Meeting You Was Fate

Right now, Mandy was on duty at the JR Hospital.
She was too busy with her work and didn't have time to check her cell phone the whole morning. She didn't see the message
from Daniel until noon.
The text message read: I'll see you at the Zero Bar at 8: 00 tonight. Whether your father can come out or not depends on your
performance tonight.
"Damn it!" Mandy screamed furiously. She clenched her fists tightly and pounded on the desk, her face burning with anger. How
could Daniel threat her like this? How could he do this to her father? Her father had been so kind to him.
Jamie, who was about to enter the room, was shocked by the scene he witnessed. It was the first time for him to see Mandy
behaving like this since she came to work at the JR Hospital.
He looked so worried. "Doctor Zhou, what happened?" he asked anxiously. He hurriedly put down a stack of files on the desk
and walked towards Mandy in a gentle and refined manner.
Mandy swiftly smoothed her hair in front of her forehead and calmed herself down quickly. She did not want her colleague to
probe further. So with a smile, she promptly replied, "Dr. Yang, I'm all right. I received a trash message just now. Those trash
messages are so annoying."
"Well, you don't have to pay attention to it. Just delete it. Would you like to have dinner with me?" he asked gently, expecting that
she would accept his invitation. Jamie cleverly switched the subject. He was very fond of her. In his eyes, she was as elegant as
a lotus. Mandy was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
"Okay," Mandy cracked a smile and accepted the invitation without second thoughts. But her mind was in a total mess all the
time. She could not help thinking about the message and Daniel's purpose. She had tried figuring it out, but still, she couldn't
come up with something of relevance.
The Zero Bar was shrouded in neon lights. Other than being noisy, it emitted a dangerous vibe to Mandy.
Donned in her casual clothes, Mandy quietly stood outside the bar. Though she appeared calm, inwardly, she seemed to be
somewhat restless. Uncertainty began to engulf her as she eyed the whole place from where she stood. The scene before her
looked like there were ongoing feasting and celebration of some sort. Mandy now became hesitant. What was she going to face
in the bar?

Mandy briefly closed her eyes and mustered up her courage. And before she changed her mind, she gingerly went into the Zero
Bar. Clutching her bag tightly in her hands, she deliberately walked at a slow pace. Every step she took showed how totally
against seeing Daniel she was. If she could only come up with a better solution, she would never have come to the bar to meet
him.
The moment she came in, she felt uncomfortable. The music was blaring out hard from the bar, stimulating every nerve of her
body. In the booths, there were groups of young men and women scattered everywhere. Looking at them, Mandy felt a little
desperate. She seldom went to places like this.
Those people were laughing, drinking, and getting drunk. Were they really made happy by doing so?
"Baby, you are here." She almost gasped out loud as she heard the familiar voice near her ear. That voice! She knew that she
would never forget it in her whole life. And then, Mandy was taken into familiar arms. In the past, she enjoyed his warm embrace
and was captivated by his familiar smell...
"Let me go!" she warned. Mandy frowned slightly. Her bright eyes held a hint of anger. She struggled hard to get out of his arms,
but instead of releasing her, he held her tighter and tighter. His arms were akin to iron hoops that wrapped Mandy tightly. With
her weaker strength, she was helpless. She could not break free.
"How could you say that? Why do you hate me so much now? Didn't I use to call you baby? Three years! Haven't you gotten
used to it yet?" Hearing his voice, Mandy couldn't help savoring it. Yes, they had indeed had a sweet time for three years, so it
was hard for her to believe that their relationship could change in a snap like this. Daniel sneered. When he hugged Mandy, it
finally dawned on him who he had been thinking of all these days. He realized he didn't love Celine at all. Perhaps, he could lie
to others, but he could never lie to himself and deceive his heart.
Maybe it was easy to say, it was Stanley's fault. But Mandy, she hadn't done anything wrong. He hated Stanley so much. But as
for Mandy, she was innocent. All his being told him that his feud with Stanley should not involve her. It had nothing to do with her.
"Daniel, please behave yourself. The reason I came to this meeting tonight is in the hope that you can explain the matter to me
clearly. As far as I know, my father has always treated you very well. Why are you doing this to us?" Mandy demanded angrily.
She felt so aggrieved at this. Mandy turned around, her beautiful eyes now glaring at Daniel. A feeling of resentment consumed
her. And thinking of what had happened in his apartment that day, she couldn't keep her emotions at bay.
No matter how much they loved each other in the past, their love and those beautiful days were gone. It was like a bubble that
had burst into nothing.

Daniel still stood there and stared at Mandy quietly. Then, with a smug smile tugging at his lips, he interjected, "You want an
answer? No problem. I'll tell you. That is if you will have a drink with me tonight."
Mandy furrowed her eyebrows tightly. Her eyes widened in apprehension. Drinking, what was he thinking? Her body shivered at
this thought. She was afraid of drinking. Biting her lips closed, she couldn't bring herself to say yes.
The tense atmosphere around them was gradually becoming depressing. But Daniel just watched her with an amused smile,
seemingly hinting at her: if you don't accept my invitation, I will leave.
"Okay, but you have to promise me that we will only drink," Mandy conceded after carefully weighing her decision. Worried about
her father, she was left with no choice but to compromise. It was like she had reached a dead-end, and she could not come up
with another solution, except to agree to his unreasonable request.