When Night And Day Become One

|| Nine ||

The beach was packed with people, and several mini-stores had been set up just for today. Looking for Hannah in this hot crowded place was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I considered calling Lu Han but decided otherwise, realizing he would hold this over me for a long time.

I turned to go to search in another area when I caught sight of the devil himself from the corner of my eye. He was just a few steps away, walking in front of the mini-stores. His face was focused in front of him, his steps hurried as if he was following someone. On his hand was a water spray with red liquid inside it and I watched with wide eyes as Lu Han sprayed the content in front of him and hid behind a wall, right after.

Curious, I moved towards the same direction as him, carefully keeping my distance and keeping my eyes on his face at the same time. He repeated his little stunt a few more times, successfully hiding behind people or walls right after.

Being an observer this time, it was actually quite entertaining to watch Lu Han doing his trick and trying not to be caught. No wonder our classmates would erupt in laughter whenever he would pull his pranks on me.

On his sixth attempt, Lu Han's expression suddenly changed from being cunning and sneaky to that of being startled and caught. Alarmed, I leveled my gaze toward his target and did a double-take at who I saw.

Chris, whose shirt was now covered with tomato sauce, was looking mighty annoyed at Lu Han.

I inched closer, just in time to hear Chris say, "What the hell, Lu Han?"

Lu Han just shrugged, beaming at Chris innocently and turning to go away. But not before he sprayed tomato sauce on Chris' face.

I doubled over with laughter as I watched Lu Han walked out on a very much angry-looking Chris. I only had enough time to duck before Lu Han came my way with a wicked grin on his face, clearly satisfied with himself.

"That's for insulting your sister," Lu Han muttered to himself as he passed my way.

My heart skipped a beat as I stared at his retreating back in surprise. How did he...?

I found myself following Lu Han. A couple of paces later, he disappeared from my view because of the growing crowd. Frantic, I craned my neck around for him. Disappointment started to trickle inside me when someone whispered, "Boo!" in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

Clutching my heart, I spun around to glare at the obvious culprit but my menacing look melted away at the sight of his bright mischievous smile.

"Have you been following me?" he asked, his tone gloating and giddy at the same time.

"No," I immediately denied, knowing fully well what would happen if I said yes.

He arched an eyebrow, challenging me. "Oh? Then what were you doing?"

"I... was..." I looked around, trying to find my excuse. "I was... trying to find Hannah!" I said victoriously. "I totally wasn't following you!"

He squinted at me but nodded. "Sure," he slurred, telling me he didn't really believe me.

"It's true!" I huffed, trying to think quickly. "Bye then. I'll continue my search." I picked a random direction and walked away from him as fast as I could. What were you even doing anyway, following him like that? I chided myself.

Lu Han effortlessly fell into step beside me. "Alright then, let's look for her together."

I opened my mouth to speak but chose not to in the end. I wanted to ask Lu Han a lot, but I already had a feeling he wasn't going to give me serious answers. So I stayed quiet, at least for now.