Qi Long closed the documents files in front of him and leaned back on his chair, sighing. Though he had been reading those reports for more than an hour, he couldn't, for the life of him, remember what they said. He had been distracted all morning, and the reason was obvious. Qi Long took out a piece of paper from his pocket. There was really no need to for him to look at it again, seeing as he had basically memorized the numbers written there. But there was something comforting about those numbers. Perhaps it was the way they were shaped, elegant yet straightforward, moving alo-

The paper suddenly disappeared from his hand. Qi Long looked up, startled, only to be greeted by Yuan Hong's mischievous grin. Yuan Hong glanced at the piece of paper he just yanked out. His grin widened and his eyes seemed to gleam with wickedness.

"So," he said, waving the paper, "this is why you were so out of it all day."

Qi Long grabbed the piece of paper back and quickly put it in his pockets. Undeterred, Yuan Hong sat down, his expression amused.

"From my experience," he continued, his voice mockingly serious, "that number must be from a girl." He leaned in conspiratorially, "A very pretty one."

Qi Long flipped opened the documents again, determined to ignore him.

"C'mon, Ge. Give me a little something. What's she like? Is she my type?"

"Your type?" Qi Long repeated, "Since when do you have a type? You'll go for anyone."

"Ge," Yuan Hong said, looking appropriately offended, "You're talking as if I have no standards."

Qi Long continued to leaf through the documents, though the corner of his mouth twitched, "Do you?" he asked.

"Of course!" Yuan Hong answered, his expression somber, "I have some very specific standards," he sat back, "One," he put up one finger, "she has to be a girl. Two," he put up the second finger, "She has to have always been a girl."

Qi Long shook his head in both disbelief and amusement, but otherwise said nothing.

"So tell me," Yuan Hong pressed, "who is she?"

Still nothing.

"If you don't tell me," Yuan Hong said threateningly, "I'll call her and ask myself."

Qi Long's head whipped up. He stared at his cousin for a minute, his eyes narrowed, "You can't have memorized her number already."

"Ge, are you forgetting who you're talking to?"

"You're bluffing," Qi Long said, but his voice wavered slightly.

Yuan Hong took out his phone and announced the number as he pressed them one at a time, "9-7-2-2-2-3-4-"

Qi Long reached out to grab the phone but Yuan Hong moved it just out of his reach. Qi Long's glare was only met with another grin.

"Is she pretty?" Yuan Hong asked.

Qi Long sat back down, defeated, "Yes."

"Just pretty? Or beautiful?"

"She has a traditional sort of face." Qi Long dutifully answered, "She's not exactly gorgeous. Her beauty is more subtle, the kind that only grows the more you look at her. The kind that mesmerizes you before you even know it."

"Wow," Yuan Hong said, "Ge, I didn't know you could talk like that. If only I was a girl and we weren't related."

Qi Long glared at him, "Are we done now?"

Yuan Hong laughed, "Not even close. Where did y'all met?"

Qi Long sighed, knowing that he was on a long road, "At the museum, in the Qing Dynasty exhibit."

"Since when do you go to museums?"

"I just happened to stop by."

"Ah," Yuan Hong sighed, "A fated meeting. My favorite kind. Though you two disliked each other from the beginning, somehow Fate keeps bringing you together. Eventually, you will fall for one another as you found that she is like no other girl you have ever met, and she discovered that beneath your cold, arrogant exterior, there is a warm heart waiting for love. Of course, before you two could get together, there are many obstacles to be overcome, usually in the form of parent's disapproval or love rivals. She will have to compete with your fiancé who is completely obsessed over you and refused to back off. In those hard times, she will turn to the one man that can always make her laugh, your nicer, better looking cousin, Yuan Hong, who is torn between his love for his Ge and the only woman that have ever made his heart skipped a beat."

He placed his hand over his heart and shook head dramatically.

Qi Long stared at him for a minute. "You really need to stop watching those idol dramas."

"Oh, come on. It could happen."

"Alright. One, we do not disliked each other from the beginning. In fact, I like her very much from the beginning. Two, it's been a couple of days already and Fate still have not bought us back together. Three, I do not have a cold, arrogant exterior, or disapproving parents, or an obsessed fiancé. Four, you are neither nicer nor better looking, and there have been plenty of women who have made your heart skip a beat. Your problem is not falling in love, it's staying in love."

"Wait," Yuan Hong said, holding up his hand, "It's been a couple of days already and you still haven't called her yet?"

"That's what you got from all of what I've said?"

"Ge."

Qi Long shrugged, "I didn't want to scare her."

Yuan Hong sighed, shaking his head, "You still have so much to learn. Listen, young grasshopper, if that girl is indeed like how you described, there have to be other guys going after her. You don't want her to get away do you?"

Qi Long shook his head.

"Exactly." Yuan Hong said, "So you have to act fast," he thought for a minute, "I know. Instead of calling her, why don't you pretend to run into her? Play up that whole "Fate" thing?"

"How am I supposed to do that?" Qi Long asked, "I don't know anything about her beside her name and phone number."

"Are you kidding? Just use the internet. With those two things, you can find out her home address, where she works, her family history, even her credit reports, if you want to."

Qi Long stared at his cousin, "Is this how you get girls? By stalking them?"

"Hey!" Yuan Hong said defensively, "I don't stalk girls. I just meet them in preplanned situations."

Qi Long shook his head, "Thanks for the advice. But I think I'm just going to call her."

"When?" Yuan Hong challenged, "Two weeks from now when someone else have already wooed her?"

"No," Qi Long replied, "Today. After work."

"And what are you going to say when you called her?"

"Ask her out."

"Where?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?"

"You don't want to sound like an idiot when you called her. It's better to plan ahead."

"Fine. I was thinking that Italian restaurant down the street. It's famous for its desserts. Girls like sweet stuff, right?"

Yuan Hong leaned back, smiling, "Ah, young grasshopper. You are learning."