Hi there! I suddenly have the idea to write this out and I wouldn't be satisfied till I write this out so here it is! Ta-da! It's something like a prequel to Boyish Dreams since it's about the past of Mei Ling's Mom.

So far, I have no plans to add any Second Life characters, but my plans might change. Anyway, characters such as Xiao Lan and Gui haven't been born in the setting of this story yet.

Just want to give a friendly warning, this story may contain violence and mature themes, so please avoid reading this story if it makes you uncomfortable. And please, never take drugs.

And oh, a very Happy Belated Mothers' Day to mothers all around the world! :D Happy reading!

Prologue

If I were born a boy, my life wouldn't be like this.

This isn't my home. A home is a place where you can be happy and carefree, a pleasant haven that I wouldn't mind coming to every time I'm off from my work. There wouldn't be bits and pieces of tables and chairs scattered around in the house, cupboards ripped off like they were robbed, and there she was, lying on the cold floor, crying like a little child.

Home sweet home? As bitter as hard cruel life. I tied up my annoyingly-long hair.

"Was it third brother again?" I grabbed the old broom to clean the mess, "What'd I say, Mom? Didn't I tell you not to open the door?"

I wanted to see her face but I couldn't. Mom was still motionless on the floor, her back facing me.

"Your brother said he's hungry. I wanted to cook for him…"

I slammed my broom against the battered table. The King Kong impact that I made broke the poor table into two. Since I got the talent of smashing things, I would have gone for Kung-Fu lessons. If I had the money.

If we had money, we wouldn't have come to this.

My family wouldn't be like this. I held back my tears by biting on my lip.

"How could you believe him, Mom? That good-for-nothing man just wants your money! My money, Mom! I've worked so hard and I've saved for you to spend on good food and nice things that you like to buy, Mom! And you've lost all the money to him? I should have given all my money to charity! At least they wouldn't spend it on drugs!"

"I-I-I'm sorry, Ah Xing... I'm a useless mother… I didn't know how to teach my sons…"

I was weak towards my mom's sobbing sounds. If it wasn't for her, I would have done what my other three brothers do – leave this sad place and never come back.

Correction. One of them did come home quite often. Asking for money to satisfy his addiction was his greatest forte. And he used to be the pride of our family, the top scorer in his school. Thanks to his dumb friends at XXX University, he had learned how to smoke from them. When he got bored of cigarettes and turned to something more 'exciting', it was already over for him.

My other two brothers weren't better off.

First brother studied Law in Canada and pretended that we never existed. The second one took Medicine and Surgery in Dhaka but he jumped off from his hostel like a real superhero.

I made a wild guess that the exams were too stressful for him. However, that was just a speculation. He never wrote any suicide note so we were left clueless to know why he had done it.

I should find a high place to jump too. I was so stressed and I so wanted out of my sickening life.

I stared at my mother's seemingly-dead body. I couldn't end my life.

I couldn't leave her alone to face this world.

I bent down and placed a reassuring hand on her head.

"It's not your fault, Mom," I touched her curly greying hair, "Those idiots just made bad decisions in life."

When I went to touch Mom's cheek, she screamed out aloud and cupped her cheek in agony.

I immediately grabbed Mom's hand to look at what she was hiding– dark large bruises that were painful even to my eyes.

"Mom!" I shouted, feeling hot and that intense heat was killing me inside, "Did that asshole do this to you?"

Mom didn't say anything. All she could was crying. And all I could do was to see her crying.

I mustn't cry. Even if I wanted to cry, I mustn't do it in front of Mom.

I must be strong.

O O O

"Hey pretty. Did you cry last night? You look awfully-awful."

I gave a sexy killer stare at that tomboy, "How'd you know? Did you stalk me last night?"

She pulled at the cotton shirt that I was sewing on and rip it off, "Yes, I did! Be afraid! Be very afraid!"

"Get back to work, girls! I didn't hire you to talk!"

"Come on, big boss!" She shouted back, "We're not machines for God's sake! We need some relaxation! Tell pa to get some androids since he's so loaded!"

My best friend had the guts to shout at our supervisor. She wouldn't have such a nerve if she wasn't the daughter of the small clothes-manufacturing company. Princess was her name. Nope, it wasn't nickname. Her birth name was 'Gong Zhu'. Her parents must have been upset that she turned up to be more like a 'prince charming'.

Indeed, I could her 'prince charming'. Unlike my brothers, I never had the chance to enter a university. If it wasn't for Gong Zhu, I would have been jobless.

Our supervisor lamented, "Gong Zhu-"

"Call me that stupid name again and I'm going to cut your pay!"

That poor worker stitched up his lips and ran off. God bless me that she was also our payroll manager. God bless my best friend for giving me a generous bonus for that year.

And my entire bonus went down the drain just like that.

I gripped the fabric tight with every bit of my strength. If I could, I wanted to turn this shirt into money. Lots of money till I needed more than ten fingers to count it.

If I could. But I couldn't. I'm just a human. A mere mortal.

"Why are you looking like that? You're scaring me, baby!"

Being the best of my best friends, she was the first one to know about my problems. That time, it was no exception.

"Hmm…" She was rubbing her chin like a manly beard was sticking out from it, "I can give you some of my savings…"

"Gong Zhu! How can I take your money? Didn't you say you want to start your own business in China? Or were you just bluffing?"

Gong Zhu had always dreamed of owning a business that wasn't related to her father's. What kind of business, she never told me. She wanted to surprise me but by the time she got her dream realized, I would have already been a grandmother.

"Aww, you remember my dream? That's so sweet of you, Xing Xing!" She placed a chair next to me and slammed her butt against it.

"But it'll be better if you have amnesia," Gong Zhu leaned closer towards me, pouting her thick lips, "You would have taken my offer if you have forgotten what I've said."

"You wish! Since it's my own problem, I'll settle it on my own. I'll try getting a part-time job but you know I'm uneducated…"

I sighed at the torn shirt in my coarse hands, "And nobody wants to hire uneducated people."

"But you're so pretty, Xing Xing. Red Light definitely wants you to work for them."

"Red Light? Isn't that a gaming company? Why would they hire me? I don't know anything about Information Technology!" I added, so embarrassed, "Or technology for that matter."

"You don't need to know anything! It's easy! You just have to know what's virtual love-making!" She laughed.

Bewildered at what my best friend had just uttered, I rushed out at her, hands holding out to strangle her neck, "I'm going to kill you!"

We ended up running in circles in the production room. It was something to be thankful for that no one else was around to do overtime with us. Or else, our dearest colleagues would have thought that we were crazy freaks running a circus show.

"You said it yourself! You're uneducated! So what else can you do to help your Ma? If you got the looks, it's silly not to use them! You'll be paid more than what you'll get here! I want to give you more increments but you see, my Pa's business isn't doing so well lately unless I burn down that cheap factory across the road…"

Gong Zhu came to a stop and panted, "Wait…. Wait… I need some air…"

My friend was right. She had done more than enough to help me. Moreover, I was running out of my options.

And it was just a virtual game. It wasn't real so I wasn't actually selling my body.

And for my mom. My only family.

That's the only comfort I needed.

Author's Note:

- Xing Xing: Star Star in Mandarin

- Gong Zhu: Princess

*Our prayers for the victims of the Korean ferry tragedy.*