CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE (31) Stigma

"Grace, you're testing my patience." Peng Lanying said with blood shot eyes.

Grace stared down at her with scorn then shook her head, picked up her purse and sauntered to the exit.

What? What is she doing? Was she planning on leaving her here? No way! She couldn't do that! There's no way. "Somebody..." her word came out as a whisper. "Somebody please stop her... stop her!" Peng Lanying was doubtful herself, how could her ankle hurt so much? Just from falling? Was it really broken?

Oh no! How could she not move? It was so hard and painful. It was as if her leg was broken.

No one in the cafe got up to help her, or tried to stop Grace.

They were all looking at her with hate and disgust... but she doesn't even know this people. She doesn't know anyone of them. How could they just conclude she was the evil one?

She was the innocent victim.

A drop of tear fell from Peng Lanying's eyes and she wished she had listened to her intuition. She should have just ignored Grace's invite.

Now, no one was willing to come to her aid. She took out her phone and with tears still dropping, she called her driver.

The call connected immediately but as soon as it did, the call also ended.

Peng Lanying tried calling back but the line was switched off.

"No way! Please just come inside. Come get me out of here!" She screamed into the dead phone.

*

Grace eyes scanned the parking lot carefully, as if looking for something. She moved from car to car searching for Lanying's car but it was hard to find.

She didn't give up though. She continued looking with hopes that she'd find it.

And she did, when she saw a young man lit up cigarette, resting on the car, he puffed smoke into the air.

Grace passed by, making sure he was alone. She didn't want to be taken unaware by Peng Lanying's men.

"Fweet." The young man whistled at her. "Hey! Sexy girl! Come to daddy."

Grace beamed. "Hmm?" Her coy voice only excited the young man more.

He licked his lips, counting his luck. "Let's play, you're going to like it."

Grace spun around so he would see her face.

"Oh my luck!" He licked his lips again. "It sure is my luck! Get over here... I'm going to..." his phone rang and without hesitating, he picked up.

Grace took him by surprise as she rushed like winds towards him then snatched his phone and threw it far away.

Both Grace and the young man watched his phone bounce as the light went off. The man wanted to faint.

"What have you done?" His angry voice echoed in the garage.

"Take a guess." She said.

The young man stretched out his hand ready to grab her hair but Grace dodged to the side then gave him a loud slap.

His face burned from the force of it.

"What do you think you're doing young girl?" He hissed and tried to grab her hair again, Grace spun away from him. "Come here!" He bellowed.

"Come catch me." She winked at him then sprinted away.

The young man ran after Grace, but ended up panting heavily when he saw her get in her car and flashed him her middle finger.

He couldn't believe it, "Aish! Where did that girl come from?" He watched on in disappointment as her car went further away. His thoughts seemed to reconnect as he remembered that his boss had called him before that girl approached him, so he walked towards the cafe.

*

Grace couldn't stop laughing and hitting her steering wheel. "Yeah, this is how I should be dealing with the stupid people surrounding Rose. The battle is too much for her. She needs me! Hahaha! But then I need to train my muscles..." Grace checked out her arms in the rear view mirror. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I need to be as strong as her though to be able to fight."

She checked her time, it was time for Rose to get off work. So she called her bestie.

It rang the first time, she didn't pick so she redialed the number.

Rose only picked up after the third ring.

"Hiiii," Grace was excited but worried also. "Where are you? Why are you just picking up?"

"I was busy," Rose's voice was low. "What's up with you, though?"

"Aye aye," Grace giggled. "You kinda sound sad."

"Nah, I'm good."

Grace giggled more, Rose was speaking like those ghetto girls they met occasionally in their university days and she was going to play along.

"You sure?" Grace had doubts but if Rose said so, why would she doubt.

"Yes."

There was a rumble in the background before Grace heard Xu Dandan speak.

"You are lying to me!" Grace yelled into the phone.

On the other side of the line, Rose put the phone away from her phone. She shut her eyes also at that.

"What is that girl blabbering?"

"Grace, I gotta go." Rose quickly hung up, and left her office building.

Ye Zedong drove, while Xu Dandan sat in the passenger's side.

Rose sat behind with Airpod, listening to BTS magic shop.

There was another car in front, He Duyi drove it with Mingyu by his side and Donghai at the back.

Everyone had promised not to report to her parents, if she complied with their request. If allowing them to drive her would mean her mother won't cry her eyes out, then why argue over it?

Last thing she wants to risk was hurting her parents. They have done a lot for her by just being by her side, she didn't ask for more, they should just remain here with her on earth.

The ride home was safe and smooth until they stopped in front of the gate and couldn't get in.

Rose whom was in a trance didn't understand what was going on. She casually switched through her playlist, then found stigma. It reminded her of everything, the things she wished to forget.