Perfect Match, Secret Marriage

As hard as she tried to conceal it, the tiredness in her voice was obvious. She really had to sleep well tonight or else she would get in trouble in the morning.

As a new a.s.sistant to an up-and-coming singer, she only needed to make simple small talk or say nothing at all. Plus, the artist she was working with wasn"t the social type either so she, for the most part, kept her mouth shut, but that didn"t mean she was allowed to look and sounds as if she hadn"t slept in days.

It would look bad on her artist and the manager.

"Big Sister One? Have you been drinking again?" Duyi nagged on the other end of the line.

AnLing closed her eyes and smiled wryly as the boy continued his rant.

"Why is it that every time I call, you"re like this? Did someone p.i.s.s you off today? If you want to let off some steam come to pick me up and we"ll go to the batting cage or maybe for a hike. Drinking shouldn"t be your go to…"

This boy… always calling on the wrong days.

The night before she had been forced to go drinking with her artist, the girl"s manager and a couple other people she didn"t know well. She hadn"t drunk anything though, AnLing had quite a long time ago, but by the time she came home it was already four am and she had to wake up at five to get to work.

Instead of sleeping, she had decided it was best to just stay awake and try to get through the day as quickly as possible but there was no way she would mention this to Duyi or else she would never hear the end of his "you should take better care of yourself" rants.

Listening to Duyi, AnLing crossed one leg over the other.

She allowed him to continue speaking until he had his fill because if she interrupted him she knew she would be in for more complaints and, noticing that she was almost at her destination, she didn"t have time for that.

"So, when are you coming home? Even if you don"t come home, at least come to the hospital. Grandmother and Grandfather miss you…" Duyi said with antic.i.p.ation. It sounded like he wanted to add "and I do too." but decided against it.

A part of AnLing wanted to laugh but she held herself back, keeping the tone between them serious.

"I can"t come home this weekend. I have things to do, but grandmothers birthday is coming soon. They"re still celebrating, right? I"ll see you then."

"Seriously? that"s two months away! Come on sis. I"m dying here. You"ve been back for months but you still haven"t come home. Don"t you miss us?"

"Nope"

AnLing didn"t miss the Lu family at all. Sure, there were times she felt the urge to visit but missing them would mean loving them and loving them was something she couldn"t bring herself to do anymore...

But there was always a dull ache that appeared in her heart when Duyi spoke to her. It was the same feeling she would get when she looked at her grandmother.

As he finished uttering his words, the taxi stopped. She asked Duyi to give her a minute before she paid the taxi driver and stepped out onto the curb.

AnLing stood at the front of a bar.

"Look, things still need to be settled with work and my living situation. I"m just trying to get my life back on track before I relax. Is that answer satisfactory?"

What AnLing said was the truth but at the same time, she planned on avoiding time with the Lu Family for as long as possible.

She felt a bit bad lying to Duyi but at the same time, she wasn"t about to put herself in the line of fire even if it meant avoiding him for a while.

On the other end of the line, Duyi began to make his argument.

"But my dearest Sister One," He started, speaking some sweet words. "It was bad enough that you left, way back when, without telling me, but now that you"re back you don"t want to see your handsome brothers face? You should know better than anyone that your presence in my life is like the rising sun.

Everyone here is boring, always talking business or c.r.a.p. You are different, I want to talk about fun stuff. I promise that I won"t take you away for too long. You don"t even need to come home, we can hang out just you and I. Anything and anywhere will do as long as I can see you again."

Suddenly, he lowered his voice, "Also, I know you"re trying to avoid Second Sister so I"ll keep this a secret from her too. "Kay?"

This boy was really a sweet talker. He knew how to coax her well. She had been gone for six years without even so much as a phone call, only texts on special occasions but he still knew her too well.

She couldn"t help but admire him. He was so carefree.

Ah, how she missed her innocence; her youth.

The more he spoke, the more she found herself giving in until she began to say,

"Fine, you know what—"

Suddenly, AnLing"s screen lit up as she spoke. She looked at the screen and sighed, the words "Royal Pain" shone brightly.

"Sorry, there"s another call."

""Kay. Talk to you next time." The boy sounded dejected.

AnLing hung up on Duyi without another word and then answered the call.

"h.e.l.lo, Miss Lu," AnLing said as politely as she could.

"We need to talk." Shuya"s voice was low. "Hotel Helios. 9 pm don"t be late."

Hotel Helios?

AnLing felt as if her breath had been caught in her throat. Distant memories began to flood her mind.

Was her s.e.x dream a premonition?

Today was becoming the worst day of her life!

The maternity war, the taxi dream and now, Hotel Helios. All in one day?

She"d rather not put herself in that type of position.

She almost had the impulse to hang up on Shuya, right then and there, and then call her therapist.

AnLing, steadied her mind and voice: "I can"t. I have to work."

The line was quiet for a moment but AnLing could hear footsteps. When the footsteps stopped a shrill voice broke the silence.

"You better come! I"ll give you money if that"s what you want. Do you understand the situation you"re in? You owe me. "

AnLing felt a cold chill run down her spine and her expression became more and more serious. It had been so long since she heard those words.

Her grip on the cellphone tightened and she could imagine it breaking under the pressure.

Shuya had left no room for a retort because she was right. AnLing owed Shuya and so refusal was next to impossible.

AnLing had no choice but to do as Shuya wanted but her mind wouldn"t allow her to speak. The line was deathly silent for a moment.

"Fine. I"ll be there."

With those words spoken, Shuya hung up without a second thought. AnLing then walked into the bar where a woman in a light colored dress was cleaning gla.s.ses. When she saw AnLing she smiled, her fox-like eyes giving her a sinister look.

"Hey boss," AnLing said with a sigh.

Hearing her tone, the woman tilted her head. "What"s wrong? Want a drink?"

AnLing didn"t say a word. She just sighed again.

"Remember, it"s never too late to start "

AnLing didn"t know whether to laugh or cry. She just stood there for a moment and thought about her day.

AnLing was the type of person who believed that things could get worse in life, so thinking over what had transpired that day, she dreaded her reunion with Shuya. If she was lucky it would be bad but if she was unlucky it would be h.e.l.l on earth.

"Hey... can I get a night off? I have something to take care of." AnLing didn"t look at the woman. She just played with her ring with a blank look on her face.

The woman didn"t look at AnLing either. She just continued to clean the bar.

"Sure, but if you plan to stay out all night, remember to take your keys. I won"t even lift a finger to let you in even if you bang on the door or scream your lungs out, understand? And come into your shift early tomorrow. We have an important guest and I think he would love to hear you sing."

AnLing looked up to the woman and nodded then made her way upstairs.

Usually, she would be happy to hear someone compliment her voice but she had to pick out some presentable clothing.

She didn"t want to make Shuya mad...