The next day...
7:15 AM...
Winwin and Xiali are in the car together as Winwin drives Xiali to college since he noticed that she wasn't getting picked up by her friend (Ten) today.
"Thanks for driving me to college, Ge," Xiali says.
"No problem. I'm glad to help," Winwin says as he keeps his vision on the road.
"Man, I told you I could've ride my bike," Xiali says. "I don't want to trouble you."
"It's ok. It's the least I can do for today. But later I won't be able to pick you up. I promise to pick up a friend of mine to her party," Winwin says with an awkward tone as he feels kind of guilty for not being able to pick up Xiali.
"Ah, it's ok. I can always walk home," Xiali says.
"Wouldn't that be too dangerous regarding your current situation?" Winwin ask as his thoughts starts to travel at all the dangerous posibilities.
Xiali lets out a sigh, "I can always call my other friend."
"I just don't want anything bad to happen to you," Winwin says.
"I'll be fine, Winwin ge." Xiali says as she turns her head to gaze at Winwin.
At Ming University...
Xiali walks inside the college building. She notice the gaze from some of the girls who stares at her with a surprised look. Usually they would stare at her with envious look every time she is seen together with Ten. There were even rumours that said she and Ten are dating, which she chose to ignore. But today it's like they are all surprised to see her on her own.
Xiali reaches her class and start searching for a seat since class is about to start, when she notice a familiar guy waving at her to sit next to him.
"Zhang Xia Li!" Lucas says as he waves at the girl with a bright smile.
Xiali smiles at Lucas and takes a seat next to him.
"It's not usual to see you alone," says Lucas with a small chuckle. "Where's Ten?" he tries to bring up Ten's absense in hope that Xiali wouldn't eventually suspect him to be involved.
"He couldn't make it," Xiali says. She knew well it was gonna be a while before Ten could go to college again with her.
"Ah, I see.." Says Lucas as he slowly turns his head away from Xiali.
A few hours later...
At the cafeteria...
Xiali's POV...
I sit alone as I start to eat my sandwhich. Somehow, having lunch without Ten takes me back to my high school days, where I would have lunch alone. It wasn't fun, but it was ok. I was kind of used to it. That is, until I met Ten and everything change. Lunch hours became a lot more fun with his flirty jokes and charm. The thought of him already made me miss him. Oh great.
"Hey!"
A familiar male voice tinkles through my ears. I turn my head up to see Lucas standing in front of my table along with Hendery.
"Good afternoon, Meinu (pretty girl)," Hendery says as he gives me a cheerful smile. I smile back at him shyly.
"Is it ok if we sit here?" ask Lucas.
"Sure," I say to the two guys. They start to pull out their seats as they join me.
I notice the whole cafeteria starts staring at us. Most of them are girls who are known to gossip a lot. They all have their eyes on Lucas and Hendery with a flirty look, before turning their attention to me with an annoyed look. I pretend to not notice any of them since it would be a waste of time to show any attention towards them.
"I see the ladies are staring at you," Hendery says with a sassy wink. "You have the spotlight, Lady Zhang!"
"I don't care about it though," I blurt out casually.
"Xiali here is a smart girl. She doesn't care about what others say about her," Lucas says. His words makes me a feel a bit awkward.
"I can see she's awesome," Hendery says as he gives me a cheesy smile.
I smile at the two cheeky boys sitting across me. We eventually have a nice lunch together with Hendery being throwing his funny sarcasm every now and then, making both Lucas and I laugh. I have to admit, if it wasn't for these two, lunch hour would have been boring. Maybe there's a lot more to know about them. They could be genuine people.
A few hours later...
After college...
I walk through the crowded hallway as all the students starts to depart for the day. Today I thought about walking to Retro Red Bar for my shift, despite the fact that Winwin thought it could be dangerous. Weird...why would he care about me anyway? I'm just his step-sister. Besides we're not really close, especially since we started seeing other people.
