Jia Yu and Jia Su

Jia Yu exhales only to be forced to take a sharp inhalation. Her fingers curl into the sheets, and she whimpers seductively: "No...No more. It hurts," she places her hands onto the sweaty chest, attempting to push back.

He chuckles, a sweet melody as he curls his fingers into her palms. "You're the one who asked for it," he whispers into her red ears.

Jia Yu opens her eyes, only to meet a hazy ceiling. Eventually, her eyes adjust, allowing the bright chandelier light to shine. Her molars ground against one another as she feels another sharp pain. Her claws dig deep into his spine.

'What in the world?!' She hears a woman voice. 'Am I actually dead?'

Jia Yu wonders if it's her.

That voice.

Her mouth part, wanting to respond but only a whimpering sound exit. 'What's going on?!' she wants to scream.

She closes her eyes, only to part them again.

Then, she hears wheels rolling. There are many men and women wearing masks, hovering above her. Her head tilts to the side when she feels a tight squeeze. "Don't worry," Hu Lanying's face came into view. "You'll be okay. You'll be okay." Hu Lanying repeated that line over and over as the tears stream down her cheeks.

Hu Lanying places the limp hand onto her wet face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken you out! I should've embraced your hermit-like lifestyle," each word was heavy.

Jia Yu's mouth gap open, but no sound comes out. Then, Hu Lanying stops following her. She can see her best friend standing at the end of the hallway with two people in town, blocking her from entering. Hu Lanying falls to her knees, her face buried into her hands.

Then, an even brighter light.

"How is the patient?" The surgeon asks.

"Unstable," the nurse reply.

"What happened?" He questions as they continue setting up the equipment.

Jia Yu can hear multiple squeaky shoes and a loud, beeping sound. The nurse checks her heart rate - unstable - temperature - unstable - blood pressure - unstable - and pulse - unstable. The surgeon looks at the injuries and grimace slightly, but quickly return to his regular features. The nurse places an IV line on her arm. They wrap the mask around her mouth.

It's difficult to breathe.

"Movie studio. Got hit in the head by a light. She's lucky; it happened at the studio not too far from us. She can't feel the pain right now, but she will soon."

Then, an awful sensation hits Jia Yu's head.

"Dr.Xuefeng, what should we do?"

Jia Yu's eyes circulate, pinning at every individual surrounding her. Then, her eyes met a pair of deep brown. Even behind the mask, Jia Yu can tell he is a handsome man with his light bangs caressing his wrinkle forehead.

She reaches for him, her hand slightly touching his gloved. "Hurt...It hurts," she whimpers out.

He exhales behind the back and grasps the hand before it can fall. "You'll be fine," he said before he looks at the people across from him. "Anesthesia."

Dr.Xuefang looks down at Jia Yu, who's slowly losing her grip. Then, he sees it....a beautiful smile.

She can only see darkness.

Not quite the one that makes the body trembling darkness, but a soft one. Then, Jia Yu sees it. A beautiful sunrise, orange and gold were blossoming beyond the darkness.

"Her heart rate is increasing," she hears someone yelling. Jia Yu turns around, only to see endless black. Then, her body tremble. She wraps her arms around her body, not understanding why it suddenly got cold.

But, behind her, she can feel it - the warmth. The one that encourages you to fall asleep, slipping into unconsciousness.

Jia Yu takes a step forward, "If I were you, I wouldn't go there," a sweet voice drips into the air.

She turns to see a young woman sitting beside her. The woman is beautiful...seductive. With her enlarge eyes complimented by naturally long lashes and high cheekbones, it's in her nature to entice - threaten - others.

Threaten - how?

"What?" She questions then clears her throat. Jia Yu shakes her head. "Where am I?"

The girl exhales, "The entrance of Heaven and Hell."

Jia Yu's eyes squint, "Say what? I'm dead?!" She expects her heart to rage, but she feels nothing. It's an odd feeling of emptiness.

"Not exactly. You're more like standing between life and death," the young girl clarifies.

"What? Why?"

She shrugs, "I don't know. Maybe some sort of attachment to your world," she twirls her hair. "I'm just an average girl, how do I know everything?"

