As the moon started to shine and they starts to gather together in the night sky a small cascading light from a lamp shed some dim glow on Amelia and Ramiels position. they were sleeping peacefully as if it was their first time doing so in many years. everybody was sleeping comfortably under the blanket the night.
but some were unaware of what was happening around them,
as each day ends and the new dawn brings warmth to the world more and more people were starting to change. each person develops his or her new abilities depending on a certain human characteristic that they or never knew was the trigger.
some develop at a fast rate but then they just suddenly stop growing, and others grew their new skills slowly. humanity slowly saw this as a fantastic thing partly due to the advancement of medicine and technology. the majority of the human race who were living in different places and time zones thought that the vaccines that save many lives years of the pandemic made them this way.
so many speculate once more from all parts of the world, but contradicting statements also flooded the media stating not all who got the vaccine had the same side effect. so the government and the military took this opportunity to once more manipulate mankind and even exploit those who are useful secretly they conducted arrests and illegal detention of certain individuals who have shown those changes under the cover of the night while kids dream of happy things, several people are bound gag and strap in a medical bed helpless to even move from those who will are conducting a test on their body.
another night ends and a new day comes once more, like what mankind had seen countless times in their lifetime. Amelia woke up from her sleep when the smell of brewed coffee linger in the air it was so refreshing at the same time it woke up her sense to the point that she was being revitalized, the alarm clock on her phone started to beep Ramiel sat up beside her mother and said good morning. she took her phone from the nightstand and swipe it to stop the alarm from disturbing their gracious host.
this was not their second time staying under the roof of Mr and Mrs Liu Chen, but after hearing the news that her husband was in jail for two months she thought this was a good opportunity to find a new job and a stable one so she can finally take hold of her life. she clenches her fist and looked at it intently and swore this will be the start of her new life, people around her were always helping her and she didn't even do anything to stand against her abusive husband before, she just accepted those punches and endured them even more especially when she got pregnant with Ramiel.
she was so tired worn out bruised and didn't get the opportunity to collect her thoughts before she was more focused on earning for her child and protecting him no matter what, rather than seeing what other people has done for them her mind just colluded with thoughts of her surviving even for just one day more.
now after a long time getting fired was somewhat a blessing in disguise, after all those days facing her greedy and corrupt boss she now felt freer.
so with an energetic tone, she grab Ramiels face and started kissing him on the cheek and tickling him, Ramiel laughed so hard that Mr and Mrs Liu Chen ran up to the guest room and opened the door. the two were expecting something bad but to their surprise, they saw a mother that was so happy playing with his beloved son.
Grandpa Tang and Grandma Mao asked the two to get washed up and prepare to go down to have some breakfast, Amelia look at Ramiel and said to wash his face and go downstairs because she needs to talk to two, the boy just complied and went down the bed and did what her mother told him.
Grandpa Tang and Grandma Mao felt something was different, but they expected this because of the recent events that occurred in Amelia's life. they knew in their heart what Amelia want. so when should tell her plans to get back on her own two feet alone? they just told her they will be always here to lend a helping hand just say the word and they will all be running toward them.
the three hugged each other and suddenly a small arm joined them, they all went down and started eating, Amelia ask Grandpa Tang if she knew someone who post a job wanted ad. Ramiel was eating when Mr Tang's phone rang. he pointed it out to Grandpa Tang and said.
"Grandfather Tang someone is calling you.!"
Grandpa Tang left his phone on the dining table near Ramiel, he asked the young boy if he could hand it over to him. so he answered and was weirded out by the person on the other line it was Guan Yu.
he told his uncle about the meeting with Robert Sinclair tomorrow to finalize the partnership. the old one said just two words.
"I believe in you."
Guan Yu was sitting in his office when he ended his call, his secretary was standing right next to him, she was in her early twenties and calmly told him that someone was waiting for him in the company lobby. he gave out a sigh and stood up from his office chair, and two guards opened his office door as Guan Yu was walking a long hallway more people were lined left and right in a bowing position.
all of them were almost at the same height and all wearing black formal attire. his secretary kept on making sure they were ready for any given situation, .their number was ten on both sides hidden under their blazers were The FN P90 it is a compact personal defense weapon that Fu Xi Shi Corporation got from Belgium to be used by his companies security unit and made sure nobody would be foolish enough to mess with his company personnel and clan member.
while walking his secretary was discussing more details about his schedule and work activity, Guan Yu just stroll straight ahead and didn't even stop to look at her and pause for a minute to ask her anything. as soon as both of them reached the only elevator door from and to his office, his secretary pushes the down button and waited until it opened, he went inside as two more men were waiting for him within, as his secretary continued her report the elevator descended floor by floor, from the very 30th floor down to a ground floor the only person talking was his secretary.