Thinking about walking, I could always call Yangyang. He could pick me up and I didn't have to walk to Retro Red Bar. Yet, I didn't want to bother him since he and the boys (Kun and Xiaojun) are probably busy dealing with Ten and his condition.
I finally reach the college exit, when I see a tall guy already waiting for me outside the building. He waves at me with a bright smile as I approach him.
"Hey!" Lucas says. "You're going home?"
"I have a shift actually," I answer.
"Then can I drive you there before I take you out for dinner?" Lucas ask as he gives me another one of his charming sunny smiles.
"Sure," I say as I smile back at the boy.
"Cool. Let's go!" Lucas says before he suddenly grabs my hand and drags me to his car, making me feel a bit surprised at his sudden action.
One hour later...
Winwin stops his car in front of Yiren's house. He notice that the young girl had finished dressing up as she heads to his car. She opens the door and enters the csr as she gives Winwin a sweet smile.
"I hope you didn't wait too long," Yiren says as she gives Winwin a kiss on the cheek.
"No. I just arrived actually," Winwin says as he starts to stare at Yiren's look. She really took her time to dress up well, Winwin almost didn't recgonize her. She had her hair curled, smoky make-up complete with red lipstick, and is wearing a v neck maroon dress that falls above her knees complete with black Gucci heels.
"Are you surprise?" Yiren ask with a flirty tone.
"Umm..no. Sorry," Winwin says awkwardly. "Shall we go?"
"Sure," Yiren says as she smiles at Winwin.
A few hours later...
7:45 PM...
At Retro Red Bar...
Xiali continues to mix some drinks in the back, when she hears a familiar male voice calling her name. She turns her head and smiles at the man standing across the bar counter, which is none other than Yangyang.
"Hi!" Yangyang says as he watch Xiali approach him.
"Here for a drink before my shift ends?" Xiali folds her arms with a smirk on her face as she stares at Yangyang. It's pretty obvious that she is trying to tease her childhood friend.
"No. I was gonna pick you up and maybe we could go out for dinner together," Yangyang says with an awkward smile. He honestly love how he is starting to have good communication with Xiali again.
"Ah, I can't. I already promised Lucas that I'll go out with him tonight," Xiali says with an apologetic tone.
"Lucas Wong?" Yangyang ask as he starts to think twice whether he misheard her. "I thought he was a possible suspect to be associated with the stalkers."
"We don't know yet, Yangyang. For now, I think it's best if we don't jump to conclusions too fast," Xiali says.
Yangyang is disappointed to hear what Xiali said, but at this point he has no other choice but to accept it. Though the boys had told him to look after Xiali while Ten recovers, he didn't want to push things too fast knowing that they just reconcile after a misunderstanding. In other words, he didn't want to disappoint her again.
"Ok then," Yangyang says. "Just be careful..."
Xiali nods. "I will."
Yangyang watches Xiali as she heads back to make more drinks. He starts to feel worry about her just by staring at her from behind. The thought of how many people are after her scares him.
Why would someone go after such a kind girl? This world is too cruel. Yangyang thought.
"How's Ten?" Xiali ask.
"He's getting better," Yangyang says.
It didn't took long for Xiali's shift to come to an end. Xiali and Yangyang walks out of the bar with Lucas already waiting in his car.
"I'll be going now," Xiali says as she smiles at Yangyang.
Yangyang stares at Xiali for a moment. How he had missed seeing her smile. Tonight he was grateful that he had the chance to her smile again after a while.
Yangyang smiles back at her. "Take care, Xiali."
Xiali nods. "I will. Goodbye, Yangyang," says Xiali before she walks away from Yangyang to enter Lucas's car. The car soon drives away from the bar, leaving Yangyang standing alone in front of the retro-style bar.
Zhang Xia Li....please stay safe. Yangyang thought.
A few minutes later...
Lucas and Xiali arrives at a dimsum restaurant not far from Lucas's apartment. The two exits the car and walks inside together.
At Dim Sum Summary...
Lucas and Xiali walks inside to find an empty table at the corner. The two decides to take a seat there. The waiter soon approaches them to take their orders.
