chapter 5:Stranded and the stranger
1376 Words
CHAPTER 5: STRANDED AND THE STRANGER
It rained heavily after school.
Not small rain, but big heavy rain, pouring like someone poured buckets from sky. The sky was dark grey, thunder rumbling, wind blowing cold.
I stood at Saint Ying's school gate alone, holding my old school bag over my head to block rain. No umbrella. My mother never buys me umbrella. Su Mei left early in her red Ferrari with Lin Na, laughing, looking at me standing in rain with disgust.
"Look, ugly toad turned pretty toad but still no one picks her up," Lin Na shouted from car window, then car splashed water on my shoes and left.
My white socks were wet instantly, my old shoes soaked, my pleated skirt sticking to my legs. My long black ponytail was getting wet, dripping.
I clenched my small fists inside sleeves. I survived 10 years dark storage room with rats. I can survive rain too.
I started to walk alone towards bus stop, which was 800 meters away. Rain hit my face cold, making it hard to open eyes.
Cars passed me fast, splashing more water. Rich parents' cars, all with umbrellas and drivers, no one stopped for me.
I walked for 10 minutes, completely wet now, like a small drowned rabbit, my white shirt became transparent a little from rain, sticking to my body, my ponytail dripping.
At that moment, a black car stopped slowly beside me.
Not a normal black car. A big, long, shiny black Rolls Royce, so clean that rain drops slid off like pearls. The plate number was 88888. Five eights. In our city, only one person can have plate 88888. The richest, coldest, most powerful man, the President of Lu Corporation, Lu Beichuan.
Everyone in city knows his name. He is 26 years old, cold as ice emperor, never smiles, never has woman beside him. My mother once said if Su Mei could marry him, Su family would become top family.
Why did his Rolls Royce stop beside me, a wet ugly toad turned pretty girl?
The window rolled down slowly.
Inside, a man sat in back seat. I couldn't see his face clearly because of rain and dark inside car, but I saw his suit — big black suit jacket, expensive, tailor-made, white shirt underneath, his hands long and pale, holding a phone. He had cold aura, even colder than Gu Chen, but more mature, like emperor who controls everything.
He looked at me for one second. Just one second, through rain.
Then he said one word, low, hoarse, cold but nice to hear: "Get in."
His voice was low like cello, like he didn't talk much normally.
I froze, holding my bag over head, water dripping from my hair into my eyes. "You... you are talking to me?"
He didn't answer again. He just opened the car door from inside. The door opened towards me, revealing warm inside car, with warm air conditioner, leather seats, and faint smell of men's cologne — cold, woody, expensive, like cedar and snow.
I hesitated. My mother told me never get into stranger's car, especially old man. But I was so cold, my lips were blue, my legs shaking, and bus stop was still 500 meters away and bus might not come in heavy rain.
And his eyes... even though I couldn't see clearly, I felt his eyes were not dirty, not like other men who look at pretty girls. His eyes were cold, distant, like he was just seeing a small animal drowning and didn't want it to die in front of his car.
"Thank you..." I whispered and quickly got in, sitting at edge of seat, not daring to sit fully, my wet uniform dripping on his expensive leather seat.
The door closed automatically. The car was warm, so warm that I shivered from temperature change.
The driver in front didn't look back, as if used to President picking up people. The car started moving slowly in rain.
I sat very small, hugging my wet bag, my head low, not daring to look at the man beside me. I could smell his cologne stronger now, cold cedar and snow, mixed with faint cigarette smell, but not dirty, just cold.
He was tall, even sitting, his long legs crossed, his black suit pants showing. He was looking out window at rain, not looking at me, as if I was air.
Silence. Only sound of rain hitting car and car air conditioner.
After two minutes, he suddenly took off his big black suit jacket.
I gasped and looked up, scared.
He didn't look at me. He just threw the big black jacket onto my lap, covering my shaking wet body.
"Wear it," he said coldly, one word again, low voice.
The jacket was big, very big, for his tall body. It was warm, still warm from his body heat, and smelled like him — cold cedar, snow, expensive, and faint mint like Gu Chen's handkerchief but more mature, more powerful.
It covered me from shoulders to knees, like a blanket. It was so big that my small hands disappeared inside sleeves.
"Thank you... thank you..." I whispered, my voice shaking from cold and nervous, clutching the jacket tightly. It was the warmest thing I ever wore in 16 years. Warmer than any blanket in my storage room.
He didn't answer, still looking out window.
The car drove for 10 minutes in silence and stopped at my bus stop. How did he know where my bus stop was? I didn't tell him.
"You can get off here," driver said politely.
I quickly opened door, still wearing his big black jacket that was too big for me, looking like a child stealing adult's clothes.
I got off, rain still pouring, but less cold now because of his jacket.
The man inside still didn't look at me. He was looking at phone again.
"Um... your jacket... how can I return it to you? What is your name?" I asked small, holding jacket tightly.
He finally looked at me. For the first time, I saw his face clearly through rain.
He was so handsome it didn't look real. Not like Gu Chen's young ice prince handsome, but mature emperor handsome. Sharp jawline, thin lips, straight nose, dark eyes like deep ocean, cold but beautiful enough that even heavy rain couldn't hide his handsomeness.
He looked at my small wet face, my big eyes, my ponytail dripping, wearing his big jacket that covered my knees.
He said only one word, low, cold: "Lu."
Lu. President Lu. Lu Beichuan.
Then the car window rolled up and Rolls Royce 88888 drove away quickly, splashing water, disappearing in heavy rain.
I stood alone at bus stop, wearing big black suit jacket that smelled like him, rain pouring around me, but I was warm inside jacket.
I clenched my fists inside his big sleeves that were too long. The sleeves covered my small hands completely. I felt safe, for first time in 16 years.
But when I put my hands into jacket pockets to warm them, I felt something small and hard.
In right pocket, there was a small black velvet box, small like ring box.
What is inside? Why does President Lu have velvet box in suit pocket? Is it for his girlfriend? Or business?
My heart beat fast. I took the velvet box out and looked at it. It was expensive, black velvet, with small silver logo.
I wanted to open it.
But bus came at that moment, honking. I quickly hid velvet box back into pocket and got on bus, wearing big black jacket.
I didn't know that tomorrow, when I wore this big black jacket to school, the whole Saint Ying would explode with rumor that I was kept by old man in Rolls Royce 88888.
And I didn't know that Gu Chen, the ice prince who gave me white handkerchief, would see me in this big black jacket and misunderstand.
White handkerchief vs black jacket. One warm, one powerful. Both would make me the target of whole school.
I held the velvet box in pocket tightly all the way home, not daring to open it yet. What is inside velvet box? I would know tomorrow.
- Writer