as soon as it stop on the ground floor Guan Yu said one thing, get a background check on the woman he was about to meet in his lobby, she replies
"yes, boss."
the two bodyguards were right behind Guan Yu as his secretary walked in another direction she was around five foot seven lean but slender body structure, she was attractive but her stare would make you think twice about approaching her.
the former clan leader personally selected her to be Guan Yu's assistant this appointment alone was an indication that this particular woman will and can kill you with no remorse whatsoever. while she was walking three newly pointed directors with their respective guards from different branches of the FuXiShi Corporation greeted Miss Lin Siniang with a bow, she passed them without even a single acknowledgement or gesture.
the three got annoyed to be treated like that even if she was their boss's secretary, they smirked and rolled their eyes as she went farther away from them.
after murmuring among each other the three new directors also continued their way to personally meet Guan Yu, there they saw a beautiful attractive woman sitting in the lobby waiting area. the three saw Guan Yu standing a few feet from said woman suddenly she stood up and hug Guan Yu and seductively announced to the people around them that she yearn to see his boyfriend Guan Yu.
Guan Yu's bodyguards were about to drag the woman away when he wave his hand to let her be. he didn't want to tarnish the Liu Chen family name by being disrespectful to a woman even if that said person was a harlot by nature.
Guan Yu acted like he was happy to see her, but deep inside he was burning up with annoyance, he knew this woman was planning something that is why she went to see him and orchestrate this attention-grabbing scene for everyone to see and be a trending topic in social media.
she was Eumeh Fang a famous actress model and singer who is rumored to be secretly promiscuous and a gold digger and dated men who are influential powerful and rich. the moment her manager requested her to attend an event where powerful and wealthy people will gather all around the world to celebrate a single person's birthday, she immediately said yes, at that very moment she already plan to be the new face model and soon to be the wife of the celebrant.
On the night of the event, Miss Eumeh Fang went beyond what she do to gain the opportunity and attention to catch one of the biggest prey in the market the president of Fu Xi Shi Conglomerate Mr Guan Yu Liu Chen was respectful and acted accordingly to all his guests on his birthday. but he never knew meeting Miss Eumeh Fang that day would give him so such a headache in the near future.
Guan Yu's Secretary was also there making sure that the place was secure even if an army of terrorists came barging in. all of Fu Xi Shi's corporate guards are highly trained and super loyal to the clan. but even with these individuals guarding their boss they were still no match for Miss Eumeh Fang seductive charm.
Miss Lin went up to her master and explained why she was invited to this event and pointed out that one of the newly appointed Directors push the marketing agenda to make her the new model of the company and in doing this cemented that plan for countless of journalist were already reporting this to the entire country.
Guan Yu was Furious but Miss Lin made a point that if he succumb to his anger he might do and say something that might insult the guest, so with this in mind he calm down and did his best to never disappoint the Liu Chen patriarch .
Now after all that time, after a week she once again showed up in front of him with this much interest in him, thinking somebody might have leaked information about the upcoming partnership of Fu Xi Shi and Sinclair.
Guan Yu said politely that sadly he is not free today and asked her to come again another day, but like the manipulator that she was acted sadly and even cried in front of everybody to gain sympathy. he was forced to tell her if there was something she need so he can be forgiven for this uncomfortable situation that he made in front of Miss Eumeh . she openly said for everyone to hear in french,
"Je veux que tu sortes avec moi à dix rendez-vous romantiques ? "
"I want you to go out with me on ten romantic dates?"
Guan Yu regrettably said yes by whispering, Miss Eumeh change her expression and kissed him on the cheek. at that moment one of the three new directors saw that his plan had succeeded in some way. the three looked at each other and chuckled lightly as they continue their walk to their respective offices.
as Guan Yu gave said his farewell and eventually was able to avoid more annoying moments with the actress, a few reporters started dashing at Miss Eumeh Fang with a barrage of questions and nonstop flash of their cameras about the current relationship between both of them, she acted like she was overwhelmed with this scene but in reality, she was the one who told her manager to tell reporters about this particular event.
when the main building door opened the same guard that was in Guan Yu's office hallway was waiting for their boss in front of the building, there he spotted Miss Lin standing in front of the second parked car. as the driver opens the second car she waves her hand signalling to get in their respective appointed vehicles, as Guan Yu prepares to leave she walked toward the first car, opened the door a and went in as the rest of his bodyguard were already in the third and final car.
as they slowly drove away from the main company more people were converging in the lobby, this annoyed him deeply like his body was burning up, and felt he was losing control his phone rang, and saw Miss Lin was calling from the first car and mention Robert Sinclair assistant texted her and confirms the signing between Fu Xi Shi and Sinclair will be held in front of international reporters.
Guan Yu said
"it is perfectly fine."
