160 Girl Gang, Part I

Pudong Airport, Shanghai

Jia Li had managed to stop the bleeding. The tablet had turned the pain into a dull throb. She sat down and soaked in the first quiet moment ever since she had decided to quit on her current life. The enormity of what she was doing, hit her right in the middle of her stomach, making her go breathless. Wrapping her arms around the midriff, she rocked back and forth slightly.

She didn't know how had life brought her to such a point of desperation where she would rather leave everyone and everything familiar behind than stay back and face the accusing eyes of Mei Zhen or hear the desperately hostile voice of Mrs. Wang. But more than any of this, was the heartbreak caused by Tang's deception. She couldn't bring herself to believe that he was capable of playing with her emotions like this.

He had let her down, once again.

At the age of twenty seven, she suddenly had no home, no job, no friends and no clue!

Sitting amongst the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest airports, she vowed to herself – no more emotional attachments.

"I am done with love and its treacherous trappings. All I need to do is keep breathing and take one step at a time…"

By the time she boarded the aircraft, she was completely exhausted. Maybe it was the slump of her shoulder or the way she held herself that the woman next to her seat spoke up after Jia Li sat down.

"Hi, you look unwell. Should I ask the flight attendant for a cup of coffee for you? Btw, I am Divaity," she said with a warm smile.

Jia Li summoned a tiny smile in return for the kind stranger and said, "thanks. I am fine."

"Hmmph, you don't look fine. In fact you look like you are suffering from a broken heart," said another voice.

Jia Li looked up in surprise at the person who had uttered those words. She stood up from the seat ahead of them.

"You stop assuming things. Better concentrate on Spreading Your Wings," Divaity said to her.

"I think you and I shouldn't talk to each other. After all we belong to the opposite camps," SYW replied.

"C'mmon girls, don't argue amongst one another. We all want the same thing which is our friend's happiness. You both may think that her happiness lies in different direction but that's alright as long as it is her happiness that we are talking about," KM60 intervened, from the opposite aisle seat.

"Are you all going on a vacation somewhere?" Jia Li asked the three of them, wistfully.

"Not exactly a vacation. You see, we are looking for this person, SMK08. She is a wicked woman who has broken our hearts after giving us false hopes. So we want to find her and then…" replied the woman sitting next to KM60.

"You put it absolutely right, Riddhi. All great minds make the correct choice always. That's why we both like the same guy," said Divaity, with a smile.

Jia Li was getting more and more confused by the minute.

"Wait, did you just say that you both like the same guy? Uh, so who does the guy like?" she couldn't help but get curious.

Someone else got up from the seat next to SYW and laughed, "oh, you poor thing. Let me help you understand. So we all have a common friend, a woman who is going through a really tough time in her life currently. She is heartbroken and completely distraught. Divaity and Riddhi are talking about the guy who is madly in love with that friend. Frankly speaking, he is the only one who has the capability to make her happy."

"That's not fair, Princess September. Just because the three of you think so, doesn't mean that's the truth. The person who knows your heartbeat better than you is the one whom you should spend your life with, no matter the challenges which lie in your path," someone spoke up from behind Jia Li's seat.

"Very well put, Meghna. I am with you on that," said SYW.

"Gosh, you girls don't seem to realize that he is absolutely wrong for her. He can't be trusted. Who knows what lies would he concoct next to suit his purpose," said the person sitting next to Meghna.

"Valerie K, why don't you go and sit next to Riddhi or Princess September? I don't want to argue with you throughout this long flight," Meghna told her.

"Girls, stop troubling the poor girl sitting with you. What is your name, love?" KM60 asked Jia Li.

Jia Li felt as if she had fallen down a rabbit's hole. The woman that these people were talking about seemed so familiar. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the question KM60 asked her.