The Pieces (1)

Honestly Sylvia was quite surprised when she saw the light in that particular cubicle. She assumed the guy in that cubicle would be the first one to leave.

'But there's no sound coming from his cubicle, not even the sound of typing. Perhaps he accidentally left the light on before he left? That does sound like something he'd do. I'd better help him close it before I leave...' This was the assumption that came into Sylvia's mind. Based on what she knew about the guy, it was not surprising for her to think so.

Therefore, it gave Sylvia quite a fright when the voice of the guy in question appeared from behind her saying, "Sylvia, you're still here?!"

Sylvia swiveled around and saw Ming Tian facing her, holding a cup of instant noodle in his hands. That was probably his midnight snack and proof that he had been there for quite some time already. Sylvia assumed he would be the first one to be leave but now it appeared like he was the last of her colleagues remaining to accompany her. For some reason, she found that to be quite touching.

"Sylvia, why don't you go home first? I'm sure girls like you need your beauty sleep. Leave this to me," Ming Tian offered.

The feeling within Sylvia intensified. Sylvia's impression of Ming Tian was that of a lazy bum with questionable moral compass but she realized she might have misjudged the man.

"It's alright, I don't want to burden you with the entire problem on your own. We can work on this together," Sylvia said. Her tone was friendly and unbeknownst to herself, perhaps she was giving the man a chance. After all, a pair of single couple working together late into the night with no other accompaniment other than each other... Who knew what could happen...

Ming Tian walked over to stand behind Sylvia, bringing the smell of the cup noodles with him. It wafted to surround Sylvia. It was then that the young woman realized she had not had dinner yet. She should visit the office pantry to raid it for some food supply.

Ming Tian asked, "What are you working on? Have you found anything?"

Sylvia sighed as she shook her head. "There's nothing. How about you?"

"Same." The disappointment was evident in Ming Tian's voice as well. Although it was unclear whether his disappointment was due to his inability to find a news article for the papers or for Sylvia.

Sylvia clicked on the mouse absentmindedly while wondering whether she should just convince Ming Tian to retire for the night and they would leave the issue for the higher-ups to handle. Sylvia was sure they could come up with a solution somehow.

After all, why should they, the small time reporters, worry about the company's future when the higher-ups had done nothing but toss the orders around?

"Wait!" Ming Tian suddenly cried out to cut through Sylvia's thought. He pointed his finger at her computer screen and urged her to go back to the picture that she had clicked through several seconds ago.

Sylvia did as she was told even though she had no idea what Ming Tian had seen. Then again, while the man had questionable moral, it was undeniable that he had the eye for news. It was how he had managed to stay at the papers for so long even though he was just coasting all through his career. He had done just enough so he would not get fired but not enough to get noticed for promotion. That was why even though he was technically a senior to Sylvia, he had the same job post as her.

"This one!" Ming Tian called for her to stop. "Why do you have this picture? Where did you take it and what's the story behind it?"

Sylvia looked at the picture on screen and she was at a loss for words. If not for this assignment, she would have completely forgotten about this picture. It was the one she shared with her mother, the one her mother asked her to hold.

Sylvia quickly got over her initial surprise and she explained to Ming Tian, "That's a picture I took outside of Lee Mu's apartment. At the time, we suspected he was in a relationship with the girl because as you see in the picture, she was captured paying him a secret midnight visit..."

At this point, Sylvia stopped abruptly because something did not add up in her mind.

During her interview with Lee Mu, the man had already confirmed he was in a steady relationship with his agent, Zao Ming since he was assigned to the man to be managed. In that case, Lee Mu wouldn't have been in a relationship with the girl in the picture, so what was she doing there at Lee Mu's place so late at night? Was there another reason that she did not wish to be seen?

Sylvia looked closer at the picture and she caught many other details that she did not pay attention to at the time because she already had a fixed preconception in her mind, one that was supported by her mother.

Now that she viewed the picture with a new eye, details started to surface. Details like the backpack that the girl placed in the seat beside her had something poking out of it. It looked suspiciously like Sylvia's own tool of trade, a camera.

'Why would she be there with a camera? Wait a minute... The picture used to blackmail Lee Mu and Zao Ming was taken outside of their apartment... Does this mean...'

Interrupting her thought, Ming Tian said, "Actually, I do have a story of my mine with regards to the girl in the picture. She has approached me quite some time ago to write a slanderous piece on your mother..." His voice trailed off, dampened by shame and guilt.

"What?!" Sylvia turned around in her chair to face Ming Tian. "What are you talking about?"