95: White and black

White and black

"Five… four… three… two…" Heaven panted for air as she slowed down her pace, holding on to the handle of the treadmill. "One. Goodness. This is killing me."

She rested both her arms on the handle, catching up for air. She looked up at the screen, seeing she had only jogged for fifteen minutes straight and her lungs were already giving up. Just as she thought, this body was out of shape. 

"It's not that surprising, though," she mumbled, straightening her back as she reached for the bottled water. Heaven gulped down half of it in one go, hissing in satisfaction.

Her heart was still racing and her body temperature was almost as if she had a fever. After spending the entire morning and lunch with her son, Heaven hit the gym at home when Sebastian took his afternoon nap.

"Ah, gosh." Heaven snapped her eyes and shook her head, telling herself she needed to progress as soon as possible. 

As she decided to take a five-minute break before moving on to another activity, she glanced at her phone. It was on the placeholder on the treadmill. She reached for it and checked the app. 

"Wow…" she muttered, still a little surprised that people kept commenting on her picture. "Seriously, Heaven has the opposite life."

The life she lived as Hera didn't offer second chances. In that life, once you screw things up, you were screwed. Dead. That was it. Meanwhile, this life was different. People would willingly give Heaven a second chance, even if she didn't beg. All she has to do was say it and act as if she meant it. 

Even her fans who supported her since the start of her career welcomed her back excitedly and warmly. If the original Heaven did this when she was alive, she wouldn't spiral down into the pit of depression. After all, acting was Heaven's passion and life. 

It was her dream to be an artist, not just to be popular. Heaven's dream was to be known as a versatile artist and not just a celebrity with a pretty face. Thinking about it, it was commendable. 

"Still, this career is frowned upon in the Zhu Family," she whispered, skimming through the positive comments in her photo. "Or rather, my husband's relative looked down on her career. Though they didn't say it directly, they made it too obvious. Not that this matters now."

Heaven used her short break scrolling through her page. She sat down on the floor beside the treadmill, checking everything, as she just couldn't believe it. 

"I don't know what to feel about this attention," she admitted. "Ten thousand comments and a few hundred thousand likes. All positive. Surely, it was the opposite attention I normally get."

Back in her life, the attention she would receive was… well, not so pleasant, unlike this one. Hera was one of the most wanted felons in the world. Many wanted her head, not just her enemies in the underground, but all international government agencies.

She couldn't blame them, considering she once infiltrated a government headquarters and left unscathed. Perhaps she was the only person who was able to do such a feat. It only showed how powerful and capable her organization was. However, that was the last thing she did in her previous life before she succumbed to her illness, which eventually killed her.

'Now that I think about it, I sort of missed Bear,'she thought, sighing. 'I hope he's living a good life.'

The corner of her lips curled up subtly, thinking what sort of life her righthand man had right now. If she would guess, he was probably living peacefully with his wife. Perhaps he now had a child of his own. Maybe two kids?

"He devoted his life to me." Her smile turned gentle, pleased at the thought of her righthand man. "He deserved a peaceful life. It's a shame that I probably won't see him anymore in this lifetime."

Her smile slightly waned as she gazed down. "And I don't want to see him in this life either."

It was better to think that Bear and all her people were living the best of their lives. That was the last mission she took before leaving the world, after all. Hera made sure her people would get to start anew. 

"Well!" Heaven snapped her eyes and smacked her lips, smiling. "I shouldn't think about those things anymore. Five minutes is up — ugh! I'm starting to hate getting into shape!"

Heaven dragged herself up to continue her routine. Such a task didn't bother her before, but now, because her body was aching all over, she needed more than just motivation and willingness to train this body. 

DING!

She stopped as her phone beeped, seeing that a message from Paula Shen came in. The side of her lips curled up into a smirk. 

"She probably saw my post today — gosh." Heaven didn't even check the message, guessing what it was. "She didn't have to make it too obvious a single post threatened her, duh?"

Heaven didn't bother with whatever Paula Shen got to say, resuming her self-development mission for her own good. 

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[FLASHBACK]

"We're under attack!" 

"Everyone! Contact reinforcement. We are being ambushed!"2

Everyone in the headquarters of an international central intelligence agency was frantic. Alarm bells rang loudly as red lights flashed in every corridor of the building. Since the establishment of the organization, no felon had ever dared infiltrate the building.

This was the first. 

BAM!

A group of men barged into a large room with countless computers and people were in. There was a large monitor in the front, showing different angles of the building. Everyone in the building was running around as smoke rose to the cameras.

"What is…" the man who barged into the room held his breath. He kept his eyes on the screen, but aside from the smoke and the alarm bells, they didn't see a single soul who dared infiltrate the building. 

"Who in the world…" The man's breath hitched as he noticed a figure from the corner of his wide eyes. 

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