"Don't worry," her voice was sickly sweet. "It'll all be over before you know it."
Feng Mei nodded, and someone hovered over her, obscuring her vision.
"Can you count down from 10 for me?"
Feng Mei closed her eyes. "Yes. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Si....x... F...."
"Out like a light, hm?" Li Shu sneered. She reached over to pinch Feng Mei's cheeks, but her hand was quickly swatted away.
"You should leave. We need the room sterile for the operation."
"Tch. You're so uptight, Doctor Yun." Li Shu twirled a lock of hair between her fingers arrogantly. "And don't glare at me like that. I gave you both their consent forms. They both agreed to do this. You should be happy."
Doctor Yun stared blankly at her, to which Li Shu scowled. She left the room, heels clicking on the marble floor, and Doctor Yun turned to look at the young girl sleeping quietly below him.
-
In a different part of the city, Gao Shen tapped his foot irritably.
Suddenly, his phone rang and with deft movements he immediately picked it up.
Hearing the words from the other end, Gao Shen sighed tiredly. "Good. Take care of it."
-
The momentary peace at the Feng estate was broken when the Feng patriarch stormed down the stairs, expression a mixture of anger and worry - with a crumpled piece of paper in his hands.
He was livid, his palms sweaty. His wife, seeing his appearance, was startled into standing up. "What's the matter?"
Unfortunately, she recieved no reply, for he was shocked to the point of speechlessness.
Instead, he merely waved his hands, made a couple of unintelligeble grunts, and without even so much as a goodbye to her, he rushed out of the house.
"Take me to Gao Xi's house," he hissed to his driver, who had been on standby this whole time. "Now."
The driver, used to his boss' antics, complied immediately.
-
In Doctor Yun's office, Li Shu was calmly inspecting her nails. She hadn't wanted to wait around for the entire operation - she knew that would take hours - but Doctor Yun had told her to stand by in case anything happened.
Just then, the door to the office slammed open. She clicked her tongue irritably, about to scold whoever had just barged in, but her words died in her throat when she saw who it was.
"G-gao Xi!" She yelped, her phone almost slipping from her hand. "You- why-? Haha," she breathed in, and calmed herself down. She wasn't in the wrong here, there was nothing to be nervous about. "What a coincidence! Why are you here? Are you sick? The doctor is busy right now, but I can-"
"Where's Feng Mei?" Gao Xi interrupted, storming up to her.
"Her? Why would I-"
"She left a note." He interrupts, viciously shoving her into a wall. "A farewell letter."
Li Shu flinched, eyes wide and pitiful. "I... I was only here to support her!"
"Support her killing herself?!"
"It isn't like that!" She whined. "It was her own choice! Anyway, it's too late now. The operation is underway, so if you interrupt, it will just cause more difficulties."
At that, there was a clatter, and Li Shu turned to look at Feng Mei's father. "They're already...?" He choked, hand covering his face in despaid. "But it's pointless...? They're not even related... Feng Mei, you silly child..."
At that, both Li Shu and Gao Xi turned to him in surprise, and in unison, exclaimed: "What?!"
It's at that point another participant entered the room. The doctor stepped between the door and the Feng father, a single eyebrow raised. "What's all the commotion?"
"You-" immediately, said father shoves the doctor against a wall, livid. "You killed my daughter!"
Doctor Yun blinks in surprise, before a dawning realization sets upon him, and he calmly begins: "I did no such thing-"
But he is not heard, and a punch is thrown his way, only to be stopped at the last second.
This chaotic scene, Gao Shen isn't surprised to see. His hand stops the fist, and he looks down on all the members of the room.
"Enough. The situation is handled."
"Handled?!" Gao Xi stares at his brother, confused.
And that's when he realizes, his brother is not alone. No, two police officers come in, making a beeline for him... except it isn't Gao Xi they're after, but Li Shu.
"Wh-whats going on?" Li Shu exclaims, struggling against the cuffs. "Release me! Don't you know who I am? I-"
"Li Shu. You're under arrest for attempted murder, attempted sexual assault, bribery, identity theft, falsifying signatures, document forgery..." The list went on and on, and with every word, Li Shu's face turned paler and paler.
"You- you have no proof!" She yelled, shaking her head in disbelief.
