Beloved Nemesis

[Special Chapter]

This chapter depicts the first time Zuo Hang met Sloane.
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Zuo Hang's POV

"Come on, Zuo Hang. It's not going to be a formal party, chill!" Ismael still tried to pull me despite the declines I made to his invites.

"Your dad and mine are not in good terms, Ismael." I tried to explain. For some business reasons, his father and my father don't really share the same opinions at all when it comes to career. It is Ismael's birthday, and as much as I want to celebrate his day with him, I don't want to further intensify our fathers' issues.

"Hang, my dad is not even there. He's always in the company like he always do. As for mom, she's still waiting for the plane at the airport. Its just my sister at home."

"Your sister?" I asked. It was only three months since Ismael and I became friends, and I didn't realize that he actually has a sister.

"Yup. My twin, in particular. Don't mind her. I bet she'd stay inside her room studying her books. She doesn't care much about birthdays."

I simply nodded. "So who else are gonna celebrate with you?"

"Aside from you? Hm, we have maids, drivers and gardeners at home. And I have three pet dogs too. That'd be enough for a celebration."

The next thing I knew, I was riding his car and we started to enter their house gate.

Their place is noticeably spacious and cozy. Ismael led me inside their house, and we were immediately greeted by their workers, who looked like they were close to him. I bowed my head as a way of greeting and they gave me welcoming gestures as well.

"You must be very hungry. Come, we have made some appetizers." Their maids led us to the house's edge, wherein a waterpool resised. Along the waterpool are small tables with white umbrellas on top.

"Where's Sloane by the way?" Ismael asked. So that must be his sister's name. Sloane.

"We called her awhile ago. She must be coming in a moment."

"That's what she always says, tsk, tsk." Ismael put his hands on his hips. "You know what, my sister comes out of her room very rarely. And when I say rare, I mean rare. I wonder if she could even memorize all parts of our house."

I slightly grimaced. "She's that devoted to studies?"

"Yup. I don't understand her either, you know. I think it's all because of..." Ismael didn't continue his sentence and simply shrugged. "Anyways, let's go eat."

Both of us took steps towards the tables but for a moment, I stopped. A human figure just appeared from the gardens. It looked creepy at first, because who knows if I'm actually looking at a ghost? It took me a while to realize that it was a girl, who revealed herself upon passing by the tall plants. Her eyes widened upon laying her eyes on me.

I don't know why, but I went frozen as well, standing there like a statue. She avoided her gaze at me and continued walking, but after a while, she looked at me once again.

She was slowly walking while gazing at me, until I realized that she was already stepping close to the waterpool. Before I could warn her to stand back, she suddenly fell and got herself wet.

"Sloane?" Ismael shouted. "Hold on, I'm coming to save-"

"No!" The girl who fell to the pool shouted. The water is higher than her neck, so she was struggling to speak. "My book! My book is down there!"

I winced at how she's even more worried about a book instead of herself. I took a breath and jumped on the pool, despite knowing to myself that I'm not the best swimmer. I opened my eyes underneath the water, and found the book she was talking about. Since I was running out of breath, I used my feet instead to pick up the book. Surprisingly, the strategy worked.