I don't own Half Prince...
It was early, too early. Professor Min sat at his desk staring into space as his mind worked in overdrive. His fingers tapped an agitated rhythm. He was always a little early to his classes, but this was ridiculous. Sure it was good to be prepared for the students … but who is he kidding, he just couldn't stand waiting around at home today. He hadn't really been able to settle things with Feng Lan yesterday. He'd wanted to actually apologize, confess, reassure … plan. However, things never work out the way he would like them to in second life.
He'd been holding her. Lips pressed to her hair as she clung to his cloak. She didn't seem to want to move and he was just fine with her in his arms. It wasn't until he heard a slight giggle that he decided to look up. What he saw was perhaps the most frightening thing in his life. Prince's fans had crowded around trying to see what was happening. The circle they formed was slowly closing in as Prince's tears faded. He hugged prince closer and looked for an escape. Seeing nothing, he steadied his voice and tried not to show his fear. He had a feeling they'd be able to smell it. Speaking softly he told Prince, "Don't make any sudden movements. On my count of three we're going to run … alright?" He swallowed nervously as Prince nodded against him.
"One..."
The girls seemed to be closing in a little faster. He tried to subtly angle his body to give himself better leverage to jump up and run.
"Two..."
One of them seemed to pick up on the strange movement and with a shout they all dashed forward at once. "Three! Go!" Gui shouted as he jumped up and pulled Prince with him.
The girls immediately gave chase shouting things about Prince needing a shoulder to cry on, and them being more than willing to help. Others had brought out weapons and demanded to know who had hurt their liege lord, while still others just wanted to look at his crying face and drool.
They spent hours trying to evade the mob. Holding hands the whole time and clinging to each other in small alleys. Prince looked exhausted, and knowing the emotional stress he'd been under recently, Gui tried to find a place that would be good to hide in for just a few moments. Dodging behind a building he urged Prince up to the roof and followed closely behind. Watching as the mob ran past he sank to the floor grinning in relief.
Both of them were breathing heavily, and Gui knew they wouldn't be discussing much under the circumstances. So he put his hand on her cheek, and looked into her eyes, "Prince … get some rest. Log off, and come talk to me tomorrow." The look she gave him was like an arrow in his heart. She looked confused and tired and uncertain. Gui knew instantly what was wrong, but he also knew that this wasn't the time to fix it, so he hugged her again, and kissed her temple, "I love you Prince … there's so much I want to tell you but I know that you need to rest, and to think, and to sleep. We'll see each other tomorrow okay?"
She smiled then, just a little. "Alright Gui." Taking a big breath she looked at him again, not sure how to say goodbye. Were they a couple? Should she hug him? Or kiss him? Should she just leave? He'd been pretty liberal with his affection, would he be bothered if she wasn't? Was he just doing it because she seemed weak right now? She felt like a stupid high school girl daring her boyfriend to hang up first. It made her want to beat him again. With a groan of frustration, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Then she thought better of it and kicked his shins. "See you tomorrow!" and then logged off, but not before Gui caught the redness of her blush.
Gui logged off almost right away, but he couldn't sleep after that. So there he sat, waiting for his class to start wondering how in the world he should greet her. He didn't want her to feel like just a face in the crowd … he also didn't want to announce to everyone that there was anything special between them … but what if … maybe … he started to smile as an idea came into his head, getting out a large pad of red paper and a pen he started on his plans. He knew he shouldn't be playing around in class, but it's just one day … and he didn't have her number yet …
Feng lan lie on her bed, staring at her ceiling. Gui had wanted her to "get rest and think". Well, the get rest part would have to wait, unless just lying there counts. It was actually really good advice. She didn't even know where to start thinking about things. Gui knew who she was … and it didn't seem to change anything. Except that he was a whole lot more affectionate, and gentle. She groaned as she realized that even though it wasn't terrible, their in game life would most likely not go back to what it had been.
Wait … would he want to date in real life? Her eyes widened at the thought of him announcing it in front of the whole school, and the female students wanting to kill her. "Oh just kill me now, and get it over with!" She rolled over in her bed staring at the wall. It wasn't quite light out yet and she still had plenty to think about. She didn't even know if that's what Gui wanted. He had only just learned who she was, and he was dealing with Prince at the time … a very distraught Prince, so of course he would react that way. What happens when he wakes up and has time to think? Would he really want to date a student? He doesn't even really know Feng Lan. How could he just accept it like that?
