He sighs and looks at her. She expects some snarky comment or sarcastic remark, but none come.
'What's with this wizard? If he's going to capture me, at least lock me up or something!' she walks to a chair and droops down.
The man walks behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Be good," he says.
The man starts to cook in the kitchen, and Harriet doesn't move from her position.
After fifteen minutes of watching him, she decides to ask him again. "Hey, sir... Why am I here?!" Her voice trembles slightly from anger.
Again, no response comes. She frowns as the man places a steaming plate of food in front of her.
"What do you want?" she says helplessly, poking her food with a fork.
Her mouth drops open when she sees the sad expression in his eyes. "Please tell me where I am!" Her voice breaks as tears well up in her eyes.
His smile returns, and he sits in the seat next to hers.
He gets a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes her tears away.
"Ah! This is delicious. I wish my mum could taste this too." she says.
Then, without realizing it, she begins to cry again.
******
Stuck in this 'prison,' Harriet slumps in her bed, watching the hands of the clock tick. A reading book in her hand, given by the weird man. It has symbols in it.
"What is this thing supposed to do anyway? And I can't read!" she sighs helplessly, pointing the mic in her hand at a symbol in the textbook.
"Tong Ku."
"Aaah! It speaks!" she throws the mic to the other side of the room.
She hears it clatter to the ground. She turns around quickly and runs over to the wall where it falls. She picks up the mic and brings it closer. Then, she puts the mic in between her lips.
"Is anyone there?" she whispers.
There's no answer.
Suddenly, the door opens.
"Why are you sucking on that?" the man asks, walking to her.
"What are you saying?" she places the mic on the table.
"I'm trying to talk to someone."
The man smiles and shakes his head. He reaches out to grab the microphone, but she swats his hand away. "Don't touch him! Fiend!"
'This man is too dangerous. What if he does something to the helpless, immobile creature in front of him?'
The man chuckles and pulls a chair closer to her. Sitting on the chair, he watches her put a finger to his lips.
"No, stop looking at me! I'm talking to whoever is there!" she whispers angrily.
******
"Ah! Finally, my work is done! Being a secretary is such hard work!" Cai Rongyan stretches his joints, cracks his knuckles, and puts away the paperwork on his desk. "Now, I can go home!"
Cai Rongyan goes through the hallways in the headquarters building, whistling loudly as he walks.
When he finally reaches the main entrance, he stops.
His phone is vibrating. It looks like a call from the CEO.
He takes it out of his coat and answers it.
"Hello?" he greets the caller.
"Cai Rongyan," a deep baritone says, "I need you to do me a favor."
"Uh… okay," he replies cautiously.
"Is your schedule free for this month?" he asks.
"It can be arranged," he replies.
"Ok. Work as a tutor."
******
"What is this?" Cai Rongyan stutters as he looks at the foreigner sitting on the couch. She's smiling widely, caressing the hems of her expensive dress. Her face is youthful but still pretty, and her skin glows under the room's soft lighting. She looks like she came straight from a painting. It's just so surreal seeing another woman dressed in such clothes.
The woman turns to look at him and cocks an eyebrow. "You don't like it? I bought it for today."
He opens his mouth only to close it again. 'What is she saying?' is written across his face as he tries to understand what is happening.
He turns to look at his boss. "Boss Du... which household does this lady come from?" he asks slowly, as though he doesn't want to offend anyone by asking the question.
His boss gives him a weird look before sighing deeply. "She's British. From Edinburgh..." Du Jinhai taps his fingers on his phone. 'It looks like I need to make a convincing cover story for her.'
"Cai Rongyan, do you know any English phrases?"
Cai Rongyan nods quickly. "Yes, sir."
Du Jinhai taps his shoulder twice. "If she can't speak Chinese within a month, you're not getting your year-end bonus."
"I promise, boss, that won't happen," Cai Rongyan replies hurriedly, thinking about the money he'll be missing next year when he can spend most of his paychecks on his wife and daughter.
The woman clears her throat, cutting through their conversation. Cai Rongyan blinks.
"Please teach me magic!" Harriet says enthusiastically.
'What?'
******
"Give me a wizard name!" Harriet tails Cai Rongyan as they walk around the city as part of the 'tour' she forced him to go on.
"What?" he's so confused.
"You're a wizard, aren't you? I heard you speak runes to the big wizard a while ago! Now I'm getting a tour around your city!" she replies, poking his face.
"Keep it quiet!" he whispers aggressively. "Don't draw much attention to yourself."
'Oh no! The wizards might get me!' Harriet shuts her mouth after picturing her turning into a fish.
They continue walking until he stops abruptly in front of a large building.
"Where are we going?" Harriet inquires curiously.
*****
"Here we go, missy. Welcome to The Great Hall, where we eat together every day." Cai Rongyan says proudly as they enter the hall.
Entering the tall building, the temperature suddenly drops.
"Grand Wizard. You're so powerful; it's suddenly colder!"
"Just call me Secretary Cai; stop being weird."
Harriet giggles. "Secretary Cai, where are those guards you have here? I really feel like being locked up in my own house now," she complains.
"I told you they would follow you. Here we are." Secretary Cai points to two men standing beside the double doors leading further inside the hall. "
They walk to the reception. The secretary talks briefly to one of the men while Harriet stares at the big clock hanging above the door. Five minutes pass. Another five minutes.
She walks up to Secretary Cai. "I don't understand."
"Wait, miss. This is bureaucracy."
"No, it isn't." She pouts.
Secretary Cai looks at her in shock. 'Doesn't the girl know what bureaucracy is?'
******
Bringing the 'spoiled' girl up to the 10th floor, they walk through the hallway flanked by rooms with rows and rows of computers.
"How are you supposed to work this thing?" Harriet complains, tapping the keyboard with a bored expression.
"What the" Cai Rongyan stops in his tracks and turns around.
Cai Rongyan looks at the helpless employee as Harriet destroys the file being worked on completely.
"Missy, you know how much these things cost?" Cai Rongyan whispers angrily. He knows he shouldn't scold the girl in front of another person, or he'll suffer.
"Just stop what you're doing." Cai Rongyan sighs. "Go, buy a computer," he says to one of the bodyguards.
He grabs Harriet and walks her to the canteen at the center of the floor. They sit down at a table.
"Pick what you like." Cai Rongyan points to the menu.
Harriet looks at the choices in dismay. "Why do I have to choose?" she whines.
"Do you have a problem with food, Missy?" Cai Rongyan asks.
"No, Secretary Grand Wizard, but I hate waiting!"
Cai Rongyan sits down across Harriet, crossing his arms.
After some time, Harriet finally puts down a small cup filled with steaming tea.
"This is good!" Harriet exclaims with a huge grin, almost drowning her toast in tea.
As soon as she finishes her plate, she fills her belly with meat and breadsticks.
'Oh, God. No elegance!' Cai Rongyan shakes his head in frustration before looking up at her in disbelief. "Are you done already? I couldn't even tell you if you liked the food!"
"You're funny, Secretary Grand Wizard, but I don't care!" Harriet smiles cheerfully, patting her tummy.
"I loved the food." She looks around the cafeteria with sparkling eyes.
'So young. So innocent...' Cai Rongyan shakes his head. "I guess I will let you pick whatever you like for dessert. Don't forget to ask for it to go along with the coffee."
"Okay!"