42

“  When one door closes, another one opens; 

but we often look too long and so regretfully upon the closed door that 

we do not see the one which has opened for us. ”

Helen Keller

ANGELA QIU’S POV

As the boat drove them further away from the abandoned building, I looked over to see Wu Ying Jie, my brother and Aaron who were still unconscious from the fall. ‘Idiots, all three of them.’ and Sheng Yi thought the same as well.

“So after all this, you choose family?” I looked over to see Sheng Yi’s eyes shine. “Why?” He must’ve been conjuring all the factors that went into my decision. “You wanted freedom, you wanted to pick your own path in life, away from all of this. You claimed that you never wanted any part in any of this and I get it. But why did you choose to come back now?” Was he doubting her? Sheng Yi glanced at the boy and smirks. “It’s always you isn’t it?” 

Flashback

Right after I handed my letter of resignation, Mei Mei received a call from none other then my notorious brother, Qiu Sheng Yi. 

“He wants to talk to you.” I heard her say as she passes him over to me. “When this is all over, I’m heading over to Hong Kong. What about you? When I saw you earlier, you looked like you made up your mind. I don’t blame you, you always wanted to make your own choices in life but after everything that has happened to us, I don’t blame you for wanting your own path in this ridiculous life we have.”

I looked over to Mei Mei who gave me a smile. “You made up your mind then. If you choose Ao Long’s side, we have to move right now. Meet me at the dock on my boat in 20, we will depart immediately.”

I gave the phone back to Mei Mei who stood there, waiting for my orders. “I won’t ask which side you are on but if you do follow me, if you betray me, I won’t let you go easily got it?”

“Yes!” And she followed me as I headed to the dock where my brother is seen leaning against the railing. He glanced over to me with eyes that seem to flicker with excitement. I boosted myself on board while Sheng Yi helped Mei Mei hoist herself up. “Someone notified me that the police are headed where Ao Long is. If we get there in time, we might be able to save them in time.”

As Sheng Yi signalled his men to drive away from the dock, I crossed my arms and look over to my brother. “Why Hong Kong?”

“It’s considered safe in my book.” Sheng Yi responded, half-heartedly. Soon after, we headed to the place Ao Long was but it wasn’t until my eyes widen once I saw two people jumped off from the window. 

“WHO IS THIS CRAZY TO JUMP OFF?!”

“Must be Ao Long... He is crazy but I didn’t know he would take such risks to save himself.”

Once Sheng Yi got close enough, I was prepared to jump into the water but I heard someone yell from the top. All of us looked up to see Aaron fall in seconds after Ao Long and his mystery friend. I jumped in as well, swimming over to Aaron who tried to swim his way over to... her. The person I know all too well, the person who he kept his in mind on, the person who gave his heart away, it was her. After these long years of endless waiting and chasing after news, it was the girl who called herself Wu Ying Jie. The girl whom Aaron loves. And probably, the girl loves him back.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”

“I HAVE TO SAVE HER!”

“WHY DID YOU JUMP OUT FROM THE WINDOW? DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR LIFE?”

He ignored me and continued to swim over to her and just as the tide was getting heavier, a big wave splashed over to us and made us drift further apart from one another. I could see Alan supporting the girl but when the tide hit them earlier, both of them became unconscious.

“CPR! CPR! WE NEED TO GET THEM OUT OF THE WATER TO DO CPR!”

I called out to Sheng Yi who jumped in along with several men who swarm their hardest to them.  Mei Mei quickly stand to the side while I quickly swam my way to Aaron. 

“GUI! GUI! GUIII!”

I quickly grabbed onto Aaron then looked over to one of our men who drove the boat over to my direction. “STOP RESISTING ME AND GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! WE ARE ABOUT TO DROWN SO IF YOU WANT TO BE SAVED, LISTEN TO ME AND STOP RESISTING.”

After awhile, it took half of our team to help pull us onto the boat. Luckily we survived the current with little casualties. I heavily gasped as everyone who was fetched out of the water was given a towel. “He’s a moron!” I cried out as I punched my brother Ao Long. 

I told Sheng Yi to tend to the Ao Long and Aaron while I tend to the girl. Once they went of the room to prepare things for them, I noticed that there was a tear in the her shirt. Curiosity got the best of me when I turned her over to see her back exposed. I traced the ink with my fingers, it was mostly done with a sharp blade... 

When Sheng Yi came back, he threw a pile of clothes to me. “This is all I could find.”

“This is all?”

“Yes. I don’t have any other piece of clothing left. We can wrap them in blankets if you want, at least It’ll keep their body temperature warm.” I began to take her shirt off when I froze to see her back. It was as clear as dawn. ‘w–what the he–hell is this?’

