23

“How... did... When did this... What happened? Who did this to you?”

He continue to trace the words with fingers, outlining the words that held more importance than him. As he did, he found himself cursing whoever did it. She was no longer the Wu Fu Chen he knew, she was now Hebe Tian. She was a girl who has a new life, with a new name and she has been kept hidden for all these years. Mike was on the blink of going crazy so he got up. Hebe could hear his footsteps walking further and further away from her. Was this too much to handle? The truth came out he responded, what were you thinking? What were you hoping he would do?

Hebe didn’t expect much, no, she didn’t expect him to continue loving her. She wanted him to walk out, forget what he just saw and most importantly, forget who she was. Because she was no longer the sweet, innocent girl he was in love with. When Mike got off the floor, she had expected him to say their goodbyes but instead, to her surprise. She felt something soft wrap around her. A blanket, he came back with a blanket. He wanted her, right from the beginning, he wanted her, only her.

The years that gone by, he repeatedly told himself that she was gone, gone from his life. Probably getting engaged with a man other than him. He wasn’t like his younger brother who kept as many girls in his arms as he can, but the one thing he envied about him was his ability to keep one girl in his heart. No matter how much it pained him, he couldn’t erase her from his heart. So he kept his mind occupied by going girl to girl while Mike kept his eyes on the words on a page. Aaron made it seemed like it was easier than focusing on the plain black and white letters on the page, but that was Mike. It was easier for him to forget when he is reading documents.

However, when he bumped into Fu Chen at the club, he was surprise to find himself recalling her in his memories. He had finally found her, when he kissed her at the club, he was more than relieved to see her. He promised at that moment that he would not let this opportunity to slip through his fingers again, never again.

“I promise, I will keep this secret hidden. I promise with my mind, heart, and soul.” He lightly whispered leaning in to give a kiss on the shoulder.

“Why...”

“Even if you showed me just a little of your back, I can tell your still scared.” He wrapped the blanket tighter around her, hoping she would feel secure and warm beneath it. “For you to show me this much is already enough. Hebe... I want to protect you, one of the reasons why I choose to be here versus the office is because of you. I want to see you, be with you and to protect you. I have said this already but I will say it again, I want to be with you. Even if it is for a moment like now, I have confessed, humiliated myself in front of you in the past and now and I also did things that I wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong because I can’t tell anymore. But most importantly, I did it knowing it will make you happy. If you want, I can change my heart. If you want me to forget you, it won’t be easy but I will try too, if  that is what you want me to do.”

Sensing her hesitation, he gently lift her chin so that he could see her face. “Even if you say you don’t want to be with me, I am still going to protect you no matter what. Even if you don’t want me too, I have already decided.” His lips curve into a smile as wrapped his arms around her. “Why...? Why are you so stubborn?”

“That’s my best trait! Being stubborn and going after the girl who he spent his life chasing after is what makes me who I am. So Hebe... Trust me and... Be strong.” He lightly whispered as he walked out of the room.

Flashback

7 years ago,

“Listen carefully, I love you girls from the bottom of my heart. I will continue to love you for as long as I live. I want you guys to never leave one another and you guys are forbidden to show your s to anyone. Not even your father or me, I forbid it. What I engraved on your backs are two sides of the puzzle. These two puzzles MUST stay hidden, no one will know about this. No one. This will be a secret between you and I. Understand?”

End of Flashback

“W–What did I–I just d–do?” Her eyes widen. ‘The words that no one was suppose to know... Someone knows.’ “I am so sorry mom... I know you must hate me for being a bad daughter who didn’t listen to your words... but I found myself unable to control myself when I’m with.... him...”

................

“This is the Taiwan News Channel, Angela Qiu reporting to you from Taiwan National Park, A body was found by several joggers this morning at 7:00 A.M this morning. As far as we know it, this body appears to be a man who is in his late 60’s. The police has confirmed that the cause of his death is from a gunshot right through his skull. Could it be our search for Mr. Wu over? Could this be the man who was reported missing 7 years ago? If so, where are his remaining family members now? If those who wants to step forward and see if this body is your beloved, please contact the authorities immediately.”

