Chapter One: The First Meeting
0 Tuesday, continued…
Anna Jones wondered what disaster was next about to strike her, after the devastation wreaked on her life by Lu Jinhu. How was she going to deal with this?
Anna, in a dazed, confused, and teary state, looked at the man she had just knocked down. She noticed that he was over six feet tall, wearing a black business suit, white shirt, and tie—his suit jacket and pants dirty from hitting the ground when she knocked him down.
The man carefully picked himself up from the ground and noticed tears rolling down this brunette’s face. Her hazel eyes showed that she was hurt, not just physically but emotionally. He immediately realized that something had happened to her. He glanced at his watch and realized that he had twenty minutes before he needed to meet Yang Lin outside the Civil Administration Bureau to obtain their marriage certificate.
This made Hou Yi recognize to himself that he had a few minutes to make sure this Western woman, who seemed alone in his hometown, was safe. As he helped her to her feet, he noticed that she was in a white dress, looking like she had been about to marry but something had happened.
As she reached her feet, Hou Yi felt protective of her. “Are you OK?” came the words in a calming voice, not wanting to make the situation worse for the woman who had knocked him down.
She seemed not to hear him, still in her daze and unfocused, so again he said, “Are you OK?”
Hou Yi then took a closer look at the woman. She looked like the female lawyer he had fallen for on sight in Melbourne, Australia six months ago. He dismissed it quickly—why would an Australian lawyer be here?
Anna was still unresponsive. Hou Yi noticed an airline ticket and a small amount of cash sticking out of her handbag—likely enough to get her to the airport but no further. What could have happened to her?
Looking around, Hou Yi noticed a bench seat a few paces back from where he had come from, so he urged this woman to it. He helped her to sit down. Once she was seated, he crouched down in front of her, looked her in the eye, and said, “Stay there, I will be back in a few minutes.”
Firstly, he went to the corner and looked into the Plaza in front of the Civil Administration Bureau, hoping to see if Yang Lin was there. All he could see on the opposite side of the Plaza, with their backs to him, were two older couples following behind a younger couple. One of the older couples looked like Mr. & Mrs. Yang, and the woman in the younger couple looked like his Lin. He dismissed this as they were meant to meet in twenty minutes—if they were early, they would be walking towards the Civil Administration Bureau rather than away from it.
The other older couple he immediately recognized as Mr. & Mrs. Lu—their son, the young man, would have to be Lu Jinhu. He knew the Lu’s by sight because their company, Lu Corporation, was a competitor to Hou Enterprises.
Due to his reluctance to marry anyone other than the love of his life, his father and grandfather had demanded that he had to be married by today, or they would give Hou Enterprises to the Lu’s. Both knew that he would do anything to prevent this, given how the Lu family had treated his mother when her mother was their housekeeper. When his mother met his father, they had fallen in love at first sight.
According to his mother and her mother, the Lu’s bullied and abused his mother badly, believing her status as the housekeeper’s daughter gave them the right to do so. Their story had always matched his observations of his mother’s reaction when forced to interact with the Lu’s at functions. Despite his father’s love for his mother, he was oblivious to how his mother still felt and agreed to his grandfather’s plan.
Hou Yi, however, only wanted to marry for love. That was what his family did. He had met the love of his life in passing in Melbourne six months ago but knew she had someone else. All he wanted to do today was prevent Lu Corporation from becoming the owner of the larger Hou Enterprises and protect its employees. The one strange thing for him was that the woman next to Lu Jinhu that he had observed was not Western as he knew he was marrying an Australian today.
Given Hou Yi could not see his Lin, he walked back towards the Western woman who was staring off, not seeing anything, and entered the nearby convenience store to buy a bottle of water so she could have a drink to help her settle down and tell him what happened so he could see what he could do to help her.
When the store clerk served him, he asked where the nearest public toilet was so he could direct the woman there if needed. The clerk, when he paid with his black credit card, indicated he could assist if they were willing to use the staff toilet. The opportunity to tidy herself up was at least something he could offer the woman before she left.
After returning the card to his wallet and the wallet into his pocket, Hou Yi thanked the clerk for his help. On walking back to the woman, he opened the bottle of water. The woman had not moved, and Hou Yi handed the bottle to her, telling her, “Take a drink,” while sitting down beside her.
With that, Anna realized there was someone there and he was trying to help her. She looked at the man sitting beside her and asked, “Who are you?”
