Chapter 38 - Nostalgic Emotions

"What is happening? It was like Sofia just saw a ghost?" Joey was the first to ask among the four of them.

"I don't know. But she looked pale out of a sudden," Clark responded.

"She said that there is something important that she needed to do," Claire told them. She scratched the back of her neck while her gaze was following at the movement of Sofia.

"Alright, it must be one of her acquaintances that she saw," Joey said and continued to watch the ongoing 4th match on the large screen. The rest of them heaved a sigh and focused on the ongoing match as well.

Sofia's steps were fast. She slightly smiled at the audience that attempted to approach and called her but she did not stop walking. When she managed to close the gap between her and Jing Jing, her suspicions confirmed!

'This lady was really Miss Jing Jing!' Sofia took a big gulped to calm her emotions.

In her past life, Jing Jing was the most efficient secretary in her company. The lady was eloquent and could handle the pressure of working with her. She knew how to speak with the partners in their business. Her knowledge in handling public matters was exceptional.

"I don't know why these details have lingered in my memory. But since our path had crossed in this new life, this must be fate." Sofia muttered to herself. She quickly formulated a plan to create a connection with the lady.

Base on the lady's expression, she could sense that Jing Jing was agitated. She also realized that the lady was a member of a press because of her uniform. 'Ms. Jing Jing must gave obtained her ability to speak easily and confidently in this job,' Sofia thought.

"Jing Jing calm down. Everything will be fine!" the lady chanted loudly complete unaware that there was an pair of eyes watching her from a few meters away distance.

Sofia took a few steps and approached the guard on duty. "Mister, can I borrow a pen a paper?" she asked politely and eyed the paper on the mini desk of the guard.

The man nodded his head but did not look at her. He simply moved the paper and pen towards her direction and said, "Here, just use it."

"Thank you!" Sofia stated.

Without wasting another second of her time, Sofia's slender fingers picked the pen and she carefully scribbled something on the paper.

For a few seconds, she stared at her handwriting. It was quite different from her past penmanship. But, the stroke of her letter S was similar. It was slanted and extended at the end.

Sofia lightly laughed at the idea of giving the paper to Jing Jing but at that time, she had no choice. It was the only way she knew that she could pass her information to the lady.

A gust of wind suddenly passed and blew Sofia's short hair. She casually gathered the few strands and tucked them behind her ears. Her hands folded the paper once as she moved closer to Jing Jing.

"Hello, I'm Sofia." she finally approached the lady with a friendly smile on her face.

When Jing Jing heard a sweet and soft voice from her behind, she quickly calmed herself.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Jing Jing responded. Her eyes darted at the ordinary face of the teenager in front of her.

'She does not look like she is from a prestigious family in this district, but her tone bore some weight and authority. Such a rare character!' Jing Jing secretly made a quick assessment for her first impression.

"Oh, nothing. I just noticed your uniform is from a press company. I came here to give you this." Sofia handed the piece of paper.

"AH! Thanks! I'll check this later." Jing Jing did not read the content of the paper. Although the teenager's face looked familiar, the lady was still caught of guard by the events that she could not remember where she saw Sofia. She simply slipped the paper on her chest pocket and smiled at the teenager.

"You're welcome. Good to see you." Sofia stated.

With her words, Jing Jing assumed that Sofia may be one of her fans. In her line of career, although it was rare they also have few fans that were following them. It was not the first time that she received a letter from a stranger. So, the lady did not find the gesture of Sofia strange.

"Good to see you too." Jing Jing returned.

"See you around," Sofia muttered. Half of her hair would constantly brush and cover her face because of the wind. She struggled to keep them in place.

"Here, I have a clip to keep your hair away from your face." Jing Jing offered a butterfly hairclip to her.

Sofia grabbed the clip and ran back inside the building. She then turned around and said, "Thanks!"

"Did she become shy? Ahh teenagers these days are one moment straightforward the next moment they become shy!" Jing Jing pouted after Sofia disappeared from her sight.

~

In the hallway, Sofia turned to a corner and went to the comfort room. Inside the stall, her tears burst crazily like a flood from her eyes.

Such a gesture from the person she knew in the past had completely broken down her calm composure.

Sofia remembered that this secretary would compliment her hair almost every day in her company.

'Ms. Summers, I love your hair! The style suits you well!'

'Wow, your hairstyle is fantastic today! I'm sure, all the bachelors would admire you!'

'Lisa, the hair color is perfect! Good choice!'

Those were the few compliments that Sofia had revisited in her memories. For some reason unknown to her, remembering those words from the past-life secretary felt like someone had stabbed her heart.

Sofia stared at the hairpin in her palm for so long. A few of her tears even dropped on it. She sobbed quietly.

After a few minutes, she managed to calm down and wiped away the tears on her face. She pushed the door open and stared at her face in the wall mirror of the comfort room.

'The human instinct is really mysterious!' she whispered.

Luckily, nobody was around her. Sofia sprinkled some water on her face and fixed her hair. She then placed the butterfly hair clip on the side of her head.

She took one deep breath before she calmly stepped out of the comfort room. The tournament was not yet finished and she could not afford to be distracted by her emotions as it might affect her performance. But deep down, she was determine to rope Jing Jing in.