CHAPTER 212: A GAP SO WIDE.

With a few words, he killed her excitement and her face fell. "Please don’t tell me that you said no." She closed her eyes and moaned like she was in pain. "A Zhe, this is not the kind of chance that comes around often. Nobility today may not be what it used to be in the old empire but it is still a great thing.

It opens doors to all privileged schools, privileged hospitals and every other goddamn privileged institution in the world. It grants you easy access to all sorts of business men and women world wide.

A Zhe, you or any of your children can represent the empire on a global level. If there is a crisis in the empire or the world, as a noble the royal family extends sanctuary to you first.

You get the right to build a house or buy one in the royal courts. You can by pass the house of ministers and petition the emperor directly so that he can hear in person your ideas or troubles.

You can sit on the royal council to the dragon. Being a noble grants you respect, it is a legacy for your descendants. Off the top of my head, these are just some of the things you can benefit."

"I know." He replied calmly.

"And you did not say yes immediately!" Her voice turned sharp without intention. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "A Zhe, this is the very reason why Mo Liang leeched onto me. It was his ultimate goal. You don’t even have to leech on to me to get it. I don’t know what hesitations you have."

"Did you not hear me when I said that I would have to work for the empress mother?" He asked her in a mildly irritated voice. "I am not going to be used by anyone Mei Mei. I will not be bought by a noble title and then talked into using my talents and abilities to do things that will weigh on my conscience. This is your world, your family treads in these waters and you and your siblings grew up doing the same thing. I get it, but I am not one of you."

Mei Mei froze.

Jingzhe winced. "I did not...."

Mei Mei turned around, picked up the yoga mat and started walking out of the room.

"Shit!" Jingzhe whispered. He jumped up and run after her, calling her name.

Mei Mei did not stop for him. She walked to an elevator, got inside and it closed immediately, Then she pressed her thumb against against a fingerprint scanner. It took her to floor 101.

Jingzhe was desperate to catch up. He had not made it into the elevator but he had seen the floor she had gone to. However, when he tried to access it, a voice from a speaker above told him that floor 101 did not exist.

Jingzhe left the elevator and went to one of the many help desks found on every floor of the hotel.

Two women were sitting behind the desk and they smiled so widely when he approached.

"How do I get to floor 101?" he asked immediately.

The women exchanged gazes, frowned and then smiled again when they looked at him. "Sir, floor 101 does not exist." One of them said.

Jingzhe glowered at them. "Do you think that I am blind? I just watched my girlfriend go there."

The second receptionist asked him, "Which noble family do you belong to?"

Jingzhe got the message immediately. Floor 101 did not exist to commoners. This was a hotel owned by the royal family, they were bound to have places that were meant just for themselves and nobles. Places, ordinary people like him could not reach.

This was probably Mei Mei’s way of teaching him about the gap between them. The gap between a noble and a commoner. So this was one of the examples the empress mother had made. Even if he was with Mei Mei, there were places she could go to that were out of reach to him. People she could meet while he was forced to wait in a small room for unknown hours or stay home. There would be parts of her life that would be closed off to him.

She had also said something that he had brushed off. The empress mother had said that the gap would seem minor in the beginning but in due time, he would feel the difference.

The receptionist pointed him to a finger print scanner. "Sir, if it is your first time here, just give us your family name, identification documents and scan your fingerprints and irises."

Jingzhe shook his head. "Its okay, maybe I saw the wrong floor." He answered.

As he was walking away, he heard one of the receptionists whisper, "Another one that is dating out of his league. But, how did he make it to this floor? All floors above sixty five are for specific families."

"Shhh! How many times do I have to tell you not to gossip about the guests. You won’t last a year in this job if you keep this up."

Jingzhe paused by the elevator, head bowed and hands clenched. After thirty seconds, he turned his heel and returned to his room. He had a lot to think about.

***

Mei Mei was at yoga on the rooftop of the hotel, doing her best to follow the movements of the instructor, a young woman that looked like she had just left high school the day before.

Her mind was unsettled, so much so that she lost her balance and fell over. She disturbed the peace of the twelve other people that were doing the half moon pose.

"I think we are done." Rose declared.

Leaving their yoga mats behind, Rose pulled her away, taking her to a sauna room which was empty. They changed and pushed a button for privacy which told other guests to move on as the room was occupied.

When Mei Mei saw her older sister’s naked body she covered her eyes. "I forgot you always sauna in your birthday suit."

Rose was extremely comfortable with her nakedness and she just sat down. "You should try it sometime Lady prude."

Mei Mei looked at the very long, large fluffy towel she had covered herself with. "I am not Lady prude, stop calling me that."

Rose raised her eyebrows at the towel that was almost trailing on the ground. "Yeah right. It is just us two here. I know your body from head to toe. There is nothing to hide except for the hickey on your neck."

Mei Mei’s hand swiftly moved up and she covered her hickey, hissing at her sister. How sharp were her eyes to catch that? Mei Mei had not even realized that she had a hickey.

Laughing, Rose said, "Am I correct in assuming that the little puppy that gave you the hickey is also the reason as to why your mind is in jumbles?"