Hiraeth ; Meteor Garden 2018

Chapter 26

"Thank you so much for all your help!" She said as she pulled away and stood back as Ximen gave me a hug.

"You've gotten a lot thinner Shui. You need some food in your system or else you're gonna look like a skeleton." He joked as I hit him at the back of the head. I turned my head and saw Shancai's other friend.

"Hello again. Xiaoyou right? It's nice to see you again." I said as I offered her a kind smile.

"Ah Si, how did you arrive before us?" Ximen asked.

"Yes. I took the jet and I even had time to go around the city and eat ice cream." Ah Si answered and my eyebrows quirked up in confusion.

"You were asleep so I walked around in the square." He explained and I nodded in understanding, sitting back down on the couch near the fire. I could feel Meizuo's eyes on me but I ignored it and looked elsewhere.

"It's good that you're here." Lei supplied, sitting beside me as he grabbed a spoon and ate some of my ice cream. I smiled and leaned into him.

"Lei, aren't you cold?" Meizuo asked as he continued to stare at me and Lei.

"Eating ice cream in front of the fireplace sounds interesting." Lei answered and my eyes widened as he scooped out a big part of my ice cream and ate it. I gasped dramatically as Lei gave me a teasing smile. I laughed.

"Hi, Daoming Si." My ears perked up as the voices of two girls spoke up. I looked up and my face turned sour.

Xinhui and Baihe.

Those girls were always out for trouble and I'm still not over what they did to Shancai.

I stood up and walked over to Ah Si. The heels of my boots clicked against the wooden floor with each step I took. I crossed my arms and glared at the two girls who sheepishly looked at me in embarrassment.

"Who the hell invited you here?" I demanded as I continued to stare at them with disdain. They looked scared at turned to Shancai.

"Sh-Shancai invited us! We're her friends!" Xinhui stuttered and my eyebrows raised in question.

"Y-yes! That's right! Shancai, you invited us didn't you?" Baihe chimed in nervously and I turned to Shancai.

"Did you really Shancai?" I asked sternly. She looked unsure but she rapidly nodded her head.

"Yes! I did!" She nervously answered.

"Shancai, tell me the truth. Did they threaten you? Or worse, did they invite themselves here?" I spat, looking at the two girls.

"No. Shuijing, really. I invited them." Shancai answered and I sighed.

"All right. But let's be clear about something you two, if anything happens or goes wrong, especially if it involves Shancai. You better be ready cause there will be hell to pay." I threatened as I tossed my hair back and walked away. I stopped in front of Meizuo and saw him smile a little bit as he moved to take a step towards me but I grew nervous and hurriedly walked past him and headed upstairs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meizuo

I wasn't expecting her to be here but I wanted her to. I don't know if it was possible but she had gotten more beautiful. I smiled and fought back a laugh as she threatened Xinhui and Baihe. I stared as she stopped in front of me and I moved to give her a hug but she suddenly walked faster and headed upstairs.

I frowned as I stared at her.

"So she's still mad at me huh?" I said as I continued to stare up the stairs. Lei walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder.