When she heard the familiar dark voice, her mind went blank. She lost it.
Staggering a few steps back, she required the support of the wall to steady her.
A trolly containing clean plates and utensils pushed by a waiter passed by the long, winding corridor where she stood. Thoughtlessly, Teng Man Rui grabbed a bread knife and tightly clung to it while trembling. Her pupils dilated, she could not sense her surroundings. All she could hear was her name repeatedly uttered by that voice.
"Man Rui! Man Rui!"
She shook more every time she heard her name.
"Man Rui." A different male voice – warm, soothing – penetrated her cloud of a mind.
'Zhu Li Qiang?'
She could not speak, but she knew it was him.
"Put down the knife. You're safe with me. Come with me." Said the soothing voice. It was too convincing that she obliged.
