ZuoMeng: To Dream

Aflame

They finally arrived at the room; YuHua used a little trick and opened the door from the outside. ChunWah entered into the room first and headed towards the painting on the table. She untied the knot and lifted one of the ends up, revealing the picture underneath as the other end flows down.

Her face muscle tense, it was just as she had suspected. She could not believe her own eyes; it was just as she was afraid. "It is her," thought ChunWah, looking at the woman in the picture.

"The woman whom I thought would never have to see again, is appearing right in front of me," thought ChunWah. She was surprised, even though she had already had an inkling when she had a glimpse of the painting in the garden.

"Although, the little girl thought she had fooled me, but I was faster than she thought, and I had actually saw part of her face but at that point I wasn't sure yet. But now, I am certain," thought ChunWah.

YuHua got closer to her, and the maid took a look at the picture as well, but she shuddered. She doesn't know why but she was afraid of the woman in the picture and unknowingly said, "This is a curse picture."

"Yes, it is. It must be burn," continued ChunWah and she folded it and took it out with her but was held back by YuHua. "Miss, we shouldn't."

"But did not you say that it was a curse painting yourself."

"But-" stuttered YuHua.

"If you are not helping then I will do it myself. Let go," said ChunWah and she stormed off towards her room with the painting in her hand.

As she sprinted across corridors to her own room her thoughts were going back towards the fateful day, it was her unluckiest day yet at the same time it was her luckiest because on that day she was kidnapped, almost killed but it was also on that day she fell in love with ZhenYu and the day she saved his life and the day that changed everything.

"He must not know about this. If he realized that I wasn't the one who save him. I might get kicked out from here. Penniless," thought ChunWah.

She was confused as to how the painting of this woman was in the house; however, what is overpowering her confusion, right now, are not feelings of shock or anger but fear. There was an undeniable fear reflected in her eyes. The girl was her greatest threat. She can't have the painting be here for another minute, no, not even for a fraction of a second.

"Why does she have a picture of her? Have ZhenYu already seen it?" Her castle of confidence which she had built up in these five years was crumbling down in an instant because deep down she knew that the one Brother Zhen wanted to save was this girl.

That time he was chasing after the bandits, he was not looking at her but this girl. It was mysterious that after saving him that day, he had no memory about the girl, even though she remembered.

"Brother ZhenYu never even mentioned about her once but now suddenly a painting of her had surfaced. I need to get rid of it immediately," thought ChunWah urgently.

The moment ChunWah arrived at her room, she reached for the water basin on the bed side table and threw out the water from it through the window and began maniacally tearing the painting, first into half and then into four, and later into eight pieces, the process goes on until she had no longer had the strength to rip apart anymore.

The woman scattered the fragments into the basin and began striking the flint trying to ignite them and burning the painting, but the wind was too strong. She was getting anxious, but the flint was stubborn and did not light up as she wanted to.

ChunWah walked over to the window and slammed it close and tried to light it again.

The fire finally ignited, and the painting started to burn.