10:
A man sits tied up in a dark room. His closed eyes blink open, revealing
eyes reflecting terror. Desperately, as a drowning man will clutch at a
straw, he screams- muffled screams through the rag tied securely over his
lips. Then he begins to move violently, but the chair falls and hits the
ground instead- delivering a painful smack to his back.
On the dirty cement floor, he notices someone else- another victim. From the only shaft of light pouring in like a thin stream of water from the bottom of a door, he recognizes the man- XiLiang- The wealthy owner of the Xi business, tied up like him.
Hope fills his eyes- he isn't alone. He only wonders what his son, MeiZuo will do, and what XiLiang's son, XiMen, will do.
Suddenly he feels a strong surge of anger rising in him, so strong steam could have been gushing out from his ears! Angry, cheated, and kidnapped, he drags himself to the door. His mind seems to have a life of it's own, slipping back to moments before...
FLASHBACK:
***
MeiZuo's father sits at his office desk, staring at a computer, eyes shifting between the papers on his table and the screen.
"Slam!" The door had silently opened, and now it slams shut.
Alarmed, he looks up- there is no one. what is happening? Curious, he gets up from his seat- only to feel the weight of the nose of a gun from behind his neck.
"Don't move," a rough voice whispers.
His instinct tells him something is wrong- his instincts are never wrong.
Quickly a rag is placed over his mouth, and before he can struggle, he inhales some kind of drug that leaves a bitter taste in the back of his tongue- and passes out.
*** "How can this be?" XiMen asks QianHui, "Who doesn't know that the Xi, Mei, DaoMing and HuaZhe business are among the top ten richest in the world? As for your father's business, it can't even come close to comparing with our wealth!"
XiMen's face has an expression that screams out you-must-be-joking.
"Nothing is impossible, XiMen," QianHui replies, "Especially when..."
QianHui's eyes dart around- there are too many people around.
"Fine," she says, a last resort, "You want to challenge my power? Meet me here, at the lockers after school. I won't leave until I see the both of you, you can be assured of that!"
With that, heads high in the air, QianHui and BaiHe struts off, while F2 looks at their fading backs.
11:
"Lei!"
Lei turns his head towards his room door, and sees the owner of the voice- Jing.
His face breaks open abruptly into a smile.
"Your housekeeper let me in," she explains.
She still looks beautiful, although she is changed. Her hair is still short, but trimmed nicely, so that she looks more independent then the fragile ornament Jing used to be.
He gives her a nod.
"Do you remember me?" She asks tenderly.
He wants to shake his head, to say, "I remember you from the pictures," and lie. But he cannot do it- not to Jing.
She sighs, "I heard that you have lost your memory."
Then she grins, "Still no sofa in the room?"
It triggers a memory of before...
Flashback:
***
"Lei, why is there still no sofa in your room? Where do you expect me to sit?"
Lei, groggy from sleep, muttered, "Go home!"
"How do you expect me to go home- I just quarreled with my mom over ShanCai!" DaoMing Si said.
Lei gave no response.
"Anyway," DaoMing Si's tone was cheeky, "look at what ShanCai gave me! Biscuits! Doesn't it look like me?"
Lei, in a rare move, grabbed the biscuit.
"Hey!"
***
"Jing," he turns serious, "did you know that we are supposed to be getting married?"
"That's why I'm here," her eyes darken.
They pause for a while, and the silence is deafening.
"Lei," Jing brazenly says, "I'm refusing this marriage."
She looks at him, expecting some traumatic change. There is none.
"I like you, Lei," She continues, "It's just that..."
"I'm not interested in your affairs," he interrupts; voice as cold as a smooth rock that survived weathering.
She laughs, "I forgot. Lei does not remember Jing anymore. What does it matter if Jing is married? Lei does not love Jing anymore."
She speaks in a voice, with such a similar tone that it is the same voice that persuaded Lei out of his autistic world. The ice world he lived in, isolated from people then. A world where there was no love or hate, just blankness, just air, just nothing at all- no words to corrupt the peace.
"Jing," he thinks in his heart, "Why did you have to say this?"
His features are dark in the shadows.
"The wedding will be cancelled, then," Jing confirms, "Lei, you are in this with me?" He nods.
