A Secret
"There isn't any special reason why I'm here in Shanghai." she breathes in the sentence between clenched teeth, for as much as she wants to hide the truth, she knows with her aunt, it's best, to be honest as soon as she has the chance, as not to incur more anger in the future, especially when she will find out the real reason at the end, anyway.
"I can't just deal with the usual parties at home, my Mum keeps on insisting that I should meet some family and business associates' offsprings that are the same age as me, but those kids are just a bunch of snobbish brats!" she said full of disdain.
Her answer got a soft smile from her aunt.
"A bunch of snobbish brats says of another brat," she said, obviously making fun of her.
"The nearby university from my school was hosting the ACM competition, so I just went there to hang around, and it just happened that the winner of the contest was an interesting guy, so I followed him to the airport," she said, in a casual and matter-of-fact manner.
"It's strange how your mother is freaking out because of this. Are you sure that's the only reason for choosing China?" she said in a doubtful tone.
"Why would I lie to you?" Ellise said in an exasperated voice.
Flabbergasted with Ellise's reasoning, she said "Well, it's because of the fact that not everyone would take a flight to another continent just because a guy is interesting. Speaking of this guy, where is he? Do you even have the chance to know who the guy is?" vex, she asked.
"I dunno." she quickly replied while avoiding Joy's watchful eyes. How can she tell her aunt Joy that DT is the guy that she followed.
"Is this what is it all about? Can we, please just go now?" she said, impatient is evident in her voice. She's trying to conceal her agitation of what will possibly happen and how DT will take care of the press later. And what he will tell the public about his relationship with Asya.
"Is there somewhere you have to be?" Joy said, for evidently Ellise can't hide her anxiety from her aunt's watching eyes.
"What is it? Spill it out already." a jittery Ellise said in annoyance. "You booked a room in advance because you wanted to say something important to me right? You're not here just for the reason that you want to know why I choose to run away to China. Those detectives, creeping behind my back already knew why, and I'm sure they reported them accordingly to the Old People." she spat all words at once at her aunt. She's losing her patience with all this roundabout probing.
Joy takes a deep breath and sighs again, then asks "Who is this guy that you followed here, Ellise?"
Ellise looks at aunt Joy with open resentment in her eyes, her restraint is running low with how she is so clearly trying to hold something from her, and just keeps on using this question of the guy she followed here in effing China.
"It's DT, okay!? Are you happy now? I followed DT here!" she shouted.
"DT? DT? That boy's name sounds familiar, isn't he the boy who is Wan's cousin? Am I right?" Joy said in complete confusion. "I think I've met him when I had dinner last week at Wan's house. Why would you follow him? If you're interested in the guy you could just ask me so I can do some introduction. What's with all the drama?" Joy wrinkled her forehead in bafflement.
"I didn't know he's Mr. Wan's cousin at that time and at the same time I didn't know you're friends with Mr. Wan. I have no idea who he was when I first saw him at that frigging competition!" she said, so pissed off, she's digging her nails on her palms, screaming inside her head, trying to manage her anger not to result in vicious words, because she couldn't pull out her thoughts on all these questionings like she broke a highly confidential code that compromised national security.
"Then why the hell is your mother panicking? If it is just as it is, your mother should definitely know these things as it is. Those snoops hired by your great-grandparents are better than Interpol." she murmurs to herself.
She looks at Ellise and says, "Don't tell me you knew all this time that you're being tagged? Uh ah, It's not Ting." she quickly denies. "Ting is clean, he's mine. Your grandparents employ a different detective agency."
"It's not surprising that I'm being shadowed, and I won't even ask why no one cares to bring me home," she said in a pained voice.
"Ellise, there are things in this world that we can't change. Such as the circumstances of our birth. Stop ruining yourself for people who don't care. Start taking control of your own life". she said quietly and she cursed the family of this young girl. How could they not do something with the drinking, and the partying of this girl that is clearly now a serious problem.
"I'm sorry for your pain, Ellise. But you have to focus on what I'm going to tell you now," she said with a certain urgency in her voice. "Believe me, I really don't know who your father is."
"Why is my father involved now?" confused with the sudden change of subject, Ellise asked "We're just talking about me being here." she tries to cut off what her aunt was saying.
"You know that your mother doesn't really belong with my circle of friends, right?" she asked not waiting for an answer, "That's the reason why your mother came to me when she's about to give birth to you because our bond is simply bound with favor being owned."
"I never heard of it," Ellise said. The residual effect of alcohol from the night before is gone and replaced with the tingling sensation of discovering a dark secret.