Zoey Zhou

February 25, 2019.     

The flickering rainbow lights, equally sleek men and woman danced to their heart's content as the loud booming music filled the air. The lone woman in the dark corner of the nightclub watched every beat of their movements.     

Unlike the lively crowd and seemingly fun groups of people at each table, either catching up with one another, flirting and making out couples on the dark corner, or friends comforting their crying friend because of whatever heartache she has, the lone woman only had her glass of margarita and a sighing friend as her companion.     

"This is sad... I am utterly sad." Zoey Zhou's voice cracked. The corner of her eyes formed salt liquid as she chewed her bottom lip, resisting not to sob.     

Zoey Zhou, a 28-year-old woman, CEO and sole owner of the multi-million company: Z Image Group, which she established from scratch eight years ago. Eight years of hustling and grinding to become who she was; a well-respected woman in the business industry for starting her own company at a young age.     

Impressive.     

She didn't come from a wealthy family, not an heiress, nor was she a spoiled, pampered princess. She started her company from the little savings she accumulated after years of working multiple part-time jobs, being a cheapskate, and budgeting her allowances while being a scholarship student.     

So, why was a multi-millionaire businesswoman with a net worth of two hundred eleven million yuan was inside this mediocre nightclub of the city? Not just that, but also holding back her sob under the influence of alcohol?     

"Z, I — whatever." Across Zoey Zhou, Cora Ma, a short, bob cut haired woman was her college classmate slash best friend. She let out a heavy sigh before she shook her head, causing the huge black glasses clinging on her small cute nose to slip down.     

"Cora, what should I do?" Zoey downed the nth glass of margarita she ordered before leveling her eyes towards her best friend sitting opposite her. "I'm turning 29 next week and then next year, I'll be in my 30s! How can this happen to me?!" Finally, the tears she had been holding back fell, staining her naturally contoured cheeks.     

"What do you mean 'how can that happen to you?'" Exasperated at the most hypocritical statement she heard for the day, another deep exhale escape her mouth. "Just go ahead and accept your suitor's proposal, get laid, get married, and the end!" Although it was easier said than done, Cora Ma rolled her eyes at her own ridiculous advice.     

Sometimes, Cora Ma felt that she was wasting her energy giving real and serious advice towards her best friend. After all, Zoey Zhou was the weirdest drama queen she had ever known in her life.     

Zoey wanted to date, get married, and have kids.     

However, Zoey, though she would often date men of different ages, statuses, and interest, she could only last for one date— three dates at most. The reason why?     

Someone like her with great vitals, large money on her name, and respectable status — in short, a literal miss independent — was akin to a magnet that attracts young masters from wealthy families and professionals. Hence, it was easy for her to find someone who was interested in her… which would lead to the problem, Zoey automatically loses her interest whenever a guy showed her a mutual interest.     

The lack of challenge was what she would usually use as an excuse. And yet, here she was, sobbing as her prime years neared its end.     

"This won't do," Wiping her tears, Zoey Zhou shook her head sideways. "I don't think my future hubby will stay at a place like this. Maybe he's an embalmer— I'll go check every funeral parlors tonight and find my romance." She assisted her self up, wobbling for a bit before she got on her feet.     

"An embalmer? Really, Z?" Not surprised by the waste of the great mind she has, Cora Ma massaged her temples in distress. The reason why Zoey frequently visited nightclubs and bars was that the hope that she would find her romance here. Thus, even cheap bars like this place, she didn't let them off the hook.     

And now, she just hopped to another conclusion. It could never get worse.     

"Don't worry, I'll go alone this time." Zoey waved her hands off as she magnanimously permitted her friend not to go with her. As if that was Cora Ma's main concern.     

"No, Z. Not tonight — you're drunk." Cora Ma shook her head sideways as she attempted to stop the unstoppable Zoey. Regardless if she was wasting energy or not, Cora Ma knew deep down that no one could stop her friend when she decided on something.     

"I can manage. Don't worry." Smiling, Zoey placed her palm on her chest before she nodded, reassuring her. "Also, I can't let my best friend go to a place she's afraid of. Pray for my good luck!" She held her fist a little up, as if showing her firm eagerness to find her one true love.     

With that said note, Zoey then began swaying her way out. Her heels trembling, balancing its reckless host not to fall. On the other hand, Cora Ma could only watch her friend's figure fade into the crowd.     