"I'll miss you," She half-whispers, and touches his hands- just once, so as not to attach too much emotion into it.
He moves his hands aside. In the darkness, it is difficult to see his face. His eyes stare some distance away on the ground, at a beam of light from the window, pouring into his dark world.
"Bye, Lei." She closes the door, and erases her existence.
"Bye, Jing," he replies in his heart.
For what did it matter what he thought, Lei thinks, he did not have the power to clip the wings of such a powerful eagle as Jing- soaring in the sky while he looked up with admiration. Besides, he should have long got used to the feel of rejection from the time he spent with Jing in France.
"Bye, Jing," he repeats.
That beam of light he was eyeing fades away as a cloud covers the setting sun.
12: -------------------
In class at YingDe University:
-------------------
QianHui stares at the board, while the teacher goes on talking endlessly- she knows she doesn't have to pay attention- no one in YingDe needs to, except ShanCai, the eternal exception of course.
Her mind is in a whirl, and she sloppily leans on the table.
Outside, the rain falls- like a chant, like a soothing song for meditation purposes. "Hey!" A man shouts accusingly at a person- some man she does not recognise.
That person turns his head, and she studies him. His hair is short and spiky, his eyes a warm brown. There is this mole on his neck that she watches with interest. As he speaks it bobs up and down.
"Sorry!" He says, "I didn't mean to bang into you."
He bends down to pick some books up from the floor, and accidentally, when he raises his head, their eyes lock.
Some God up in heaven stops the rain. It becomes amazingly quiet.
QianHui's heartbeat begins to increase in speed, but she does nothing but to stare at the man from her class doorway.
The man sees her, and takes in her beauty- big eyes, exotic features, and a flowing river of silk-like hair.
Until the class bell rang, they stay that way.
Then he runs off abruptly.
------------
"Dad," Lei speaks into the phone.
"Lei," his father blurts out immediately, "How are you? Can you remember me?"
"I have remembered you, Dad," Lei wants to laugh at the trick he has played that his father fell for, "That is why I went to save our business."
"I know," His father laughs, pleased, "Well done, well done."
"Dad," Lei does not hesitate, "I want to cancel the wedding."
"What do you mean by that?" Lei's father questions, "I inked the deal with the TengTang business years ago in the event that the HuaZhe business would fail. And now cannot you see that we are not doing very well?"
"Dad, I cannot remember anything about Jing. I cannot marry a woman I do not love."
His father says nothing, as if lost for words.
"You know," he asks, "that the TengTang business was chosen because of Jing? It was Jing who cured you of autism; I believed it was only appropriate. I don't want you to suffer in marriage. But now, Lei, I don't think I have a choice. The Qian business is on par with us- it's never been this way. We have lost a lot of assets. Tell me what you intend to do."
"Dad," Lei says confidently, "If you do not want me to suffer in marriage, cancel it. I can save the company. Leave this task to me.
Trust me."
It is so seldom to hear Lei speak to him with so much self-assurance, that Lei's father cannot refuse his son.
"Yes, yes," Lei's father coughs, "Leave my failing business to the hands of my inexperienced son- an inexperienced son but still a son.
Lei, I will trust you. You are old enough. As for your marriage, I will speak to Jing's parents. Don't let me down."
----------
"Ah Si!" XiMen yells over the phone, "QianHui told us that her father is buying over your family's business. We don't know what's going on, but I think you... You better prepare for trouble."
"I know," DaoMing Si replies, "I'm already at the stock market. Don't worry about this- the Qian business cannot compare to my mother."
XiMen laughs, "You are right. No one can beat your mother."
-----------
AT JING'S HOUSE
-----------
"Lei!" Jing's voice sounds happy today.
Lei looks at her while she walks down the stairs. He loves her so much- does she ever realize that? Was it that difficult to choose him?
He knows that if she chooses him suddenly, he'll never let her go. He knows that he will always remember the glorious shine of her hair, that dark head that never got to rest on his shoulder, and her eyes- those liquid brown eyes that understood, that cared.
He knows she will linger on in every stage of his life, somehow.
He knows he will never find another Jing.
It was difficult to mask his pain, but he understands that true love is more about giving then having what you want. The show of amnesia was for Jing- so she would not feel guilty for not loving him, so it would be easy to break off ties with him, for her to forget him, as she believed he forgot her.
