Shen Residence
1 Week Before Gabi's Arrival
"What do you mean?" Lyca yawned and straightened her back. It turns out, standing for a few hours could make her sleepy.
"I said, Aden, recommended a candidate for the Shen Group Elites Training Camp that will start a few weeks from now." Shen Qui said as he examined the suit that his wife was trying to fix. It was one of the latest models of the defensive suit that Lyca was designing for the Shen Elites.
"And?"
"This was the first time that he did this."
"So?" Lyca asked. "What's the big deal?"
"It's a woman."
"…" So? Lyca remove the protective gear that covered her eyes. She then stared at her husband. "You think my son is gay?"
"That's not the point."
"There is nothing bad about being gay," Lyca uttered.
"Again, that's not the point."
"Well, since he liked someone, it's good."
"I just said he is recommending a girl."
"Heh…" Once again, Lyca started working on the suit. "Let him be. He is old enough to marry someone. At that age, you already married me. Hehe." She chuckled. "Though… I always thought he was gay or something."
"…"
"But all good. I am a chill mother after all."
"…" Wasn't she just lazy to deal with a person like her? Shen Qui shook his head before he lean down and kissed the top of her head.
"I smell."
"Yeah… you've been holed up in this place for three days."
"Really?"
"Yeah… you haven't had any bath for the last three days."
Lyca frowned. "Do I smell?" She raised an eyebrow as if challenging her.
"You said that." Shen Qui's eyes turned gentle. "For me, you always smell good."
She squinted. "Leave me alone, old man. I need to finish this so I can sleep."
"Who told you to create something like that? Just because Aden told you he could create a perfect warrior-type suit didn't mean that you should, too. You are too competitive. Your son wasn't challenging you."
"What competitive? What challenge? There is no competition. I am his mother. I always win."
"…"
...…
5 Days before Gabi's Arrival
"A woman?" Aya squinted. "A real one?"
Her secretary didn't know if she would laugh or cry. Did Miss Aya expect her brother to bring a robot or something?
"I was honestly expecting him to marry a robot. " Aya mumbled. "But since this is the first woman…"
"Miss Young Master told us not to give any preferential treatment. He said to make the training as hard as possible."
"Why? I thought she's his woman?"
"That— "
"How old is she?" Aya looked at Gabi's file that was projected using the AI device. A lot of information can be seen in front of her. She swiped the information and slowly frowned. "So young?" She's even younger than her? She was expecting to call her older sister! Does this mean Miss Gabi would call Aya's older sister instead?
"Hmmm…. I don't like that sound." Aya uttered. "Are you sure this is the right one? Maybe this is the little sister instead?"
"It's the right one, miss. Young Master Aden just wanted us to hide her information from the trainer and everyone else. He already took care of her background and…"
"This woman… looked familiar." Aya was extremely smart. She always had the ability to remember anything or anyone that she saw before. "I already saw her when I was younger," she added. Without waiting for her secretary to answer, Aya flicked her finger. It was the signal to turn the AI on.
"Racher…" Aya said.
[Voice Identification Confirmed. What can I do for you, Miss Aya?] The cold voice drifted inside the room. Racher was an AI that Aden designed to help Aya.
"Scan this woman's face for me. I want to know if she and I meet in the past." Aya signaled her secretary to leave her alone.
[Scanning Completed. Would you like to hear the information now?]
Seeing that her secretary had already closed the door, Aya nodded. [Summarize it for me.]
[Miss Gabrielle Sutton and Miss Aya Shen meet years ago in Du Empire. Miss Sutton was only five by then. She was the reason why we found Mr. Aden Shen.]
"Ah… I remember. Five years old. That's why she looked familiar. Do you think brother knows?"
[According to my calculations, there is a ninety-nine point nine percent possibility that Mr. Aden Shen is aware of it]
"I see… Thanks, Racher."
Racher, who had the appearance of Jarvis from Iron Man, showed her everything about Gabi's past.
"She's sick?" Aya frowned. "Then… why the hell would Aden send her to the training camp?" With that, Aya dialed his brother's number. Her curiosity wouldn't let her sleep if she won't know the reason Aden was sending a sick person to a place like that.
Of course, the phone call ended up with nothing, as Aden didn't answer the call. She glanced at the time, then shook her head. It was his break time. That man must be sleeping now.
…..
3 Days before Gabi's arrival
"A woman?" Mr. Ma, one of the training staff at Tartarus, frowned. "But this year's batch — "
"It was Madam's order."
"Madam Shen?" This made Ma Ping more confused. Lyca seldom involved herself in the matters concerning Tartarus. She had never intervened in fights and never recommended someone before.
"Yes. I already checked the woman's background. She's an orphan, from Plaria. We couldn't find anything special about her. She's turning twenty-one a few weeks from now. Here's the file."
Ma Ping nodded and immediately checked Gabi's profile. "Leona or Leo Jiang. Twenty-One. Hmmm… Too small… probably someone who grew up in the streets?" The image of the woman actually looked like she was malnourished or something.
"Then… Madam must have picked her up from the streets in one of her travels." Lately, Lyca had been visiting Plaria because of some new projects that were announced this year. This was the only explanation why someone with an unknown background, with no history of learning martial arts, would suddenly enter Tartarus. "Alright. This isn't really a problem. We should still have a room for one recruit." Since Lyca personally vouched for this person, she must be an outstanding recruit.
"Mr. Ma, Madam Shen said not to give any special treatment."
"Understood."
Ma Ping would blindly follow Lyca's words. If she says jump, he would jump. He would do it without batting an eyelid. This time is no different. Smiling, Ma Ping uttered. "Then… let's prepare another set of training suits. Shall we?"
....
Info: In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans.
