XG 2- Web novels... they were genuinely addicting
Their food finally arrived, stopping their conversation. The hungry students of Class 5-1 no longer had any interest to continue talking, busy filling up their hungry stomachs.
Wong Xue Guo continues watching the news as she eats slowly, the violent video did not affect her appetite as it was filmed in low resolution, and missed out on many details, courtesy of the shaking hands of the device's owner. She had seen more gore from TV series before and she gained some immunity towards it.
The clip seems to be from last night’s, where a group of policemen tried to contain two violent humans that no longer looked like normal humans. The tough policemen suffered bite marks that tore their uniforms and skin off. The entire scene was disgusting and worked well as an appetite killer for the diners. Yet no one was able to peel their eyes away, wanting to know the ending.
But the clip ended before the outcome was known, earning a few diner’s groans of dissatisfaction. However, they were also glad it ended and greedily soaked in the warmth emitted by the crowd around them to get rid of the chill growing from their body. The video gave them a hair-raising sensation, bringing out deep fear in them as it happened at a place close to their home.
Most of the diners decided that after tonight, they will spend more time at home to avoid any accidents.
As Wong Xue Guo guessed, the newsperson said the clip was from last night, and that the violent humans were arrested, with the injured policemen sent to the hospital for treatment. The newsperson also advised everyone to avoid going out if possible and stay at home until the medical department finally finds a cure to eliminate the violent tendency.
Students of Class 5-1 finished their dinner and queued up to enter the cinema when Wong Xue Guo’s phone vibrated in her pocket, working hard to inform its owner there was a call incoming.
The time was currently 7.02 p.m.
The screen display told her the caller was her mother.
Telling others to get in first, since Chen Jiang An had sent the barcode ticket to their WhatsApp group chat, Wong Xue Guo moved to the side to answer the call. Instead of going in, her two friends choose to follow her, their ears strained in concentration to eavesdrop on the conversation.
“Mother?”
Unlike her usual calm and composed mother, the woman from the other end of the line was sobbing rather emotionally.
The worried expression on Wong Xue Guo’s face changed into anxiousness. “Mother, what’s wrong? Did something happen to father?”
The only person that could make her mother this emotional in this world was her father. Not even her late maternal grandparents could make her mother this zealous when it comes to the matter of emotions.
“Guo Guo… Guo Guo…”
Hearing that heart-wrenching cries, Wong Xue Guo was even more certain something must have happened to her father. “I will come back now.”
The eavesdropping duo who had heard some of the conversations were also concerned on her behalf. Both of them planned to follow Wong Xue Guo to go back and see if they could help.
“Yes… No! Don’t go anywhere, baby!”
Wong Xue Guo had just taken a step when the ‘baby’ word stopped her legs. Were her ears playing tricks on her? Her mother had never called her by any form of endearment, and the most intimate was calling her by a nickname, Guo Guo.
“Baby,” Suzie Yap no longer sounded hysterical and returned to the poise lady that Wong Xue Guo was familiar with, except for calling her ‘baby’. Was her mother possessed? “I remember you are at the new shopping mall now with your classmates for a graduation party. Which floor are you on?”
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Although she was curious about what happened, she still answered her mother’s question. “The top floor, outside the cinema gate.”
“Okay. Guo Guo, baby, listen to mummy. Go and hide in the last cubicle in the washroom on your current floor. Mummy will come to you quickly. Don’t come out of the cubicle no matter what happens, understand?” Keys jiggling and door slamming could be heard at the other end of the line, accompanying her mother's rushing footsteps.
Resisting the goosebump rising from the sudden affectionate words and tone, Wong Xue Guo became even more worried. For her mother to warn her to this degree, the problem must not be simple.
“Mother-”
“Guo Guo, listen to mom, okay? It’s all your idiot father’s fault." The sound of the car engine starting was loud behind her mother's words. "Don’t trust anyone, and hide in the cubicle until I reach you, okay? Half an hour, okay, baby? Go now.”
It took her by surprise to hear her mother calling her father, the man she viewed as someone that could do no wrong, as an idiot.
But she did not go against her mother’s words anymore after knowing it was related to her father, not in a way her father was injured so seriously to land himself in the hospital. He must have gotten himself into some problem, due to his occupation as a 'shady' pharmacy chain owner, even if everyone in the family tried to hide it from Wong Xue Guo.