After today, HuaZhe Lei can finally be back.
"Jing," he stands up, "My father has agreed to cancel the marriage."
And just like that, he walks out.
On the dirty cement floor, he notices someone else- another victim. From the only shaft of light pouring in like a thin stream of water from the bottom of a door, he recognizes the man- XiLiang- The wealthy owner of the Xi business, tied up like him.
Hope fills his eyes- he isn't alone. He only wonders what his son, MeiZuo will do, and what XiLiang's son, XiMen, will do.
Suddenly he feels a strong surge of anger rising in him, so strong steam could have been gushing out from his ears! Angry, cheated, and kidnapped, he drags himself to the door. His mind seems to have a life of it's own, slipping back to moments before...
FLASHBACK:
***
MeiZuo's father sits at his office desk, staring at a computer, eyes shifting between the papers on his table and the screen.
"Slam!" The door had silently opened, and now it slams shut.
Alarmed, he looks up- there is no one. what is happening? Curious, he gets up from his seat- only to feel the weight of the nose of a gun from behind his neck.
"Don't move," a rough voice whispers.
His instinct tells him something is wrong- his instincts are never wrong.
Quickly a rag is placed over his mouth, and before he can struggle, he inhales some kind of drug that leaves a bitter taste in the back of his tongue- and passes out.
*** "How can this be?" XiMen asks QianHui, "Who doesn't know that the Xi, Mei, DaoMing and HuaZhe business are among the top ten richest in the world? As for your father's business, it can't even come close to comparing with our wealth!"
XiMen's face has an expression that screams out you-must-be-joking.
"Nothing is impossible, XiMen," QianHui replies, "Especially when..."
QianHui's eyes dart around- there are too many people around.
"Fine," she says, a last resort, "You want to challenge my power? Meet me here, at the lockers after school. I won't leave until I see the both of you, you can be assured of that!"
With that, heads high in the air, QianHui and BaiHe struts off, while F2 looks at their fading backs.
11:
"Lei!"
Lei turns his head towards his room door, and sees the owner of the voice- Jing.
His face breaks open abruptly into a smile.
"Your housekeeper let me in," she explains.
She still looks beautiful, although she is changed. Her hair is still short, but trimmed nicely, so that she looks more independent then the fragile ornament Jing used to be.
He gives her a nod.
"Do you remember me?" She asks tenderly.
He wants to shake his head, to say, "I remember you from the pictures," and lie. But he cannot do it- not to Jing.
She sighs, "I heard that you have lost your memory."
Then she grins, "Still no sofa in the room?"
It triggers a memory of before...
Flashback:
***
"Lei, why is there still no sofa in your room? Where do you expect me to sit?"
Lei, groggy from sleep, muttered, "Go home!"
"How do you expect me to go home- I just quarreled with my mom over ShanCai!" DaoMing Si said.
Lei gave no response.
"Anyway," DaoMing Si's tone was cheeky, "look at what ShanCai gave me! Biscuits! Doesn't it look like me?"
Lei, in a rare move, grabbed the biscuit.
"Hey!"
***
"Jing," he turns serious, "did you know that we are supposed to be getting married?"
"That's why I'm here," her eyes darken.
They pause for a while, and the silence is deafening.
"Lei," Jing brazenly says, "I'm refusing this marriage."
She looks at him, expecting some traumatic change. There is none.
"I like you, Lei," She continues, "It's just that..."
"I'm not interested in your affairs," he interrupts; voice as cold as a smooth rock that survived weathering.
She laughs, "I forgot. Lei does not remember Jing anymore. What does it matter if Jing is married? Lei does not love Jing anymore."
She speaks in a voice, with such a similar tone that it is the same voice that persuaded Lei out of his autistic world. The ice world he lived in, isolated from people then. A world where there was no love or hate, just blankness, just air, just nothing at all- no words to corrupt the peace.
"Jing," he thinks in his heart, "Why did you have to say this?"
His features are dark in the shadows.
"The wedding will be cancelled, then," Jing confirms, "Lei, you are in this with me?" He nods.
"I'll miss you," She half-whispers, and touches his hands- just once, so as not to attach too much emotion into it.
He moves his hands aside. In the darkness, it is difficult to see his face. His eyes stare some distance away on the ground, at a beam of light from the window, pouring into his dark world.