I quickly glanced over to see Sheng Yi’s back turned towards me, he was looking at Aaron to see it. So before anyone decides to get genuinely interested, I quickly changed her into warm clothes. I was done, I removed myself from the room to see Ao Long and Sheng Yi leaning against the wall.

“We should wait until everything slows down.”

“Yeah... Let’s wait...”

End of Flashback

“Sis, you are in love with him and yet, you choose us. That's so stupid.”

“His heart belongs to someone else. It was never meant to be mine nor will it ever be mine.” Sheng Yi peered into his sister’s face and for a moment, he saw a spark of sadness in her. A trait this family knows too well. “Ge was right, you should just stick to what you do best.”

“What’s that?”

“Fighting. Everyone knows your fighting skills surpasses all of ours. We knew that someday you are bound to come back and claim your territory, it was just a matter of time.”

“So you guys plot everything out?”

“Even without plotting everything out, we knew you would eventually come back. You just needed time to sort everything out. I predicted five years for you to come back but Ge was a little more lenient than I; he doubled my answer with 10 years give or take. I guess the both of us lost this round.” Sheng Yi then looked over to Aaron. “All thanks to him.”

Flashback

“Aaron Yan... Can I steal you away for the evening? Just one moment...with you... Can you make me feel special for just one evening without saying all these stupid things like I am not your type or do not fall in love with me, or whatever you want to say to get me to... You know what I mean.”

End of Flashback

“I really liked him, I fell for him... To me, it was love at first sight.” My feelings were genuine. Everything about me was real. Whether or not Aaron had the slightest clue about it or not, it was the perfect way for me to get over an rejection.

Flashback

*Knock*

Aaron and I turn to see Ya Tou walking in with a shoe box. “I forgot to give you this.” Ya Tou made her way over to me, lifting the lid off the box to reveal a set of black heels. 

“Ya Tou, allow me.” Aaron took the heels out of the box, I sat down and he knelt down in front of me. I exclaimed while Ya Tou blushed madly, standing aside as she quietly watched us. 

***

I stared at the petite girl who had a bob cut, standing in front of me in a light blue bubble dress as she squealed. I was ready to speak when I felt Aaron’s arm wrap around my waist. “I’m Aaron, it’s nice to meet you.” When he held his hand out, my friend didn’t hesitate to shake his hand. “Oh Angela~ Where on earth did you find him?”

"Believe it or not, I was the one who—” He finished it for her. “—I found her first, isn’t that right?” I looked over at him, STOP! I have to stop myself from liking you more. My friend in front of us blushed, excusing herself.

End of Flashback

“How did your infatuation happen anyway?” Sheng Yi asked, suddenly curious. Ao Long look up as well, peeking his interest too.

“One of my colleagues showed a liking to this one guy who she saw at the club. You know me, I’m not the person to go to clubs so I won’t be caught going to one but that all changed once my friend and I were going out to eat. She was gleaming with happiness as she saw him on the other side of the street, talking to his friends. At that moment, I have taken a liking to him as well. But I knew he wasn’t the type to go for me. How should I say this? I was not his type. So when I saw what kind of girl he hangs out with, they are all about short dresses, exposed skin here and there. But even though he seems to waste his time with all that attention, my small crush started to blossom. I know what I was feeling was wrong and at that time, I didn’t care, I thought ‘what’s wrong with just a simple crush?’ IT was a simple crush, IT was a simple crush so do not judge me.”

“A simple crush you say…?” Ao Long leans back and sighs.

“There was this one time, I was running late for work and I wasn’t being careful while crossing the street. So I leaped out and took a risk by running across when the signal clearly says ‘do not walk’ but I still took the chance anyway. I thought I was pretty brave but when a car was about to run me over. Being as careless as I was, I spilled my Starbucks coffee I had in my hand over this expensive car. I was beyond frustrated, irritated and angry. I was going to be late for work and I was going to sue him for all he’s got. Anyways, the driver was just as frustrated, irritated and angry as I was so when he came out, I felt my whole world spin. There he was, his clothes were all wrinkled and he looked like he spent the entire night away from home but still, my heart skipped a beat when I saw him.”

“You threw coffee at his car?! Well done sis.” Ao Long says with smirk, amused.

“But you were wrong for crossing.” Ao Long grins as he looks over to Sheng Yi who shakes his head. “But well done sis.”

