When the last leg of the tour concluded, Hu Lei went to her apartment in Westend. She did not bother going up to Zhong Feng"s penthouse because he had left for Australia for a few days. Though she knew it was unreasonable, she could not help feeling a little mad at him. How could he leave before she returned?Still, she did not let her crazy feelings suppress her urge to call him after a hot bath.
"How could you abandon me?" She asked as soon as he picked up the call.
"Didn"t you abandon me first?" He asked in a teasing manner. In the past, it would have been difficult for him to be so casual and at ease. But he had become more open under the care of his cute wife.
"Your company has enslaved me to make more money. It is still your fault." She pouted.
"Where are you?"
"I am staying in my apartment for now. I feel like it has missed me. I am usually in your apartment or in Area 99. I just thought that I would stay here until you come back."
The line was silent for a while.
"If you wanted, we could move permanently to Azure Woods." Zhong Feng finally said.
Hu Lei felt her heart beat a little faster as she thought of the beautiful home that she knew Zhong Feng had designed and built for them. It was their home. It symbolised the love, hope and care that Zhong Feng had upheld even when he did not know if she would ever return. But…
"You know that I love Azure Woods. But I am not ready for it yet. I don"t feel like I have become the person who can live there." She still felt too broken to be in a home designed with love and for love. She felt tainted by the darkness in her soul.
"No matter whom you are or who you become, you will always be my Xiao Lei." He paused. "I love you, and I will wait until you are ready."
Hu Lei felt inexplicably guilty because she knew that Zhong Feng would never do anything that would pressure her, even if it meant harming himself. She promised herself that she would get better soon so that she could have a full life with him, always.
"There is another matter I wanted to discuss with you." There was a hint of reserve and sorrow in his voice.
"What"s wrong?" Hu Lei heard the unusual hesitation in his voice.
"It seems that my business trip will last a little longer. I have to handle some issues here personally in one of our major operations here."
"I hope that it"s nothing serious."
"No, it is just a lot of meetings that I have to attend. I will not make it back within my projected timeline."
"Oh, is that all? It"s not a big deal. I am a big girl. I can entertain myself." She laughed.
"No, it"s not that." Zhong Feng sighed. "You know that I sent Chen Li to handle a certain matter. I charged him with the responsibility to handle the matter with your father. I wanted to ensure that your father"s remains were recovered after the investigation was completed."
"Oh, I didn"t think of that." Hu Lei had chosen to suppress everything that had happened.
"I was hoping to be with you in person when I told you this. But Chen Li returned earlier today with your father"s ashes. What would you like to do? Do you want to wait until I come back?" He asked gently.
Hu Lei felt like her mind was clouded. She shook her head. "No, no, it"s alright. Tell Chen Li to deliver the ashes to me tomorrow. You know that I had a difficult relationship with my father. But I loved him, and he loved me. I think I need to do this alone. I should honour him by facing his memory without fear." She spoke.
"Are you sure?" Zhong Feng wanted to return home and hold his Xiao Lei. But he also knew that she wanted to grow and overcome the past. He would not stand in the way of her determination.
"Yeah. If I need you, I will call you, and you must come back immediately without delay." There was a smile amidst the sadness.
"Always, always."
When the call ended, Hu Lei could not help but think of her father. She could not focus on one side of him. The images of him as a good father and a mad scientist merged into one, like a kaleidoscope from a dark and beautiful past.
As she slept, the nightmares returned, and her warm knight was not there to fight the dragons for her. She dreamed of a father gently instructing her on the way of medicine. That wonderful father was imparting on her his knowledge so that she could become the next G.o.dly doctor, capable of s.n.a.t.c.hing life from h.e.l.l itself.
Then, the loving father turned into a dark monster. The dark monster told her that she had to fight, she had to kill. The kind face contorted into a dark shape with red eyes, threatening a little girl who knew no one else. And that little girl found herself unable to flee the monster, bound by the blood they shared.
That sleeping girl, now a young woman, woke up but remained tied to her nightmare. Like a zombie, she walked to her living room and picked up her computer and began recording the horrors that she hoped that she would forget when she awoke.