บท 4: Disgust

10 years ago.

"Mei Mei, I'm scared." A girl in uniform whispered in fear to her friend who was lying beside her. The both of them were tied up and left lying on the ground by the people who kidnapped them. Sweat and dirt accumulated on their face and uniform due to being roughly handled by the kidnappers.

Xiu Mei moved closer to Ying Yue. "Don't be afraid. Help will come."

Xiu Mei tried to sound confident and strong but Ying Yue could notice the trace of fear in her voice. Still, Ying Yue nodded and believed her friend's words. Help will come, and they will be saved.

Xiu Mei tried to adjust her eyes in the small dark room and examined it. Aside from them, a few boxes and plastic was stored in a corner. There were no windows for her to see whether it's been day or night hence she didn't even know how long they've been imprisoned in this room.

There were also no guards standing outside the said room since she's been trying to listen for any sound outside yet, she couldn't even hear a single whisper.

Xiu Mei and Ying Yue have tried to free themselves from being bounded but they just couldn't. The ropes used on them were too thick to be cut and it was tied up pretty tightly. Realizing that their situation was really at the worst, both girls tried to stop themselves from tearing up.

As daughters from wealthy families, they are the ones mostly targeted by the kidnappers. They could not show weakness in front of those people or else they'll be taken advantage of. They could only pray and wait for their families to come to their rescue. As 14-year-old teenagers, what can they do but wait?

Present time.

"Mei'er, long time no see."

Xiu Mei felt a tap on her shoulder so she instinctively moved her shoulder away to stop the person from touching her any further.

Gathering herself, she coldly turned to look at the person behind her.

"Zhu Lin." She uttered those words like it was a curse.

Xiu Mei didn't hide her hatred at the guy as she stood in front of him with a suppressing aura. The girl who was with Zhu Lin could clearly feel the heavy atmosphere and unconsciously took a step back.

The said target of hatred simply ignored the actions of his date as his entire focus was concentrated on Xiu Mei. He even flashed a sweet smile in front of her making it look like the two of them have such a good relationship.

"It's been so long. Do you have time? Let me treat you to a meal."

"..."

She stopped herself from violently tearing the smile away from Zhu Lin's face as she distanced herself even more to him like she was allergic to him. She clenched her fists harder that she could feel the nails embedding on her skin.

"If you don't have time, let me have your number instead. Just text me if you have free time to have a meal with me, okay?" Zhu Lin pulled out his phone and tried handing it to her but what she did is slapping away his hand.

The phone made a loud sound as it fell on the floor. It garnered the attention of other people passing by them as Zhu Lin stood in surprise with her actions.

"Zhu Lin, have you forgotten what I said about not showing yourself in front of me?" Her voice laced with rage could clearly be felt.

"Mei'er, are you still blaming me because of that incident 10 years ago?"

She snorted in disgust with his words. This person is acting like an innocent and unrelated to what happened years ago.

"You're mere presence disgusts me the most." She stopped herself from tearing up as the memory of Ying Yue flashed in front of her eyes.

It was because of this guy that caused everything. It was his fault why Ying Yue…. Ying Yue died.

"It's been 10 years, haven't you moved on? It's clearly not my fau—"

A resounding slap was seen by the people watching them. Xiu Mei was completely blinded by rage that she didn't even notice the crowd slowly forming around them.

"You of all people do not deserve to say that." She turned and started walking away from him when she stopped to look back again.

She did not direct her sight to Zhu Lin but to the girl beside him.

"Miss, just a piece of advice. If I were you, I'll leave that guy. Didn't you know? His ex-girlfriend died because of him." Xiu Mei saw a shock expression form on the girl's face as she swiftly turned her head to look at Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin looked in panic at his girlfriend as he tried appeasing her.

Xiu Mei smiled in contempt as she achieved what she wanted to do and continued walking away from them. She quickly hailed a cab to bring her home. As she relaxed onto the seat, she opened her hands to see a trace of blood and crescent-like wounds on her palms.

Staring at the blood and wounds, another memory flashed in front of her. She immediately shut her eyes to stop herself from remembering it any further.

Without opening her eyes, she leaned back her head onto the headrest.

Her memory. Her hand that was stained with blood that her mind couldn't ever wash away in this lifetime.