Shopping For A Ring

"I've given you plenty of time already."

The man spoke, his eyes squinting, as Roulan gulped and nodded her head.

The man's lips twitched into a smile, and he put his hand on Roulan's shoulder, tightening his grip a little as Roulan's face twitched into a grim one.

"So what's your decision?"

"Do I have to choose between "yes" or "no"?"

Roulan asks slowly, her breath shortening as if the hands around her neck loosen a bit for her to not die completely.

The man nodded and waited patiently for her answer; his eyes bore onto Roulan's as it turned a little brighter.

"Do I have a choice then?"

"Nope, that's why we'll be going now."

The man stood up straight as he brushed his suit and went towards the door, looking at the guy beside him and nodding his head.

The guy bows down before going behind Roulan, untying her hands as the girl's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Am I free?"

Roulan spoke, looking at the guy who was not untying her feet from the chair's leg.

The man looks at her and raises his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come with me."

The man glares before walking out of the room. The guy forced Roulan to stand up and push her, making the girl stumble her way out of the room.

As Roulan went out of the room, another guy guided her out of the building.

Roulan follows him, and as soon as she steps foot, she is greeted by an expensive car and the man sitting in the back.

She went towards the passenger seat, but the guy who guided her cleared his throat for her to notice.

"Huh?"

Roulan looks at him before he nods and points his hands at the backseat.

Roulan gulps before nodding, walking slowly towards the backseat as if her feet are almost glued to the floor.

"Can you be a little faster?"

The man on the back said this as Roulan nodded and sat back down beside him.

The door got closed by the guy from earlier, and the vehicle started moving as Roulan held tight to the seat.

"Come on, I don't bite."

The man has noticed Roulan's attitude around him. He glances at her before turning his body toward her.

"Shihong."

Roulan looks at him before looking at his hand as Shihong pulls it out to introduce himself.

"You might be confused as to why I've taken you."

Shihong started as Roulan accepted his hand, shaking it briefly before pulling out.

"Uhm... Didn't you say that earlier? I need to marry your daughter."

Shihong glares at her in embarrassment as he forgets what he just told the girl he'd "taken" earlier.

The employees of Shihong in front heard their conversation, and the two snickered, making the big man glare at them in the mirror.

"What are you two laughing at?"

The employees cleared their throats before sitting appropriately in their seats and driving a little faster.

"We'll be going to the mall to buy a ring for my daughter."

-

Roulan and Shihong entered an unfamiliar mall. The girl's mouth formed a circle upon seeing what the mall looked like.

It has a very futuristic interior; the elevator is all made of glass, and it goes up and down fast!

The escalator was flush with the wall, seemingly floating as the inside engine did the work.

The stalls around were all in modern designs; it's all between homey and classy types of designs.

Roulan couldn't help but be amazed at how everything worked. There's even a chandelier hanging on top as soon as you enter!

"Is it your first time here?"

Shihong spoke, glancing at Roulan, who kept her eyes roaming around the area.

The girl in question nodded her head, cautiously following Shihong.

"I've never been in any of the malls since I was a child. I experienced it when I went to college."

It's true that Roulan didn't experience anything at such a young age. They may have money, but her parents are so busy that they don't have any time for her.

She also didn't have someone to come with her to experience amusement parks or even malls before she thought of them as such big places that she could easily get lost.

With this information from Roulan, Shihong couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows at the information.

The two entered a jewelry store, and Shihong instructed Roulan to look for a ring.

The girl was hesitant but still managed to go onto the counter, looking closely at the rings on display.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

Roulan looked at Shihong, confused by the sudden, not-complete question.

"Why did you never experience anything like this?"

Shihong asks, looks at the sales lady, and points at the ring that caught his interest.

Roulan shrugs her shoulders before observing a set of rings, and one ring caught her attention.

The girl furrows her eyebrows as she looks at it closely, falling a little at the elegant yet simple design of the ring.

"My parents are always busy."

She said, answering the question Shihong asks. The man glances at her before looking at the sales lady, to which the woman replies with a nod and puts the ring out for Roulan to observe more.

"That's our special Aged Mind Ring. It has been on the market for one and a half decades, and no one seems to show any interest as it doesn't reach their standard."

The sales lady spoke, looking at Roulan, who seemed to have been caught in a trance by the ring. She couldn't understand why a young person like her would take an interest in a ring that looked like what the old ladies would wear.

Shihong, on the other hand, couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows, seeing the almost familiar ring in front of him.

Roulan's mouth formed a circle before she nodded her head, looking at Shihong before presenting the ring in front of his face.

"Do I have a choice to buy this for your daughter?"

The sales lady's mouth forms a circle before she snickers, making the two in front look at her as Roulan raises an eyebrow.

"Do you have any problems?"

"Nothing."

She said, bowing down before looking at the ground to avoid their intense stare. Roulan went back to looking at Shihong and imagined who might be wearing the ring.

This will be her only payback for marrying someone she doesn't know.

But even before she could chuckle, an image of a familiar girl went to her mind, with the ring that Roulan was wearing.

It looks good on her; Roulan won't lie.

The familiar girl's image inside her mind caused her happy thoughts to leave her brain, her expression becoming stoic as she couldn't help but shake her head.

Shihong glances at her before raising his eyebrows, getting a little confused at Roulan's behavior.

"What's wrong?"

Roulan breaks out of her trance and looks up, meeting Shihong's worried gaze. The girl shakes her head before putting the box where the ring is on the table.

"Are you sure about this?"

The sales lady asks, getting a little worried that the ring might not be able to stay longer on the woman's finger and that it's not even the young woman in front of her.

Shihong's gaze never leaves Roulan's as the girl glances at him and nods his head, making the man sigh and nod his head, handing out his card.