"A good relationship is when two people accept each other's past, support each other's present, and love each other enough to encourage each other's future. So don't rush love. Find a partner who encourages you to grow, who won't cling to you, who will let you go out into the world and trust that you will come back. This is what true love is all about." - Brigitte
Chapter 15
Last night...
They had decided to take her car and drive back to her apartment. Since the tournament had officially started, there weren't many places they could go to talk peacefully so after careful consideration her apartment would have to do.
He pushed a small button in her car and an electric gate opened. The place looked a lot nicer than the one he had visited before. He passed a modern like fountain with the weirdest puzzle-like figure on the middle and kept going all the way to the back. Several turns later, Syaoran parked her car in front of an apartment he had never seen before. He couldn't see much of the color as it was pitch dark outside but from what he could make out a variety of bushes adorned the front of her apartment followed by small three step stairs that led to her door.
"I thought you lived at that other place I went to once." He said.
Sakura shook her head and opened her door. "That was Jun's apartment."
He nodded as he watched her getting out of the car. Sakura had been silent most of the drive back home. It was obvious there were a lot of things on her mind but he was glad she had finally agreed on giving him another chance. He got out of the car as well and closed the door before following her inside the apartment.
Yep, definitely this place was a lot nicer than Jun's apartment. It was entirely decorated in a modern way. On the left side from the door a built-in stone fireplace adorned the wall. A white sectional sofa was perfectly located with enough distance from it and a 55" TV was integrated in the other wall of the living room in front of the sofa. Built-in shelves decorated each side of the TV. On the left side a crystal frame with a picture he quite couldn't make out was placed while in the other shelve two small but different size black decorative jars adorned it. A big oval white jar with black swirl fine lines and a green plant adorned the corner of the room. A huge squared shaggy black rug stood in between the TV and the sofa. In the middle, a white round modern coffee table was set with a small green decorative ornament in the middle.
He looked towards his right and a dark brown wooden table was placed in the middle of the space in front of the kitchen. Farther from the table, squared glass windows served as wall on the far end of the dining room. On the corner a glass door gave entrance to a small rectangular pool which was lighted at night. He looked back towards the side of the table and noticed that just like the living room not even the tablecloths were out of place. They were all perfectly set in front of the seats. A white orchid adorned the middle of the table to compliment the entire modern look.
A light grayish marble floor covered the entire space from the dinning/kitchen to the entire living room. One set of stairs could be seen at the end of the living room which he assumed was probably where her bedroom was. He watched her place her keys in a wall near the kitchen before walking towards the stairs. Walking behind her, he followed her upstairs to her bedroom which was also different from what he expected.
Her bedroom was very spacious with marble floor as well. A huge crystal wall covered the opposite side of the door. In the middle of it a door gave access to a small balcony that connected to her room. Inside her room, a dark brown platform bed was placed with the matching set of two night tables at the side. The drawer was set in the wall facing the bed with a circled mirror. To the left was the door to her closet and right besides it the door to her bathroom.
"No pink around your apartment?" he asked after looking around her room.
She looked at him a little nervous but at the same time controlling her nerves. She wasn't used to bringing people to her apartment. Before, she used to live with Jun so most of her friends visited her there. "I outgrew most of it. There are a few things I still have in pink like some clothing but not many."
He nodded.
"There is something you need to know." She walked towards the night table that was closest to the window. Opening the top drawer she took out an envelope and returned to be in front of him. She handed it to him and waited.
"What's this?" he asked looking at her.
"Open it."
He stared at her but nonetheless opened the letter and read the first lines...
Congratulations! It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you to Japan University...
He quickly looked at her. He didn't need to read the rest of the letter to know what it was. "You said you didn't want to go."
She stared at him back. "But you did." She walked away before turning around towards him. "When we were together back then I used to dream of having a life at your side. I used to do things questioning whether you would like them or not. My world would revolve around you and I was always conscious of how you would feel after seeing what I'd done. And this letter... I applied because you wanted to play soccer there."
He shook his head regretfully. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to. I received the letter a week after leaving. My father was kind enough to send it to me here hoping I would return but the only words that kept repeating themselves in my head were yours when in other words you told me I was holding you back."
He wanted to punch himself. His decision had haunted him from the moment she had left and now he could see it had been harder on her. The entire time he had spent on his living room that day thinking about what was best for the both of them had been a waste. He could understand her decision of leaving a lot more even if he still never liked it. "I'm sorry."
She sighed as she heard the words coming from his lips and walked towards him. Caressing his face she looked at him and explained, "I'm not showing you the letter to hear an apology from you. The woman that applied to receive that letter died that night. I don't regret leaving Xiaolang. I found the strength within me to build myself up again. I found out what I really wanted to do and to rely on my own judgment of whether I liked what I was doing or not. When I told you I had changed I meant it. I stopped depending on your judgment years ago and that's not going to change whether we are together or not."
He softly smiled at her, "Good." He softly kissed her before saying, "Because my relationship with that girl didn't work before. I got too greedy and I took her for granted. Knowing that I can easily lose you again is enough to not make the same mistake twice. Seven years were enough."
She smiled and added, "More than enough!"
He chuckled. "Yeah, more than enough." He caressed her face before saying, "I was never with you back then because of what you did. I love spending time with you because of who you are and how you make me feel Sak."
She nodded, "so do I." She smiled and kissed him again. "Although I have to add the way you kiss to that."
He chuckled and embraced her in a hug. "I thought about us a lot of times. I went back in my mind trying to figure out when was it that we started falling apart. What happened between us?"