"Oh," Jia Yu pouts. "So, you're not like an Angel who is here to escorts me to Heaven?"

The girl puffs her cheeks before a burst of laughter erupts. "An Angel, that's a good one. No, someone just told me to wait here."

"But, I kind of am," another voice appears, and Jia Yu nearly leap out of her shoes. He stands there, tall and firm in dark clothing with a folder beside him. "Jia Yu?"

Jia Yu nods, "That's me."

He turns his head. "Jia Su?"

Jia Su pops up with a broad smile. "That's me!"

He nods, "Follow me," he tilts his head to the side.

Hesitantly, Jia Yu follows him. With each step she takes into the warmth, she couldn't help but look back into the darkness - towards the eager voices.

"Don't worry," Jia Yu looks forward to seeing a white door.

"You're still alive," the man said with a smile. "Just think of this as a vacation."

Jia Yu scratches her head. "A vacation?"

He nods, handing her a clean white folder. "You're going to fall into a coma, so you're going to have to stay here until you can wake up."

Jia Yu nods and takes the folder. Her eyes trace towards the messy folder on his other hand. "And this is yours," he hands the other one to Jia Su. He opens the door, and they both step inside. "Take a ticket, sit down, and wait for your number to be called," he said before closing the door.

Jia Yu's face twists, unable to believe that even in the afterlife, she has to wait. They each took a ticket and sat down.

"Number 345," the monitor calls.

A man stands up and stretches his body, "About time," he groans. "I feel like I've been here for decades," he grabs his folder and walks forward. Jia Yu's eyes widen, seeing a door appear, and he heads inside.

Jia Yu adjusts her seat before flipping through her folder. It includes the basic - name, birth, age, job, etc. Jia Yu's eyes stop when it lands on a single word - a soulmate. Her thumb was blocking the name of her soulmate, but she could see the word - Doctor.

Her cheeks puffs in happiness, attempting to conceal her squealing like emotions. She looks up, "Thank you," a silly grin broke into her face. All of her worries vanished, and she couldn't wait to go back to her life.

"Wow," Jia Su said, her eyes scanning Jia Yu's document. "Your net worth is really high."

Jia Yu smiles proudly, "Yeah, but-" she shrugs, "Money is irrelevant," she slowly removes her thumb, unable to conceal her excitement.

"Of course you would say money is irrelevant," Jia Su distracts her. She places the folder on top of the small table between them, the ticket on top of it. "Wealthy people like you would always say money doesn't matter," she shakes her head.

"It really doesn't," Jia Yu said, closing the folder. "You cannot imagine how many regrets I have in my life. Money can't give you love...or happiness. Just a cold stash of papers."

"So, you're in a coma?" Jia Su question.

Jia Yu shrugs, "That's what they told me."

"What happened?"

"Got hit in the head by something. What about you?"

Jia Su puckers her lips, "I was having sex."

Jia Yu coughs, patting her chest a few times. "What?"

Jia Su flips through the folder, "According to the documents. I was too high in pleasure and my soul left. Interesting."

"Quite the interesting way to go," Jia Yu mumbles.

Finally, allowing the emotions to set in, Jia Yu looks around the room to see various pictures of solar systems. She set the folder on the table and stands up, scanning each one.

The solar system consists of colorful stars streaming in the darkness. Jia Yu's eyes narrow in observation, and everything seemingly stands still.

Until it didn't.

The Solar System fell into chaos, and the waves of sparkles roar in the darkness like a tsunami. Jia Yu gasps, the tip of her finger lurking closer to the painting. A hand grasps hers, and her body jolts back.

She turns her head to see a woman in black with a neatly wrap bun. The woman places a finger in the air, tilting it back and forth as making a tch-tch sound. "One touch and this universe will mercilessly suck you up."

"Oh," Jia Yu decides not to question the woman. "Thank you and sorry," she said, making her way to the other side of the room. Jia Yu stands beside Jia Su, who's staring forward.

Jia Yu notices Jia Su deep hazy stares, so she turns her head to look at what Jia Su is immersed in. Layering in front of them was a bunch of odd-looking vines, various color leaves hunkering on the stems. Jia Yu's eyes widen when a green leaf dye a deep shade of black, and then it drifts to the ground. She tilts her head, noticing how there were small scribbles in each leaf. She closes her eyes to adjust, attempt to read the foreign writing that changes to her native language.

