CHAPTER 9

My eyes widened as a hand covered my mouth. I couldn't scream because it was so big. A familiar scent penetrated my nose from the large palm covering almost half of my face.

My legs turned to jelly from fear as my heart pounded so fast it felt like it would burst out of my chest. He quickly grabbed my arm and pushed me against the door, slamming it shut with a soft click as he locked it. He finally removed his hand from my mouth, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"W-who are you?" I asked nervously, my voice trembling as I looked up at him.

He's towering over me, his shadow seemed to loom larger than life. Fear and dread filled my chest. I replayed all the wrong things I'd done, wondering why this was happening to me.

What if they ordered him to kill me? But who would do that? I haven't done anything wrong, so why would someone want to kill me? And besides, I haven't wronged anyone—

My thoughts were interrupted when something soft touched my lips. It was gentle, but it lingered for a few seconds before I realized what had happened.

Despite feeling weak, I pushed the person who kissed me away with all my strength. I raised my hand and slapped his face as hard as I could. Even in the darkness, I guessed where his face was—the important thing was that I slapped him.

"Bastard!" I spat out, my voice trembling.

I wasn't satisfied with just slapping him. I raised my leg and kicked him in the groin area. I heard he let out a small whimper, but I ignored it and quickly turned around, opening the door to escape the bathroom.

That pervert! Someone who doesn't even know me just literally kissed me! He still kissed me, even with how I look! My eyes started to water as I thought about it. I ran as fast as I could away from the bathroom, trying to hold back my tears.

First, a stranger hugged me, and now this! I know I'm not pretty, so I don't deserve this kind of treatment. I'm sure other people would say I should be grateful that someone even paid attention to me, given how I look, but I'm still a woman.

I was about to turn into the hallway towards the exit of our graduation venue when I bumped into Ei.

"Ei."

"Sarah! I've been looking for you. It seems like you went to a different bathroom—"

We both stopped and said each other's names at the same time. I saw her eyebrows furrow as she looked at me.

I couldn't wipe the tears from my cheeks, so I just let them fall. There was no point in lying anymore because she could already see how upset I was.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" Ei asked worriedly, taking my arm.

She pulled me to the side because we were blocking the way for other people. Some people were staring at us. My heart raced even faster because of their judging looks.

Did my makeup smudge? Am I ugly again?

"U-um... in the b-bathroom..." I stammered, unsure if I should continue or not.

Her frown deepened. The expression on her face changed to worry, and her hand that was on my arm went down to my hand and held it tightly.

"Tell me, what happened? What's wrong?" she asked again.

I felt speechless. She pulled my hand, and we went to the bathroom, where I was kissed earlier.

"Ei, don't—"

My eyes widened when she suddenly kicked the closed door.

"Ei! The door, you might've broken it," I peeked at the door to check if it was okay.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that there were no scratches. There was just a mark from the heels of her shoes.

"Where's the asshole?" Ei said seriously, scanning the bathroom.

"H-he's gone. He probably left, Ei," I replied, still holding her arm.

A strong gust of wind entered the room, and we both looked at the open window. It seemed like I knew where the guy who stole my kiss went.

I followed her as she walked towards the open window and peered outside, hoping to see that guy there, but he was already gone.

"He's lucky I didn't catch him," Ei said angrily.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"Are you sure that you're okay, Sarah?"

I looked up when she spoke. I was sitting on her bed, playing with my fingers. I had already changed my clothes. She lent me a simple sundress that looked elegant. It was black and had a silver sparkly design all over it, so when it was hit by light, it sparkled.

"Yes," I replied briefly.

I stood up and picked up my small bag. I approached her because she was finished with what she was doing. She retouched my makeup first before her own. I didn't know anything about makeup, so she did it for me.

"We can skip it if you don't want to," she held my hand and pulled me back to his bed, and we sat there.

I shook my head. "It would be a waste if we don't go. Besides, it's my first time to go to something like that, so I want to try it. We're already dressed, so let's go."

Ei sighed at my answer and held my hand. "Are you sure?"

I nodded and smiled at her. "Absolutely sure."

I didn't tell her what happened in the bathroom because I didn't plan to. It's good that he didn't think of asking the reason, but I think she had a hunch that something bad happened to me.

"Alright, if you say so," she replied. I chuckled softly when she hugged me. "I'll make sure that you will have fun later, okay?" she said with a smile.

She took my hand and pulled me to my feet. We went straight to the door of her condo. With every step we took out of the condo, our heels clicked on the hallway floor towards the elevator.

"We will drink tonight. Don't worry, my driver will fetch us later if ever we get wasted," her voice was filled with excitement.

I scratched my arm because of what she said. "Can we just have juice there?"

We immediately entered the elevator, and she pressed the ground floor button while her hand was still hooked on my arm.

"Silly girl. You can drink a little there. Don't worry, I won't let you go home early," she shook her head, and I felt her pinch my cheek. "You'll stay overnight at my condo, so you're safe."

My heart fluttered when I heard what she said. I've only known her for a short time, but I already feel so comfortable around her. Ei is a little taller, especially since she's wearing heels. I looked up at her. I'm also tall, but Ei is taller than me. Only she and one of my closest friends have treated me like this. Caring and thinking about my happiness. This is rare for me, and my heart is happy.

"Won't your family look for you?" Ei asked.

I gave her a small smile and shook my head. "No. My mother doesn't care where I go, so it's okay."

Her expression changed. It softened, and she didn't speak for a moment.

"Oh... is that so," she replied.

The elevator bell rang, signaling that we had arrived at the ground floor. Her hand remained hooked on my arm until we stepped out of the condo building. I immediately saw the familiar car outside. It was the same car that Ei's driver used to pick me up.

"Let's just stay there for a bit, Ei. I'm also kind of tired," I said as we walked towards the car.

"Just a little longer, Sarah. We don't party often, so let's just enjoy it, please. Because after this, we'll start looking for jobs. We'll be busy and won't have time for things like this anymore because we'll have priorities to focus on," she explained at length.

It seems like I have no choice. I sighed and nodded.

"Fine. I'll give in."

She let out a small squeal and hugged me. "Thank you! You're the best."

I just laughed until we got inside the car. The driver opened the backseat door for us and went straight to the driver's seat to start the car and head to the club we were going to.

I looked at Ei, who was smiling while looking at her phone. She seemed to be talking to someone, and her smile was so wide. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I hope I can enjoy myself tonight.

SHANGPU