A few months into law school, Xunyi interned at J&J Law Groups to gain more real-world experience. She got into contact with Susie a few days ago and she told Xunyi that Deming wasn't in Shanghai. Since his father, Yuhan, went back to the company... Deming suddenly disappeared.
Xunyi did wonder if it was her fault for being too harsh on him. Even though she was upset that he lied to her, she didn't deny the fact it was he who helped her financially throughout the years. While interning at the law firm, she didn't have too much time on her hand to think about Deming. She was worried, nevertheless.
Xunyi interned under a lawyer named, Nathan Cheng, from Hong Kong. He was very helpful to Xunyi after she started to intern with him. Xunyi did some file organization, attended client meetings, and answered phone calls. Sometimes it can be dry while other times, it can be challenging. During her break, she went to the lobby to get some food to eat. A delivery man went to the front and the lady working there saw Xunyi.
"Miss. Ling! Delivery for you!"
Xunyi came and saw a bouquet of blue roses, "Is it for me?"
"Your name was on it." Xunyi didn't order any roses.
"I don't remember ordering anything. That's weird." Xunyi saw a small card and it was written, Happy birthday, Xunyi. She was dumbfounded because she didn't know who it was from. She sighed as she brought the bouquet of roses back to her office.
The delivery man came out of the building and accepted a tip from a mysterious man.
"Mister. The lady accepted the flowers."
"Thank you." The man lowered his cap and then walked away. After getting into his car, he called someone.
"I sent her the flowers. What do you want from me?"
"Be patient. Let me think about it." The other man replied.
The man with the cap sat in his car and waited for another minute or so.
"What I want... is for you to kill her tonight. You can't do that? If you don't do it, your family will die."
_______
Xunyi stretched her arms as she looked at the time on her desktop, 5 PM. Even though she was supposed to be working overtime, Nathan told her to leave early since there was a huge storm incoming within a few hours. What a birthday, she thought. Gloomy and rainy, she sighed and looked at the roses.
"At least you're with me, right?" She smiled at the roses and then played with a few petals. Veronica came by and gave Xunyi a big hug, "Happy birthday! I didn't know what to get you so I got you chocolate cake. Hope you're not allergic to it."
"Of course not! I love chocolate!" Xunyi took the chocolate cake and then left with Veronica since Gabriela wasn't even finished with work yet. As they separate, Xunyi walked to Gabriela's house alone with only a few lamp posts on both sides of the streets. She yawned as she walked since she was exhausted. While walking alone, she heard footsteps behind her. She slightly looked back and then changed her path to the closest cafe. She started to faster and the person behind her also walked faster. Xunyi tried not to panic as she tried to call Gabriela. Before she could even press call, the person grabbed her and her phone dropped to the floor.
"AH! L---!" Her mouth was covered by a leather glove and she heard a familiar voice, "Xunyi, it's me, Susie. Don't be afraid. Deming asked me to protect you."
"Deming? How is he? Is he okay? Where is he?" Xunyi asked multiple questions at the same time since she was so worried about him.
"Don't worry, he's fine. He didn't want you to get worried. Xunyi, Deming told me he will continue to support you. No matter where he is, he will make sure that you are safe and sound." Susie replied.
"Is his life in danger?" Xunyi asked in desperation.
"Xunyi, after this is all over. You will see him again." Susie signaled the two officers and both of them led Xunyi to their car.
"Miss. Xunyi, please bear with us. Lawyer Jiang wanted us to keep you safe from harm. From now on, remember that he will always wait for you."
After a few minutes, Xunyi began to feel sleepy. Her eyes slowly closed and muttered, "Deming...Deming..." Then, she slept until she reached Gabriela's house.
_____
A few days after the incident, Xunyi was in a daze. She will often stare into space and get side-tracked. Gabriela was worried about her friend ever since she came back from outside. She told Xunyi to take a few days off but Xunyi refused. Xunyi wanted to see Deming as soon as possible.
Even her colleague, Veronica, was shocked at what happened to Xunyi after her birthday. Xunyi's whole personality changed. Sometimes, Xunyi will take twice the load of work in one day without eating and resting. For three straight days, Xunyi didn't have enough adequate rest. Thankfully, Jiang Mengshan was on the elevator when she fainted so he brought her to the hospital.
Veronica and Gabriela arrived at the hospital, and the doctor came out and asked for Xunyi's guardian. But Gabriela said Xunyi's grandparents were in China so they couldn't come here. She didn't mention Deming because Xunyi said he wouldn't pick up the phone. Jiang Mengshan replied, "I'm her employer. You can tell me."
The doctor shook her head, "Is she under a lot of stress lately? Her blood count is currently very low."
"What does it mean?" Gabriela asked.
"It means she has low counts of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. If she came later, she could've died. A low blood count means her body isn't producing enough blood or oxygen the body needs which causes dizziness and fainting. How is her diet lately?" The doctor asked.
"Quite poor." Veronica and Gabriela replied at the same time.
"Make sure the patient gets enough rest and nutrients, we'll do some follow-up after she wakes up."
"Thank you, doctor." Both of them replied as they went to check on their friend. Xunyi was sleeping peacefully with an oxygen mask over her face. The beeping of the machine was used to measure her blood pressure. Gabriela bent down and removed a few strands of hair from her face. She was heartbroken to see her friend in this sort of state. Veronica, on the other hand, brought some nutritious food in case Xunyi woke up. Mengshan went to the nurse's station to fill out some paperwork.
In the end, Xunyi didn't wake up to eat. Veronica ended up bringing food home. That night, a man came in while secretly dressed up as a doctor. He went into Xunyi's room and closed the door. Since two of the nurses were sleeping at their station, they didn't know about the stranger.
The man took off his mask, his cool hand reached out to Xunyi's hair. He didn't want to kill her. He retracted his hand and then stood up. He bent over and whispered to Xunyi, "Xunyi, I'm sorry I left you alone. I will promise you that after all of this is over, I will be waiting for you in Shanghai."