Fan Fiction |
by StArrY^^
Adapted from TV serial and Book-- "Di 8 Hao Dang Pu"
-(Chapter 2)-
-||* Selfish Mom *||-
The soothing rays of the morning sun shone into the Boss’s bedroom. He stretched his aching limbs and opened his mouth into a wide, luxurious yawn. After washing up, he made his way down the winding stairs, into the dining room.
When he reached the dining room, the lady was already at the long dining table, eating her breakfast.
“Morning, Boss!” She flashed a mega-watt grin at her Boss and greeted him warmly.
He smiled and one of his dimples peeked in and out cutely. “Morning, Xiao Qiao~” He sat on one of the chairs and the servants brought him his breakfast and newspapers.
In front of Xiao Qiao was a wide selection of food. To her, the greatest pleasure in life was eating. There was a plate of white baguettes, a small dish of chocolate chips, two French toasts, a turkey bacon bagel with melted cheese, an apple pie, three to four different types of fruit tarts, and a jug of fresh milk, as well as a glass of Orange Juice.
A pot of black coffee sat in the middle of the table. Beside it were a small jug of condensed milk and a small platter of cheese and a small sugar bin.
Xiao Qiao had a big appetite and could finish a large amount of food without feeling one bit full. Her stomach was like an elastic bag that could stretch endlessly, or rather, it was like an endless hole. She could eat any mounds of food and yet maintain her lean figure. That was one plus point for her, or she would have turned into an obese woman with three to four chins at the very least!
On the contrary, the Boss ate relatively little. His appetite was rather normal, and not abnormally enormous like Xiao Qiao’s. He poured black coffee into his cup and added two teaspoons of sugar. 2 slices of French toast and a hard-boiled egg completed his breakfast.
Xiao Qiao looked at her Boss while eating. The Boss was intent on his morning papers. His hair had been neatly brushed, but a stray bit of hair fell, covering part of his right eyebrow. She took note of every detail of his clean-shaven face. She gazed at him dreamily, the piece of toast forgotten in her mouth.
“Boss looks really cute like this…” She mused, and put a piece tissue into her mouth, and began to chew on it absent-mindedly.
The Boss looked up from his papers in time to see Xiao Qiao’s face taking on a 180- degree change. Her face twisted in disgust when she realized that her toast had miraculously transformed into a piece of tissue paper. He guessed as much as to what had happened and grinned cheekily, shaking his head slightly.
Xiao Qiao spat out the tissue in an unfortunately unladylike manner and at the same moment, her eyes met the Boss’s. She stopped spitting the bits of tissue, hastily tried to swallow the remnants of the tissue. Xiao Qiao stared hard at the Boss, trying to force out a weak smile to disguise her dismay. The Boss stared back at her, trying his best to stifle his chuckles.
The corners of the Boss’s mouth were twitching dangerously, and his laughter threatened to escape at any moment. The sight of Xiao Qiao with the spitted tissue in her left palm and her face in a mixture of horror and dismal was a trifle too comical for him. His left hand shot out quickly to slap over his mouth. Then he smiled at her through his watery eyes and mumbled, “Erm, I’ve had enough! Enjoy your breakfast, Xiao Qiao!” With thus, he released his hand from his mouth and escaped upstairs, into his room.
Xiao Qiao stayed glued onto her chair, her eyes following the Boss’s retreating back. She collected her scattered senses and quickly washed her hands, ridding them of the gooey mess. Then she let out a deep sigh and pouted sadly. To let Boss see her in such a sorry state!! Sounds of muffled laughter erupted from above. Xiao Qiao sighed heavily and flailed her arms in the air dramatically.
The Boss slammed the door shut hurriedly and fell onto his bed, bursting into uncontrollable laughter. “Phew~!” He sighed in relief. It was a relief to be able to laugh at his heart’s content, without embarrassing the poor girl. He grinned as he imagined the expression on Xiao Qiao’s pretty face now.
*+*
After breakfast, the Boss and Xiao Qiao had some free time to themselves. The next appointment was at 11am and the hands of the clock pointed to 9 and 5, showing the time as 9.25am. The Boss takes out a violin and cleaned the dust away with a nylon cloth. He fitted the shoulder rest neatly onto the violin, and tightened the bow. He placed the violin firmly on his shoulder and his chin laid snuggly on the chin rest. After drawing the bow across the 4 strings and tuning the violin, he started playing a renowned piece— “Autumn” by Antonio Vivaldi.
Xiao Qiao was walking past the Boss’s room as he started playing. She listened for a while before going back to her room. Although the music was lilting and melodious, it didn’t suit Xiao Qiao. She preferred music with lyrics, rather than the crystal-clear music without words, which her Boss loved.
She walked back to her room, humming a song under her breath.
“Wo Zai Chang Shen Me, Shen Me Dou Jue De~” Xiao Qiao turned on the hi-fi set in her room and inserted a CD into it. She played the track she was humming and sang along with the singer. Her hips swayed to the beat of the music as she started dancing to it. Her voice rang sweet and clear in her room, as she sang louder and louder. When the track finished, she flopped down on her Queen size bed.
