If the Deep Sea Forgets You

Half-suspicious, receptionist Zhang Li deliberated for a moment but eventually decided to dial Mo’s direct line.

“Hello? Barrister Mo?”

“Barrister Mo is in a meeting right now, he’s not here.” It was Mo’s assistant.

“Erm… Th… There’s someone at reception claiming to be his sister. She wants to see him.” Zhang Li’s face remained doubtful as she looked at her.

“Sister? Never heard of one. I’ve followed the boss for years and he’s never mentioned a sister? Is she an imposter?”

“I don’t know… So should we tell Barrister Mo or not?” Zhang Li’s gaze flicked towards Xia Qingyi.

“What for! He’s troubled with President Zhang’s case right now! Zhang’s ex-wife just left the office and demanded some impossible conditions. Barrister Mo and the other lawyers are coming up with a strategy at the moment!” The assistant was frustrated just talking about the case. They had spent the whole day working non-stop on the videotape from Zhang’s ex-wife, without any chance for a break.

“Oh… okay… I’ll figure something out on my end.” Zhang Li hung up the phone.

Xia Qingyi sprawled on the front desk. She could not make out the phone conversation but from the way the receptionist kept looking in her direction when she spoke, as though considering something, her instincts told her that the outcome was not what she had hoped for.

“Sorry, Barrister Mo is in a meeting, we can’t reach him right now. Why don’t you wait a little while?” The receptionist knew this was just a delay tactic. She knew that Barrister Mo hated when non-employees came into the office, disturbing his work. The receptionist tried her best to ask Xia to leave while convincing herself that she was doing so on the grounds of Barrister Mo’s principles. Even if she refused to leave, it would be time to go home in a couple of hours.

“I’ll just wait here then.” What the receptionist had said was exactly what she thought. Knowing she would not be able to contact him for a short while, she moved all her things over to an empty space in front of the reception desk, sinking into a chair to catch her breath.

Normally, she did not care about her self-image when she was extremely tired. At that moment, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the chair; the wound in her abdomen had just started to hurt. She placed her hand on her blouse, and checked it carefully. Thankfully, there was no blood. Because the wound was dressed tightly, her chest was constantly feeling stuffy, constricting her breath flow.

After settling down, Xia Qingyi’s mind could not help but ponder about the sort of person she had been in the past. Where was her family? Why had none of them come looking for her at all? How did she end up with those injuries on her body? What about her memories? Why didn’t she have any of them at all?

As long as the questions remained unresolved, they continued to play over and over in her mind, like a cat’s claws, occasionally giving her heart a tug, making her feel very isolated.

The noise that disrupted her thoughts was not shouting from the front desk, but growling from her belly.

She rubbed her belly softly and looked at the time on her cell phone. She had waited for an hour and it was now eight in the evening. Aside from a bottle of milk she had drunk in the morning, she had not eaten anything all day and was feeling very hungry.

She went to the front desk. The receptionist was busy and barely noticed her. Xia Qingyi felt bored, so she stood up and walked to the front entrance, pulled the curtains back and looked out from one of the windows.

The sky had completely darkened. The bright reds and greens of the traffic lights glowed in the darkness. The rain had started; tiny drops began to pelt down. Standing on one of the highest floor, she could feel the coolness of the air outside.

Just as she was looking out the window and her thoughts diffused everywhere, Xia Qingyi heard a familiar voice.