As the car sped down the road, Yuan couldn't take his eyes off the woman beside him, even though she seemed to be on edge because he sat beside her. She looked so beautiful with her long flowing hair. He was so lost in thought that he did not see her turn in his direction.
"Why are you staring at me?" She asked with an irritated voice.
"Uhm... I..." Yuan stammered as he struggled to form a sentence. Her brown eyes searched his; he had never been so uncomfortable. Even after waking up without any memories, he still couldn't compare how uncomfortable he felt around her with that.
"We're here, sir." The driver announced, and Yuan had never been more grateful for the interruption. Yuan quickly turned away from her and looked outside. He was stunned to find a very big mansion with an equally large gate that was installed with very high technology as its security system.
Xiao Mei saw him gawking and said, "That's your house." He turned around to look at her in disbelief. The expression on his face made her chuckle, but she was quick to pull herself together and put up a straight face.
"Can I ask you a question?" He said to her, and she nodded. "Who is Zhi Yuan?" Her expression darkened. She moved closer to him, and Yuan moved back. He kept moving away from her until he felt his back hit the door.
"You're a criminal, a ruthless, cold, twisted demon with an urge to ruin people, and on top of that, you are a murderer," she said, her voice sounding spiteful.
Yuan stared at her with his eyes wide open and his chest heaving at the way she made him sound like such an evil man. He looked back towards the mansion, and the display of riches amazed him.
"But I must have been really successful," he whispered, but she didn't respond. It was either she didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.
"Get down, I have a meeting to attend," she said.
"Okay," he replied and was about to step out of the car when something popped into his head. "I thought the car belongs to me?" He asked, and she frowned at him.
"You thought wrong." she hissed, but underneath her expression, she was amazed that he remembered his car even after losing his memory.
If he has indeed lost his memories, then why don't I have some fun? she thought as she smiled at him.
"You gave me this car as a gift, don't you remember?" She said.
"Oh really!" He looked around confused but didn't say anything. Instead, he stepped out and closed the door. The gate buzzed open before he walked up to it, and Xiangu, the man from the hospital, stood in front of it.
The doctor had told him that Xiangu was his right-hand man.
"Welcome, boss." Xiangu said as he bowed slightly. "It's really good to have you back on your feet." He led Yuan into the house. Yuan couldn't take his eyes off the tasteful arts on display, the genius architectural design of the house, and the way the servants had lined up outside the house to welcome him back was impressive.
"The cook has prepared something to welcome you back." Xiangu said as he led Yuan into the dining hall. The whole table was covered in food; the length of the table and the food available was enough to feed a whole town.
"You need to get some rest because I need you to show up at the club tomorrow. Some of the investors are developing cold feet about the deal. If you don't show up, they might pull out."
"What deal?" Yuan asked, still looking around.
"You have to get yourself together and snap out of it, boss. The whole empire you've built depends solely on you. We can't afford to let anyone know that you've lost your memory." Xiangu said; he sounded really serious, and that didn't sit right with Yuan.
"I would send the files to your bedroom. Stay in bed and go through them; it's really important that you familiarize yourself with it before the meeting tomorrow."
"Meeting? But the doctor said I need to..."
"The doctor doesn't know anything about our business, boss. You can't afford to do that. It's bad enough that you were in the hospital for weeks."
"About the accident..." Yuan began, but Xiangu cut him off.
"Let me show you to your room." Yuan had no choice but to follow the man whom everyone expects him to trust even when he looked so unfamiliar to him.
He led him upstairs towards the right wing of the house and into a room. The bedroom was just as lavish as the rest of the house but had a more personal feel. The king-sized bed was covered in silk sheets, and the pillows were piled high. The walls were painted light grey. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the room.
On the wall hung a large portrait. In it, a man stood proudly, one hand resting on the shoulder of a majestic lion. His face was stern, but his eyes were full of life and power. He looked every inch the ruler of his domain.
Yuan stared up at the portrait of the man they claim he is, but he doesn't feel like him one bit.
"I would be downstairs if you need anything, just buzz for me." Xiangu said. He picked up the remote and turned on the large TV screen. After that, he walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.
Yuan sat at the edge of the bed as the reporter on the screen talked about how the top businessman(Zhi Yuan) who had been involved in an accident and was rumored to be in a coma has finally regained consciousness. The reporter stated that the news has been confirmed by Zhi Yuan's team.
Pictures of the car crash that had landed him in the hospital displayed on the screen, but he felt nothing. And then an image of him in a suit standing next to some dignitaries was displayed, but he still felt nothing, nothing at all to make him believe that he is indeed Zhi Yuan.
The reporter moved on to other news about a man who had been hit by a truck. An image of the scene was displayed, but it had been blurred. Yuan stared at the screen; the road looked familiar to him. And then the images began to pop up again in his head without control.
The truck... The street lights... The rain...
The headache returned, and this time it was unbearable. He let out a piercing scream as he staggered around the room, knocking down anything in his path.