Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

Everything started from an anonymous message posted on the student's online forum.

"He acted like a saviour in front of everyone and took advantage of me," 

It was just a single line,

The name or designation or anything regarding the identity of the victim or the messenger was not included in that message,

But the moment, the message appeared on the forum, everyone believed that it was Li Juan. The message spread like a wildfire, among the student community,

Instead of sympathizing and helping the victim, everyone started to criticize her,

And what was the most terrifying part of the online discussions?

Nobody accused the boy, every single blame was placed on the girl.

While a bunch of keyboards warriors vilified Li Juan as a teenager who has lewd character and inculpated for her something she has never done.

It was true.

Li Juan wasn't the person who wrote the message,

When the entire student community of Silver Oak high school proclaimed Li Juan as whore, she was lying in the operation table unconsciously.

Li Juan wished to run away from the four walls of Zhang Zhi Jun's condominium. She doesn't want to stay with him any more.

Zhang Zhi Jun, the man she idolized, the man she respected the most, betrayed her.

Even before Li Juan could open the door and leave, she ran into Zhang Zhi Jun who came back from the hotel.

He stood upright in front of the door and passively looked at Li Juan while talking over the phone,

"Yes, grandpa, we are about to leave, yeah." He ended the phone call.

"Since you have already packed your bags, let's leave,"

"To where?"

"Home,"

"I am not coming,"

Zhang Zhi Jun looked at the girl who stood before him, holding a bag. The look in her eyes appeared inhospitable and frosty. 

"I didn't believe them." He sounded sincere and genuine.

"But you remained silent." Li Juan stared directly into his eyes. "You let them humiliate me,"

"They simply asked you questions,"

"Oh yes," Li Juan scoffed, "we were reminiscing the past memories," 

"Were you so indulged in the conversation, that you failed to notice that their questions made me uncomfortable?"

"But you managed the situation well," Zhang Zhi Jun casually said,

Li Juan was lost at words, what is he saying?

"So are you saying that you are completely okay with your friends looking down upon me? treating me as a slut?"

Li Juan!!!! Zhang Zhi Jun raised his voice,

"Don't raise your voice," Li Juan said to him with a cold voice. "You remained silent in front of them, let them look down upon me and you have no right to right to raise your voice at me,"

" I am sorry for remaining silent," Zhang Zhi Jun apologised, "but it didn't seem like that you needed my help and I am not going to hide the fact that I was curious to know about you,"

"You should have asked me,"

"You refused to let down your guard against me. You treat me as a stranger," He sounded desolate," I only wanted to get closer to you. I thought once I introduce you to my friends, you might understand how much you mean to me,"

"I mean nothing to you," Li Juan's words lacked warmth. 

"Do you remember anything happened last night?" Zhang Zhi Jun questioned her with grief and sorrow his eyes.

Suddenly the doorbell rang interrupting their conversation.

Zhang Zhi Jun sighed and went to open the door. It was his assistant.

"Good evening, Miss Li," Bing Wen greeted her.

"Why are you leaving already, I thought you are going to stay here for a few more days." Bing Wen asked Zhang Zhi Jun,

"We are done with the work here,"

"Okay, do you have any luggage?" 

"No,"

"Let me help you with these," Bing Wen walked towards Li Juan and took her bag. Li Juan glanced at Zhang Zhi Jun and followed Bing Wen in steady steps.

While sitting on the window seat of the chartered flight, Li Juan looked at the shimmering night lights of Jing city, 

It was her home for more than twenty years,

But the thought of spending one more night in the city was excruciating for her.

From now on, Yun city will be her home, maybe a new start, But for how long?

She no longer holds a hope that she will have a peaceful life,

Why nothing goes right for her?

For all these years, she considered Tang Wei Sheng as a blessing, but later on, he has turned into a curse in disguise.

Even if she avoids Tang Wei Sheng like plague, his presence silently follows her like a shadow.

How to get rid of a shadow? Stay in darkness,

Li Juan looked at her slender wrists.

The compass tattoo, 

Who is she looking for? She got nothing to hold on to

What if she decides to end everything once for all? 

The moment they reached down in Xi city, it started raining heavily.

Li Juan looked at the raindrops falling down the windowpane,

Why her heartaches whenever its rains?

As soon as they reached Yu palace, Li Juan went to her room.

It is going to be a long night,

Li Juan took a sleeping pill and plopped on to her bed.

Maybe it is because of the rain, the whole room felt cold and positioned herself in a fetal position.

While she was sleeping, Li Juan had a dream,

A man sat next to Li Juan and narrated something from a piece of paper, in his deep voice,

"I was standing in a mountain valley, looking at the bright sky touching the mountain peaks,

I don't know why, I suddenly felt that the sky was kissing the mountain, like a man kissing the forehead of his beloved woman,

The entire place was silent, only the gentle humming sound of the breeze heard,

It felt that everyone is giving them a moment with each other.

Fascinating isn't it? How come I never thought that such a love story exists? 

