Shuijing
After I drove home, I packed some of the clothes and my passport. I got changed into a black floral button up long sleeve top with matching pants and some black platform heels. I grabbed my pink leather shoulder bag and headed downstairs with my suitcase.
I hailed a taxi and went to the airport. After 30 minutes, I arrived, got out of the taxi, and headed for the check-in counter.
After checking in my luggage, I bought myself a mango frappe and a small bowl of carbonara pasta with some fries.
What? I didn't have dinner.
I sat down on one of the tables in the cafe and as I was about to eat, I received another phone call.
"Hello?" I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Why didn't you tell me you're flying back to Paris?" An exasperated voice said and I sighed.
"I was in a rush Zuo. Dad called me out of the blue and told me to fly back to Paris immediately. Besides, I wanted to tell you but you seemed so taken with Caina so I left you alone." I explained.
"Hey, about Caina.. Why are you so worked up whenever I mention her? You didn't sit next to me, hell you didn't even look in my direction! What's wrong? Are you jealous of her?" He asked.
"Me? Jealous? Why would I be jealous of her?" I defended.
"Then why are you acting so weird? You don't see me acting jealous around that guy you've been seeing." He retorted and I scoffed.
"That guy has a name. Wait a minute, why are you dragging him into this? He has nothing to do with this!" I exclaimed, ignoring the weird stares coming from the people around me.
"Stop pretending Shuijing. You like him even if you say you don't!" He spat and I sighed.
"You know what? I don't care what you think. If you think I like him then that's up to you because starting now, you're not my best friend anymore. Do whatever you want. Date Caina for all I care! Goodbye!" I said as I hung up. I didn't realize that tears were falling from my eyes and I quickly wiped it off. I angrily threw my food away and held onto my frappe.
I heard my flight number being called out and I got up and walked towards the gate. I handed them my boarding pass and looked back momentarily. I sighed as I walked towards the aircraft. I was then greeted and escorted by a flight attendant to my seat near the window.
I had a private lounge chair to myself which could be converted to a bed since this was a 12 hour flight. She informed me that they were going to serve dinner in a little while. I nodded and thanked her as I leaned back on my chair. I sighed and closed my eyes as I thought about the phone call earlier.
'Feng Meizuo..
'I hate you'.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Meizuo
FEW DAYS AFTER
After that phone call with Shuijing, I called her a thousand times and left her so many messages. I felt so guilty that I accused and went off on her like that. She was my best friend and I hurt her. I still didn't get why she was acting so weird when I mentioned Caina. What's so wrong with me liking a girl? She's seen me go on dates a million times. Why is this time so different? She doesn't hear me making comments about that guy her parents set her up with does she? But, I miss her now more than ever. I wasn't even sure if she was coming back, given the way I treated her on the phone.
I was just walking around since I had no plans for the day. I was probably walking around for 10 minutes when I saw a familiar face walk my way.
Zhou Caina.
I continued to walk towards her until she passed me by. She didn't seem to notice me as I turned my head to look at her and noticed that she had dropped one of her gloves. I bent down to pick it up and she looked back just as I had stood back up and held it up. I gave her a smile as she walked towards me.
"Thank you." She said as she held out her hand and smiled.
"Wait. How do I know this is yours?" I flirted as she sighed and showed me her other hand with the glove on.
"Isn't it obvious?" She said.
"I think it's better to give a lost item to the police." I flirted as I kept my smile up.
"You're quite interesting. What do you want?" She asked and I thought deeply.
"Buy me a drink." I said and she laughed.
"Turns out the famous F4 is so cheap." She said and I laughed.
"Turns out the cooking competition champion is so stingy." I retorted and she smiled. We headed for a bar I frequented and pretty much talked the whole night. She's really interesting and a beauty. I think I'm gonna like this girl.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The next day, we were all at the club room playing Bridge. Shuijing still hadn't answered my calls or messages. I was sad but Caina seems to have distracted me from her.
"Meizuo, who did you go on a date with yesterday?You weren't answering your phone." Ximen asked as I pondered on telling him but opted not to.
"It's a secret." I answered with a mysterious smile as I shuffled the deck of cards in front of me.
