Shuijing
I sat on the hood of my car beside Meizuo, who was looking at me intently with his arms crossed across his chest. I sighed.
"What do you want to know?" I asked, as I played with my fingers and looked down.
"Everything but first I wanna know, who is this guy anyway?" he said, as lifted up my chin with his finger.
"He's someone I've liked for a while now. I don't even think I can call it 'like' now. I love him. I'm in love with him even though I know he'll never love me back." I said sadly as I looked down.
"How do you know that?" he asked with a hint of irritation.
"Because I know him. He's not exactly the settling down type and you know me Zuo. I want to be with someone who'll love me and only me for the rest of my life and I'll do the same. I don't wanna experience the 'falling in love' and 'getting my heart broken' phase. Look at Ah Si. It's the first time I've seen him like that and that scares me. I don't wanna feel what he's feeling Zuo. I don't think my heart can take any more rejection...I get that enough from my parents.." I trailed off and didn't even realize I was crying. Meizuo pulled me in for a hug and I hugged back as I sobbed onto his chest.
"Hey. it's okay Shuijing.." He comforted, as he rubbed my back while I continued to cry. I pulled away while he continued to hold me by my shoulders.
"Whoever this guy is, he's lucky okay? Because he has such a kind and wonderful girl who loves him." he said, as he gave me a smile. I smiled back and hugged him.
"And if he doesn't like you, screw him okay? He'll have to deal with the F4 beating him up." He joked and I frowned.
'That's just it. You can't beat him up cause he's part of F4' I thought as I hugged him tighter.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next day, I stayed home and finished up the paperwork that Dad had sent me early on that morning. There was twice as much amount as usual. I guess their frustration with Jie was passed on to me. I sighed as I read through the rest of the paperwork.
It was around lunchtime when I finished half of it. My stomach grumbled and I was about to go downstairs to cook when my phone suddenly rang. I looked at the caller ID: "Zuozuo". It was a video call and when I answered, it was him and Ximen.
"Hey Shuijing. We're almost close to finding out who posted those pictures." said Ximen. My interest was peaked.
"What have you found out so far?" I asked as I sat on the edge of my bed.
"Well it's a she and we're cracking her IP address since she used a fake VPN to post it." Meizuo explained as I nodded.
"Okay. Let me know when you guys find out who it is okay? I gotta go. I still have some stuff to do. Bye!" I said, as I hung up and went downstairs to cook.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was half past 10 when I finished all the paperwork when I got a call from Ah Si.
"Hello Ah Si? What's up?" I asked as I organized the paperwork into a neat pile near my computer.
"Shuijing, Meizuo and Ximen texted me and they know who posted those pictures of Shancai. Meizuo and Ximen are dropping by your place to pick you up and then we'll meet up at that person's place.", he said.
"Okay but wait what about Shancai? Shouldn't she know who framed her?" I said, as I thought about the poor girl who was bullied endlessly in the past couple of days.
"She's here at my house." Ah Si answered which made me squeal.
"WHAT! AT YOUR HOUSE? HOW? WHY? WHEN?" I screamed in excitement.
"LATER SHUIJING! Damn your voice is still squeaky! I'll see you later!" He said, as he hung up and I got up to change out of my house clothes. I changed into a blue striped button up long sleeve top with a collar tucked into some dark blue jeans with rips at the knees. I ran my hand through my hair and put on my black suede zip-up block-heeled ankle boots. I grabbed my phone, my brown coat, and bag as soon as I heard Ximen's car honk. I walked downstairs, went out the door, and locked it. I walked over to his car and sat in the back seat. Meizuo sat beside him.
"So who is this person? Who framed Shancai?" I asked as Ximen and Meizuo looked at each other then back at me.
"You'll know when we get there." Meizuo said, as he looked at me. I frowned but nodded as I buckled my seat belt.
After about 30 minutes, we arrived at an apartment complex. It was a little dark and the way in was too narrow. We walked up the stairs with Ximen leading while Meizuo held my hand from behind as he walked up. We stood outside a door.
