IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER - Season 9 Episode 53

But before she reached the door knob, Sharon and Sally heard a voice.

“What are you doing here?” Greg asked with a scowl, landing his gaze on Sharon. He stood not far from them, wondering the identity of the woman beside his stepmother.

Caught unprepared, Sharon withdrew her hand immediately. She turned around to see Greg. Overwhelmed by dread, she instinctively took several steps backwards.

Taking notice of Sharon’s reaction, Sally followed her gaze and saw Greg. ‘Isn’t that Fred Xao’s son who got married to Violet Chu? A doctor with a stellar record in the practice under his belt. Recently, he returned from abroad to take over at the helm of the XS Hospital, ‘ she assumed, keenly surveying the young man.

“Greg, umm, well…” the panic-stricken Sharon faltered, unable to find an excuse for her presence on the premises.

Curious to know what was happening, Greg came forward and paused in front of Sharon and Sally. He sized up the latter, judging secretly. ‘As far I saw, she is older than my Aunt. And by her dressing, I can tell she’s quite above the salt.’

“Is this your friend, Aunt?” Greg asked in a more polite manner than usual. The unfolding scene felt surreal. A discernible fluster crossed Sharon’s face, but the elegant woman by her side remained graceful and calm. There was a glaring difference between the two and Greg had a hunch that there was something more to the mysterious woman.

“Oh, yeah, she is,” Sharon replied incoherently. After composing herself, she made introductions for the two, “Greg, meet my friend. You can call her Aunt.”

In response to the introduction, Greg nodded at Sally. “Nice to meet you,” he politely greeted.

Without saying a word, Sally nodded back at him. She then turned around and walked away.

Seeing that Sally left, Sharon didn’t know what to do. She needed to give Greg a reasonable excuse for her coming here, she thought.

“Well, Greg, I showed my friend around. We shopped nearby, so I brought her here,” Sharon explained. “I’ve got to go.

My friend has never been here before. She is unfamiliar with this city, so I need to guide her around or else she’ll have a hard time finding her way.”

As soon as she said this, she ran to Sally ignoring Greg’s suspicious eyes.

Greg shifted his gaze from Sharon’s back to Sally’s. He finally rested his eyes on the name tag with Kate Bai’s name on it broodingly. ‘Kate Bai is just a common woman from the bottom of society. Does Sharon or her friend know her?’

Like total strangers, Sally and Sharon stood, waiting for the elevator without talking to each other. The former wore a composed expression, while the latter looked restless and shaken.

When the door opened, Sally fixed her eyes on the girl inside. She guessed it was Aria Liu.

The young girl hummed a tune carrying the delivery boxes. She wore cheap but fairly fashionable clothes. In particular, the design compensated well for what the clothes lacked in quality.

Although she saw the two old ladies standing outside the elevator, Aria didn’t pay much attention to them. Oblivious of the expressions on their faces, she strolled out humming a merry tune.

Cheerfully, she strutted into her mother’s ward. She had no idea that the two standing at the exit of the elevator still focused their gazes on her.

“It’s her. She is Aria Liu, Lawrence’s woman,” Sharon said decidedly. She was certain that the girl they just met was Aria.

But Sally didn’t respond.

Disdainfully, Sharon remarked, “I don’t know why would Lawrence have a crush on such a bland looking girl. Like a country girl, she walks around in drab clothes and no make-up at all. What a skinny, cheap girl with a tragic sense of fashion!”

Chipping in, Sally scornfully chuckled. “Looks like Lawrence has no taste for women,” she said flatly.

Then she entered the lift, followed by Sharon.

Aria caught a glimpse of a figure not far from her mother’s ward. But as she came closer, she was surprised to see it was Greg.

“Hello, Mr. Greg,” she gushed.

Only Aria’s greeting drew Greg out of his trance. He turned to look her. “Hi, Aria!” he greeted back with a shallow smile.

“I came here to bring some food for my mother,” Aria added, as she showed the box to Greg.

“Aunt is probably hungry. Let’s get inside,” Greg said, pushing the door and walking in first, trailed by Aria.

Outside the hospital, Sally and Sharon were fuming with frustration for their botched mission.

Especially, Sharon felt the heat. On their way back to Sally’s apartment, they drove in dead silence, a heavy aura filling the car like they were in a hot summer afternoon, even though it was relatively cold outside.

Once they got home, Sally slouched in the lounge, staring ahead with a pensive look, and still not talking.

Equally wistful, Sharon stood beside her, trembling. “Perhaps we had bad luck today. We can go there another day,” she began with a shiver in her voice.

“There is no need. Your stepson is not one to be fooled so easily. As we stood in the corridor for that short time, he already sniffed we were up to something sinister. The quizzical stare he gave us was enough to tell. But…” Sally responded with a glimmer in her eyes, “I got another idea.”

Already she had devised a fall-back plan. Even though she miserably failed today, she was determined to hatch another scheme. Before going to the hospital, she had racked her brains to find a way to take revenge on Lawrence and the Chu family in person. Now she planned use someone else to achieve her revenge. That way, she could easily steer clear of trouble, without even the slightest hint of suspicion on her heels.

“Oh yeah?” Sharon felt slightly amazed. With a confused look, she continued, “What is it?”

Sally shifted her gaze to look at Sharon. “Who are the most popular female stars in the country?” she asked, her lips curving into a wicked smile.

“Karen Zhang, Laura Qu, Rebecca Lin…” Sharon answered. After giving several names, she thought of something.

“We can use Rebecca Lin,” Sally said firmly.

“Rebecca Lin? What can she do for us?” Sharon asked, confounded. After a thought, she advised apprehensively, “We’d better not get her involved in this.

She is a celebrity with a knack for drama, and the paparazzi have a thing for for antics. If they sniff-out our plan, we will be in for real trouble.”