Song Qingchun pinched the ball of her palm as if the pain would help her breathe out her decision. She nodded with a quiet confirmation. After a while, worried that he might not understand what she meant, she added succinctly, "I have."
This was Su Zhinian's term and he had the upper hand in the negotiation, but for some reasons, when he learnt of her answer, his usually cold eyes suddenly went blank and was a little dumbstruck; he remained in that state for quite some time.
Song Qingchun was made incredibly anxious by his long silence. Afraid that he would renege on his words, she could not help but say, "I agree to all of those terms you have brought up, now can you please give me the signed document?"
Su Zhinian did not speak. He pressed a button on his keyboard and a printer on the side started to print.
Song Qingchun asked apprehensively, "The terms are all yours, you are not going to renege on your words, right?"
Su Zhinian still did not answer as he walked to the printer to retrieve the two piece of paper that were freshly printed. He dropped them before Song Qingchun and ordered, "Sign."
"What is this?" Song Qingchun looked at Su Zhinian with confusion. Noticing the man had no intention of answering her, she picked up the two papers to read. It was a contract drawn up by Su Zhinian.
On the paper, it was written clearly that from 1st December 2015 to 10th March 2016, in these one hundred days, from seven pm to seven am, Miss Song Qingchun's time belonged fully to Mr. Su Zhinian. For the twelve hours of these one hundred days, Miss Song Qingchun had to be at Mr. Su Zhinian's beck and call. To facilitate Miss Song Qingchun's responsibility, she would have to move into Mr. Su Zhinian's bungalow for the period of these one hundred days. She would be responsible for his living arrangements, from cleaning, cooking, to dressing, and in return Mr. Su Zhinian would help Miss Song Qingchun revive Song Empire within these one hundred days.
She did not expect she would one day become a commodity that was part of a trade contract. The contract also had a clear disclaimer that stated if she was unable to fulfil the contracted requirements, Song Empire would definitely go under and she would also have to pay him a large sum for liquidated damages.
Song Qingchun read the contract for about one minute before taking the pen on the table to sign her life away.
Su Zhinian sat in his chair and was as quiet as before. His gaze followed the tip of the pen, and when he saw the name "Song Qingchun" scrawled out on the piece of paper, he felt surprisingly empty within. Then, as if he could no longer stand to look at it, he turned away to look out the window.
After Song Qingchun was done and informed Su Zhinian, she did not get a reply. She lifted her head to see that the man was staring out the window, as if deeply interested in something outside of it.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but she swore she saw a trace of desolation on his impossibly perfect face.
Before Song Qingchun could confirm, Su Zhinian whipped around, and his gaze was emotionless and cruel, which made Song Qingchun affirm that she had imagined things before.
Su Zhinian pulled the two pieces of paper away. He signed his name and kept one for himself and passed the other alongside the blank document back to Song Qingchun. As the two contracts landed in Song Qingchun's hands, Su Zhinian stood up from his table and left the study.
Comments