2 Get out of my way

The girl gave Fan Bao the once over, her lips stretched in a mocking smirk. Fan Bao glanced indifferently at her and turned her back, gliding forward in her short frock and red shoes toward the waiting vehicle.

The girl, after a little start of surprise, chased after her, her feet pitter-pattering on the tiles.

She slammed the car door as Li Jun grabbed the handle.

"I said, where are you going?" she snarled at Fan Bao, her eyes shooting sparks like an angry cat.

"Get out of my way," Fan Bao said, grabbing the girl's hand on the handle and squeezing it hard. The girl gave a cry and looked at her hand. There was a rather large blotch of red on the white skin.

"You hurt my hand," she said accusingly then angrily swung her other hand at Fan Bao's face. Fan Bao didn't even retreat. She caught the girl's arm, twisted it as her other fist met the girl's chin with an ugly thunk. The girl's eyes rolled on her head like a lifeless doll then she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.

Fan Bao quirked her brows at Li Jun, who gingerly lifted the woman's body then laid her sitting up against the door. He helped Fan Bao inside the car and got behind the wheel. The car drove off a few minutes later.

A woman in her mid twenties emerged from the door just when the car was driving away. She gasped when she caught sight of the girl seemingly asleep on the door. She nudged the girl with her foot. The girl opened her eyes, stared confusedly at the woman then screamed at the top of her lungs.

Fan Bao heard the shriek and looked back. The girl was being helped to her feet by a woman, whose eyes followed the car as it passed through the gate.

"Was that the stepsister?" she asked.

"Yes, your majesty," Li Jun said.

"Looks stupid," Fan Bao muttered. Li Jun choked a laugh, looking at her in the rear view mirror.

"She is very spoiled, your majesty, and jealous of the little miss."

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we're there," Fan Bao said, bored.

Fan Bao spent the rest of the day in the mall, buying everything she wanted and needed while Li Jun paid for them without complaint. The sales girls looked at her with envy, assuming that Li Jun was her sugar daddy. Fan Bao had expensive tastes and she had a very good eye for quality. Li Jun patiently followed behind her, not saying anything, just waiting with his credit cards until needed.

They were about to enter another store when Fan Bao stopped. The pearl choker on the glass window of a nearby jewelry store caught her eye. She frowned. The large diamond attached to the choker was very familiar. It was the exact copy of the South Diamond Odo gave her when she ascended to the throne. The original was in the space ring she wore when she jumped through space and took over Little Fan Bao's body.

She looked at her bare left hand, not even surprised when the ring materialized out of nowhere. She looked at the space inside. It was large and contained most of the wealth in her kingdom. Gifts from foreign cities, bolts of fabric, weapons, jewels and chests full of gold coins. Odo had been very thorough. The journey will cost large amounts of money, so he gave her the ring. He stood at the gates to watch her leave. And that was the last time she saw him. Not even a farewell, a parting kiss on her head. He vanished and she never saw him again.

Fan Bao entered the jewelry shop. A young lady dressed in beautiful pink attire, her face perfectly made up greeted her with a professional smile.

"Bring me that choker in the window," Fan Bao said, her voice a command.

The girl's smile wobbled a bit. Fan Bao didn't look like most of her customers. She was dressed plainly, her face bare of makeup but her eyes were very sharp and alert. Almost against her will, the girl went to the display window and took out the box containing the jewel.

Fan Bao examined the diamond that held the string of pearls together. It looked exquisite. Whoever made it had steady hands, even the intricate clasp was made of the finest gold.

"Who's the designer?" Fan Bao asked.

"I'm not sure...," the girl was confused.

"Tell him to give me a call," Fan Bao said. "Li Jun give her your card."

"Do you want me to wrap this up for you?" the girl scented a sale and became eager.

Fan Bao laughed.

"I don't want it. I own the original. You might want to tell the designer that."

The girl was still staring at her with her mouth open when Fan Bao left the store with a flourish.

It was nearly six in the evening when they went back to the house. The girl from early that morning was waiting for them, accompanied by a woman unfamiliar to Fan Bao. She didn't even spare them another glance, instead following Li Jun to her private quarters.

"Stop!"

The shout rang in the air, breaking the silence. Fan Bao continued walking. Li Jun opened the door to her bedroom then closed it quietly behind them.

"Do you want something to drink, your majesty?"

