For the first time all summer, Sean woke up before 8 a.m.—not because he didn't want to sleep, but because he simply couldn't. In fact, ever since his three friends left yesterday afternoon, Sean had been consumed by endless fantasies and speculations about that mysterious book of poems. He was sure Cotton felt exactly the same. And knowing Cotton's impatient nature, his level of urgency was probably several times higher—this thought alone had stopped Shawn from calling Lu Hua's house last night. He was certain that Cotton had already called Lu Hua at least three times.
Now, Sean had finished washing up in his bathroom and was coming downstairs in his pajamas. He walked into the dining room and greeted his parents, who were having breakfast. "Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom."
Sean's father, dressed impeccably, sat at the dining table reading the morning paper through his gold-rimmed glasses. With his scholarly demeanor, he looked more like a university professor than a billionaire. Seeing his son walk into the dining room at this hour, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the special occasion, Sean?"
Sean pulled out a chair and sat down, shrugging. "It's not a special occasion or anything. I just couldn't sleep, so I decided to get up early."
His beautiful American mother walked over, planting a quick kiss on his forehead. "That's great, sweetheart. Energetic young men shouldn't be sleeping in anyway."
At that moment, their Filipino housekeeper, Lian, approached awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Master Sean. I didn't know you'd be up so early today. I haven't prepared your breakfast yet."
"Oh, no need to fix me anything, Lian," Sean said. "It's too early; I couldn't eat anything right now anyway. Just pour me a glass of milk, and I'll be good."Sean pulled out a chair and sat down, shrugging. "It's not a special occasion or anything. I just couldn't sleep, so I decided to get up early."
His beautiful American mother walked over, planting a quick kiss on his forehead. "That's great, sweetheart. Energetic young men shouldn't be sleeping in anyway."
At that moment, their Filipino housekeeper, Lian, approached awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Master Sean. I didn't know you'd be up so early today. I haven't prepared your breakfast yet."
"Oh, no need to fix me anything, Lian," Sean said. "It's too early; I couldn't eat anything right now anyway. Just pour me a glass of milk, and I'll be good."
"That won't do," his mom said firmly. "Skipping breakfast is bad for your stomach. You should at least have some salad." She gave Lian a quick gesture to prepare it.
"Alright then," Sean sighed, reluctantly. He turned to Lian. "Make it a fruit salad, not veggies. Uh—do we have strawberries and grapes?"
"Yes, Master Sean," Lian nodded and hurried off to prepare.
A few moments later, Lian returned with a plate of fruit salad and a glass of milk. Sean picked up a strawberry with his fork, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed before asking, "Dad, anything interesting in the news today?"
Sean's dad chuckled. "Plenty, but I'm reading the business section—Toshiba's stock dropped 8% due to the economic crisis, though its rival Sony fell by 9%. Does that sound interesting to you?"
"Not at all. As long as Sony keeps making the PlayStation series, I couldn't care less about their losses." Shawn shrugged, then turned to his mom. "What about the U.S., Mom? Any big news?"
His mom shook her head. "The biggest issue in the U.S. right now is still the economic crisis—and the social problems it's causing are getting worse. Some criminal groups are taking advantage of the situation and becoming more active again."Sean's dad chuckled. "Plenty, but I'm reading the business section—Toshiba's stock dropped 8% due to the economic crisis, though its rival Sony fell by 9%. Does that sound interesting to you?"
"Not at all. As long as Sony keeps making the PlayStation series, I couldn't care less about their losses." Shawn shrugged, then turned to his mom. "What about the U.S., Mom? Any big news?"
His mom shook her head. "The biggest issue in the U.S. right now is still the economic crisis—and the social problems it's causing are getting worse. Some criminal groups are taking advantage of the situation and becoming more active again."
Sean pondered for a moment and then asked, "Mom, what I mean is, has there been any major disaster in the U.S. recently?"
His mom clasped her hands under her chin and stared at him. "Son, don't you think what's happening with the economy is already a disaster?"
"No, I mean, has there been any…," Sean began, but his words were cut off by the sharp sound of the doorbell.
His dad set down the newspaper and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only 7:50. He looked at his wife and son, puzzled. "Who could be visiting this early?"
Both Sean and his mom shrugged simultaneously, indicating they had no idea. His dad turned to the maid. "Lian, could you see who it is?"
Lian quickly walked to the living room and opened the door. She glanced toward the dining room and said, "Young Master, your friend Lu Hua is here."
"What? Lu Hua!" Sean exclaimed, dropping his utensils in surprise. As he made his way to the door, he muttered to himself, "Oh God, he must've discovered something big!"
