Riya was standing by the reception desk. She finished signing all the documents. The nurse made copies for her to keep as records. She was just waiting for the nurse to finish sorting out her papers. Riya's left leg was still sore and she was limping a little bit. The doctor did tell her that she should not put pressure on that leg. She was trying her best not to put pressure but it was a bit difficult for her. The nurse finished putting the papers together. She was giving Riya the details about her health and medications. The nurse placed the papers on the top counter for Riya. Riya took the papers and went through them. One page had her normal blood results. The other two pages were about her injuries and the type of degrees her injuries were. Then the last paper had the medication that she needed to take for a few days. Riya finished reading the original documents for the second time. She thanked the nurse for the help.
Riya went to the seating area to grab her sports bag. She slowly grabbed her bag and started walking to the entrance. Liang messaged her earlier that he was going to meet her at the entrance. There were not many people in the hospital. Visiting hours were over for the day so that explained why it was quiet. Riya came out of the building. It was pretty chilly outside. She looked at the sky. She could not see the stars or the moon. Riya was looking around for Liang. There was no sign of him. Maybe he was running a bit late. Riya stood in the same spot to wait for him.
"Are you ready to leave?", a man asked behind her.
Riya turned around. She saw Liang leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. She wondered how long he could be waiting for her. "Yes.", she answered.
Liang was dressed in casual clothes. He removed himself from the wall and walked toward Riya. He stopped in front of her. "I parked my car at the underground parking. Do you want me to bring the car here?", he asked.
"No, I can walk.", she said.
Liang was not convinced. He could see that her bag was putting pressure on her leg. He took her sports bag from her shoulder and then hooked it on his shoulders. He started walking to the underground parking. Riya followed him. They were walking next to each other. Liang was also checking around to make sure that Yanwu's men were not around. The underground parking looked deserted and it was dark. There were only fifteen cars. Liang and Riya were walking to the black Mercedes. Liang unlocked the car. Riya went to the passenger side. She opened the door and slowly hopped in without hurting her leg. Finally, she managed to get in. Her back was also giving her problems but not as much as her leg. She needed a break from hopping into the car. Liang hopped onto the driver's seat. Riya put her seat belt on and then relaxed her back on the seat. Liang started the engine and drove towards the entrance. Riya was looking out at the window. She was admiring the lights from the buildings. Then she saw some billboards with celebrities. Liang was one of them. Riya was shocked that Liang looked different with make-up. She thought that he looked better without the make-up.
"Kris told me that you were a singer, dancer, and model.", she spoke.
"Yep. Then I left the place for so many good reasons.", he answered while he was concentrating on the road.
"I can relate to that."
"So, what are you going to do since you have more than three months' leave?", he was curious.
"I will decorate my apartment. Maybe I will go out with my friends to explore the city. Lucas is planning on taking us to Beijing to see The Forbidden City.", she explained.
"That's nice. You must visit the countryside. There are so many beautiful sceneries.", Liang recommended.
"I was thinking about that but I only want to go once I'm working. I don't want to spend my money only traveling to the country for these three months. I need to keep some money to provide for myself and my friend."
"That's better. You must come to my hotel to see what it looks like. I will also show you around to give you an idea about the business."
Riya just remembered something. "The contract. What is written on it?", she asked.
Liang did not want to tell her but she would find out eventually. "Michael wants you to do private chef or housekeeping. He doesn't want you to do anything in your field."
Riya looked at him with shock. "Why? I applied for Pastry Chef. I shouldn't have listened to him."
"He also put in the contract that you are not allowed to leave his office without his permission if you are his private chef. You are only allowed to leave if you are making his lunch. That's all you are doing for him. Yingjie is doing his best to make you work occurring to the field."
"But why doesn't he want me to do anything occurring to my field?"
"He told Yingjie this 'I don't want that brown-skinned woman to become a businesswoman'."
Riya looked at Liang when she heard that. "Now he is insulting my skin color. After I recover, I will go straight to his office and show him that he can't mess with me."
"Look Moods, during your leave you must come to my officer or home. I will help you to do a start-up for your business. I will even take you to my mother's café which is Unicorn Café. You don't have to put up with this nonsense.", he suggested.
"I will think about it. I'm still irritated that he insulted my skin tone.", she was being serious.
"That's Michael for you. Oh yeah, when we go to the building we need to be careful."
"Why?"
"Because I'm still a celebrity and fans do follow me around. I don't want my fans to recognize me.", he said.
"I'm sure it's going to be fine. The late shift will only leave at two o'clock tomorrow."
