Chapter 16 Nightmare

           Su Qingtang was born.

          How?  No one knew.

           Where?  Never recorded.

           To whom?  No conclusive facts.

           She grew up in a government orphanage.  A quite normal beginning. It wasn't bad but it couldn't be considered great either.  She never really fit in with the other younger kids and had a naturally quiet personality.  Not shy, but quiet.  She always sat quietly and observed as if everything around her was a movie.  She was the epitome of a wallflower.  She was never noticed enough to even have a chance at adoption.  She understood this and that there were worse arrangements for her life to start.  But even with this knowledge she was never quite happy. 

           As she grew up she slowly got herself embroiled into the underground society.  As an outcast this was pretty normal.  Kids with stable families were never prey to these situations but young attached youths were.  The trade was simple.  Give them what they want and you get something indispensable.  Loyalty.

           A family.  Secretly Su Qingtang longed for something to be apart of.  She hadn't had one before and so the comradery she saw.  No matter how superficial and fake it was she couldn't seem to see through it and slowly she fell deeper and deeper.  Her crimes grew into a spiraling web she couldn't leave until finally she got a break.  She transmigrated.

         It's a bit ironic isn't it?

             She swore to herself that she would never sink into the same cycle but that's exactly what she did.   Ha.  It seems I'm a bit of a failure, aren't I? 

           Habits no matter what type or small are like an inescapable chasm.  No matter how much you try you always seem to go back to the same patterns.  No matter how hard you try…

            A sad smile forms on her face as she returns to reality and a steaming hot cup of milk tea in front of her face.   She looks up and meets the male lead's eyes.  Huh?

         She startles a bit as she found herself in a place totally different from where she was before.  It seemed she had been I too much of a daze to notice anything.

         He was quietly watching her, seemingly trying to see through her.  To see what, she wasn't to sure.  In fact, he wasn't too sure either.

         He watched as she took a slight sip of her tea.  Her eyes a bit guarded against him.  She had every right to be, for she had broken the character setting so irrevocably that it seemed pretty practical for him to have doubts.  Which he did—of course---but somehow he felt like as soon as he asked she would disappear.   Maybe It was a mans intuition or whatever but he wasn't wrong.

          She clenched her hands tightly before she parted her lips to talk.  She puts on her bravest face as she meets his eyes. "Don't you have questions you'd like to ask me?"

          A slight smile buds on Lu Yexuan's handsome face.  Like a spring flower, showing a bit of youth.  For the male lead, after all, wasn't that old to begin with.

          His smile looked slightly mocking but it was unknown what he was mocking.  Was he mocking himself? 'Would you even answer if I said I did?'  "What do you want me to ask?"

           Su Qingtang had prepared herself for his questioning but his silence left her unguarded.   It was easy t lie to a outright question but how does one defend themselves from suspicion if nothing is said?

          "Why I'm not like you remember?"  She prompted.

       "Doesn't everyone change?"  He carelessly deflected her prompt as he responded. 

        "…"  Su Qingtang didn't know what to say and could only take a slip of her tea in silence.

       The system kept silent throughout the entire exchange.  It seemed to be thinking deeply about something quite seriously.  Its melon seeds were discarded to the side.  Temporarily forgotten.

        Kim Suho walked in.  A permanent smile on his lips.  He radiated the vibe of a sunny man.   It was hard to tell whether his politeness was all for show as his thoughts always seemed to be imperceivable behind his gentle smile.   He made for a perfect negotiator.

        "Miss Su," He greeted politely. "You seem to be feeling better?"

        "Quite.  Thank you,"  Su Qingtang nodded while searching his expression.  A bit of relief washing through her.

         From his actions and manner, it was apparent he hadn't seen what had happened in the alley.  If he did he would be a even a little bit guarded but he wasn't.  Expressions can be schooled but body language cannot lie. 

         Somehow this made Su Qingtang feel a bit relieved.  It was short-lived though as she makes eye contact with Lu Yexuan.

       His clear eyes were without any ripples as if nothing could pull him from his loft pedestal.  His eyes seemed able to see though her entire being.  She had always disliked this about him.  His intelligent eyes.  She had always felt like her entire bare under his gaze.  Quickly she looks away.

        A ringtone breaks the atmosphere and Lu Yexuan gets up to answer a call.  Leaving her and Kim Suho.

        Su Qingtang continued drinking the warm tea while Kim Suho stood awkwardly at the side.  They had nothing to say to each other,  they hadn't met under exactly pleasurable circumstances, so the atmosphere became stale quite quickly.  

     "Does Miss Su need anything?" He asked calmly.  He naturally knew that it wasn't right to offend the apple of the two matriarch's eyes and so wanted to at least leave a pleasant impression.

      She shakes her head.  Before casting a thoughtful glance at Kim Suho.  She seemed to remember something important about him.

       A chill runs down Kim Suho's spine as he meets her gaze.  He suddenly felt like he had walked into a lion's den.  The look in her eyes was like a cat had found a new toy. 

         He quietly willed Lu Yexuan's phone call to end quickly.  He seemed to be in danger.

        Kim Suho's survival instincts were quite top notch.  Too bad they kicked in a bit too late.