THIRD PERSON
Ah Si went to school that day with a new hairstyle, determined to make Shancai notice him to no avail. He had to call out her attention and when she finally did notice, he clarified the fact that she wasn't the reason why he changed his look. She laughed haughtily at him and said that he was so full of himself.
"Jing is back." Ximen interrupted his argument with the freshman.
"What?" Ah Si asked again, not fully grasping what Ximen said.
"Jing is back." Ximen repeated as Ah Si's eyes shone with realization and went with Ximen to see Jing with a smile on his face.
Shancai looked on, a little sad at what she just heard. Her classmates Baihe & Xinhui had informed her of Lei's history with Jing and she had to admit, she felt so insecure of who her competition was if you could consider Shancai a rival for Lei's heart. She decided to see for herself if what they really said was true and dragged Qinghe along with her.
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Jing walked the halls of Ming De University gracefully. She was wearing a long white layered dress with the inner skirt shorter than the outer which was see-through, black loafers with gold buckles, a gray plaid blazer with the sleeves pulled up to her elbows, and a black box crossbody bag. She cheerfully smiled at the students who greeted and admired her. The students in question couldn't believe their eyes as they stared at the living goddess of Ming De. At the end of the hall, the school's legendary F4 walked up to her.
Jing stopped walking and smiled at the 4 boys she considered family. She looked at all 4 of them one by one and smiled. They really had grown up.
"Welcome back." Ah Si spoke first as he gave her a hug. Next was Ximen who hugged her as well then Meizuo who did the same and lastly was Lei who simply stared at her, a smile peeking from his lips.
Jing stepped closer and closer until she met Lei's face and smiled.
"Lei. I'm back." she said as she hugged him. Lei simply smiled and took in the fact that she was really back.
"I've missed you." Jing added. His arms slowly wove his way around her and he hugged her tighter.
Meizuo smiled at his friends but if you looked closer, you could see that he was a bit disappointed. He was also looking for someone and had hoped that she would eventually come with her older sister and tell him that it was a surprise...but she wasn't here.
Shancai stood with Qinghe at the end of the hallway, a little bit hidden from the 4 boys and Jing. She looked on at how Lei hugged Jing and how happy he looked. Jing was exceptionally beautiful and she couldn't help but compare herself to her. Jing was a whole different league compared to her, she let it sink in that Lei would never like her now that Jing was back.
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The boys and Jing went for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. Meizuo tried to keep his mind off the younger Tengtang heiress and just enjoy himself. They were all laughing at a table as they remembered a memory from when they were young. Lei was awfully being quiet as he silently ate his dinner in peace
"I think it's still funny." Ximen added as Ah Si and Meizuo kept laughing.
"This place hasn't changed. But you guys.." Jing stopped as she looked at the boys in front of her. "After 3 years, you're no longer high school students but university students now. Luckily, you guys haven't changed. I'm glad." She added proudly.
"Hey, the six of us, with Shuijing, grew up together. You can say we're all childhood friends." Ah Si answered with a laugh. Meizuo's smile dropped slightly at the mention of Shuijing but kept his smile up to avoid getting asked.
"Ah Si hasn't changed. You're still the jokester." Jing said.
"You're wrong. I'm more amazing now.I'm doing my own investment and I'm paying for my own tuition fees." Ah Si stated smugly.
"That is pretty amazing." Jing said as she nodded her head in agreement.
"Your sister must be proud.I haven't seen her in a while. How is she?" Jing asked curious to know how the older Daoming sibling was.
"She got married last year. She's moved to England with her husband." Ah Si replied sadly. No matter how much he denied it, Jing knew how close he was with his sister and how much he loved her.
"I know you're really close with your sister. Without her here,you must feel very lonely." Jing comforted as she smiled.
"Jing, don't worry about that. There's a girl who's got all his attention now.Her name is..." Ximen started teasingly. Jing smiled in surprise.
Meizuo decided to join in and leaned his face closer to Ah Si.
"Dong..." Ximen said jokingly trying to recall her name.
"-Something..." Meizuo added a hint of laughter in his voice. Ah Si got annoyed and wrapped both Ximen and Meizuo's necks in his arms, smothering them. Both of them laughed and didn't seem to mind that much.
"You two. You can't compare her to my sister. My sister is out of her league." Ah Si threatened, keeping his hold on both boys.
"Oh yeah, Jing. Speaking of sisters, where is Shuijing? Why didn't she come with you?" Ah Si asked and Meizuo looked at the older Tengtang sibling in curiosity.
"She still has things to do in Paris. I'm not even sure if she's coming home this year." Jing answered truthfully with a sad smile. She noticed Meizuo's sad expression. She knew that her sister was the closest to him. He was at their house everyday to hang out with Shuijing. She had always hoped that they would end up together but she would leave that all up to the two of them.