She separated a little from the hug but kept her head on his shoulder. Looking down, she started to run her hands thoughtfully around his waist before softly replying, "We both wanted too much. We said things we shouldn't have and did things we shouldn't have."
"You mean sleeping together?"
She stared at him before putting her hands around his neck. "I mean a lot of things. I'm not saying it because it was you. I just think we weren't ready. After that night everything went downhill. You wanted more and so did I and at the same time neither of us wanted to concede. We both wanted our own things."
He searched for her lips until he found them and gave her a quick kiss.
Responding, she went back and kissed him again before whispering, "This scares the crap out of me Xiaolang."
He softly chuckled. "Do you think it doesn't scare me?"
She chuckled. "We have to tell the others about us." She said changing the subject.
He smiled and nodded. "We can tell them together although I'm pretty sure Eriol already suspects this since I'm not in the room."
She chuckled, "and your family. We have to tell them as well."
He kissed her neck and whispered, "Mmm... we can skip them if you want. They'll probably find out anyways."
She chuckled, "I still think it's better if they find out through us." She looked to her night table and saw the clock read 1 am. "Mmm you're out of curfew hours already."
"I'll stay and leave early in the morning."
She tensed a little after hearing him, and he took notice of it.
Feeling her tension, he chuckled. "We won't do anything Sakura."
She closed her eyes and smiled, "Sorry."
"Don't be. We'll take this slow." He said as he picked her up and placed her on the bed. He got in as well and hugged her from behind but she quickly turned around and switched positions so that she could lay her head right in his shoulder.
"You've always smelled good."
He smirked, "If I do remember correctly, that day we went to the mall I think Tomoyo had a similar smell on her hand."
She smiled knowingly before saying, "Aren't you tired? I know I am. Goodnight!"
He chuckled but nonetheless put his arm around her shoulder to pull her closer and set his phone's alarm. "Sak?"
"Mmm." She replied already falling asleep in his arms.
"Thank you." He simply said.
She opened her eyes after hearing him and looked at him. "For giving you another chance?" she asked.
He simply smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss before replying, "For coming back to me that day."
She looked at him and tried to smile as something tugged at her heart. Suddenly a sense of suffocation came over her as a thought invaded her mind. She tried to breathe normal to try to hide her feelings from him but wasn't too sure she could be able to. "I think I need some water." She said as she quickly got out of bed and walked towards the kitchen.
He stared at her. The moment he uttered the words he knew something was wrong. He watched her walked out of the room before sighing. There were things left unsaid between them but not everything would be resolved in a night. He knew their relationship would need time but with the tournament starting later on the day he didn't have the luxury of leaving this be. Getting up as well, he walked towards the kitchen. If something needed to be said it had to be now. After getting back with the team he wouldn't be able to sort this out.
It didn't take long to find the kitchen. He walked downstairs and found the only light adorning the dinning side of her apartment. As he reached it, he reclined against the door frame and smirked as he observed each and every detail of her movements with interest. She drank what was left of her first glass of water before quickly filling the next. He knowingly smiled before interrupting her second drink, "What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath before turning around smiling a little. "I was just thirsty."
He shook his head and sighed before walking up to her. "Don't do this. Just tell me what's wrong." He softly said as he caressed her face.
She looked away trying to find a way of phrasing her thoughts without hurting him. Closing her eyes she sighed and placed her forehead on his chest before softly asking, "Do you understand why I didn't want this relationship right now Syaoran?"
He listened to her question but didn't reply to it. Instead he waited for her to finish saying what was truly bothering her.
She looked at him. "Promise me that I won't become a distraction to you again."
He smiled at her and hugged. "I already told you that won't happen."
She shook her head. "I mean it Syaoran. I can't have you depending on me."
"Depend on you?" He smiled and sighed. They may have changed throughout the years but he was glad at least this part of her was still intact. Although sometimes it would drive him crazy... her ways of over thinking things was something he loved about her. "I only said thank you as a gesture of gratitude not depending. We've both gone through a lot of things. If I would've depended on you I probably would've quit seven years ago but I'm still here. I've been playing enough without you in my life to know that this relationship won't affect me inside the field. I do want to see you there but that doesn't mean I won't be able to play without you. So stop thinking about this and if there is anything to worry let me do it."
She stared at his eyes. "Do you mean that?"
He nodded before kissing her again. "Stop worrying." He picked her up bridal style. "Come on, I need to wake up early tomorrow."
She chuckled but nodded placing her head in his neck as she allowed him to take her back to bed.
~ o ~
Morning came in the blink of an eye. Syaoran's alarm had sounded too early for both of them to get cozy enough to have a relaxing sleep on bed. She had woken up with him and drove him to the field so that he could get his car. The drive had been a quiet one as both of them were too sleepy to try to have a normal conversation. She remembered the only words uttered between them were said after she parked her car next to his in the stadium parking lot.
He looked at her as she parked her car. "Promise me you'll be here when this tournament is over."
She smiled as she stared at him and nodded. "I will."
He nodded as he got out of the car, opened his, and got in.
She watched as he drove away. Many other women could probably say his goodbye had been a cold one but to her it meant something different. It was his way of showing her that from now on he would only be focused on the tournament as she had asked him to. And it was the way she needed it. She needed to know that history wouldn't be repeating itself with them and the only way to do that was learning from their past mistakes and making sure they wouldn't do them again.