"Bye, Lei." She closes the door, and erases her existence.
"Bye, Jing," he replies in his heart.
For what did it matter what he thought, Lei thinks, he did not have the power to clip the wings of such a powerful eagle as Jing- soaring in the sky while he looked up with admiration. Besides, he should have long got used to the feel of rejection from the time he spent with Jing in France.
"Bye, Jing," he repeats.
That beam of light he was eyeing fades away as a cloud covers the setting sun.
12: -------------------
In class at YingDe University:
-------------------
QianHui stares at the board, while the teacher goes on talking endlessly- she knows she doesn't have to pay attention- no one in YingDe needs to, except ShanCai, the eternal exception of course.
Her mind is in a whirl, and she sloppily leans on the table.
Outside, the rain falls- like a chant, like a soothing song for meditation purposes. "Hey!" A man shouts accusingly at a person- some man she does not recognise.
That person turns his head, and she studies him. His hair is short and spiky, his eyes a warm brown. There is this mole on his neck that she watches with interest. As he speaks it bobs up and down.
"Sorry!" He says, "I didn't mean to bang into you."
He bends down to pick some books up from the floor, and accidentally, when he raises his head, their eyes lock.
Some God up in heaven stops the rain. It becomes amazingly quiet.
QianHui's heartbeat begins to increase in speed, but she does nothing but to stare at the man from her class doorway.
The man sees her, and takes in her beauty- big eyes, exotic features, and a flowing river of silk-like hair.
Until the class bell rang, they stay that way.
Then he runs off abruptly.
------------
"Dad," Lei speaks into the phone.
"Lei," his father blurts out immediately, "How are you? Can you remember me?"
"I have remembered you, Dad," Lei wants to laugh at the trick he has played that his father fell for, "That is why I went to save our business."
"I know," His father laughs, pleased, "Well done, well done."
"Dad," Lei does not hesitate, "I want to cancel the wedding."
"What do you mean by that?" Lei's father questions, "I inked the deal with the TengTang business years ago in the event that the HuaZhe business would fail. And now cannot you see that we are not doing very well?"
"Dad, I cannot remember anything about Jing. I cannot marry a woman I do not love."
His father says nothing, as if lost for words.
"You know," he asks, "that the TengTang business was chosen because of Jing? It was Jing who cured you of autism; I believed it was only appropriate. I don't want you to suffer in marriage. But now, Lei, I don't think I have a choice. The Qian business is on par with us- it's never been this way. We have lost a lot of assets. Tell me what you intend to do."
"Dad," Lei says confidently, "If you do not want me to suffer in marriage, cancel it. I can save the company. Leave this task to me.
Trust me."
It is so seldom to hear Lei speak to him with so much self-assurance, that Lei's father cannot refuse his son.
"Yes, yes," Lei's father coughs, "Leave my failing business to the hands of my inexperienced son- an inexperienced son but still a son.
Lei, I will trust you. You are old enough. As for your marriage, I will speak to Jing's parents. Don't let me down."
----------
"Ah Si!" XiMen yells over the phone, "QianHui told us that her father is buying over your family's business. We don't know what's going on, but I think you... You better prepare for trouble."
"I know," DaoMing Si replies, "I'm already at the stock market. Don't worry about this- the Qian business cannot compare to my mother."
XiMen laughs, "You are right. No one can beat your mother."
-----------
AT JING'S HOUSE
-----------
"Lei!" Jing's voice sounds happy today.
Lei looks at her while she walks down the stairs. He loves her so much- does she ever realize that? Was it that difficult to choose him?
He knows that if she chooses him suddenly, he'll never let her go. He knows that he will always remember the glorious shine of her hair, that dark head that never got to rest on his shoulder, and her eyes- those liquid brown eyes that understood, that cared.
He knows she will linger on in every stage of his life, somehow.
He knows he will never find another Jing.
It was difficult to mask his pain, but he understands that true love is more about giving then having what you want. The show of amnesia was for Jing- so she would not feel guilty for not loving him, so it would be easy to break off ties with him, for her to forget him, as she believed he forgot her.
After today, HuaZhe Lei can finally be back.
"Jing," he stands up, "My father has agreed to cancel the marriage."
And just like that, he walks out.