"That's too bad. Meizuo really wanted to see her. He misses her. All he does is stare at their old photos together." Ah Si said teasingly and Ximen nodded in agreement. Meizuo blushed at the revelation and Jing laughed at his reaction.
"H-h-hey! I don't miss her and I do not stare at old photos!" Meizuo answered defensively, his face growing redder and redder by the minute. The boys laughed and Jing giggled at the sight. Oh, how she wished her sister could see this now.
"Are you sure you don't miss me?" a voice said from behind them and they all turned to see a girl. A girl with flowing brown hair and a bright smile. She had on a pink silk high neck blouse with an asymmetric collar and bow tucked into dark wide leg flare jeans. She had on some black platform sandals, white long tassel earrings, and carried a blue flower embroidered clutch with a gold buckle.
All of them except for Jing didn't utter a word as they continued to stare at the girl they considered their little sister in front of their very eyes. Ximen's jaw dropped, Ah Si's eyes widened and Lei even stopped eating. Jing smiled knowingly at her sister and Meizuo couldn't stop smiling on the inside.
'She's here! She's really here!' he thought.
"So are you all just gonna stare at me or are you gonna give me the welcome hugs I deserve?" Shuijing teased as she gave them a smile. The boys smiled and stood up to greet her.
Ximen approached her first. "Welcome back. You've grown so much Shui. You're not so little anymore." Ximen flirted jokingly as he gave her a hug. Meizuo eyes narrowed but quickly hid it with a smile so that no one would notice.
"You idiot! Why didn't you tell us you were coming too! Jing, did you know about this?" Ah Si asked as he flicked Shuijing's forehead and hugged her.
"I'm afraid I did. She told me she wanted to surprise you guys." Jing answered, smiling at her younger sister who gave her a wink.
Lei stood up and admired Shuijing. She really had grown up. She was always the one who was there for Lei whenever Jing wasn't around to play or talk to him and he was grateful for that. Shuijing was one of those very rare people he couldn't bear to be hurt by others. She was like the sister he never had.
"Hi Lei." Shujing greeted as she gave him a hug and a smile. Her sister gave them a loving smile. Shuijing knew how much her sister and Lei loved each other. She just hoped they would have a happy ending.
"Welcome back Princess." Lei said teasingly bringing up her nickname from childhood as she groaned. Lei smiled and went back to his seat next to Jing. Then lastly, she turned to Meizuo who had already had his arms open for her.
"Well?" he teased as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully. She laughed and jumped into his arms. He smiled and hugged her tightly. Having her back was so good and he secretly hoped in his heart that she was staying for good this time. Their friends looked on and smiled. 'They are perfect together'. Jing knew in her heart that her sister saw Meizuo as more than a best friend but knew that she would never act on them anytime soon. Shuijing pulled back and stared at the face of the man she's loved for years. Meizuo wanted to ask her why she never responded to his messages, emails, and calls all these years but he held back and just wanted to be with her at the moment. As best friends.
"I missed you." she said with a sweet smile. Meizuo smiled.
"I missed you too." he said back as he grabbed her hand and pulled out a chair for her to sit beside him.
"Okay, Ah Si. Who's this girl you keep sending me messages about?" she asked as Meizuo placed his arm around her shoulders.
"If you replied, you'd know her name and how annoying she is." Ah Si answered cockily.
"Well excuse me, in case you forgot I have a job you know. And if you messaged me one at a time, I'd have time to reply. So stop flooding me with angry emoticons!" Shuijing exclaimed as she laughed at Ah Si's antics.
"Shui, you have got to meet her. Imagine, she gave THE Daoming Si, a flying kick." Ximen added as he and Meizuo laughed at the memory. Shuijing laughed at the sight of Ah Si being kicked by a girl.
"Ooohh.. I like her already! She sounds perfect for Ah Si. I can see why you like her." She teased Ah Si as she tried to keep her laughter in.
"Who said I liked her?" Ah Si answered annoyed. Shuijing shook her head, laughing.
"If you didn't like her, why do you keep talking about her?" Shuijing asked with a teasing smile.
"B-because.. she's annoying!" Ah Si defended. Shuijing, Ximen, and Meizuo shook their heads.
"Fine.. Whatever you say." Ximen answered but then he noticed Lei being uncharacteristically quiet.
"Lei, why are you so quiet?" He asked as Lei continued to silently eat his dinner. Meizuo turned from Shuijing who was silently eating the pasta her sister had ordered for her to Lei who was across him.
"Yeah. You're even more quiet with Jing around." He stated as he drank his wine.
