Part II

Jessica headed for the CEO's office, and surprise took her when she ran into exactly who she wanted to see. 

"Morning Mr Qin" She bowed. 

"Miss Ahn. I've been expecting you for weeks. We might as well talk in my office." He said as his eyes moved to the other employees that were talking about what might unfold as a result of their contact. 

Jessica closed the door once they were both in, and the elder moved to his desk before he gave the lady permission to have a seat.

"Sir, I should apologize…" 

"You don't need to. I don't mind if you take days of when you're struggling with personal problems. U heard about the only one that raised you. Believe me, it is very understandable." 

Jessica still felt bad. If she wasn't sanctioned for her actions, more and more staff would believe she was favoured because of her closeness to the Qin family.

"I ask for a punishment for unprofessional behavior." 

"Of course you'd be sanctioned." 

The corners of her lips curved to form a smile "Thank you, sir." A part of her hoped it wouldn't be anything too bad, but she had to be prepared for the worst.

"You'll have a salary cut for this month, and you have to finish up the work you left behind. I'm sorry, but if I'm lenient, the other staff…"

"Sir, you don't have to explain. I'm really grateful... and will be forever grateful for everything you've done for me."

"You're a good Lady Jessica. I wish you the absolute best." 

"Thank you, Mr Qin. I will carry on my duties as usual." 

"No problem. Take care, okay?"

"Yes, sir" She said before moving out.

"I can't believe the top staff has been skipping out on work ever since her grandma died" At a corner, Jessica's coworkers got into a discussion about the woman they despised.

"We've all had emotional problems, but we couldn't dare go late for work. But Miss Ahn can do whatever she pleases. I said there was favoritism here, remember? This is enough proof." 

"If she isn't fired or yelled at, I don't know what I'd do." 

Jessica startled the three gossiping when they spotted her moving down the hallway, a frown on her face. She noticed the glares, and she wouldn't be surprised if they were talking about her before she was spotted.

They moved away, and she overheard the words, "Stupid bitch."

She watched them leave, listened to their laughs after they'd gotten away with their insult. She was hated by many; she knew that very well. Jessica had been called worse than that, so hearing that from them wouldn't hurt as much as it did before. She was just doing her work, and unfortunately they expected her to rub shoulders with them when she was in a higher economic class. 

"People are strange" she concluded after the encounter. 

She advanced towards her private office and her friend lijuan was already waiting in there.

"Jess!" Lijuan bounced off the office chair and ran into her friend's embrace, tears in both her eyes.

"I'm sorry" Jessica said.

"Don't apologize, please. I understand everything. I understand it all. Happiness is what we want in the end, and just like we promised each other, we'll be here for one another and we'd achieve it together."

"You're the best thing that has happened to me, Lijuan. You and your family are all I have left in my lonely world."

"You'll never be alone again. I'll never leave you. I promise"

As much as she Jessica tried to hold it in, her emotions overwhelmed her and the beads of tears started falling down one after another, without a sign of stopping.

To help Jessica finish up for the day, Lijuan lent a hand, so they'd both leave before eight pm. Jessica didn't want her to, but lijuan kept insisting until her friend gave in. Once they were done, Jessica suggested lijuan should see her new place.

"Woah!!! I can't believe you actually told me you wanted to live in Sm estate. If only I remembered, it would've been easier to track you, Ugh. I tend to forget the simplest detail" Lijuan placed a hand on her face and shook her head.

"It's okay. You don't have to remember everything. I wasn't sure I'd stay here anyway, but Ma was my motivation even before she died."

"No funeral?" Lijuan's voice went low, and Jessica slowly looked up to her "No one would attend, I don't know where my mother is and the bastard of a father I have isn't considerate... she was buried a day ago at a cemetery. I was the only one there, and I'd be the only one visiting." 

Lijuan could sense the hurt in Jessica's voice, and it made her heart ache. "I'm sorry." 

"It's fine. Nana wouldn't want me to always cry over her. I don't know how she died, but what I know is that she lived a good life taking care of me." 

"May her soul rest in peace."

They both moved to the kitchen to prepare dinner, just like they used to whenever they stayed over at each other's place. Being together again after so long brought back memories they both could never forget.

"Hey lijuan" Jessica called out, and after swallowing the tomatoes in her mouth she answered, "Yes?"

"I'm not trying to bring up an old argument or anything but I'm curious to know, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you love Wu?" 

"I love him more than ten. Ten is too little to compare to what I feel for him. He's such a great guy, you don't find too many rich men with such a beautiful personality. The others only care about money, and power, but Wu is totally different. I'm glad I went to that bar, and I have absolutely no regrets about it."

"I'm happy that you're happy." She still wasn't convinced that Wu could be trusted, but there was nothing she could do at that point. Besides, Lijuan hadn't been harmed. Maybe he might not be a threat after all. Probably her reaction to their discussion was solely out of jealously, and she wasn't thinking how Lijuan would feel if she just said Wu was lying about something she had no clue of. 

"We'll always be friends, right?" Lijuan asked and Jessica responded with a nod, then a bright smile followed afterwards "We'll be friends forever."

Lijuan's phone buzzed, and she picked it from the table.

"Hi Wu" She cooed.

"Evening Lijuan. How was work?" 

"It was good because after so long, Jessica was there again."

"Oh, she's okay, right?" 

"Okay? She's more than okay. She's been smiling lately, but I can't wait to get it back to how it was."

"My condolences to her. So, about our next date... what do you think? Yea or nay?" 

"Definitely yea" Talking to him, she'd been twirling her hair, and smiling every few seconds. Jessica couldn't believe out of her selfishness, she wanted to ruin Lijuan's relationship when the bad guy might not even be Wu but herself.

"Okay This Sunday at the beach would do right?" 

"Mhm. We'll go to the park afterwards and I want someone else to come with us!"

"Who?" 

"Jessica!"