Chapter 4 Meet Again (Part One)

In the following days, Edmund visited them several times. But every time he came, Shirley happened to be out. Sometimes she went out saying she had an after-school meeting, other times she said she had to be at the library.

Shirley was worried that soon she would run out of excuses. With her friend, Sabina Tong's help, she lied to her mother that the teacher had asked her remain in school once the class was over.

"Shirley, these days you have way too much work. Why are you busy even during the weekends?" her mother asked.

With an embarrassed smile, Shirley answered, "I have gotten a great position in my class. There is no turning back, Mom."

In order to show the sincerity of her words, Shirley made a pitiful expression. She tried to look helplessness and tired. Her mother stared at her suspiciously for a long time, but in the end, she decided her daughter was speaking the truth. Finally, she agreed.

Shirley took a deep breath and relaxed. Before she left, she promised her mother that she would come back as soon as possible and try to see her uncle.

The truth was, the mention of her uncle curdled her blood. She was afraid of him like she had never been afraid of anyone else.

That day, Shirley went back to her room and read a comic book. It was the best one she had read in a long time. She was enjoying herself quite well. She had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing too loudly. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Before Shirley could hide the book, her mother had opened the door and walked inside.

"Shirley, your schoolbag is still outside. Why didn't you bring it in?"

"What?" It took Shirley a few seconds to remember that she had thrown her schoolbag on the sofa after school yesterday. Filled with fatigue, she had run to her room and fallen asleep. When she woke up from her nap, she completely forgot about it.

"Just now, your uncle told me that your schoolbag was outside. Almost all your books are in it. I was wondering how you are doing your homework when the books are there." Shirley's mother put her schoolbag on her desk and glanced at the book she was reading. 'What is that colorful thing?' she wondered with growing suspicion.

Noticing her gaze, Shirley quietly drew back the comic book and tried to hide it. But it was too late. Her mother had already understood what it was.

"Have you been reading a comic book?" Shirley's mother asked with a disappointed look. "I was wondering why you took the initiative to read today. And then I told myself perhaps you had begun to realize your responsibilities. But look! You are reading a comic book!"

Being caught red-handed, Shirley didn't know what to say. Putting the book away, she lowered her head and decided to remain silent. She braced herself for whatever punishment was coming.

To her surprise, her mother didn't say anything more. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. There was anger in her voice, but her temper was in check. "Your uncle is here so I won't waste my time. But as soon as he leaves, I will tell you what I am going to do with you. You better start working on your homework!"

After hearing that, Shirley walked towards the living room and noticed that Edmund was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine leisurely. At first, there was no expression on his face. But when he noticed her, a faint smile seemed to appear at the corners of his mouth.

Shirley suddenly realized what this all about! He wasn't the kind of man who would forgive easily. He had taken revenge!

From this moment on, Shirley had an impression that Edmund was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Even though he looked like friendly man on the outside, he made sure she was punished for her misbehavior.

As soon as Edmund left, Yvonne barged into Shirley's room and announced the punishment. She spent the whole weekend under her mother's supervision. She expressed her ardent desire to go for shopping, but her mother shut her up saying she could do nothing but study.

Shirley wandered aimlessly around the streets. 'Mom must be chatting with her brother at home now. I don't want to see him!' she thought, still angry about what he had done to her. Deep down, she knew it wasn't right to hide from him all the time. Sooner or later, she would have to talk to him.

After thinking for a while, she decided go to the nearby game room where she could kill time. When she stood at the door of the game room, she saw someone walking out of the nearby restaurant.

That man looked familiar. Clad in well-cut suit, he walked with a confidence she had only seen in one person! It was none other than the uncle she had been meaning to avoid.

'Oh my God! Why is he here?' Surprised, she tried to find a place to hide. She turned around and hid behind the car next to her. At this moment, Shirley could clearly hear her own heartbeat. Any second, it would jump out of her body.

Shirley cursed herself for having come here. If he told her mother that he found her near the game room, she would be dead meat.

With her head lowered, she caught sight of a pair of black leather shoes approaching her. She knew too well it was her uncle. Her scalp tingled with fear. She racked her brain for an idea that would help her escape. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Being a good actress that she was, she muttered, "Where is it? Where is it?"

The leather shoes in front of her stopped. Shirley looked up and an exaggerated expression appeared on her face. "Uncle? Why are you here?"

Looking at her, Edmund raised his eyebrows and asked, "I should be the one asking you this question! Why are you here?"

His cold tone made Shirley shiver. Stammering, she said, "Uh, I'm..." She lowered her head and didn't dare to meet his eyes. "Oh, my thing is missing. I'm looking for it." Then, she pretended to be looking for something on the ground.

"Something is missing? May I know what that thing is? Perhaps, I could give you a hand." As he spoke, Edmund reached out to unbutton his shirt and squatted down.

Seeing this, Shirley quickly stood up and waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. It wasn't that important anyway."

Embarrassed, she looked at Edmund and forced a smile. Patting the dust from her clothes, she was thinking about an excuse that would let her escape from his scrutinizing eyes.

However, a voice came from behind. "Mr. Su, here you are! Let's go upstairs and have a few drinks. I hope you aren't in a hurry. We can peacefully discuss the cooperation in detail."

As soon Edmund heard this man's voice, a look of impatience entered his eyes. However, when the man walked in front of him, his expression changed in an instant. He put on a polite smile and gazed at that man.

This sudden shift in her uncle's expression shocked Shirley. It was a pity that he didn't become an actor. He was a natural!

"Mr. Yu, I'm really sorry. I have to take my niece back home. Her mother is worried sick about her. She had run away from home."

'What? I had run away from home?' Shirley was stunned. He didn't want to talk to the man, so he used her as an excuse to flee from there.

Mr. Yu looked at Shirley and seemed to think she wasn't the kind of girl who would run away from home. "You won't have to bother yourself. I'll ask my driver to send her back. Mr. Su, you should come with me."

A sense of disgust rose from the bottom of Shirley's heart when she saw the way in which Mr. Yu dismissed her. Seeing the restless expression on Edmund's face, she couldn't help but feel pity for him. Even though he had created troubles for her, at the end of the day he was her uncle.

She rolled her eyes and decided to help her uncle.

"Uncle, are you going to take me back or no?" Shirley took out a piece of gum from her pocket and chewed it. She leaned against the car, crossed her arms over her chest, stretched out one of her legs.

She put on a show of a really spoiled girl.