That's right … She doesn't know what he wants. She should just try to figure out what she wants. Oh god, what does she want?! She doesn't want a public relationship … definitely not at school. Not really in game either … everyone would think she was gay. That would just be strange. "Eugh!" She let out a small shriek of frustration, how could she say she wanted to be with him … if she doesn't want to be with him? Maybe sitting here thinking wasn't the best thing to do. Now she really didn't know what she wanted!
Turning back onto her back she decided to just wait and see what he had to say, she'd been doing things on her own the whole time and it really hadn't gotten her where she wanted to be. It took an act of her brother to get even this far … her brother. What should she do about her brother? That's not nearly as complicated an issue. She should just kill him.
Wait … she already did.
She always knew he read her journals. It started a really long time ago … when she first started writing them even. At first she was ticked like any sister would be. She was trying to beat him up for days after she caught him red handed. That was when they were young and she was just being a dramatic middle school brat. When she started writing about how hard it was having her parents gone all the time, and how she wished she didn't feel like an orphan, he never seemed to read it. She was glad about that, but then she noticed that some things were simply out of place like someone had been there besides her. He was less of burden for a while after that, and she realized that it wasn't like he wasn't reading her journals … he just wasn't teasing her about them. When a boy broke her heart and she wrote about it, she wasn't sure if he read it, or could just see it on her face … but her brother and Ling Bin were both absent the next day … and so was that boy. She stopped caring if he read what she wrote. As long as she didn't catch him in the act of course, then she'd yell and scream and whine and hit him as much as any good sister.
It'd been a long while since anything like that happened, and she'd honestly forgotten about him reading her journals. He must have been getting better at hiding it. So now that she had solid proof, what was she going to do? She didn't feel like she could yell at him like she normally would … she didn't even really want to. She was actually caught in a rare moment of those warm and mushy feelings for him. He was always taking care of her when she wasn't looking. She put her arm over her eyes and laughed softly. Tears beginning well up. "What kind of sister is grateful for a brother who reads her diary?"
The sun was starting to creep into her room and she decided she'd had enough of lying around so she headed into the kitchen to start her day … it wasn't until she was half done making what turned out to be a buffet, that she realized she'd been making all her brothers favorites. She laughed at herself again feeling giddy for some reason. She'd never admit how much he meant to her to his face … but it wasn't like he didn't read her journals. She might just have to write about it.
As Feng Lan walked into the classroom a little earlier than usual, the first thing she noticed were all the eyes on her. She was confused for a moment looking around the room until she saw her desk. It was covered in red origami roses. They were everywhere, in her chair, on her desk, littering the floor around her desk. She stood there for a second shocked before turning to look at Professor Min. He was reading a book trying to keep the smirk of his handsome face. She didn't know what to make of the situation or how to handle it. She stood there just a second longer when Jing came up behind her, "Whoa! Lan you've got a secret admirer! That's awesome! Do you know who it is?"
She shook her head no and headed over to her desk. "I wonder if there's a note?" She asked as she began removing the roses from her seat. She couldn't help but glance at Professor Min every few seconds. She knew it was him, but how could she accuse her teacher of something like this in front of everyone? As she picked them up, she noticed one of them had something written on the inside, but she would only be able to read it if she unfolded it.
As she stood there undecided, a random classmate called to her, "Does it say something? Open it!" The other classmates started to join in, "That's so romantic!" "Open it!" "What does it say?" "Kyaa!" "I wish I had a secret admirer!"
She looked over at Gui, who stood up and put his book down, effectively gathering the attention of his students. His grin was huge. "Well, Ms. Feng Lan, we have a few minutes before class begins, and we ARE in a history of literature class. The whole point of learning the history of things is to understand how we got to where we are today. If you want to read it in front of everyone, I won't stop you. It would be a great learning opportunity to see what the young men of today are capable of don't you think?"
Every single girl in the class squealed with delight at having the approval of their very young and handsome teacher in such a romantic event. He was having too much fun, he couldn't help but add, "Besides, I think secret admirer's are very romantic, don't you?"
Her blush was never going to go away. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him and his grin and his happy looking eyes as they acknowledged her. After all this time that she's spent watching him from afar feeling ignored, he was looking at her, just at her. She almost started to cry, but then her brother walked in and ruined her moment. "Whoa Sis! What's with the mess?" He said as he came over and picked up a rose.
"Stupid brother! It's not a mess! Put it back!" She yelled as she swatted at his hands.