After getting back to her apartment she walked like a zombie back to her room thinking painfully of going back to sleep obviously knowing she wouldn't be able to. Not even a nap was possible for her after waking up. She called it a workaholic's omen. As she started organizing her bed, a shirt fell over from her sheets. She grabbed the piece of cloth and opened it. It was Syaoran's under shirt. 'He must have left it there when I was in the bathroom this morning.' She thought before bringing it to her nose and smelling it. It still had his scent as she smiled before putting it between her pillows.
She had told him this relationship scared her but in fact it frightened her. Syaoran had never been just a simple boyfriend in her life he had been her best friend back then. She had trusted him more than anyone and he ended up breaking her in the end. But at the same time she had to admit she missed him terribly. It wouldn't be easy but just like he said they would take it slow.
She took a deep breath as she walked over to her balcony and stared at the sun rising announcing the morning of a new day. She was happy, for now. They still had things they needed to work on but for now they were okay. It would take both of them for this relationship to work but from her part she tried to prepare for what was probably coming ahead. Saying yes to him had been just the beginning. The fact that he wasn't the same Syaoran anymore dwelled on her as she prepared herself to go to her office.
~ o ~
Just like a pro, Syaoran moved around the hotel unseen and unrecognized by many. He always kept another set of clothing on the back of his car especially for occasions like these. He quickly moved towards the stairs in the corner and immediately started almost jogging up. Lucky for him he was an athlete and although his muscles were already warmed up after going through the fifth floor, he kept going just as he always did till he reached his floor. He opened the stairwell door and looked around to check no one was in the hallway before going straight for his room. He quickly swiped his key and got in.
"Where were you?"
He quickly turned around after closing the door and brought his right hand to his chest surprised by the sudden question. "Shit! You scared me." He said to his cousin.
"Syaoran, this is not just some tournament. You know very well how much it costs us to be where we're at right now. Just because you still can't play doesn't mean you can break curfew just like you've done in past tournaments. You told me this would stop."
He rolled his eyes at his pissed off cousin. "It won't happen again. I just had to break it last night."
"Where were you? And if you answer you were screwing that reporter I will personally go to coach and tell him you came to our room at exactly..." Eriol looked at his watch before finishing his sentence, "Six thirty seven in the morning."
Syaoran narrowed his eyes at him still trying to catch his breath from all the stairs he jogged. "Don't worry, I wasn't." He responded taking his shirt off and on his way to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower before heading downstairs for breakfast."
It was all he said before Eriol saw him entering the bathroom and closing the door after. Something was off. His cousin seemed different. He actually seemed at ease and in control not joking around as he used to whenever he came back from his one night stands. Which meant something different had happened. He put his bag down and waited for Syaoran to be out of the bathroom.
Syaoran walked inside the shower and cleaned himself up. Finally, he was in peace. She had promised him she would be there at the end of the tournament and for now that was all he needed to hear. After washing himself off he quickly got out of the shower and dried himself with the towel before putting it around his waist. He washed his mouth and shaved his face before walking out of the bathroom.
"So, where were you?"
It was all he heard before looking at his side. His cousin was still there reclined on the hall door with his hands crossed on his chest. "You're still here." He said before walking towards his bag and grabbing his underwear. He put it on followed by his pants ignoring his cousin's question.
"Was it Sakura, then?" Eriol simply asked.
Syaoran grabbed his practice shirt from his bag a little pissed off with all these questions and sighed before looking at him. "Yes, I was with her. Anything else you want to know?"
Eriol widened his eyes and watched as Syaoran kept getting prepared for practice. He couldn't believe it. The topic of Sakura had become some sort of taboo for them since she had left. None of them dared touch it when Syaoran was around. The reason for it... it was a sensitive subject for Syaoran but they were playing the World Cup. Eriol had to be sure which is why he slowly started saying, "The last time-"
Syaoran put his shirt on and interrupted Eriol but this time in a calmed way. "It's not the same." He could understand where Eriol's thoughts were. After all, he could say losing Sakura the first time had caused them the Asia Junior Cup Tournament. Even though no one dared say it he knew better. "We decided to give ourselves a second chance."
Eriol scoffed. "And you thought spending the night with her was a good way to start that second chance?"
Syaoran sternly looked at him. "As a teammate I'll let your question slip this time Eriol because I'm sure you're only worried about the team. As my cousin I'm sure you know Sakura means a lot more to me than just an easy fuck."
Eriol took a deep breath before shaking his head. "I'm sorry man."
Syaoran put his running shoes on and tied them before closing his team backpack and putting it around his shoulders. "We had to talk which is why I did spend the night at her apartment but nothing else happened. We decided to give ourselves a second chance and to take it slow. This is all I'm saying about this."
Eriol nodded knowing how temperamental he was when it came to talking about his personal life and more so when it involved Sakura. He took his backpack as well and put it on his shoulder before following Syaoran out of their room. Sakura had always been his cousin's Achilles heel. She could easily elevate him one day and destroy him the next with just one word which is why in Eriol's case worry was imminent.
~ o ~
After arriving in her office, the first thing she did was to turn on her TV to see the news.
Last night the Xcape Hotel held the grand opening night dinner for all delegations qualified to play the World Cup here in China. The hotel was beautifully decorated for this international event and the music and entertainment left no doubt in anyone's mind that this whole event was organized by none other than Li Enterprises themselves.
You are correct Yuri. For years, Li Enterprises name has been linked to famous events that leave memorable impressions to anyone who attends one of these. And the magic certainly was present last night when the opening dinner took place.
We interviewed some of the delegations to see how they felt.
