Shuijing
Lunch dragged on for an excruciating period of time and all I wanted was just a text from any of the boys so that I wouldn't have to make up an excuse for leaving.
"So Jongin, do you have a girlfriend of some sort?" Mom asked Jongin which made him laugh.
"I'm afraid not ma'am. I'm really busy and I guess I just haven't found the right girl yet." He shyly answered and I felt his eyes land on me. I quickly looked away and continued to eat my pasta.
"My my. Our Shuijing either. She's never had one in fact! And please, call me Auntie, Jongin! Don't be shy!" Mom joked which made me blush in embarrassment. Jongin's eyebrows quirked in amusement.
"Mom.." I pleaded with my eyes and she pinched my cheek.
"No boyfriend? Hm. I would've guessed one of those boys was your boyfriend." Jongin said as he smirked at me. Okay, this guy is starting to annoy me a little.
"Boys? What boys Shuijing?" Dad sternly asked.
"Oh, you must mean the F4!" Mom said and I nodded.
"Yeah. He saw them when we dropped off Ah Si and Zhuang jie at the airport." I added and Dad nodded. I then turned to Jongin.
"And to answer your question, none of them are my boyfriends. My sister and I have been friends with them since we were kids. They're like family to me." I answered and Jongin smiled.
"Really? Not even that guy you did a commercial with? He seems rather protective of you." He asked and I nodded in understanding.
"Meizuo's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend and the closest to me out of the four of them." I explained with a smile. I felt quite guilty for thinking bad of him, he seemed like he wanted to sincerely get to know me.
"I'm going to take a little walk. Would you like to join me Shuijing? If it's alright with you, Mr. and Mrs. Tengtang." He asked and sought approval from my parents. Dad nodded and Mom gave him a smile. I stood up as Jongin offered his hand for me to take as we walked out of the restaurant.
After we headed out, Jongin led me to a bench a little farther away from the restaurant. I sat down and he sighed in contentment.
"Okay, now that we're away from our respective parents can we please talk like normal people. I feel like I was gonna die from embarrassment in there." he cried out and I laughed.
"So Jongin, you do know what our parents are trying to do right?" I asked and he nodded knowingly.
"They're trying to set us up in hopes of us dating and eventually getting married." He answered and I sighed. He was right. My mom was SO obvious throughout the whole lunch.
"But hey. Shuijing, I'm not on board with this idea. But it has nothing to do with you. It's just that I don't have plans on getting married so soon." He confessed and I nodded in understanding.
"Me either. Don't worry I understand." I said as he continued.
"My parents don't want me to get married either. Shuijing, I hope you won't be offended but your parents are the ones who planned this. They begged my parents to let me meet you. They seem like nice people but I think there's something else that they want from my parents." He said and I nodded.
"I understand Jongin. I guess this is my parents' last resort to make me into the perfect daughter and isolate me from their lives. They want me to marry you. Just like what they're doing to Jie." I said and he patted my back.
"I'm sorry Shuijing." He comforted and I gave him a smile.
"Don't be." I reassured him.
"So that guy... He's really not your boyfriend?" He asked.
"Well he's not exactly my boyfriend but he's someone very special to me." I explained as my mind drifted off to the son of the Feng Corporation.
"You're in love with him." He stated as he smiled at me. I looked back at him and smiled.
"Is it that obvious?" I asked and he nodded.
"I've never been in love before but it's obvious you are. He's a lucky guy." He stated and I smiled.
"So how about you? No girlfriend? Really?" I asked and he laughed.
"Why? Do I seem like a guy who has a lot of girlfriends?" He joked.
"Frankly? Yes." I teased and he smirked.
"And why is that?" He asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"You're not that bad looking okay?" I answered as I fought back a blush which he laughed at.
"I don't have one at the moment. I used to date this girl back in high school but it never went anywhere since we were both so young." He explained and I nodded. We continued to talk until I heard my phone ring. Jongin headed back inside to inform my parents that he had to leave early to meet up with some of his friends.
"Hello?"
"Shuijing? Where are you? I need your help." A worried voice I recognized as Ah Si said.
"I'm with my parents. Why? What's wrong?" I asked.
"I need to talk to you. Can you meet us at my house?" He asked.
"Okay, I'll be there in 10 minutes." I said as I hung up. Jongin had come out of the restaurant.
"Hey. You leaving too?" He asked, holding his phone in his hand.
"Yeah. I have to meet up with the boys too. You need a lift?" I asked as I walked over to my parents who were exiting the restaurant.
"Sure. If it's not too much trouble." He said.
"No problem." I said as I bade my parents goodbye and headed for my car, Jongin following close behind me.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After I dropped off Jongin, I headed for Ah Si's house and was greeted by Mr. Liu who told me that they were all in the basement. Their heads perked up when they saw me.
"What's with the formal outfit Shui?" Ximen asked as I sat down beside Meizuo.
