"And I am late again!"
Song Lihua sobbed as she hastily slipped her foot in the sandal. She was sipping orange juice from a small can which was her only breakfast.
As she stepped out, she almost collided with her neighbor, Mrs. Zhang.
"Oh, dear! Be careful! You almost broke my eggs."
"Sorry, Aunt Zhang! But I am getting late!"
"Didn't your alarm wake you up on time?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I forgot to set one."
"..."
Mrs. Zhang grimaced and nagged. "Today seems to be an important day and you forgot to set the alarm. That's why I always say you are so ditzy. Your head is always in the clouds. If you stay the way you are, you won't even realize when somebody makes a fool out of you."
Song Lihua rushed. "Sorry Aunt but I will fully listen to your scolding when I return. For now, I have to rush, or else I am dead if I am late today for University!"
She ran like the speed of lightning.
"Wait! Is that orange juice your only breakfast?"
But she was already gone.
Mrs. Zhang sighed. "Oh, dear. She can't even take care of herself. I hope she meets someone who could."
---
Lihua charged towards the University gate and the moment she stepped inside, her knees gave out.
"Hah...hah…" she gasped heavily, "I am here... I am finally here…I made it."
She checked the time.
There were only five minutes before the seminar would start.
"Ughhhh! Only five minutes! Can this poor soul not even rest for a moment?" She cried.
Lihua started with her marathon again but this time it wasn't a smooth road as before. Her head was only focussing on reaching the seminar hall and she realized a second late that she had collided with someone.
The file she held flew open and all the papers that she had orderly stuffed inside rained down like a violent storm.
Lihua went blank.
"This is it...I am dead…I am done for."
Her presentation file had a thick bunch of thesis papers and right now, she saw her doom.
Organizing all of it again for an unorganized girl like her would take forever. Hardly four minutes weren't nearly enough.
Today's seminar was extremely important for her job hunting and unfortunately, she was the first in line to present. Her professor had strictly warned that no lateness would be tolerated and if you missed your chance, you won't get to present again.
Lihua had worked late last night just for today's seminar until she couldn't even get decent sleep, making her forget to set the alarm.
And right now, she could see her hard work go all down the drain.
She collapsed on her knees, feeling defeated, yet the papers were continuing to pour down.
"Oh, poor Lihua. Acting clumsy like always."
"She is so screwed. No presentation, no job."
The other students passing by were busy snickering at her.
Lihua clearly heard them.
At least help me instead of sneering at me! So heartless.
Lihua was depressed but then she suddenly slapped her cheeks. "Get it together, Lihua! You cannot give up here! I can still do this!"
Lihua quickly began to collect her thesis papers and tried to sort them out. But her confidence was diminishing fast. It was a near-impossible task.
Her eyes slightly stung in tears as she thought of the worst that could happen and her shoulders drooped.
My job…
Suddenly, somebody took the papers out of her hands.
"H-hey! Give them back! They are mine!"
But the rest of her words never left her mouth as she saw an extremely handsome man bend down on his one knee.
Her jaw dropped wide open.
W-who is this Godly handsome man? I thought such handsome men existed in only fiction.
One glance at him sent her heart into a frenzy.
*Badump Badump Badump*
Her mouth opened and closed several times but she couldn't utter anything.
Did my heart always beat so loudly like that? Why am I hearing it for the first time?
Time seemed to stop at that moment. She felt that even in this crowd, they were the only two here alone.
Lihua saw the Godly handsome man pick up the papers with a stoic expression. He was doing something unbelievable that she found it impossible to do just a minute ago herself.
He simply glanced at her papers once and like a magic trick, he was shifting and shuffling the papers around in his hands. His movements were so fast and fluid that Lihua found it difficult to keep up with them.
In just a matter of a few seconds, the thin set of papers that she had held grew into a full-stack. There were no messed up and fallen pages on the floor anymore.
The man stared at her and she straightened up. He calmly handed her the papers back.
Lihua took them back in a daze. She checked and her eyes popped out of her sockets. She quickly flipped through the pages in utter shock.
All one hundred and seventy-four pages of her thesis were orderly stacked with the correct page numbers one below the other.
Lihua cried in happiness. "This...this...this is a miracle!"
"You...how did you do that?"
The man didn't respond.
"Teach me this magic too!"
Silence. He was just staring at her.
Lihua was so happy that she grabbed his hands and shook them hard. "Thank you so much, Sir! You saved my job today!"
The man looked down at her hands shaking his but there was no change in his expression.
Lihua wondered.
Why isn't he saying anything?
Hmm….oh!
She felt sad.
Oh, dear. Why God, why? You make such a fine man but forgot to give him his voice? So cruel.
Lihua leaned a bit and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. Even if you cannot speak, God compensated you with a Godly handsome face. There, there," she consoled him.
The man was unfazed by her comment and was still staring at her with an unreadable expression.
She quickly stood up. "I have to rush now. But thank you once again!" She bowed. "If we meet again, please let me treat you to a meal or if you need my help, please feel free to ask!"
Lihua dashed away like the wind, making the Mafia King, who never once looked back in his life, turn around for the first time to see her go.