"More than a thousand roses, I love you." He read out loud while dodging her wimpy real life attempts to hurt him. Some of the girls started to swoon. He was laughing almost right away, "God, who writes this stuff? Let me see another one." He said while trying to get around her.
Professor Min was getting annoyed, so it wasn't his best … he only had a few minutes to put his plan together. Stupid brat.
"More than the moon on a starlit night, I love you." Yang Ming practically sang as he again danced out of his sisters reach. He was loving this. He got to play the annoying younger brother again!
Unfortunately Lan was looking more and more upset. Before anything got out of hand, and before his attempts to cheer her turned into a nightmare, Professor Min again raised his voice above the classroom din. "That's enough Yang Ming, class is starting. Please go back to your seat."
Yang Ming sullenly tossed the unfolded rose back to his sister and went to his desk. As the rest of the students found their seats, one of them spoke up. "Professor Min, before we start can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's on your mind?" He asked happy that Yang Ming didn't put up more of a fight.
"Well, I just thinking that since you're the teacher and the class is always locked when you're not here, you must have seen who put the roses on Feng Lans desk right?"
Professor Min didn't skip a beat, he'd been prepared for that question. "Yep!" He winked at her, "I know exactly who did it, and my lips are sealed!"
At his confession, there was a collective grumbling among the students, "Awwww, come on Professor Min! Tell us who it was!" "Yeah Professor Min, you're no fun!" "Please Professor Min!" "You'll be our favorite Professor forever if you tell us!"
That last one made him laugh, "While that's very tempting, I already promised him I wouldn't tell. Besides, didn't I tell you earlier that I thought it was romantic? I'm not going to ruin his plans like that … That'd be mean."
The students sighed and pulled out the materials they'd need. Feng Lan wasn't very sure about what to do with all the roses. They took up so much space that she didn't have room for her books. She decided that since they seemed to have messages inside, and she was going to have to unfold them eventually anyway, she would do it during class to make some room and also to read what he had written. Her brother might scoff at the overly romantic words he'd written … but no one had done something like this for her before and she was honestly looking forward to seeing what he had to say.
As she unfolded each one, the words gave her this odd feeling that Gui was right beside her declaring his unending love for her royal highness. At first she hadn't realized that he was using the exact same style that he did in game, and when she did realize it she was a little annoyed. She liked that he was so affectionate but this … she wanted to know the professor side of him too, and thought that by revealing herself to him, he'd be able to show her in real life who he was outside of the game. She continued reading them despite her growing annoyance, she needed to get them off her desk. As she neared the end of them suddenly she came across one that didn't say anything … it just had a phone number. She looked up at him in surprise and back down at the paper as he just continued his lecture. Quietly she took out her phone and saved his number. She finished unfolding the roses and once they were in a neat stack, began paying attention to his class.
Professor Min seeing that Feng Lan had finished her task, as well as saved his number decided to make his move. He hoped she would catch on, and follow his instructions. "A copy of the Diamond Sutra, a key Buddhist text me, found sealed in a cave in China in the early 20th century, is the oldest known dated and printed book, with a printed date of 868." He looked right at her as he said it, and continued on with his dialog without skipping a beat. "This is important, because this method of printing and the subsequent inventions, like movable type printing, led to the spread of knowledge and increased the number of people wanting to read and write."
As he continued, Feng Lang could not decide if he had really just said what she thought he had just said … and in the middle of class! Did he want her to text him now? He wouldn't be able to read it so what was the point? She pulled out her phone and decided to wait and see if he gave her anymore hints. When she did, he grinned and nodded at her almost imperceptibly. Her stomach was suddenly attacked with butterflies … what should she say? What was he planning? She wasn't paying attention to him anymore … stuck staring at her phone wondering if this was what class would be like from now on. She had wanted to know the professor side of him … and she had been getting annoyed about it, but as she considered the current state of things she realized that he just loved to have fun. He'd always been one of the most engaging Professors, he'd always been one to play around and even tease his students. That was what had caught her attention in the first place. Gui was as much a part of him as Prince's love for adventure was part of her. So with a soft smile, she set her phone to silent and sent him a text.
A horribly loud, and obnoxious sound went off in the classroom. Professor Min almost dropped his book and scrambled for his phone. Lan was beet red, incredibly embarrassed. Why would he say that if his phone wasn't on silent?! That IDIOT!
"Uh, sorry guys! This is really really important! Life or death right now. Please continue reading on your own for five minutes I need to step outside for a moment." She had to give him credit, he looked sincerely anxious and worried. When he stepped outside the classroom he left the door slightly ajar. All the students crowded around trying to eaves drop on what could possibly be that important. All they could hear was one side of the conversation.
