Watchful Eyes

Canary stared at AiLin's complexion. 

For a moment she was brought back to their first time of meeting each other. She recalled how apprehensive AiLin was, like a cat who had been abandoned and then left to fend for itself in the wild. Her character back then was extremely aggressive. As the moment someone had tried to attack her, AiLin wouldn't held back and bite in response. Everyone feared her back then, going as far away as they could from her. Because of her aggressive nature, she had also acquired many enemies who held a grudge against her and attacked her instead. It was a chaotic time for AiLin back then as she would never pass a single day without a bruise or a cut but she had never voiced a cry of pain.

During her first year, AiLin often visited the punishment room where they would be isolated for a week. Even though she was new, AiLin had countless times entered the isolation room and it was then when Canary met her. 

Their meetings wasn't as smooth as one might have thought. They didn't hit it off at once and was instead apprehensive at one another. It took them a month of stringing beside each other's cell that they realized that they had went through similar pasts. Even now, Canary still could remember how whenever she sleeps, she would hear a loud cry from AiLin's cell. In that nightmare, AiLin would only cry one word… "forgive me". To whom she had asked for forgiveness was clear and that what made the cry was so sorrowful to Canary.

Sighing, Canary felt even worse for her friend as it had took her almost twenty six years to finally meet her birth parents but all without a cost as Hua family is also filled with rotten people through and through. 

"Do you want to see them?" Canary asked with a gentler tone. He had stood up from her chair and walked beside AiLin. As she leaned her shoulder, Canary placed her own head on AiLin's shoulders. They always did this when they were still in prison, an act of comforting each other as they weren't particularly great at offering comfort with words. 

"I don't know," AiLin said as she looked at the woman who is her birth mother. "Do you think I should?" 

A small laugh came from Canary, "I was sold by my mother to old men so they could have fun with me. I don't trust familial love AiLin, so it's difficult to find me ever telling you to meet them." 

"I don't know," AiLin explained truthfully. "I didn't think through of what I would do after I ended my plan." 

Canary's eyes narrowed slightly at this. For people whose lives strive from revenge, they both weren't sure of their own future. They had lived for revenge and now that the meaning of their lives had been taken from them, what else should they do?

Canary closed her eyes and seemed to have made a determined thought in her head. She pushed herself from AiLin's shoulders and turned to her with a smile, "But I do think you should meet them." 

"You think?" AiLin narrowed her eyes slightly in question. 

"Well if going by what Li ZiChen had informed us, it seems that your grandmother really hates you and do you want to know something?" Canary pushed the paper and brought another paper forward, "She is still alive." 

"So I can add her to the person I should revenge against?" 

"That depends on you but," Canary pressed her lips into a wider smile. "Hua Family is a royalty in Beijing. They have money and authority. They are comparable to Li Family and you know what power these two family have? They can control the whole Beijing as they wish. With this power, you can also use it to go against Jiang NianNian." 

"I can crush her for good with this authority, is what you're saying?" AiLin guessed what her friend had offered with a sinister smile. She could guess the thoughts quickly because deep down she had thought about it the other day. 

Even if Hua Family doesn't like her, their power was a great trade off for her to use. 

"Mhm yes," Canary lifted the paper of AiLin's grandmother whose face was always marred with an unknown anger and resentment. Lifting the paper to the sky for the light to seep through, Canary then added, "But again, it's up to you. Our plan is already set in motion even without them we could still crush the Jiang Family."

AiLin understood what Canary meant. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought of using Hua Family's authority to crush the Jiangs Family. In fact, she had thought about it last night. After Li ZiChen told her that the Hua Family is an extremely powerful family, she had imagined of using a bit of that authority from her birth right to her advantage. But even without Hua Family's power, she was confident she could end the revenge plan as she wish. That would also mean that she doesn't need Li ZiChen's offer and can refuse him by this afternoon.

The only reason why she was torn and didn't reject Li ZiChen's offer outright was because deep down… 

…Perhaps deep down she really wants to see her family members, the people who share her blood, the people who was absent throughout her life. 

Sighing, AiLin looked again at the three family members who share her blood, a mother with a strict persona, a father who seemed unforgiving with a strong gruff in his fifties, and a young boy who seemed to be in middle school. 

They are her family… 

"You can think about it a bit more," Canary suggested. She had been assessing AiLin's face and noticing that she also wanted to see her birth family although she was still very hesitant about it. "For now," Canary jumped to her feet, "Let's go for a celebration! Us two friends, who finally meet each other! I will also tell you what had been going on after I leave the prison!" 

AiLin chuckled seeing how quickly Canary was on her feet again. She looked at her watch and frowned, "I'd like to but for now, I have to meet someone." 

"Someone more important than me?" Teased Canary.

"Of course not more than you," AiLin chuckled back and her face that was with smile suddenly turned stern.

Canary saw AiLin standing up and then fixing her outfit and after noting the sudden change of expression AiLin had made she began to question, "Have you made up your mind about Hua Family?" 

"I have," AiLin finally made her mind, "But my answer would also depend on my first meeting with them. Let's reschedule our celebration to tomorrow. What do you say?" 

"Sure!" Canary jumped as she wrapped her arms around AiLin's shoulders, exiting the room without noticing the person who had been watching them from the neighboring building, staring from the window with a binoculars. The person then lowerred the binoculars and pressed the earpiece on his ear. 

"AiLin has moved." 

"Good." answered the person from the other end of the call, "Continue the watch. Make sure you don't lose her." Warned the person coldly which made the receiver to feel a chill down his spine.