Chapter 13: The Note
AnLing felt her splitting headache before she even woke up. How was that possible? She herself didn't know but that didn't change the facts.
She wasn't sure where she was, how she got there or what time it was. Those weren't the first thoughts that came to mind. What did was a question.
'Where was the boy?'
Though sooner rather than later, as she let herself sober up from her grogginess, she began to realize that she felt like crap and she would probably look like it too because she knew that she was hungover and after being hit yesterday she believed that she must be disfigured.
AnLing's eyes fluttered open but all that she saw in front of her was a beige wall.
Suddenly, she felt a rush of pain. It was mainly on her forehead, but other than that, she didn't feel much of anything except for a strange dull pain in her lower body.
Lower body?
At that moment chills ran down her spine.
'Did I do it again?'
AnLing moved slightly under the warm comforter. She moved as slowly as possible fearing that if someone else was in bed they would wake up. Although she didn't feel a presence beside her she wanted to be safe, not sorry.
Her hand brushed up against her own bare skin. She cupped the squishy flesh of her bare chest and bit her lip hard.
'Oh no no no no no.' AnLing repeated in her head.
Her worst nightmare was a revelation away from being true.
AnLing squeezed her eyes shut trying to remember yesterdays events but it was in vain and as the shame began to creep into her heart, AnLing wanted to just curl up and die.
Abroad, she had read up on stories where people would black out and wake up in an ice bath missing their kidney, but she scratched that thought out of her head since she was warmly tucked in bed but a part of her would have felt calmer in an ice bath.
AnLing could live without a kidney but if she turned to see the ugly man beside her she wasn't sure if she could bear living.
Taking some time to mentally prepare herself, AnLing took deep breaths.
At the count of three, she planned to get out of bed and face whatever horrors life had planned for her.
She cursed her rotten luck.
Inhale.
One…
Exhale.
Inhale.
Two…
Exhale.
Inhale.
Three…
AnLing quickly bolted off the bed but in her hurry, she failed to realize that her legs were asleep and she promptly fell, face first, onto the carpeted floor with a 'bang'.
AnLing groaned as she pushed herself up.
Once up, she looked around. There was no one else in the room but herself. She picked up the lamp that laid on the table by the bedside and held it near her head in a perfect swinging position.
AnLing slowly walked over to the bathroom.
Using her foot she quickly kicked the door open. It made a loud 'bang' sound as it hit the wall behind it.
The sound echoed.
The was no one there.
She then lowered the lamp to her side and put it back in its place.
The room she was in was beautiful. There was one big bed with pure white sheets and accents of red and gold. The room was brightly lit despite the windows being covered by drapes.
Her whole body was more relaxed now but a thought dominated her.
'What happened yesterday?'
AnLing crawled onto the bed and held her throbbing head in her hands as she tried to remember the events of the previous day.
No matter how hard she thought her memories would cut off at the same place.
She remembered Mingyu and his cry.
"Daddy," AnLing said out loud. "Maybe his dad saved us."
Saying it out loud convinced the part of her that was freaking out the most, but it didn't fully satisfy her beating heart.
There were many questions passing through her mind that needed to be answered. She could just wait for someone to come, but she wasn't even sure if someone would.
AnLing lifted her head up. She squinted her eyes and massaged her temples.
Thinking and a hangover didn't mix well together.
She needed to get rid of the hangover asap or else she would spend the rest of the day in a zombified state and she really didn't want that.
Upon opening her eyes, something caught her attention.
On the mirror, on the wall in front of the bed, there was a letter with a bright yellow sticky note in the middle with the words, 'read', all in capital letters.
AnLing walked over and removed the sticky note before beginning to read the letter.
"Miss Lu, I am Mingyu's guardian.
Yesterday, July 6th, you passed out with a fever after an altercation with a man. You were covered in dirt so I brought you to the room where one of the maids undressed and bathed you.
Your clothing has been sent to the dry cleaner so new clothes have been prepared. You'll find them in the closet.
As for the man who assaulted you, the situation was promptly dealt with but if you wish to seek further legal action, it's never too late.
