Chapter 4 Leena's Decision

Leena was shocked and almost shouted out Miguel's name. The voice rose up quick to her throat but she somehow managed to swallow it back. They just stared at each other as if time had stopped for both of them. She was still in a daze while Miguel was gazing at her with a certain level of intensity. He was tipsy, but after a good look at her for quite some time, he suddenly got to his senses as if a splash of cold water in the face just sobered him up.

She quickly looked down and continued to offer her apologies. "Sorry! I'm so sorry!" She wanted to pass Miguel immediately to get into the washroom, but she felt that something was a little out of place. She turned around and willed herself to leave. However, he suddenly grabbed her hand from behind.

At this point, her heartbeat became faster. She didn't understand what was happening. How could he simply hold her hand like that as if they were not strangers? Did he somehow recognize her? Or did he want something else? She didn't dare to utter a single word. Anxiety crept into her that she looked almost frozen in place.

Miguel finally opened his mouth, but he asked with a hint of skepticism in his tone as if to confirm something he already knew, "Are you Leena?"

It turned out that he, indeed, recognized her. For a minute there, a tear almost fell from her eyes. The plethora of emotions crept and clashed against each other after so many years of being bottled up. She simply couldn't hold it much longer. But she soon made a heartless, but firm decision. She shook off his hand with some force and ran away. She couldn't let him recognize her. She simply couldn't!

"Leena!" Miguel called her name from behind, chasing after her. But she ran at full speed without looking back for once. She was familiar enough with the paths in the hotel like the back of her hand, and she quickly hid herself to the best place she could think of. And Miguel was still circling around scrambling through the place. Almost immediately, the people who had come here with Miguel heard the noise and came over at once. They persuaded him earnestly, it was somehow successful and made him leave with them unwillingly.

Leena couldn't help but cry in the corner where she hid. She still just couldn't confront it-even though he had already recognized her, chased her, and even though she was the person he'd always been thinking about, she did not dare to face up to him, and she didn't want him to know about her job in this place.

After a while, Leena's friend, Rena, came over and drove her home. She felt something wasn't right and asked her at once, "What's wrong? Your eyes are red. Were you just crying?"

Leena replied while shaking her head in denial, "I'm fine, I just got dust in my eyes."

As a casual person, Rena didn't make such a big deal about it and instead just asked a rather general question, "How is your night? Something interesting happened? I sometimes envy you so much. You could work in this fabulous place as the mysterious director. You must have been through something that resembled events out of a movie that many people wouldn't even experience!"

"Why do you envy me? You should be the one who is envied by people. You've been living a comfortable life since you were a kid!" Leena answered.

"So what? I still think my life is boring!" Rena heaved a deliberate sigh.

"If your life becomes not boring, like mine, you'd ironically feel it's too bitter!" Leena insisted.

Both of them laughed on their way back to Leena's place in an alley. However, she didn't expect that Carlson would follow her movements. He even sent a private investigator from a certain detective agency to stalk her. Sadly, it didn't work out well, so he drove the car himself and followed her until she went into an alleyway. Then he pulled over and lit up a cigarette by the side of the road. If his memory served him right, he had come to this alley nine years ago. Carlson's eyes narrowed in order to focus on that certain memory. He slowly puffed a smoke and said to himself, "Leena? Bowen Yang's daughter and Peterson's sister? Now it's getting interesting!"

He turned around and left with a faint smile on his face. He had already devised a plan in his mind, and he was certain it was bound to be another spectacular show!

When Leena returned home, her younger brother, Yanni Yang, had already fallen asleep. There were so much homework-both finished and unfinished-scattered on the table. Like the senior high school students preparing for the university entrance exam, primary school students were given more and more homework. However, both she and her mother were open-minded about this matter. If he couldn't finish his homework on time, they would simply let him go to sleep as long as he had finished the key assignments. As primary school students, they should play when they were allowed to play and rest when they were supposed to rest. Otherwise, they would stress out too early in life. In that case, they wouldn't even recall a happy and satisfying childhood.