"Cool," she mumbles to herself, mentally reading each leaf. With close contact, Jia Yu notices Jia Su was holding onto one of the leaves. Jia Yu looks around to see if anyone would yell at her for touching something, but the lady from earlier was gone. The only ones left were the same people who had been waiting for their numbers to be called.

One may say that this is hell.

Jia Yu tilts her head to the side "Oh," she said, reading the leaf.

The King, The Duke, and His Maiden.

She mumbles the word over and over to herself, again and again. Jia Yu scratches her head and chuckles. "It must be a coincidence," she said until she read another leaf.

The Darkest Knight.

Beyond the Stars.

The Loneliest Angel.

The Duke's Wife.

"Wow," she mumbles, "How oddly of a massive coincidence."

These were all books of the most famous stories in Jia Yu's world. The ones the Jia Yu is competing against in the entertainment industry. All four books are being produced into movies.

"Once is a chance. Twice is a coincidence. Three-time is a pattern."

"Actually, it's Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action - Ian Fleming," Jia Yu unconsciously respond. She tilts her head to the side to see the lady from earlier.

She smiles, "Impressive. No wonder why you're novel is being adapted into a movie."

Jia Yu's eyes widen momentarily before she remembers that she is standing in between heaven and hell, all places where all is known.

She nods, "Yeah," she responds casually before returning to the endless amount of vines in front of her. "What are all these?"

The lady smiles, "Potential worlds."

"What does that mean?"

The lady spreads her arm outward, "You see all these paintings?" She said, and Jia Yu nods. "Each painting represents a universe," she smiles, "And when an individual's imagination widens so much-" she turns back towards the leaves, "they become worlds."

Jia Yu's stare at the leaf with the title - The King, The Duke, and His Maiden. "Wait, you're telling me...this-" she points at the small leaf. "Might...May...Possibly...be-"

"Your story?" She chuckles, "Yes."

Jia Yu couldn't help but take a few blinks, "Holy...I created an actual world."

The lady shrugs, "Well, not exactly. You created a potential world. It's still going through a trial."

"Trail?"

"Yes-" the lady layer her finger underneath the tip of a brown leaf. "You see this?" She questions, and Jia Yu nods. "This means that this world did not pass the trial, and everything will evaporate. Poof. Gone." At that moment, the leaf shrinks.

"Why?"

"Several reasons. The most common three would probably be: One - the author decided to end this world as their ending — two - Although the story of this person is popular and amazing. There are too many loopholes to consider it a potential world. Three - the author decided not to complete it. One of the ways for the worlds to pass is for it completes its initial purpose. It could be as simple as placing two main characters together or as complex as defeating the villain."

Jia Yu's nods before she looks back at her leaf with a smile on her face. She feels an odd sense of accomplishment. Then, her eyes went from the red-painted fingertip towards Jia Su. She waves a hand in front of Jia Su's face. "Hello?"

The tears drip down of Jia Su's face, and instantly, she withdraws her hand. She leaps back and swallows eagerly, her breathing uneven.

"Are you okay?" Jia Yu asks.

Jia Su bit her lower lip, "Yeah. I just need to sit," she staggers her way towards the chair with Jia Yu following her.

The lady places two cups of water in front of them, above the folders. "Just in case you need them," she smiles.

Eagerly, Jia Su takes the cup and swallow the content.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jia Yu asks again, seeing the sweats dripping down Jia Su's cheeks.

Jia Su nods, forcing a smile on her face. "Yeah. I'm sorry-" she shakes her head.

"Anything new happened?"

Jia Yu knows she is changing the subject, but follow along anyway. "It turns out those paintings are universes and those leaves on that wall over there-" she points at the location they were at earlier. The dead leaves on the floor evaporated, leaving clean tiles. "they are actually potential worlds created from writers all over the universes!" The more she talks about it, the more eager she got.

"Potential worlds?"