Sakura watched the screen calmed and satisfied. 'Second event down, one more to go.' She thought. The tournament was finally opening this week which for her only meant an entire month of restless nights and endless working hours. As per Xian's request, she had left the last couple of things to Suri but that didn't mean she wouldn't have to supervise her work. Every small detail had to be covered no matter whose responsibility it was.
Her office door opened and in came Xiefa. By her smile, Sakura guessed she had already heard the good comments from the reporters on last night's dinner.
"Success number two!" Xiefa said while walking towards her and at the same time watching the news.
Sakura sighed. "We still have one more... The closing ceremony."
Xiefa rolled her eyes at her friend's lack of enthusiasm. "You're beginning to sound like my father. At least rejoice in knowing two of our events have been a complete success before moving to the next one."
Sakura smirked and kept watching the news. "I am happy about last night. I'm just realistic about the fact that we still have a long month ahead of us."
Xiefa sighed. "Talking about the long month..." She stopped talking as the news turned from the event to talk about her brother.
On some even better news for the fans, Yuri, Li Syaoran has just started practicing with the team. Rumors about this had been circling around but they were finally put to rest today when our camera caught him training with his teammates. Kate is with us from the field. Kate, please tell us more about Li Syaoran's status.
"That's right Ashley. I am here in the field with his manager Choi. Choi, can you tell us more about Li Syaoran's current status? I know on yesterday's press conference he made it very clear his doctor hadn't fully released him yet. But according to this view we have from the field behind us we see he already started practicing with the team."
"Hi. Well, he is definitely feeling a lot better. Like he said, the doctor still hasn't released him fully but he started doing only the basic movements." His manager answered.
"Do you think we'll be able to see him play that first game on Sunday?"
"Well, it all depends on his doctor and how Syaoran feels after training."
Kate nodded. "Thank you very much Choi." She turned to watch the camera before continuing. "We also have his coach on my left side to give us more details on his training as well. Coach thank you for seeing us on such a short notice."
He looked around and smiled sheepishly before finally looking at the camera and nodding. "Yeah."
"Can you please tell us if Li would start playing this weekend?"
"Um, I will be perfectly honest with you his recovery has been going really well but his doctor has to approve that final release. I have always said to my players their health comes first. Once he is dispatched then we'll see what we'll do and we'll make the decisions that must be made. For now, our team has been preparing really well to play on the field without him if we have to."
"Will you put him to play if the doctor gives his release today or tomorrow?"
"Like I said, once that moment comes we'll make the decision but I will also say this. Li has always been a top player. I have no doubt of his recovery but I'm not too keen on exposing him so soon if it's not needed. Our team is not based on just one player. To play this sport, you need eleven players on the field and a good bench to backup any of those players. We have many talented players who can play as well which gives him time to fully recover for when he is truly needed."
Kate nodded. "Thank you very much for your time coach."
"Anytime." He smiled back at her.
"Back to you Ashley."
"The nerve of that coach not putting him to play after all he did to recover." Xiefa commented after hearing the interview.
Sakura wasn't sure when her heart started to rise faster. If it was because of the interview or after she saw Syaoran jogging on the field. She was nervous. He had started practicing a lot sooner than what the doctors had predicted and apparently after seeing the news without the doctor's final release which made her feel worst. "It's a lot better if his coach doesn't have to use him."
Xiefa shockingly looked at her. "What?"
"It's just a thought."
Sakura's office door suddenly opened and in came walking an excited Feimei, with a thrilled Tomoyo, and a smiling Meiling followed by a very scared orange short haired girl. "I'm so sorry Miss Kinomoto. They just walked in without saying much."
"Guess who has the greatest news ever?" Feimei loudly said.
Sakura looked at Feimei and silently sent her a 'calm down' message without having to speak to her before looking at her new assistant. "It's okay Kira. Please close the door for us."
Kira nodded and did as she was told.
"Is that your new assistant by the way?" Feimei asked.
Sakura nodded. She watched as the door closed and looked back at them.
"Feimei, where do you think you are? Behave yourself. Father wouldn't be pleased to hear you doing these kinds of things. Besides, don't you have work in your office?" Xiefa quickly said.
Feimei rolled her eyes at her uptight big sister. "I took the month off. My boss knows my boyfriend is playing in the tournament so I took some vacations." She easily said before smirking. "But never mind me. Go on Meiling, tell them!"
Sakura chuckled already knowing what this was probably about.
"Kyu and I are engaged." Meiling said smiling and showing her ring on her left hand.
Tomoyo squealed happily and jumped around her friend congratulating her again. "This is so exciting. Do you know what this means Meiling? We can actually shop wedding things together. We can go see the décor together, go by places to choose a location for the dinner reception, even the wedding dress." She squealed again. "I can design it for you if you want!"
Meiling looked at Tomoyo. "Remember what I said Tomoyo, we are engaged but haven't set anything yet. Don't go overboard with this!"
"That doesn't matter. If you don't start early you'll feel anxious later on. Besides it's always better when you have help." Tomoyo excitedly replied.
Meiling looked at Sakura who was indeed enjoying the show before sighing and smiling at her friend.
"Congratulations!" Sakura happily said.
"About time too cousin! Eight years without a ring in that left finger can bring concern in our family."
"Oh shut up Xiefa!" Meiling sarcastically responded.
"So, how was it?" Sakura asked.
"Well, we talked yesterday and it so happens that he can't live without me. So for his sake I had to say yes because truly it was so touching when he said it. And the words that he used were so romantic. I mean, even I couldn't say no to his proposal this time." Meiling dramatically explained.
Sakura laughed knowing probably that more than fifty percent of her story had been overly exaggerated but nonetheless enjoyed hearing her friend tell it.
