The Great Artist // NINE PERCENT Chen Linong

16

○ Says he loves you but it's all fake ○
○ His universal love will never stop ○

Confused, the situation too vague, too in-descriptive, too complicated for her to solve. It was like a 300-piece puzzle she has to organize and put in place. But this time, there was nothing to put in place, no picture on what the outcome would look like, no clues on how to solve the case, nothing.

Overwhelmed, she was. The situation was too much for her mind to handle. She didn't know what was right or wrong, what was the truth or where was the lie, the direction of where she should go, the twists and turns, she didn't know. Her mind could no longer comprehend what was going on at the moment.

Guilty, the guilt eating her alive. She didn't know anything anymore. She used to be so confident, so adamant on her opinions and look how the tables have turned. She was guilty as charged. But she had no other choice. She didn't know who or what to believe, the promise made by her lover 2 years ago or the words of a man she acquainted a few months ago, a man she barely knew.

Curious, the word seemed as if it was meant to be for her just as she steps into this sort of situation. She wanted to know everything. She wanted to know the truth behind their peculiar romantic relationship, one they have drifted apart from, one they have lost commitment of.

Desperate, no doubt. She was dying to get her hands on the knowledge and the true meaning behind everything. She was close to a detective solving some cliché murder case where the murderer was someone very unexpected. She wanted- no, needed to know what this relationship meant to him all these years.

Those were all the words the artist could describe as her current state. Her mind was slowly ripping apart, the complexion of one of her main problems tearing apart the strains of her brain. She was so very close to losing her mind if it weren't for the voice in her head telling her to calm down and re-think the clues.

But she was tired of thinking and the fact that there were no clues or evidence in this case was driving her crazy. She was tired of everything, and she had no doubt wished to escape from this cruel world, from this torturous reality.

And perfectly at a time like this, the CEO had arranged a date for them to enjoy. They still do go on dates but they don't feel the same, it wasn't the same, not like how it used to be. But who was she to deny that offer? He is her lover, but is she his really?

She got ready for the date. The CEO had suggested a restaurant for the date, a fancy one at that so she was sort of obligated to dress up a bit formally. She settled with a short A-line electric blue dress with a ribbon at the side. It was nothing too much but not too casual as well.

She just had to get to her car and head to the café and so that was what she did. "You've arrived" the CEO said with a smile so bright that it could blind anyone, maybe even the sun. "Of course, I would never forget your habit of arriving early. I didn't want to make you wait anyways" she said, smiling and taking a seat.

"I ordered your favorite, Iced Chocolate Blend with whip cream and chocolate powder on top" he said just as a waitress arrive. "Thank you" she smiled and started to sip the drink. "It's been a while since we had a date like this, I miss it" he said. "I miss you, spending time with you as we talk about how chocolate is better than coffee or otherwise, I miss all of it" he said, holding my hand on the table.

"Then why don't we do all those things again, shopping, talking, eating, laughing, why don't we recreate the memories we have with new ones?" the artist said. The CEO was taken aback by her suggestions but grinned nonetheless and pulled her to her feet. "Then what are you waiting for?"

They really did recreate their memories. They felt as if it was the old them, their relationship before going crazy with their jobs, their relationship before drifting apart. They laughed till they couldn't breathe, smiled till their cheeks hurt, ate till they couldn't stand, and shopped till their hands were full.

It was amazing if the CEO must admit. He loved the way she smiled, her white pearly teeth showing, the way she walked with an ounce of confidence and happiness yet not losing any sense of freedom, the way she talked with so much enthusiasm and passion, the way she ate with no care in the world, everything.

He felt bad for technically cheating on her but he had a sense of saying that every man has his needs. It was indeed true but he would never admit that his way of dealing with that situation was to find someone else. Their day ended in a blink of an eye, one thing that always happens when one had fun.

"Love you, baby" Ziyang said as the driver drove off the artist away from the Factory Outlet. They had always loved that place which explains the reason why the CEO had chose that specific venue to recreate those old memories. The artist sure did felt nostalgic, they used to go there so often. Where did that relationship of theirs go?

"Where have you been?" the writer questioned as she steps foot on the mansion. "On a date with Yang-ge, he didn't say anything in particular that could lead us to what your hypothesis would prove" she said. That was one of the main reasons the artist wanted to spend time with him, to get the truth out of the man himself.

"What did he say? Maybe anything that could lead us like... something he hasn't said to you in a while" the writer said. The artist thought for a while before looking up, her emerald eyes meeting the writer's onyx ones. "Love you, baby" she heard his voice echo in her head.

"He did say an 'I love you'" she said. "Did you reciprocated it?" he asked and she shook her head. "I wanted to but it didn't register in my mind that he had actually said that so I didn't" she said. "Now my question to you is" he started off. "Is it all true?"