Meanwhile, Amelia was at the dining table using Mrs Mao's laptop and currently surfing the internet looking for a job, when Ramiel sitting in front of her colouring some of his artwork asked her mother about her plans this week, she smiled and said she was planning to get a new job so they won't be a burden to Mr and Mrs Liu Chen anymore. Ramiel with a sad expression asked Grandma Mao
"I thought you like us to stay here. don't you like us, granny?"
Mrs Mao answered him and gave the proper explanation of what his mother said.
"We love having the two of you here at our home, we are family now, but your mother wishes to stand strong on her own to prove she can take good care of you."
Ramiel was still sad but her mother held his hands and said "we are not leaving them, I love grandpa and grandma as much as you love them.
I just want to show and prove to you and the rest of the people who took care of us that I can protect you. we survive this long and many help us now I think it's time to repay them by helping ourselves."
Ramiel went to Grandma Mao and showed his artwork, Mrs. Mao shed a tear as Ramiel explain his drawing. Grandpa Tang came into the dining hall and saw his wife in tears and asked what happened she just hug Ramiel and told him she loves him very much too.
It was a very heartfelt moment in Mr and Mrs Liu Chen's lives. as tears became a smile and then laughter as Ramiel told Grandma Mao that she was hugging him too much. and he wants to stay with them because she makes delicious food every day.
"if you are not cute. I would not cook any food for you,"
they all laugh and just continued their days with no worries, Mrs Mao was even able to take Amelia to little Chinatown so she could meet her old friend to shop and spend some time in a beauty salon owned by Mrs Mao's friends, slowly her appearance became better, and she learns a few things from the people around her the group of old women was knowledgeable she was pampered to the point she became more beautiful.
now she looks can't be compared to when she was before, Amelia would ask her son about her looks now he would just say she was always beautiful in his eyes.
when Ramiel was with Miss Dolores Tesfaye on weekdays he gets a special class as the other kids were playing the two would start a small activity in making and brewing a personalized concoction. there was a room that Miss Dolores uses to teach certain herbal medicine and formulas based on her student's characteristic natures are personally selected to learn the art of potion making.
the room was hidden behind the huge book cabinet where only four kids were allowed to learn this skill as she taught them well, those kids eventually got adopted by kind-hearted families that longed to have their children. unlike him who already has a family, she made a decision to teach more than what she did previously, the room was peculiar and filled with wonders that the human mind could not comprehend nor understand but in Ramiel's eyes those are just things that made him more curious,
Ramiel was taught to make certain potions to cure small cuts, alleviate the pain from stomach aches, and even counter poison even more, in the eyes of a four-year-old boy, everything he do, see, and experienced was half game and the other half was learning so he never gets tired of spending time with the elders for he was happy.
Mr Tang was always happy to pick him up after his class. after lunch the two would stop at his favourite bookshop and introduce Ramiel to Mr Tang's old associates to select a new book for them to read, the shop had a basement that was converted into a meditation and reading room there are about ten crystal lights all over the room people would even ask the shop keeper before if that particular crystal were magical, he would laugh and say he got it on eBay, he would select a book and sit on the floor with tatami mats. on the first day when Ramiel was reading, he saw Mr Tang sitting beside him and sitting there quietly for 2 hours, he asked him why he was sleeping there.
the old man laughed he told Ramiel it was an old Chinese martial arts exercise to increase and control the flow of energy in the body mind and soul. so the next day he was so interested in what the old told him about this meditation thing.
he just decided to copy what Mr Tang did, the old man saw the boy's hunger to learn so he made sure to proper procedures in a step-by-step command so he could understand it with a sharp mind he was able to copy Mr Tang perfectly in a day. so within a few days, both Amelia and Ramiel learned new things to further their knowledge, this was their new daily routine as more meaningful memories were created by this unconventional family.
it was Sunday morning when Amelia received a call that she was accepted to work in a newly opened company as a part of the assembly personnel. the location was in the economic zone thirty minutes from where they are staying, Amelia was ecstatic and can't control her happiness when she saw Mrs Mao she just grab her hand a force her to dance along with her joy. when Mr Tang came up from the basement after his Meditation, Ramiel was already dancing too, so he told Grandpa Tang to join them in their dance the old man just did what his grandson told him to do.
they were crying their eyes out of happiness because of the infectious emotion Amelia was feeling. when she told them the reason Grandma Mao told them its time to celebrate it was in the middle of the afternoon, but didn't care they invited the old friends of both Mr and Mrs Liu Chen, Amelia called Ms Dolores Tesfaye and even Guan Yu.
Guan Yu was at his office when he received a text from his Uncle inviting him to a there small party. Ms Lin Siniang was sitting at her corner table doing some office tasks when she saw his boss smile. when she stood up to investigate she saw a video clip of people dancing.
she suddenly utter a giggle when she saw an old man dancing like a crazy person. an aura oozes out of Guan Yu which made Miss Lin tremble in fear, as the object from his office floated and the temperature was getting warmer. at that moment a call went in and everything returned to normal, she was sweating and trying her best to stop her body from shaking that call just probably saved her life.