"Without a doubt I must say I have the best boyfriend..." Meiling stopped for a second saying what she was saying and corrected her sentence. "Sorry, fiancé ever."
"Excuse me?" Tomoyo looked at her. "I must stop you there Meiling. No one can beat my Eriol."
"Is that a challenge from both of you?" Sakura's words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
Xiefa quickly looked at her curiously, "Do you have someone to put in that race that we're not aware of?"
"Oh! This is just getting better. Isn't this great? What better news than these?" Feimei asked before taking a seat in Sakura's office lounge.
Suddenly another woman came quickly inside Sakura's office as well. She was fighting with Sakura's assistant telling her she was family before finally straitening herself up. She looked at Sakura and smiled. "Hello cousin! How nice to finally see you again after all these years."
Sakura's smile started fading the moment she saw the woman standing in her doorway. Tomoyo and Meiling's surprised gasp didn't escape her either. She knew this would happen. From the moment the dinner party was linked with her name she knew this visit would come in sooner or later. Although if someone were to ask her... she would've rather it be later.
"Sayuri." She replied. Her voice had changed from being a casual tone talking with her friends to be the confident business woman many feared in the business atmosphere. The one that made the decisions, the one that always got what she wanted. Her face void of any devotion, a transformation learned from being involved in thousands of meetings with Xian and one that only Xiefa had seen before because of all the projects they'd done together in the past.
"Kira, you may leave us." Xiefa said without taking her sight off Sayuri. She knew perfectly well who this woman was. Her pale skin and skinny but curvy body perfectly match her modeling career. She was dressed with the latest fashion designs and had been named one of the most beautiful models of this age. Her light brown sandy waved hair was something that drove guys crazy for her. A weapon she knew quite well how to use no doubt. "What brings you here?"
She looked at Xiefa and confidently smiled before walking towards Sakura. "My cousin of course."
Sakura watched her intently. She could read her intention from miles away but, just as she had learned, kept her confident composure. "Seeing you here must mean you know I've been in touch with Syaoran again."
Sayuri smirked. "How is he?"
"Who the heck are you?" Feimei asked from her seat. She didn't understand a thing of what was happening right in front of her.
"Was he able to forgive you after leaving him all those years?" Sayuri asked.
"Why should you care? Was the night you spent with him too memorable for you?" Sakura could see Sayuri's confident smile suddenly falter. Her question had definitely done its work.
"Did he tell you?" she asked.
Sakura took a deep breath before saying, "I know of the night. If that is all you came to say, you know where the door is."
Sayuri narrowed her eyes at Sakura before smiling. "Did he tell you how much he enjoyed it?"
A small confident smile started to appear on Sakura's face. It was clear to her that her cousin had lost all sort of advantage in this conversation. "Is this truly what you've reduced yourself into throughout all these years? Trying to hurt me over a one night stand? From what I've heard you're one in a long list and I still don't see him going back to you."
Sayuri's smile slowly started disappearing. She took a deep breath and smirked before calmly saying, "You've changed cousin. Let's see if history doesn't repeat itself and you go disappearing again. Like you said, I am one in a long list. I'm sure that list can keep getting longer. Just wanted to drop by and say hi now that I am back in China. I'll see you at the tournament." Sayuri turned around and confidently walked out of her office.
"You knew about her?" Meiling was the first to speak after Sayuri left her office.
"How do you know my brother slept with that girl?" Feimei asked still shocked after hearing Sakura speak. "You just recently went back to Japan."
"I told her." Xiefa was the one to speak. "She needed to know."
Feimei furiously stood up from her seat and looked at her sister. "Xiefa! Father has always taught us that spying on family is off limits. Does he know you used a detective to spy on Syaoran while he was in Japan?"
"I'll cross that bridge if it comes and it will certainly come if you don't keep your mouth shut." Xiefa responded.
Sakura quickly intervened between the two sisters. "Xiefa, can you, Meiling, and Tomoyo leave Feimei and me alone for a moment?" she asked knowing she had to talk to Feimei.
Xiefa nodded. "I'll be getting some coffee. Let's go." She said to Tomoyo and Meiling who followed her out the door.
Feimei had always been Syaoran's closest sister which was why this news affected her more than any of the others. Sakura took a deep breath before walking over. Sitting down in front of her she tried to explain, "I know you're mad at Xiefa for this."
"Don't you dare ask me to keep this a secret Sakura because I will hate you for it." She quickly said. "What she did is invasion of privacy in the worst possible way. And what's worst, to a family member. Unforgivable!"
"She didn't do it having a bad intention on her mind. When she came to me with the news I was pissed off as well but at the same time I never stopped her from doing so which means I am equally at fault for this. After she heard the story behind me coming to China, my breakup with your brother, how I left, she was totally against me staying here. She wanted me to know the repercussions of my decision."
Feimei shook her head. "Sakura, she knows this is wrong."
Sakura nodded. "You asked who Sayuri was. Aside from being my cousin, when I was with your brother back then she had always tried to get Syaoran. My father's comments didn't help either and in the end my insecurities took the best of me. Your brother and I fought for about six months before he finally made the decision of breaking up."
She widened her eyes but nevertheless answered. "This has nothing to do with what my sister did."
Sakura nodded understanding her angriness. "I talked with your brother last night. We're giving ourselves a second chance."
She watched as Feimei's face brightened at the news. "Finally!"
Sakura shook her head. "Feimei... I know it was wrong but if it wasn't because of your sister that chance would've ended the minute my cousin walked through that door right now."