After playing the last note of “Autumn”, and added intense vibrato to that last note, the Boss put down the violin. He examined the violin carefully. For years he had tried his best to make the perfect violin in the world. But it seems like he had never succeeded to do so. Out of the thousand violins he had made over the years (100+), only a few hundred were passable. As for this one, after testing the quality and tone of the violin, he decided that it was still deficient. With a swift movement, he destroyed the violin. When, just when can he create a flawless violin, and the most perfect violin in the world? Just what is missing in the elements of creating a perfect violin? He used the best wood, the best strings, and the best craftsmanship. Nevertheless, his efforts were still wasted. He could not create the dream violin of his own.
*+*
At the hands of the clock ticked towards 11am, the Boss and Xiao Qiao came down from their rooms and into the eighth room in the large hall. They went behind the counter and prepared for the arrival of their next client.
Their next client was Mrs Farrell. She was a regular client and came to the #08 PawnShop from time to time. This time, she arrived punctually at 11am.
“Hello, Boss and Ms Xiao Qiao.” Mrs Farrell walked composedly into the room, and greeted them.
The Boss nodded politely and Xiao Qiao asked with a winning smile, “So Mrs Farrell, what have you come to pawn today?”
Mrs Farrell squinted through her glasses and said, “I would want to pawn my 15-year-old daughter’s luck for the next 5 years.”
“OK, no pro-”, Xiao Qiao was about to agree readily when her Boss cut through her words.
“Mrs Farrell, do you think it is wise to pawn your daughter’s luck?” He asked, still smiling genially.
“Why, of course!”
The Boss paused and said, “Actually, I would advise you to do otherwise.”
“What else can I pawn? I don’t have any other stuff to pawn! Are you trying to ask me to pawn my poor old leg? And I need the money! It’s for urgent use!”
Xiao Qiao looked at Mrs Farrell, who was getting agitated, and looked at her Boss.
He said in an unruffled voice, “Well, if you want to pawn your daughter’s luck, why not pawn your own then? Pawn your luck for the next 5 years. It will fetch a higher price.”
Mrs Farrell looked eagerly at him. “Really?”
“Of course. I will give you 20 thousand in return.”
Xiao Qiao listened on with a puzzled look fixed on her face. She did not understand why he was encouraging Mrs Farrell to pawn her luck instead of her daughter’s.
“OK! I will pawn the my luck for the next 5 years!” Mrs Farrell’s small eyes gleamed in greed. She took the contract and pen from Xiao Qiao and quickly signed her name. When she put down the pen, there was a distinct hole between her middle finger and pinkie.
She walked to the loveseat and sat down. The Boss got out from the counter and after splaying and wiggling his fingers before Mrs Farrell’s eyes, he took a colourless cloud of mist from her head and put it into a jar Xiao Qiao was holding out to him.
Minutes later, Mrs Farrell awoke in her home. When she checked her bank account in the late afternoon, she was pleased to find an extra $20,000 in it. She withdrew some money quickly and set off to the nearest gambling den.
Xiao Qiao brought the jar to the endless room where the pawned goods were stored. She turned to Mrs Farrell’s shelf and opened the jar. An exquisite box appeared on the shelf and Xiao Qiao transferred the mist into the box. She locked the box carefully. It was a special box where a person’s love, luck and soul could be stored in and be kept in safe.
Beside the box were other various items Mrs Farrell had pawned over the many trips to the pawnshop. There were her jewellery, her stocks, her kidney, her fourth finger, 5 years of her luck (from 30-35 years old) and finally the latest—5 years of her luck (from 60-65 years old).
After recording Mrs Farrell’s pawned items in the large book, Xiao Qiao returned to the room. The Boss was sitting on his chair, keenly writing something on a piece of paper.
“Boss, why did you ask Mrs Farrell to pawn her luck instead of her 15-year-old daughter’s luck? Surely the luck of young girl in her teens would be much more worthy than an old woman’s?” Xiao Qiao asked the Boss.
The Boss looked up from his writing and sighed. “Mrs Farrell is a selfish old woman. Naturally, a young girl would have better luck than an aged lady, but that is precisely why I goaded her to pawn her own luck. I did not want the woman to have her way and destroy her daughter. She is just a selfish fool who cares not one ounce for her daughter. Why should we help people like her?”
It was Xiao Qiao’s turn to sigh. Boss had always been like that. He had compassion and sympathy, and so sometimes, he ended up not playing strictly by the rules. It was her who had always tried her best to help the Boss redeem his wrongs by recording a better and more acceptable version of the various deals in the book. Each time she did so, she spent many sleepless nights, worrying about her superior discovering that she had tampered with the records.
~*~
HeLLOZz~!! HeEZz.. HoWz thIs thEn? Guess not as gross bahZz? HuI grOss maRZ? HeHEZz..=P =X
Comments, pls? =)
Anw, this's dedicated to my first 3 commentors~!! HahaZz.. THanKZz!! =) *huGx*