Mo Xin Er

Westwing Court, Guangzhou. 

12th Apr, 2016

   The conference room turned quiet as a tall man dressed in a cashmere coat walked in. His lips were pressed tightly and he oozed of charm and strictness as he made his way to the main seat. Sitting around the round table, were elites old enough to be his father but they all stopped chattering the moment he took his seat.

“How is it?”

A man with a scruff beard got up and bowed before walking towards the BenQLK95 projector placed at a corner of the room. He fixed some things and an overhead lens slid down.

“Boss, it's done”

Their gazes were all focused on what was being displayed and the room was quiet except for the tapping sounds of the tall man knocking his fingers on the table and the man explaining things.

“Has Dr Liuren confirmed that she is good to go?”

“Yeah. Everything is ready.”

“What about the home and the mother?”

“Ready.”

“Hm. Okay? We're launching in two days.”

He got up and walked away directly with his assistant in tow.

“Boss”

“What?”

“Young Master seems to have departed for Australia ten minutes ago.”

He paused, frowning before turning to look at the other man and asked “My wife?”

“She just left the villa.”

He nodded and walked out of the building before getting into the car.

…

Five years later…

The rain came in torrents beating her skin as she knelt on the muddled red earth. Her dirty clothes danced in the razing wind but she seemed to have no care. Across her, a mound was in view. It seemed to be the grave of someone. The falling rain seeped into the mound soaking it.

 She looked like every other teenage girl but on closer look, one would see her slender fingers tightly clenched. Her countenance was blank as she gazed affront with her red puffy eyes. Her onyx orbs held no emotion in them as she gazed at the grave with cold eyes.

Time slowly faded away but she still knelt in the same position. Then after what seemed to be hours, she lifted her legs and stood up. Her legs were wobbly and she couldn’t stand properly for some time. She lifted her mud stained hands and kowtowed thrice.

“Mom, Xin Er will work hard. I’ll get justice for you”

No other words left her lips as she lifted her legs and left without looking back. Behind her, the rain continued to fall and a dark shadow also disappeared.

“…Boss, she's gone.”

“The woman?”

“We’ve handled it.”

“Alright”

In a large villa, a man stood by a window and sighed 

‘My Lady, I hope you can withstand the ups and downs of this world'

…

Mo Xin Er trudged along the streets of Wuhan, battered and distraught. Her inky black hair was stuck with sweat on her face. Her eyes were threatening to shut as she glanced around. She had been trying to secure a job all morning. She realized that if she wanted to get justice for her mother, she needed to work harder.

She seemed to have been exhausted and unable to keep up anymore. She collapsed!!

…

Her eyes fluttered open and what met her gaze first was the purple ceiling overhead her. She groaned in discomfort as she tried to sit up.

“Sit down” a voice rang beside her and she looked back to see a middle aged woman seated. She had a gentle smile on her lips as she procured a bowl of porridge and handed it to her

Mo Xin Er's eyes gleamed as she looked at the food but she still vigilantly eyed the woman before collecting the bowl. With shaky fingers, she lifted the spoon and began to eat. She gobbled the food in a hurry and choked, coughing. The woman smiled lightly, raising a cup of water to her and patted her back.

“How is it?” she heard after emptying the bowl and burping. It was only then she realised she had been eating unculturedly. 

Blushing with embarrassment, she whispered in a low voice “It was good, thanks!!”

“Good. You should eat more when I cook dinner, okay? A girl shouldn’t be so lean.”

“Thank you, …..” she trailed off and it was only then she realised, she didn’t know the woman's name.

“It’s Mrs Mo.”

“Thank you, Mrs Mo”

“What is your name, little girl?”

“Mo Xin Er”

“Xin Er. It's a beautiful name. Rest well. My husband went out but he'll soon be back. He was the one who saw you passed out on the street.”

“Ah, I…”

“You should rest. He will come over once he returns from work.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs Mo. I appreciate it”

“No..no problem. I’ll go now.”

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting on a sofa in the living room with the television turned on after being persuaded by Mrs Mo. It was at this moment, she could look around the house. It was a fairly good modern apartment compared to the dilapidated house she had lived with her mother. Moreover, it had an homely feeling. A woman scarf was hanging on the armrest. A man's shoe was lying side by side in a corner of the room. And then, a gaming console was on the center table. It seemed it was a family of three and they had a son who was a teenager.

She sighed and shut her eyes. She had promised and nothing could stop her from getting revenge for her dead mother. Her eyes reopened however there was no warmth in there anymore. It was glassy cold!!

“Mom, where is my gaming console? You can't just keep seizing it. Okay, I promise I won’t go there anymore” she heard a male voice coming nearer to the living room. Must be their son. Soon enough, a boy came stumbling in and she couldn’t help but squint her eyes. They were of the same age!!

He seemed to notice the presence of a stranger and mouthed an ‘oh’ before scuttling to her side. As she looked at the boy who seemed to be the chatty type, she suddenly had a bad premonition.