Chapter 558 A Strange Man

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Edith picked up the phone as soon as she saw the name. Glass clinks, lively music and cheers assailed her ear all at the same time.

"Mom! I'm at a karaoke! I didn't hear my phone ring!"

Cloris shouted at the mouthpiece of her mobile phone in an overly-successful attempt to get through to her mother. Edith winced and put the phone a short distance away from her ear. Her daughter's voice was too loud.

As Cassandra had suspected, Cloris really was at a karaoek.

"Which karaoke place is that? It's really late. Why don't you head on home now?!"

Edith's heart fell back to its rightful place when she knew that Cloris was indeed safe and sound. However, there was still persistent anxiety that could only dissipate once she saw Cloris safe and sound at home.

"Well...I kinda agreed to accompany a friend for two days, so I'll be back home by tomorrow afternoon,"

Cloris shouted her words as loud as she could to penetrate her noisy surroundings.

"How about going home now, and then leaving to accompany her tomorrow?"

Edith asked, subtly pleading for Cloris to come home. She was visibly uneasy.

All of a sudden, Cloris's phone was snatched from her hand by another girl. In a cheerful tone, the girl greeted Edith, "Hello, Aunt Edith! It's Nellie speaking. Do you remember me?"

The girl spoke in a mellow voice, which was easy on the ear.

"Why, yes, of course! You were Cloris's high school classmate!"

Edith said. She often heard the girl's name from Cloris, who kept saying how good a friend she was.

"I've been with Cloris for pretty much the whole day. She's going to spend the night at my place. Tomorrow, I'm planning to celebrate my birthday at noon. She'll go home right after that. Is that okay, Aunt Edith?"

Nellie requested in a sweet, polite tone. Upon hearing the request, Edith had second thoughts. Not knowing what to say, she raised her head to gesture at Cassandra.

She heard the whole exchange. Since Cloris was unwilling to come home today and her friend even asked permission for her, Cassandra merely nodded in assent.

Seeing that Cassandra had approved, Edith felt relieved.

"Okay, then. Nellie, please take care of my Cloris!"

Edith said in a relieved tone.

"Of course, Aunt Edith! We'll finish one last song and get going! I'll even escort Cloris back home tomorrow!"

Nellie said, trying to further ease Edith's worry. Then she gave the phone back to Cloris.

"Mom, everything's okay. I'll leave after this final song. Bye!"

As soon as she uttered the last word, she hung up. Unprepared for her daughter's swift exit, Edith put her phone down even though she wanted to tell Cloris to be careful.

"Cloris won't be coming home tonight. She said she'd be home by tomorrow afternoon,"

Edith told Cassandra, casually. A bit of loneliness and disappointment was evident on her face. They weren't at the best of terms since last night because both her mother and elder sister didn't approve Cloris's dream of being a star. They barely talked at all today.

"She's big enough. Don't worry too much a

Falling from nobility, Zen Luo became a humble slave and served as a human punchbag for his former cousins. Inadvertently, he found a way to refine himself into a weapon and a legend started because of that. With a strong belief in never surrender, he strove for revenges and pursued big dreams. Warriors from various clans contended for hegemony and the world was stirred. Relying on the body that was comparable to a powerful weapon, Zen beat his numerous enemies on his way to the immortality. Would he succeed eventually?

Nellie had a driver send Cloris back to the Garden Villa. Cloris got off the car at the front gate. She wanted to take a little walk.

However, when she was near the villa, a man in a black coat and pitch black sunglasses got off a nearby parked car and started to walk towards Cloris.

"Are you Miss Qin?"

the man asked in a cold voice. His face was void of emotion.

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

Cloris asked. As soon as she asked, she became alert and aware of her surroundings. The man was dressed like a gangster from the sitcoms she watched. Alarms rang like crazy in her mind.

"My boss has an appointment with you in the Garden Villa. He instructed me to wait for you right here,"

the man said, examining Cloris from top to bottom behind his opaque sunglasses.

"Who's your boss? I don't think I know him."

Her instincts screamed at her to get away from the man. She then stepped sideways, fully intent on going around the man.

Seeing that, the man swiftly strafed sideways to block Cloris's path.

"Miss Qin, if you continue to act this way, I will fail to satisfy my boss. Since now that you've come right on time, please come with me."

The man frowned. He thought the woman thought too much of herself.

"I don't understand anything you're saying. If you don't get out of my way right now, I'll scream!"

Cloris warned the gangster angrily. How dared he act like this in broad daylight.

"Miss Qin, there really is no need for that, why don't you…"

the man tried to say something, but Cloris was not taking it.

"Help! I'm being mugged!"

Cloris shouted at the top of her lungs. Although there wasn't anybody on the road right now, the call for help alarmed the man.

Before Cloris could shout more, the man's arm shot out and hit pn the back of her head.

Then Cloris felt a sharp pain on her nape. Her legs started to lose strength. She felt herself slowly falling to the ground.

The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was the man stepping forward and gently catching her falling body.