Guan Yu lifted his hand telling her to give him some privacy, she walked back to her table holding her composure or she would have fainted, Guan Yu resumed to answer the call and it was his Auntie Mao right then and there he told her secretary to prepare a car he will be leaving now.
she immediately went out to personally prepare his boss's car,
Guan Yu went down and told her that he will be going alone again. she wanted to refuse his order and insist to bring at least two of the guards with him. but because of the mistake, she made earlier she just complied with her boss's command.
because of this blunder, Miss Lin was lost in thought and wasn't able to sense that a private investigator was tailing Guan Yu the moment he left on his own.
the other car was following Guan Yu with utmost diligence because the target is not an ordinary person one, wrong move he will end up in prison or worst dead. so with all his skill as a detective, he made sure he won't be noticed by Guan Yu.
luckily for him Guan Yu coincidentally lowered his guard due to what he was feeling right now, he didn't even care to look around unlike before, he was in a state of eagerness to meet his family. a very weird feeling was overlapping his seriousness as a clan boss.
he thought he was just happy that he can finally see the two most important people in his life, after Guan Yu's parents died ,they were there to love and guide Guan Yu to become the man he is now today.
after a few minutes of contemplating, he could finally see his uncle and aunty's home, he could hear the sounds of laughter as he get out of his car and walked up the stairs. the man who followed him grabbed his cell phone and called an unregistered number, as Guan Yu entered the house Rameil greeted him and welcome him in his dialect.
"Welcome to our party, might I ask what is your name, sir?"
Guan Yu was amazed by Amelia's son's efficiency in their native language he replied as a courtesy to and young man's question.
"hello Ramiel, I am your uncle Guan Yu, I am the nephew of Mr Tang and Mrs Mao. that you now call grandpa and grandma."
Ramiel suddenly smiles and hugs his new uncle. he shouted with so much exhilaration Mr Tang noticed it and hug Guan Yu too, and drag him inside the house as Ramiel was also there, as soon as they enter the receiving room a thundering cheer went off and Grandpa Tang told everybody how happy and proud he was to see his beloved nephew, now he tells every one today it is a double celebration. Guan Yu was so surprised and shocked to see his Uncle be like this in front of people who were once the pillar of the Dragon clan.
he can see an aura of bliss surrounding his Uncle, he was dancing around he was so talkative to everybody and even play around with his newfound joy. he was so thankful he was able to witness his uncle be like this. he went up to Ramiel and bowed down to him as a sign of acceptance and thankfulness to what he did that made his family feel alive again.
"Ramiel I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, you made this family filled with happiness once again."
Ramiel just said, "dance with us uncle Guan Yu." then and there he let out some dance moves that made the other people cheer some more. Guan Yu was spinning around and Ramiel was following his moves when Guan Yu accidentally bumps with Amelia as she was entering the room.
he was now more stunned to see Amelia up close while he was holding her in his arm preventing her from toppling over. she was so beautiful, his heart started to race and he felt a cold chill run down his spine. he never encountered this feeling before he became uneasy and cold sweats covered his hands as he was still staring into her eyes. an ahem sound was heard loud and clear as Mrs Mao slowly began to manifest at the back of Amelia's shoulder.
at that moment Guan Yu finally woke up from that trance and Mrs Mao was staring at him in his face like he saw a ghost. one of their guests gave a naughty comment.
"Guan Yu didn't see a ghost. sister Mao, he was the one who fall head over heels."
everybody laugh as they all just saw it as a memorable event. Mr and Mrs Liu Chen agreed. so even if it was awkward for both of them Amelia just smiled and thank Guan Yu. Amelia has a bit embarrassed so she decided to give him some reassurance and talk to him.
they both talked and something remarkable happened, a mutual understanding began to bear root as she opened up to him making sure Guan Yu understood her story where it all began and why his uncle and Auntie were adamant about helping her throughout her endeavor.
Ramiel and both Grandpa Tang and Grandma Mao were peeking at the kitchen archway looking at how Amelia and Guan Yu were connecting. so the three made sure to leave them alone. Mrs Mao was not against any possible situation that might eventually blossom. Mr Tang was still not accommodating this idea due to one single reason she was still married to that man.
Guan Yu was still talking to each other when Miss Dolores ask Mr and Mrs Liu Chen about their plans before Amelia's husband gets out of jail. the two just said one word that made Ms Dolores Tesfaye's eyes grow wide and the three giggle maniacally. not knowing a different set of eyes was watching Guan Yu and Amelia across the street hiding inside a luxury car.