"Lin you made it!" shouted her friend, the bride to be over the beat of the music.
Shao Lin did not want to miss the bachelorette party, even if she was still swallowed by grief.
"Of course, I would not want to miss it," Shao Lin replied to her friend.
Yi Xiu smiled and gestured her to take a seat with the bridesmaids. "All right ladies," her friend said. "Shots are on me."
Shao Lin chuckled. She was not much of a drinker, but when it came to the occasion, she was not one to sit out on the fun.
Within the hour, she was drunk on champagne and any liquor she could get her hands on, dancing with her friends, swaying against the beat. She smiled and laughed. It was the first time in months she felt any sort of liveliness and she very much needed it. It made her feel awake, more alive.
Yi Xiu was dancing in front of her, enjoying herself when Shao Lin noticed her friend's expression began to falter and her eyes widened. The bride to be looked shaken but in awe.
Shao Lin slowed down her pace, turning to see what her friend was looking directly at.
From deep black velvet curtains, two people, a man and a woman stepped down a metal staircase.
The woman wore a black dress that ended mid-thigh; she had long silver-blonde hair that ended at the hips. The man next to her had worn a deep black suit with a black overcoat. His ink-black hair was tousled, his face looked as if gods had crafted him down to his blood, bones, and sinew as if they took their time perfecting him. Every inch of him was beautiful. And together, with the woman next to him, they were the most stunning people she'd ever seen.
"Who are they?" she found herself asking.
"Long Yat-sen," Yi Xiu answered. "of Long Group."
Shao Lin's eyes widened. Long Group was a conglomerate and network of businesses and services that expanded with each generation. They were powerful. They were ruthless. She heard about the things his father, Long Jie and his grandfather, Long Huojin, did for the company, which meant Long Yat-sen was one of the five children that ran the business and he was one of the ones to inherit.
"And the woman next to him?"
Yi Xiu shook her head. "I'm not sure," she replied. "It's rare for Long Yat-sen to be seen in public with any woman that are not his sisters. I've seen that woman around a few times; they sometimes arrive and leave together. But it never seemed to be romantic, only for business. But I don't want to make any assumptions. He's not very open about his personal life."
Shao Lin nodded. "Do you know him?"
"Only by an acquaintance. He's familiar with my fiancé."
Shao Lin released a breath with his name on her lips, "Long Yat-sen." She didn't know why she said it. Perhaps it was the alcohol that buzzed in her bloodstream or the menacing ambience that surrounded him, but the name felt foreign yet familiar on her tongue.
As if hearing her from across the room, Long Yat-sen's gaze shifted to hers. Her breath knocked from her lungs suddenly. He stared at her with a look of indifference, yet there was something cold and dangerous beneath his heavy-lidded gaze. Seconds passed between them. But it felt like minutes, hours, a lifetime. He kept her locked in a stand-still, and she did not know a man could possess her to do so.
He was the first to look away, hesitantly, stalking out of the club with his hands in his pockets, the silver-blonde woman trailing behind him. The club then resumed their dancing and cheers, and it came alive again.
Breaking from her daze, Shao Lin shook her head and rejoined her friends while Long Yat-sen's gaze still lingered on her skin, warming her flesh.
"I'd say you're more well acquainted with him than me," Yi Xiu teased. "And yet you asked who he was?"
Shao Lin shook her head. "No. I never met him before."
Her friend smiled as if she knew something Shao Lin didn't. "Hmm...if you say so."
Shao Lin looked at her, puzzled. "Why are you smiling?"
"I'm about to get married soon!" Yi Xiu reminded her. "Can't I be happy that I locked in a man I love?"
Shao Lin chuckled. "I'm very happy for you Xiu. You deserve to be happy."
Her friend gave her an expression of pity, perhaps remembering that Shao Lin had lost someone dear to her recently, as well as losing a man she once loved when he ran away years ago.
"Oh, please don't feel sorry for me Xiu. This is your night, and who knows, perhaps you can introduce me to a groomsman at your wedding?" Shao Lin told her.
Yi Xiu smiled. "Oh, Lin! You're so optimistic about everything! That's what I love about you!" she threw her arms around her with joy and they both then rejoined the rest of the party.
After another hour, she then felt like she drank too much, so she parted ways from her friends, and hopped into a taxi home.
On the way, she decided to shake the memory of their locked gazes. She did not know Long Yat-sen at all, but he seemed to be nowhere near good news. Although she focused on him in the club, it did not stop her from noticing how stiff the air was, how many stilled in his presence. Whether those around him stopped and stared because they were in awe of him or afraid of him, she did not know, and she did not want to find out. It might be the last time she ever saw him.
Her skin shivered from the cold, and she cursed herself for not bringing a light jacket. She rubbed her arms until she left the cab and arrived home.
When Shao Lin entered her home, she washed up and snuggled into her warm blankets until she drifted asleep. A dangerous glint from a particular pair of eyes of a handsome man followed her in her dreams and she did not have any nightmares.