14 Strangle Them To Death

People kept bustling in and out of the most prominent building in the capital, Rosewood Towers.

Piles of unopened boxes sat untouched by the door of large hall that could accommodate hundreds of guests.

Although it was only noon, staff were busy trying to make sure that everything was perfect. It needed to be. Or else they'd lose their job. Such was the proper punishment for messing up one of the most important banquets ever to happen since the founding of Hua Conglomerate.

Many were anticipating the secretive CEO's arrival. While some were secretly plotting the downfall of the said person. Nevertheless, it was still an event for the most prominent people in the whole country, so getting inside would be near impossible.

Security measures had already been taken and not a single corner was left out of the entire building. It was only normal since if something were to happen during the event, the blame would fall on the CEO's shoulders.

And that is a burden he cannot bear.

While the staff were busy trying to fix the finishing touches and checking the guest list, the Mo family who was situated in a luxury suite had on worried faces.

It was already half past one. Mrs. Mo kept pacing back and forth in the room while she clutched her shawl. Mr. Mo, on the other hand, laid on the bed reading a book with a peaceful expression.

"Pacing isn't going to make our son appear," he said blankly.

Mrs. Mo pretended she didn't hear it and continued to pace around the room. It was one thing for him not to arrive on time, but to be unable to answer his personal phone... She shook her head. Nonsense began running through her mind. It wasn't good to jinx her son. He was already 27 years old. Old enough to be a father! But sadly he had been very much against dating.

The event was supposed to start on 7 and last til midnight. Such an important occasion required for the host to be present. His older sister had already arrived much earlier and settled down the frazzled staff, making preparations a little less... hectic.

"Maybe I should call him again," Mrs. Mo muttered under her breathe and turned to grab her phone.

"Spamming his phone with calls isn't going to work," Mr. Mo sighed yet again.

This wife of his was too much of a worrywart. Even when their son moved out of the house, she never forgot to send him meals and call to check up on him everyday. It was a miracle that their son did not become a spoiled brat.

Just as he spoke, the call went through.

[... Hello?]

Mrs. Mo heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God! I have been worried! What have you been doing? You weren't answering your calls and I thought something happened to you..."

Mo Chou clutched his throbbing head. He could feel the blood rushing to his brain. The sun had already risen and it's rays shone down on him, telling him that it was already noon.

Having fallen asleep on the bed still dressed in his suit, Mo Chou woke up to the annoying ringtone only his mother would have. This further annoyed him because of the lack of sleep. He had been planning to sleep in a little longer. However now that his mother had called, the likelihood of that happening was slim.

"I'm fine, mother. I just fell asleep. What do you need?" he croaked.

His throat was parched because of the alcohol and the sudden urge to drink made him thirsty.

[What do I need? Do you really need to ask me that? Do you not know what will happen later tonight?]

Mo Chou rubbed his face. He got up and walked to the kitchen.

"Of course I do. It's just... It's still early. The banquet won't start till 7 and we all know that the event won't start on 7," Mo Chou pointed out. He grabbed himself a bottle of water and drank.

The cool liquid soothed his dry throat as Mo Chou sighed in bliss.

[Nonsense! You will be here early. I said so. Now come, we still need to do your suit fitting. Who knows what you've done these past few days. You might've gotten fat for all I know.]

Mo Chou frowned. "That's not a nice thing to say to your favorite son."

[You're my only son. Now you either get here before two or be prepared to face my wrath.]

She hung up the phone.

Mo Chou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His mother was incorrigible. And such a pushover too. It was too bad that he failed to realize that he himself was the same.

"Time to get ready then," he quietly spoke as he hurried to shower and dress himself.

...

It was already 2 when Mo Chou took off to the venue. He had already received 3 phone calls from his mother. Delaying it any further might cause him to lose an ear.

Arriving in front of the high-rise, he threw his keys to a nearby valet and walked inside the building, his shoes clicking against the grand marble floor.

The receptionist politely nodded at him. The floor that was usually quiet had become busy with handymen moving out and about the building carrying piles of boxes.

Mo Chou quickly maneuvers around them and rode in the elevator.

His mother was probably waiting for him by the door, just waiting in ambush until he arrives. Then when he does, he'd most probably get a nasty slap on the head.

Just thinking about it made him shiver.

As the elevator arrived at the designated floor, Mo Chou got out and walked large strides towards the room. A hint of apprehension appeared on his face. He was still unwilling to knock on the room when he knew full well what to expect.

He stood by the door and stared blankly. Should he go in...? Or not...?

Then the door creaked open.

Before he got a chance to react, his mother dragged him inside the room by the ear and kept nagging.

