Chapter 9 Leave her sh.e.l.l

Abigail was unable to sleep that night. Her mind was completely occupied by that man. The reason why she didn"t send a message to Mr. Leather Jacket days ago was because Abi was because Abi made a bet to herself. That bet was that if she was to see that Mr. Qin again, she would think of it as the world giving her its blessing and granting her what she wished for the most. She told herself that if their paths crossed again without her actively seeking him out, she would never let him go so easily again, nor would she hesitate nor hold back in trying to get what she wanted. She would then think of him as the man that fate was offering to her.

So now that it actually happened, and the fact that it happened in just a matter of days from when she last saw him, Abigail"s determination skyrocketed more than ever. She was going to do this. There was no more turning back!

That night, Abigail couldn"t sleep. She was excited to call Kelly but she had to wait for the man"s message first. She had to know when they would meet again so Abi could prepare for it. However, as time went by, there was not a single "ding" from her phone to indicate that she had received a message and she started to feel unsettled. She started typing on her phone, intending to send him a message, but it was harder than she thought. She didn"t know how to even start that conversation. She had never done anything like this before. Boys were usually the ones who always called or texted her first. Should she call him? What should she say? Should she ask?

Abigail spent an hour just rolling on her bed, holding her phone tightly and glancing at it every other second, trying to make a decision. She now realized that even such a little thing like this wasn"t easy at all. Now that she thought about it, did those boys who messaged her act like this as well? Abi shook her head and then she rose and leaned on her sky-blue headboard.

She tried to recall the first messages from those boys and her eyes narrowed. She finally realized that almost all of them started with a simple "Hi!". Abigail rested her chin on her finger, like a detective trying to piece together some important clues, and then she started to type the word "Hi".

Unfortunately, she couldn"t send it. She personally thought that this particular word was a little boring, a little too plain. Would he even reply if she just sent this singular word? But what else could she say aside from this? Should she ask if he was already sleeping? Abigail sighed in frustration. She knew she was overthinking this whole d.a.m.ned thing but even knowing that didn"t help her at all. It appeared that talking to him in person was a hundred times better than trying to send him a message on the phone. It was as if she was more scared of the phone than the person and that was just way too messed up.

In the end, Abi simply sent him a goodnight emoji – a white fluffy cat yawning as it fell asleep on a fluffy white pillow.

And then, she followed suit and fell into a dreamless sleep.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing she did was immediately look for her phone. She took a deep breath and when she saw that she received a message from him, her heart raced in nervousness. G.o.d Abi! Why are you getting nervous so early in the morning?!

[Mr. Mysterious Qin: I"ll send someone to pick you up on Sat.u.r.day evening. Send me a message beforehand if you change your mind.]

Abigail"s shoulders dropped as she sighed. It seemed like he was still planning to give her enough time to change her mind. He even seemed so confident that she would! "Too bad, Mr. Qin, but this lady here has decided and I"m not changing my mind anymore…"

…

Days went by and at last, Sat.u.r.day finally arrived.

Abigail had told her family that she would be sleeping over at Kelly"s house that night. Her family knew Kelly well since Kelly had been around their place a few times for sleepovers in the past so they have had plenty of time to get to know her. They knew that she was the daughter of a wealthy family and that she was Abi"s good friend. But even though they knew Kelly well, her family were still constantly worried about her, so to make them relax, Abi called Kelly over to speak with them.

After some stern reminders about alcohol and drugs and boys, they finally let them go.

"Sigh… your family is… how should I put this?" Kelly started as she drove her car towards the city. "I really like your family. I"m jealous that you have such a caring family, Abi, but they"re so over protective of you. You"re already twenty-two! I just think that it is about time for them to stop treating you like you"re still sixteen. I understand they"re quite worrywarts but I personally think they shouldn"t be that strict towards you anymore."

Kelly"s brows were pulled together as she explained. She knew that Abi"s family were just showing their concern for her but she sometimes thought that they didn"t really give Abi the freedom to do what she wanted. However, she was also sure that part of it was Abi"s fault, too. She was too good and obedient. She was always home at the exact time she told them she would, she never went out with boys, she never lied to them and she definitely wouldn"t ever go against them. Kelly even wondered if Abi had anything she desired at all because all this time, she lived her life like a perfect vessel who did not seem to want anything for herself. It seemed like she was content as long as she could make her family happy. She was the definition of a perfect, filial daughter.

This was why Kelly was very surprised to find out what Abi had actually planned on doing today. She was a little hesitant to help her because she hadn"t even seen this Mr. Qin guy, but Kelly thought that this was the time for her to support her friend. Abi finally decided to leave her sh.e.l.l, so she must set aside her worries for now and just support her as much as she could.

"It"s okay. I know that they just want to make sure that nothing bad happens to me. Even though they sound strict, I know that, deep down, they may actually want me to go out more." Abigail just grinned at her friend and Kelly could only shrug.

"Oh well. Now that I think about it, if I were in their shoes, I might be the same, especially when my beloved, well-behaved Abi suddenly decides to sleep over at her friend"s house for the first time ever in her life!"

"Haha, I honestly don"t see anything weird with that, though."

"Gos.h.!.+ You have no idea, Abi. I"m telling you! Wait… don"t distract me. You still haven"t answered my questions! Now tell me, this is just the first date, right?" Kelly finally began the interrogation.

Gladly, Abi was already fully prepared for this so she answered her right away.

"He said we will be attending a party held by his friend. He said I"ll be his partner."

"After the party, you will have your first date, right?"

"Yes."

"And after the date, well… you know what might happen next, right?"

"Well, of course… I have a fairly good idea of what could happen next. I read a bunch of romance novels."

"But you"ve never read s.m.u.ts, Abi. Ah, I kind of regret not giving you those R-18 novels to read. You were so innocent that I didn"t recommend any of the R-18 novels to you. Sigh…"

Abigail simply blinked at what Kelly was saying. She felt like she understood what her friend was trying to say but she clearly couldn"t get the connection between the first date and R-18 novels. Abi didn"t want to make her friend worry so she didn"t ask her to elaborate. Besides, she would just show Kelly that she knew what she was doing.

"I"ll be fine, Kelly. Now you"re being like my family as well, you know?" Abi grinned at her and her friend could only sigh.