It was cold, so cold. Having been finally discharged from the darkroom, Mimi stood in the hall, her stare blank for a moment until she heeded a familiar voice.
"Mimi!"
Mimi's mind was muddled and heavy as she struggled to clear her vision. Everything was so bright. She had been in the dark for so long she couldn't help but squint.
At that moment, her once blurry vision cleared, and she saw a glowing, warm figure run toward her. Those dull purple eyes of hers lit and slowly she walked toward the figure in faltering movements.
Fresh, hot tears streamed down her face as she murmured hoarsely in her childlike voice, "Big sister..."
Her body swayed and eventually, she collapsed to the floor.
"Mimi!"
Emily ran and reached to catch her falling sister with trembling hands - the palm holding her suddenly felt scorching. The petite girl's body was burning, yet her body shivered uncontrollably as if there was a chilly breeze.
Mimi's eyes shut, looking pained, she shrunk back and her soft, doll-like body curled up into her sister's warm embrace.
Emily's hold on her tightened, and the depths of her eyes turned murky. Lifting her head to stare at the tall figure looking down at the both of them coolly, her eyes grew dark and hateful.
Emily's voice came out sharp and chilly as she yelled, "What did you do to her?!"
The man looked down at them, his expressions icy and distant as if he were staring down at a group of ants. Those dispassionate eyes of his shot a glance at the child in Emily's arms and his gaze filled with contempt.
The man sneered, "Pathetic and useless."
Hearing those words, the girl in Emily's arms trembled more. While in the mists of unconsciousness, she felt a sudden chill and her eyes opened weakly. Mimi could vaguely distinguish a figure behind her sister, watching her.
His dark eyes were locked on her small figure and his usually gentle expression looked bored, the emotion in his eyes unsympathetic.
Mimi's line of sight gradually blurred and she lost consciousness...
...
Mimi's eyes opened, and she found herself in the familiar surroundings of her apartment bedroom. She stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling silently for a few moments before kicking her blankets and jumping out of bed.
That damn Shen Jue! Thanks to him, he brought back such an unpleasant memory! She wouldn't allow that bastard to ruin her day!
Rushing into the bathroom to prepare herself for work, she comes out wearing a black leather top and a red plaid skirt with chains. Mimi left her room only to stop in place.
Her eyes set on the unfamiliar display of plates and cups on her living room table. At that moment, a shuffling sound could be heard from her side as she finally sensed the unique yet aromatic smell within her apartment.
Shifting her gaze to the side, Mimi's eyes widened at the scene before her. In her kitchen, with a frilly apron wrapped around his tall, muscled body, was Tobias Itou.
He was currently in the process of stirring a steaming pot and delivering its contents to his thin, perfect lips and sampling it. Midway through his motion, he sensed the girl's intense stare on him and looked up, his tongue licking his lips.
Mimi was stunned.
What the hell! This... Wasn't this too sensual to see so early in the morning?! For god's sake, have mercy on her young perverted soul!
Unable to say anything toward the scene, Mimi stared at the man, baffled. Not minding her astonished expression, Tobias continues to look down at his work and begins chopping something up.
"Hungry?"
Eh, for what? Was he talking about himself? Could this perhaps be the start to some weird, erotic dream she was having?
"Food," Tobias confirmed, breaking her from her dazed thoughts.
"Er...yes." Mimi awkwardly scratched her head and walked toward the man cooking in her practically unused kitchen.
"Breakfast is almost done, but if you're hungry, you can snack on these while you wait." He handed her a basket of rolls and Mimi's mouth immediately watered.
However, as if snapping out from the glorious dream, Mimi looked up at Tobias and carefully studied him. What was he doing here?
Opening her mouth to ask that exact question, a sweet, soft roll was stuffed into her mouth. Mimi's eyes lit up as she bit down into the bread between her lips and hummed in satisfaction.
"In that case, continue cooking!" Mimi sang while hopping away.
Oh well, she'll ask him after he feeds her hungry belly! For now, she'll enjoy the delicious basket of rolls!
Tobias watched the girl hop away and smiled faintly, but a dim gleam flickered across his dark eyes.
Fifteen minutes passed before Tobias came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming pot and a plate of what appeared to be steamed buns. Setting them down on the table, he turns to look at the wagging tailed girl and orders:
"Eat."
Without hesitation, Mimi bounces toward the table and stares bright-eyed at the freshly cooked food on the table. In the steaming pot was congee with small pieces of shrimp and minced green onion. The smell wasn't fishy, but rather rich and fragrant carrying the faintest scent of ginger!
Mimi watched as the man poured a portion in a bowl for her, and serving it to her before pouring some for himself. Taking her spoon, Mimi takes a spoonful and the air around her turned warm.
"So good!" She mumbled happily.
Hearing her praise, Tobias smiled and watched her eyes turn into half-moons, as she thoroughly enjoyed the food while smiling joyously. The two continued this harmonious atmosphere until Mimi finished the last bit of congee, her stomach satisfied to the tee.
As if finally recalling her initial questions, she sits up in her seat and looks at Tobias carefully. Before she could speak, he stood up from his seat and began collecting the dishes.
Stumped for words, Mimi helplessly watched as he headed to the kitchen. Sighing, she stands up and walks toward him.
"Toby..."
"Hmm?" Tobias continued washing the dishes.
"Why are you here?"
He didn't respond immediately, his movements, patient as he carefully washed each dish and set them out to dry. As time slowly passed, Mimi grew somewhat restless and frowned.
"Tobias..."
"Do you remember what I told you in the car?"