"Yes, Ma Ri? … It's me, Gui. Is everything okay? … No …. No way. You can't be serious." He made a loud gasp, before he asked, "Is she gonna make it? … An hour? I'll be there right away!" The students rushed back to their seats before Gui came in. He looked so frazzled as he told everyone. "Please excuse me. I have to leave right away, if you could just finish the chapter on your own we'll pick it up tomorrow. Don't worry about homework tonight." He gathered what he thought would be most important and before he walked out, he turned to Yang Ming. "Yang Ming, please make sure the door is locked after everyone leaves. Thanks!" and with that he was gone.
Feng Lan was stunned. What the heck was going on? The students started to chatter amongst themselves when she felt her phone vibrate.
-Feng Lan, please meet me on the rooftop when it seems convenient, and easy for you to escape unnoticed. Gui -
Her jaw dropped. He had planned the whole thing? He's ditching his own class? What the heck kind of Professor is he?! She sat there for a moment wondering if she should just go now, and what would she tell her brother? What would she say when she saw Gui? She decided she didn't care. She was excited to see Gui again. She couldn't believe what he had just done, and she was anxious to go talk to him. The roses, the looks, the messages, the dramatic exit. Everything he'd done today was for her. She knew it and she couldn't believe that he honestly cared that much about her. He didn't even really know her yet … that's right … he didn't know her YET. She liked the sound of that. So with a silly little grin of her own, she ran out of the class just yelling, "See ya later!" to her brother and friends. She hurried down the hall, hurried up the stairs, and hurried to Gui.
Professor Min was pacing back and forth across the rooftop. He'd never done anything like that before and he was still feeling the rush. How long would it take Feng Lan to get up here? He looked at the door again and re-read the first text she had ever sent him.
-Gui … you aren't going to embarrass me like this every day are you? Because I will seriously kill you in second life! -
So much like Prince, he couldn't help but grin. He should print it out and get it laminated and framed.
He went back to pacing. The energy bundled inside of him was trying to escape in any way it could. His emotions were all over the place. From the joy of finding Prince in real life, to the pain of realizing that Prince was being pressured to marry. Anticipation and nerves added to the mix awaiting Feng lan and perhaps the most pressing emotion trying to force it's way out was relief. He'd been so worried about why Prince wouldn't reveal himself. Maybe Prince really did find him annoying, maybe Prince really didn't want to have anything to do with him. He'd been so against Gui joining odd squad in the beginning, what if that never really changed? What if Prince just told him he was Feng Lan to get him off his case? No …. no no Prince wouldn't have known about Feng Lans coming to see him so it HAD to be true. In that case, when would she get here? Did she go up to the wrong roof? What if she's not coming? If she revealed herself only to not show up when he created such an awesome opportunity … what would that mean?
Sighing in frustration, he tried not to think about things and ran his hand through his hair. He's never been good at not thinking. He had just passed by the door again when it suddenly burst open with a bang. He quickly turned to see Feng Lan bent over in the door trying to catch her breath. He was frozen, unable to move, just so happy that she was there and there was this crazy unexplainable stop in his mental processes. He couldn't think of what to say.
When she seemed to catch her breath, she finally looked up at him and the most brilliant smile flooded her face. He must have given her the most incredibly stupid look because she just started to laugh. Gasping with laughter she moved to sit on the floor, "Gui! I can't believe you did that!" She said leaning back against the now closed door. Smiling at him, she held wonder in her eyes as she continued her sentence, "for me."
Gui gave a little sigh, "Anything Feng Lan. I …" and suddenly all the things he wanted to say, that he had planned to say, didn't make sense with her there looking at him like that. He wanted to just enjoy the moment, but he wanted to talk of the future and he needed to know how she felt and he was so unsure of everything. He wanted her to know how much she meant to him, even if he hadn't paid much attention to her before yesterday. He wanted her to know everything, and how sorry he was for never realizing.
He looked so sad. She didn't quite understand this sudden change but thought it would be best to just wait it out. He started again, "I mean … for your smile … it's …" He was still fumbling with his words, "I've always …" He pursed his lips in frustration, forging on regardless of his addled brain that couldn't seem to string a sentence together when it mattered most. "You are … to me …. " He took a breath, "Damn it!" He swore, clenching his fists and looking up at the sky.