Her mother was sleeping on the sofa in the living room. It was obvious that she was waiting for her there. Leena walked over and gently called her to wake her up, "Mom, why are you waiting for me again? Didn't I tell you not to wait for me anymore?"

Mrs. Yang woke up and quickly rubbed her eyes to reply, "Oh, you're back? It's fine. I'm just used to waiting for you to come home. I'm always worried about you not coming back. Have you eaten anything yet? Do you need me to cook for you?"

Leena waved her hand and replied, "No, thanks. I have eaten outside before I came back. Don't wait for me again next time. You should go to bed early!"

"How was your day? Did you work in your classmate's house again?" her mother asked.

When Leena went back to her room to change her clothes, Mrs. Yang casually followed her in and continued asking, "You are 24 years old, aren't you? Beside your studies and work, shouldn't you also start finding a suitable boyfriend?"

Leena took her clothes off to take a shower and replied, "Mom, just let nature take its course! We don't have to rush my love life."

"You are always busy. How can you let nature take its course? You know what, Aunt Amy who lives next door introduced a man to me. He is said to be her relative's son and he seems to be good in basically every aspect I can think of. Will you go see him next Saturday?"

"Mom, I have to go to work next Saturday as well," she answered.

Mrs. Yang knew that she wanted to refuse. But she continued, "I think he's satisfied with you. It's not easy to meet a good man who doesn't look down on our family. You should give him a chance! If there's someone to help you in the future, you won't have to face it alone and suffer so much!"

"Mom, can we talk about it later? I'm about to take a shower now!" Leena shut the door and refrained from arguing with her.

Mrs. Yang heaved a sigh as if accepting a defeat. She felt guilty and thought that she was the one who got her daughter into this situation in the first place. Other people's daughters were well-loved and cared for, while her daughter had to suffer. She hadn't enjoyed much of life as a young girl since she was 16. Thinking about her daughter, she felt sadness creep over her and she could only wipe her tears in silence.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Miguel's face kept appearing in Leena's mind. For so many years, she dared not to look for a lover. First of all, she was always too busy. Secondly, she somehow couldn't get over Miguel. First love is the best feeling and being caught in an unrequited love is somehow an unforgettable experience. In the past few years, she didn't meet a man better than him, so she didn't know how to erase him from her mind.

Thinking of their meeting earlier today and the possibility that he might have reciprocated her feelings, she didn't know whether she should be happy or sad. After all, she was now in a low status in society. Even if they liked each other, was there anything they could do?

Leena decided to try and forget about him as soon as possible. She no longer struggled hopelessly and sprayed herself on the head with the shower hoping it would somehow shrug off the feeling of restlessness so that she could finally relax.

She thought that she would never be able to see Miguel again due to the fact that he rarely ever came to places like Heaven Hotel. It was purely coincidental that she met him that night, and she didn't expect to see him again a few days later. She happened to have a test during those days. So she asked for a three-day leave and didn't go to the hotel. On the third night when she went there, the director of KTV greeted her, "Director Yang, you are finally here! An important guest has been patiently waiting for you these past few days!"

While she was changing her clothes, she answered, "What are you talking about? Wait for me for several days? Why would someone do that?"

The director replied, "It's Mr. Miguel. You met him three days ago. He came here every night these days looking for you. This has been going on for three days while you were on leave."

Hearing that, Leena was shocked and frozen in place. A jolt came rushing over her spine. She didn't know why Miguel waited for her. What did he mean by this? After she changed her clothes and put on a makeup, the director said a final remark, "You can go there by yourself. Mr. Miguel requested to talk to you alone!"

"He what? Why did he do that? "

"I honestly have no idea myself. You are so lucky that Mr. Miguel became interested in you despite meeting you only once, and you'd surely be better off with him," said the director, obviously expressing such envy.

A few moments later, Leena didn't have much of a choice but go and see Miguel by herself. When she arrived at his assigned VIP room, she felt a sudden heightened discomfort. She had no idea what was waiting for her.