I AM

Chapter 19

"Who, who are you?" Zhao Yunlan whispered.

"I am...Wang Zheng."

"Wang Zheng? Can you stand?" the body Zhao Yunlan tried to carry was so light, fragile, as though it would break under his touch. And it was another woman.

"They're coming for me...please don't let them get me..." the personality called Wang Zheng clung to Zhao Yunlan as he led her to the waiting limousine.

As soon as they were settled and the limousine pulled away, Zhao Yunlan raised the privacy screen so that the driver could not hear them. He called Jia Qiu to warn him of what had happened, then called President Zhao.

"Don't worry, they're all gone. No one is going to hurt you," Zhao Yunlan said softly as he gently patted her back.

"All those hands, reaching out, grabbing at me..." she whimpered.

Poor Wang Zheng. What trauma had caused her to be?

Soon the limousine pulled up to the mansion. Zhao Yunlan was relieved to see Sister Cheng outside, along with President Zhao and Jia Qiu. Sister Cheng's hands were gentle as she guided Wang Zheng out of the limousine and into the mansion, while Zhao Yunlan and Jia Qiu unloaded the luggage. President Zhao's expression was pained.

"How did this happen?"

Zhao Yunlan told them about how Shen Wei seemed to be enjoying himself in Singapore. Then he spoke of the strange "coincidence" how the flight crew of the private jet all got sick. They had no choice but to catch a flight on a commercial airlines. It was the mob of women outside who ambushed them, tearing them apart from Shen Wei and grabbed at him.

"That would explain this mysterious tweet, supposedly from Shen Wei," President Zhao showed Zhao Yunlan his phone. On it was a message, saying that China's most eligible bachelor would be at the airport, and that he was looking for potential brides. "Ridiculous! When I find out who did this..." he growled through gritted teeth.

Zhao Yunlan was thoughtful for a minute, typed something on his phone, then put it in his pocket and walked inside. They all waited in the living room downstairs until Sister Cheng came down the stairs.

"Wang Zheng kept crying about hands and being attacked. It took a while to reassure her that she was safe here, and after a hot bath, she calmed down. She's asleep now. Jia Qiu, may I trouble you for a blanket? I'd like to sleep over, if that's alright with everyone," Sister Cheng said.

"Yes, I'm sure she would appreciate that. Thank you for coming out at this hour, Sister Cheng," President Zhao bowed his head.

"I'm glad you called me. Unlike Zhu Hong, Wang Zheng has been deeply traumatized, and she is very weak and frail. I think she felt relieved with me, another woman. Tell me what happened," she asked Zhao Yunlan.

By the time Zhao Yunlan had finished telling the story, Jia Qiu had set out a folding mattress with thick blankets on the floor next to Shen Wei's bed.

"Will you be alright in here? I mean, what if it's Shen Wei who wakes up? He'll be shocked to see a woman in his room..." Zhao Yunlan's voice trailed off as he realized how silly he sounded.

Sister Cheng looked at Zhao Yunlan for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't jump on top of him. If you're that concerned, I'm sure Jia Qiu can set out another set of blankets here -"

"No, no. I'll, I'll be in the next room. Asleep. Um, have a good rest," Zhao Yunlan stammered as he rushed out of the room. Sister Cheng looked after him, the smile still on her face, and after checking on Wang Zheng once more, she lay down on the makeshift bed.