Mei Lijuan, second daughter of the Chairman of Mei Corporation sat on her dressing table looking at all her prized possessions as tears dropped from her eyes. 

Only her could understand what each item on that table had cost her. She had endured so much pain, so much heartbreak yet no one understood her plight. 

"Second young mistress, we need to leave now" Her guard reminded her from behind the closed door, bringing her back to the present. 

"Okay. I'll just add some finishing touch to my make-up" Lijuan said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, smearing the mascara on her face. She quickly used a face wipe to clean it off and dabbed a bit of powder on her face then she applied a new coat of pink lipstick on her lips. 

She checked her appearance in the mirror, she was what most people would call stunningly attractive. She had striking facial features– features which were almost impossible to forget. She was taller than most females and even towered above men of average height.  

She was ready to leave for the dinner party. Her parents had made attendance compulsory else she would have preferred to stay back on her bed reading a novel or watching a movie. At least, that would save her the embarrassment she was sure she was likely going to face at the party.

She always liked to hide indoors whenever her family went out and it was beginning to make rumour fly around about her. After a long talk both her parents had, they bad both decided to let her appear before the public to dispel whatever rumours were flying around about her.

But was she prepared for this? She asked herself as she looked at her reflection on the mirror.

Her long black V-Necked, open back gown clung sexily to her trim figure, with a neat slit in front exposing her right leg. 

Another impatient knock reminded her once again that she was keeping her family waiting.

She hurriedly picked up a pair of black stiletto from her closet without looking and rushed down the stairs to join them. She could easily wear the shoes inside the car. She told herself. 

She handed over the pair of shoes to her guard who gave her a strange look before taking the shoes from her without saying a word. 

"Please Lijuan, do not embarrass us tonight. Behave yourself" Her father warned her with a stern look, making her sisters, Rong and Jiaying, giggle as they whispered silently to themselves. 

"Make sure you don't leave her side for a second. If anything goes wrong tonight you'll be dealt with" Her father said to her guard, Jackie.

Yea, she was the only one amongst her two sisters who went about with a guard and even though he was like a friend to her, she always felt suffocated.

Her mother just stood there looking at her with sad eyes, she didn't say a word but Lijuan understood her silent message of support. 

"This is a high profile party, you may all meet your prospective suitors or in-laws tonight, so you all must be at your best behavior." Her father said as he looked at her and her two sisters.

She envied her sisters especially her elder sister, Rong. She was her father's favourite and a director at the Mei Corporation. Everyone knew one day she was going to take over as the Chairwoman of the corporation. 

"Let's go" Chairman Mei said and they all left the house. 

Lijuan sat in the same car as her sisters while their parents were in a different car. Her guard who was in the front seat handed over her shoes to her and her sisters started giggling.

"Stupid!" Rong said to no one in particular and tsked.

"We are not even at the party yet and she is already embarrassing us" Rong said making Jiaying, the younger one giggle some more. 

Lijuan closed her eyes in embarrassment when she realized she had picked two different pairs of shoes. "Can we return to the house? Please?" She pleaded. 

"No. We are late already because of you. You'll have to make do with what you have, next time you'll learn to be careful." Rong said with a harsh voice. 

"Don't be so harsh" Jiaying told Rong and gave Lijuan an apologetic smile. 

"It's okay." Lijuan said quietly without looking at them. She knew turning back at that point was impossible because her father was going to get mad. The whole family was supposed to enter the venue together. That was how it worked.

Her guard suddenly felt very sorry, he wished he had informed her earlier that the pair of shoes were different. He had assumed she had done so deliberately. 

Immediately they got to the hotel where the party was being held, her sisters got down from the car excitedly. Only the younger one, Jiaying actually made it obvious that she was excited to show off what she was wearing and probably meeting a suitor. Rong on the other hand always liked to act look.

Lijuan sat in the car looking at her shoes helplessly. "I'm sorry" Her guard said with a bow. 

"What are you sorry for Jackie?" She asked him with a gentle smile.