Feng Lan was growing worried and was about to reach out her hand to him, but right as she did he opened his eyes and looked at her … his eyes … they were glistening. Was he crying? "Gui." She breathed hardly daring to say anything else.
He decided that since he couldn't seem to say what he had planned, he would just be completely honest with her. "I was so worried Feng Lan, so unbelievably worried." He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms, both to hold her close and to hide his face from her. "I thought you hated me." She went willingly but the confusion was written all over her face, how could he think that when she was the one who was always worried about him hating her? She didn't have to wonder about it for long though, "Everyone seemed to know who you were, but you wouldn't trust me. I thought you didn't want anything to do with me." Holding her felt good. It was as if he didn't need to worry about rejection while he was up here on the roof with her. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. Mine. He thought to himself with a smile. He knew she hadn't agreed to anything yet, but after reading those notes her brother brought him, he knew what she wanted. Even though he was so unsure of everything, with her here in his arms, it almost didn't matter. She amazed him, how she could cause him to go from hurt and frustrated to satisfied and happy in a matter of seconds.
"How did you do it Gui?" She asked pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Hhmmmm?" He was content to just hold her and his fuzzy brain wasn't ready to go back to thinking yet. He lazily started playing with a strand of her hair.
"How could you stand doing everything you did for me all the while thinking I hated you?" She asked not really feeling the bliss he was at the moment. She pushed away from him and sat up on her own. He almost pouted and had to resist pulling her back. "You humiliated yourself for me constantly, and I know getting hit around doesn't feel good! Why would you let me do that?"
"Because you needed to." He said, "Which actually reminds me of the real reason I brought you up here." He sounded serious, which may or may not have been a good thing.
She didn't want to be serious, because serious things had the capability of hurting. So she feigned surprise, "For revenge? You're not going to throw me off the roof are you?" She asked laughing lightly.
He scowled at her. "No, and get back over here, I'm not done cuddling."
She couldn't deny that she liked it when he held her, he was so warm and handsome… but she didn't want to give in just like that either! She tapped her foot, "You have some explaining to do first."
His scowl turned into the hurt puppy expression he did so well and he practically started begging. "I can talk while I hold you can't I?"
She couldn't, absolutely could not say no to that. So she huffed and gave a dramatic sigh sitting back down by him and leaning over to bury her head in his chest. As he wrapped his arms around her she couldn't help but ask, "Do you always smell this good Professor Min?"
He chuckled in response and spoke softly to her, "I'm not sure, but if you really want to know, then we may have to find an easier way to escape my students... I don't think I could pull that off too often. They might get suspicious."
"Yeah especially if I go missing every time as well... wait, you want to do this again?" She asked sounding surprised and slightly hopeful.
He ran his hand across the back of her head and took a moment before answering. "Feng Lan … I think we need to talk about this. I have some things I need to ask you and some other things I need to tell you before anything else happens."
A knot of dread formed in her stomach and she held her breath waiting for him to tell her it was only Prince after all … or maybe not but whatever he was going to say didn't sound like it was going to be good.
Suddenly he was moving out from under her. He moved across from her so he could sit on his heels and face her as he spoke. He wanted to see her reaction to what he was going to say. "Feng Lan, may I ask your parents for permission to court you?" He waited for a moment, watching as the fear in her eyes melted away to confusion. While he was glad she was no longer afraid of what he had to say, he really wished it had changed to joy or something … though confusion could be good … right?
"You mean … are you...Umm …?" She couldn't quite get her question out! The only thing in her mind was marriage. Was he asking her to marry him?
"It's not a marriage proposal or anything like that ok?" Was he a mind reader too? "It would be in secret, and only they would know. I just want to be able to try and win your heart, and I don't want you being pressured to marry while I'm trying prove to you that I love you."
She was looking at him with wide eyes at his last statement. "Prove to me … you ..."
He reached for her hand and held it in his, "That I love you Feng Lan. Yes." He looked in to her eyes willing her to see his sincerity. "I do, and I want to prove it to you. I don't want you to think this is about Prince. I don't want you to think this has anything to do with Second Life, or your brother or my stupid rivalry with Ling Bin. I will show you every day Feng Lan, if you'll let me. We'll have fun together, laugh and talk all the time. I'll use everything I have within me to come up with new ways to make you smile. I do have an IQ of like 200 you know? I could do it." He broke into the biggest young boyish grin he had, already thinking of some things they'd do together. "We could cook, and spend the evenings lying on the couch together listening to music. Going for walks, trying new things ..." He would have continued but he suddenly noticed that she'd begun crying. "Hey ..." He whispered, "What'd I do wrong? Don't tell me I'm already failing?!" His voice got a little whiny at the end and she laughed.
