"Okay. Go down, return the room card and get the hell out of here." AnLing repeated as she stared at the elevator door.
Ding!
Stepping into the elevator feeling like money… or a mistress.
She herself wasn't particularly beautiful but the pink Cartier summer dress and matching heels, where eye-catching. All she was missing was a few accessories to complete her transformation.
The clothes made her look like a lady. And not just any kind of lady. She looked like a socialite on her way to a special event.
AnLing was never keen on high-class clothing, shoes or accessories but when she had arrived at the Lu Household she began hanging out with Shuya, her cousins and their circle of friends.
It was partially because she didn't have any friends of her own, but the main reason was that she wanted to leave a good impression on the elders and it was obvious that being friends with her sister and cousins would do that.
It wasn't the best experience of her life.
There were many times that she found herself being the victim of bullying and ridicule.
Her extended family members brushed it off as character building experiences and they all believed that the quiet and passive AnLing needed it.
Back then, no matter how bad the girls treated her in private, AnLing knew she had to just deal with it.
Although, she couldn't say that nothing came out of the ordeal.
One thing she had gotten out of it was extensive knowledge about high society and fashion. She knew brands and the best way to please a person's ego like she knew the lyrics of her favorite songs.
That knowledge came in handy at events and she was so thankful.
AnLing leaned her head against the mirrored elevator wall. She stared deeply into her reflection and sighed.
She couldn't lie to herself...
She felt beautiful and elegant.
Ever since she'd left the country, AnLing avoided wearing dresses and heels, unless she was going to a celebration. It wasn't because she hated them, far from it actually.
Right now, a part of her wanted to walk through the lobby with her head held high; like a model on a catwalk but a part of her screamed,
'This is not you anymore.'
That was debatable.
AnLing had always felt like a fractured existence.
Who she was and who she wanted to be, had always been split between two ideals and she wasn't sure which one was meant to be her true self.
As the number of the elevator dropped, AnLing's hands turned into a fist.
Once she stepped out of the elevator she had to chose how to act.
The thought was nerve-wracking.
As much as was grateful to Mingyu's dad for giving her a change of clothes, a part of her wished he had just let her wear her own clothing or gotten her a pair of pants and a blouse, instead.
Preferably in a lower price range.
Standing out was not something AnLing did, and she liked it that way.
AnLing was almost at the lobby, now. Her heart began to beat faster and faster so she paused, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Think confidence," AnLing muttered.
In her head, she searched her library of music to find a song that could pump her up.
Once the doors opened, AnLing opened her eyes. A fire burned in them, as she walked out brimming with confidence.
It was like she was ready to take the world by storm.
The feeling only lasted a second, though.
Upon laying her eyes on something, AnLing stopped dead in her tracks and then ran back into the elevator to hide.
Why were these two days so difficult? Did she do something horrible in her past life and now she was experiencing karma?
Conspicuously AnLing peered out of the elevator before she walked out and hid behind a pillar.
She stared at a man, who spoke to the woman at the front desk.
There was a spark of familiarity that crossed her mind. She couldn't help but think about how years back their positions where switched. Although, it was probably her destiny to always notice him first.
It was Yize.
"How unlucky…" AnLing grumbled.
At first, she wondered if she should just wait and let Yize leave the lobby before she made her escape but looking at the clock above the front desk, AnLing knew that she had no time to waste.
"It's now or never kid." AnLing took a deep breath and gathered her crumbling confidence. She straightened her back, looked forward and began to walk.
She walked to the door forcing her eyes not to stray.
A few people in the hotel looked at her but they didn't cross her mind because AnLing was a couple seconds away from her brain short-circuiting.
Once she got outside she was able to let out a sigh of relief but then, she felt her nerves appear once again. She looked down at her hand where she held the room card.
AnLing wanted to cry.
She needed to return the room card but Yize, that bastard, was probably still at the front desk. She wanted to glance back to see if he had left but it would have been far too obvious so she decided against it.
Tomorrow she would return it.
*****
At the front desk, Yize stood with a gentlemanly smile on his lips.
The desk clerk spoke to him amicably, as if they had been friends for a long time. Were they? Not at all. But he had that effect on people.
"Congratulations." The woman said with a smile.
Yize was getting married soon. It was a good occasion but he felt hassled by all the preparations it required.
First, there was an engagement party, then the preparations for the wedding, then the wedding reception and then the wedding…
The thought made him sigh.
