The events of last night were still on my mind. I was so happy.. But we still had to make plans for the trip. I decided to ask him about that today, when I took a break from my work on the rice fields.

As I prepared for my trip to Yao's place, I saw a letter from Yao that was given to me a while ago. I picked it up to read.

'Dearest Lien, I am truly sorry for all the hardships that I have made you and your people suffer under my rule. Just remember that I do truly love you. Please never forget that.'

I sighed. His beautiful calligraphy had intrigued me, but the content had intrigued me further. This letter was from when I was under his rule for a long time. My people were rebelling against him, and that saddened me as much as it had saddened him. Well, the past is the past, and now I am my own country. I feel conflicted because my people do not want to be with him like I do.

I grabbed all of my necessary items, and went onto my motorcycle.

I walked up to his giant traditional Chinese home. It was so beautiful, and it reminded me of when I lived here. I spied Yao sitting in his garden filled with lotus flowers in the ponds, and bamboo surrounded the area. I saw a panda chewing on some bamboo. Yao really loves his pandas!

He saw me and invited me over to sit with him. I gladly strolled over and sat across from him. We sat there, sipping our tea and munching on some bao that China had made earlier.

"Yao? I was planning to ask you about when and how we are going to Paris. I've never been outside of Asia before, and I'm slightly afraid." Yao looked at me like that was the most silliest thing someone has said to him in a while. I looked away from him, blushing. "Westerners are strange, and you know it too!" Yao shifted his position on his seat. I looked at him again. "Yes, they are strange. But, new times are coming, and we have to make friends with them. They're becoming even more powerful than me!"

I sighed. "Yes, I suppose. But let us make our plans now!" I tried to smile at him, but it just made Yao laugh. I'm not the smiling type, you could say.

"I was going to check with you if we could go to visit Feli before we go to France. He's a good friend of mine, and like I said, I've never been in the Western Hemisphere." I finished my bao and sipped on my tea. "I guess we can go. I don't want to spend too much time there, however." There was a hint of jealousy in his voice, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"This is not funny!" Yao was way too cute, so I couldn't take him seriously. "Oh Yao. You know you're as intimidating as a baby panda." My comment made him blush beet red, making him even more adorable. "Oh, Yao! Show me around your place. I bet it has changed a lot since the last time I lived with you." Yao gladly accepted to take me around his vast country. I was so excited, how will it be like?

I looked around the bustling city of Beijing. It was nothing like I had imagined! It was still beautiful, but it looked more modernized than a lot of my country.

"Do you like it? I know it's very busy, but that's what makes it fun." Yao took my hand, and showed me the streets filled with delicious street food, little shops, and Chinese characters and advertisements lining everything. We had so much fun eating delicious Chinese food, and looking at Chinese temples and shrines. His country was so diverse-at one moment you could be in the midst of giant corporate buildings, and the other, surrounded by centuries old buildings and wildlife. I love his country.

It was night time, and the city was lit up still, since Beijing was a very busy city. We sat on towels we had placed on the ground, eating some pork dumplings that we had bought. I looked over at Yao, who was carrying a baby panda and coaxing it to eat a bamboo stalk.

"Yao, today was amazing. I loved every moment of it." I caught his attention, and he put the panda down. We stared into each other's eyes. "I agree. Today was amazing because I got to spend it with you." Then, he pulled me into a heart melting kiss.