"Just remember if we get caught, you are deaf and I don't speak English." ~ Dylan Wu
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Sang Tian had taken a day off that day to be able to follow Li Si Han and collect substantial proofs of his infidelity. After the confrontational episode at the hotel, Sang Tian decided to go to the Lakehouse to unwind herself. The Lakehouse was a three and a half storeys mansion that belonged to Sang Tian and her three childhood best friends, Yu Xin, Dylan Wu, and Chen Qiang.
The four of them met when they started kindergarten together and very quickly became friends. After the 22 years that they have spent together had only strengthened their bond. Born in the same year of 1997, the four of them belonged to the most influential and affluent families in the country.
When they were kids, they used to hate being apart and used to talk about buying a house together so that the four of them could live in it and would not have to go to their separate homes by the end of the day.
The adults took it as a joke but the four best friends were totally serious about it and for the next 13 years, they continued to save money from the allowance that their families used to give them. It was when they turned 18, Dylan to be the first one to celebrate his 18th birthday, the four of them bought an abandoned mansion in the suburbs with the money that they had saved.
The mansion was in a poor state and was in need of a complete renovation. This was where they asked their parents to step in and after a year of construction, renovation, installation of new fixtures, and bringing in the furniture, the mansion was ready as new.
As there was a lake just a few feet away from the boundary wall of the mansion, hence the name "Lakehouse". This was their vacation home, their party venue, and a place where they always come to unwind whenever it becomes too much for them to handle. And today was a day like such for Sang Tian.
She was deeply hurt because of Li Si Han cheating on her. By making the choice to cheat he destroyed all the beautiful memories that were associated with this relationship. It pained her heart that the relationship that she cherished from the bottom of her heart had to end like this.
Though she tried her best to remain calm and composed while driving to the Lakehouse, Sang Tian ended up losing control over her emotions in the middle of her journey and had to park her car to the side as she could not keep in her tears anymore. Sitting inside her car, Sang Tian cried for her broken heart and for her broken relationship.
Li Si Han surely did not deserve her tears but all those beautiful memories that were attached with this relationship, surely did.
After a 15 minutes emotional break, Sang Tian resumed her journey and soon reached the Lakehouse. Nestled in the heart of nature, the Lakehouse was surrounded by lush green trees and the sparkling waters of the lake. The charming abode was the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city life.
Throwing her handbag away and toeing off her heels, Sang Tian plopped down on the couch and covered her eyes with her arm trying her best to not think about the good times that she had spent with Li Si Han. She tried to distract herself by thinking about the upcoming surgery that she had to assist and began revising the whole procedure in her mind.
"I don't think that capturing that embarrassing video is enough to shame that jerk!"
Sang Tian chuckled through her tears. She should have known that they moment her friends will see the video that she sent they would chase her to the Lakehouse knowing well that she would come here to unwind and recharge.
A hand grabbed hers and moved her arm away from her face, "Did you kick him in the nuts?" asked Dylan with a knowing spark in his eyes and charming smile.
Sang Tian nodded her head, "Twice!" she exclaimed proudly and added, "I even stole their money, their cards, and threw away their clothes and cell phones."
Dylan laughed and placed a kiss on her forehead, "That's my girl!" he cheered making Sang Tian smile, "Thanks, D." The four of them called each other by their nicknames and 'D' was Dylan's.
"You have their cards with you, right?" he asked and Sang Tian took out the cards from her pocket and handed it over to Dylan before sitting up on the couch.
Dylan threw the cards over to Yu Xin and said, "Where do you think we can spend whatever money these hold?"
"Maybe some utterly useless stuff from different countries. There will be no trace and as the transactions are going to be international so it will take some time to get all the products delivered and I will make sure that all of them are non-refundable. And probably make some donation at the animal shelter as well." suggested Yu Xin while playing with Li Si Han and Alina's credit cards.
Just to piss off her family members and as a form of silent rebellion, Yu Xin had learnt and acquired the skill of hacking during the years she was in college. Often times she had used this skill to help others and sometimes against her prissy and stuffy family members.
"I say yes!" exclaimed Dylan and raised his hand to show that he agrees. Sang Tian sighed and raised her hand in agreement as well.
"What do you say, Silencer?" Dylan looked over at Chen Qiang who was silently munching on an apple. The only introvert in the group and a man of few words, Chen Qiang usually doesn't talk much but when he does he communicates brilliantly.
He used to be the quietest kid in the class hence earning him the nickname 'Silencer' from his best friends.
Chen Qiang took another bite of the apple and raised his hand in agreement, "Cool! Inu!" Dylan clapped his hands in glee and looked over at Yu Xin who grabbed her laptop and began working on the task at hand. Inu being Yu Xin's nickname.
"By the way," Chen Qiang began after finishing the apple and throwing the pit in the dustbin, "is this enough?" he asked gaining Sang Tian, Dylan, and Yu Xin's attention.
"Well, I did kick him in the balls. Twice." Sang Tian commented, "But I didn't get to slap that bitch though." she added and scrunched up her nose, upset.
"You are the surgeon Tintin and you work with both of them, do you think we can sedate them and maybe do things to them?!" questioned Dylan while laying down on the couch and resting his head in Sang Tian aka Tintin's lap.
"How about taking out some organs when we are at it?" Yu Xin brought up the idea causing her friends to stare at her, "I mean I accidentally landed on this dark web group where the users were -"
Yu Xin was interrupted by Chen Qiang who pointed out, "Just because you have a family full of lawyers doesn't mean that we have to do something that extreme for your family members to defend us in the court."
Sang Tian and Dylan nodded in agreement to what Chen Qiang had said causing Yu Xin to sigh and go back to what she was doing.
"Well, if I could that I would have killed them for making my Tintin cry." commented Dylan while cradling Sang Tian's face in his hands and squishing her cheeks fondly, making her smile.
"I know people who can do the job if you want!" it was Yu Xin, again. "You know my dad's a criminal lawyer and once I was messing up with his files and found -"
"No!" Sang Tian, Dylan, and Chen Qiang exclaim in unison and in a loud voice making Yu Xin wince and scratch her ears, "Alright!" she said with an eye roll.
"Let's just make the video that you took go viral. At-least among the hospital staff so they know about the affair." suggested Dylan and Sang Tian hum and respond with, "She's married and her husband is on board too."
Smirking, Sang Tian lightly tapped her fingers on Dylan's forehead in a playful manner, "As a good natured citizen and fellow colleague, it is my duty to let Mr. Zhang know about his wife's illicit affair!"
"Will it not get you into trouble as well?" asked Chen Qiang.
Without looking up from her laptop screen, Yu Xin continued to write codes as she said, "Not if her cell phone gets stolen along with the cards that Tintin just picked up in anger and there is a police report about the said thievery in the local police station. Dr. Tintin has no idea what the thieves did with her cell phone and the cards."
Raising her head, Yu Xin looked at Sang Tian with sympathetic eyes, "Poor Dr. Tintin! She had such a horrible day!"
Rewarded by appreciative looks and thumbs up from her friends, Yu Xin added, "Okay, so I have also maximized the limit on the credit card that you have against your salary bank account so you can show that even you got hacked and that your money was taken too."
"And, we are done!" Yu Xin exclaimed cheerfully. She had used Li Si Han and Alina's credit cards to their maximum limit and purchased a bunch of expensive and embarrassing, non-refundable products.