Jia Yu nods, "Yeah. They're worlds made up of writers, and they might become actual worlds. I-" Jia Yu heaves a deep breath. "I may have possibly written an actual world!"

Jia Su takes a few blinks as she stares at the green wall. "They're not real?"

"Well, not yet. They may become real if they pass the trial."

Jia Su's hands start shaking, and she quickly hides it underneath her sweater. She swallows, "Which story is yours?"

Jia Yu smiles, "The King, The Duke, and His Maiden." The thought of actually playing a part in creating a world was beyond Jia Yu, and she couldn't hold back her eagerness.

The reason for her blindness.

"You wrote that story?"

Jia Yu nods eagerly, "You heard of me?"

Jia Su forces a smile, "Yeah. I heard of it. You're outstanding." She rests her chin above the palm of her hand. "Okay, since I'm with the actual writer. I want to know the reason why you wrote everything the way you did."

Jia Yu's ego was heavily stroke by the woman in front of her. All the years of being a ghostwriter made her indifference towards the praising comments online. Of course, once in a while, she would receive a beautiful feedback that would re-ignite her passion for writing.

If her ego weren't inflating, she would've seen all the red flags waving around Jia Su.

Jia Su is the type of woman that allows others to feel in charge, guiding the conversation with unnoticed prompts. Within a few seconds, her target would leap through hoops to please her.

All...except one.

In the end, he still bedded her; but that doesn't mean she had conquered him.

Jia Su does not know the meaning of the word rejection...until now.

And rejection did not end well for her.

Jia Su's body trembles at the thought of the handsome man who gifted her one of the best nights of her life.

The same man who ended her life.

Jia Yu could only smile as she rambles the whole storyline to Jia Su, from the beginning to the end, the reasoning for each action of each character.

Jia Su bit her lower lip and lean forward, "Isn't that a bit rude? To not even give your characters names? Even if they are minor characters?"

Jia Yu shrugs, "Not really. Writers do that all the time. The focus isn't on the side characters. If I were to give every single one names, then it will only confuse the readers."

Jia Su tangles her hands together roughly. "So, it doesn't matter what happens to them?"

Before Jia Yu could respond, another number was called: "Number 567."

Jia Su smiles, "That's me," she said, lifting a hand towards Jia Yu. "It was really nice meeting you."

Jia Yu raises her hand, "It really is!" She reaches for Jia Su's hands.

Jia Su grabs the ticket number and folder before standing upward. Her heels click on the white tiles, her waist twisting left to right, turning a few heads. Licking the edge of her red lips, she hands the person her ticket.

"Folder," the person said.

Jia Su nods and hands the folder over. The person opens the content, "Jia, where is your photo?"

Jia Su scratches her head. "Ah, I accidentally spilled water on the folder and was trying to clean it earlier, but-"

"Not photo, no entry," the woman states.

A small girl enters the room, "Cool!" She screams.

"Please, do not touch-" before the Angel can finish, the little girl smacks her hand into a painting. Instantly, a tornado appears and grabs the young girl. The Angel smacks his forehead. "This is why I said we need a room just for children!"

"Stay here, and we will find your photo," the woman said, giving the Jia Su her folder before dashing towards the front desk. She presses the red button. "Lost mortal. I repeat - little lost mortal - someone come get her."

Jia Su looks at the door and smiles. With a single step, she enters the door that quickly disappears, showcasing an older man behind a wooden desk. Jia Su takes a step in front of him and crosses her slim legs. He exhales, "I'm sorry for your wait," he places out his palm. Jia Su gave him the wet folder causing his face to grimace.

She smiles, "Accident. Water."

He shakes his head before opening the folder. "No photo?"

"They check it earlier then threw it away."

He nods, "You sure you want to go back and not reincarnate?"

Jia Su nods eagerly, "I definitely want to go back."

"Alright," he takes out a piece of paper from the cabinet. "Sign here, and a portal will open for you to return to your world."

Jia Su looks at the paper.

"Is there something wrong?"

Jia Su shakes her head. "No, nothing is wrong." Pressing the fine tip pen against the paper, she eagerly signs it.

Instantly, a portal opens.

The man smiles, "Have a good life Jia Yu."

Jia Su stands up and smirks, "I sure will."