Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 426 Two Different Worlds Apart (Part Two)

He kept thinking over and over, 'Should I let you go?' Then a stubborn part of him would argue, 'How can I just let you go like that?'

Someone called out his name. Brian didn't notice Tony standing behind him. His driver stood silently in a corner, observing his boss. Brian had returned to A City after his body recovered from extreme weight loss and fatigue. Tony noted how Brian seemed even more apathetic than before. After receiving a text message, he quietly walked towards Brian and reported, "Miss Xia still has not been found." Brian opened his eyes slowly and stared outside. His voice was colder than the temperature outside. "How could it be? So without XK Intelligence Agency, I can't do something as simple as finding a missing person?!" he barked.

His outrage stunned Tony. With eyes slightly drooping, he reported, "Their efforts were thwarted in the process of searching for Miss Xia. There is also information from Mr. Eric Long that shadows have been dispatched to look for her. But they haven't found her either!" Who, in this world, would be able to prevent him from finding a person, who knew about shadows like the back of his hand?

The answer was obvious. Only Richie Long, former leader of the Shadow Organization and current head of XK Intelligence Agency was the one person capable of doing all that.

The silence in the room was so oppressive that it made breathing difficult. Tony dared not move. It was apparent that Mr. Long's purpose was to cut all ties between Brian, Eric, and Molly. And Tony supported Mr. Long's efforts.

However, seeing Brian now, his heart grew heavy. From his observation, Tony saw that while Brian looked the same as before, he was a different man now.

"Go on looking for her," he ordered Tony. Then the driver heard Brian mumbling to himself, "We will meet again someday, won't we?"

It bothered Tony to hear Brian still so obsessed with Molly. He did not know why, but instinctively, he did not want to see that day come.

*

At Westminster, London, Britain

With her hands on her growing belly, Molly sat quietly on a bench by the roadside in Chinatown. With the light from red lanterns, the falling snowflakes created a fairyland atmosphere, just like in a dream. "Lovely girl?"

Molly slowly turned her head to look at the man who spoke to her. She saw him sitting down beside her. She stared at him blankly for several minutes before realizing he was the drunkard she had seen before. Today, however, he looked refreshed except that his hair was still the same. It resembled a bird's nest sitting atop his head.

She gave a small smile in greeting. Molly arrived more than ten days ago, but her English had not improved, even by a little, because she spent a lot of time staring blankly into space. She didn't have plans to be in Chinatown even knowing it was the new year, because she was alone.

Seeing Molly there was a complete surprise, and the man suddenly became excited. He talked about what was going to happen that night. In his excitement, he didn't realize Molly hardly understood what he was saying until he saw the blank look on her face. Still, he didn't mind this at all. Instead, he grabbed Molly's hand and pulled her up. Although shocked by his impulsiveness, she allowed herself to be led to a bar just ahead. He smiled at her encouragingly as they walked towards the bar.

The bar was owned by a Chinese. Since the place was called Chinatown, it was only logical that most of the people who moved around there were Chinese, including the owner of the bar. In his forties, the bar owner seemed very familiar with the man who was pulling Molly into his establishment. They exchanged pleasantries for several minutes before the owner finally greeted Molly with a wide smile and said to her in Chinese, "Nihao!" She returned his greeting with a slight smile.

The bar owner didn't seem to mind her shyness. He introduced himself. "My name is Johnny Li. People here call me Johnny, and you can call me that, too. This man here is Gary, an abstract painter. He just shared something about you. Are you alone in London?" he asked curiously.

Molly nodded, then quickly shook her head as she laid her hands on her abdomen. She was not alone!

Johnny thought she shook her head for fear that he and Gary were bad people. So, he shook his head and with a smile said, "Gary feels sorry that you're alone. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay in Chinatown. And if you're interested in getting a job... I can introduce you to a restaurant owner where many foreign students work part-time." It sounded interesting, but Molly hesitated.

Finally, she shook her head again and said, "Thanks, but I will be leaving after the new year."

When he heard this, Johnny knew it was not a good idea to force Molly to accept his suggestion. So, he said, "Well, that's good." After looking at Gary briefly, he told Molly, "Since you are Gary's friend and we come from the same country, we should coordinate with each other when we are away from home. If you have any problems, you can come here and look for me."

He picked up a business card and handed it to Molly.

She accepted it, inspected the card then put it in her backpack. In a soft voice, she said, "Thank you!"

As soon as she said that, Molly turned around and walked out of the bar. Looking at her retreating back, Gary frowned and asked, "Johnny, why is she leaving?"

"The girl has something on her mind," he told his friend. In the more than twenty years that he had been living in Chinatown, Johnny had met all sorts of people. At first glance, he knew something was wrong with Molly. He said, "Gary, I think she's probably suffering from depression." "Oh, really? And how do you know that?" Gary asked. His eyes widened in curiosity.

The bar owner shrugged. He shared his observations, "She wasn't open to talking with other people and was only absorbed in a world of her own. You'd think it was because she was timid, but her eyes betrayed her. Besides, once she became nervous and thought of refusing, her hands on her belly tightened slightly. That's a manifestation of resistance against the outside world." Gary was impressed and Johnny reminded him, "Don't forget what I majored in when I was in school."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Gary said angrily. He suddenly turned to leave and walked out in search of Molly. Outside, Gary looked around for the girl but couldn't see her. The whole street had crowded with people excited to set off firecrackers since it was close to midnight.

Oblivious to the festivities, Molly walked on the busy street quietly, as if she was isolated from the rest of the world then gradually drifting away. The merriment surrounding her had nothing to do with her, and everything except her unborn child had nothing to do with her. Molly was always trying to forget something intentionally.

"That woman is alone!" a voice in the dark said.

"What are you thinking of doing?" someone answered back.

"Hmmm."

The wretched voices came from a corner of the street, which loomed large in the festive atmosphere. Two shifty-eyed men had been tailing Molly. They watched Molly walk out of Chinatown and turn into a street with bare tree trunks covered in snow. The area was far different from festive Chinatown. Molly inhaled and thought, 'Here is quiet.'

She was unaware that she wasn't completely alone.