"Zh-Zhixin Ge?"
Zuni whispered as she tried to take a step behind but moments later, she saw dozens of bodyguards in black making a circle around him and her brother. The golden emblem of the Tang family was shining under the bright sun invoking a different kind of fear in her heart.
"Long Reine, you have five seconds before you confess your wrongdoing and after that, I'm putting you on the plane and sending you back to where you came from!" Tang Zhixin said, authority dripping from his voice. Lord, he was controlling his bloodlust as he didn't want to hurt his sister even at the moment when he wasn't in control.
"Zuni, where the hell you were?" Luna yelled as she came carrying tens of shopping bags. Her gaze fell on the familiar black crows and she stopped in her footsteps. As her gaze fell on her friend and the devil standing next to her, she bowed her head in respect. "Greetings to Lord Tang."
If she wasn't a loyal friend, Luna would have run from here. As much as she hates this devil, she was afraid of him.
"Carry the liar and the fugitive to the family house, " Tang Zhixin said, ignoring the two girls. "Call Uncle Feng and inform him that his daughter is found in Beijing."
"Tang Zhixin, you ass. You can't scare me by using my father's name, " Luna yelled as a guard tried to respectfully tell her to follow them to the car. To win against her father, she ran away from home two years ago as her father wanted her to stop fooling around and take life seriously.
Seriously as in marrying this devil. She would rather swallow a jar of poison than be serious with her life.
"Stop, " Tang Zhixin said all of a sudden. "Don't call Uncle Feng. Better, Dial my Aunt's number and give her the news."
"Gege!"
"Lord Tang!"
Both Zuni and Luna cried at the same time. Of course, they knew how cruel Xin Zhenyi, Zuni's mom and former mafia queen could be!
If there was one person Zuni and Luna were scared of, it was Xin Zhenyi. The woman could be sweet as a doughnut and as cruel as a monster.
A little about Zuni's family dynamics.
Tang Reine, Zuni's maternal grandmother, has three children. Zhenyi was the only daughter of Tang Reine, the woman who ruled the Tang family with an iron fist. After her death, her son Tang Ryuu was appointed as the next Lord at the young age of fifteen. Everyone who knew Tang Ryuu knew what his sister Zhenyi meant to him.
Thus, Tang Zhixin and Zuni were cousins but their relationship was closer than siblings. They had been practically raised by their grandfather together.
Zuni knew that Tang Zhixin wouldn't think before snitching on her to her mom if the matter involves her security. She wasn't afraid of anyone or anything but her mom. She could handle her dad just fine but her mom… She didn't have the courage to go against that woman. Her mom held the power to persuade her father to bring her back and her father held the power to persuade his stubborn daughter. She and her mom were like oil and water… if not for her father, she was sure that the relationship between mother-daughter had long been soured.
"Zhixin Ge, I'm not going back, " Zuni said in a determined tone. She wasn't afraid of anyone. "I'm not a kid. I'm a twenty-eight years old woman. I will live my life my way."
Tang Zhixin snorted at her words. Look at the girl behaving like eight calling her twenty-eight years old.
She softened her tone and said, "I saw Zoe today. I know she is somewhere in this country. Not this city. I will find her."
Thump.
"Zuni, " Tang Zhixin softened his voice as he rubbed her back, "Zoe is gone. She left us five years ago. You have to accept the fact now. Stop acting like this. You are hurting yourself and your family."
"No!" Zuni shrieked as she took a step back. She knew what was coming next. "You guys think I'm crazy? I keep seeing her? I know she is here. Why don't you believe me!"
She knew that Zoe was alive.
She saw her.
Those grey eyes, she couldn't mistake them for anyone.
"Where are you going?" Tang Zhixin shouted as he saw her running.
"Away from you all," Zuni screamed without looking back. "I swear, Gege if you didn't let me find her. I will run away and you will never be able to find me."
"Follow her!" Tang Zhixin ordered the guards.
"Are you crazy? Tang Zhixin, if you did something like this to upset her, she would leave and none of us will be able to find her, " Luna shouted at him as she punched his chest. "Let her look after Zoe. We all know Zoe is dead and will never return. Let Zuni look for her and accept defeat."
"Aunt is going to lose it, " Tang Zhixin whispered as he ran his hand through his hair. "And dad is going to kill me. He asked me to keep my little sister safe."
"How did you find her?" Luna couldn't help but ask. She cleared Zoe's track well. She couldn't understand how he found her.
"Yanjun, " Tang Zhixin said. "Zuni asked him for her allowance but didn't use a penny out of the money. He finds it weird. He hacked into her phone and found her location. Only he could hack her phone after all he designed her gadgets. When he found her in Beijing, souls left our bodies. I left my business in London and flew back to China!"
"What a group of nosy brothers she has, " Luna pitied her.
____
A/N: Little into Zuni's family. Let's start with her maternal grandmother, Tang Reine. After all, she is named after her eccentric Grandmother.
Tang Reine (the last descendant of the royal family) was married to Xin Yichen (Mafia King). They had three children together. Ryuu is the oldest who became the heir of the Tang family and so all his children have Tang Surname. Xin Zhenyi was the heir of the Xin family. Then, we have the last kid-- Young Master Jun who loved to live a life of leisure and his siblings spoil him.
ZUNI is Zhenyi's daughter and Zhixin is Ryuu's son.
Zuni's dad is Long Jie. The previous head of the Long family.