Chapter 45 - Embers of Hope

Li Zongying was taking her sweet time getting ready for tonight. She opted for a short dress with a low neckline and long sleeves. She painted her face lightly and let her long hair flow down her waist.

She smiled winningly at the mirror. "You're just about to have it all, Zongying."

She chuckled under her breath and took her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before closing the door on her messy apartment.

She had been invited to an old classmate's birthday party at a bar. They would have a few drinks after dinner. Over the years, she had declined their invite for such events. She was not one to be social with them even during their college years.

But tonight, she was going to give them a hint about the next big things that were about to happen in her life.

She was smiling the whole ride to the restaurant. She even hailed a taxi than just waiting for a bus that would take her there. This was going to be the night that everyone would remember her rise.

The chilly air immediately bit into her skin the moment she stepped out of the vehicle. Li Zongying clutched at the strap of her bag tighter as she paced to the entrance. The inside of the resto-bar was warm and filled with bright yellow lights. Before the waitress could ask her what table she belonged to, her 'friends' already waved her over.

"You're late!" said one good-naturedly.

"I had some follow-up work to do," she reasoned. Of course she was late. She wanted to make a grand entrance. There were six girls in this group in total whom she got a little close to during her school years. But mainly, she befriended them so they could help her with the tasking requirements.

"I didn't think you'd really come," said the celebrant, sipping on a thin glass of red wine. Of all the girls, it was the celebrant whom she felt least close to.

"Happy birthday," she said and handed her a paper bag.

The celebrant looked surprised. "Wow, Li Zongying," she said like she was fighting back a smile. "I made it very clear in the group chat that I would not accept gifts."

"Please take a look first," she said and took her seat from across the celebrant.

The celebrant pulled out a little white box and read the label. "This is a really expensive brand!" she exclaimed and flipped it open. "Oh! Li Zongying this is beautiful."

Li Zongying only nodded, pleased. That present was worth months of her rent. But she didn't need to think about that anymore, did she? "It's a little thing!" she waved it off.

"Wah," the girl said and pulled the little silver bracelet from the box. It had little charms all over. "It's so pretty. Help me put it on."

Another girl helped her with the clasp and they all watched as it shimmered under the bright lights. "Wow," they all said.

"I didn't know being a secretary have that big of a paycheck," the celebrant laughed. "Maybe I should quit my job and get hired in The Kingly Empire, too."

"They pay me enough," she answered and waved a waiter over. "Sparkling wine, please. The most expensive one."

"Then, how were you able to afford this present?" another girl with short hair asked.

"I'm going to get a promotion soon."

There was a gasp around the table.

"Do secretaries get promotions?"

"You're transferring fields? Are you going to sales?"

"Management?"

"HR?"

Li Zongying only lazily smiled over their guesses. None of them were right anyway. She drawled, "Let's just say… I think I am going to get married soon."

And a louder gasp ran through them all. Excited questions seemed to never end. "Who? What? Where? And when?" They all made guesses on who was the man. The celebrant herself was so into making up details and a possible story on who might be Li Zongying's rich mystery lover that she didn't mind that the attention was stolen away from her celebration to Li Zongying's announcement.

Li Zongying only smiled and laughed when one said, after too many glasses of wine, that it might be Qing Chen himself that fell over heels to their Li Zongying.

"But that's impossible," another girl said, waving the theory off. "He's already married."

For now, Li Zongying thought, biting her lips in excitement. She enjoyed their theories, that she might've met a stockholder and all that cliche drama they could've only possibly witnessed in the television.

They didn't even notice that Li Zongying was already taking them one by one in her palms. A woman in the society had to have friends. Li Zongying saw this as the perfect time to be able to gather a circle.

There were just so much to be done before she should enter the society. She had to lay down her foundations so no one could see a flaw in her. She would be the perfect wife in just a few years.

Li Zongying gave a quick glance over the glass windows of the restaurant. She would pretend that she hadn't noticed the black car that had been on standby near her house for hours and had relentlessly followed the taxi she was riding earlier.

She turned her gaze away and grinned. Of the short years she had spent as Qing Chen's secretary, she sure did learn a lot.

Then she shook her head in disappointment, she didn't know whether it was the Qings' plan—but this seemed too lowly for that family. Maybe it was the wife's idea.

Even Li Zongying wanted to shake that woman for the stupid steps she had been taking. She sighed. This was just too easy, she said in her mind. But it was not yet over. There were only a few things left in her traps wherein Feng Xuan could fall upon. She would give up soon enough. Li Zongying would not rest until Feng Xuan was gone.

That night, while Feng Xuan was slaving herself in her office to keep her mind occupied, her laptop gave a soft ping, signalling an email coming. It was from Wang Yimin and a file was attached.

Feng Xuan's heart gave a little leap as she read through what the private investigator had gathered. But everything that was there, she already knew. There was nothing suspicious with her friends, all of them are working individuals with lesser known companies.

If Li Zongying was planning to fake everything, how? She did not have connections. According to the CCTV records from the past week and before Li Zongying made the announcement on Qing Chen, she had only been seen in her apartment and The Kingly Hotel. No unusual person spoke to her.

Feng Xuan stood up and paced around in her room as the rest of the papers were printed out. How? How was she doing this? The last embers of her hope were burning out. Maybe it was real. This was all real and she just refused to believe it.

Just then, the printer outs a picture that showed Li Zongying drinking what seemed to be champagne. Pregnant women were not allowed to drink, right? She felt adrenaline coursing through her veins. The next picture was that Li Zongying was having dinner with her friends, busily chatting as they were photographed mid-laugh.

Feng Xuan grabbed the previous picture as she heard Qing Chen's car came in the driveway. It was already late at night and they both already had dinner outside.

Feng Xuan sucked on her lip in apprehension as she waited for Qing Chen to finish up in the bathroom after they both retired in the bedroom. When Qing Chen emerged, he plopped down the bed on his stomach.

"Are you okay?" she asked and reached to ruffle his hair slowly.

"I'm not really sure, wife," he answered. "I got men working on that theory of another man. They've turn out nothing so far."

Feng Xuan slid down until she was on her side and caressed the back of Qing Chen's head. She debated with herself, should she tell him? But what if this was all just a false alarm? She didn't want to lead him on until she was sure she could get him out of the chains that woman had clamped on him.

"This will all be over soon," she just said. "For better or for worse."

Qing Chen's eyes opened. "I don't want to leave you."

Feng Xuan did not answer as she did not know what she should say. It was not like she could control what their families planned for either of them.

Qing Chen's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Let's leave and never come back."

Feng Xuan smiled. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know," he said. "The West? The North? Anywhere but here."

"But your imaginary baby."

"I'll send imaginary child support," he lazily smiled. He closed his eyes again and she felt his arm tightened on her. "Let's just hope there would be news tomorrow."

Feng Xuan could not stop thinking about this either. What else would they have if the search for the 'other man' failed? She only had a picture of Li Zongying drinking--which could be a trap to make a fool out of herself. She traced back to what they knew and the only flaw was the four-week pregnancy...

She spoke almost at the same time Qing Chen called her name. "You go first," he said.

"I was thinking," she began. "Is there a way to falsify hospital doc.u.ments? How loyal are your physicians?"

"That was what I was just about to say," he grumbled and pulled himself upwards to a sitting position. "It's a long shot, but we need evidence that that doc.u.ment is wrong." He took a quick look at her face. "How good are your acting skills?"