The Bodyguard of the Crimson Rain

Prologue

Hua Cheng sat in the back of the bus, continuously checking his watch and waiting for his stop.

Returning from school, he wore a well-worn uniform. To divert attention from the bus's clamor and the scrutinizing gazes fixated on the holes in his shoes, he occupied himself by frequently consulting his watch.

He was annoyed.

He suddenly experienced an abrupt lift off the seat, then a hard crash down. He and a few other passengers turned to check on the bus driver, who was desperately manipulating the wheel, but it was futile.

One of the tires burst.

Before he knew it, the bus careened down a hill. In a rush, the bus driver attempted to restore control by slamming on the brakes. However, he considered them to be unusually light, lacking the expected pressure and stiffness - a clear indication that the brakes were not working properly.
The passengers on the bus were screaming as they were thrown around in the bus, their belongings flying in the air and hitting the floors, creating messes. Hua Cheng was trying to steady himself as hard as he could by holding onto the front seats arm rests.

The driver swerved, barely avoiding an approaching car, but unfortunately redirected the bus into the path of two pedestrians: one mother and one child.

Panicking, the driver slammed the breaks as the bus barreled forward, closing his eyes and preparing for the worst.

Hua Cheng similarly closed his eye and braced himself, but instead of feeling or hearing a crash, he felt his body abruptly jerk forward as the bus halted in its tracks, barely hitting the woman who was holding her child.

He opened his eye, glancing around the bus in confusion. Seeing that everyone was unharmed, he wondered how the brakes miraculously worked at the last moment. Turning to the back window, he noticed something peculiar.

A man wearing a white hoodie backed away from the rear end of the bus. He turned around without revealing his own face, and began walking up the opposite road.

Hua Cheng intriguingly watched the man in white walk away. The man stopped in his tracks as if he could sense that Hua Cheng was staring at him, and slightly turned back to him.

The breeze caught the hood of the man's hoodie and was about to pull it away from his head!
Before his face was revealed, Hua Cheng heard an annoying sound echoing inside his ears.

Ring! Ring!

He awoke to the sight of his familiar black ceiling with a chandelier suspended from it.

“Tch.” He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Ever since that event happened a few years ago, he'd dream of the day again and again; he had the dream for months now.

Really, he wanted to see the man's face, just once!

Hua Cheng wiped the sleep from his eyes and grabbed his phone, grumpily swiping up to answer the phone call.

“This is the CEO of Crimson Rain company.” He spoke in a tone that balanced respect to avoid rudeness, yet carried a firmness indicating his slight annoyance.

A threatening, distorted voice responded to his introduction, issuing a demand.
“Delete your game Ghost City, or there will be consequences.”

Hua Cheng scoffed, his irritation evident. "Oh, how frightening," he remarked with heavy sarcasm. "Couldn't you have issued your threats during daylight? I might have been scared if I wasn't catching some shut-eye," he added, speaking in a tone laced with sarcasm and concluding with a sigh.

The voice was unaffected, continuing to give threats.

“Delete your game, or else..”

“You wouldn't want to have to deal with the consequences.”

“It will be dangerous if you keep your game up-”

After ending the call, Hua Cheng sighed deeply, tucking his phone beneath his pillow.

"Who the f*ck are you?!" he groaned, frustration evident as he buried his face in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.