"What can I get for you?" ask the waiter.
"I'll have my usuals," Lucas says.
"Ah, same like yesterday?"
"Yes," Lucas says.
"Ok, and what about you?" ask the waiter to Xiali.
"I'll just have a bowl of chicken soup and a cup of tea," says Xiali as she keeps her vision on the menu.
"Ok. Anything else?" ask the waiter.
Lucas turns his head to Xiali as he gives another one of his warm smiles. "You're not trying the dim sum?"
"No. I'm in the mood for chicken soup actually," says Xiali.
"Come on, the dim sum here is pretty famous. You should give it a try," says Lucas. "I'll have another of the usuals for the lady."
Well, Xiali couldn't debate with that. Lucas decides to order more dimsums since he insisted her to try. The waiter eventually walks back to the kitchen to prepare their orders.
Lucas turns his head to face Xiali. "You know, since I got here, so far this is the best dim sum restaurant I've tried. And do you know what's their most popular dish?" ask Lucas.
"What?" ask Xiali with a curious tone.
"Pork shu mai," says Lucas with a smile. "As I remember from the last time we had dinner together, you told me that was your favorite dim sum, right?" he stares into Xiali's deep brown eyes.
Xiali just smiles as she sees Lucas staring at her with a confident and deep look in his eyes. She is a bit surprised to know that the cheeky boy remembered her favorite dim sum during their conversation the last time they went out together.
Xiali turns her head to the side slowly with a shy smile. "You remembered correctly. And as for you, I remember you said your favorite was shrimp dumplings. Am I right?"
"You got that right," Lucas says with a small chuckle as he starts to get mesmerize by Xiali who is smiling shyly. Little did he know that he was starting to get lost in her smile as he studies her face. He notice how every time he sees Xiali, he just finds the girl to look more attractive than before.
Is it just me, or is she getting prettier than before every time I see her? Wait...what the hell are you thinking? Wong Yuk Hei, you shouldn't get distracted by this woman's beauty. I should be getting her to my mama, and not get distracted by her cute smile. Damn it! Lucas thought, before he snaps back to his sense.
At the boys' house...
"What the heck?" Kun almost screams on the phone. "Ok, we'll head there tomorrow morning."
Kun hangs up the phone while Xiaojun watches him with a puzzled look.
"So what did Taeyong hyung said?" Xiaojun ask with a curious tone.
"Park Sang Woo just arrived in Shanghai. Chances are he's gonna meet a friend at a secret hideout," Kun says. "We gotta follow him tomorrow."
"Yes," Xiaojun says.
"Hyung already send Jungwoo and Shotaro to join us tomorrow. They'll arrive here at midnight," Kun says.
"Ok," says Xiaojun.
For what they knew, Park Sang Woo has made Taeyong and his men his biggest target. Other than being Taeyong's former friend from their college days, he also tried to kidnap Yeri one time due to a grudge he hold towards her family. Knowing that the dangerous man is out to get them at any time, they knew they had to take action.
At Tzuyu's house...
8:55 PM...
The music blast out through the speakers as people continue to dance the night away. Some of them already got drunk after drinking multiple shots of whisky, while others are still trying to survive in the drinking game.
Winwin is talking with Renjun in the corner as the two continue to sip their 3rd glass of whisky, while Yiren is talking with Tzuyu near the kitchen.
"Another glass, my sister?" Tzuyu ask with a sassy yet slightly drunk tone.
"Ah, I'll have more," Yiren says with a drunk tone.
"You'll be needing way more if you're gonna hook up with Winwin tonight," Tzuyu says as she pours another glass of whisky for Yiren.
"Ah, Jie! People could hear us," Yiren says in a whiny tone.
"Not like they could since the music is too loud. Hahaha..." Tzuyu starts laughting.
As she starts to feel more and more tipsy, Yiren decides to look for Winwin. She walks to the corner and bumps into him and Renjun.
"So...are you and Yiren a thing?" Renjun ask in a slightly drunk tone.