"My parents called me for an "important" lunch meeting and told me to wear something presentable." I said as I looked down at my clothes and groaned.
"You look like one of those women who caught their husbands having an affair." Meizuo joked which earned him a glare and a smack at the back of the head from me. I could see Lei holding back a laugh as he read his book.
"Not funny." I said as I crossed my arms across my chest. Meizuo laughed as he placed his arm around me.
"Wait a minute. Ah Si. You said you had something important to tell me. What is it?" I asked, looking over at Ah Si who was reading something on his laptop. Meizuo stood up and walked over to Ah Si and peeked at what he was reading.
"What are you doing?" Meizuo asked as I stood up with Ximen and walked over as well.
"I'm looking for something for Shancai's makeover." He explained as he typed in something.
"Shancai's makeover?" Ximen asked.
"Why a makeover?" Meizuo added.
"Why'd you think of this Ah Si?" I asked.
"Because I want to turn her into a girl that suits me." Ah Si declared and I laughed.
"Haven't you two always been a good match?" Lei added and Ah Si just smiled happily.
"Ah Si, she already suits you. Why would you need to give her a makeover?" I asked.
"Jie talked to me about it. It's very likely that Mom will come home in time for my birthday and if I have to introduce her, she should be someone my mom would like. Jie said Mom would like someone like her or you and Jing." He explained and I nodded in understanding.
"Zhuang jie has a point. You have to make Shancai seem like a rich and elegant girl or else she's never going to accept her. Your mom is quite critical in every aspect." I said and he nodded.
"Help her out will you Shui? She needs some help in doing that." He asked and I nodded.
"All right. I'll do my best but does Shancai know about this? What if she refuses?" I asked.
"Oh yeah... I have to talk to her later tonight." He said.
"I'll go with you." I said as he nodded.
"So Shui, what was the meeting all about? Why was it so important?" Lei asked and I sighed as I sunk back into my chair.
"Well, it seemed like they want me to start dating and eventually marry the son of one of their business partners." I said and they all looked at me in shock.
"WHAT?" Meizuo exclaimed as he pushed the table a little. I looked back at him in confusion before I continued talking.
"Anyways, he and I talked for a bit and we kinda understood what my parents mostly, wanted to happen. And he's not that keen on the idea of getting married and he's really nice." I explained and Lei shot me a teasing smile.
"Was he good looking?" He asked and I smiled.
"He's not that bad looking I guess." I answered.
"So he's handsome. Well, Meizuo looks like you're going to be replaced as the number 1 guy in Shuijing's life." Ximen joked as he patted Meizuo on the back as I laughed.
"Whatever." Meizuo said as he walked out. I looked on in confusion. What's with him?
He's not jealous, is he?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ah Si and I had arrived at Shancai's house at around 7 pm. I had changed into a black sweater tucked into a dark blue denim skirt under a gray coat, black tights, brown leather loafers, and a black scarf. Ah Si rang the doorbell and the door revealed a distraught Shancai who had tears in her eyes. I assumed Ah Si didn't tell her we were coming.
"Daoming Si. Shujing." She said as she stared back at us. Ah Si and I peeked inside to see disarranged furniture and some broken pieces of glass. Her parents were inside as well, deadly silent.
"What happened?" He asked as Shancai moved aside to let us in. They explained to us that Shancai's dad had lost one million yuan in investment and blinded by greed, he had thrown in his company's money as well.
"Daoming Si, Shuijing... My husband is so embarrassing. I'm sorry about that." Her mom said.
"Mom, stop it. Daoming Si, go home first. Shuijing, you too. We have a lot of things to settle." Shancai said and Ah Si and I looked at each other. He took out his wallet and placed a black credit card on the table in front of Shancai's parents.
"This card has one million yuan. The password is six zeroes. You can use it first." Ah Si explained. Shancai and her parents looked on in shock.
"What are you doing? How can we use your money?" Shancai said as she grabbed the card and gave it back to Ah Si.
"Dad, Mom. We can't accept it." She said as she turned to her parents.
"Why not? I earned this money from the stock market on my own. Would it be a problem if I lend it to you?" Ah Si said.
"I don't want to take advantage of you." Shancai protested.
"Shancai, if you won't take Ah Si's money-" I started as I took out my black credit card.
"Use mine." I said as I held it out to her.
"Shuijing.. I can't okay? That's your money. I can't just take it. From either of you."
"Shancai, what Ah Si and I have in these cards have been hard-earned by both of us and no offense Shancai but where can you find that type of money?" I asked and she turned to her parents.
"Use it first. Just pay me back later. What other options does your dad have? He might go to jail for this, you know?" Ah Si retorted but Shancai still looked hesitant so he stood up and forcefully gave her his card.
"Take it." He said and I handed her my card.
"You can use mine to replace all the stuff that's been broken. If you want to spend some money on other things like clothes or bills, it's fine by me." I reassured her.
"Thank you so much for helping us." Her mom said as she looked at us.
