"Aaarrrghhhhhh!!!" Chang Wu screamed "How could I have consented to that?? What's wrong with me? Where will I start? What magic trick can I perform?" He paced back and forth in his living room, brainstorming on what he could do to win a rich woman's heart. No job meant no money, no money meant no women. "My life is a mess" He collapsed onto his couch and stared at the wall, before he switched his gaze to the wallet on the table.
A few hours back ««
"It's a deal."
Zhelin eyed Chang wu before getting up "You have seven months. Seven fuc*ing months!"
"I need less" He winked proudly as Zhelin picked his jacket and headed for the door. A few minutes later, the lady he wanted walked out the door with her bodyguards beside her.
Chang wu, somewhat calm, moved to the counter to converse with his friend about his wager with Zhelin.
The Bartender face palmed himself "Wu are you mad?"
"I-i can do it Xin! I'm handsome and taaall" He stressed on the last word then smiled "It won't be so hard."
Xin didn't know what to say to his careless friend. He didn't like the challenge he got himself in, but all he could do was help.
"Here's a head start" The bartender threw a red wallet to Wu, and he titled his head once he caught it "You're giving me cash?"
Xin grimaced "Even Santa doesn't do that" The man rolled his eyes as he exhaled the smoke of his fourth stick that night. "That lady left her wallet behind. She's the one you want, right?"
Wu nodded "this wallet is fat though." He complemented.
"Take nothing out if it. There's money inside, but don't think of touching it. What you should do is give her back the wallet."
"How are you sure that would work?"
"At least she'd know your face."
Wu stroked his chin before opening the wallet to find some sort of ID. "Her name's Qin Lijuan…" He found a small card with her passport on it. "She even looks good in her passport. I'm so jealous."
"Qin? I think I've heard that name before, but I can't recall."
"Neither can I." Wu kept on looking at the card in his grasp "She's twenty-two… " That was all he could understand from it. The rest were squiggles in his eyes.
"Well, now you know her name."
Wu nodded "This is a good sign."
"Yeah" Xin snickered "Sure it is. Oh, In case you lose, i don't know you."
"I won't lose! I'm Chang Wu and I've never tasted defeat."
Once the clock struck midnight, everyone knew the local pub was out when the streets were full of drunk folks. The sober ones stride like the only adults in a party of infants, shepherding them to a car ride home. The two friends, Xin and Wu, waved goodbye before parting ways and they both faded into the dark alleys, the alternate ways to their homes.
~The present~
It had just dawned on Wu that he'd made a terrible decision by accepting Zhelin's challenge. He picked up the wallet, then the magazine he took from the bar.
"I'll return it to her, and maybe I'd have a chance of introducing myself at least. What got into me back there?"
He slapped his cheeks before shaking his head "No! It's past the point where i'd keep stressing on what's been set. I have a move up my sleeve. I never thought this day would come…" Wu climbed onto a stool in front of his closet and brought down a few shoe boxes. He opened everyone of them, in search of what could help him succeed.
"Eureka!" His face beamed, and he stroked his chin once he found an old key he put away for years "Starting today. I'm a rich man."
*** the next day
"Where did you go last night?"
"Daba" Lijuan said as she picked up a blue robe laying loose on an armchair.
"You didn't go to Daba, You ended up going to Darba. What if something bad happened to you? You're a renowned person. You went to a place known for delinquents. Put that together… BAM!" Jessica exclaimed, "Bad news! What if they kidnapped you… I don't even want to imagine terrible people abducting you. Lijuan, are you even listening to me?"
"No" Lijuan said coldly and her assistant placed a hand on her chest, water leaking from her eyes "So cruel…" Jessica tried to explain how grave her friend's situation was, but lijuan completely ignored her.
Lijuan didn't even try to pretend to listen or even lie about paying attention. What else would Jessica expect from someone so blunt?
"Indeed, I'm fine. I concede I made a mistake, yet the names were similar and I wasn't familiar with both. I had the bodyguards with me so before anyone could make a move Austin and Jake would meddle."
"It's a good thing I hired them. They've been doing well for the past few days. I'll slap their wrists with a tip for protecting and treating you like the goddess you are."
"Thank you for the praise."
Jessica placed her hands on her crimsoning cheek and squealed, "You're welcome my dear. I'll meet you outside."
Lijuan waved then turned for the dresser to stare at her reflection in the mirror "You're beautiful," she grinned as her hand subliminally moved over the smooth skin of her face "I'd love to hear that from somebody that could genuinely love me. I might as well get ready before my mom comes home."
The lady had a photoshoot for a business magazine cover and her suit, an ideal fit, as fresh as another banknote, colored to a uniform shade grey, was ready for it.
She made her way out of the mansion, a Louis Vuitton bag in hand as her Bugatti worth eighteen million dollars pulled up in front of the building. The driver, Jake got out and opened the door for her.
"I am a fan of this particular busy-ness suit of yours" Jake laughed but once he noticed the cringe look on her face, he ran his finger through his hair and pursed his lips "Let's just forget I said that."