"This is proof enough." At that point, Doctor Yun takes out the consent forms. "Of course I didn't do the surgery. You think I wouldn't test their compatability before going through? I'm surprised you didn't think that... though I suppose you thought they were actually siblings. I did at the start too, after all."
"You... you betrayed me?! No... you're wrong! How... how could this have happened! Let - let go!" Not believing that she'd been defeated, she begins once more to struggle in earnest, but against two trained policemen, she is quickly taken away from the room.
The room is quiet, after, as the two naive members began digesting all the information. And then, Gao Xi breaks the silence. "Brother...then... they're alright?"
"Feng Mei is." Doctor Yun confirms on Gao Shen's behalf. "Unfortunately, Feng Yi's illness wasn't fake. He hid it because he didn't want people to worry. Stupid, isn't it?"
"That stupid boy... those two, such foolish children," the father of these two siblings couldn't help but laugh, the prickling of tears on his face. "In that case, doctor, isn't it alright to use me instead. Surely thats possible?"
The doctor blinks at that. "... Yes, but I doubt it's what either of your children want."
"Don't you know? It is a parents worst nightmare to outlive their child."
There is a silence, then. It would be totally unethical, for him to comply with such a request.
"This isn't a decision to be taken lightly... those two will be waking up soon. In the meantime, please think about it seriously."
-
In the end, Feng Yi found that he didn't have to do much at all for this world. Of course, he refused for his 'illness' to be treated, no matter what everyone said. As a person who had just been born, he felt that something as precious as life shouldn't be thrown away so easily...
The problem with Li Shu was handled, and with him gone, Feng Mei would inherit the company... The only problem now was next to him, peeling apples.
He is in the hospital, still, his condition having worsened these past few weeks. Gao Shen was still the company president, and the male lead, his younger brother, was too distracted by Feng Mei to focus on his work.
Honestly, Feng Yi didn't know how to feel about the other, but he's glad he was able to make a... friend? Before he left. He would miss him.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Hm?" Feng Yi turns towards him, and a slice of apple is shoved into his mouth. He chews on it obediently. "Nothing. Just... wondering what your plans are, for the future."
Gao Shen shrugs. "Work."
"Is that all? Isn't there something else you'd like to do?"
Gao Shen looks at Feng Yi meaningfully and places a hand over the other mans. "No." He shakes his head. "What about you? What do you plan to do, when you get better."
Feng Yi gives him a helpless smile. Despite everything, the other was still convinced he would be fine. At this point, he just played along. "Ah, I'd like to travel the world."
"Then I'll come and travel the world with you." Gao Shen smiles, his fingers interlacing with Feng Yi's, and he hooks their pinkies together. "Pinky promise."
Feng Yi looks at their fingers oddly. "Hm? Is that something special?"
Gao Shen laughs quietly, at that, his voice soft. "It's a special promise. It's one that can't be broken."
He doesn't know how to reply, to that. But Gao Shen just smiles, and he smiles back. For now, he will pretend - his whole life up until this point had been an act as well, after all.
"Alright. Promise."
-
He dies three days later. He does not see what becomes of the characters, but when he is transported back into the white space where he was created, he gets a summary.
Li Shu was sentenced to jail, with probation. His sister, under the guidance of thwir father, successfully led their company to greater heights than ever before. She married Gao Xi, who had actually ended up also inheriting his family's company, becuase Gao Shen had, at the end of it all, deciddd to travel the world, instead...
An opaque screen hovers in front of him, the words "MISSION SUCCESS" emblazoned on it's surface. Looks like he had, somehow, managed to complete all three tasks... he's a bit surprised, and he feels a bit like a cheater, having done not much of anything.
He has Gao Shen to thank, for that... thinking about the other man's ending, he presses the back of his pinky to his lips. He hopes that whatever the other is doing, wherever he is, he's happy...
-
a.n. and thats it! thats the end of arc 1. to everyone who stuck with me for so long and who has read so far - thank you!
this chapter is rushed, because i just wanted to get it out, so if you spotted mistakes... don't look at it.
i dont think ill updating this anymore, so consider this the end...? at least, for now. but hopefully this gave some closure... who knows, i might come back, i might not.
whatever the case, let me know what you think - leave a comment if you can!