"Ah Si and Shancai are coming." Ximen said as I and Meizuo nodded. And not even 5 minutes later, I could hear someone coming up the stairs. It was Ah Si and Shancai was behind him. Shancai gave me a small smile and I walked over to give her a hug. I frowned when I saw the bandage on the side of her head. I turned to Ah Si and hit him in the ribs. He groaned in pain as Meizuo and Ximen laughed.
"Ah! Shuijing what the hell was that for?" He complained as he held his ribs.
"You idiot! Why does Shancai have a bandage? What did you do to her?" I sternly asked as I moved closer to hit him again when Shancai stopped me.
"Shuijing you have the wrong idea! Daoming Si didn't hit me. In fact, he saved me. There were these two guys who harassed me before who wanted revenge but Daoming Si stopped them and helped me." She said as she shielded Ah Si and looked down shyly. I walked past her and punched Ah Si playfully in the ribs.
"You rascal! You really have grown up!" I said proudly as he groaned.
"Hey! And I think you keep forgetting we're all a year older than you!" Ah Si said and I just shrugged and gave Shancai another hug. She turned to Meizuo and Ximen.
"Wait, what are you all doing here? What's going on?" She asked as he looked at all of us.
"The person who posted those photos is inside. See for yourself." Ah Si said, as he rang the doorbell. I stayed behind Shancai, while she stood in front of the door. The doorbell rang for a while until the door finally opened to reveal the person who framed Shancai.
"Li Zhen?" Shancai said. I didn't know who she was but I assumed she was one of Shancai's friends.
"Shancai." Li Zhen said as she turned to look at us. She seemed intimidated.
"Why are you guys here? Come in." She said as she went inside and left the door open for us. She began to tidy up as we stepped in.
"My place is a bit messy. I hope you don't mind. Have a seat." She offered as she continued to clean up.
"It looks like someone is still feigning innocence." Ximen commented which made her stop cleaning and look back at us.
"What do you mean?" She answered back with guilt in her voice. Ximen was right. She was trying to look innocent even if she already knew she was caught.
"I think you made a mistake. Li Zhen can't be the one who set me up." Shancai defended her, clearly not believing what was happening.
"Li Zhen. You went to high school with Shancai and attended Mingde University too. Thomas left and couldn't be reached but we did some digging. The Weibo user that posted those defamatory photos was you." Meizuo stated which made her look nervous. I stepped closer to Shancai.
"Spit it out. Why did you do it?" I sternly asked, crossing my arms across my chest.
"Why?" Shancai asked in disbelief.
"Well..." Li Zhen tried to explain but couldn't find the right words.
"Perhaps you prefer to settle it in court. Ximen, call a lawyer." I threatened as Ximen took out his phone to call a lawyer. Li Zhen panicked.
"No!" She cried out, then looked at Shancai.
"Fine. I admit it. I posted those photos online." She said, as she held her head high. I scoffed. This girl had the nerve to be proud when she framed her friend? I walked forward, but Meizuo pulled me back to his side and shook his head at me, telling me to not get involved.
"So, you set me up with Thomas?" Shancai said, as she walked closer while Li Zhen shook her head.
"Then how did you get the photos?" Shancai added, frustrated.
"That night, Thomas invited you to dance. You two were having so much fun. I could tell he was interested in you. The next day, Thomas called me to say he likes you and wanted to see you. I saw you two looking really friendly on campus. But then...I saw you and Daoming Si arguing by the school entrance. I was furious as I looked at the photo Thomas had sent. So I shared it." She smugly answered which only made my blood boil even more.
"I don't understand. Aren't we good friends? Why were you furious?" Shancai asked, clearly upset at her friend's betrayal.
"Good friends? Sorry but that's too big of a burden for me." She scoffed as Shancai continued to stare at her.
"What do you mean?" Shancai asked.
"What "good friends"? Did you think about me when Qinghe invited you to Sanya with F4?" She accused Shancai.
"Qinghe was the one who invited me. At the time, I didn't know F4 was going to be there." Shancai defended.
"What about lying to me about Jing's birthday party and then embarrassing me by not picking up my call?" Li Zhen fired back.
