The Picture (1)

"When I found the purse, they have already left but I asked the director about it. He said, he did ask the staff inside the room when he came across the purse and none of them remember seeing it in the room. It felt like it had just materialized there out of thin air, no one saw anything," Joann explained.

"This is such a mystery but thankfully, you have it back, Sister Joann."

Joann probably had imagined it but she could have sworn she saw relief flash across Qing Qing's eyes.

Before she could make any sense of it, the young woman clutched her lower stomach and her face turned into a painful grimace.

"Qing Qing, are you alright?" Joann asked in a concerned tone.

"I am fine, just a little stomachache, probably something I ate this morning. Sister Joann, do you mind keeping the seat open for me while I excuse myself?" Qing Qing asked.

Joann nodded. "Of course not. I hope you are alright."

Qing Qing stood up immediately and made a beeline towards the female bathroom. Before she walked through the door, she turned back to look at the room. Everything was in place. Joann was sitting next to Lee Mu, a seat away from everyone else. 'Perfection,' she thought as she walked into the bathroom.

Thankfully, the bathroom was empty or else she might need to chase people out or wandered off to the more secluded stairwell.

Qing Qing strode towards one of the cubicles and closed the door behind her. She listened to the noises outside and after making sure no one else had entered the bathroom, she fished the phone out from her pocket to make a call.

The call was answered after a few rings and sound of shuffling could be heard like the person on the other side of phone was moving through leaves and brushes.

"Is everything ready?" A husky voice asked.

"Yes, everyone is in their supposed location," Qing Qing answered.

"Wonderful."

As the voice was about to hang up, Qing Qing said, "I hope you remember our deal. I have given you the picture you need, so you better commit to your end of the bargain."

"Of course, it will definitely be the front page headline. However, I do not quite get it. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to your own fame if you are the one who is in the picture? Just imagine the publicity effect."

"That is not your concern, I have my own reason," Qing Qing warned with a stern voice.

"Okay, if you say so." The person backed off before hanging up. He was merely making small talk due to curiosity, if Qing Qing did not feel like sharing, then so be it.

Qing Qing smiled to herself, holding the phone in her grasp. She flushed, exited the cubicle, washed her hands at the sink and returned to the party. Her plan had been set into motion, now she only needed to wait before she could reap the reward.

…

Lin Xi's lips puckered up and made a motion as if he was suckling on the milk bottle. Xiu Ling smiled, observing her son's antic. Sitting beside the crib, the thought that was common to most parents entered her head, 'They grow up so fast.'

Xiu Ling rocked the crib steadily, singing to Lin Xi a lullaby her mother once sang to her when she was still a child, "Go to sleep, little one, think of puppies and kittens; Go to sleep, little one, think of butterflies in spring; Go to sleep, little one, think of sunny bright mornings."

Lin Xi's eyes gradually closed and soon he drifted off to sleep lulled by his mother's soft singing.

Xiu Ling continued to sing until she made sure Lin Xi had fully fallen asleep. She leaned back in the plush chair and sighed to herself. It had been relatively peaceful for the past few week. In spite of her best intentions, she could not help but wonder to herself, 'How long is this peace going to last?'

In any case, she knew she would be unable to stop what was going to come so the only thing she could do was to savor the peaceful present while it was still around.

She picked up the newspaper that was left on the nearby table and started to read.

From the business section, she saw that her husband's company was in the middle of another expansion. No wonder Lin Kang had been absent lately. He was probably too busy at work. Xiu Ling could not say that she mind being left alone. If anything, she quite enjoyed the solitude.

She placed the business section down and moved onto the international news. The world was as chaotic as ever but there was a social interest piece that caught Xiu Ling's attention.

"Malaysia: Women caned in public for lesbian act. Condemnation in Malaysia after officials in conservative Muslim state whip two women for having sex," was the headline.

Xiu Ling read further and realized the punishment was delivered not under criminal law but religious law. The public caning took place in the country's northeastern state of Terengganu. Malaysia is a mostly Islamic, conservative country and thus frowned upon LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual] practices.

The caning had garnered a wave of criticisms from both Muslim and non-Muslim non-profits, saying it was a setback against human right and a discrimination against the LGBT community in Malaysia.

Xiu Ling sighed as she reflected on the condition in her home country. It could not be said that things were particularly greener on the other side as well.

Despite headways like Weibo, China's version of Twitter, rolling back its ban on LGBT content, there were still intolerance towards the LGBT community amidst the general public and authority. For example, the mass media was heavily censured and observed. This meant that celebrities had to be extremely cautious because their career might have a 180 turn due to pressure from the authority and viewers should they say the wrong word or… worse, they were exposed to be members of LGBT community themselves.

In any case, like most things, the situation was better than the worst and worse than the best.