Remedy For Love

It was an especially warm night in Ye City.

Malcolm Quan drove through the neighborhood, passing through all the other familiar trees and houses. Finally, he arrived at his apartment. Getting off the car, Malcolm went up to the door and pressed his finger on the scanner. The door then opened with a slight beep and click. Much to his disappointment, he saw the bright hall was empty. "Poppi?" he called out.

There was no answer. 'Where did you go?'

After closing the door behind him, he put the documents in his hand on the sofa and went upstairs to the bedroom.

"Poppi?" he shouted once more. "Where are you?" When Malcolm Quan had reached the bedroom, he saw that there were clothes of a woman strewn across the bed, and heard the sound of running water in the bathroom.

Splish, splash! Splish, splash!

Just then, he faintly heard the voice of a woman coming through the crack of the bathroom door. Shortly afterwards, the person inside had turned the water off. Malcolm Quan looked in the direction of the bathroom reflexively. The door was only opened by a couple of inches. Nevertheless, he could easily see the perfect, curvy figure inside.

"Damn it..." Malcolm Qiu cursed in a low voice as he loosened his tie. As his hand reached for the door knob, the door suddenly swung open. "Poppi..."

"La la la... Aah!" Poppi Qiu was humming to herself when she came out of the bathroom. A bath towel was wrapped around her body. When she saw that Malcolm was there in the room, she was surprised and jumped back, her melodious humming turning into a scream. Her hands instinctively went to her face to protect herself, thinking that the person in the bedroom was an intruder.

"Oh, shut up!" Malcolm Quan snapped, but soon after he felt guilty for startling Poppi and making her scream.

"M... Malcolm?!" Hearing the familiar voice, Poppi Qiu opened her eyes with lingering fear. She blinked, unbelieving that it was indeed Malcolm in front of her, and adjusted the towel on her body. "When...When did you get here? You nearly scared me to death... Can you tell me first when you're going to come over? I thought you were a serial killer or something!"

"Serial killer?" Malcolm Quan couldn't help but look at Poppi Qiu from the bottom up. Poppi Qiu's legs were tall and slender, her skin smooth and fair. There was a beautiful pink flush on her delicate face, and her eyes were big and lovely.

Immediately, Malcolm Quan withdrew his gaze. "You're too confident in yourself," he mumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Poppi Qiu asked, folding her arms over her chest and jutting out her hip. "Why did you even break into my house in the first place?" Poppi said, raising her chin up at Malcolm.

"your house? In case you've forgotten, this is my home," Malcolm cast a cold glance at her.

"Uh...." Then, Poppi blinked and glanced at Malcolm with a sly look in her eyes. "What are you doing home, honey?" she said, her voice suddenly sweet and alluring.

"Honey?" Malcolm asked dubiously as he cast a sharp look at Poppi.

"What's the matter? We're a legal couple, aren't we?" A triumphant smile appeared on Poppi's thin lips.

"Legal, but not really in the truest sense," sneered Malcolm, his face expressionless. He turned around and walked to the door. "Go downstairs," he said, looking back at Poppi. "I have something I need to tell you."

"Give me half an hour to do my skin care routine."

"You'd better hurry up." Without looking back, the tall figure disappeared at the corner of the corridor.

Poppi Qiu shrugged her shoulders indifferently and sat in front of her dresser. There, she gently applied moisturizer on her neck and arms, quietly humming to herself.

After getting dressed, Poppi went downstairs and saw Malcolm sitting up straight on the couch, his thin lips pressed tightly into a fine line. The way the living room light shone on his angular face made him especially handsome and attractive.

"Go ahead. What is it you have to tell me?" Poppi asked as she sat across from Malcolm. The bright, luxurious chandelier illuminated the room with a golden light. It complimented the black, marble coffee table beautifully -- the warmth of the chandelier complimenting the coolness of the coffee table. But, the coldness of the table could not compare the cold look the beautiful woman and the handsome man had on their faces as they looked at each other intently.

"This is the contract extension." Leaning forward, Malcolm gingerly pushed the thick document on the table towards Poppi. "See if there is anything else you would like to add or omit."

The corners of Poppi's mouth turned up to a slight smile as she took the documents. As she read the words on the first page, she raised her eyebrows. "This is the supplemental agreement for our postnuptial agreement. Lawyer Shen isn't here though. Does this agreement count?"

"Lawyer Shen has seen it already."

"Well, okay then." Poppi smiled lightly and flipped through two pages casually. "Huh.." she mumbled as she read over a page. "Will we be renewing the contract for two years?"