"No, you idiot." She said as she tried to wipe her nose on her sleeve. She launched herself at him after that and held on tight. "I just can't believe I was so stupid!" She wailed dramatically. "I should have told you who I was so long ago."
Gui just chuckled, "Who knew prince was so clingy huh?" He asked as he tightened his arms and got to a more comfortable position. "I don't think it matters what you should have done. I'm just glad I have you here now." He let her stay as she was. She'd been put through a lot of emotional trauma lately and he wanted her to get it all out if she could. He waited until he felt her relax against him and then tried to get an answer out of her. "So Feng Lan ... can I court you?" He asked her for the second time.
She was a little uncertain when she gave him her answer, "Ummmm ... I know you said it wasn't a marriage proposal ... but what exactly does it mean?"
He acted scandalized, "You have been in my literature class for how long, and I've never discussed this important part of history?! I am changing tomorrows lesson plans young lady! You will be fully versed in all the various forms of courtship with plenty of extracurricular practice to go along with it!" He wiggled his eyebrows at her in a teasing way before continuing. "Courtship ... well it differs depending on the culture you're in but it is pretty much the means we more refined men use to show a woman that they are a perfect match. It would require nothing more from you than to sit back and enjoy my attentions. I will be trying my hardest to convince you that you could not live without me. I will show you that I am not only brilliant and good looking, I'm fun and understanding and stable. I will get to shower you with gifts and take you to lots of dinners where you will be free to eat the whole menu if you like. There will be no jealous rages and no drama, and I will show you that I am so very very much in love with you, Feng Lan... So much in love." He looked like he wanted to kiss her and she held her breath. He was so close to her that when he spoke next, she could feel it on her cheek. "There is something else you should know before you give your permission ... I won't allow myself to touch you." Her eyebrows drew together and he smiled. "Dream about you and fill your head with ideas of us, yes." He cradled her head in his hand and used his thumb to slowly caress her lower lip, "and I don't think I could keep myself from teasing you." He pulled away and held her at arms length, "But anything else is forbidden. I will not ever do anything without your asking for it first. There should be no fear in courting. Only pleasure. Only the budding fragrance of an everlasting love between two souls who are destined to be together for all-" His words had been growing in volume and his eyes had begun to get all starry eyed like Gui's occasionally did when he was praising prince.
Feng Lan cut him of with a gentle whack to the head and laughed at him openly. "You're hopeless Gui!" She said grinning at him. "I thought I was going to get away from that once we weren't in game anymore." She reached up to smooth her hair from where she'd been laying her head against him and smiled at him. "Yes." She said simply nodding her head at him.
His eyes grew little wider as did his smile and he practically beamed at her. "Yes what Feng Lan?" He was almost bouncing he was so excited.
He was so cute, how could he possibly be her Professor? "Yes, Min Gui Wen, you can court me."
Suddenly he was a suave young man with the look of a killer bishie running his hands through his hair and sitting up straighter. Looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes and a devilish smirk, "Then be prepared ... I won't go easy on you." He said lowering his voice to an almost seductive level.
She was stunned staring at him unable to do anything ... and then he had to break the spell he'd cast by asking, "So, when can I meet your parents?".
She immediately wilted in dismay. "They won't be back for another two weeks." She replied glumly. She didn't really know what to expect from his form of courting, but with the display she'd just gotten and knowing him, she didn't want to wait two weeks for him to get permission. "Can't I just call them and ask?" She was practically whining.
Gui would have none of it, "Absolutely not. I have to make an impression. The way I see it, Ling Bin's been after you for eight years. That's eight years of making good impressions and being dependable and basically worming his way into their hearts. Eight years that I don't have. I am going to need every advantage I can get so that I can blow him out of the water. When I'm done, this won't even be a competition."
His words, spoken with a little too much relish, sounded like an ominous foreshadowing of what was to come. Suddenly, she found herself more worried than excited.
AN: There was a question in one of the reviews about Ling Bin being accepted back into the city. I wanted to point out that in the first chapter he was never banished. She only threatened to banish him if he didn't leave. He left, so he's not banished. Though he might feel like avoiding her for a while.
I am honestly looking for critisism. I have some doubts about the execution of my story and I would like to know if you guys would suggest any changes, or if you even have general comments. "This was too wordy" or "They're too out of character" That type of thing. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.
