I am so sorry, I completely forgot that I posted this. I gave it to my friend to read, but forgot to type it up and update the story... There's still one more chapter to go, but I haven't gotten around to typing it up yet, I can't find the notebook it's written in... But as soon as I find it, I'll type it up and update/finish the story :)

So, enjoy chapter 2 :)

Chapter Two

Sun Shang Xiang looked past Gan Ning. Although, she was laughing at him, as he showed off in front of the spying girls. Under the pretext that he was showing off for her. Something else had caught her eye. Her attention had been diverted to Lu Xun, again. Although no one had noticed, the moment he had walked into the garden. Scrolls and writing utensils clutched in his arms as he made his way to the large old elm tree. The wind playing with his soft brown hair, as he sat down under the shade of the tree. Laying the scrolls out in front of him and placing one on his lap, clutching a brush in his hand. Although he didn't realise it, she kept sneaking little looks at him every now and again. But of course, every time that she did. He wasn't ever looking her way, always too observed in his work. She always thought that Zhou Yu worked him too hard. Shang Xiang always just hoped that he was getting the rest that he needed.

Her heart had started pounding when she noticed him coming out; it always started pounding when he was near her, or whenever she thought about him. Not that he knew about it. Though she was surprised that she was the only one that could hear the sound of her pounding heart.

But when she noticed him get up, with an angry look upon his face. Her heart dropped. Sure, Gan Ning was amusing to be around. But he didn't make her feel the same way she felt whenever she was around Lu Xun. Gan Ning was one of her best friends, but he just wasn't Lu Xun.

'What are you frowning about?' Gan Ning asked, breaking through Shang Xiang's thoughts.

'Hmm... Oh, it's nothing...' Shang Xiang muttered, taking her eyes off where Lu Xun had been just moments before, and turning her attention back to him.

Gan Ning raised an eyebrow, looking sceptically at her.

'Nothing? It didn't seem like nothing.'

'Alright, I was looking at Xun, you happy?' She sighed, throwing her arms up in defeat.

Gan Ning smirked at her and rolled his eyes slightly. 'You'd think he'd notice, wouldn't you.'

'Notice, why would he notice?'

Gan Ning laughed and looked down at her, his eyes gleaming with his amusement. 'The amount of times he looks at you. It's honestly quite shocking that he hasn't noticed.'

Shang Xiang looked at Gan Ning in confusion, her faced tinged pink. 'He, looks at me...?'

Gan Ning laughed again. 'Well yeah, he does. Quite a lot actually.'

Shang Xiang smiled a little, but her smile quickly turned into a frown as doubts started to sneak into her mind.

'You're lying to me aren't you?' She demanded, frowning at him.

Gan Ning briefly closed his eyes and shook his head. 'Believe what you want, I know that he does.' He answered.

Shang Xiang crossed her arms over her chest, still frowning. 'I'm not going to believe you until I have some proof.' She said, and with that, she walked away.

'You waste your time doing that then. You know I'm right!' He called after her.

Shang Xiang clenched her fists. Why would he lie to her about something like that to her? He knows about her feelings towards Lu Xun. Why would he lie about something like that and get her hopes up. But then again... Maybe he wasn't lying. Maybe, he was telling the truth. Surely she would have noticed Lu Xun looking at her frequently. Sure, she has accidentally made eye contact with him, before looking away with a red face. But if he did look her way quite a lot, wouldn't they make eye contact a lot more then they do?

Shang Xiang shook her head. It didn't matter, even if Gan Ning was telling the truth. He probably didn't think of her in the same way. If there was some lucky girl that had taken hold of his heart. She was probably more academic, someone beautiful. Someone whose beauty shone like the moon and stars, like the Qiao sisters. Not someone like her.

Shang Xiang sighed sadly, who was she kidding. He would never think of her the same way. Most men were afraid of her. Sun Ce, Gan Ning and Ling Tong had all separately told her that only an insane man would take her to be his wife. They may have only been joking, but there was some truth in their words. A lot of other women had men lining up at their doors to ask for their hand in marriage. But not her. Her father had told her it was only because they were too scared, that they didn't feel worthy enough to have her as a wife. Yet both Da and Xiao were married. Her father had only said that to try and make her feel better, not because it was the truth. Or because there was any truth in his words. It was all said to make her feel better about herself not having any suitors.

Who was she kidding? No sane man would take her to be his wife, and especially not Lu Xun. Shang Xiang sighed, bowing her head as she walked on. She wasn't even sure where she was going. Just aimlessly walking around the endless corridors in the place, with a small hope that she'd run into a certain Wu prodigy. Then again, a small part of her dreaded the possibility of running into him. After what Gan Ning had said… she wasn't sure if she wanted to face him. Her face would probably burn up in embarrassment as that damn pirates words echoed in her mind. She could only imagine what his face would look like as he stared at her bright red face. No, she couldn't face him. She wasn't ready, well not yet… But she would be, eventually…

Shang Xiang sighed in frustration and sat down, her back leaning against a wall. Who was she kidding? At this rate; she'd never be ready. She would never be ready to face him and then, she would never find out if Gan Ning was telling the truth.

Shang Xiang placed her head in her hands and stared down at the floor. She was brave; she could face so many things without so much as a second thought. So why couldn't she face this? Out of the things that could have her scared senseless, why did it have to be this?

She sighed again and continued to stare glumly at the floor. Life, could be a real bitch at times.

Well, that's it for the second chapter, hope you enjoyed it. Review and tell me what you think please :)