May Peace Grace Us

Chapter 27: A Glimpse

Channeling her inner Liza and her earlier works, she attempted to create a flirtatious image in front of this protagonist of hers. She knows that he does not like this type of woman and is very disgusted at them. So she chose to be something she did not to ward off this man.

She is not a real eighteen year old after all. In her past life as a Fortin, she was trained to be a fox in the social scene. She was taught to be flexible in dealing with others depending on their weaknesses and wanting what they hate, in order to gain the upper hand in every negotiation. If only being the only daughter does not hold a special meaning, perhaps she might also be taught how to bed people. She knew that her other cousins were taught this, as whenever they met they always expressed their regrets for not being allowed to let her experience s****l pleasures.

Being the children of the main line of the Fortin means being covered by a layer of gold. The family will treat them precisely and will not allow them to experience indulgences until they reach a certain milestone in their lives. In the case of daughters, they are particularly strict, never allowing them to experience s*x and depriving them of unnecessary contact with the opposite s*x until marriage.

To make sure they will not indulge in these kinds of things, there is 24/7 supervision on them. And to make sure they will not be fooled by who will take advantage of the loops and holes of their supervision, they also intensely taught each child how to observe and distinguish people’s motives from their micro expressions. And Aila is using what she learned from her first childhood to Alfred at this moment.

Obviously, Alfred may have seen through her. The man is not a fool and is not lacking in the IQ department. But he is playing a fool by continuing this awkward talk.

“You bumped into me back then,” Alfred said. “I saw what you did to those people.”

“Really?” Aila was more certain that this guy was out to blackmail her. After all, she is more or less familiar with the routine as she did this way too frequently back in her first life. In some way, this guy was made from a piece of herself back then. Most of these routines are from her own habits and education.

“Even if you did see me back then, I haven’t talked to you to make an acquaintance with you. Regardless if what you claim of me bumping into you is a fact.”

Alfred laughed at her reply. From the slightest expressions he has, he finds this particular talk pleasing and interesting. The way his eyes lit up in the corner was a dead give away, a trait Aila wrote so many times whenever he found someone worthy.

“You’re an interesting girl.”

“You flatter me sir. If I am a little delusional, I might think you are interested in me.”

“If I say I was?”

“Then I am honored by your interest. But I have to refuse your intention.”

“Amusing person you are. No wonder Albert holds you dear.”

“Well, without that guy in my life it would be quite boring.” Aila was honest in this word. Without him constantly annoying and quarrelling with her, perhaps the world would be too dull. Her friends might be an interesting bunch, but Albert was the one who made sure that she could exercise both her mind and temper at the same time.

“Since you’re a smart person, I’ll cut the chase,” Alfred said. “I am here in this city to specifically recruit him for my new business. I had already talked with his father about it and he agreed, but things were quite different when it arrived at his side. Arguing that he is not willing to leave for some reason.”

“Well, considering his temper and his relationship with his father, it is not a surprise that he is resistant to the decision. I think you can see how professional Albert treats his father, right?” Aila asked as she saw Albert returning. “ He never liked being told what to do sir. The more he is forced, the more he will resist. Don’t even think of using me to convince him, it wouldn’t work no matter how I persuade him if he does not want to do something. If you could excuse me.”

It's a little white lie on her part, but for both her protection and for the rest of her hyenas. Aila would lie and deceive this guy as much as she could. Never would she allow herself to be a convenient way to bind her friends to something they don't want. This has been the case long before in the long past, and it will continue to be so in the unforeseeable future they will have.

Saying that, Aila left the man and gestured to Albert that she was leaving, regardless of whether he wanted her to stay or not. She is not confident not to hold herself back if she continues staying. In fact, she was already on the verge of throwing a kick or a punch at Alfred and his companions.

Albert only nodded and spoke a few words of apology to her. Although things are definitely better with Alia around, her state is more important than him retaining her. Promising that he would make up for this day some other time. At which Aila easily accepted and left the venue without turning back.

Outside the building Aila let out a big sigh of relief. Finally, she could get out there and no longer be suffocated with that environment. Other than facing her would-be killer, that place really reminds her of her first life. Staying there longer will definitely make her tired and hallowed.

She first found a place where she could relax her mind as much as possible. Somewhere not too exciting and where she is not reminded of things she does not want to remember. And the park was the first thing that came to mind. Other than making her have enough tranquility, the place will also allow her to take fresh air that can be available in a city.

