Chunlan was currently sitting in a car with Honglin at her side, on their way home from the airport in Beijing. The trip was one of the most horrible experiences she had ever had, staying in a foreign land with strangers and an inconsiderate villain without knowing what was going on with her most of the time. She tried to pretend that she was okay and wanted to keep Honglin far away from China for as long as possible but that plan failed badly.
They were currently not talking to each other, both of them engaged in a deadly cold war. Honglin who had a nasty bump on his forehead was fuming quietly, trying to sign some documents. Once in a while, he glanced at her cold back facing him in suppressed rage before turning the next page.
He knew he had gone too far this time but his pride stopped him from making an apology. He tried to concentrate on the important work in front of him but his mind kept going back to the cause of their quarrel.......
After a romantic dinner in one of Norway's cities, Stavanger, he was intoxicated with her beauty and feminine charms. Not that she was trying, but something about her appearance made him feel lightheaded, prompting him to make advances on her. When she rejected him, he felt insecure and stubborn, wanting to proceed even further than he had originally planned. He had easily subdued her, almost taking off her clothes when he felt a metal object strike him on the forehead making him lose consciousness. The next morning, she had managed to book a flight back home.
Whenever he was reminded of the humiliating injury, he felt anger boil in his heart.
Did she really think he would let her go easily?
His grandfather was right.
To claim her, he would need to claim her body first.
His eyes roamed her flawless milky white skin and her honey brown hair his eyes narrowing slightly. Her feistiness was one of the reasons he loved her dearly, and he wouldn't want to change it. However he needed to tame it.
Her phone rang in her bag on her ŀȧp, interrupting his corrupt thoughts. He turned his head away to look at the bright sun through the glass windows. He heard her gasp, making him turn to see her pale face so he snatched it away.
"Who is this?" His eyes sharpened in anger.
"Lin-ge? Lin-ge , I just heard that Jihai was shot on his way to the UK. Its all over the news! Jihai.....Jihai is dead!" Menxiang's sobs echoed through the phone and across the car.
Chunlan who just heard their conversation fainted.
He thought, Chunlan, do you still love him, even now?
It doesn't matter anymore.
He is now gone!
When she finally woke up, she cried for so many hours refusing to see anyone, even her own family. Her siblings took turns to watch over her but it seemed to be getting worse. Her senior sister was mourning like a newly wed bride who just lost her husband.
One day, she allowed only one visitor into her room.
Su Menxiang.
They laid in the rugged floor with pillows under their heads with heavy sadness on their faces. Her room was decorated in pure white a week ago so the atmosphere had become even more depressing.
Menxiang broke the silence first. "I can't believe Mo Bingwen did that to me."
She dragged a couple of tissues fron the table, when she felt tears gather in her eyes. She looked at Chunlan. "I swear, I had kept that letter on the table for you to read. I don't know how it disappeared. Chunlan, do you believe me?"
Not getting any response, the tears flowed freely from her eyes. "You don't?"
She shook her friend when she saw her on the floor lifelessly. "Chunlan, answer me!" She cried pitifully, despair and regret washing over her entire being.
How did things end up like this?
Chunlan turned her head robotically. "It doesn't matter anymore. He is gone."
Recently, she hadn't said anything since she stopped crying. She hadn't eaten or done anything since she stopped crying. She felt exceptionally calm, like an observer observing a strange world.
Things weren't going the way she wanted it to go but that was really fine. She won't be only one suffering anyway.
No, they will pay for what they have done.
They will get what they deserve.
"I am just happy that we buried him today." Menxiang who was dressed in black stopped crying and rearranged the pillow comfortably before she laid back on it.
Chunlan had buried him in a grand manner, causing waves across the social circle and creating malicious gossips and slanderous rumours. Of course, no one dared to discuss it openly because of the two powerful families involved.
Honglin and Mengqi attended the funeral too with their families, expressing their condolences to Jihai's only surviving relative, his grandmother. The old woman cried bitterly before fainting at the end.
But the highlight of the evening was when his two friends, Cai Longwei and Mo Bingwen arrived. Cai Longwei had accused her of colluding with Wei Honglin to kill Jihai publicly. The commotion had greatly affected the six family heads, because Tang Huizhong was enraged by his blatant disrespect and Cai Shangjun, the father of Cai Longwei defended his son fiercely.
It took all the family heads intervention to dissolve the conflict but she knew that the relationship between the Tang family and the Cai family was seriously strained.
Menxiang hugged her friend tightly, rocking her lightly. "Don't be sad, Chunlan. It will get better...." Her voice cracked with sorrow.
The two women started crying all over again.
Chunhua and Chunying stood outside the door, their hearts filled with heartache. Their sister had suffered too much, so pitiful! They had come to bring her lunch but they couldn't bring themselves to enter the room now.
Chunhua convinced her twin to go back with the meal when they saw a man standing in front of them. She felt rage enter her heart, causing her to throw the cup of hot cofee at the stranger.. When it bȧrėly reached him, she grabbed a knife and pointed it to his neck in an alarming speed, her eye full of deadly intent. "What are you doing here, you beast?"