Clang!
The hot pot fell hard hitting the tile floor right in the midst of his fellow chefs, the medium sized pot of chilli oil caused a loud sound causing the chefs to gaze at his expensive clumsy mistake. The hot oil poured on the cooking gas and caused a major fire outbreak.
Some stared at him wondering if he was high or just out of his mind. He seemed so calm as the fire burnt all through, he poured the water on it but it increased the flame. He realized he poured more oil all over and this caused an increase in the flame. He fell to the ground afraid of getting his face burnt.
His mates laughed at his coward like attempt to put out a fire. He heard a sound emerge from above him. He turned to stare at the floor, he noticed a set of black shoes, fully polished and highly expensive. He slowly raised his head to stare at the man. He knew he had some sort of importance.
He stared at his face. He knew he messed up. It was some sort of director, a high stakeholder or a company owner, Li guessed. The man stared at him with a faceless expression, nothing, not a single emotion exposed to his face. He turned the fire off using a fire extinguisher, he dropped it on the floor carelessly.
Li moved backward, the loud hit made him move back. The tall man stared at him calmly, Li stared back into his eyes for a while before he noticed he didn't need to. He stood. "Clean this up." He said. He dropped the rag from his hands and walked out of the kitchen.
His authoritative voice made everyone stay still, even his presence. Li held the rag attempting to clean up the mess he made but his head chef walked into the kitchen. "Drop it. Leave! You are suspended!"
Li removed his apron from his body. He noticed he was stained with the hot oil, he dropped it on the table and walked out in shame. They all gave him ugly looks of disdain, disapproval and anger. He felt the shame move through his body. Every time something went off, it was his fault. Every time something went bad, he caused it.
He walked out of the restaurant with a few stains on his clothes. This caused the crowd around him to stare at him too. Li noticed the man with the black shoes stare at him from a distance and this time his eyes were softer unlike his first impression.
Li Wei strolled out of the Jade Hall, the best restaurant within the Lianhua City, the Lotus City. He waited for a while until a horn blew on the road, he stood by the roadside. He waited patiently until he realized his thoughts led him to the middle of the road. He stepped out of the driver's sight.
He stared at the car driving off, he walked across the road. He walked across different people by the side of the road and later on noticed something. He couldn't capture any faces at all, he couldn't see anyone but himself. Deep into self awareness and reflection.
He walked into the train, he sat by the window side. He turned to stare at his reflection on the window, he tried to cry but he couldn't. He stared until he noticed his corn he kept in his pockets earlier. He chewed on them quietly.
He arrived safely, he walked out of the train. He stepped into the cab. He stayed silent until he noticed he had no money left to pay. He stepped out of the cab, he walked home in the rain not minding the weather conditions.
He noticed the rain increasing and knew someone somewhere must have placed a curse on him or his father, his mother or his ancestors. He couldn't get enough of the bad luck and then his trousers got torn the moment he tried to cross the road to seek shelter.
A car stopped by, He walked right into it. He didn't care if he got kidnapped, maybe if he stayed with the mindset of a victim, he would get a helper. "Thank you."
The driver didn't reply. He didn't care at all. All he wanted was safety. He placed his hand on the seat and noticed a letter. He turned to the driver, "There's a letter here." The driver ignored him again. He picked it up, he opened the envelope and noticed a high amount of money.
He pulled it out and counted, it amounted to a hundred thousand Yuan. He stared at the money in shock. He wanted to give the driver the signal but oh well, he's been prideful.
He kept the money for himself. He turned again. Another piece of the envelope, he noticed a letter in this piece. An invitation to the Jade Wells. Another aspect of the Jade industries. A private meeting. He noticed the address had the Jade symbol well printed on it. Finally a sign of good luck for an entire day of thrash.
The car stopped moving, he walked out of the car quietly.
Whoever this person was, he knew his home address. He walked into his apartment. He moved straight to the bathroom until he noticed he didn't need the food he had stilll remained there. He noticed the time, 10:59pm. It was way past his bed time but on the good side, he had a few days to rest. He slept off the moment his body hit the bed.
His eyes stared at the ceiling. His phone rang, he picked it up, "Hello?"
"Did you get the invitation?" The voice asked.
"Yes. Oh thank you. Thank you sir."
"Good. And the invitation?"
"Yes sir. Who is this please?"
"Jade."
The person hung up. He stared at his screen confused. He never met any of the Jade associates or family members, he never knew any of the directors but with this invitation, he knew he would.