Masquerades

Chapter 15

A familiar Bentley was already parked in front of her apartment when Calista got home. The sight made her head tilt, not expecting that her cousin had the time to visit her despite his busy schedule. He’s probably being paranoid again, though she can’t blame him, after all the requests and news she’s been dropping on him lately.

Callum was sitting on her couch – rather cozily – with his secretary and bodyguard standing in the corner. Once she entered, he nodded at the two, who then immediately understood what their boss meant and left without a word.

“What made you visit?” she finally broke the silence after changing into her house slippers, and putting her shoes inside the rack in the foyer.

“You know why I’m here, Calista. What’s going on? Is there anything you’re not telling me? You dropped out of school, and didn’t even finish today’s classes.”

She shrugged and went straight to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of hot water. The weather was getting colder and she had to walk all the way from the bus stop. He should really consider buying a bike soon.

“I told you, they’ll want me back soon enough. They will probably even beg me to come back once it is announced that Calista Song is still alive.”

Even though they won’t particularly mention that it was her who is the real, long-lost Song heiress, she’s certain that Xian’s administration will still be wary of the possibility that it might be her. She would, of course, use this fear to her advantage and go back to Xian. Though that’s not the thing that she’s looking forward to the most, it’s the confusion that will surely follow right after.

She could already see it – fake Calista Songs suddenly popping everywhere to take advantage of the benefits that the name brings. And to make it more exciting, she does not intend to clarify her identity at all. Until her eighteenth birthday, she plans to keep on denying it and let the chaos ensue while she watches.

Ahh… she can’t wait.

“So that’s your plan,” her cousin shook her head in disbelief. “What about the spy in the company you mentioned? How did you know?”

She plopped down the bean bag across him, and looked up with a smile. “Arcane must have heard about the announcement. His sudden change in behavior towards me made me suspect it. I told you just in case my hunch is correct.”

“His sudden change in behavior towards you? This meant you two actually interacted. I thought you had been staying away from him?” Callum frowned. His hatred for the Wongs is still going strong.

“Things just happened…”

“Things…”

“Just leave it to me! You’re already stressed with managing the company, I can handle this petty stuff on my own.” And to avoid further questions, she hurriedly stood up to look for something to eat. She has not yet eaten lunch, so she’s really hungry.

“Your pantry is almost empty so I asked Miss Xu to buy you some groceries, she has already restocked everything,” Callum said, talking about his secretary. He then stood up, causing her to turn back to him. “I have a lunch meeting so I can’t eat with you. I won’t ask you any more questions regarding what you’re up to these days. I know you’re smart enough to handle anything. But like what I always say, just don’t let yourself get hurt and don’t ever risk your safety.”

“I know.” I still want to give justice to my parents’ death, she wanted to add, but thought otherwise.

Callum didn’t stay any longer and eventually left with his entourage. She started to prepare her meal and was able to finally relax all day, as she waited for the explosive news that is yet to come tomorrow night.

*

The public and the media didn’t disappoint.

Saturday night, the news about Calista Song being alive and living secretly somewhere for her safety, came out and caused clamor all over Beijing. People started speculating, and some even listed all 'Calista Songs' on social media, asking everyone to help him investigate them. Good thing she is not that active on social media and has been using an account named after her mom.

Though that wasn’t really her biggest problem at the moment, but the notifications after notifications she’s been receiving non-stop. Her classmates – especially Warren and Shannon – have been flooding her with messages, both through her DMs and their group-chat. She was too lazy to reply to them one by one, and ended up turning off her phone instead.

If ever there’s news about the school admin contacting her, Callum can just send Miss Xu here – her sister is the one listed as her guardian anyway.

Feeling satisfied with the turn of events, she stood up and stood in front of her closet. She was unconsciously reminded of what happened yesterday – hiding inside one that is almost similar to what’s in front of her. But it’s not the time to dwell on that, she has a battle to get ready for. The next chapter of her battle against Arcane Wong and his cronies is about to begin, and this time, it’s her turn to play some mind games.

She pulled the two-door closet open, and instead of just sorting through the simple garments hanging inside, she pushed them apart instead. Hall M isn’t the only place with a secret passage.

A golden knob shaped like a lotus flower was attached right in the middle of the back of the closet. On the outside, it looked like it was only standing against the wall, but it turned out to be connected to it. Cali expertly twisted the knob clockwise and on the third turn, it lets out a click. The whole wardrobe suddenly divided itself into two parts and slid away from each other to give her enough space to enter another room.

It was a walking closet full of branded clothes, shoes, bags and accessories. Her hidden guilty pleasure, which is one of the traits she inherited from her mother. Ever since she started attending Xian, she has to control herself from flaunting these babies to appear lowkey and maintain her supposedly humble background, but that won’t be the case starting next week.

Finally, she can finally dress up!

And what makes it even better? This could be another tool to confuse everyone. She might deny that she is the Calista Song, but that doesn’t mean she can’t dress up like the Calista Song, so she could mess up with their heads.

She’s going to fight fire with fire, and she will make sure she won’t be the one who will burn.