"I don't really know. It's complicated," Winwin says, before he takes another sip of his whisky.
"YES WE ARE!" Yiren almost screams with a whiny tone as she starts walking towards both Winwin and Renjun, making both of them shock.
"Yiren!" Renjun stares at the girl with a nervous tone.
"We are a thing, ok!" Yiren says. "We love each other very much, if you should know." She grabs a good hold of Winwin's arm. Winwin didn't let out any sentence as he just stood in silence at the awkward situation.
"Oh ok. I'm gonna go get more drinks now. Bye!" Renjun says. He walks away from the awkward situation.
Yiren turns her head to face Winwin as she fold her arms. She has a jealous look on her face which Winwin could tell is pretty obvious.
"Complicated, huh?" Yiren ask. "After all the time I tried to heal you from your past."
Winwin sighs. He really isn't in the mood to deal with any drama tonight, but seems like he has to deal with at least one, which involves him and Yiren. "You can't expect me to heal before I'm ready, Yiren," says Winwin. "I told you that I didn't want to make things difficult by jumping into something new before I'm ready."
"Did you forget that I had been cheering up after all the tears you've been through? I've always loved you, Winwin. It's so obvious," Yiren almost screams in a drunk manner.
Winwin knew that his female friend is definetly too drunk tonight. Her words sounds more impulsive as he keeps listening to her.
"Yiren....you are really drunk. Do you want me to take you home?" Winwin ask as he steps closer to Yiren.
"No, Winwin. I don't want to go home! I want to be here tonight with you," Yiren says as her hands cups Winwin's face. "Just stay with me, ok?"
Yiren's soft voice tinkles through Winwin's ears as he stares at the drunk girl who has her hands on his cheeks. "Ok," Winwin says as he stares at the girl with a pity feeling. For a moment, he felt bad for making Yiren think that they were actually a thing in the first place, when all this time she had been trying to hide her feelings yet also giving hints to him at the same time.
At Dim Sum Summary....
9:10 PM...
After finishing their dinner, Xiali and Lucas walks out of the restaurant. The two enters Lucas's car, before deciding where to go next since Lucas had planned to make it a long night for both of them.
"You want to hangout at my apartment? We can chill over a glass of whisky throught the night," Lucas says with a bit of a flirty yet playful tone.
Xiali didn't feel like drinking tonight, since she hasn't been able to get her mind off Ten. She's been constantly worried about him. She thought about visiting him tomorrow morning since tomorrow is Sunday, and by that she didn't want to get drunk tonight. Xiali forms a small smile at Lucas.
"I'll be visiting Ten at the hospital tomorrow morning, so I can't stay up too late," Xiali says. She had told Lucas what happened to Ten during dinner, since she really couldn't keep her mind off him. "Sorry, Lucas..."
"Hey, don't sweat it. I understand," Lucas tries to sound chill, though he feels as if she hasn't grown any deeper interest towards him. Despite the fact that he tried to get closer to her, he noticed how she had been spacing out a lot since the incident that happened with Ten, even though she tries to hide it. "I can drive you to the hospital tomorrow morning."
Xiali turns her head to face Lucas. "Thanks. But I can ride my bike."
"Ah it's ok. I also want to visit Ten," Lucas says. "That is, if he doesn't mind," Lucas adds before turning his gaze at Xiali for a second.
"Of course he won't mind," says Xiali.
"Good. Then I'll pick you up tomorrow morning," says Lucas before he starts the engene and drives his car, taking Xiali back home.
Your eyes tells the story of who he is in your heart without you having to say a single word. I'm gonna have to crawl deeper into your heart if I wanna have a place in it. I won't give up. Lucas thought.
At Tzuyu's house...
Everyone continues to get lost in the music as they keep on drinking through a crazy drinking game. Meanwhile, Winwin had been on the couch taking care of Yiren who is badly drunk at this point yet she refuse to go home. Tzuyu approaches the two along with Renjun and Chenle who were in the middle of dancing.