There was once Wong Xue Guo gotten kidnapped by someone her father had offended but was luckily rescued by a kind grandparent that happened to pass by. She had also experienced some close calls to getting kidnapped again and no longer dared to go anywhere alone or without some self-protection items.
“’kay, I will wait for you.” Ending the call with a confused look, her eyes met Nurul Hanani and Low Lin Ya’s. "I need to leave. There's something back home…"
"Do you want us to accompany you?" Low Lin Ya asked. This was the chance to escape watching the zombie show which would have gore and disgusting scenes. Her romantic, princess heart could never stand watching such a violent show.
Wong Xue Guo quickly shook her head. She was not going to tell them she will be hiding from her father’s enemies and get them involved with her problem. "No, it's alright. Go and hang out with others. I will be going now!"
She jogged away, pretending to look at her wristwatch as she did so. With her act of haste in leaving, she managed to escape and headed straight in the direction of the washroom. On the way, she suddenly remembered there were two washrooms on each floor, each in a different direction.
Oh dear.
… No problem, she will tell her mother which washroom she was hiding in later.
When she passed by the sundry shop, she went to purchase a surgical mask to help her handle the smell inside the washroom. Luckily, this shopping mall was new and the odour was not overly strong with the cleaners doing well with spraying perfume of some sort that worked to cover up most of the smell.
She was about to check out when she saw a bunch of umbrellas at the side of the cashier. Thinking she needed something as self-defence, she grabbed one and paid for her purchases. Unfortunately, she had not taken her pepper spray given by her father, as it was a school day, and she was not the type that would break school rules.
When she entered the washroom, she thanked the lucky stars that it was not fully occupied and she strode to the last cubicle, locking herself in. Protected with a face mask, she started cleaning the toilet seat cover with a wet napkin so that she could sit while waiting.
She pulled out her phone and messaged her mother. ‘Mother, I’m in the north washroom.’
It would take at least forty-five minutes from home to the mall if the traffic was not condensed. But right now, it was nearly seven-twenty in the evening, and the majority of the office workers should have clocked out and no longer swarmed the highway to head back home.
It would not be a long wait, but she still needed something to entertain herself.
Fortunately, this internet addict young miss always carried two small power banks to school to charge her mobile phone. Even if she never got the chance to use her backup power bank, she still dutifully carried it to comfort her heart for any emergency that might arise.
Luckily, she had packed a small sling bag for today's trip after school and was able to ditch her school bag in her driver's car. It saved her from lugging her school bag around the shopping mall, especially when today was the last day of clearing out all her books from school.
"Time for reading~" Wong Xue Guo hummed and clicked on the google chrome icon. It was also a plus that this toilet has good reception of mobile data, except that the calling bar seems to be lower.
Last night, she managed to find a good zombie apocalypse novel and was only able to read the first five chapters before needing to sleep for school tomorrow. With the thought that the holiday will be starting and her mother will no longer restrain her bedtime, only then did she willingly go to sleep.
This novel has a strong but worn-out female main character that came from a parallel world and a nurse male lead that took care of her as they deal with the apocalypse that was brought over from the parallel world, with romance growing slowly with a good rhythm.
Wong Xue Guo was not averse to romance, just that she preferred to enjoy romance together with spicier, paranormal elements that will make the story much more interesting.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wong Xue Guo flinched sharply, her finger nearly clicked the close button. She raised her head to look at her cubicle door, her heart thumping wildly from surprise after being brought back to reality abruptly.
"Hey, can you finish quickly? You have been inside for a long time!" A woman yelled at the other side of the door with impatience.
"Sorry…" Wong Xue Guo made her voice softer, with a hint of weakness revealed, as if she was in pain. "My stomach hurts…"
"... Okay. Never mind, there's a free one!" The woman hurried away and snatched the recently unoccupied cubicle before it was taken by others.
Wong Xue Guo sighed, rubbing her chest. Her parents had finally made her lie about something this embarrassing! Thinking in this route, she also remembers she had forgotten to inquire more about this hiding issue from her parents.
Web novels... they were genuinely addicting.