"How should I pay the money back to you?" Shancai asked us.
"That's for Ah Si to decide Shancai." I said as I turned to Ah Si.
"Come to my house after school tomorrow, okay?" He said as Shancai looked confused.
"What?" She asked.
"See you tomorrow. Bye. Ma'am, sir, I'll take my leave. Get a good rest tonight." Ah Si said as I turned my head and said the same before leaving with Ah Si.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I had met up with Ah Si and the boys the day after. I kept looking for reasons to avoid going on a date with Jongin and he did as well. My parents were practically forcing me to go on a date with him but he and I had it all planned out. We'd go out for dinner once a week and after maybe a month? We'd tell them that it just won't work out between us so for now, hopefully, it'll appease my parents and get them to stop pressuring me to get married.
"What? You want Shancai to join the Chinese Cuisine Cooking Competition?" Ximen asked as he sat on the pool table beside Ah Si. I sat in between Lei and Meizuo across from the pool table.
"The competition sponsored by your mom?" Lei added.
"That's right." Ah Si answered, playing with the ball.
"Ah Si, are you serious?" Meizuo asked, leaning in.
"Of course." Ah Si answered.
"The inspiration came from my sister and Shuijing and Jing." Ah Si added, throwing the ball to Lei who caught it.
"But this competition is only done once in three years. If she wants to win, she must have exceptional cooking skills and she needs to have a famous chef's recommendation." Ximen pointed out.
"Shancai doesn't seem qualified to participate in it." Meizuo said. Ah Si gestured to me.
"Shuijing has already found a chef to test Shancai." He said and I nodded.
"Zhuang jie is going to help her out too." I added.
"So you want to use this opportunity to train Shancai?" Lei asked Ah Si.
"I want to use this opportunity to let Shancai improve and also to let my mom accept Shancai. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?" Ah Si said with confidence.
"That's a good idea." Lei said smiling in agreement.
"Even so, the competition would be fierce. Aren't you afraid she'll be humiliated?" Ximen said.
"That's not a problem for Shancai." Lei said and I smiled.
"You don't know how fierce she is." Ah Si bragged.
"She can make the impossible possible." I said and they all nodded in agreement.
"But we have less than a month before the competition. Do you have enough time?" Lei asked.
"How would we know if we don't try?" Ah Si said with a smile.
"I'll give Zhuang jie and you copies on the chef's reports on her progress. And-" I was cut off by my phone ringing. It was Jongin.
"Hey, Jongin." I answered cheerfully.
"Hey, just wanted to know if you prefer pizza or Chinese food for dinner." He asked and I laughed.
"I'm good with anything Jongin. I'll text you when I get there. Okay. Bye." I answered as I hung up and turned to the boys who had questioning looks on their faces.
"What?" I asked.
"Was it that guy again?" Ximen asked as I nodded and walked back to my chair.
"Yeah. He's helping me convince my parents that we're dating so I won't get in trouble. So I have to have dinner with him once a week." I explained.
"That's really nice of him Shuijing but don't you think you could actually like him?" Lei asked and my eyebrows furrowed.
"Well.. He's a nice guy and all. He's handsome and a gentleman but I just don't think he's the one for me." I answered giving Lei a knowing look. He smiled in response.
"So how long do you have to keep "fake dating" him?" Meizuo asked with irritation in his voice.
"About a month or so. I don't want my parents to think this was all just a joke and they'd figure out right away if I told them that I didn't like him in just a few weeks." I explained as I leaned into him. That seemed to calm him down as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. He's been acting kinda weird ever since I told him about Jongin.
"I gotta go guys, I have to go get ready for dinner. I'll text you guys! Bye" I said as I got up and grabbed my phone before walking away and waving goodbye to the boys.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Meizuo
I stared at her as she left and sighed, I heard a throat clear and turned to Lei, Ah Si, and Ximen who looked at me with teasing smiles.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"So you still haven't told her huh?" Lei asked.
"T-t-told her what?" I stuttered.
"That you're in love with her." Ximen added which made my eyes wide.
"H-h-how did y-ou-?"
"Meizuo, we all know okay? Heck even Shancai sees it." Ximen said.
"Yeah, what's taking you so long anyway?" Ah Si said as he grabbed one of the balls from the pool table.
"I can't just outright tell her that I love her okay? We've been best friends since we were kids. I don't wanna ruin our friendship if it doesn't end well okay?" I confessed.
"We understand you but Meizuo, are you really okay with seeing her going out with another guy? Even if it's just pretend?" Lei asked and I nodded unsurely.
"Y-yeah. Of course I am. It's just pretend. What's the harm?" I said but it sounded more like me trying to convince myself that it was okay.
"The harm is what if that guy falls for Shuijing? And Shuijing realizes that she likes him back?" Ximen pointed out.
"Meizuo, you should know. Shuijing isn't a hard person to fall for." Ah Si said and I nodded.
"I know." I said solemnly.
'What am I supposed to do?'
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