Weeks went by in a rush through the distraction of painting. Lu Ming lost herself in her work, happy to leave the awkward date night behind her. Since then, Chi Sying cheerfully waltz around the house with hearts in her beautiful eyes. It was nice to see her smitten by an average man, rather than the terrible guys she dated in the past. Better still, Lu Ming hadn't seen Li Jun again. At least, not in person.
She painted him nine times since then. Whenever she grabbed some spare paper or brought a new canvas, her mind went blank like she lost consciousness. This happened in the past before, when she painted truths, but not so mind-numbing. By the time she felt herself fall back inside her body, she stared in horror at the smug face looking up at her. Even now, in a public space, she fought to stay 'herself'.
"It looks good."
The melodic voice found its way toward Lu Ming, despite the crowd of gossips surrounding her. The restaurant opened last week and still welcomed customers while she painted; the owners' hoped people seeing her paint would encourage them to return for the final art reveal. The clever business tactic already worked beyond their wildest dreams and each day, Lu Ming felt self-conscious of the excited gathering occurring on the other side of the tape behind her.
"When will you finish?" It was the same voice again.
Lu Ming turned around and, without skipping beat, found the woman immediately. How strange. How did she know who it was? She never saw them talk. No matter, as she found the woman more interesting than her apparent psychic ability. She didn't need to use her power to recognise a 'siren' type; they stood out like a celebrity. Their hair always shined, their eyelashes constantly fluttered and their clothes hugged their bodies in the right places. But why was a siren here? They usually hung around bars or universities where they could find admiration from multiple men.
"Um... I'm aiming for next week."
"Excellent!" The siren beamed and moved to the front of the crowd. Already, many gawked at her beauty. "I will bring my friends back with me next time."
"You are too kind. The owners will be utterly grateful."
The siren cocked her head to the side and pouted her lips. While she remained fascinated by the mural, Lu Ming stared at her. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
This woman wasn't a siren-type, Lu Ming realised. In fact, she opposed water; she looked like a fire deity. Her eyes turned orange with flecks of yellow, then her hair turned to an ash colour and burned as if were covered in flames. Red markings spanned under her eyes and the swirled design matched something to paint on a child during festivals. A sudden heat washed over Lu Ming and she gasped. This caused the woman to meet her gaze and before the fifth second passed, Lu Ming managed to look away out of utter embarrassment.
"Do you think I could be in the mural too?" The woman asked, unperturbed by the reaction.
Huh? "My apologies but I don't understand."
"You painted Li Jun in it. That guy up the back could be Xian Bo too. Oh and that..." The woman creased her brows, disturbed by the evil villain hiding in the trees.
Meanwhile, Lu Ming blocked out the noise around her and stared at her own painting, mortified. Despite the mask covering the face, she recognised the lips, strong jawline and maroon hair anywhere; she painted Li Jun again. Not only that, she started comparing her paper sketch and the wall painting. The characters had changed without her awareness. On the left, the woman's hair replicated Chi Sying, before she straightened it, and even her eyes looked sparkly. There were others she didn't recognise but, they too, had changed from her original concept. Worst of all, Chi Hao Chen was the largest and main character. Why had she done that? It was if she was proclaiming her past, childhood crush on him. Lu Ming wanted to cut of her scheming hand which appeared to have a mind of its own.
"Is that...?!" A teenage girl squealed and her friend's eyes widened.
"No way!" Another customer exclaimed.
Everyone looked to the fire woman and an uproar began. Turned out she was a famous actress and model. Lu Ming wasn't surprised; she looked like a goddess. 'Maybe I should watch more shows', Lu Ming thought to herself, 'I don't recognise her. I wonder what roles she played...'
The woman turned around and put back her sunglasses with a sigh. "Our time is over, my dear. I will you see you again with my companions. I am sure they will be very interested in your work."
For some reason, Lu Ming interpreted this as impending doom. Either she had to finish earlier or...
"Why? It is perfectly fine as is," Shu Keung said a few hours later as he prepared to close shop.
"I went away from the original design and-"
"No way! Our female customers are drooling over your painted hot men. You even made one shirtless! It's a feast for the eyes even if its fiction!" Wu Mai shouted from the back room. "Even the men love the sexy female characters! Change it and we might lose business!"
At a loss on what to do, Lu Ming left the store with a low head and freshly developed anxiety. She didn't want to meet the woman again, nor her friends. She didn't want Li Jun, who she swore she despised, to see she painted him like some stupid love-sick teenager. Why couldn't they let her fix it? Wait until Chi Sying found out what happened; she would get severely scolded and probably grounded like a child.
Suddenly, a shiver down up her spine. Lu Ming looked behind her and scouted for the cause. Her heart quickened. Blood rushed throughout her body. A chill consumed her. There! A pair of eyes watched her. Were they eyes? It looked like two, tiny white rings surrounded by pitch black. Was the blackness moving towards her? It seemed like it. Fear spiked in Lu Ming's chest.
'Run!' A voice inside her head screamed. Unable to comprehend anything, she followed her gut instinct and didn't stop moving until she reached the apartment building. When she risked turning back, the darkness was gone.