"Ahh...I spot the love birds in paradise," Tzuyu says with a sassy and tipsy tone. "I wish I was in love with a modern day prince."
Renjun rolls his eyes after hearing Tzuyu's words, making Chenle look nervous at the sight of all his friends drunk and behaving weird.
"Ah, I think you're missing out on your prince charming, Jie," Chenle says with a rather nervous tone.
Winwin just stares at the sight of his three friends as he puts his arm around Yiren who is lying her head on his shoulder.
"What prince charming, Chenle? He hasn't come knocking at my front door," Tzuyu whines in a tipsy manner.
"Excuse me," Renjun says. He sounds way more drunk than before as keeps drinking more whisky on his hand.
"By the way, you two should get a room upstairs!" Tzuyu states before she takes another sip of her white wine.
"What?" Winwin ask in disbelief. He almost thought he misheard what she just said.
"Yeah. You guys look drunk as hell. Go to the guest room and get yourself some alone time, hahaha..." Tzuyu giggles before putting one of her arm on Renjun, making him blush like a cherry tomato.
Winwin glance at Yiren who has fallen asleep on his shoulder. He takes a deep breath before he gets up to carry her to the guest room, knowing that it'll be more comfortable for her to sleep on a bed. It's a good thing he isn't too drunk that he is still able to carry her. Winwin walks upstairs with Yiren in his arms, before entering the guest room and putting her on the bed. He starts to study her sleeping face, which reminds him of the time when he was staring at Xiali while she was drunk and sleepy. Suddenly, Yiren flutters her eyes open and see Winwin who had been staring at her for a while, making him blush.
"Winwin, where am I?" Yiren ask.
"The guest room," Winwin answers with an awkward tone.
"Can you stay here with me?" Yiren signals Winwin to sleep beside her.
Winwin's face starts blushing a deeper shade of red. He takes a deep breath before walking slowly to the side of the bed and climbing up beside Yiren.
Yiren puts her arms around Winwin's waist and she falls back to sleep. Winwin takes another glance of his friend hugging his waist. He stares at the young girl asleep beside him with pity, as he feels his heart feeling heavy tonight.
The next day....
8:30 AM...
Lucas had picked up Xiali and the two are now heading to the hospital to visit Ten. Lucas decides to play some songs on the radio to light up the mood.
"So how is Ten?" Lucas ask while he keeps his vision on the road.
"The last time I visited him, he was ok I guess. Hopefully he'll recover soon," Xiali says as she turns her her eyes to glance down at the thought of Ten. She's been worried about him too much, and just the thought of him already makes her sad knowing that he hasn't recover yet.
Lucas glance at the girl for a second before turning his vision back to the road. He knew from the way she looks when she's talking about him that she definetly has deeper feelings for Ten which are more than friendship. Not to mention, the two are always together in college, there are even rumours that the two are a couple. The thought of Xiali having feelings for Ten somehow upsets Lucas. Yet, he is surprised that not only was he upset because it makes it harder for him to get her, but because he also doesn't like the idea of Xiali liking Ten.
Why does she have to like that guy? Wait..why do I even care about that? I'm only approaching her for the mission. Lucas thought.
It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the hospital. After parking the car, Lucas and Xiali walks out of the car and enters the hospital.
At the hospital...
The two reach Ten's room. Xiali opens the door and sees Ten lying on the bed while talking with Yangyang who is standing beside him. She walks inside the room with Lucas following from behind.
"Hello!" Xiali stares at both Ten and Yangyang as she enters the room.
Ten and Yangyang turns their head to see her and smile, yet their smiles soon fades as they notice Lucas standing behind her. Lucas forms a smile at both Ten and Yangyang.
"How are you, Ten?" Xiali ask as she approaches Ten.
"A lot better," Ten says as he glance at Xiali with a smile, before glancing back to Lucas. "You came here together?"
"Yeah," Lucas says as he smiles at Ten. Meanwhile, Yangyang just watches the two men staring at each other in with deadly glance in awkward silence.
I sense trouble. Yangyang thought.
To be continue...