Day of Apocalypse

"Good" Ling Dang's mouth curled up into a chilling smirk. "Don't bother Hazel ever again."

Gaven nodded his head again, this time with much greater intensity.

Who in the Gao family household didn't know the boy's strange temper and fluctuating emotions? His ruthlessness and desire to cause chaos was unparalleled. All the maids would stay well away from his room and even his personal butler never saw him for more than a minute at a time.

This time, Gaven thought the Third Young Master would be on his side and reprimand that Hazel girl for coming along with him, which was why he tried to reason with Ling Dang. Normally, he wouldn't even dare to think about arguing with the devil child.

Everyone knew that they needed to watch themselves whenever this Young Master of theirs threw a tantrum, since their lives were never guaranteed. The best case scenario would be the explosion of the entire east quarter of the mansion, perhaps injuring a few servants. Two months of renovation and intense physiotherapy will easily fix the problem. But the worst case scenario...they never dare to think about it.

Very few people in the household remember the events of that one tragic and unspeakable day all those years ago, but those who do remember could never forget the tragedy which occurred. No one was sure of the cause of their Third Young Master's rage but his fury and ruthlessness was on a completely different level compared to before. Their Madam had to personally fly back from a business meeting in China to intervene with the situation.

Most of the servants working that day were killed. Some could no longer work due to the resounding trauma and heavy injuries, while the others, after hearing the gross recounting of the events from the few lucky survivors, resigned immediately, afraid that such a day of apocalypse would reoccur in the future. Even Hazel felt a little uncomfortable afterwards.

Gaven was one of the three bodyguards who remained after witnessing the events which unfolded that day.

The reason he couldn't betray the Gao family? He was deemed important enough to the Madam to be kept within the family while his daughter was held hostage by the family's underground forces. The only way to rescue her was for him to serve the family for another ten years and pay a resignation fee of 10 million USD.

With his bodyguard salary, he wouldn't be able to save his daughter even after working for the rest of his life. He needed to find a way to earn money quickly.

Fortunately, he had saved up enough over the years to secretly open a cafe, where he planned to earn the required 10 million to save his daughter. Afterwards, he might continue within the hospitality industry and remain working in cafes, living out the rest of his life quietly and without worries, away from the bloodthirsty way of life of the high society of New York. It was the perfect plan!

But alas, who would've thought that demon child would take a fancy to his cafe and forcibly acquire it, stripping Gaven of his ownership and the title of the majority shareholder of the cafe. Without any money left and unable to save his daughter, he could only clench his teeth and work here secretly as the manager under Ling Dang every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At least here, he wasn't treated as a dog; he regained his integrity and found a sense security he couldn't find while working as a bodyguard during the rest of the week (as long as he didn't anger the young master).

The pay was quite good though, considerably higher than his bodyguard wages, and the work was enjoyable for the most part, but the pressure of making mistakes during Ling Dang's occasional inspections was enough to make anyone tremble with fear.

Thanks to Gaven, his team of baristas, tea brewers. latte artists and waiters all learnt the appropriate method with handling their boss, Ling Dang's visits: look down, don't speak, do as you're told with maximum efficiency.

His current goal was the earn enough money and save his daughter. Afterwards, he might work until he had saved a little, then leave the cafe and open up another one abroad by himself, where no one will know him, and follow his original plan of living out his days peacefully with his daughter.

"I want a small chocolate ice cream for Hazel and a matcha latte for me. Serve us and leave the shop with everyone else" Ling Dang commanded emotionlessly, staring at Gaven with dark eyes that seem to suck all life out of anyone who got caught in his gaze.

"Yes s-sir."

"Also, I'm sure you know what to do with your Madam" Ling Dang sneered sinisterly.

"D-Don't worry sir, I'll continue to keep this place a secret from Madam."

Gaven knew the disgust the Madam and the Third Young Master had for each other. He also knew that if he told the Madam about Third Young Master Gao's secret place with this Hazel girl and their relationship, the Madam would probably punish the Third Young Master severely. But then what? What would he get out of snitching? He didn't think Ling Dang would have much difficulty finding and killing his daughter, nor did he think that the Madam would lower the impossibly high requirements for both his and his daughter's freedom.

Let those in high society dance by themselves, he thought. We common folks should not be getting involved.

"I can't expose this secret to anyone" Gaven swore to himself.

Ling Dang nodded slightly, then went with Hazel to sit at a booth next to the last glass window. This was their secret place hidden from the busy society outside, away from the bindings of his family, away from his hatred and disgust. Here, with Hazel, Ling Dang could behave like a regular sixteen year old boy; laughing about certain things, chatting (Hazel chatted about gossip while he normally just listened) and sulking. Once, right after the "Day of Apocalypse", as it was called, Ling Dang even cried.

Of course, no one but Hazel was ever allowed to see his vulnerable side. Likewise, only Hazel was permitted to comfort and console him. However, she rarely did, as she knew Ling Dang would feel uncomfortable receiving such tender care.

The best way to treat Ling Dang in those scenarios, she found out after many years, would be to listen. Just listen. Don't hug him with pity, don't ask him questions. Ling Dang's mindset was: I want to vent, so let me vent. I don't want to vent alone, so someone has to stay with me, but I don't want you to comfort me.

Even though Ling Dang felt comfortable around Hazel to tell her everything and not restrict his emotions, he was still scared of becoming overly attached to her. He was scared to even think about what would happen if Hazel was gone too. What would he become?

"In the end, that trauma of his parents' disappearance is still hurting him, even after twelve years..." she thought to herself.

Staring at the two chatting in the booth, Gaven somewhat recovered from his fear and limped into the kitchen in a daze.

"Was that the Mr Gao you mentioned, Gaven?" a youthful voice asked out from behind a stack of flour.