"Yes." Malcolm sat stiffly in his seat, his knuckles white as he tightly clasped his hands in front of him.

"Why it has changed into two years? I thought we had agreed on only one year?"

"Well, you have done a good job in the past three years. I don't see the harm signing in for another extra year," Malcolm explained with a straight face, "Besides, this time, after we sign this, you can be rest assured that this will be the last."

"Why? Are you about to finish your acquisition plan? How can you be so sure that you will be able to make it within two years?"

"Just trust me," Malcolm squinted his eyes as he firmly looked at Poppi, dismissing her doubtful tone. However, the more he looked at her face, the more he felt in awe. It seemed like it was such a long time since he had seen Poppi face to face like this. Malcolm knew how beautiful Poppi was, but he couldn't help but feel stunned at the way her eyes brightly twinkled and how her lips turned into a charming smile... 'That annoying smile!' he suddenly thought. It was what he hated the most about her -- it always looked as if it was mocking him with its cunningness!

"But all my youth would be wasted on you. Two additional years on top of the three years before that? Don't you think it's a bit too long?" Poppi protested, as the sly smile that Malcolm hated so much surfaced on her lips, "Am I not a bit on the losing side of this agreement? I'm not quite sure I can sign this..."

"I will double your monthly living expenses," Malcolm said sternly, a hint of disgust flashing through his eyes. With a deep sigh, he continued, "And, you are allowed to go around on dates and get a boyfriend. As long as you hold up your part of the agreement and keep our marriage as secret as before. Is that fair enough for you?"

"What? I can get a boyfriend?!" Poppi Qiu grinned and pretended to be surprised. "That's great! You should have said that earlier. I don't have to read this entire thing anymore! I'm in!"

"Stop babbling and just sign the papers if you have no other problems," Malcolm scoffed unhappily.

Poppi's mouth twitched with annoyance, but didn't say anything further. She flipped the pages of the document to the very end. On the bottom of the page, she saw that Malcolm had already signed his name on the dotted line. Reaching out her hand, she groped around the table for a pen but there was nothing there. Shrugging, Poppi was about to stand up. "I'm just going to get a..."

"Here you are," Malcolm said with a frown as he swiftly took out a pen from his pocket.

"Thanks," Poppi mumbled as she sat down back again. She took the pen in Malcolm's hand and sighed lightly. Opening the cap, she signed the documents with a graceful swipe of her hand. With a complacent smile, she handed back one of the documents and the pen over to Malcolm. "Thank you for taking care of me for the next two years."

Malcolm stood up with the document in his hand. "Maybe less than two years even..."

"What did you say?" Poppi raised her head doubtfully.

"If we finish the acquisition plan ahead of schedule, at the day of the acquisition, our marriage will be terminated. It's written on there. You better read it carefully," Malcolm said as he pointed at Poppi's copy of the document.

"That's great. May you succeed as soon as possible. And yes, I will read it carefully." Poppi also stood up and looked up at him with a big and friendly smile.

Malcolm cast a sidelong glance at Poppi and snorted, "Thank you." Then he took the document and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Poppi called out to him. The smile on her face had long gone.

"What is it?" Malcolm stopped in his tracks, turning his head slightly back.

"It's our third anniversary. Don't you have anything to say?" Poppi stared at Malcolm from behind.

"I'll transfer the money to your account later," Malcolm just replied coldly. It seemed that Malcolm Quan didn't want to talk with her anymore and was ready to leave.

"I don't want the money."

"Oh? So what do you want?"

Malcolm turned around again and looked at Poppi with a frown.

"I..." Poppi stammered, as she didn't expect that he would look back at her. But upon seeing the confused look on his face, Poppi put on a radiant smile. "There's a newly released set of limited-edition jewelry, bags, and shoes. I want them all."

"You can buy them with the money I'm giving you," Malcolm scoffed as he squinted his eyes at Poppi. Then, he turned back quickly to walk out the door.

"Malcolm!" she shouted after him hurriedly. "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you!"

"Yeah right," Malcolm sneered and kept walking.

By now, Poppi was briskly walking after him, her face twisted with anxiety. "Malcolm! When can I see Celine? Or let me call her doctor at the very least!"

This stopped Malcolm dead in his tracks. "Celine..." he uttered with a short chuckle. "If it were possible, I would make sure that you will never see her again for the rest of your life." The words that came out of Malcolm's mouth were as thick as poison.

"But she's my sister! She's the only family I have left in this world! You can't do this to me!" Poppi protested as she grabbed hard on Malcolm's sleeve. "Please... Let me see her..."