"How can I not worry?" A sigh slipped from her mouth as she murmured. Afterward, she took the bill and paid their drinks before heading home. Well, although she wanted to accompany Zoey on her venture to the funeral parlors tonight, she's too afraid of those kind of things and places.     

—————     

"I lived the life of a drifter~     

Waiting for the day     

When I'd take your hand and sing you songs~" On her way to the parking space, Zoey sang. Her voice was toneless, not hitting the song's proper notes yet she couldn't care less.     

"Then maybe you would say…     

Come lay with me, love me, and I would surely stay~" At this point, she reached her car despite her swaying stride and shaking vision.     

Zoey blinked her eyes as hard as she could as if it would sober her a little. Well, it worked slightly as she got a hold of her vision before she hitched inside the car.     

"Many times I've been a traveler, I looked for something new…~" She compassed her hand as Zoey continued to sing instead of starting the car's engine. "In days of old, when nights were cold, I wandered without you~" Raising her hand towards the front passenger seat, Zoey seemed she was touching her imaginary boyfriend that should be sitting there right now, that was if she had one.     

"Now I feel I'm growing older, and the songs that I have sung, echo in the distance~" Frowning, Zoey heavily sighed as her hand slammed on the side of the front passenger seat. Finding a person to be her companion for life was truly hard.     

Upon touching a thick, sticky liquid on the leather seat, Zoey's brows knitted. Retracting her hand, she moved it closer to her, to see what kind of filth intruded her car.     

However, as soon as she lay her eyes on the crimson red stain on her hand, her eyes widened. Loud alarms rang inside her head, instantly sobering her up.     

Just before she could snap, hands from the back passenger seat covered her mouth while his strong arm around her, stilling her to the driver's seat.     

"Don't shout…" Under the man's breath, she could clearly hear him gasped for air. Regardless, his adrenaline rush never faltered. "Please…" he added as Zoey tried to break free while she muffledly screamed.     

They say love hides behind every corner, but Zoey Zhou often thought she was walking in circles.

****

"Please..." Once again, the man pleaded under his breath.

Zoey Zhou's eventually stopped screaming but, her whole body uncontrollably shuddered. She was stuck between panic and doubt for this unprecedented event.

She just planned to search for her companion in life — in a funeral parlor — but, why was there's an injured man inside her car?

"I just need to get away — far away from here," In between his heavy breaths, the man explained. "You can go to your original destination, I won't bother you and I," Fighting to retain his consciousness while stilling her to listen, he paused; gritting his teeth due to the striking pain on the side of his abdomen.

"I will leave, I promise." Mustering his strength despite his current physical suffering, the man swore.

Zoey Zhou swallowed a mouthful of saliva before she meekly nodded her head. It wasn't that she trusted him or anything of the sort, but to her, if she stalled some more time, the man's strength would decrease.

Thus, even if he was tricking her, she could defend herself. On another note, if he was just acting, Zoey Zhou was confident to defend herself if he happened to let him go. Either way, retaliation would only worsen her situation.

"Thank you," Slowly, the man loosened the pressure on his hand that was on her lips, revealing half of her face tainted with blood.

If one didn't know, they would mistake her as a cosplayer playing as a vampire after eating her raw dinner or a beautiful cannibal.

Pleased that the woman didn't attempt to scream again, and much more clever than he expected, the man then loosened his grip around her. Although Zoey hasn't done anything yet, the man kept his guard up to see if she would do something silly.

However, Zoey didn't. Instead, she started her car despite her shaking hands. He could see, because some rays of light from outside shone down on her.

"Baby lock the door and turn the lights down low~" The moment Zoey started the car's engine, her aux automatically turned on and revealed her taste of music.

However, instead of turning it off, she didn't. Music somehow calmed her most of the time. Hence, at a time like this, unless he demands to turn it off, she wouldn't.

After all, she needed to clear her head if she wanted to survive tonight. Damn, she was crossing oceans for this journey to find Mr. Right. He must be worthy.

'Calm down, self. Inhale exhale, breathe.' Zoey repeated her mantra inwardly as she slowly drove away. Fortunately, the man didn't complain and remained silent from the back seat.

Only the 2005 hit country song from abroad stuffed the car, attempting to lighten up the mood but to no avail, no matter how cute the song was, it failed to completely calm the situation.