Feimei narrowed her eyes at her. "That doesn't make what she did right."
"I know. I'm not saying it was. I'm just asking you not to say anything for now."
Feimei shook her head. "Sakura, if you're giving yourselves a second chance having secrets it's probably one of the worst ways to start."
"We're taking things slow and it's not keeping secrets. I promise I will speak to him about this but for now he needs to concentrate on the tournament. This is one of the things I will have to deal with because trust me, Sayuri is just one of a lot of things we'll have to deal with."
Feimei calmed down and nodded. "Fine. I will keep it as long as he doesn't ask. I'm not lying to my brother Sakura."
Sakura calmly sighed glad that Feimei had agreed on it and smirked. "If you avoid him, he won't ask." She said as casually as she could but in her mind knowing perfectly well that avoiding him was probably the only way he wouldn't find out for now. Being as observant as he was, suspicion was all he needed to quickly figure out there was something going on. And once that happened, usually it never took him too long to figure out what it was especially if family was involved.
~ o ~
The doctor moved his ankle first to the right and then to the left. "Does it hurt?"
Syaoran shook his head.
"How about when you started doing laterals, did you feel anything unusual?"
Again Syaoran shook his head.
The doctor slowly started pushing his fingers little by little on his ankle checking it as he usually did on his checkups. "It feels a little swollen."
"It felt fine on the field." Syaoran casually commented.
The doctor chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that." He looked at his trainer and coach who were waiting at his side looking at the doctor's checkup and waiting on his findings. "The swelling is something normal. It's the first time he practiced so that explains it. Nothing that a little ice won't get back to normal." He said before getting up and putting his things back into his bag.
"So am I cleared to play?" Syaoran asked.
The doctor turned around and instead of speaking to Syaoran he simply looked at his coach. "I'll come by tomorrow to check on it again." He turned his sight to look at Syaoran. "You can keep practicing. I wouldn't recommend you playing a game yet as games are a lot fiercer than practice."
"I just told you it doesn't hurt anymore." Syaoran insisted.
The doctor simply smiled before saying, "I know. You're close so take care." He patted Syaoran on his shoulder and nodded to his coach before walking out of the training room.
"Coach-" he started saying.
"You heard the doctor Syaoran. No playing till he approves it."
Syaoran looked away pissed. The more he thought about it the more he concluded that these people were holding him back. If his ankle didn't hurt him when he practiced he couldn't understand why he needed to sit out on the game. He crossed his arms on his chest as he waited for the trainer to put some ice on his ankle. When he was done, he walked or more like limped towards the bus.
Eriol watched as Syaoran walked towards him with a not-too-friendly face on. He put his backpack in the upper compartment of the bus before taking his seat next to him.
"So, what did the doctor said?" Kyu asked from behind.
"Nonsense." Was all that Syaoran replied as he put on his headphones and closed his eyes.
Eriol looked at him before looking back at Kyu shaking his head. He went back to sitting normal before looking through his window as the bus took them back to the hotel. Syaoran had never been easy to handle. His attitude radiated fear to the people that didn't know him as they did. Words uttered at the press conference where an entire façade on his part. In reality, he just wanted to start playing again.
Eriol smiled to himself as he thought about Sakura being an important piece of his cousin's rehab. A well played card by his uncle no doubt and probably the only one keeping him under control to this day. Even though he was able to start practicing before time he was never satisfied. He just wanted to play.
As they reached the hotel, they all walked out and waited in the lobby for the elevator. Reporters here and there started taking pictures from the moment they walked inside the hotel. Eriol looked around casually and spotted none other than Sakura walking out of one of the salons.
Syaoran felt Eriol's nudge before looking at him signaling something with his head. He followed Eriol's gaze until his eyes landed on Sakura. His mood entirely changed. He watched her talking to an older guy. By the movement of her hands he could easily tell he was a client as she signaled the entrance of the room.
~ o ~
"These curtains can be modified depending on the color you chose for the event. We always like our customers to feel satisfied with everything." As she looked back at Mr. Poe she noticed the soccer team on the background. It didn't take her long to find Syaoran's piercing gaze looking at her. She felt the same jolt she always felt whenever he looked at her like that in her stomach. She started to smile softly before remembering she was actually with a client. Focusing back on Mr. Poe, she listened to him as he carefully started talking about what he needed after all.
"I see. Well I am very well pleased with the salon and have no doubt you will be perfect for the event we're planning. If it's no problem the person I wish to throw the event for will be here soon. I think we could all have some lunch at the restaurant and discuss the details of the event." Mr. Poe said looking at his watch. He looked back up and smiled. "Actually, he just arrived."
Sakura turned to look at the hotel doors and the sight before her made her stomach shrink. Through the doors came a smiling Jun who was walking towards them with his hands on his pockets. Sakura regretfully closed her eyes taking a deep breath before changing her sight towards the floor in front of her. She needed to think and think fast.
"Oh! I'm sorry; I never mentioned it was Jun." Mr. Poe casually said. "I hope is not a problem, is it?"
Sakura simply looked at him and professionally smiled. "No, is not."
Mr. Poe nodded. "Good. Then I'll be asking for our table." He left towards the other side of the hall where the restaurant was located.
Sakura simply waited for Jun to arrive. She read his intention like a pro and when he approached to give her a kiss on her cheek she moved her face it to avoid it.
"I thought at least our friendship meant something to you." He said to her.
She looked at him. "I will let you know from the start so you don't get your hopes high. I will not be taking this event into my curriculum."
He watched her surprised by her reaction. "You think I did this on purpose?"