"Your father's still lying in bed, isn't he? Although I doubt that he would ever wake up again, at least he's not dead. Technically speaking, Celine isn't the only family you have left. Don't exaggerate things, Poppi." Malcolm then brushed Poppi's hand off him as if she was made out of filth, feeling satisfied at the embarrassed and defeated look on her face. "Besides, she's doing well on her own without having you around," he added with a sneer.

Poppi stumbled back a few steps. Her heart felt so heavy in her chest that she could do nothing but watch him make his leave. Without another glance back, Malcolm shut the door with a loud bang. Every single time Poppi mentioned her sister, it would always turn out like this.

It was eerily silent in the apartment.

Only Poppi's breath and the sound of the clock could be heard. Tick... tock...

A while later, Poppi sighed quietly and walked back to the living room, her shoulders slumped forward in defeat. She bent down, picked up the document, and headed upstairs.

Time flew by so quickly as it had already been three years since she and Malcolm had been married. Even though she was the real "Mrs. Quan", being legitimately married to Malcolm and all, they could only meet in secret. When Malcolm did come to see her, he would leave just as quickly as he went. Every day, Poppi would see in the headlines the different women who were associated with Malcolm.

There was nothing Poppi could do but idly stand by. The marriage between her and Malcolm was much too complicated. There was no way Malcolm wanted their relationship to be publicized and neither did Poppi.

Upon reaching the bedroom, Poppi sprawled up on the bed and closed her eyes. Soon, she fell asleep, dreaming about the not-so-distant past...

Boom! "Poppi, Celine, come with me! We need to hurry!" her father yelled.

"Where are we going? What's wrong?"

"There's no time to explain! We need to leave Ye City. Go anywhere but here! The further, the better! Just go!"

Poppi tossed and turned in bed, her lashes fluttering slightly. It had begun to rain outside her apartment, and the thunder that came with it seemed to intertwine with the scene from the nightmare she was having.

"Run! Faster! They're coming!" In her dream, Poppi could see the image of her father getting clearer and clearer. She could see a brilliant light coming from the end of the street. It was a car driving towards them with immense speed. Poppi raised her hand to cover her eyes from the blinding headlights. Hand in hand, the three of them ran as quickly as they could. They ran along that road as if it had no end. At some point, Poppi was so tired and out of breath that she felt that she was about to pass out. However, the car kept chasing after them, and was soon right on their tracks. In such a critical moment, her father suddenly loosened his grip on Poppi and pushed her hard to the side.

"Poppi!"

Bang! Bang

Poppi slammed onto the wet grass, and heard the loud thud and the screeching of the car brakes. In a daze, she slowly tried to prop herself up with her arms and tried to look at what had happened. The first thing she noticed was the blood mixing in with the rain on the pavement. Then, Poppi saw her father and her sister lying on the ground, lifelessly.

"Dad! Celine!"

Poppi screamed and struggled to her feet. There was no strength left in her anymore, and she could do nothing but stagger and fall once more as she helplessly watched the car quickly drive away.

A clap of thunder echoed in the dark sky.

"Dad! Celine! Celine!" Awoken by the loud thunder, Poppi sat up as she cried out for her family. There was cold sweat all over her face and down to her neck. Her eyes were wide open in horror as she tried to catch her breath.

The bedroom was briefly illuminated by a strike of lighting outside, making Poppi jump.

'It was just a dream.... just a dream.' With a deep breath, she wiped her face with the back of her hand and curled up on the bed. It had been nearly four years since that incident happened. Whenever she dreamt about it, it was still as vivid and as awful as the actual thing. Up to this day, Poppi couldn't help but think why her father chose to save her life over his and Celine's.

A shiver went down her body. Poppi got under the blanket and hugged her arms, as if she was trying to keep herself together. There never was a day that went by that Poppi didn't think of her father. She literally owed her life to him, and for that she was unconditionally grateful. To keep him alive, he had to be given special treatment, and a lot of various medicines and medical procedures that were undoubtedly expensive. Even when the doctor told Poppi that it would take a miracle for her father to wake up, there was no way she was going to give up on him.

With everything going on, Poppi had been driven into a corner. It was then she decided to tactically marry Malcolm. With the help of her lawyer, they made a deal so that her family's shares were entrusted to him, and so the medical bills were no longer something she needed to worry about. At the same time, she had protection from the people who were after her and her family.