Angela stared at the crime scene as her cameramen began packing up. What she read was what the script came out to be. In all her years being a reporter, when the scripts come out, they must be real. But the crime scene in front of her, felt like it had been tampered with... It didn’t look real enough, to Angela, she has seen a lot of crime scenes so she knows but the one she is in right now, doesn’t seem quite right.

“This isn’t it... Something’s not right... It feels off...” She whispered as her hands clenched, tightening her jaw while her assistant, Mei Mei glanced around the scene. Her lips curve into a smirk as she spotted a couple men from the Red Dragons on the scene, walking around like they were a part of the team. It was going according to plan.

“Mei Mei!” Mei Mei walked over to Angela who handed her mic over to her. “I’ll meet you back in the office, there’s somewhere I want to check out.”

“You sound like you’re in a hurry! What’s up? I could do it for you, after all, I am your awesome assistant!”

“Just go back to the office, I’m going to stay behind and check out the crime scene once more.”

“But how can you? The police has restricted access to anyone other than the police or forensics. Only they can gain entry into the crime scene.”

“I’ll see you later. In the meantime, bring this back to the office and have the team manager look over the footage. He will instruct you guys on what to do next, so get going. Team manager is going to be angry when he doesn’t get the footage, since he called us up to work since 4:00 am. I’ll notify him so that he can give you guys work.” Angela stated as she hugged her jacket closer to her, the days were getting colder and surly, everything around them won’t be as still as water anymore.

The more Angela walked around the area, the more suspicious it seemed. Why would someone kill a person and leave him out in the open? Unless that person wants publicity... But why? Isn’t it better to dump a corpse somewhere where no one will find it? From the outside, she could see many civilians surrounding the area, wanting a glimpse of the body. From the corner of her eye, she could almost see everything. She was about to leave the crime scene when someone walked past her with a cap over his eyes. She stopped and watched the person who was walking further and further away from the crime scene. Curious as to who he was, she followed him as they walked into a deserted street. No one was there, no one but her and the man.

“HEY! Excuse m–“

He quickly turned around and when he did, Angela took this chance to take off his cap before he had the chance to dodge. Being the daughter of the Qiu family, the only daughter. There was no excuse for her not to learn how to defend for herself, and also, to learn the art of fighting. When she got up, she turned to see the man pick up his cap, putting it back on as he smirked.

“You haven’t changed. I would’ve expect your skills to dampen since you’ve been in your office all day long. Who knew that Miss. Angela Qiu still have some fighting spirit left, surprising as always.”

“Cut the chit chat. What the hell are you doing here?” The man bit his lips and chuckled. “And that’s why I like you Angela, you’re always pushing, never pulling. I was away on offical business for the past month. Have you thought about me? I stay awake at night thinking about you, only you~ I don’t know what has gotten over me but I am completely useless witho—”

“What.are.you.doing.here?” Angela glared at him, wanting to punch him. The man standing before her was none other than her brother’s friend and henchmen. The man standing before her was Ah Wei, one of Alan’s right hand man. Ah Wei catching her glares could only sigh, stuffing his hand in to his pocket, giving her his infamous signature lop-sided smile. “I’m on official business, Miss. Angela.”

“How is this official bus– Oh No... Don’t tell me... This crime scene... What did you guys–“ The man smiled as he noticed her catching up to the situation. “Ao Long... HE DID THIS? THIS IS A SET UP RIGHT?” Ah Wei gave her a quick wink before he ran into an alley, vanishing in a blink of an eye, erasing any traces of his appearance as Angela rubbed her temples out of frustration. Then she turned to look at the crime scene before her, all the forensics, the police, the media... Do they know that this was all a set up?