"Why are you being so mysterious? Didn't you mention the other day that you're going out with an older woman?" Ximen pointed out which caused Lei to look at me. The last time I had spoken to Lei,my unknown feelings for Shuijing were exposed. He looked kinda mad that I was seeing someone else when in fact I was holding back my feelings for my best friend who was also dating someone else.
"Where did you guys go during the holiday?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Lei, what did you do?" I asked as he blinked back at me.
"I slept and played games at home." He answered nonchalantly and I sighed.
"Never mind." I said and then turned to Ah Si.
"How about you, Ah Si? You must have been happy on your date with Shancai." Ximen added.
"What's there to be happy about?" Ah Si spat in a grumpy tone.
"Did you two fight again? No way. Is Shancai that hard to figure out?" Ximen asked in disbelief.
"Who says Shancai is the problem? Ah Si, you have a bad temper." I pointed out. Ximen looked at Ah Si who seemed more annoyed than he already was.
"You're wrong. How could Ah Si be the problem? Ah Si has always been straightforward and honest. His temper is just a little bit bad but is that a crime?" Ximen stated as he nudged me and I nodded in agreement.
"That's right. It's all Shancai's fault. Who knew Shancai's IQ would be so low?" I added.
"That's right. Falling in love with a person with a low IQ will also make your IQ low." Ximen supplied as Ah Si stood up and threw his cards on the table.
"Are you done talking? You're babbling! Aren't you tired?" He said as he walked out of the club room.
"Lei. Did we say anything wrong?" Ximen asked as he turned to Lei.
"The point is that you didn't say anything wrong. That's why Ah Si walked out." Lei pointed out.
"Ah Si doesn't have the capability to date girls." I said as Ximen nodded in agreement.
"The problem is right in front of us. We all see it very clearly. The problem is how do we solve it?" Lei prodded.
"Indeed. Ah Si will end up dying alone if he stays this way." Ximen joked and I laughed.
"At that time, if nobody will push his wheelchair to let him get some sun, we'd all be sad when we see that, right?" Ximen continued.
"So what should we do?" I asked as Ximen thought about it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We decided to stop by the tea shop where Shancai and her friend Xiaoyou work. They seemed happy to see us especially Xiaoyou since she enjoyed having Ximen's attention.
"Shancai, you're so busy. It's the holidays but you're still working." I pointed out.
"How can I rest when I have a part-time job? How can I earn a lot of money if I don't work hard?" She retorted.
"That's Dong Shancai." Ximen stated and I smiled.
"Why exactly are you guys here? You're not buying milk tea. You're just getting in the way of our job." Shancai said skeptically.
"If our sales don't increase by the end of the year, we won't get any bonus for this year." Xiaoyou admitted sadly and the 3 of us looked at each other knowingly.
"Leave it all up to us." Ximen said as we proceeded to help Shancai and Xiaoyou sell the milk tea. And not even 5 minutes later, a crowd of girls were standing outside the store, ordering as much as they can. I smiled as the girls continued to fawn over us but hey, I'm not complaining.
After the shop had sold out all the tea for the day, Shancai and Xiaoyou received their bonuses early because the sales they had made today were even higher than the past three months altogether. Shancai wanted to give us the bonus she received but we declined.
"All right. I'll treat you guys for dinner as a reward for your efforts." She stated.
"That's right. We can all eat together." Xiaoyou agreed.
"Shancai, if you really want to treat us for dinner, how about using this money to have fun with us instead?" Ximen suggested.
"Have fun? Where?" She asked as Lei turned to her.
"We're going to Canada during the New Year holidays and we'll do the countdown there." Lei said.
"What? Canada?" Shancai exclaimed.
"Join us, Xiaoyou." Ximen flirted.
"Really? Can I really go with you? I've never been out of the country before." Xiaoyou exclaimed happily.
"But...Is this enough to go to Canada?" Shancai worriedly asked.
"Don't worry. Ah Si's family has a chalet mansion with a very nice view in Canada. Food and lodging would not be a problem." I informed her.
"Shancai, let's go with them. I really want to go." Xiaoyou begged as Shancai pondered for a moment before agreeing.
"Wait, what about Shuijing? Is she still not back from Paris? Will she be joining us too?" Shancai asked and I grew silent. I haven't heard from her in days.