A question mark appeared on Mimi's face and Tobias's expression grew hopeless. Drying his hands, he walked over to her until his tall figure was hovering over hers. Looking down into her dazzling purple eyes that blinked innocently at him, his eyes dimmed.
"You're not coming into work today."
Mimi's eyes lit up and her lips parted in an 'o' shape as if memorizing his words.
"You forgot didn't you?"
Mimi: "..."
Tobias frowned slightly and lowered his head to pinch the girl's soft rosy cheeks.
"What else besides food processes through that head of yours?"
...Big boobs, biceps, triceps, anything remotely related to hot figures. Of course, Mimi wasn't going to say that and kept her mouth shut.
"But...how will I pay my rent if I don't work?" Mimi softly complained and puckered her pink lips.
Despite her pitiful appearance, Tobias's expression did not soften at all.
"You have your own company, don't you?"
Mimi fell silent and was forced to continue to appease the man, "Then what about all my little toy subjects? How can I play around and appease my teasing if I'm stuck at home?"
"Call Alec."
Mimi's eyes widened, and she stared at Tobias in disbelief. So heartless! He was willing to sell out Alec to keep her under house arrest!
Mimi sighed hopelessly and felt a familiar sensation on her head. Looking up, she found Tobias gently stroking her hair, his fingers playing with a few loose strands. His eyes locked on hers and she detected a hidden light in his eyes.
"Be good and listen to me." His words were cold, but his voice was gentle.
Mimi's face immediately turned complicated, her lips pursing. She couldn't help but be somewhat alarmed by Tobias's words.
He had always been quite protective of her actions and warned her countless times to take care of herself. Each time she took his words like a gust of wind and didn't pay any heed to them.
But it would seem this time he was serious. Mimi's thoughts were broken by his husky voice.
"Okay?"
Mimi noticed Tobias's expression turn stranger and stranger as she spoke, "Ah...okay."
Bestowing a small, satisfied smile, Tobias nodded and stroked her head. "Good."
He walked passed her and pulled out a laptop. "Change into something more comfortable and watch TV. I'll be working here."
Mimi stared wide-eyed.
So...he was being serious, serious.
Thus, for an entire day, Mimi spent her day lazing around, being fed homemade meals and under surveillance by Tobias! By night time, Tobias finally left and ordered for her to rest early.
The next day, she woke up early and fled her apartment to head to work only to discover a familiar black car waiting for her outside. It was Tobias's. Mimi was dumbfounded.
This man was seriously being too strange...
Being taken to work by Tobias, Mimi initially was feeling quite displeased until the man gave her a delicious breakfast to appease her bad mood. Arriving at his company, Mimi took a secret route into the building and started her as per usual.
Laid out on a couch in the lounge room, Mimi heard the sound of footsteps urgently rushing in her direction. She heard them stop in front of her following with a heavy sound of pants.
"You're late."
"I...I'm s...sorry, Ms. Mimi!" Jinny tried catching her breath. "B...But they didn't have the chocolate you requested so I tried..."
"I don't want your excuse. Hand me what you got."
"R-Right." Jinny nodded her head and passed Mimi the bag of treats.
Sitting up from the couch, Mimi looks through the bag and raised a brow. She lifted a chocolate bar from the bag and stared at Jinny.
"Where'd you get this?"
Staring at the bar, Jinny's eyes lit up. "That's a rare flavor, right? The worker there is a friend of mine and offered me a few unreleased flavors, I hope you like them!"
A friend of hers? Mimi eyed the squirrel looking woman carefully and found her to be stranger the more she knew her. She was a dim-witted airhead without a backbone, but the woman had connections it seems. Mimi's lips arched into a smirk.
This new servant of hers was interesting!
"Though you were late, you get some points back for these." Mimi lifted the chocolate bar in her hand and began unwrapping it. "So as your reward let me start by saying, don't give excuses when you're late. You're wasting your breath explaining something that's already been done. A simple apology is sincere enough."
Hearing her advice, Jinny's eyes lit up and she quickly wrote down notes in her notebook.
"Thank you for your wise advice, Ms. Mimi!"
Mimi hummed and sucked on the chocolate square in her mouth while Jinny stood quietly on the side, watching her as if she were a goddess.
After finishing three bars, Mimi calmly sipped the water in front of her and glanced at Jinny, a playful light flickering across her eyes.
"So how come you worship Senior Su so much?"
Jinny nearly choked on her saliva. "W-Worship?"
Mimi's brows raised, but she continued to sip her water while watching the red-faced woman. Jinny fiddled with her fingers nervously and smiled shyly.
"The truth is, I've known Senior Su since I was in college. Her, Eli and I, attended the same school together. I wasn't as close to Eli but he was close to Senior Su, so we met a couple of times." Jinny started speaking quietly.
Mimi was quiet as she listened but was inwardly surprised by this newfound information. So she knew Eli too it seems.
"I was pretty quiet back in college and didn't have any friends. That was until I met Senior Su. She was so cool and confident, something I could never be, I wanted to stay by her side all the time! Around her, I never felt ashamed of my dreams or insecure. To me, Senior Su is a very important person."
Flashing a grief-filled smile, Jinny scratches her nose. "Though I haven't spoken to her in a while. It seems that I may have scared her away with my neediness."
"Hmm." Mimi propped her chin with her palm and fell into deep thought.
As she expected, there was more to this Senior Su than there appeared to be. Though to her, the woman was rather unfriendly toward her. Mimi grinned and continued to eat more of her delicious chocolates.
Thirty minutes passed before Jinny rushed back to work as her break was over, leaving Mimi alone in the lounge. Cleaning up the area, Mimi throws away the chocolate wrappers and walks down the hall while humming a tune softly.
_________
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