In The Past

Liling stared listlessly out of the car's window at the backseat, and out to the panoramic view of rolling trees, rocks, and the pale blue sky,

They had left work at five, and set of to his home, her new home.

He had informed her that somebody would have taken care of her luggage, so she had nothing to worry about, So now they sat in silence as his assistant drove them there,

She turned her attention from the window and to her left where Li Hao sat with his laptop on his lap concentrating as he clicked away. He had a very neutral expression on, and she observed his long fingers do their job, his knuckles were pale, his hands were quite veiny and his nails were well groomed, they were beautiful and she could imagine them gliding over piano keys, swift and unhinged

She looked up clearly at his features, dark eyes, thin and pale pink lips, black hair in a some what messy thin-curtain style, sharp jawline and light wheat coloured skin, then she went on to comment on his nice features internally,

"Like what you see?", he spoke up abruptly, his lips turning up with a small smirk as he turned to face her, he had noticed her probing eyes long ago but didn't expect her to stare at him for such a long time, so he decided, why not tease her bit, maybe he could get a more involved reaction this time,

"Oh, then I must admit, your features are quite visually appealing", Her voice was very calm and composed, not the reaction he thought he would be getting at all,

He gave a small chuckle, it wasn't everyday he met someone who didn't try buttering him up, her comments were so straightforward, he found them genuinely funny,

The car slowed down its pace as a large silver gate and a sign at its side with the words ' Sunset Estate' appeared up front, two uniformed guard men along with it. They peered into the car briefly then gave them access pushing a button on their remote control,

They drove past mansions and villas of different sizes, each one looking more splendid than the last, then they finally came up to the last one before the bend and drove straight in.

Liling took in the grandeur of the place as she stepped out, the perfectly laid out grass, white marble paved walkway to the entrance, and the flowers adorning the surroundings only boasted of the splendour of the building it self,

It was flat roofed, and two stories tall in white, black, bits of tan and a shade of walnut coloured wood. There were also glass windows serving both aesthetic and lighting purposes, with a dim full length one promising a great scenic view from the rooms. The small amber glowing lights arranged on the walls and sides of the pavement, made it all the easier to look in awe at the resplendence of the villa in whole, one could only imagine how good it would look on the inside.

Liling had drifted into a little reverie and hadn't noticed the person coming towards her, she felt a little tug at her sleeve, and was immediately uprooted from her day dream.

She looked down to meet two shining amber anticipation filled eyes, small round face and short outstretched hands beckoning on her, he wanted to be picked up. Recognition instantly dawned on her, he was the little boy from the office restaurant that day, more importantly, he was Li Hao's son.

She hadn't realized when she had succumbed to his beckoning and picked him up, but she instantly fell in love with his large amber eyes, they just seemed to sparkle, and they reminded her of her brother,

A middle aged lady soon approached them with a look akin to disbelief and apologized to her about the inconvenience of having to carry the little master, but she just waved it of with a small smile and an " Its okay, its not really an issue".

She introduced herself as Mrs Cho, the housekeeper, and Liling gave a small bow of head as a greeting before introducing herself. Mrs Cho smiled seeing this and Liling could already see she had taken a liking to her already,

Li Hao walked over to them a few minutes later after finalizing a few matters with his assistant. The four went in and Li Hao suggested giving her the tour as opposed to Mrs Cho, Liling had no qualms and followed silently, mentally taking notes of the rooms in the house,

They got to her room last, up the winding staircase and through the walls of a monotone hall. It was large, in shades of beige and white, a king sized bed was set against a beige coloured leather, full length wall in a diamond pattern also serving as the head board. Just opposite it was an ensuite similarly designed , classy with white marble. A little away from it was the door leading to the fully-rugged walk in closet with a white elegant and modern designed dressing table that had hints of gold to it and the dramatic circular mirror. The cupboards were white and of different sizes, already brimming with clothes.

Overall, the design was very elegant and you could tell that a lot of time and effort went into preparing the room.

She stood at the door, taking it all in. She remembered how in the past she and her brother would spend time dreaming of living in big mansions, driving fancy cars, they would work hard every day, then go home to their king-sized beds with lots of food stuffed in their stomachs, now, all that was materializing in front of her, but what she couldn't figure out, was what she had done to deserve it all.