"Chirp, chirp, come here," someone's voice broke the silence,

Who is that? I looked around and found a sparrow, she sat on the rock and called me again, 

"Chirp, chirp, come here,"

I walked towards her in a surprise.

"Do you like me? she asked me,

She appeared delighted to meet me and talked to me like a friend,

It was like I am watching a one-act drama, I got engrossed in it and wondered what kind of magic is this?

Did I fell into a fairytale or am I dreaming?

"Are you the one who sings the song which I hear everywhere?" I asked her, 

She agreed, she said that she is looking for someone, someone who means the world to her.

We talked for some time, but soon after she left,

Spreading her wings wide, moving her beak, she flew towards the sky,

Suddenly the sky gathered rainclouds and it started growling,

In a moment, raindrops splattered everywhere, 

How come the clear blue sky turned grey and started raining, all at once?

It feels like the directions got blurred in the rain, and I am lost, I am unable to find my way back,

What would have happened to the sparrow,

She was nowhere to see, did she lost her direction?

Did the heavy raindrops hurt her small wings?

I stood in the rain, thinking about her, drenched in sorrow.

should I look for her?"

He finished the story and looked at Li Juan, who appeared lost in his mesmerizing voice.

"This is what you wrote?"

"It was a dream which I saw yesterday," Li Juan said in a faint voice, "Weird isn't it?"

"I think it is amazing that you are having such dreams, other people have nightmares." His lips bloomed into a smile,

"In every dream, I am looking for someone, last time it was the queen, this time it is a sparrow. I didn't know why I am having such dreams,

Did I lose someone?

It rained continuously for a day and night, Li Juan didn't even come out from the room. She remained in her bed under the quilt, 

In the beginning, everyone in the Bai family thought that Li Juan fell sick due to her poor health.

However, witnessing Zhang Zhi Jun's equally dispirited demeanour, somehow they to a conclusion that something has happened between them while they were in the Jing city,

The next day,

The grey clouds filled in the skies of Yun city got replaced by bright blue sky, 

Once again, Sun emerged from the thick bundles of white clouds, warming the cold earth after a rainy day,

And Yu palace had a visitor,

It was Liang.

Liang! Bai Zhu's expression turned ugly. It was that anonymous person who claims to be Li Juan's friend. 

"Good morning everyone!" He greeted everyone. "I came to meet Li Juan."

Bai Zhu glanced at Zhang Zhi Jun who was quietly observing the man who appeared on their doorstep, asking for Li Juan.

"Who is this new guy?"

"It is him, Princess's friend," Bai Yu whispered. "Dr Liang,"

The first thought came to Zhang Zhi Jun's mind was,

If this man is her friend, then why his photo is not in Li Juan's phone? And second,

Why she is surrounded by handsome men? He wondered,

Tang Wei Sheng, Lee Tae Min, Liang, every single one of them had breathtaking visuals and belonged to the fairer side in the terms of skin tone. Well, Yang Xiong wasn't as breathtaking as them, but he had pretty defined looks.

"Does she prefer men who is fair?"

Zhang Zhi Jun and Li Juan had the same skin tone, in fact, most of the members in the Yu clan had dark skin tones.

C country had an obsession over translucent skin, usually, men preferred girls who had white jade-like skin and cute and delicate facial features.

When it comes to men's skin tone, the people in C country was open to embracing different shades,

For men, having a darker skin tone was considered as a merit. Since it imparted a macho-sexy image.

While Zhang Zhi Jun was considered as the sexiest man in the C country and idolized by everyone, Li Juan who had the same skin tone was bullied for being dark.

She was the exact opposite of the so-called standards of a woman, set by society.

She had a rich honey-coloured skin tone and sharp facial features. 

She leaves an unforgettable impression on others. 

Did she leave an impression on Liang's life too? 

"Inform princess," Bai Zhu ordered. "How are you, Mr Liang? I thought you have met the princess when she came to Jing city?"

"No, we couldn't meet. I was out of town for a while." He replied. 

"I heard that you are not only princess's friend but also her personal doctor. Which hospital do you work?" Bai Zhu tried his luck to find the whereabouts Liang.

" I no longer work in hospitals. Though I occasionally do some volunteering and other services." He honestly said.

Princess is here!

Bai Zhu turned everyone's attention towards the staircase.

The moment Li Juan came down, everyone's face was covered in shock.

She was still in her night wears,

The oversized white nightgown revealed her perfect collar bones and the phoenix tattoo. With her tired face and the prominent collar bones, she gave an impression of a fragile and weak person.

The loosely flying hair and her white dress made her appear like a soulless ghost.

Li Juan stood in the staircase and stared at Liang with tired eyes.

She didn't smile or acknowledge his presence. She remained frozen on the last step of the staircase.

Liang felt that something is wrong.

He stood up from his seat and walked towards her with a smile.

Li Juan kept staring at him until her eyes turned moist, 

What happened? Dai Liang looked at her with concern.

She pursed her lips to avoid crying.

"Li Juan," he reached out to touch her slender arms, A low sob left her mouth and she leaned on to him.