Perhaps, singing along with it could stop her anxious heart, thus, Zoey, with her shaky, flat tone sang in a whisper. "There's no hurry, don't you worry, we can take our tim—" However, the man intervened.

"Just, just don't sing," With the pain from his wounds, the man could not bear his ears to inflict injuries as well. "Please," He added to sound a little polite.

"Okay." Zoey zipped her lips, tightly.

If it was a normal day, Zoey would have glared daggers at him and kicked him out of her car. However, she's the hostage here and she's at his mercy. Thus, she didn't even dare feel insulted about a fact.

*****

Soon, Zoey reached her first destination for tonight. The man didn't give her a specific address nor did he instructed her where to go.

He just remained silent throughout the whole ride, silently suffering from the back passenger seat. Hence, Zoey, afraid to give her address or go to the very few people that were important to her, she stuck with her initial plans for tonight.

Yes, the funeral parlor.

"We — I'm here, sir." Zoey stuttered as she informed him that she had arrived at her destination.

She didn't dwell on his promise earlier because Zoey never took anyone's promise seriously. All she wanted was to observe for a while so she could gravitate on her next move.

The man slowly opened his one eye and peeked outside, carefully blinking for a clearer vision. Moving his gaze up, his brows slightly creased upon seeing the blinking signage of the establishment: "Dignified Ending Funeral Home".

Does she think he's dying? The man was so out of words that he could only stabilize his breathing and forced himself to move. By the looks of it, he was abiding by his promise to leave her alone if she took him far away.

Regardless if this was her real destination or not, the man was grateful enough for her help.

"By the way, thank you." Just as the man reached for the car door's handle, he expressed his sincerity with great efforts. "I will surely repa..." Alas, before he could finish his sentence, his vision shook before it blur and his head felt lightheaded.

In the next second, blackness was the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness. Since he already unlocked the door and slightly opened it, it caused his upper body to slide down which startled Zoey.

"Sir?" Glancing at the rear mirror, Zoey could not see his figure anymore. Thus, she took the courage and turned to look at what happened at the backseat.

Upon seeing that the seemingly nice, injured guy collapsed, she panicked and quickly unbuckled her seatbelt before rushing out.

Zoey gasped, covering her mouth by both of her hands as the man's landing must have hurt. Not to mention, his current state was obviously in a dire situation.

"Sir!" Without further ado, Zoey rushed to him as she helped him back to the back seat. "Hey! Wake up!" Zoey panicked, adrenaline rush kicked in and gave her extra strength to carry him back inside, though clumsily.

"Oh my..." Out of breath, Zoey buckled his seat as she instinctively thought to rush him to the nearest hospital for medical assistance. However, for a moment, time ticked at a funeral pace as "the slow-motion moment" took place.

When Zoey glanced, set her eyes, and was graced to see his glorious features, his face seemed to glimmer, just like when pirates opening up a chest full of golds, and it glowed, shining brightly with a choir singing in the background.

"... groom."

"He's lucky that he was rushed here on time. Don't worry, Miss Zhou. Your boyfriend will be fine in a few days. Aside from the stab from the side of his abdomen, all others were minor injuries." The attending doctor said as he placed his hand on Zoey's shoulder, comforting her trembling shoulders.     

"Thank you," Offering a meek smile, Zoey slightly bowed her head before she sent the doctor off.     

As soon as the doctor left, Zoey slowly closed the door behind her, then tiptoed her way close to the bed where the man lay. After that slow-motion moment, Zoey had to slap herself by sandwiching her cheeks between her palms.     

"Tch," She clicked her tongue as she examined the man's peaceful yet majestic profile. "What did I get myself into?" Zoey heavily sighed.     

She planned to rush him to the nearest hospital and then leave. However, her soft spot for the weak and needy tugged her heart. Hence, she wanted to make sure that he would get treated; despite that, he scared her earlier.     

He has no identification with him, nor he had his wallet or phone. By the looks of it, he was robbed and got stab when he put up a fight. Regardless, that doesn't mean Zoey had forgotten that he literally intruded her car, and nearly traumatized her. She was just waiting for him to wake up so she could sleep at night, guilt-free.     

"Still, you don't look that bad..." After some time while peering at him, Zoey never got tired looking at him. In contrast, he looked more and more dashing the longer she stared at him, to the extent that it was annoying.     

