Chapter 1 - Emergency Call

"Daughter! I need your help! Come home soon" Mo Zhen Yuan cries on the other line.

"Calm down father. What is the issue? What happened?" Shi Lian responds.

"I can't say on the phone. You need to come here!" her father begs.

"Okay, I'll book my ticket now!" Shi Lian says trying to comfort her father. The call from her father was unexpected for her, it is not as if they do not talk much but the urgency in her father's voice made her heart clench.

Mo Shi Lian had been studying for 4 years here in America, away from her family in China. Her father decided to make her study abroad and achieve a degree in fashion designing. 

Shi Lian book her a ticket to china, the earliest as possible. Fortunately, she got the last one and her ticket was confirmed for tomorrow.

"What's the matter, Shi?" Evelyn, her best friend who is sitting beside her asks. 

"Nothing, just booking myself a ticket," she says darting her eyes on her phone.

"Why? Where? And for what?" Evelyn gasp, she is fully surprised. Evelyn is also her roommate, she is two years older than she is, they became close in a short time and Shi Lian trusts her the most in this foreign country.

"To China for some personal matters" Shi Lian rolls her eyes seeing her best friend's dramatic act. 

Even though she and her friends are here in the pub for about an hour, Shi Lian could not lift her mood to have fun after she got a call from her father just 30 minutes ago. To celebrate Shi Lian's graduation day today her friends have organized a party here in the pub.

"You are going so soon. I'm going to miss you so much!" Evelyn hugs her tightly making her cough a little.

"Me too" Shi Lian responds by hugging her back. Although her personality is kind of cold and straightforward and hates obnoxious people she loves her best friend apart from it.

"Wait, so will you never come here again?" her best friend sobs coming to reality.

"I don't know how much time it will take but I'll surely come to visit you," Shi Lian says. They both hug each other for a while.

"Let's have fun Shi!" one of her friends exclaims interrupting their emotional moment. They look at each other and nod to Clay, her friend. Trying to drift her mind from her father's she joins in the game her friends are playing. She never played these kinds of games no matter how much her friends force her. This time she voluntarily joins which makes them glow in amusement.

"I'm in" Shi Lian says.

Clay nods and the other are surprised that this cold queen is going to play for the first time. This will be interesting.

"In each round, those who lose have to drink one cup and there's no going back" Clay smirks while explaining the game to everyone who is sitting there, especially to Shi Lian because she never played before. "Let's play then!"