He was a cool guy, probably the reason he had been beside her for the past seven months without getting fired by her parents. She felt really sorry that he was stuck with someone like her.

"I should have told you that you came out with the wrong pair of shoes." He said glancing at the mismatched pair of shoes in her hand. One was a black six inches stiletto heel, the other one was a black four inches block heel. He tried not to laugh but when he saw the amused look on her face they both burst into laughter. 

"It's not your fault. I should have been more careful" Lijuan said after their laughter had died down.

"Are you going to go in like this? Your parents already went in. They are going to be mad if you continue to delay." He reminded her.

"I'll just have to go in there like this. I'm sorry for any embarrassment this may cause you." She apologized in advance, and almost laughed at herself when she realized that was the least thing she should be apologizing for. 

"It's fine. We should go in before your parents begin to make a fuss" Jackie said. 

As soon as they stepped inside the hall conversations ceased as most of the guests turned to look at her. 

She could feel their eyes on her, she didn't know if it was because of her mismatched shoes that made her walk funny or her way of life that was bringing this particular attention, maybe it was both. She concluded within herself. 

Then came the usual whispers she was used to. Everyone was talking under their breath and she could tell they were talking about her. From the corner of her eyes she could see some ladies clutching their purses closer to themselves. 

A charming young man sat at the other end of the room with his family as he observed all that was going on with an air of aloofness, only the slight twitching of his lips which was almost unnoticeable gave him away when his gaze fell on her mismatched shoes. 

His eyes went back to look at her face and he narrowed his eyes in a squint. 

He was very sure it was her. 

He stood up from his seat planning to walk towards her but his mother reached out and held his hand. "Where are you going to?" She asked with a frown, hoping he wasn't going to meet Lijuan since she had seen him staring at her with interest.

"You forced me to attend this party saying you wanted me to socialize, didn't you? I intend to do just that" He said with his gaze on Lijuan. 

"You've been away for a long time and I'm sure you don't know much about the social circle here. But you see that lady? You can't go close to her. Didn't you notice the change in the atmosphere when she stepped inside the hall?" His mother asked giving him a weird look. 

"And why is that?" He asked his mother with a raised brow. 

"She is a Kleptomaniac" She said in a voice loud enough to reach half across the room.

        *************

Mei Lijuan noticed someone walking towards her direction. After staring at the young man for a few seconds, she gasped and turned around to flee but unfortunately, her legs weren't following her line of thought, they were currently being led by her shoes. 

She lost balance and fell on the floor before Jackie could help her.

Lijuan cringed in embarrassment. She refused to raise her head for fear of making eye contact with her family. 

Her father had warned her to not embarrass them but not only had she worn mismatched shoes, she was currently having a chat with the floor. 

Jackie tried to help her up but the young man quickly appeared in front of her, obstructing Jackie.

He crouched down to look at her face very well and she turned her head to the side to avoid eye contact with him. She could not make any move to stand because of her shoes and aside from that, the slit at the front of her dress was going to reveal more than required if she dared try to stand on her own.

Everyone quietly observed the scene. They all had the same question in mind. What was the Vice Chairman of Wang motors, Wang Yun, doing with a thief? 

Her father gritted his teeth in anger and shot his wife a angry look.

"I thought you said everything would turn out well." Chairman Mei said angrily in a low voice.

Mother Mei could not say a word. She beelined towards her daughter but Chairman Mei stealthily pulled her back. 

"You don't want to embarrass us further do you?" He warned. "Jackie would take care of it."

       *********

Mei Lijuan was surprised to see the young man offer her his hand. 

Was it possible that he did not recognize her? She wondered.

Slowly, she placed her hand on his. There was no harm in accepting his kind gesture right?

But when she looked at his face, his brows were contorted in a frown. 

"What are you doing?" He asked in a cold but low voice so the others wouldn't hear. 

"Hmm?" She gave him a confused look, wondering what he was talking about. 

He moved his hand away from hers and cocked his head to the side. 

"Are you playing dumb right now?" 

He stretched out his hand again. "Hand it over... My Pen!" He demanded.