Liang was still in doubt about that. They arrived at the apartment building. Liang went into the underground parking. There were not many cars. Liang decided to park close to the entrance because of Riya's leg. She came out of the car. She nearly fall but she grabbed the door to balance herself. Liang took out her sports bag from the back. Riya managed to lift herself. She closed the door behind her. She started limping with Liang to the entrance. She used his elbow so she did not fall.
The elevator doors opened. Riya was still holding Liang's elbow. They were also trying to keep away from people because Liang did not want to be seen by his fans. They entered the elevator. Riya pressed the button and then waited. Riya and Liang were silent which made the atmosphere a bit awkward. Finally, the doors opened. They came out and walked fast so no one could spot them. Suddenly, they heard a door and people laughing from that apartment. Riya and Liang looked at each of a moment. Liang was going to be in so much shit if they see him. Riya needed to find hiding for the two of them. Before Riya could find a place to hide, no one came out of the apartment and they closed the door. Liang was relieved about that. He walked slowly so he did not aggravate Riya's leg.
Riya was standing in front of her apartment door. She noticed her door was opened. She was becoming a bit suspicious. She slowly opened the door to check it out. The door opened wide enough for Riya and Liang to see. Her apartment was looking different. There were sofas, tables, chairs, kitchen utensils, and other decorative stuff in her apartment. All of them were neatly arranged. Riya was looking shocked at this. She heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Riya and Liang looked by the stairs.
"Surprise!", Holly, Lucas, Aliya, and Ling screamed.
Riya did not get scared or flinched. She knew that it was Holly's idea. They ran towards the door to welcome Riya. Riya was confused about this. Holly, Lucas, Aliya, and Ling gave her a big group hug. Riya's body was still in slight pain but she could bear it. She really wanted to know what was going on.
"Guys, what's going on?", she asked.
All of them released her. "We all put money together to design our apartments. We also did the same for you. We knew that you won't have the time to sort out your apartment. Ling also had money in her bank account so she also put money together.", Holly explained.
Riya and Liang looked at the apartment. Riya was loving her apartment even more. "Thank you, guys."
"Who is ready for a small party?", Susan and Tommy said together by the door.
Kris, Yingjie, Feng, and Lisa also entered. Feng and Lisa were also living on the same floor. Lisa and Susan had some bowls of food. Kris and Yingjie bought two bottles of wine. Riya was getting even more confused about this.
"What's going on?", Riya asked.
"We are having a small welcoming party to welcome you back from the hospital.", Susan answered.
"Whose idea was this?"
"It was Ling's idea. She wants to thank you for allowing her to stay with you for the next few months. And she felt lonely because she was missing you.", Aliya explained.
Riya looked at Ling who was looking much better. Riya showed her a smile. "Thank you.", she whispered.
Ling smiled at her. Holly was becoming hungry. "Guys, let's eat because I'm starving.", she said.
Everyone agreed to that. Lucas and Aliya were waiting for everyone to go to the table. They wanted to speak to Riya in private. Now was the right time to speak to her. "Riya, we need to tell you something.", Aliya said.
Riya looked a bit startled by Aliya's seriousness. "What's up?", she asked.
"Ling is becoming suspicious. She is on her phone almost every hour. As soon as we enter your apartment to check on her, she immediately puts her phone down. She has been doing that since you took her in.", Lucas explained.
"I'm sure it's nothing suspicious. She could be talking to her boyfriend or her family.", Riya said.
"Come on Riya, she was a slave from Yanwu's men. She could be working with him. Worse, she could be telling them about you because you did put two men in prison or she could be White Jaguar.", Aliya said.
"Well, I suspect she is White Jaguar because she might take revenge. She wouldn't be working with Yanwu if she was getting beaten up by his men.", Riya was looking at Ling.
"But what makes you ladies think that she is White Jaguar?", Lucas asked.
"Because she might know how Yanwu works, where he lives, and The Forbidden Harbor. She might have come up with strategies to get revenge.", Riya explained further.
Lucas and Aliya were impressed by Riya's theory. "But just keep an eye on her. We don't want you to get hurt and end up in the hospital again.", Lucas said with some concern.
"I will."
Lucas and Aliya were fine with that. They went to the dining room to join the group. Riya went to the kitchen to get some water. She opened a cupboard, grabbed a tall glass, and filled it up with bottled water. She took a large sip of the water. She was now thinking about Ling. Riya needed to come up with a strategy to find out what Ling was up to. Was Ling White Jaguar or a spy for Yanwu?