"I don't know if you did or didn't but my decision is based on the fact that we dated for two years. Obviously, there's a conflict of interest for me if I take this event myself."
"I wouldn't hold that against you."
"That's not for you to say. As a political figure you're not the only one involved in this event. My decision is final." She clearly said leaving no doubt on his mind if he wanted to say anything on the matter. "That being said, I will have this meeting. You'll tell me what you want and I will take notes to bring back to Xian. He can make the decision on whose better suited to coordinate this event."
"What if I want you to take care of it?" he asked.
She simply turned around ignoring his question and walked towards the restaurant.
He watched her walking away and sighed. In reality she was the best suited person to help him achieve what he wanted. He knew this. He looked around and saw Sakura's friends along with Syaoran looking at him. He narrowed his eyes but nonetheless followed Sakura towards the restaurant.
~ o ~
They all watched the entire scene. Eriol turned to hit the elevator button once again hopelessly thinking that perhaps the more he hit the button the faster the elevator would arrive. They had already missed three elevator turns waiting with Syaoran on the lobby.
"You know what we could do? We could all go for a swim. You know... take some stress out." Kyu casually said trying to calm the atmosphere between them.
"We have gym in about an hour." Eriol said.
"Oh! Right."
The elevator arrived and the three of them got in before Eriol hit their floor number. He knew this was bound to happen. From the moment he heard from Syaoran they had gotten back together he knew there was no way of stopping this.
As Syaoran waited patiently for the elevator to take them to their floor, he started contemplating changing his sports career from soccer to perhaps boxing. After all according to his doctor his ankle was still not ready yet to start hitting a ball and he wanted badly to punch Jun's face right now. Why the heck was he in the hotel seeing her again? And why had she allowed it? As the elevator doors opened, Syaoran waited for Eriol and Kyu to get out before pressing another button.
Eriol noticing this held the doors with his left arm. He ignored his cousin deadly stare before sighing. "You asked me once how Tomoyo and I lasted so long. I trusted her the same way she trusted me. Keep that in mind." With that said, he let go of the doors.
Kyu curiously looked at him. "What the heck was that?"
"Some advice before he screws everything up again." Eriol said as he walked towards his room.
Kyu looked from the closed elevator doors to Eriol walking away before following him. "You mean him and Sakura?"
Eriol just nodded.
~ o ~
He waited for the elevator to reach the fifth floor. Putting his headphones back on, he walked towards the hotel gym room. It was the only place he felt he could be right now. Blowing some steam before approaching Sakura about this would probably help him over when having this conversation with her. Fighting with an unclear head was always a bad decision, something he learned quickly after meeting Sakura for the first time.
After talking things over last night, he never thought trust would be an issue between them. Apparently he thought wrong. He could tell Jun wasn't over her and he didn't like the fact that she was meeting him at all. His face when he saw her again was enough to know. But Eriol was right. He needed to trust her.
As he reached the gym, he opened the door and walked straight to the running machine. Hopefully he would be able to at least let go a little of the rage he was feeling inside but didn't vouch much for it. When it came to Sakura not even running was enough. He needed to see her.
~ o ~
She listened carefully to Mr. Poe's idea about the political party he wanted to throw in the hotel just like she said she would. He still didn't know that she had declined the event without too much thought about it but eventually he could find out through Xian. She knew quite well the friendship Mr. Poe shared with Senator Eli which gave sense as to why Jun was here. Nothing he could say could shake the feeling she had of him setting this meeting up.
"Well Jun, how many people should we invite to this?" he asked.
"I think perhaps two hundred." Jun looked at Sakura and asked. "Can we change the room if the list gets a little bigger than that?"
"We can make arrangements if you need them. We can connect the room for one hundred people to the one of two so that the room has enough space to fit all of them."
Jun nodded. "Then I guess the one for two hundred would suffice for now."
Mr. Poe nodded and smiled. "Whatever you need boy, just let Ms. Kinomoto know. If you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."
Jun nodded and waited for him to leave before watching Sakura again. She was simply writing down in her iPad probably their demands and needs for this event just like she had said earlier. He took this chance to try to have a normal conversation with her just like they used to. "I'm sorry for what happened."
Sakura stopped writing and looked at him. "I'm giving Syaoran another chance."
He nodded. "That still doesn't change how I feel. I'm really sorry for what happened. I shouldn't have done that to you."
"Why don't we keep this meeting as professional as it can be." She suggested.
"I need you to know how I really feel Sakura even if you don't want to. I can't keep holding this any longer. You don't pick up my calls you don't answer my texts."
"What's done it's done Jun. You can't change the past."
"I know, but I truly loved you. I still do. I know I made mistakes, both childish and stupid. I should've never let him get between us."
Something about that last sentence didn't sit well with her. "I told you from the moment I broke up with you that my life is my business and mine alone but I will say this just to leave things clear between us. Syaoran respected our relationship from beginning till the end. Not even when he suspected we had ended he dared do anything."
"It's not the same. You're not like most women."
"You're right. I'm not and he knew this as well. You were right to suspect when you found out about our past relationship. Even though I tried to fight for what we had I still had feelings for him. He was not the reason for our breakup. I was. That been said, I will ask you to understand I have reasons enough not to do this event. I will not hurt him in the process even if you need this for your political career."
He stared at her. She had always been a strong woman. Since the moment they met he found her convictions and fierceness attractive. His father always told him it was a rare beauty to find and harder to keep. He didn't know how true those words were till he lost her.
"Ah, where were we?" Mr. Poe asked as he reached their table and sat down.
