Chapter 1 - Mei Ling

It was the break of dawn as Mei Ling's alarm started blaring out loud.

"Ugh not again," she sighed wearingly. "Another day and no sleep, I knew these new pills wouldn't work."

She laid back, staring at her ceiling.

"And I thought medicine came a long way, eh?"

It had been a long time since Mei Ling was able to get a good night's sleep. Her muscles ached and were sore but who could she complain to? Her father? Who was busy with work all day long? Perhaps her stepmother? Who hated her with all her heart? Or maybe her younger stepsister? Who verbally abused her daily?

Taking a deep breath, Mei got up and stood in front of her window.

"I could never get tired of this." she smiled to herself as her tranquil eyes gazed deep in the rising orange hues of the sun.

After getting dressed for her training at the Liu Academy, Mei looked at herself in the mirror and clenched her fists to stop trembling.

"You know you can do this. Just stay strong." she mumbled to herself and straightened her posture.

"I'm sure they will be better today."

Mei pushed herself out of the large beige door that separated her room from the rest of the house.

As she walked into the living room, she saw her stepsister intently watching the T.V with her legs crossed and a purple blanket over her lower body. In front of her sat a table, filled with fruit bowls, an empty smoothie bottle, scrambled eggs, and some toast.

"Good morning Xinyi!" Mei called out, trying her best to sound excited.

Xinyi continued to stare at the screen as she paid no heed to Mei.

Mei smiled softly and bit her lips, nodding to herself as she continued walking to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, her stepmother didn't spare any food for her and gave it out to the helpers working in the house.

She looked at her hands and sighed out.

"Can't even catch a break, can I?"

She noticed her watch and gasped out loudly in panic.

"Shit, I can't get late."

Mei rushed out the doors as she ran to her car, her keys fumbling over and over again while she cursed out.

"Oh, Come On!"

Finally, finding her car key, she unlocked the door and jumped in, flooring down the roads to reach her trainee session on time.

When she reached the Academy, she could see the trainees talking to each other and showing off their outfits.

A smile bloomed on Mei's face as she reminisced the memories of herself laughing carelessly with everyone in the past.

Walking towards the elevator after parking her car, she heard another a car door closing in the distance.

She looked back and recognized the now elderly CEO of Liu Entertainment, stepping out of a luxurious sleek black car.

He called out, "Wait!" as the elevator doors began to close.

Mei pressed the open button quickly as he stumbled in hasty.

He huffed out deeply and let out a softly mumbled thank you.

"Ha! That was quite close. I am almost late for the board meeting." Chen Liu beamed at the timid lady.

Mei felt a sudden burst of warmth from him and bubbled on.

"I'm glad I was of some help."

The mature man squinted his eyes as he looked at Mei's face and asked,

"Mei Ling is it? Aren't you Feng's daughter?"

Her eyes glanced at Chen, blinking them in surprise.

"Oh, that I am. Do you know my father, Sir?" she asked.

The elevator doors dinged open before them, making Mei realize that she had reached her destination.

Chen did a slight nod and a soft smile as she steadily walked out and looked back at him curiously.

Mei shook off the bland questions that filled her hazy mind, thinking to herself,

"I have no time for this. I'm already the last one to arrive today."

When she walked into the studio labeled 'Group C', she was greeted by the familiar yet malicious faces of the rest of the group.

Her breath got heavier as she stood in the corner of the room to avoid any confrontation with the others.

During her choreography lesson, Mei started feeling dizzier by the second. She tried speaking to her coach but he dismissed her instantly by saying,

"No Excuses, Especially from you, Ling."

As it was Mei's turn for an individual performance, she could feel herself getting lightheaded and fell on her back as she tried doing a spin.

She could hear the giggles and laughs from the back as she tried getting up to continue, just to get stopped by her coach.

"Don't embarrass yourself more, Mei Ling. You can leave."

Sitting on the floor, her eyes locked in the mirror, looking at herself, her subconscious screamed inside her quaint head.

"PATHETIC!" it screeched, piercing Mei's ears, causing them to ring.

She got up and looked back at the girls, who were now smirking and grinning side to side as one called out,

"Nice Moves Ling, You're going to be famous again."

Staring down at the one who commented, Mei chuckled, "Better be famous like me rather than a nobody like you."

Ignoring their menacing glares and shocked remarks, Mei picked up her bag and walked out of the studio, going straight to the bathroom.

She splashed water on her face over and over again, getting her hair and clothes wet.

She looked down at her hands as the water droplets trickled down her ears and neck, all the while her mind raced with the overlapping voices of utter resentment.

'Why can't I just stay shut?'

Her hands shaking she started blankly at the mirror. Feeling her heartbeat, she tried calming herself down when suddenly her phone rang.

Not wanting to talk to anybody, Mei let the call go to voicemail.

Hearing the voice, she realized it was her bestfriend, Lien Hua,

"Meiiii, Hope you didn't forget our lunch date. I am going to reach in fifteen minutes. Geez, this traffic, Hopefully, it will clear out by then. By the way, I already made the reservations, See you soon!"