Neighbors With The Boss
Haoran stares out of the window with a hard look on his face. The dark clouds of the new environment making his heart feel heavy.
But he has finally moved out. What is making him feel so sad now?
It looks like it's about to rain. The internet signal is also slow.
The house Haoran finally moved into, is a small but portable house with neat and available gadgets, both for the sitting room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. He closes his eyes and relaxes his head on the cushion he's sitting on.
Cheng never came back, even with the waiting he forced himself to do for two hours. He sat there in the house all alone with his bag beside him, waiting to see Cheng for the last time, but he never came.
He tried to call his number but the line was always busy.
He blocked him.
He never thought his friend would do that. Well, he never thought, but he expected it cause of the way he spoke to him earlier.
But still... Why?
Cheng has been misbehaving ever since they graduated, but he kept denying it, telling Haoran that the way he behaved is the way he has always been. But Haoran knew that was a lie.
But now, they are apart. He shouldn't think of the past anymore, should he? Cheng's the past. So he shouldn't think of him.
Staring out of the window, Haoran kept his eyes on the big billboard displaying different ads.
It wouldn't hurt to take a walk, would it?
Nah!
Haoran grabs his green polo shirt and struggles to wear it as he left the house with his phone.
Inhaling the fresh air of the rainy atmosphere, Haoran felt a little better. After losing a friend, moving out of the home you and your best friend has always dwelled in from the very start of junior high... It made him feel sick internally.
But what he kept on his face was a neutral expression.
The weather seems to always cool him off. He always depended on the weather to comfort him, rather than a mere human.
Thinking about his unfortunate life, Haoran walks down the streets without noticing Zhi Ruo, who has been standing ahead of the him, the place where he's headed.
"Haoran..."
His senses came back to him when he heard the small voice call his name softly.
He turns to face Zhi Ruo who is still in her working clothes.
"Zhi Ruo? What are you doing here?"
"This road leads to my home"
Haoran stares at the straight road beside him. Releasing a smile as he turned back to Zhi Ruo shortly after a brief stare.
"Looks like we're neighbors then" he stated
Zhi Ruo shook her head slowly with a smile on her face "The real neighbors here are you and Miss Ai Mi"
Ai Mi? Ai Mi Bao? The manager?!
Haoran felt his heart drop.
This is more than a coincidence! Did she move in here to monitor him?
Or wait... He was the one who just moved in, so... Did he move in here to be monitored?!
His smile soon drops to an ugly frown as he continues to talk to Zhi Ruo.
"Is she here to monitor me? Am I free to do what I want if I'm staying directly opposite her house?"
Zhi Ruo furrows her eyebrows a little confused. "What is her business with whatever you do?"
"Better..." Although, Haoran said that, he still felt a bit hurt hearing Zhi Ruo say it the way she did.
If Ai Mi actually monitored him, he would like that. But if there's nothing that will make them meet one-on-one, then... Let it just end there.
"Wanna grab a coffee with me?" Haoran hesitates, cause he really don't feel like eating anything, but...
A cup of coffee won't hurt, will it? "Sure"
Like two lovebirds, Zhi Ruo leads Haoran out of that street to a coffee stand not far off.
But deep down in Haoran, thoughts of being a close neighbor to his boss hit him.
Is he going to survive?
***
Earlier, when Zhi Ruo left her office, she left Ai Mi in the company after bidding her goodbye and not getting a response. She was in such a hurry that Ai Mi couldn't help but stare at her until she left her office.
Opposite the coffee stand is a black BMW, with tinted glass and with a pair of shades, Ai Mi could still see the two lovemakers ordering for cups of coffee.
The scene looks funny to her, she lets out a small laugh.
Zhi Ruo and Ai Mi has always been rivals to one another, ever since she joined GJP.
It was a very good meeting, but Zhi Ruo went back thinking of Ai Mi as a total nightmare.
This is seven years that they know each other and Ai Mi knows everything about Zhi Ruo, but her assistant knows nothing about her boss.
It sounds crazy, to be honest, but Zhi Ruo doesn't care if anyone found it crazy.
She can't gather up information about Ai Mi because of fear that she might sentence her to death or life imprisonment.
Anyone who gets to know her past will either be killed on demand, or sent to prison because of false accusations with concrete evidence.
That's how she got here anyway.
The previous assistant of Ai Mi was killed because she got her boss's full information. But no one knew who killed her.
Suspect on Ai Mi, they tried to force the truth out of the throat of Ai Mi but she never said anything.
Neither the truth, nor a lie came out of her mouth. She proved dumb.
And that is what had happened to three of assistants. Zhi Ruo's the fourth.
The corner of Ai Mi's lips widen in disdain and furiosity. The smile of Ai Mi can make a man walking perfectly well become paralyzed.
She slowly faced front and drove away.
Zhi Ruo... She's more like a wicked stepsister than an assistant.
The driveway Ai Mi follows is spacious and tarred all the way to her house's staircase. She drove her way into the garage and alighted from the car, taking her bag and hat with her.
She locks the car up and walked to the front door, where she immediately perceived the stench of alcohol oozing from the sealed door of her house.
She frowned immediately, knowing who is in the house.
Her firm hand immediately turned sour and shaky when she held the doorknob.
For some reason, she felt rage coil up in her, but she's just dying to control what want to escape from her.
She pushes the door open slowly and heard the coarse voice coming from the person in front of her but at a distance.
"Welcome, Darling"
Ai Mi raises her eyes to the male person in front of her. Troublemaker.