Numbers

Yan Xiaoran was led to a room upstairs. It was the room where she first woke up.

The lady who guided her turned to look at her, "I don't think my clothes would be of the same size as yours but for now, I think you want to get rid of that, right?"

"Yes." Yan Xiaoran didn't hesitate to say.

Her clothes from yesterday have been worn for over 24 hours and since she was under the rain last night and had to run, her clothes were becoming uncomfortable for her to wear.

Although in the prison, Yan Xiaoran didn't care what she wore and her uniform was only washed a few times in a week, she still wanted to be clean and fresh since she had been released from that hellhole.

"I'll put the clothes right next to the door, so you take your time and bath. Don't worry, I'll lock the door to this room." Haruka said to her after putting down the folded clothes to a couch near the bathroom door.

When she was about to leave, Haruka stopped in her tracks and turned her head, "I didn't get to tell you my name earlier. I'm Somei Haruka, Alexander's aunt."

Yan Xiaoran wanted to introduce herself to Haruka but the other shook her head and said, "Alexander already told me your name. Anyway, you should go now or else, the water will get cold."

"Thank you." Yan Xiaoran didn't forget to say her thanks and enter the bathroom after watching Haruka closing the doors behind her back.

She heard the soft click of the door and sighed in relief.

She was really stressed out just now at the dining hall.

Yan Xiaoran measured the temperature of the water inside the bathtub first with her foot before slowly submerging her body in the water with her head and neck resting behind the cool texture of the bathtub behind her.

Feeling the warm touch of the water, Yan Xiaoran's sore legs and arms started to feel like it was part of her body once again. It was so blissful to the touch and she had to close her eyes and sigh from the relief it brought her.

After washing, Yan Xiaoran started to change into the dress that Haruka lent to her. It was a white floral print casual maxi dress with off shoulders. It was beautiful and innocent looking, but not the type of dresses Yan Xiaoran would want to wear.

After all, she was anything but innocent.

Looking down at the dress, Yan Xiaoran didn't hesitate to wear it even though she didn't like it. It was better to wear something than having to walk everywhere naked.

Bored after taking a bath, Yan Xiaoran started to look around the room when she noticed the telephone near the dresser.

She stared at it for a long time before she found herself reaching for it.

Yan Xiaoran knew she shouldn't do it, but her desire to get out of her past and start a brand new life was eating her.

She dialed a phone she never expected her to call. She expected that the number was unregistered but the ringing noise told her the opposite and the number she had just dialed was still being used by someone.

The ringing sound was making her nervous and hesitant. After all, the person she was about to call was her father.

As far as she could remember, her father wasn't the one who left them but it was her mother. Yu Jinyan's greed to possess wealth and a glamorous life led her to leave her husband and take her daughter away.

At that time, Yan Xiaoran's father was never home, looking for a job that could feed his family, but his wife's desire to live a better life was something he couldn't give.

Eventually, the married couple divorced after Yu Jinyan was caught by Yan Xiaoran's father cheating with another man.

The night they quarreled was something Yan Xiaoran couldn't forget as a child and it caused her some nightmares to remember.

After a few years of living under the Zhao family, Yan Xiaoran suddenly wanted to know her father's whereabouts. She knew it was funny that she wanted to find him after all this time but seeing Zhao Shuxin with her father made Yan Xiaoran envy her.

However, looking for someone that was never there for her and she hadn't seen for years was the same as looking for a needle in a haystack.

It took her a year and several thousands of dollars till she found something about him. However, it wasn't that sufficient since it was only a few numbers that may or may not work.

And Yan Xiaoran also never got the chance to use it.

The first time she received the number, she was hesitant and the feeling of reluctance to call her father who was gone from her life for years was tremendous. And by the time she was schemed by her mother and was forced by countless people to be sent to prison, she forgot about it and never got a chance to use these numbers.

The phone rang for a few times and Yan Xiaoran could swear she could hear her heartbeat beating like a drum.

She waited for a few seconds but there was still no one answering from the other side of the phone.

As time passed by, Yan Xiaoran thought that it was time to hang up since no one was answering her calls. And when she was about to put down the phone, it connected to the other side and she could hear the deep and familiar voice of her father from the other side.

"Hello?"