"My phone was dead at Jing's party. I called you after that, didn't I? You said you couldn't come because you were busy." Shancai stated.
"I wasn't busy. I couldn't get in." Li Zhen said.
"You couldn't get in?" Shancai asked, confused.
"I wore an expensive dress that cost three times my monthly living expenses. I stood at the door of Jing's house. I called you many times, I couldn't get through. While you guys were having fun inside, I stood out in the rain and was denied entry by the guards. They wouldn't let me in no matter what I said. Did you consider how I felt?" Li Zhen menacingly answered.
"I did call you!" Shancai repeated.
"Don't you get it? Jing's invitation was meant for you. It was for Dong Shancai. It didn't matter that my dress cost 6,000 yuan. I'm just a supporting character. Your accessory. Nobody pays attention to me. I could attend the party because I'm Shancai's friend not because I'm Li Zhen." She explained to Shancai.
"Why would you think that?" Shancai asked.
"I'm not imagining things. It's the truth. That's the saddest part." Li Zhen said back.
"If you really believed that, why didn't you tell me how you felt?" Shancai pleaded.
"Because I have my pride too, okay?" Li Zhen retorted.
"You're just jealous of Shancai." Ah Si pointed out and I nodded my head in agreement. This girl just lost a very good friend because of her jealousy.
"Yes, I admit it. That day, I realized while walking home in the rain. No matter how hard I try, or how much effort I put in to please others, it won't matter. I should learn from you. Have a pair of innocent-looking eyes. Pretend to be nice. Play hard to get with guys. After hurting someone, just brush it off by saying it wasn't intentional." Li Zhen listed and Shancai finally burst.
"Even if that were true, you shouldn't have done what you did to defame and hurt me! You made people turn on me." Shancai exclaimed as tears fell from her eyes.
"That's because I wanted you to know how it felt to be hated. Just like what I've had to endure." Li Zhen smugly answered.
"Li Zhen. I am so disappointed in you. I can't believe this is what you thought of me. If you're unhappy with me, just tell me. Why did you have to resort to that and stab me in the back? You don't deserve to be my friend." Shancai said.
"Whatever. The point is, I don't need a friend like you either. I no longer care." Li Zhen dismissively answered.
"I'm really sad. So sad that I wish I could hit you and scold you but I have nothing to say to you." Shancai said as she walked out and Ah Si followed suite. I stepped forward.
"Shancai may not have told you off but I will. I admit, I myself know what you're going through. Despite being an heiress of one of the world's most prominent companies,I still hold some resentment towards my parents because they favored my sister more than me. Throughout my life, I was constantly and still am being compared to her in every aspect but I never once thought bad about her. You know why? Because I valued my relationship with her rather than what other people thought of me. I didn't let my insecurities get in the way of what we had. But you? You chose to betray Shancai. Someone who has been your friend and helped you a lot and yet because of your jealousy, you ruined your friendship with her. If you think people hated you before then I hope you're ready to face the consequences of your actions and by that, I mean the rest of Mingde. You know how fast news travels within the school walls." I threatened as I walked back to Ximen and Meizuo.
"Li Zhen. There are many things that are unfair in this world but that doesn't mean you should treat yourself unfairly." Meizuo said as we all turned to leave, leaving Li Zhen to her thoughts.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next day, I went out for a little shopping adventure. I hadn't had fun by myself for a while. I bought something for the boys and Shancai as well. I was about to get in my car and drive home when Jie suddenly called me.
"Jie!" I answered cheerfully. I heard her laughter through the phone.
"Hi meimei, How are you? How is everyone?" She asked softly.
"I'm okay. Everyone's good and Ah Si and Shancai seem to be getting along well." I reported with a laugh.
"That's good to hear." She answered.
"What about you Jie? How are things in Paris? How's Lei?" I asked curiously which made her go silent.
"Jie? Is everything okay?" I asked again, my eyebrows furrowed in concern. I heard Jie sigh.
"Everything's good here but Lei.." Jie trailed off.
"But what Jie? What happened?" I pressed.
"We broke up." She stated and I almost dropped my phone in shock.
"What? What do you mean you broke up? You guys are perfect for each other." I exclaimed in disbelief.