Sakura started writing in her iPad throwing ideas here and there and answering their questions as they came. She was anxious to finish this meeting and search for Syaoran although knowing him... he had probably over thought this whole meeting already.
~ o ~
He started doing a set of squats slowly. He still couldn't understand why his doctor couldn't just give him his long awaited release already. There was no need to worry. If he was able to practice already why couldn't they understand that he was ready to play?
As he started doing his second set, he saw the door being opened from the mirror. Sakura walked in and closed the door behind her. He simply looked back at the mirror and kept doing his rep till he finished his fifteenth.
"Aren't you overdoing it a little?" she asked as she slowly walked over to where he was and reclined on the machine next to him.
He looked at her. "Are you here to stop me?"
Flirting her way around the question she simply replied, "I wasn't aware I could do that." Seeing the intension on his glare she quickly added, "There are cameras in all corners of this place so I don't think we should be closer than this since we did agree on taking things slow."
He smirked and scoffed. He prepared to do his last squat rep when he heard her question.
"You're not going to ask?" she asked.
Without looking at her and focusing on grabbing the bar and positioning himself he asked, "Do I need to?"
She simply stared at him before he started doing his last rep. "I do hope this is not the reason why you're overworking your body to this extent."
"This is not overwork." He simply said as he started his last rep of squats.
She sighed. "How is your ankle feeling?"
"It's good already. I may get to play tomorrow night."
His answer surprised her. On the interview with his coach this morning it was evident he wasn't playing. Had anything changed and she hadn't been notified of? "The doctor still hasn't fully released you."
"You're well informed. Are you still keeping tabs on me about my injury?"
She smiled knowingly. He was definitely pissed but was obviously trying to hide it. She could have cleared everything up by easily telling him there was nothing to worry about but since he was being a brat about it she decided to still play with this a little. "I'm to be notified of everything till you're fully released. So it's not keeping tabs..."
He nodded as he finished his reps and took some water from his bottle. "I'm ready. So perhaps you can tell the doctor to stop wasting my time and sign the stupid release."
"That's not how it works. If you wanted to be the one making that decision perhaps you should've studied medicine instead of business like your father wanted you to." And she was quite glad for that.
He narrowed his eyes at her and took a deep breath before moving to the next machine. He had forgotten what a smart ass she could really be when she didn't agree with something. "You're not happy with me starting the first game?"
She looked away. "I'm not in the least bit happy of you risking yourself knowing the doctor still hasn't cleared you."
He scoffed. "He doesn't know anything," was all he said before he started his first rep of leg press.
She looked back at him. "He's your doctor. The final word is his."
"I'm the one with the injury, the one that has done the rehab, and the one that started practicing this morning. I can clearly tell you better than him that I'm fine." He said as he did one of his reps a little bothered after hearing her taking his doctor's side.
She stared at him knowing deep down what this meant. He was going to push for playing that first game tomorrow. She hated when he was this stubborn. She continued watching him doing his exercises when the door opened. She looked up to see Xiefa.
"Father wants to meet." She simply said.
Sakura nodded. She started walking towards the door when she felt his hand grabbed her. She turned around and found his lips connecting softly to hers in a quick kiss. Immediately she turned her head to break the kiss and sternly looked at him. She was surprised to see a smirk on his face before he went back to doing his leg exercises in the machine. She scoffed and mentally wrote it on her mind... He would pay for that one.
As soon as she walked out of the room she heard Xiefa's first question of probably a thousand she would start doing now thanks to his little stunt back in there.
"So, since when do you say goodbye to my brother that way?" She mockingly asked while texting on her phone.
"It's actually the first." She answered as they kept walking towards the elevator.
"Oh really! My my..." Xiefa sarcastically answered and smiled knowingly. Knowing her brother he had done it with all the intention in the world of letting her know that they probably were going out again.
Sakura heard Xiefa's words and narrowed her eyes. 'Oh! He will definitely pay for this one.'
"If that is the case and let's say it would be a normal goodbye from now on..." Xiefa walked inside the elevator and waited for Sakura to enter before getting out her elevator key and pressing the roof floor. "You will definitely hate the news I have for you."
Sakura watched the pressed floor button before looking at her. "Why are we going to the roof? I thought you said your father wants to meet."
"Yeah... You remember that reporter Syaoran introduced to father the other night?" Xiefa asked knowing perfectly well Sakura knew who she was talking about. She sarcastically chuckled before clarifying her statement. "Last night... actually."
Sakura rolled her eyes at her not wanting to be reminded of that woman any longer and sighed. "Is there a point to this?"
Xiefa nodded. "That woman just released your past connection with my brother publicly. As of now, there are more than a hundred reporters waiting downstairs and more coming in. So, since father hates waiting, we're leaving on the helicopter."
Sakura regretfully closed her eyes before looking straight forward to the elevator closed doors thinking about the headache that was quickly building itself up in her head. First her cousin, then Jun, and finally the cherry on top of an ice cream... a woman she barely tolerated.
"Don't even bother about the gym video. I already texted Suri to grab it ASAP but meanwhile you can tell me since when are you back with my brother. After all we still have about twenty minutes before we reach the office. I'd be honored to be the first one to hear the juicy details of your long awaited rekindling love life." Xiefa said as the doors opened to the hotel roof.
Once again Sakura could hear the sarcasm in her tone before following her out. Things definitely couldn't get worse.
Author'snote:Well, here's chapter 15. Hopefully you guys like it and let me know how youfeel about it. Thank you to all of you who reviewed my last chapter. Lovereading feedback to improve. I really appreciate it.