HU TAO'S ENTIRE BODY IS tense. Her crimson orbs are trained on the back of Liu's graying hair as she's led through the hallways. The woman's hair is pulled back into a tight bun. It's a tenuous hairstyle for a tenuous person. Hu Tao can't help but resent it.
They enter an empty break room, shutting the door behind them. It drowns out the echoing ambiance of the surrounding building.
Liu speaks first.
"I've brought you here to discuss-"
"Shut the hell up," Hu Tao snarls, stepping forward, "You're after his will – the business. You don't need to pretend to be all professional with me. I know your game."
The woman, taken aback, freezes for a moment, before clearing her throat.
"Do not raise your voice at me, girl," she's feigning calmness.
Hu Tao's jaw tightens at the use of the nickname.
"I am doing you the courtesy of asking you first, so don't squander this opportunity," Liu continues, "You already know what this request entails, so don't bother asking questions. Answerwisely." She pauses for a moment, eyes searching the girl's face which is slowly contorting into anger. "Will you, Hu Tao, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's future director, relinquish your inheritance to your grandfather's will?"
"Go to hell!"
Ms. Liu closes her eyes in exasperation, an incredibly forced calm smile stretching across her lips. The woman has always been a dangerous person. Her nature is vindictive, a trait which is spotted easily by those familiar with deceptive individuals. But her true self is completely hidden from those of pure souls – ones who only look for the good in people first, blinded to the bad.
"Do I need to remind you what could happen if you refuse?" the woman threatens.
"I don't care. You can't scare me into anything."
"I wouldn't be so certain of that."
Hu Tao tilts her head, a dangerous smile tugging at her lips.
"When I plan your funeral," she says with an unnerving amount of calmness, "You won't be getting a coffin."
Liu scoffs, "All you have to do is sign your name on a little piece of paper, and then you're done. Everyone lives happily ever after. Don't you want that?"