"Why are you an hour late? I told you to arrive thirty minutes ago and to bring extra clothes with you! Did you even pick up what I asked you to? The tailor had been waiting since an hour ago, don't you feel embarrassed making him wait that long? Also, let's talk about your older sister, she's been here since early morning helping out the staff. Shame on you! You're the CEO. You're supposed to be helping o—"

He couldn't take it anymore. He wriggled out of her grasp. "Stop! Stop it, i'm not a child, mother."

Mo Chou quickly hid behind an armchair and stood guarded against her.

Mrs. Mo had a look of disbelief on her face as she stared at him with both hands on her hips.

"I'm not done scolding you yet! Now get back here before I do something worse," she exclaimed.

Mo Chou shook his head. "No."

"Why you li—"

"Enough!" a deep voice resounded.

"You're both embarrassing. This is unbecoming of a CEO," Mr. Mo spoke as he stood up. "And dear, stop scolding him. He's old enough to take care of himself. Our part is done. Scolding him isn't going to make him suddenly quiet down."

Mrs. Mo had a red face but subdued the words she wanted to say. Mo Chou secretly gave a thumbs up to his father and winked. As long as he had remembered, Mr. Mo always stood with his son. It was somewhat of an unspoken rule for them. If they had a chance, they would always choose to side with each other, provided that they had the common goal.

Nobody wanted to hear the dragon roaring. Especially the both of them.

"Well..." Mo Chou rubbed his hands together. "What's on the agenda today? And where's my secretary?"

Mrs. Mo still had a sullen look on her face but quickly coughed and said, "As I said, suit fitting, then go to the main hall to check up on everything, double-check the guest list, security, catering, and all that stuff, then finally when the event starts, you'll be giving a speech that I had requested to be made for you."

The woman handed over a piece of paper which included a full in-depth detail of what and what not to say, very formal, and monotonous. Mo Chou crumpled up the paper and expertly threw it in the bin.

"I don't need those. Mother, you've really got to work on observing me more," Mo Chou raised a brow towards her.

"But you like pre-made speeches!" Mrs. Mo protested. It had always been that way since he was a kid.

Mo Chou shrugged. "People change."

Mrs. Mo pouted while Mr. Mo threw a glance at his son. 'Go easy on her.'

Mo Chou caught it and winked. 'No problem."

"I've already informed your secretary to be here as soon as he can. He's been a bit busy since you just came. The poor man's been helping out the laborers on moving the boxes."

Mo Chou smiled sheepishly. He did think that sometimes he had gone overboard because he knew that his secretary wouldn't dare voice out complaints. So sometimes he'd get carried away. The poor man, who was only in his mid-thirties, had considerably aged since he began working for him five years ago.

"I'll be sure to be nice to him."

"Oh and," Mr. Mo slung his arm around his shoulder. "Don't forget to find a partner soon. You're getting older. Your mother's been complaining about it since forever."

Mo Chou, who would usually laugh it off and disregard his father's reminder, turned serious and no longer sported his smile. He only nodded seriously and walked out to the room next door, where the tailor was anxiously waiting, leaving the old man blinking in surprise.

Was his son finally going to consider women?

...

It was already late in the afternoon, around 4 when the two women had finished their... treatment.

Zhi Ruo, who kept drifting in and out of her sleep, was surprised to find her face more... refined.

Although she had never put herself on the standard of beauty and considered herself average at best, the makeup and hair that Mr. Cheng did was remarkable.

It showed off her heart-shaped face and slightly doe eyes. Her skin, which had been dull, shone like those Koreans with glass skin.

"Damn this makeup is good. I look like those Chinese women's before and after makeup comparisons."

Xiao Tong stopped to look at her and frowned. "The difference isn't that big. You have a good foundation, Cheng just highlighted all your good points. You're beautiful."

Zhi Ruo scrunched her nose in disgust.

They had already settled down in Zhi Ruo's apartment. Her grandmother had texted her saying that the package had been sent out.

They only needed to wait a little bit longer for the mail to arrive.

Zhi Ruo kept herself occupied by browsing on her phone, with Xiao Tong staring intensely at the door.

"Your stare is starting to get creepy, can you stop?" Zhi Ruo blankly looked at her.

"I can't help it. Your grandmother always buys beautiful dresses. It's just a pity you never wear them," Xiao Tong spoke while not tearing her eyes away from the door.

"Frankly, i'm more concerned about my package that's supposed to be arriving. I'm afraid that the delivery man wouldn't handle the package carefully. Most of the time they come with dented boxes with no care at all. It makes me want to strangle them to death," Zhi Ruo muttered.

"That would be like you."