pm?”
Mu Han Xia is lost for words. She chooses to ignore him. She bends over to loosen the shoe that is stuck. Then she puts it back on and stands up. Eager to change the topic of conversation, she says to him: “Let’s talk about something else. How can you be so sure that you can force Le Ya out of business in three months?”
Lin Mo Chen stands up too.
When he stands next to Mu Han Xia, it’s obvious that he is much taller than her. Mu Han Xia instinctually wants
to step back to increase the distance between them. But the alleyway is narrow. There is not much room to move. He leans forward and smiles while whispering to her: “Of course I can. Would you like me to tell you my plan?”
Mu Han Xia is stunned: “Huh?”
Lin Mo Chen laughs: “Do I look like someone who will give my secret away out of grat.i.tude?”
Mu Han Xia: “….”
She feels like picking up a piece of brick to throw at him.
“Well…” She retorts: “We are not as easy to defeat as you think!”
She starts to walks away.
Lin Mo Chen watches her as she leaves the alleyway. She is wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a shirt with a simple checkers design on top of a plain white T Shirt. Her long straight hair is shiny and silky smooth. Her waist is small and her legs are long. She is attractive. But within his social circle, there are a lot of woman that are more beautiful than Mu Han Xia. If she is a star in the sky, she would be a small, dim and inconspicuous star amongst many other much brighter ones that shine like diamonds.
She is like a small ordinary speck of dust that does not belong in his world.
—————-
When Mu Han Xia arrives home, she notices her high school friend “Monkey’ is online. When he sees that she is online too, he calls her for an online chat.
Mu Han Xia asks: “Do you have some news for me?”
‘Monkey’ doesn"t answer her question. Instead, he asks her another question: “Cla.s.s captain, can you tell me why you are inquiring about this person?”
Mu Han Xia answers: “Something to do with my work. Tell me, what have you found out about him?”
‘Monkey’ answers: “Oh… Anyway, you should avoid this man at all cost. If you see him walking towards you, take a different route. If he is attacking your company, your company should ‘take a different route’ too.”
Mu Han Xia is dumbfounded: “What do you mean?”
‘Monkey’ answers: “There are some horrifying rumours about him. He is a merciless, ruthless mercenary. Apparently, those who oppose him end up defeated and bankrupted!”