As for Mingyu, he has a fever and has been brought to the hospital, he should be fine after resting and proper care.
I apologize for the inconvenience Mingyu had caused you. Thank you for saving him. My family and I are in your debt.
Don't worry about the payment for the room and clothes, consider it our way of saying thanks, if there is anything further you'd like to discuss, I've left my number at the bottom of the page. I look forward to receiving your call"
At the bottom of the page, there was indeed a number but also a smiley face and a small note, in handwriting different than the one above, saying,
"Thank you, Auntie"
AnLing couldn't help but smile.
She re-read the letter a few times.
She wasn't feeling the best and she could have messed up as she lazily read the first time.
In this state, she couldn't trust herself at all.
Gazing at the paper for the fourth time, AnLing felt something was strange.
Not the letter itself per-say but the paper. She had been writing on many different paper sizes since childhood, so she knew paper, but this one wasn't one she had ever encountered before.
AnLing ripped the letter from the mirror.
Once in her hand, she realized that a part of the letter had been folded behind, giving the letter a false beginning. She unfolded it and then looked at the folded piece first. There was a small note written, but it had been scribbled over.
AnLing began to read it,
"Miss Lu,
Thank you for saving our the young master. We greatly appreciate your help. If there is any reward you would like please call the number on the card."
AnLing looked around the room and found a small card on her desk. It was a plain white card with the name 'Secretary Long' on it with a phone number.
She tapped the card with her finger but decided against taking the card.
She took the sticky note, found a pen laying around and wrote that she wasn't interested in compensation and that knowing that the boy is okay is good enough for her.
This was the truth.
AnLing didn't want any more from them. She had not saved Mingyu for compensation, and if she accepted the compensation it would make her feel…
AnLing couldn't find the perfect words for it.
In the end, she was glad about how everything had turned out.
Everything had been dealt with using almost surgical precisions. Heck, he even dated it! No stone lift unturned and no problematic aftermath for AnLing to deal with.
With one single note, Mingyu's guardian had been able to calm her worried heart.
She felt so relieved she almost jumped back into bed to lay in the soft sheets, but still, something nagged at her heart.
'Am I forgetting something?' AnLing took a seat on the bed and crossed her legs.
She didn't have to be with her artist today, but it was also a Saturday, she had to go to her second job.
Second job...
She had forgotten about her singing job at the bar.
'Okay… maybe it's not too late yet. Yeah, that's right. It must still be morning.'
Beside her there was a small electric clock, she looked at the time and her mind exploded.
It was 7:50 pm.
"Fuck me!" AnLing screamed as she got out of bed.
She was about to just run straight out the door, but the cool breeze from the A/C made her shiver.
AnLing, eyes wide, looked down at her naked body. For the second time today she noticed she didn't have clothes on. The only article of clothing she wore was a pair of black lace panties which she didn't recognize as her own.
Right above the panties, there was a dark purple bruise on the side of her hip.
"..."
Did Mingyu's dad buy her this too?...
Seeing them, she didn't know what to say or do. She just looked down at herself in total shock.
Now she remembered...
There was one other thing the man hadn't explained. How in the heck did she end up completely naked and why did her hips hurt?!
Maybe it was because she was frazzled or because she had not internalized the situation the first time but AnLing couldn't help but let out a small scream.
'Please tell me no one saw me like this. Please tell me I didn't commit adultery.' AnLing thought to herself.
'No, the letter said that the maid bathed and changed me. Maybe Mingyu's dad left before... Yeah... That's a plausible explanation.' AnLing tried her best to convince herself of that but in truth, the letter didn't specify much.
Sure, it's true that a maid was the one who helped her but that didn't mean that Mingyu or Mingyu's guardian hadn't seen anything. In the back of her mind, a small threat of suspicion formed, but she had no time to think about it.
The ticking clock echoed in the room warning her that if she didn't leave soon, she'd get in serious trouble.
AnLing cursed Shuya under her breath as she quickly got changed, she had no choice but to wear what Mingyu's father had prepared for her.
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