First Impression

Some years passed before Cheng Wang and Guillaume Janssen met again. Being two persons with money and influence, they found the perfect occasion to organize a beneficial engagement between some of their heirs. When Mr. Janssen told his children about his intentions, Lars, his eldest son, offered to be responsible, so, Mr. Wang gave him his consent to marry his only daughter.

When Mei knew it, her first reaction was panic, but then she thought about her family and what implied to accept the engagement. Her parents convinced her that there wasn't better catch than Lars Janssen, making her see the big prestige his family had. Then, she accepted.

The first time they were going to meet, Mei was overthinking, more than nervous, she was afraid. She wondered what kind of man was that Lars Janssen, if he was such a good guy as everyone said and if they could get along well. She couldn't believe that their lives would join together so suddenly.

"Mei, he is here" Yao told her.

Lars and his family were there. Although he didn't like the whole idea of the engagement, he saw it like an advantage because the truth was that he didn't believe in romance and love, so he was ready to follow the plan. Besides, he thought it was the perfect moment to settle down.

Mei saw him. "That's him" she thought, "he seems nice" and she went to talk with a blond young man whose hair covered an eye. He smiled politely.

"Hi, I am Mei. You must be Lars, nice to meet you"

"Hi, nice to meet you too, but no, in fact I'm Henri, my brother is there" he said.

Mei saw where Henri pointed at, the man was there: serious, quiet, intimidating, handsome, tall and with an arrogant attitude as if he was the king of the universe. "They want me to marry him?" she thought when he approached. He introduced himself politely but looking down at her. He has a very deep voice that made her feel so small. She sighed and sat down next to him.

Their parents talked about the engagement as if it was the most exciting in the world. She looked at him discreetly; she couldn't find any emotion in his face. His siblings were nice and attractive. She would have preferred Henri.

After dinner, both families left them alone so they could bring-up-to-date. Lars thought that she looked very young, even if he knew she was a few years younger than him, he didn't imagine that she still kept some childlike features. He had to admit that she was pretty and delicate, and she was way shorter than him, which made her look tender, but she had a melancholic expression. He hoped that at least, they could have a stable relationship.

They talked about no relevant topics, their jobs and life in general. Lars talked coldly about the engagement, as if it was anything, a distant event, a simple walk in the park. How was it possible to him talking about getting married without love? And then she started crying. He was quiet looking at her, and he gave her a handkerchief. He smoked while she cried.

"Be strong, we have to do this" he said.

Mei couldn't sleep that night. She wondered if she could be capable of taking it seriously. She felt tied to a man who didn't love her, a distant man who didn't care about anything. She would never be happy with a man like him. But everything was ready, and she couldn't reject him and ruin everybody's plans.

Days later, Lars visited her. They were in the living room, talking about anything while Yao was watching them. Lars didn't mind his presence, he knew that Yao was just keeping an eye on his sister, but Mei felt uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry"

"Why?"

"Because he is watching us" she said quietly.

"It's fine, anyways, I'm almost a stranger"

She observed him attentively. Yes, he was very tall, and she had to admit that he was handsome too; he was quite built, she thought that maybe he played some sport. She noticed that he has a scar in the forehead just above the right eyebrow, and his green eyes were looking at her coldly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing" she said looking away.

Lars was observing her too. He thought that she couldn't be really mature but neither childish. She was very expressive; she moved her delicate hands gracefully when she spoke. She looked so sweet, but the sadness in her eyes didn't match.

He felt guilty, he knew he wasn't his entire fault but he was part of what it must cause her pain. He wasn't good to talk about feelings, so he ignored the situation. Maybe this would end when they spent more time together.

He never had that kind of problem, so he tried to be patient and not put her under pressure; he thought it could be a good idea to give her presents… anyways it wasn't as if he had to court her. Then he realized he was overthinking for a girl he just met.

"Lars? Hey, are you alright?"

"What? Sorry, I was thinking about work. What were you saying?"

"Nothing important, it's just that you seemed worried. Do you have problems with your job?"

"No, I was just remembering something"

"Ok, if you say so" she said indifferent.

Since then, Lars visited her every day. They had tea and talked about their day, but without details. Also, he gave her so many expensive presents. Mei was flattered even though she knew those presents were without love.

One day, as usual, she felt that her brothers were watching them, this time, she lost patience and she told them something he couldn't understand because she was speaking Mandarin. When they left, she told him:

"I'm sorry"

"It's fine. I didn't understand what you said, anyways"

"It was about you. Nothing bad, it's just that it's ironic that they watch us all the time, when they perfectly know that we are going to get married, don't you think?" she said annoyed. "Would you like to go out with me as if we were really dating?"

"Yes, why not"

They thought that it was better to go out than stay at home, although, they had to act like a real couple, at least to everyone believed they were in love and no one suspected they were just faking. But it was difficult and awkward. He put his arm around her shoulders or took her hand, but they felt as if they were far away from each other, they thought that no one would believe they were in love.

She tried to get to know him better but he was very secretive, and she ended up for feeling ignored and bored. She complained in Mandarin so he couldn't understand. Lars just looked at her patiently. When she finished saying that it would be funnier to go out with a rock than him, he took a breath and answered in Dutch that he was sorry for not being a good company. He said it guessing that was her problem.

They remained quiet. She was surprised that he had acting in the same way, but she didn't want to ask him what he just said.

"Other thing, don't smoke in my presence. And I want to go home" she said.

He kept his cigarette. He didn't speak. To be honest, she intimidated him, she was so straightforward, and she looked at him angrily. So, he took her home. She said goodbye grudgingly.

They started thinking what they will do to make of their fake relationship something more credible. Will everyone believe they were in love? Will they be capable of living together as husband and wife? Will they be happy someday? They thought about it all night.

Note: I'm taking a risk with this one because it's my first long fic and it's about a very unpopular ship, but here it is. I'm sorry about the languages part, I love languages so I couldn't help myself.