A Round Trip to Love 1: LONG WAY HOME

Chapter Nineteen

Those good looking men sat themselves around me with barely concealed ill intentions. I instinctively knew that things would go downhill and quickly stood up to leave. However after downing those couple of beers, my actions were sluggish. I have yet to stand up straight before they pressed me back down firmly into my seat.

" What, what are you trying to do?" Alcohol does not give me a sense of disinhibition, on the contrary, it causes me to be inert. Just like when I am totally drunk, my face does not turn red like a persimmon, merely adding a layer of blush to my pale complexion.

" You look like a good drinker, accompany us for a couple more."

One of them groped my waist, and another touched my chest.

" No, I can't...... " I spoke even slower in my diminished state, those hands started fondling, my attempts to shake them off were futile, " Remove...... your....... hands......"

" Aren't you lonely here by yourself? We can play with you."

" No.......... I don't want to........." How can a pair of hands win against three pairs? I was almost in hysteria, breaking out in cold sweat.

Seeing my weak resistance, they became emboldened, immobilizing me by squeezing me in their midst. Someone caressed my face: " What's wrong? Are you about to cry? Come, drink this up and treat it as my apology."

"No........." I tried to brush off the glass of liquor being pushed against my lips.

He pinched my chin, forcing the strong liquor down my throat. The better half of it spilled out of my mouth, making a wet mess on the front of my shirt. I heaved and coughed, face turning red.

My disconcerted state stirred their excitement further, and they sadistically pushed a second glass down my throat.

My hands and legs turned soft, my head dizzy, my eyes blurred, madly struggling, " I don't........... want to............."

" What's the problem here?!"

It is totally unexpected that someone would intervene, as fools who willingly step up to fight injustices for strangers are an endangered species. Not to mention the fact that saving a man reaps very little rewards. Even the bar owner would wait until any glasses or properties are damaged before appearing, only to shout: " Bring your fight outside!"

" No problem here, we came together. " Those people picked me up gleefully, " Let's talk outside, come."

" No........... I don't want to........" I struggled out of their grasps, " I don't......... know you.........."

I shuddered in relief from freeing myself, only to feel another pair of strong arms supporting me.

Confused, I raised my head to look at him.

" Cheng Yi Chen? It's you?! "

......... Who? Is this person ........

I struggled to make sense of this face.

He looked somewhat familiar, yet totally foreign.

Lu, Lu Feng? !

No, no, Lu Feng would never come back. He would never again hold me like this.

But, but..........

If he is Lu Feng....... what if he is Lu Feng.........

I was in a state of bewilderment, grabbing on to a corner of his shirt.

I could no longer comprehend what he was saying, only aware that he was about to push me away.

Lu Feng, please don't, I only want to talk to you, please don't treat me like this........

I hugged on to his waist frantically: " Don't....... don't leave......"

" ........ What are you doing?" He roughly removed my hands.

" Wait, you...... don't leave......." I hung on to him with my whole being, pressing my head on his shoulder, so afraid that he would leave again, and never coming back.

The surrounding noise in my ears are all muddled up, I could barely hear him: Yi Chen........... can you release me first? I promise you I will not leave."

I cautiously removed my hands, he lowered his head to look at me, and indeed did not take the chance to run away.

" Yi Chen, have some tea."

I did not move an inch, staring at him in a stupor.

Lu Feng, you have never, called me by this name before.

While I was still out of it, he suddenly broke out in anger and rushed to the side: " Watch your words! Who the fuck did you say is his lover!! "

I have yet to reach out to touch him, he had already swung his fist out.

That punch landed on a certain part of someone, and I heard a pained yelp. You can't do that Lu Feng, you cannot get in trouble again.........

I stood up shaking in front of him, not sure if I was trying to help him block off attacks or to restrain him, and ended up feeling a strike on my neck. The impact was so strong that I could not withstand it and collapsed, my eyelids so heavy I could not keep them open.

When I awoke, I was lying under the shadow of the sound stage. No one was near me besides a waiter busy with the aftermath of the commotion. The Lu Feng whom I imagined, was nowhere to be seen.

I sat there in a daze, no one noticed me.

I finally got up and silently walked out.

The ring is missing.

Checking repeatedly to make sure that my neck is indeed empty, I searched my entire body in panic mode. When did I lose it? I recalled clearly that I touched it last before leaving for the bar, absolutely certain that it was still on my chest then.

When exactly did I lose it?

The bar opens for business at seven in the evening. I waited outside its door and dashed in the moment it opened.

The lighting was not bright. I went down on my knees around the area where the events of the previous night took place, combing the floor inch by inch, my hands covered in dirt.

Nothing.

Hanging onto a last hope, I searched once again, even digging into the gaps between the floor, but nothing.

The bar owner watched me crawling around with perplexity. I wanted to explain to him that I was looking for a ring, and ask if he had by some miracle picked up a tiny silver ring, but my crushing sense of loss left me paralyzed.

The horrifying truth is that he had just cleaned up the place and threw out all the trash along with the broken glasses.

That was the only thing, that Lu Feng ever gave me.