Hailing a cab, Aila went there to find peace of mind. But who would have thought, even before she reached there, she would have an accident? She should really read her horoscope before going out today.

There is a lot of traffic congestion on the official road leading to the park. As she is in the heart of the city currently, she is not quite surprised as the time coincides with the rush hour of workers. Just as they were waiting for the lights to change, a speeding ambulance suddenly rushed in front of them and crashed into the nearest building.

Thankfully, the vehicle did not explode or large scale damage, at least temporarily, given that there was leaking fuel all over and sparks and fires surrounding the crashed car, it would explode or become a huge fire in a while. This gave people time to get away from the site, leaving the area for safety. But it did not lower the danger level as the ambulance’s tank and some other cars that were also casualties of the accident were burning too. Unfortunately, Aila’s cab was one of those vehicles.

It was like Aila had suddenly returned to the early days of the apocalypse. The driver in front of her was unconscious. Aila herself had some blood on her arms as well as her face after she bumped herself on the seat in front of her. Her left arm had a huge wound that she cannot determine if had reached the bone, but still she was thankful that she only got this injury. Should her head be the one that got hit, she might die before the apocalypse even arrived.

Coughing as the smell of smoke permeated the air, Aila kicked the door open and rescued the poor driver before they left the destroyed cab. She still hasn't completely abandoned her humanity yet. The guy was a pleasant man who kept her entertained the whole time in the traffic. It would be a sad thing for his daughter, whom he has actively and proudly bragged about, would lose her diligent father this way.

Using all her strength, she carried the guy away to a safe distance before the onlookers came forward and helped them.

A fire station was nearby and fire trucks were quick to arrive at the scene. The traffic officers are also very competent. They did their best in controlling the traffic and reducing the number of people using this road until it will be considered safe for use.

Aila shook her head as some people offered to look after her. She did not need their help as she brushed that her injuries were not too serious to be alarmed at. Besides, she doesn't like nonprofessionals or unknown people attending her. Last time she allowed such people to help her, it almost killed her. Once bitten, twice shy, they say, she is just taking it further by repelling others.

Due to the habits she has acquired during the apocalypse, she more or less has some first aid essentials with her. Asked for clean water to clean her wounds on her arms before she bandaged them to stop the bleeding. Only then did she know the wounds were kind of big and might need some stitches later. The bandage will not do much good for her until it is seen and treated by a real doctor.

Fortunately, the blood on her head was only a scratch that she only needed to clean and place a small patch on it. It might be a buff granted by the to her, but she instinctively knew that her wounds were healing at a much faster pace than ordinary humans. She didn't want to be seen as a freak or a subject for science, so she hid them from plain sight. In her estimation, by the time professionals arrive on the scene, her head wounds will not be so serious when they examine them.

Reaching out in her small bag, Aila sent a message to her parents about her accident lest they hear it from someone else. Stating that she will contact them later after she is sent to a hospital. They are oddly very paranoid nowadays that she especially reminded them to be calm and wait for her news. It would do no good if they too suddenly develop some mental illness because of her accident.

After sending her message, Aila was hesitating and hesitant about contacting her friends. Thinking that Albert would be blaming himself for letting her be in this place and time, she decided against it. The poor boy already has too much on his plate at the moment to add her troubles to him.

Putting away her phone, she took a careful look at the burning ambulance with weird eyes. Just before she saw it crash into the building, she saw something she thought she could only see in the apocalypse. The appearance of mutant zombies that should only appear in the latter period of the last days.

It was not aggressive from what she saw, but she was sure it was the cause of the accident just now. It looked like a child of ten, smiling so brightly, surrounded by the panicked adults. Eyes turbid gray and skin pale, it looked at her as it passed by. She did not doubt it somehow knew she saw all its actions in that brief period of time.

This briefly scared Aila for many reasons. She thought it might be her existence here or even her rebirthed protagonist had caused things to advance. That, somehow, because of their actions, things have changed in the worst case scenarios they haven’t looked at.

She stared at the burning flames, her back also felt searing as the heat of those fires should be, waiting for something that would indicate the child she saw in there. Wanting to see if it was still alive, if ever it was even alive in the first place. The answers to her questions lie in whatever was in those in the flame. But to her disappointment, she was not able to see anything in the end.

It might be because of a combination of her tense mood all morning and she had exhausted of her strength, Aila suddenly has her vision black. Her whole body weakened unexpectedly and that sent the people around her in alarm. Struggling to keep her vision, she once again looked in the direction of the flames. Only to feel a gaze at herself before she fainted.