When he was younger he had decided he would never get married for various reasons he couldn't be bothered to remember but now, seemed like the right time to marry and so he accepted his fate.
At 8:00 pm he was set to meet with his bride to be, but she was five minutes late, so he started a conversation with the desk clerk to kill time.
The woman was in mid-sentence when out of the corner of his eye Yize saw a familiar silhouette. He turned to see AnLing. He watched her as she left.
She looked slightly different than when he had last seen her. The most obvious difference was her hair. The boringly straight hair she once had was now wavy and she had a fringe.
But that wasn't all...
As his eyes examining her body, they began to widen.
Was she wearing Cartier?
The desk clerk gave him a look that almost screamed, 'pig'.
Yize gave her a smile.
"It's an old friend."
The woman smiled back, but he knew that she didn't believe him and then she left, leaving Yize to wait alone.
Yize turned his body completely to stare at AnLing.
For a moment he doubted what he had seen so he kept observing her. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen her in such a long time but his heart began to swell. Out of all the places that he could have met her, he would never have imagined meeting her here.
Not again.
Anticipation filled his body. He wasn't sure what he wanted. His heart was conflicted.
Was it really AnLing or someone who looked like her?
He continued to watch.
Upon entering the taxi, the hot summer wind blew on AnLing's face, pushing her fringe back, completely exposing her face.
Yize held his breath.
He was no longer unsure.
That was AnLing.
His AnLing...
On the other side of the room, near the lounge entrance, two men stood. One tall figure with a cool aura and another, a smaller man with rimmed glasses.
On her way out AnLing had passed him, but as he had expected, she remembered nothing of what happened yesterday.
He wanted to sigh, but instead, he fought the smirk tugging at his lips.
"President Kang, please excuse me but, is it okay to just let her leave like this?" Mr. Long was ready to chase after her at his boss's command.
Mr. Long didn't feel right to just let her leave.
Last night, his boss had gone through hell taking care of the girl.
Yes, his boss, Kang Jun, the heir of Kang Corporations, took care of a random girl!
The thought made him question himself, but he had seen it with his own eyes, and even then, it was hard for him to believe.
"She'll be back." Kang Jun replied as he watched AnLing scurry away.
Mr. Long wasn't sure why Kang Jun thought this, but he had no choice but to accept it. His boss never said anything that wasn't true or wouldn't become true in the near future.
But this time, Mr. Long wasn't sure how his prediction would come to be.
Kang Jun was a smart man. Prior to saying anything or making any decision, he would do —or tell others to do— extensive research on the subject of his interest.
By knowing it inside and out, he would be able to make an educated prediction but this time it was different.
AnLing was just a normal girl and they had just met yesterday. She just so happened to have saved the little young masters life and so, the elder master had taken care of her.
That was all.
Though Mr. Long didn't know of the many unspeakable things AnLing had done yesterday night…
He just thought that, all in all, it was all just a coincidence and that Kang Jun would forget about her soon enough...
Right?
There was no way Kang Jun had time to do any recon on her.
It was impossible.
And even if he did, there would be no point because she was just a plain and normal girl. Even if she looked nice in the dress, she was nothing compared to the girls who surrounded Kang Jun.
His boss would never be interested in someone like her.
And yes, Mr. Long was right. Just partially though. AnLing was a normal girl, and Kang Jun had not done any research on AnLing, nor did he know her intimately.
But when it came to emotions, Mr. Long was not the best judge.
In the end, any normal person would have a shred of doubt about Kang Jun's words and intentions. He wasn't omnipotent after-all, and he surely couldn't predict the future, but what Mr. Long failed to notice was one small detail.
His boss was sly when he wanted to be.
Kang Jun knew the possible shame that AnLing felt and the fact that she had tried to avoid someone just moments ago but that didn't shake his belief that she would return.
At that moment, Kang Jun didn't realize that AnLing hadn't returned the room key, because that was irrelevant to him.
The only reason that could assure her return to Hotel Helios was the phone in his hand.
The phone that didn't belong to him, but to AnLing.
Kang Jun could have told Mr. Long to run after her, but his plans where much much better.
After all, he had to pay her back for yesterdays… uh, festivities?
AnLing's phone began to buzz in his hand. He looked at the slew of messages and glared at the screen, before shutting the phone off.
"The room, book it for a month." Kang Jun said as he brushed a speck of dust off of his suit before walking out the door.
He didn't look back.