"I guess we just weren't meant to be." Jie said in a somber tone. I sighed.
"Are you okay Jie?" I asked in concern.
"I'm okay meimei. Don't worry. I have to go now, I still have some work to do. Take care of yourself and mom and dad okay? I love you meimei! " She reassured me as she hung up. I sighed.
'One problem ends then another one just piles up on top of that' I thought.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I had just gotten home when Meizuo texted me.
"Shuijing, we're meeting up at a restaurant later. Lei is back." I gasped. Lei was back? Well, I guess this is the time to ask him what happened. I texted back Meizuo and asked for the restaurant name.
"Okay. I'll be there." I replied as I took a little nap.
At around 7 pm, I woke up and took a quick shower. I changed into a black sleeveless crop top, black skinny jeans, and some black suede pumps. I grabbed my phone and blush pink leather jacket along with my car keys and headed out.
I drove to the restaurant and the boys were already there waiting for me except for Lei who hadn't arrived yet. I walked over to the boys who were talking among themselves and took a seat beside Meizuo. Ah Si had just gotten off the phone with Shancai and he looked kinda happy yet annoyed and as he hung up the phone. I raised my eyebrows.
""If you can't talk, let's meet up"."What kind of logic is that?" Meizuo asked Ximen while I laughed.
"All girls like sweet talk." Meizuo added and Ximen nodded in agreement. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Oh please.
"Well not all girls are stupid enough to believe that." I defended as I leaned back on my chair.
"But before Si learns how to do that, he should just shut up." I added which made Ah Si glare at me. Ximen and Meizuo laughed. I turned to Ah Si.
"What did you do now Ah Si?" I asked I looked at him.
"Nothing! That girl was just being annoying! I do something nice for her and her parents and I don't even get a 'thank you'!" Ah Si exclaimed as he pouted. I laughed and shook my head.
"Ah Si, your definition of doing something nice is different from normal people. So it wouldn't be much of a shock if Shancai acted out." I teased as I drank the juice that Meizuo had passed to me.
"Hey! I just gave them some furniture and appliances. They looked like they needed it." He answered as he continued to sulk. I laughed.
"Where's Lei? I haven't seen him for a while." He asked and I turned to Ximen and Meizuo.
"He said he needed some air. He'll be back soon." Ximen stated and I nodded my head.
"I feel like Lei came back as a different person this time." Meizuo added which made me look at him.
"How is he different?" I asked with concern and confusion in my voice.
"I can't point it out but there's just something different with him.." He said as he looked at me. Ximen waved over a girl who I assumed was his date. She introduced herself but I didn't catch her name. She sat beside Ximen across from me and Meizuo. They started to talk and I just rolled my eyes at Ximen's attempt of 'flirting', his date seemed to like it as she giggled at every little thing he said even if it wasn't funny. Basic.
After a few minutes, I heard the door of the restaurant open and an annoyed Shancai walked in. Ah Si stood up.
"Are you a turtle? What took you so long?" Ah Si complained as Shancai huffed in annoyance.
"How dare you say that? Let me get this straight, why should I show up whenever you want me to?" Shancai demanded.
"Because I want to see you." Ah Si confessed which made me smile and Shancai blush.
"Who do you think you are?" Shancai argued as she looked away from Ah Si.
"Hey, Shancai." I turned my head and saw Lei. He looked uncharacteristically jolly for someone who had just broken up with his girlfriend aka my older sister. A girl walked beside him.
I raised my eyebrows and turned to Meizuo. I gave him a look and he just shrugged. He was just as confused as I was. I stood up to greet him.
"Hey Lei." I greeted him as I gave him a hug.
"Hi Shuijing. Good to see you. You've gotten more beautiful since the last time I saw you." he said as he gave me a smile which made me confused but I smiled back anyway. Was Lei trying to flirt with me?
"You too." I said back and turned to the girl beside him.
"And you are?" I asked softly. The girl was about to introduce herself but Lei cut her off.
"This is Kiki." Lei said which made her giggle. 'Oh God.' I thought as I internally groaned. Was she a clone of Ximen's date, only uglier?
