Without thinking, she ran up to the road, ignoring the singsong poems of romance coming from behind her. She jumped onto a carriage's side platform and hooked her hands to the two vertical bars on the carriage, holding on for dear life.
*Thud*
Bai Chen clung her entire body stuck to the carriage, as though she wanted to become one with it.
The person inside, leisurely reading his newspaper, heard a thud and felt a shadow leaning over him. He looked up reflexively... and screamed.
Bai Chen was mushed against the window, her nose and cheek squished on the glass, contorting into an alien-like creature.
He stood up, petrified, while Bai Chen continued to breather heavily from her escape and cling to the metal poles. Bai Chen watched as he started unlocking the door and an ominous feeling approached her.
Oh no!
He swung the door open, trying to force her off. Although Bai Chen's body had meagre strength, she had a very strong will and hung on tightly. "You're not getting rid of me! Let me in!" She screamed barbarically while he flapped the door open and closed repeatedly.
"Please leave me alone!!" The poor man felt like crying, why was there a demon attached to the carriage? He felt as pitiable as Bai Chen felt when she arrived.
This carriage was her escape from her pursuers, and if she fell off Bai Chen would probably have to continue her run, which with this pathetic body, would be for nought. "NEVER!!!" She screamed bak, freaking out the man even more.
After the two fought for about 10 minutes, Bai Chen could no longer hold and fell off, fortunately on the pavement and not in the middle of the busy road.
Bai Chen swore under her breath, upset that the man didn't help her. It was obvious she didn't realise he would talk about it in therapy for years to come...
After grumbling for a while, Bai Chen got up and wiped off the dirt from the back of her dress.
Who chose white would be a good colour to wear!?
Looking back, fortunately she could no longer see the sparkly army following her. She sighed in relief and scraped through her dress pockets, finding nothing even reminiscent of money.
What noble doesn't carry money on them?
Bai Chen felt like crying. Today sucked! First she died, then got sent to this st*pid place, then couldn't escape sparkly guys chasing her, and now didn't know any place she could run to!
However, it wasn't the time too yet, who knew if they were still pursuing her. Bai Chen hurriedly crossed the road, weaving through traffic.
A/N: PSA, don't do that. In no way do I condone jaywalking. Thank you.
She reached the other side and looked around. The sun had started going down and the buildings were covered with an orange filter.
There was a hotel a few buildings away.
Finally!
Bai Chen's eyes brightened and she rushed over. Walking into the fine establishment, Bai Chen looked very out of place in her white (now gray) dress, hair that had turned ratty from running and the wind as she rode the carriage, and lack of shoes.
She smiled politely at the receptionist who merely returned it with a judgmental glance over her body. Bai Chen felt irked but had to keep up her demeanor. "May I please have a one person room for tonight?" She smiled sweetly.
The lady harrumphed and said, "Someone like you in our establishment. No way." She was totally looking down on her!
Bai Chen once again repeated her sentence and the lady merely smiled condescendingly and asked for security.
Bai Chen tried her best to fight the security, however all her kicks felt like mere tickles for the men there.
This useless body!!
Also, why is everyone mean to her? Truly a delicate victim of a heroine. Pathetic.
The sky darkened quickly. Bai Chen had searched around town for another inn but was at a loss. In the end she spent the night outside, alone.
In her trip full of anxiety and concern about her sleeping situation, the only positive was the world's beautiful scenery. The one thing that was good about the novel was it's cut scenes. No wonder.
[Lily] in the end found herself going into any alley way to hide for the night.
The night was endless and her world was dark. Probably because she was sleeping inside a closed box, but anyway.
Bai Chen felt that this world was outrageous. She was the heroine! Bai Chen was supposed to be like a fish in water, yet she was sleeping outside on her first night, in a tattered dress, without shoes , any money, and any food to eat.
The next morning Bai Chen woke up tired. She spent the entire night fighting alley cats for the box and ended up getting scratches on both her arms. She had obviously lost. and miserably too.
In the end, she was kicked out by the cats and had lost her home. Bai Chen left the alley way miserably as onlookers either looked sympathetically or sneered at the sight of her.
Through the day she spent her time wondering where to go. After talking to some people, Bai Chen realised that her family lived over a day away by carriage and her only real safe haven was the school that was filled with the sparkly guys. Neither option was good. Bai Chen, or Lily, the main heroine of this story, was now homeless and living on the streets. How ironic.
A man, older than Lily, approached Bai Chen with a pleasant smile on his face. It was very refreshing between the looks of scorn and sympathy. He smiled at her and extended his hand that held a paper bag. "I just bought this. Would you like it?"
She dazedly stared at the handsome man.
An angel...
Bai Chen teared the bag open to see a cream bun inside laced with tasty jam.
"Thank you, angel!" She smiled with her pearly whites at the generous man and he smiled back without reply and walked away. It was the first time he had been called an angel and probably the last as well.
Bai Chen tore into the bun. The dainty look of [Lily] had been completely destroyed by Bai Chen in a single day.