Shen Residence
1 Week Before Gabi's Arrival
"What do you mean?" Lyca yawned and straightened her back. It turns out, standing for a few hours could make her sleepy.
"I said, Aden, recommended a candidate for the Shen Group Elites Training Camp that will start a few weeks from now." Shen Qui said as he examined the suit that his wife was trying to fix. It was one of the latest models of the defensive suit that Lyca was designing for the Shen Elites.
"And?"
"This was the first time that he did this."
"So?" Lyca asked. "What's the big deal?"
"It's a woman."
"…" So? Lyca remove the protective gear that covered her eyes. She then stared at her husband. "You think my son is gay?"
"That's not the point."
"There is nothing bad about being gay," Lyca uttered.
"Again, that's not the point."
"Well, since he liked someone, it's good."
"I just said he is recommending a girl."
"Heh…" Once again, Lyca started working on the suit. "Let him be. He is old enough to marry someone. At that age, you already married me. Hehe." She chuckled. "Though… I always thought he was gay or something."
"…"
"But all good. I am a chill mother after all."
"…" Wasn't she just lazy to deal with a person like her? Shen Qui shook his head before he lean down and kissed the top of her head.
"I smell."
"Yeah… you've been holed up in this place for three days."
"Really?"
"Yeah… you haven't had any bath for the last three days."
Lyca frowned. "Do I smell?" She raised an eyebrow as if challenging her.
"You said that." Shen Qui's eyes turned gentle. "For me, you always smell good."
She squinted. "Leave me alone, old man. I need to finish this so I can sleep."
"Who told you to create something like that? Just because Aden told you he could create a perfect warrior-type suit didn't mean that you should, too. You are too competitive. Your son wasn't challenging you."
"What competitive? What challenge? There is no competition. I am his mother. I always win."
"…"
...…
5 Days before Gabi's Arrival
"A woman?" Aya squinted. "A real one?"
Her secretary didn't know if she would laugh or cry. Did Miss Aya expect her brother to bring a robot or something?
"I was honestly expecting him to marry a robot. " Aya mumbled. "But since this is the first woman…"
"Miss Young Master told us not to give any preferential treatment. He said to make the training as hard as possible."
"Why? I thought she's his woman?"
"That— "
"How old is she?" Aya looked at Gabi's file that was projected using the AI device. A lot of information can be seen in front of her. She swiped the information and slowly frowned. "So young?" She's even younger than her? She was expecting to call her older sister! Does this mean Miss Gabi would call Aya's older sister instead?
"Hmmm…. I don't like that sound." Aya uttered. "Are you sure this is the right one? Maybe this is the little sister instead?"
"It's the right one, miss. Young Master Aden just wanted us to hide her information from the trainer and everyone else. He already took care of her background and…"
"This woman… looked familiar." Aya was extremely smart. She always had the ability to remember anything or anyone that she saw before. "I already saw her when I was younger," she added. Without waiting for her secretary to answer, Aya flicked her finger. It was the signal to turn the AI on.
"Racher…" Aya said.
[Voice Identification Confirmed. What can I do for you, Miss Aya?] The cold voice drifted inside the room. Racher was an AI that Aden designed to help Aya.
"Scan this woman's face for me. I want to know if she and I meet in the past." Aya signaled her secretary to leave her alone.
[Scanning Completed. Would you like to hear the information now?]
Seeing that her secretary had already closed the door, Aya nodded. [Summarize it for me.]
[Miss Gabrielle Sutton and Miss Aya Shen meet years ago in Du Empire. Miss Sutton was only five by then. She was the reason why we found Mr. Aden Shen.]
"Ah… I remember. Five years old. That's why she looked familiar. Do you think brother knows?"
[According to my calculations, there is a ninety-nine point nine percent possibility that Mr. Aden Shen is aware of it]
"I see… Thanks, Racher."
Racher, who had the appearance of Jarvis from Iron Man, showed her everything about Gabi's past.
"She's sick?" Aya frowned. "Then… why the hell would Aden send her to the training camp?" With that, Aya dialed his brother's number. Her curiosity wouldn't let her sleep if she won't know the reason Aden was sending a sick person to a place like that.
Of course, the phone call ended up with nothing, as Aden didn't answer the call. She glanced at the time, then shook her head. It was his break time. That man must be sleeping now.
…..
3 Days before Gabi's arrival
"A woman?" Mr. Ma, one of the training staff at Tartarus, frowned. "But this year's batch — "
"It was Madam's order."
"Madam Shen?" This made Ma Ping more confused. Lyca seldom involved herself in the matters concerning Tartarus. She had never intervened in fights and never recommended someone before.
"Yes. I already checked the woman's background. She's an orphan, from Plaria. We couldn't find anything special about her. She's turning twenty-one a few weeks from now. Here's the file."
Ma Ping nodded and immediately checked Gabi's profile. "Leona or Leo Jiang. Twenty-One. Hmmm… Too small… probably someone who grew up in the streets?" The image of the woman actually looked like she was malnourished or something.
"Then… Madam must have picked her up from the streets in one of her travels." Lately, Lyca had been visiting Plaria because of some new projects that were announced this year. This was the only explanation why someone with an unknown background, with no history of learning martial arts, would suddenly enter Tartarus. "Alright. This isn't really a problem. We should still have a room for one recruit." Since Lyca personally vouched for this person, she must be an outstanding recruit.
"Mr. Ma, Madam Shen said not to give any special treatment."
"Understood."
Ma Ping would blindly follow Lyca's words. If she says jump, he would jump. He would do it without batting an eyelid. This time is no different. Smiling, Ma Ping uttered. "Then… let's prepare another set of training suits. Shall we?"
....
Info: In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans.