"Zoey, calm your tits down." Mumbling, Zoey profusely shook her head sideways and shrugged whatever weird thoughts she has in mind.     

As Zoey decided to rest a little and freshen herself up, she headed to the bathroom. All the alcohol she had drunk tonight has left her system due to that man; tonight's incident completely sobered her drunken heart, indeed.     

"Should I consider it a good thing that Cora didn't tag along or I'd be tending to two patients. *sigh*" Relieved that her dear friend was afraid to her venture tonight, Zoey opened the bathroom's door with a sigh.     

Glancing up, Zoey had a glimpsed of herself which made her looked at her reflection the second time. There, standing before her was a bloodied lady.     

Her dress was covered with dried blood, even her exposed skin was smeared with dark red liquid. But, the most shocking for her to see was her face; around her lips, she was bearded with dried blood!     

That instant, Zoey recalled how the doctor and some nurses gave her an odd gaze. First, she thought they were caught up to her beauty but now, she realized that she looked ridiculous at any angle.     

She was too worried about her life and was panicking for the man's life that she forgot that he was bleeding. So naturally, when he covered her mouth earlier, it was obvious that it would taint hers.     

"Aish!!" Zoey was embarrassed to the fact that she paraded in this hospital looking like the after-look of a cannibal. All she wanted to do was dig herself a hole and never resurface again.     

"This mister!" Zoey hurriedly washed the blood off of her as she ground her teeth. "You'd pay me with interest!" She added and vented her frustration to the innocent rushing water.     

****     

The next day...     

"Hey Z, I never thought you'd really find your love interest in the funeral parlor." Cora Ma examined the unconscious man and was in awe.     

She was amused that her friend finally rested from searching for her soulmate. Not just that, he's a total catch! Actually, good-looking was an understatement. His looks defied heavens and earth's standards! He might be God himself, if Cora may add.     

Although Zoey has no standards to follow, she was still considered as a sucker for good-looking men. She mostly took interest with handsome guys, then reject them later when there's no more challenge to overcome.     

"He's not dead and you didn't kidnap him before he was embalmed, right?" Afraid to touch him, Cora Ma humored just to tease her friend.     

Although it was impossible, well, she was talking about Zoey, and her friend could go extra lengths if she set her mind to it.     

"If I remember correctly, I said maybe, Mr. Right is probably an embalmer, not a corpse." Rolling her eyes, Zoey waved her hair after arranging it in a ponytail.     

She asked her friend to bring her comfortable clothes to wear since she was waiting for the man to wake up. Moreover, she has nothing to do because she was on leave.     

Thus, Zoey was more or less doing this good samaritan deed for herself. She would feel restless anyway knowing that this man wasn't well yet.     

Also, she has some questions and she already had a sum of the damages this man had caused her. She'd at least let him know that he owed her, right?     

What a devil.     

"Also, he's not my type." Glancing at the man, Zoey raised her brows and whistled.     

"Not your type?" Cora Ma snorted. Even a child could tell that Zoey was lying without showing a bit of shame.     

"Uh-huh," Ignoring Cora Ma's suspicious eyes, Zoey thrust her chin forward and crossed her arms under her breast while looking at the man. "Because I'm his type." She proudly declared that was followed by an evil laugh.     

"I should've seen this coming." Cora Ma helplessly mumbled as the corner of her eye twitched. Truly, none could defeat Zoey to her shamelessness.     

"Oh!" Just then, Zoey flinched yet, Cora Ma thought she was just acting again. "Did you see that? He moved?" Zoey altered her gaze from the man then to Cora Ma across the bed.     

"He moved?" Knitting her brows, Cora Ma's gaze followed Zoey's and saw that he wasn't. "No, he—" Just before her words could slip from her mouth, Cora Ma noticed that the man's lid was trembling to open.     

"Oh!" Surprised that he was already waking up, Zoey took a step forward as she watched his eyes slowly open before it unhurriedly blinked to adjust his eyes to the light.     

"Sis, call the doctor..." As Zoey watched him regain his consciousness, she muttered which snapped Cora Ma from her trance.     

Just as Cora Ma was leaving the room, she heard her friend's remarks which made her cringe and momentarily halted her tracks, while her face distorted to another degree.     

Zoey: "Browny, are you awake?"     

"BROWNY?!"