3 AM, Quartz Hotel, Jewel Country.
Absent-minded, Zhang Xiulan was staring blankly, her head empty.
Ding! With the ringing of the elevator reverberating through the room, the door slid open. The mechanical sound from it brought her back to reality.
"I'll drive you home." said a man standing beside her, inspecting her reaction closely, guilt written over his face.
"I'm fine by myself. Don't worry. You take this one down and go home first. It might not be a good idea to be seen together checking out the hotel at 3 am while a bunch of reporters is still out there perking up their ears. You being the public figure doesn't help in this case." A gentle smile adorned her weary face, making sure the man knew she was alright.
Tang Weimin nodded slightly before taking the elevator, leaving her alone in the quiet place, void of passersby.
Only when he left, did she exhale out a long string of air, exuding all the frustration that suffocated her in and out. By taking another elevator, she strolled towards the rooftop of the hotel. Unexpectedly it was dark, no light was on, and only moonlight shone to show the way.
Tired, her sandals shuffled, lazily inching her way to the balcony. She greedily fed her lungs the cold, fresh air while her eyes wandered around the spectacular city night view. she looked down to see the breath-taking scenery of the dawn with city lights beaming and twinkling. The cold breeze, blowing gently while brushing past her cheeks, wasn't unfortunately effective enough to cool down her nerves.
Out of nowhere, she got a smell that strangely put her at ease. An odor, not too strong or sweet, wafted like a warm blanket as if it was coaxing her to settle her heart in peace while saying, 'Everything is going to be alright.'
She closed her eyes to feel that relaxing sensation and breathed in a large amount of air, not wanting any fragrance to escape. Loss of vision enhanced her to be more susceptible to the pleasurable scent which made her think, 'How could a scent be so powerful?'
With each gush of air blowing past her skin, her hair danced in rhythm. It was perfect and quiet.
Until.
"Excuse me." The unfamiliar shady whisper permeated through her ears, making her body tense. She didn't notice any extra presence of humans when she arrived. Did the man follow her? "Ma'am?" Unceasing creepy whispers rode the eerily cool breeze to grab her. The cautious sounds of footsteps got louder, signaling the stranger was bearing down on her.
It was rare for a hotel to have a complete blackout in the public area. Did he turn off all the lights? What's his intention? The thought made a shiver run down her spine.
Cursing silently at herself for not carrying the pepper spray while her mother was nagging about getting one for emergency cases. Slowly her hands slid inside her handbag and groped to get anything that could be used for defense, in case she needed it. All her fingers could sense was lipstick and some smartcards, nothing had a chance against a dangerous grown-up man. The murky realization made her skin prickle with horror. Though concealed by the darkness of night, goosebumps were apparent on her whole body.
With each step, he gradually diminished the distance between them, while conversely, the aromatic odor got stronger.
The night had already been worse and this situation exacerbated everything. Had her time come? Was this the last moment of her life? Would she be ravished by this stranger to come to an end of her unfortunate events?
Those all started with a fall-out with her mother last night before insomnia haunted her. Her restless slumber was interrupted halfway by an urgent phone call with no extra information apart from it being an emergency. Out of her curiosity, she embraced the terror of the dry night and drove towards the hotel called Quartz. The call was from Bai Suying, her former classmate who she didn't keep in touch with after graduation three years ago. There, she had to shoo the paparazzi away from the particular hotel room which they called the solid evidence of cheating. They claimed her fiance was committing adultery with her best friend. At first, she was confused, but she stood up for 'the so-called cheating couple' against the group of nosy journalists. She had faith in them and they deserved her trust. The whole adultery thing was a set-up to slander her fiance, Tang Weimin who had a flawless reputation and was next-in-line for the executive position of his family business. Her best friend, Bai Hualing, was an innocent scapegoat in the conspiracy of those influential people.
Long story short, Tang Weimin and her came to a conclusion to cancel the wedding.
Wedding. Ridiculously, it was the first thing she wanted to accomplish to confirm her filial piety. Disappointed, she rushed to the rooftop of the hotel to wash away her thoughts only to confront the suspicious man who appeared out of nowhere.
With nothing to rely on, she tightly grasped the chain strap of her handbag. Maybe she could use it to wrap around the man's neck. Would he die from the impact? She quizzically looked down to the tiny chain in her fists, drawing her eyebrows closer. Subsequently, her head shook. Even if he died, he deserved it. He was the one who wanted to harm her. It was self-defense.
While her dramatic fantasy was going on wildly, the man reached a foot apart. A masculine yet soft voice broke the silence. "Miss, look, you see I was painting. Do you mind if I draw you in my painting?"
Painting? How could he draw in the dark when no light was on. What a foul trick! Did he think she would fall for it?
But the perfumed scent presumingly from him smelled good and strangely put her at ease. His voice pleased her ears and was gentle. It's only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.
She turned her head around eventually to find there was indeed a painting stand that was under the blinding spotlight, shining as if it was the main character of the show, the only illuminating area in pitch blackness.
"I requested to turn off the light to capture the best version of the city nightlife on my canvas. If I could get your permission to include your back and hair, it would even get more picturesque." A proud smile tagged the tips of his lips but it was hard to see if the mirth reached his eyes as the shadow concealed it. However, his tone said it all. He meant it.
After processing for a second, she responded. "Ahm, sure. So…" She continued in her thought, 'does she have to strike a pose or stay still here?'
"Thank you. It'll just be a silhouette and I've already got it in my head. You don't need to wait for me to finish."
She nodded slightly, eyeing the ground. By the time she finished and turned her head to look in his direction, he was heading back to the spotlight area. In the dark, all she could see was a vague outline of him. He was in a black hoodie and black pants, with his black hair and black pair of sneakers. His flesh was nowhere to be found from the back. No wonder she didn't notice him, his body was blended perfectly in the dark.
Although he probably was not a threat to her safety, she strode to a corner to maintain the furthest distance between them.
Then she dozed off. Her watch showed it was almost five in the morning. When her mood was stable enough to drive herself home without bumping into anything on the way, she made her way to the elevator which was about to close. Naturally, she was supposed to rush and interrupt it to stop shutting, so she could get in. But she didn't. Her body was completely detached from her brain's instruction or maybe it was her brain that stopped functioning. Her woolgathering state of mind was getting alarming.