"I finally get to meet the F4. When can I play Bridge with you?" She squealed which made me wince. Meizuo must have felt my irritation and stood next to me, with his arm around my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down.
"If you want to play, Lei can bring you here anytime. We're okay whenever." He told her politely and I smiled at her.
"Really? That's great." She exclaimed excitedly as she stared at Meizuo in awe. This girl is really getting on my nerves.
"Come on." Lei said as he led Kiki away from our table and to another table behind us. I silently elbowed Meizuo in the ribs and he groaned in pain.
"What was that for Shui?" He complained as he held where I had hit him. I scoffed.
"Please tell me that she's not your type." I whispered and gestured to Kiki. Meizuo laughed.
"Are you jealous Shui?" he teased as I sat down and rolled my eyes.
"Oh please Zuo. Why would I be jealous of her?" I said as I glared at him. He just laughed and shook his head.
Ximen was in another table beside us with his date. I sat back down while Ah Si and Shancai were across from me and Meizuo. Ah Si passed Shancai a drink while I continued to stare at Lei and Kiki. He looked overly flirty with her which is out of character for him. I choked on my drink when I saw Lei eat what was left in Kiki's mouth. What the hell? Meizuo patted my back and I turned to Shancai who spat her drink on Ah Si's face.
"What are you doing?" Ah Si groaned, as he passed him some napkins and proceeded to wipe Shancai's and his face.
"Here. Wipe your mouth." Ah Si said, as he continued to wipe her face. Ximen stood up and approached us.
"What did Lei do in Paris? He's changed so much." Ximen pointed out, as he leaned in. We all turned to Lei who continued to laugh and flirt with Kiki.
"I think he grew up but we don't know how long he'll be like this." Meizuo said.
"Something's wrong between him and Jing." Ah Si concluded which made me look down and sip on my drink loudly. They turned to me. I looked up.
"What?" I asked innocently.
"Do you know anything about this?" Ximen asked as he looked at me. I looked over at Lei and I sighed. I guess they might as well find out now.
"Lei and Jie broke up." I admitted as I looked down. They all looked at me in shock.
"WHAT?" Ah Si said loudly and I shushed him. I looked over to Lei who thankfully hadn't heard us.
"How long have you known?" Meizuo asked and I stirred my drink with my straw.
"Just this afternoon. Jie told me what happened. She didn't go into exact details but she said that maybe she and Lei just weren't meant to be..." I said sadly as I leaned into Meizuo's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around me, giving me a squeeze. They all sighed and turned to Lei. Shancai suddenly stood up. She looked distraught. Oh yeah, I forgot about her little crush on Lei.
"I'm going home." She said as she moved to leave. Ah Si looked at her.
"Now? You just got here." Ah Si complained.
"I just came to tell you to get all those appliances out of my house or I'm throwing them out. Bye." She told Ah Si then turned to me and gave me a small hug.
"It was nice seeing you Shuijing! Bye." She said as I gave her a small smile and a nod. Then, Ah Si stood up.
"I'll walk you out." Ah Si offered but Shancai shook her head.
"No, I can go by myself." She said as she walked out of the restaurant, ignoring Ah Si calling after her.
Ah Si sat back down and pouted.
"I can see why she's mad." I said as I took a bite of my cake.
"What? What's wrong with I did?" Ah Si complained.
"Ah Si, you have to consider how she feels receiving those things from you. Shancai isn't as well off as us and you giving those things to her probably made her feel like a charity case." I stated which made Ah Si's eyes soften. He sighed.
"I just wanted to help out. I went over there once to check on Shancai when she was sick and some of their things needed replacing." Ah Si honestly said. I nodded.
" I know you did it out of concern and good intentions but Ah Si you know how Shancai is. You've met her family and see how hard they work. They're not ashamed of what they have and don't have. They live happily even without certain luxuries. If you ask me, Shancai not accepting those from you is actually a good thing." I said as I drank my juice. Ah Si turned to me, confused.
"How is it a good thing?" He asked. I smiled.
"It means that she's not someone who can be bought. No matter if it's cash or other materialistic things." I said and he nodded.
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