The Girl In The Louvre - Chapter 31 A Sudden Storm

Passing by the guardhouse again, Zhi Rou noticed that the man from the morning had been replaced with a different clone. ‘It was rather uncanny how they found two people that look so much alike,’ thought Zhi Rou as she walked past briskly while avoiding eye contact.

The earlier encounter with the guards had slightly spooked her, and she did not wish to have to deal with another “Dave.” One brutish guard was enough in her opinion. As soon as she walked out the side gate, Zhi Rou pulled out her phone and opened her taxi app to request a ride.

The wind started to pick up as she was waiting and the sun was soon covered by clouds. Zhi Rou hadn’t checked the weather report earlier that day. Instead, she had just thrown on something to wear in the hot sun. So as she waited for the taxi, the wind quickly caused goose bumps to appear on her skin.

Shivering, Zhi Rou crossed her arms to warm herself with body heat.

Beginning with a single drop on her bare skin. The rain quickly picked up, and in just a couple of minutes there was a harsh downpour. Without anywhere to seek shelter from the rain, Zhi Rou leaned against a fence while trying to hide her body from the elements.

The scorching June sun had heated the sidewalk, and so if it was just the wind and overcast clouds it would not be that bad. But with the raindrops flying everywhere, it only took Zhi Rou a few minutes to get soaked to the bones. To make matters worse, as this was an unfamiliar neighbourhood for most taxi drivers and with the addition of pelting rain, her driver would probably be late.

Standing quietly in thunderous rain, Zhi Rou squinted her eyes to try and stop the water from getting in them. As she stood in the rain she could not help but let her mind wander to a short, but warm memory. Standing under the pouring rain, Zhi Rou gently smiled as she remembered the taste sweet of macarons and the warm feeling that she when standing next to that person.

The more she thought about it, the wider her smile grew. Even the cold rain and the fierce winds could not change her mood. ‘Maybe, he could be considered my first true love?’ Thought Zhi Rou and she recalled her time with him. Glancing at her phone she slightly frowned, ‘why hasn’t he called though? Or at least sent a text?’ It had been a whole day and a half since she arrived in China and he still had not contacted her. Lost in her thoughts, the smile that was on her face turned slightly insecure. Before she could continue her line of thought she was interrupted by a loud honk sounded.

Turning around, she gasped in delight as whatever insecurity she had started to feel flew out of her head. The object of her delight was the bright lights of a taxi. Rushing to run to the door, she quickly pulled it open. Getting in she told the driver her address before relaxing in her, warm chair. Her wet hair and clothes soaked into the seat but the driver did not seem to mind, instead, he was busy trying to see through the downpour.

As the yellow and green taxi navigated through the rain, a bigger storm hit the world unexpectedly. A story of inhumane actions and corruption throughout southeast Asia had been spread around the globe with the help of several major news outlets. Soon, with the global media’s backing, thousands of people went out to the streets as protesters all throughout rural parts of southeast Asia. They had been treated unjustly for too long and were now demanding that something had to be done.

Headlines were flying everywhere: Thousands killed from inhuman factory standards at XXX clothing; Sex slave or corporate slave, the hardships of the poor in rural villages; Corrupt officials or an ineffective system? Close ties between XXX factory owner and the head of XX”s police chief; Who is Greek businessman Yanis Varoufakis and what does he have to do with the factories in XXX?

But a fast as the news was being spread, it was also being clamped down on. Within five hours of his name being on the front page of several newspapers, the police chief of XX immediately resigned saying that he would, “step down until his name was cleared of all allegations.”

Even with some newspapers trying to delve deeper into the issue, it was not enough to stop the people in higher positions from saying it was corruption on the lower levels of government. Within a few days, the original furry that the articles had sparked had died down and only some lower level scapegoats had been thrown in jail. Even the police chief who had a clear connection to the events that had occurred and several trafficking groups, not to mention his suspicious bank transactions, had been found to be a “just member of society who had been unfairly accused.” Reinstated to his old position, the police chief even spoke out at the protesters, saying that they were “spreading false rumors and lies.”

While Zhi Rou continued to juggle her lessons with Zhang Wie and her schoolwork, Julian was back in Vancouver waiting patiently.