That night was the beginning of the rainy season in Ye City. Lighting and thunder rumbled all night long. It was not until early the next morning did the rain stop. Barely getting any sleep, Poppi got up early to take a shower. Afterwards, she got dressed, grabbed her bag, and headed to the subway. She had no choice but to commute since her old and shabby car had gotten scrapped.

"There you are, Poppi!" Wendy Yu called out as Poppi walked into the office. With long quick strides, Wendy came over to Poppi and dragged her off to one side.

"What's wrong?" Poppi frowned. The sticky feeling in the subway had not dissipated, and Poppi felt difficult to breathe.

"Bad news!" Wendy Yu said with a frightened look, "Tina Ai from the Advertising Department is stirring trouble again. Your manuscript was removed by her from the magazine!"

Poppi raised her eyebrows and showed a sign of relief. She went to her desk and put down her designer bag. "It's no big deal. She can pull out my piece if she likes. I just thought the bonus would have been nice," Poppi said in a slightly displeased tone.

"Wow, you're so level-headed!" Wendy Yu looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Even the people in our department feel sorry for you! I mean, this isn't the first time Tina Ai has bullied you like this and removed your drafts. Aren't you the least bit angry at her? If I were you, I would have been infuriated by now!" Wendy exclaimed angrily.

With a smile, Poppi took her bag and held it up for Wendy to see. "Do you know what this is, Wendy?"

"A really nice handbag, that's what it is!" Wendy Yu sighed. Even if Wendy saved up for two years, there was no way she could afford something like that.

"That's right," Poppi said as she placed it back on the table. "As the saying goes, 'a nice bag can cure all griefs'. To prevent myself from getting in a bad mood, I just buy nice things that I want. You should try it. I promise that you will be refreshed and placid the whole day. Besides, it's not good for your health to be angry all the time at every little thing."

"So buying a bag that's way out of my budget is supposed to make everything better?" Wendy Yu frowned and was stunned for a few seconds. Then she pulled her face and said with grievance, "Poppi, you are bullying me!"

"Haha! My dear, how could I bear to bully you! I'm just telling the truth!" Poppi smiled and pinched her face. Just then, Poppi remembered her sister. She used to joke around with Celine like this.

At that moment, Tina came out of her office and saw Wendy and Poppi laughing. Rolling her eyes, she came over to Poppi with the manuscript in her hands. "Well, hello there, Miss Poppi. I see you're showing off your new bag again."

Hearing Tina's sarcastic words from behind her, Poppi turned around and flashed her a bright smile. She got her bag and showed it to Tina. "I got it straight from abroad! Beautiful, isn't it? Oh! I remember that you said you liked this one last time. Why don't you buy one too? We could match and be just like sisters!"

Seeing this, Tina squinted and threw the manuscript on the desk with the ruffling sound of paper. "It's not good enough. If you redo it, I will consider using it. Also, send me an electronic copy." Then she clicked away in her high heels.

Wendy stuck out her tongue and pulled a face behind Tina's back. She grumbled in a low voice, "You aren't half as good, so you're green with envy. You always make trouble for Poppi. Do you think you're the measure of success?"

Looking at Wendy, Poppi smiled and cautioned, "If she hears you, she will fire you."

"If she fires me, I'll work for you, Poppi." Wendy held on to Poppi's arm and shook her around. She said enviously, "I couldn't be more envious, Poppi. I really want to work for you. You are carrying a new, limited-edition bag every week, and you have such a noble temperament. Poppi, why are you so rich?"

"Try to marry with a wealthy man."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Poppi, you..." Pausing mid-sentence, she felt something wrong and continued, "Poppi, you played a trick on me again. You don't have a husband. Why did you ask me to find one?"

"I have a husband!" Poppi grinned wickedly at Wendy.

"Humph! What a liar you are! I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Returning to her desk with a pout, Wendy was followed by Poppi's laughter. Wendy and Celine were quite alike. It seemed that the way Poppi looked at Wendy was the same as when she looked at her sister.

With a sigh, Poppi resumed her seat in front of her desk. Considering the topic of a "husband," she sighed mentally, knowing that she and Malcolm were really married, but no one would believe her if she told the truth about it. They had to keep it as a secret!

Stretching herself, Poppi was about to pick up a pen to modify the draft, but remembering what Tina had said, she turned on the computer. She liked to write manuscripts by hand. Although it could be a little tiring, it had become her habit. This was so like the behavior of staying with Malcolm. Feeling fear at the thought of losing him or breaking up with him surfaced again, annoying her.

It took half the morning to revise the draft, and they were informed they would be having a meeting before their off-duty time. Poppi took her notebook with her and followed everyone to the conference room.