Sure enough, the moment Sean saw Lu Hua standing at the door, he knew his suspicions were spot on. Lu Hua was drenched in sweat, as if he'd run all the way there. He was panting heavily, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his left hand, while clutching the mysterious poetry book and a notebook in his right. Dark circles under his eyes showed he'd stayed up all night, but his face didn't show fatigue—it was filled with a mix of shock and urgency.Lian quickly walked to the living room and opened the door. She glanced toward the dining room and said, "Young Master, your friend Lu Hua is here."
"What? Lu Hua!" Sean exclaimed, dropping his utensils in surprise. As he made his way to the door, he muttered to himself, "Oh God, he must've discovered something big!"
Sure enough, the moment Sean saw Lu Hua standing at the door, he knew his suspicions were spot on. Lu Hua was drenched in sweat, as if he'd run all the way there. He was panting heavily, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his left hand, while clutching the mysterious poetry book and a notebook in his right. Dark circles under his eyes showed he'd stayed up all night, but his face didn't show fatigue—it was filled with a mix of shock and urgency.
"Come in quickly," Sean said, ushering his friend inside. He then leaned in and asked quietly, "What happened?"
Lu Hua, his face pale and full of terror, shuddered slightly as he stared at Sean. "You won't believe what I've discovered. It's absolutely horrifying, I can barely—oh… good morning, ma'am."
Sean turned around and saw his mother standing right behind him, smiling warmly. "Good morning, Lu Hua. You look like you just finished a marathon." she said.
Lu Hua seemed to have completely forgotten that Sean's parents were still in the house. He awkwardly stammered, "No, ma'am… I… actually…"
Sean turned to his mother and said, "Mom, Lu Hua came to discuss something with me… So, please?"
"Oh, of course," she replied with a smile. "You two take your time. I should get to work anyway."
Sean gave Lu Hua a light pat on the back. "Let's talk in my room."
The two of them walked up to Sean's room on the second floor. Sean closed the door behind them and quickly asked, "What's going on, Lu Hua? Did you figure out what the disaster in 2010 is after finishing your translation?"
Lu Hua shuddered again, his face pale as he glanced at Sean. "Maybe you should call Cotton and Lancy right now, tell them to come over immediately. Just say it's important."
Sean stared into Lu Hua's eyes, weighing what "important" might mean. After a brief pause, he nodded. "Alright, I'll have them come over now."
Lu Hua turned and walked to the window, taking deep breaths as he faced outside. Sean pulled out his phone to make the call, occasionally glancing at Lu Hua, noticing that his body was subtly trembling. He couldn't imagine what kind of fear could make the normally composed and calm Lu Hua react this way.
A few minutes later, after finishing the call, Sean turned to Lu Hua, who was still standing by the window. "I told Cotton andLancy, they'll be here as fast as they can."
Lu Hua, with his back to Sean, gave a barely perceptible nod, then remained silent, still standing motionless by the window. Sean couldn't see his expression or guess his thoughts, only feeling increasingly restless as he anxiously awaited Cotton and Lancy's arrival.
Half an hour later, the door to Sean's room was suddenly slammed open by Cotton—his urgency was immediately apparent. Lancy followed closely behind, her face equally filled with concern. As soon as they entered, Sean quickly went up to greet them. Lian followed them into the room and asked, "Young Master, would your friends like juice or cola?"
Sean replied, "You can go ahead and get busy, we'll let you know later when we decide what to drink."
Lian withdrew, and Sean went up to close the door. The moment the door clicked shut, Cotton, unable to contain himself any longer, exclaimed in an almost frantic tone, "Lu Hua, everyone's here. Hurry up and tell us—what's written in the rest of the poem? I've called you so many times, and you never told me! I've been losing sleep over it!"
Lu Hua walked over from the window, looking at Cotton and said, "Are you suffering from insomnia? I stayed up until after three o'clock in the morning to translate this collection of poems. If you hadn't harassed me so many times on the phone last night, maybe I could have finished it sooner!"
Cotton stuck out his tongue and didn't dare to shout loudly. He said in a low voice as if to apologize, "Thank you for your hard work. So can you tell us now? I know that you gathered all of us here early in the morning. It must be because you've discovered something amazingly important, right?"
Lancy asked worriedly at the side, "Could it be... that you've really learned about the great disaster that was about to come in 2010 through that collection of poems?"
Lu Hua's face turned deathly pale once again. His lips trembled and his eyes stared blankly. After quite a while, he managed to break free from his fearful reverie. He opened a notebook in his hand and handed it to Cotton, saying, "I've translated all the pages starting from '10' and written them down in this notebook. Just have a look by yourselves."
Cotton took the notebook with a solemn expression, as if he had received some kind of divine judgment. Sean and Lancy hurriedly gathered on either side of him. The three of them slowly sat down while holding the notebook, their eyes fixed on the four - line short poem in it.