“When I finally walked into my office, I tried to keep my mind from wandering off. Think about it, out of everywhere, I just happened to cross the road when it turned red, I could have died at that moment but I didn’t. Out of all the places in Taipei, I just had to spill my coffee over his car. And out of the all the places in Taipei, he was standing right in front of me. I thought it was fate. Of course, I didn’t want to embarrass myself more than I already have so I quickly ran off before he had the chance to say anything more. Of course he was pissed but he should be happy that I left quickly before I got the chance to press charges against him! So anyways during my lunch break, my colleagues caved in and told me his name and because I have high levels of curiosity running through my veins, I quickly went online to see if he was famous or something. I mean a man that looks the way he does, he was bound to be famous. So as it turns out, when I received an invitation for an party, I thought about not going but when I heard that the Yan brothers were going to be there, I couldn’t pass on this opportunity.”

“Sis.. he should be the one who is pressing charges... you were wrong in so many places... Anyways, so... Sis, let me try to guess the next part. You tried to get close to him but he wouldn’t let you come to close to him because he knows that you are a reporter right?”

“Being a reporter, you make it a habit to expand your social network so that was what I intended to do. I wanted to be his friend than somehow we can expand into lovers. Everyone around me said he was a notorious player, he would play girls and dump them like it was nothing. And to be honest with you, I was prepared for all that. Who knew that the more time I spent with him, the more I got to see him not only as the flirtatious player as everyone assumes he was, he was much more than a player. And that’s when I knew I have fallen too deep to get out.”

Flashback

“These couple of days, I wake up to see nothing bur the ugliness of reality. Sometimes I feel like I can no longer dream, because of my constant battle with myself.”

End of Flashback

It was this moment, I woke up from my dream to realize where I must go. Aaron brought me back to the harsh realties that I fought so hard to walk way from. I realize now that I can’t walk away from it, even though I try to, I can’t avoid it. After a moment of silence, Mei Mei suddenly called Sheng Yi up. I heavily sighed as reach over to touch Aaron’s cheeks. 

“My world is covered in darkness too... The only difference between mine and yours is that I can’t break free from it.”

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

NO ONE’S POV

“My men have secured a place for you to stay. So try not to put yourself in danger by exposing yourself too much. The place I have ready is safe, my men will be with you so if you have any problems, let them know.”

“What?! Aren’t you coming with us?” Sheng Yi looked to his sister and smiles. “This isn’t my stop. Hong Kong is close to Taiwan so it’s not an ideal location for us.”

“Hold it! You said Hong Kong was safe in YOUR book! No wait a minute, rewind! Are you telling me to get caught?”

“No. It’s better for us to split up. The police will be everywhere and knowing the police, they won’t suspect you since you were such a respectable public figure. Which makes Hong Kong yours.” When the boat successfully parked by the docks, a group of men came on board and waited for their boss’s order. “Welcome boss.”

“There is a boy that came with us, bring him to Dr. Chow.” Sheng Yi caught Angela’s anxiety. “Dr. Chow is an old friend of dads. He is a retired doctor so he should be able to bring some life back into Aaron. You don’t need to worry about a thing other than surviving this; the doctor will know what to do.”

The men nodded as they split their assigned jobs between each other. Angela stared at her brother, a bit surprised to see him prepared to such extent. “Take care sis.”

“Why are you giving me Aaron? Shouldn’t you be giving me the girl as well? When he wakes up, Aaron would want to see—”

Sheng Yi turns to look at her, signalling her to be quiet. At that moment, Ao Long appears behind him. He; too has been thinking about it, Sheng Yi has been pulling the strings since they left Taiwan—so it’s in his best interest to hear what aid him to make this decision. 

“I have heard enough. You fancy him don’t you? So take him. I am only helping you out sis. From my point of view, if he is around her, he will never look at you. I am doing you a favour and giving you your chance. How you work with it is your problem.”

She was speechless. “When everything slows down, we will talk.” Sheng Yi gave her sister a pat on the back before walking over to Mei Mei, who has been watching their actions for a while. “Stay with Angela.”

“Yes.” She went up, her feet touched Hong Kong soil as the men prepare themselves. “Take care you two and be wary, there are others like us who will be lurking around like mad dogs.”

“This is it.” Mei Mei whispers as she escorts Aaron over to the car while Angela waits for her brothers to depart. “Take care of them, Sheng Yi.”

“Will do; now go before anyone catches onto us.” He hissed at his men to quickly depart.

Without waiting any longer, she knew that the longer she stayed visible, the higher the risk of getting caught was. She quickly got into the car and vanished from plain sight.

When the boat went off into the distance, Sheng Yi turns around once more to watch his men Angela, Mei Mei and the unconscious Aaron Yan into Hong Kong. “Till we meet again, sis.”