"I know. He's always been this way. He becomes really quiet whenever he's happy." Ximen added. Shuijing turned to look at Lei who had a stoic face and turned to her sister who also looked a little concerned. Was something wrong?
"He doesn't say a word,.." Meizuo started. "but his heart beats really fast." Ximen finished as they laughed. Shuijing noticed the slight discomfort in Lei's face and her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"Lei will never change." Meizuo added.
"Jing, we've grown up. So has Si." Ximen stated proudly.
"Yes. Unlike Lei, who's always such an introvert. Look at him. He's still the same Lei from the past." Meizuo said as he gestured to Lei which resulted to Shuijing silently elbowing him. Meizuo turned to her with raised eyebrows as if he was asking her what was wrong.
"He's still very amusing. Come on. Let's have a toast to the never-changing Lei." Jing told the group as she raised her glass and the others did as well. Shuijing turned to look at Lei as she raised her glass, he looked like he was mad. But that was impossible. He was Lei. He never got mad. They clinked their glasses and cheered when suddenly Lei cried out.
"I'm not!" He exclaimed, his face twisted in anger. The group was shocked and placed their glasses down. Meizuo wrapped his arm around Shuijing and continued to stare at Lei and Jing.
"Lei, what's the matter?" Jing asked as she placed her glass down as Lei turned to her with a furious expression.
"Jing, why did you take those vulgar photos? That's not like you at all." Lei scolded her and Jing looked down with a small smile. Ximen,Ah Si, Meizuo, and Shuijing looked on to see how Jing would respond. Shuijing knew what photos Lei was referring to because she was present at the shoot. It was a summer shoot where Jing had to pose with two male models. Nothing too provocative and sexy but Jing had the two models holding her by the waist. Not to mention she was wearing a bikini under a cover-up, of course. A very see-through cover-up.
"Is Lei acting like he's jealous?" Ximen asked the three people on the other side of the table but they just smiled at him. Ximen then turned to Shuijing and smirked.
"Now if my memory is correct, a certain someone also did a daring little shoot and it involved a bathtub and ....ahem... Lingerie." Ximen stated which made Shuijing blush and pick at the steak on her plate while Ah Si and Meizuo's eyes widened. Ximen swore he saw Meizuo's jaw clench. Shuijing cleared her throat and looked up.
"So did you enjoy those pictures Ximen? Nobody noticed it was lingerie since I was wearing a shirt in most of them so you must have taken a really close look" she answered as she chewed her steak with a triumphant smile. Ximen's jaw dropped while Ah Si laughed at his reaction. Meizuo looked at her with disapproving eyes.
"Why did you agree to do it? What was it for? Why did it have to be lingerie?" Meizuo asked annoyed. For once, he knew what Lei was feeling. He didn't want other men to look at Shuijing with impure thoughts. He was her best friend and he was supposed to protect her. Shuijing looked at him, confused at the numerous questions.
"Besides being the heiress of the Tengtang Investment group, I'm still a model you know? It was for a photobook that a friend of mine did for a song. The song was about a couple who think the other has changed and vice versa and it was supposed to be taken in an intimate way. What's the big deal anyway? I wasn't naked and with him in the pictures okay? It was just me and a female photographer." Shuijing answered as she continued cutting her steak.
"And you're okay with people looking at those photos?" Meizuo asked in disbelief.
"It's a photo book. It's supposed to be looked at. And besides, me wearing lingerie doesn't mean I'm trying to send the wrong image. It really depends on those who just choose to see it as it is: a concept for a photoshoot or those who are really disgusting and try to make it a big deal and make it seem like I'm doing it for me to be noticed and disrespected. Clothing doesn't define respect okay?" Shuijing added as she drank her wine. Meizuo smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 'She's amazing'. he thought and Ah Si and Ximen agreed. Jing on the other hand was trying to get Lei to understand that there was nothing wrong with the photos she took but Lei wasn't haven't any of it. The boys and Shuijing listened in and wanted to see how Lei would react.
"I knew you cared about me the most. That's why I like you the most." Jing said as she gave Lei a kiss on the cheek which prompted the boys to cheer and Shuijing to giggle.
"Wow!" "Give me a kiss too!" "Me too!" "Come on!" "One here" "Please Jing." The 3 pointed out as they gestured to their cheeks for Jing to kiss while Shuijing just rolled her eyes and laughed at their immaturity. She got an idea and abruptly kissed Meizuo on the cheek. He looked back at her in shock and blushed. Shuijing turned to her sister while smiling teasingly.
"One less person to kiss Jie." she said as she ate the remaining piece of steak on her plate while Meizuo still looked at her. 'She kissed my cheek'. he thought as he reached up to touch where her lips had planted themselves in. Jing giggled at her little sister and Meizuo's reddened face.
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