The next day was an unusually nice winter day in A City.
Early in the morning, sunlight broke through the clouds and spread everywhere across the city.
An early bird, as usual, Molly was up before sunrise. In the kitchen, she kept herself busier than a moth
in a mitten, cooking together with Lisa. When Brian walked out of the study and looked down from the
second floor, he saw Molly was wearing an apron, like a butterfly dancing in morning-light.
For a while, Brian was in a daze. His craving eyes moved slowly with Molly whenever she turned, going
about her cooking. He watched her with a passion burning hotter than a dozen suns.
Perhaps it was because she felt someone was looking at her that Molly looked back, with knives and
forks still in her hands. When their eyes met, she cracked a faint smile and greeted,"Good morning!
Bri!"
Brian frowned. He was surprised at Molly's sudden reaction. However, an indescribable feeling nudged
him on, deep at heart, touching his nerves.
Slowly he walked down the stairs, taking a glance at the dining table. There were fried eggs, milk, ham,
steamed dumplings, minced pork porridge with preserved duck egg. A mixed variety of Chinese and
Western food. However, there was no coffee, which he must drink every morning!
When he sat down at the table, Brian took a slight look at Lisa, who was carrying vegetable salad in her
hands. Lisa knew what he meant by such a glance. She hastily explained,"Miss Xia said that..."
"I told Lisa not to make coffee!" Molly cut in to save Lisa. She did not want Lisa to feel embarrassed, so
she said,"Never mind, Lisa, go ahead with your stuff."
When Brian did not say anything, Lisa cast him a glance, nodded in submission and went away
respectfully...
"It is not good for your stomach to drink coffee early in the morning!" Molly pushed a glass of milk
towards Brian and said seriously,"I have found that you drink coffee or alcohol every day and drink tea
only occasionally. But in fact, it is not good for your health at all. You may develop health complications
sooner or later,"
Molly cautioned at length. Slightly Brian raised his eye brows, looking steadily at Molly, while an
unusual light was sliding over his black eyes.
'She sounds so much like Shirley's usual chatter with Richie.'
Thinking of that, Brian smiled, secretly. However, as soon as he met Molly's gaze, the rare glimmer of
light in his eyes disappeared, his typical indifference taking over instead. He said,"I don't drink anything
other than coffee in the morning."
"Then you can start drinking milk from today," a bold looking Molly suggested. "It's even better to drink
porridge!" she added.
Carefully, Brian took a look at the porridge Molly put in front of him. He did not like it at all. He
wondered, 'What's wrong with her since yesterday?'
Thinking of that, he raised his eyes to her and coldly asked,"Mol, I hope you're not doing all this,
thinking you'll impress me enough to let you go. Are you? Is that what you're thinking?"
At first, Molly was speechless. But after a while, she shrugged and answered with an innocuous
smile,"Your letting me go.... is something I have given up."
The reaction on Brian's face was mixed. Glad at first, but soon turning pensive, almost troubled. "It
couldn't be better!
"Since it is impossible to change the facts, why should I keep hoping against hope? Given the current
circumstances, dreaming that I'll leave will only end up with perpetually disappointment. That's not how
to live." Molly shrugged and sat down. "Time goes by at its own pace, whether you are happy or not. I
don't want to spend my life bemoaning."
Sitting quietly, Brian watched her with keen interest. He was discovering another side of her. At the
moment, her eyes were shining bright like diamonds— much the same as Becky's. On the one hand,
she seemed magical, mysterious, even angelic. But, she was also human, frail and burdened by the
pressure of life. She was trying to keep under her struggles. But innocent and unpretentious as always,
one could tell she wasn't at ease.
Slightly, Brian squinted and reflected for a while. Then, to Molly's surprise, he stood up, turned around
to leave, and said,"I will send a car to pick you up in the evening!"
Without another word, he took his coat and walked out. Looking at the food all over the table,
untouched, Molly sulked. She criticized him silently.
In the driver's seat, Tony gunned steadily towards Emp Exchange. He stole a furtive glance at the rear
view mirror and found that Mr. Brian Long seemed somewhat absent-minded today.
Tony withdrew his sight and then drove fast yet steadily before they arrived at Emp, where Harrow was
waiting expectantly for an end to the micro-control done last time.
Straight away, taking the private elevator, Brian headed to the Operation and Control Room on the top
floor. Fumes of smoke overwhelmed him in the room. As he walked to his desk, he wondered why
Harrow smoked so heavily, without the slightest thought for his own health. Harrow seemed a little
decadent. As Brian booted up his, Tony also thought of Harrow's smoking addiction. He frowned and
looked at Harrow unhappily, so as to show his disagreement.
Harrow did not pay attention to Tony. He did not say anything but stubbed his cigarette before he stood
up, walked a few steps and took a seat next to Brian. He looked at Brian's micro-control while
conducting linkup by himself on another computer.
"Was it you who dealt with Chancellor? " The indifference in Brian's voice pinged off the walls with an
echo. He kept his eyes focused on the screen, while he typed away, giving instructions, fingers hitting
at the keyboard like a German blitzkrieg. On his mind, Brian was preoccupied with two things.
"Yes," Harrow admitted sulkily. "That was only to make some trouble for them."
The disappointment written on Harrow's face confirmed his claim of innocence. Brian took a look at him
and then kept his eyes on the keyboard and swiftly keyed in instructions until debugging was finished.
Now everything was ready for opening in a while.
"I don't like anyone trying to guess what I'm thinking!"
Brian said still apathetically, but Harrow took those words so seriously that his heart slumped. It felt as
if a huge stone suddenly pressed against his chest, choking him out of breath.
"I will never do it again!" Harrow said firmly. Although Mr. Brian Long did not tell him, he had heard
about the turn of events on QY Island late last midnight. Due to the shortage of capital turnover of
Chancellor, Mr. Brian Long's original plan had to be terminated with immediate effect.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda