Yup, new fanfic! Well, not new, really... But this is a bit of a tester chapter. I know this pairing is a bit crackish in the eyes of the general public, but there is a reason behind it! I swear!

I'm not sure how this story will be received, but please take a look at it. :)

My name is Wang Mei Ling. I am about 150 cm tall and have dark brown hair and eyes. I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and am currently a freshman at National Taipei University. My career of choice is electrical engineering. I hope to be able to work at Acer in the future. Some of my hobbies are foreign culture studies, reading, computer programming, and ping pong. My favorite sport is baseball. My goal is to study hard, get a good job, and travel around the world.

Last year my older brother got up one morning and told me that he was going to China. I can still remember the happiness and anxiety mixing around in his eyes as he broke the news.

"Wan," he'd said (he's called me that for as long as I can remember because I liked to bend a lot as a kid). "The company's sent me to Beijing. I'm leaving in three months."

I'd just stared at him.

"Hey, Ge, no kidding around. I have tons of exams this week; I can't take that sort of thing right now," I'd joked, thinking that he was trying to be funny as usual.

"No, I'm not kidding, Wan. I'm really going to China."

My jaw dropped. I began to protest.

"I don't want to go to China—"

"You're not going. I am."

At that, I'd stopped short. I'd taken a good look around at the apartment that we shared. Ma and Ba had bought this apartment about two months before they got into that accident; now Yao was going to leave?

"So, I have to stay here by myself?"

"Yeah."

"And do everything by myself?"

"Yeah."

"And pay the utility bill by myself?"

"Well, I'll be sending you money every week."

I'd snorted.

"That makes everything better. Ge, I'm just a senior high school student—"

"Who's going to college next year. Frankly, I'd have thought that you'd be glad to have the apartment to yourself." Yep, that's my brother; a six-year difference between us and he thinks that I can take care of everything like he can.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Are you excited?"

"Well… yeah, I guess." He'd rubbed his head sheepishly. I'd glared.

"So you do want to leave me here."

"No, it's not like that, Wan—"

"You want to leave me and the apartment—"

"No! Just listen—"

"And your friends and your life—"

"Stop that, Wan. I'm serious."

"And Ma and Ba," I finally spat out. Ge's face became stiff.

"Like it or not," he'd said very quietly, very calmly, "I'm going to China in three months. Until I do, you'll continue to study, and when I do, you'll still study. With the added responsibilities of taking care of yourself, like every college student does. I did it before; why can't you?"

Usually, I know better than to bring up our parents with him around. I don't really know what happened this time. But I know better than to deal with my brother at times like this, so I'd nodded and agreed sullenly.

"Fine. Go to China, I don't care."

So he did go to China, three months later. When he left, a part of me died. Why was I so distraught over this? True, I do love my brother a lot, but…

I guess it's because I've always wanted to make a great escape from my uneventful life. I love Taiwan, sure, but since Ba and Ma passed away, I've felt like there's no more promise here for me anymore.

Just broken memories and dust.

Why Yao calls Mei "Wan": Because a fan name for her is "Wan Wan" (like TaiWAN, get it?) and because I made a stupid play on words (彎 means "bend/to bend" in Chinese). :3

How was it? Of course, the main part hasn't been reached yet, but it does get more interesting later on. Let me know how you feel!