Chương 3: Nightmare
Zhi Ruo felt her head throb.
She slowly opened her eyes and found herself in an isolated room.
No windows. No vents. Only a single door led to the outside.
She widened her eyes and suddenly felt her ears ringing.
It couldn't be…
'I'm not supposed to be here!'
She scrambled to her feet and wanted to pound at the door but a chain held her back. She looked at her feet and saw her ankles in chains.
'Help! Anyone!'
'I don't want to be here!'
After hearing no one respond, she slumped to the floor. She felt the room getting smaller and smaller.
It was suffocating.
She couldn't breathe.
"Help me…"
…
Zhi Ruo woke up with a startle.
"Shit…"
She breathed heavily, sat up and hugged her knees, feeling her body slightly tremble. The dream was so vivid. It was the feeling of living in the same moment again and again, like a song on repeat.
Zhi Ruo couldn't help but shudder at the thought. "Haaaa… How pathetic."
She was already 26 years old yet she still had nightmares. The memory of the incident deeply imprinted in her mind. It invaded her thoughts, her mind, and her soul. The trauma it incurred left her with many sleepless nights.
She was a fool to think that she could have a good night's rest.
The likelihood of falling asleep again was null. She left the bedroom and went into the kitchen. After drinking a glass of water, Zhi Ruo sat down on the sofa and stared outside.
The vegetables that decorated the veranda seemed to glow with the moonlight. Fresh dew shimmered and bounced off the leaves. The crescent moon seemed shy and hid behind the gloomy clouds amidst the glittering stars in the night sky.
'Since it seems like I won't be sleeping tonight, might as well look through the proposals.'
Zhi Ruo grabbed her bag next to the sofa and pulled out the two folders. One was green and one was blue. These two folders held confidential information that contained explicit details from their respective leaders themselves.
Firstly, the blue. This held the Ying's family asking, or 'more like pleading,' for the Zhi family's support in the plan to develop a new subdivision the outskirts of the city for the homeless.
Recalling the previous proposals by the Ying's, Zhi Ruo had become thoroughly amused. Not many people might know, but the Ying family was in the midst of a power struggle between the eldest son and the third son.
It was funny because they kept going back and forth with each other. They were like squirrels that kept bickering with each other.
Meanwhile, the Hua Conglomerate steadily rose from being a rookie in the infrastructure industry, to one of the best in a matter of four years. It had been one hell of a roller coaster for them.
Zhi Ruo had been keeping an eye on them ever since they built the Chinese version of the Bosco Verticale from Milan, Italy. They also made breakthroughs regarding the recent rise of urbanization and have contributed to the environment with several projects.
The company had managed to pique her interest regarding the integration of environment and industrial areas. It's what made them different from the other companies. Not only do they help with the rapidly progressing economy, they also make sure to save the environment.
Although the Hua Conglomerate managed to pique her intetest, meddling in the affairs of others was rude, not to mention that she can't show any favoritism. With that thought in mind, Zhi Ruo, although was very interested at Hua Conglomerates projects, didn't bother to investigate the brains behind their growing reputation and chose to sit back and watch the show.
Speaking of Hua conglomerate, the proposal they stated included the agreement to build their new office in Europe. Budget wise, it was good. Qizhong provides the budget, Hua Conglomerate provides the materials and whatnot. They also sent out the full blueprint of the office, complete with the materials to be used. This made Zhi Ruo delighted. The overall look appealed to the West while not abandoning the core of the East. Not only would the office catch the attention of the European market, but also please the possible investors. It would make them stand out in the market.
Zhi Ruo had been stressing over this issue for a few months now. But now seeing a solution before her made her mind at ease. She closed the binders and placed them back in her bag.
She glanced at the melted ice cream on top of the coffee table, making her scrunch her nose up in disgust. Atleast the ice cream was in cup, not a stick, so atleast she didn't have to wipe the table down.
Seeing the sun slowly rise and the familiar sound of the rooster, Zhi Ruo yawned and began her daily routine. She went into the kitchen and cooked herself a simple breakfast before showering and changing into casual clothes.
Because today was the day her cousin would be coming home, Zhi Ruo didn't bother to dress up like she usually needed to and didn't wear contacts. Her short hair was let down and her glasses sat comfortably atop her nose.
After checking all the things in the house, Zhi Ruo grabbed her sling bag and locked the door behind her. She made her way down the basement before she proceeded to leave the parking lot with her car.
The airport was at most about an hour from where she lived, depending on the traffic. But seeing as it was a normal workday, it would probably take her two hours, if there was no road rage to be seen.
It was already half past noon when she arrived, on the way to the airport she suddenly got distracted by a billboard advertisement about some restaurant and went to eat lunch first, delaying her arrival.
But Zhi Ruo didn't really care whether she was late or not, as long as she arrived, that was what mattered. After all, better late than never, right?
Zhi Ruo happily took her sweet time, parked her car, and took casual strides towards the immigration area. She sat down on the cold metal bench and relaxed. It was already quarter to three, and yet there were still no signs of him.
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