Morning came as the clear began to clear of its gloomy weather. Yue Ling arrives at De L'amour like usual after being dropped off by Lu Tian.
She takes the elevator up to her office after greeting her employees. As she nears the door to her office, she notices the door is left ajar.
Her eyebrows furrowed, questioning if she had locked the door the previous night. However, she was sure she did since Qi Li had met her for the surprise wedding photo shoot.
Thinking about who else would enter her office prior to her, she could only think of one person.
She takes a step forward, then another. She pushes the door open calmly, and the person she sees inside is the person in question.
"Good morning, Liu Shan."
Sitting in the middle of her office was her assistant. She could only guess that something was up since he was here.
"If you're here regarding the week's schedule, I already took care of it yesterday. I'll be meeting with Cloth Co. at 1 pm."
She walks to her desk to put her things down and take off her coat but sees Liu Shan's condition.
Unlike his usual kept appearance, he looked haggard and like he had not slept all night.
She hung her coat on the coat rack and walked over to sit across from him.
"Are you alright? You look like you haven't slept at all."
Liu Shan sat like a statue with messy hair and wrinkled clothes. He held his hands together on his lap with his eyes settled on the coffee table.
When he hears his boss's voice, he comes to his senses. He slowly lifts his head to look and her and parts his lips.
Yue Ling had just taken a seat when she heard his question. She was utterly astounded by him and chuckled.
"Why are you asking that question when you know the answer?"
She looks him in the eyes, and seeing that he is serious, she sighs.
"Liu Shan, I have always told you. You are my friend before you are my assistant and subordinate."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Liu Shan asked the second her last words fell. He showed emotions, making one have a difficult time reading him.
"Why did you hide it?"
Yue Ling arched an eyebrow at him before all emotions disappeared from her face. However, not understanding where he is trying to go with this conversation, she crosses her arms and leans back on the couch.
"If you're trying to blame someone for something, it is best if you give the details instead of jumping to conclusions."
Seeing that her demeanor had become cold, Liu Shan realized that he had messed up. He, of all people, should know how his boss is when she is being questioned.
He sighs in frustration before running his fingers through his messy hair.
"Sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out this way."
He leans back on his chair and tilts his head back to rest on the backrest.
"I met with Uncle Lou after leaving your house. He was helping me look for something, then…."
He takes a deep breath and straightens himself to look at his boss.
"I met his grandson, Edward."
Yue Ling listened without interrupting him. When she heard him mention Edward, her eyes ever so lightly trembled.
She now understood why Liu Shan had come to see her so early in the morning.
"Since you know about Edward, I can only assume that he told you the rest."
Liu Shan saw her eyes quiver and confirmed his suspicion. However, he wanted to hear the truth from her.
"You knew about what happened to his son?"
Yue Ling didn't hide anything and told him the truth. However, her answer only made Liu Shan clench his fists.
"Why didn't you tell me or the others? Why did you keep it to yourself?"
He threw his questions at her, but all he received in response was silence. Just when he thought she wouldn't answer him, her voice suddenly sounded.
"It was not my place to say."
Yue Ling's voice was quiet, but one could hear the emotions behind it. Liu Shan tightened his fist until his nails dug into his skin.
"Is that why you went by yourself eight years ago to wipe out Shadows?"
Hearing the question, Yue Ling could only nod her head once.
Only a few people knew about Manager Lou's family, but with the passing of some of those people, it came down to her, her grandfather, and Uncle Zhi.
Her bluish-green eyes gradually closed, and her thoughts drifted to eight years ago when she was still a model in City Z.
Manager Lou had asked her to find a book for him because he wanted to gift it to his son as a birthday gift. When she finally found it, she told the old man she would visit him and bring the book with her.
The day she planned to visit him, she knew that Manager Lou had taken a job cleaning up a mess in the underworld. She told him she would wait for him at his house.
Unfortunately, her busy schedule that day caused her to take a later flight to get to Imperial.
When she arrived at his house, she saw that the door was left open. She assumed the old man had forgotten to lock it, but it wasn't until she entered the house did she saw Manager Lou's son lying in his pool of blood.
She tried to resuscitate him, but she knew there was nothing else she could do the moment she reached him.
One look and she knew that he was dead.
His limbs that had been burned were cut to the point of almost being severed, and there were multiple stab wounds indicating brutal torture.
The perpetrator had purposely left his face untouched to allow one to identify Manager Lou's son.
She was the one who had to break the tragic news to Manager Lou. He didn't believe her, but when he came home and saw his son, she could see the old man's grief, denial, and anger.
All she could do was apologize to him as regret washed inside her.
If she had only arrived sooner, she would have been able to help him. If she had made it to the appointed time, she would have saved him.
After Manager Lou buried his son, he asked her not to tell the others about his family. He didn't want words to get out for fear that his daughter might be targeted next.
She made a promise to him and kept this secret for him.
Before she left the burial, she asked him if there was anything she could do, but he only shook his head.
Days passed, and before she realized it, it had already been months before Manager Lou asked to meet with her.
She agreed, and when she saw him, she could see how worn out he looked. However, she knew he never stopped looking for the person who had taken his son away.
Only then did he show her the note that the murderer left behind.
When she read the note, she felt all the blood in her boil.
'If he were not your son, he would have lived.'
She swore to find whoever did this, and she did. It wasn't easy, but she found the person behind the murder.
However, it wasn't just one person, but an entire gang called Shadows.
She told Manager Lou that she would bring the people responsible for his son's death to him.
The night she went to Shadows, her hands were stained with the blood of 76 people, and she handed the fate of seven people to the old man.
As her memories of that night come to an end, she closes her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, all traces of emotions disappeared.
Liu Shan stared at her across the coffee table like he was trying to read her mind. However, unable to, he felt slightly frustrated.
He could still remember that night like it was yesterday.
She had left without informing anyone, and when she returned, she was covered in blood. When they asked her what happened, she said she had encountered a group of people who tried to kidnap her.
And to think he and the others actually believed her story.
"How can you be so reckless? If you had told us, we would have gone with you. Manager Lou is like a father to all of us too."
He looks away from his boss and tugs his messy hair to cool his mixed emotions.
As a member of Fate, he is cognizant of all the gangs in the underworld. Not to forget all the details that go on in the underworld. To think his boss would go head-on with Shadows by herself.
Shadows weren't just any ordinary gang. Every member, including the leader, was a well-trained hitman who killed for pleasure in the most brutal way possible.
If Yue Ling had failed, she would have…
Unable to finish his thoughts, he looked at Yue Ling, and seeing how calm she was, he felt another wave of frustration before his voice cracked.
"How can you go up against an entire gang by yourself? What if something had happened to you?"
Yue Ling could hear the fear mixed with anger in her assistant's voice and understood his reason for behaving this way.
The corners of her lips arcs and she stares at him.
"But I'm here, aren't I?"
Liu Shan was fuming with rage but when his eyes met her bluish-green eyes, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
He doesn't know what happened that night, but he knows one thing, no one from Shadows survived.
He decided to stop the discussion and stood up from his seat. He walks out of the room, but before reaching the door, he turns back to look at her.
This time, he puts on a serious expression.
He put both his hands on his hips and stood his ground.
"I know you are a strong woman, but please remember that we're all here. I'm still here. Whatever you decide to do, don't keep it from us."
Yue Ling remained seated when she heard her assistant. She leisurely stands up and smiles a small nod at him in reassurance.