In the meeting room, there was only one light turned on near the big screen, and Poppi selected a seat in the dimmest corner, almost falling asleep. She hadn't slept most of last night because of the heavy rain and nightmares that plagued her, and she was now so tired.

"Our Mr. Fashion magazine is going to conduct the annual business interview. We have confirmed a few candidates." Standing in front of the screen where slides changed, Tina wore a confident smile on her face. At the same time, she said, "The first candidate is Malcolm Quan, the CEO of SG."

Bang!

The pen in Poppi's hand crashed to the ground, making a soft thud, which attracted everyone's attention. Tina glanced dismissively at Poppi and then looked away with a sneer. She continued, "If Mr. Malcolm's picture is on the cover page, the sales of our magazine will sky-rocket..."

Poppi no longer listened to what Tina was talking about, but she couldn't move her eyes from the picture of Malcolm on the screen. Suddenly, she no longer felt tired. Interview Malcolm? It would be impossible to do that.

"If the magazine was to invite Malcolm, I would be the first one to sign up for an interview!"

"Fuck off! Who do you think you are! I'm the first to sign up for the task!"

"Mr. Malcolm is so handsome. I wonder what he's like in real life."

At lunch time, Poppi was dining with some colleagues of the Editing Department. They were talking about the morning's meeting. She couldn't help but flash a smile and said, "Maybe in real life, Mr. Malcolm is not that handsome. After all, photo editing has become so advanced, right? What if your dream is shattered?"

"What?" Wendy bit on her chopsticks and frowned. She looked disgusted. "Really? It is said that Mr. Malcolm is the most eligible bachelor in Ye City. It is said that he is in some form of relationship with the mayor's daughter. His face can't be too ugly."

"Yes, don't make such guesses." "Have you met Mr. Malcolm, Poppi?" asked Aileen Tang.

"Me?" Taking a sip of her soup, Poppi forced a big smile on her face and replied calmly, "Of course not."

"That's right." Then she drew closer to them and whispered, "But it's hard to say whether Mr. Malcolm is single or not."

"What do you mean?!" Excitement buzzed through the gathered colleagues. Jenny covered her mouth and softly patted her shoulder. "He is not a single man?"

"I heard that Mr. Malcolm has been married for a long time." It seemed that she knew a big secret.

"Already married?! How is this possible?" cried Wendy.

"Ahem!" Poppi almost choked on the rice, and her face turned red.

"What's wrong with you, Poppi?" Wendy hastened to assist her. Seeing this, Poppi seized the opportunity to explain and scolded, "It's all your fault. You roared so loudly that I almost got scared to death! It's none of your business whether he is married or not."

Wendy pouted. "I was just too surprised!"

"Yeah, it's really shocking." Jenny couldn't help but sigh. "Where did you hear Mr. Malcolm's been married?"

"Gossiping involves all kinds of women. I also forgot where I heard it." Aileen Tang shrugged.

After Poppi appeased Wendy and started to eat, Wendy couldn't help but ask, "If he really got married, why does he keep it such a secret?"

"Haven't you heard it before?" Aileen clicked her tongue in exasperation. "The male star we interviewed last time was not supposed to be married. But it was said that he had a child only a few days ago. He probably wanted you girls to continue to like him."

"Then, being his wife will be in a living hell." "She would have to hide her true feelings all the time. Although she has slept with the man that many women all over the world want to sleep with, she would have to pretend that nothing has happened. That's so annoying!" she added

Poppi nodded her head quietly during the first part of her speech. However, when she heard what was said next, she was shocked and speechless. Even if they got married, they wouldn't have to sleep together.

But, the news of Malcolm's marriage could only be conjecture, right? If anyone discovered the truth, Poppi would be found to have broken the contract, and then she would have no money to spend. There was nothing more horrible to her than having no money!

"You are wrong. I think it's good to keep such a marriage a secret!" "If I were his wife, I would laugh up my sleeves. While you cry and pine for my husband, I could then sleep with him aboveboard. Perfect!"

"You are so shameless!" Aileen feigned anger and giggled. "Just eat!"

"Wait a minute, has Mr. Malcolm gotten married or not?" Wendy kept investigating.

"I also want to know whether he is married or not," Poppi added timely.

"Well, I don't know either! Maybe it's just a wild rumor!" "Married or not, it's none of my business," she continued, waving her hand.

Poppi touched her nose as she did not hear anything further about Malcolm's marriage. She guessed the rumor must have been spread by someone who was talking nonsense. She shouldn't worry too much.