"I talked to her last night and she said she'll try to make it. She's been really busy these days, running their company in France." Lei answered and I looked at him in disbelief. So she's still mad I guess. Cause why would she answer Lei's calls and not mine?
I glanced down at my phone and saw my lock screen. It was a picture of the two of us during her high school graduation.
She was in her school uniform and was holding her diploma and the bouquet I had given her happily while smiling brightly at the camera. I was beside her, smiling just as bright while my arm held her by the waist and pulled her close.
I miss her.
So much.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Shuijing
PARIS, FRANCE
I was attending a party organized by one of Dad's business partners. Jie couldn't join me tonight since she had wedding details and some other paperwork from the law firm she had to look over. I felt like a fish out of water without my sister or any of my friends with me.
I was wearing a brown sleeveless midi-length ribbed knit dress with black faux suede open toe ankle strap heels. My hair was curled in soft waves and I carried a small gold envelope clutch.
"You okay?" A voice asked and I turned to see Jongin.
"Yeah. Just homesick I guess." I answered. Jongin was in Paris for a fashion show he was invited to and would stay here until tomorrow morning.
"Homesick? Or lovesick?" He teased and I gave him a playful glare.
"Very funny Jongin. I couldn't care less about him." I answered and he laughed.
"I never mentioned a guy's name." He retorted and I blushed.
"I know who you meant Jongin. So don't okay?" I said as I sipped my champagne.
"You still haven't talked to him?" He asked and I shook my head.
"I have nothing to say to him. As far as I'm concerned, he can do whatever the hell he wants and I can do whatever I want." I spat and sighed.
"Shuijing, I know it's not my place to say but regardless of how you feel, he's still your best friend. I know how much you love him but are you really going to risk losing him over this?" He asked and I pondered.
"I don't know Jongin. I don't think my heart can take it anymore. I know that I'm a coward for just not telling him how I feel in fear of getting rejected but now, seeing him interested in another girl hurts more." I said as I let a tear fall. Jongin gave me a comforting smile and squeezed my shoulder.
"It'll be okay Shui. Talk to him okay? Just try." He advised and I nodded.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After the party, I went home and contemplated calling Meizuo. Just as I was about to call him, my phone ringed and I scrambled to get it without checking the caller ID.
"Hello, Zuo?"
"Hey. Do I sound like that idiot to you?" An annoyed voice complained and I laughed.
"Ah Si. Hey."
"How you've been? I haven't heard from you in a while." Ah Si said.
"I've been busy. Things here in Paris has gotten crazy." I said as I sighed.
"Yeah. Jie told me about it. Do your parents know?" He asked in concern.
"That one of his business partners stole half a million in stocks from our company? Yep. He knows." I said as I recalled what happened.
"How is everything over there?" He asked.
"Well, thankfully I was able to buy back some of it and Dad is still negotiating the rest." I answered.
"So hey, the guys are planning on going to Canada for New Year's. Are you going?" He asked.
"Lei called me last night to tell me and I said I'll try. But wait- "the guys"? Aren't you coming with us, Ah Si?" I asked as to why F4's leader wasn't going to his own mansion in Canada.
"I don't know Shui. Shancai's coming too and we had a fight before winter break ended." He said and I sighed.
"Let me guess, you lost your temper again didn't you?" I said and I heard Ah Si sigh.
"Ah Si, you have to learn that not everything you say or do goes okay?" I said.
"Okay Shui. You know what? I'll go to Canada if you go too." He supplied.
"I don't know about that Ah Si.." I trailed off.
"Hey, if I can face Shancai then you can face Meizuo." He said and my eyes widened.
"H-h-how did you know?" I stuttered.
"I saw your reaction and how you acted when he mentioned Caina. He had a date with her yesterday you know? But I think he's trying to distract himself from missing you." Ah Si stated.
"I guess.." I said as I took a deep breath.
"All right. I'll go to Canada."I said.
"Okay. I'll pick you up when you arrive okay? Bye Shui! Take care!" He said as he hung up.
I smiled and thought about what would happen in Canada.
'Feng Meizuo, you idiot'
I miss you.
So much.
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Please don't forget to comment and vote!
Hey guys, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm starting my classes on Tuesday so I might not update as much as 5 chapters maybe 3 or 2 but I'll try to update every week if i can. I'm an incoming 1st-year medical college student so gotta focus :) bye for now!!