"Something with chocolate in it," Fan Bao answered.

Li Jun nodded and left. Fan Bao was about to slip out of her shoes when the door opened with a bang. The girl strode into the room, her face distorted with anger. The other woman followed after her, her eyes shooting glares at Fan Bao.

"Don't you ignore me!" the girl spat. "I see you went shopping the whole day. Wasting money on clothes like you're some kind of super model, huh? If you're that rich, why don't you hire your own lawyer to settle that lawsuit instead of leaving it all to dad? You take care of it since it's your problem!"

Fan Bao turned to Li Jun, who entered the room carrying a glass of milk chocolate.

"The gentleman I told you about, your majesty," he explained, putting the glass on the bedside table. "He started litigation against you. Said you're unfit to take over the company since you're not even twenty years old and there's also the matter about your health. An offensive strike in case the will doesn't go his way."

"And the rest of it?"

"We've already gathered a pool of the best lawyers, your majesty. They will be here tomorrow afternoon to give you an update."

"Anything else?" This question was thrown at the girl who listened stunned at the conversation. Her mouth closed and opened, opened and closed. The other woman had the same surprised expression as the younger girl.

"If there's nothing else, leave my room," the emphasis on the possessive pronoun didn't escape the girl's notice. She opened her mouth but Li Jun moved and the next thing she knew she was ejected from the room, her companion behind her. The door slammed on their stunned faces.

Fan Bao leaned back on a chair, her breathing a little ragged.

"This body feels so weak and frail. What can that girl be thinking staying in bed all day? Didn't she even go outside at all?"

"She was always sick, your majesty. Even things like eggs made her ill. She would catch a cold if she so much as leaned her head outside the window. It became so bad she had to quit school when she was sixteen and was homeschooled instead."

"This was about the same time she lost her mother?" Fan Bao frowned.

"Yes, your majesty."

Fan Bao cupped her chin, thinking hard.

"There was nothing wrong with her?"

"No, your majesty. She was just sensitive and prone to illness."

If Fan Bao thought that the encounter with the girl Mei Ming, Li Jun said that was her name which Fan Bao immediately forgot, she was mistaken. The less than dynamic duo were at the dinner table when she came down for supper that night.

Li Jun pulled out a chair for Fan Bao and basically served her like she was a visiting dignitary. Mei Ming looked enviously at the drop pearl earrings that Fan Bao was wearing. Her clothes were equally fabulous, a simple sleeveless black shift that left her shoulders and back bare. The outfit made her skin appear pearlized like marble. The black hair was tied in a simple bun that exposed her long neck and stubborn chin.

"You look like a streetwalker in that outfit," Mei Ming said, eyeing Fan Bao with both envy and wrath. "You look like a cheap whore."

The woman beside her stifled a snicker. She threw a glare at Fan Bao who didn't even look their way. Li Jun was equally silent, standing in attendance at Fan Bao's side.

"What time is the reading of the will tomorrow?" she asked Li Jun.

"Eight in the morning, your majesty."

Fan Bao nodded, eating her dinner in silence.

Mei Ming looked at her in impotent rage. She was so incensed she wanted to jump and attack Fan Bao with her bare hands but the memory of being slugged this morning stayed her impulse. She hated Fan Bao. Always hated her. Fan Bao was not even related to them yet they had to put up with a lot about her illness because of who Fan Bao's grandfather was.

A powerful man. A man with immense influence. A man who had the ears of royalty. Fu Qiang, the leader of a large conglomerate known as Templar. Mei Ming once met Fu Qiang and was almost scorched by his intensity. He doted on his granddaughter but never seemed to be there when needed. He showered Fan Bao with material wealth but his time was precious and not for Fan Bao alone.

Mei Ming's father was in awe of his father-in-law, which made him more indulgent towards Fan Bao. His treatment of his own daughter was another case. He had no use for her other than as a prop for his media image. He was a man of the people which apparently did not include his own daughter.

When the dinner ended, Fan Bao stood up. She was about to walk away when she turned back. She looked Mei Ming in the eye and said, "Go get a life and stop interfering with mine. You're old enough to take responsibility for your actions so get out there and start behaving like an adult."

Mei Ming sputtered angrily and was about to make a comeback but Fan Bao had already turned away, her pert little behind moving in a shimmy that elegantly stirred up the tassels on her dress as she walked.