บท 4: A Bond With Rain

"How're the new interns?" Xiu could see the ghostly smile on her manager's face while she asked that question.

"Just like last year, I still hate them," Xiu answered straightforwardly which Li Baoni loved about her. Xiu had impressed her on different occasions, especially with her honesty.

"Bai Xiu, just because you're a workaholic, doesn't mean you should roast others with yourself. Give those interns some break. It's only their first day." Li Baoni instructed in a calm tone as her experienced eyes stayed on Xiu's straight face. She couldn't seem to remember the last time she saw this young but cold girl smiling. Was it such hard work to lift her lips slightly?

"I respect you, Ms. Li but leisure is only suited when it's needed. If we'll give them a laid back first day, wouldn't it be giving them false hope that the following days will also be like that?" Li Baoni could only shake her head at Xiu's argument. This girl deserved her title of Heartless Witch.

Li Baoni rubbed her temples to ease the incoming headache as she said, "You have a meeting with a client during lunchtime, try being nice." Xiu gave her a small bow and turned to leave.

'Nice?' Xiu sneered as she sat in her own cubicle. 'The goody-two shoe Xiu died on that balcony, five years ago. This world doesn't value nice people like her.'

She collected her material for the meeting and left early.

The meeting lasted for two hours and when she left it was already past 3 o'clock. To save the first day of new interns, Li Baoni had texted her to take the rest of the day off. She thought Xiu wouldn't agree but Xiu only replied with an 'Okay' before hailing herself a cab.

Through the glass pane of the taxi, she could see the big hoardings for international brands which had made a rush of memories to invade her mind. But she didn't let those painful memories to break her down like they once did. After half an hour ride, the taxi was stopped at the outskirts of the city. Xiu paid the fare and made her way up the small hill.

There was an ethereal silence in her surroundings. Dead silent except for the occasional sounds of birds flapping their wings and a strong gust of wind that was blowing around.

She had been absent-mindedly strolling around crossing the plank walkway by the small lake.

Hearing a low rumble, she stopped and looked heavenward only to find the sky darkening up. The sky was gray. It was about to rain soon. She had ignored the cold chill in the wind earlier but couldn't do it anymore.

She gave a brittle smile finding it somewhat amusing. Heaven seemed to love drenching her with cold splashes of raindrops. Because she shared a deeper bond with rain than one could imagine. Actually, one couldn't possibly fathom what kind of a connection she shared with rain.

It was also raining the day she chose to commit suicide. She had called herself a coward but even she knew if she was given a second chance, she would still choose the same ending. She was that tired of her life and the people who never understood her. Or even tried to appreciate her efforts.

Oddly, heaven really chose to offer her a second chance. But not in the way, she could expect.

Because it was also raining when...

She woke up in another body five years ago.

Closing her eyes, she had gone back to the day she was born again.

*Flashback*

Hurting... It's hurting so much...

She seemed to have been reliving the pain of when her body fell on a car after she jumped from her balcony. She remembered the way every inch of her body ached, her head bled, glass shards pierced her body...

Most of all, she remembered the way her spirit slowly and torturously left her body. It was worse than being torn apart. But she had to go through this pain repeatedly. It felt like centuries had passed but she was stuck in a loop. Had to live through the agony and pain over and over again.

Feeling her head bursting with sharp pain, she wanted to open her eyes but found it really difficult to do so. Suddenly, she felt a couple of droplets hitting her face. She felt the coolness and her brows knitted together.

'Am I still in the rain? No one is going to bury my body?' Scoffing at her own thought, she replied to herself, 'Who would? My mother doesn't care. And him...' Just the thought of him put her through agony. 'He isn't mine anymore to care. I guess I'm not allowed to have some peace even in death.'

Leaving herself to fate, she didn't make another effort to open her eyes. Her body kept getting drenched in the rain.

"Xiu, have you lost your mind? What are you doing here?"

Hearing her name being called out, she frowned. The voice was unfamiliar but the concern was evident. The voice was coming from somewhere close-by.

'Who could be worried about her?' She thought to herself and felt like someone sheltered her from the cold rain. And then she felt something warm being draped over her wet self. She wanted to open her eyes. She had to open her eyes. She wanted to see who was so thoughtful towards her?

In the world that scorned her and shamed her, who was willing to become her warm embrace?

Therefore, she tried again. Disregarding the shooting pain in the head, she pushed herself to try harder. Her eyes fluttered and as she slowly opened them, her vision was blurry. But when it cleared what came into her view was a beautiful young girl. She didn't look Asian at all with her striking features but she spoke Mandarine so fluently.

The girl before her had a honey-colored skin. Her eyes were chocolate brown matching her hair perfectly. She was one beautiful girl. Even Xiu who had lived the life of a superstar felt that the girl before her was gorgeous. An elusive beauty whom the artists couldn't match up with.

But Xiu was certainly unfamiliar with her. Who is she? She wanted to ask but her eyes fell on her surrounding and she held back her tongue. That and also because she felt like her throat was stinging. She was in a cemetery. More precisely, she was curled up in a fetal position beside a gravestone.

Unfamiliar gravestone. The name on it was; Carina Novell.

The name didn't ring a bell to Xiu. But thinking about this name brought a weird pain to spread through her heart making her gasp and breathe deeply. What was this weird pain? She wondered to herself.

"You're running a high fever. Let's get you home, first. Why didn't you call me? You are so irresponsible. Am I not your best friend?" The beautiful girl was dragging her frail body but she felt like she had no strength to move.

'Best friend? But in my line of work, I could never make a friend. When did I make such a caring best friend?' Xiu was frowning trying to carry the weight of her own body.

Seeing her condition, the beautiful girl supported her body properly and took her down the small hill. There was a car waiting there. Xiu couldn't make sense of anything. Her head was hurting badly and she didn't know how she was even able to stand.

She dropped all her thoughts and followed the girl towards the black car. She decided to leave the thinking for a later time. Nonetheless, before she could enter the car, her eyes fell on her own reflection in the side-mirror and she froze.

Looking at the unfamiliar face of a teenage girl, Xiu's mind reeled with shock. The girl had puffy red eyes, thick straight hair that reached her shoulder and was sticking to her face, her face was small but had baby fat on it. To make sure, Xiu lifted her hand with effort and tried to touch her face only to realize that it was indeed her face.

Not being able to digest something ridiculous like this, she screamed, "Ahhhhh!"

Her scream startled the beautiful girl beside her but before she could react, she saw Xiu's body going limp as she fainted.