"I concur" She said as she got in the vehicle.
Jake sighed in defeat. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get his boss to laugh, or even smile at least. He knew he wasn't funny, but she could never pretend to find anything funny. What else could he expect from someone with literally no sense of humour?
The August afternoon proceeded, and the car moved down the road with ease. It was another lucky and different day where they didn't have to crawl along the frustrating traffic on the highways.
The car engine sung to the free road leading to Lunar premises and Lijuan relished the roaring winds that twirled in her long black hair and whistled in her ears as she got out once the car came to a stop.
"Welcome Miss Qin" The woman that went by Sir Lunar moved forward to greet her guest. Lijuan could recognize the producer with a paper bag over her head anytime and anywhere.
"It's been a while, Sir Lunar. It's a pleasure meeting you again."
Lunar nodded and tilted her head to the side once she spotted Jessica "You also tagged along"
"Yes, sir Lunar."
"Well, I'm happy the both of you made it. Well, we might as well start the photoshoot before the fans arrive for the meet and greet."
The women moved to the skyscraper while Jake stayed back. He knew his limits. A driver and bodyguard like himself wasn't worthy enough to dream about stepping into Lunar crescent tower. Not in a million years.
*
Chang Wu took in a deep breath, "I can do this" He spent all night making preparations, and what was left to do was attend the fan meeting over at Lunar premises. He was dressed in his best, but he'd get better once he gets to the place full of unwanted memories of his past.
He glimpsed his reflection in the mirror one more time then riled himself once more "Everyone might think you're a failure but you're not. You're going to prove to everyone that you can have a rich and independent woman fall in love with you, even if you're not as tall as some other guys. I believe in you! You're going to show all those middle class parasitic women the difference between them and a rich woman who pays for her own lunch" He adjusted his collar, and made his way out of his apartment.
Traffic was tight, and he arrived pretty late, but he was lucky enough to find her there. No one seemed to notice he came with a taxi, so things were having a pretty pleasant start. His heart skipped a beat once he noticed her gleaming aura from his spot, and it made him tremble "Is she a god?"
His eyes were drawn to her piercing eyes of green, and the jet black hair that gently caressed its way down her neck, reaching to just below her shoulder blades. He moved closer to see the beautiful woman standing in a suit that reflected her power.
Out of habit and just to make sure, Wu's eyes fell to her hand to look for any rings and he silently rejoiced once he confirmed there was none.
She waved at the crowd. Although she wasn't smiling like her friend that no one came to see, she still looked perfect with her face that bore no sort of joyful emotions. Wu wondered why. Was that how she was? Robotic? Or was she made to act that way?
Wu shoved his way to the front, hoping to have time to speak with her, but two bouncers stopped him before he could proceed any further, and those around him eyed him. He could sense people were whispering because of the scene unfolding and Wu stood there frozen, and wondering what he'd tell the scary-looking men in front of him.
"What's going on here?" Jessica moved forward and once her eyes met with Wu's, her face wrinkled 'Ugh, I can smell the filthy destitution of this man. Who is he anyway?' She scanned him from head to toe with disgust written on her face, and she didn't bother to hide what she thought of him.
Chang Wu raised his head with confidence and spoke, "I want to speak with Miss Lijuan"
Those that heard the nonsense that spewed from his mouth burst into laughter loud enough for Lijuan to hear.
"Even if anyone could get that chance, someone like you isn't worthy enough to get it. Tell me who you are…what's your net worth?"
Chang Wu didn't like this woman, and he didn't know why she was getting in the way.
"You're excessively loud for someone no one came to see."
Jessica raised her hand, but Lijuan's voice made her compose herself. A low-class bug wasn't supposed to get her worked up so easily, but even a fly gets too annoying to ignore.
"I'm sorry, Lijuan. This man walked up here and started being rude to me after I told him he couldn't speak to you because you're clearly busy."
Lijuan and Wu's eyes met for the first time, and he could feel the soft thump of his heart. Did her gaze cast a spell on him already?
"I'm Chang Wu. I'm here to return the wallet you left at Darba" As he spoke, he tried to remember the pick up lines he tried to memorise, but the atmosphere made him too tense to remember things the situation didn't seem to need.
Before Lijuan could get her hand on it, Jessica commanded the bodyguard to take it from him and search it thoroughly. The bodyguard handed the wallet to Lijuan after he confirmed it was fine and no harmful chips were in it.
"That's all, right?" Jessica asked, however Wu left without giving her an answer.
"I guess it is." The bodyguard said as he led lijuan away from the crowd.
Back at home, Chang Wu plopped himself on his sofa and sighed. He dialed his friend's number and as expected; he picked up a few seconds after.
"Yo! How did it go?"
"I ran into some rude ass bitch that's probably middle class and she humiliated me in front of Miss Qin."
"Ouch… But did the wallet get to her?"
"Yeah."
"Well, at least she knows your face…"
"And name," Chang wu added as he placed his hand on his head, "But, i don't know why I have a feeling this mission was a complete bust."