Su Lin lazily rubbed her eyes and woke up with a smile on her face. For the first time in several hundred years, she felt free.
She was not mindlessly running and hiding for her life. She was not scared of the demons that were tirelessly hunting her.
She was no longer the vulnerable frail woman that could be tossed out like garbage. In fact, she didn't even have any enemies strong enough to scratch her.
This lack of vulnerability... This feeling of abundant strength and power was vaguely euphoric. But somehow, this wasn't the only drug in her life...
Su Lin's eyes caressed the half-naked man lying next to her. The handsome devil was still fast asleep.
Without disturbing him, she quietly freshened up and slipped out of the master bedroom.
It was already noon and the merciless sun was beating down on everything that was alive and outdoors.
Su Lin sauntered over to the kitchen and saw that the trashed cabinets were already neatly arranged and organized, probably by Squirrel, since he had positioned the herbs in a very orderly manner.
Apart from him, no one else had really taken any effort to learn alchemy from her.
Su Lin grabbed a few bottles casually and put the kettle on for boiling water before an enormous yawn interrupted her actions.
After a few minutes, the tea was finally ready and Su Lin lazily sat on the table, with her tea in one hand and a spoon, on the other hand, rhythmically swirling the aromatic concoction.
Her phone that had been neglected for months together now, was finally charged back up again and was surprisingly still functional.
As soon as she switched it on, a barrage of notifications assaulted her calm and serene mid-afternoon.
Most of it was from Shen Mignani, who sounded extremely panicked and worried.
Su Lin felt a slight pang of guilt as she gazed at Mignani's warm and heartfelt messages.
Since everything was decided at the last minute, she didn't get to inform Mignani or Wang Yu regarding her whereabouts.
Moreover, it was also not safe for them to know these details.
Shit! Wang Yu!
That guy is probably so angry that he is going to lose it if I call him.
A sheepish smile appeared on Su Lin's face as she decided to ignore him for the time being and quickly called her bestie.
"Su Lin. Is that you? Are you all alright? Are you in some kind of trouble? What happened?" Mignani's anxious voice sounded over the phone, as soon as the first ring went through.
Su Lin couldn't help but smile at this woman's bubbly voice.
She took her time explaining the situation and eased her concerns, by dancing around the truth. But Mignani only let her go after promising to meet for dinner in a few days' time.
Her three or four products which are almost extinct from the market currently have completely blown up the cosmetic industry.
There were so many messages and requests demanding and protesting for more supply. Even her social media was bombarded with strong forceful comments. There were even threats and curses!
Su Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They liked her products so much that they criticized her for disappearing. She was utterly taken aback by her talent in becoming infamous for all the wrong reasons.
Some of her products like the hair oil treatment for baldness had become so famous that the remaining bottles were even being auctioned privately at the highest biddings. The latest sale was actually at a price of 3 million yuans!
It definitely looked like she had been vastly underestimating her own products!
Su Lin chuckled with her evil money-grubbing aura freely flowing outside. She quietly sent in a comeback message, "Keep your wallets open, we will release more products this month."
Her Weibo was immediately in an uproar with random people popping out and commenting.
Even those who were not familiar with her before quickly got a wind of the ex-Mrs. Meng and her miraculous products.
In the beginning, there were some brazen speculations that Su Lin had stolen trade secrets and cosmetic formulae from the Meng industries branch and started her own company.
But with time, people realized that the Meng industries were never able to release a similar product or even copy her formula.
And this clearly negated all those false claims, even without her raising a finger.
Amidst all this gossip and ruckus, one particular follower noticed Su Lin's reappearance.
His lips curved upward ever so slightly when his mother's call rudely disrupted the mixture of clouded emotions.
"Shi. That slut is back. What did I tell you?! That wretched plague won't leave us alone without robbing our money. She is going to take everything from us." Of course, Shi Meng's mother noticed her magical reappearance as well.
"It's alright mom. I will take care of it." Shi Meng nodded, with a distant look on his eyes.
Grabbing a cigarette from his jacket, he gazed at the boundless sky outside his office and smoked absent-mindedly.
This time... He will get some answers from her... at any cost.
....
There was just one other special person, who had been specifically tracking Su Lin's account like a hawk.
Chicago:
Hissenger Corporation headquarters:
A crisp notification sounded in Robert's phone, which was immediately followed by a quizzical smile as he perused the pop-in message.
"Heh. That secretive woman had reappeared just as suddenly as she disappeared."
He still couldn't pinpoint his fascination with this woman, but now at least he might be able to meet with her and figure her out.
The last time he had again missed her. But maybe this time...
He pulled his mind back from his vague thoughts and focussed his attention on the board meeting that was unraveling in front of him.