(A/N: So. It's been a while, huh? I haven't given up on this story - I promise. Here's another chapter. Enjoy.)

zai jian
mandarin : goodbye

He walks into the cafeteria, looking for one face and one face only.

Hers.

And amazingly, the American boy isn't with her. Only Liang.

But—what's this? Liang is leaning over, whispering things in her ear. And he—takes her hand?—and begins to stroke it.

Red instantly fills his vision. He stalks over and slaps at their hands. Liang's head bolts up.

"What are you doing?" Cheng growls.

Liang looks surprised. "I just asked her out," he says calmly, "and she accepted. She's my girlfriend now, Cheng. Am I not allowed to touch my girlfriend?"

Cheng doesn't hear anything past 'asked her out.' He turns to Mei Ying seriously, his gaze desperate. Is it true?

She looks up through her dark hair at him, her brown eyes completely serious.

How.

Dare.

He.

Cheng doesn't remember what happens next. He knows that Liang was instantly sent to the nearest hospital; he knows that he was suspended from school and in danger of being expelled; he knows that Mei Ying cried once or twice or three times; but the next day, when he wakes up, he can't remember exactly what he did to Liang.

(-_-)

Flashback, half an hour earlier.

Mei Ying kicks fiercely at a pebble in front of her loafers, glaring at it throughout its whole journey as it lands once, twice, on a soft tuft of grass in the school quad.

"I can't promise it won't happen again, but I can promise that I'll always have a good reason."

That wasn't a proper answer. That wasn't a proper answer at all. Good reason? What good reason would there be for beating up Dre, whose only crime was making her happy? What good reason would there be for making her cry again?

"A pebble for your thoughts," Liang quips, casting a sympathetic glance toward the tuft of grass.

"Ha, ha," she says wearily. "How about you go away before I kick you?"

Liang draws back ever so slightly, but he still keeps up with Mei Ying. "Whoa. Little Miss Violent now, are we?"

She doesn't reply.

"Fine," Liang says stuffily. "I see how it is. Ignore me. Treat me like a cow. I can take it. I'm a man."

"It's just... What does he mean by that?" Mei Ying blurts. "If he always has a good reason, then he shouldn't promise it won't happen again! Or... or if he can't promise it won't happen again, then he shouldn't have a good reason! Or should he? What... what am I saying? Oh... I'm just confusing myself."

"And doing a splendid job of it, too," Liang notes. "You've got to get a game plan, girl."

"Game plan?" she repeats, feeling the unfamiliar word roll in her tongue.

"Yes. Game plan. G-A-M-E P-L-A-N. Basically, we've got to find a way to convince you that Cheng's absolutely heels-over-head and head-over-heels in love with you. Oh—and we have to convince Cheng that he's gotta stop bullying the American boy. Because, to be honest, I think that Tray is pretty cool."

"Dre, not Tray."

"Oh. Right."

Mei Ying slumps down. "I don't have any ideas, Liang," she says mournfully. "Personally, I think that Cheng loathes me. I could get a boyfriend, kiss him in front of the whole school, and Cheng wouldn't care a bit."

Liang's eyes widen.

Mei Ying blinks. "What?"

"That's it. You're a genius, Mei Ying!" Liang jumps to his feet, snapping his fingers. "Okay. Sit next to me at lunch, okay? And follow my lead. Whatever happens, you must follow me lead. Kapish?"

"Ka-what?"

"Never mind. American thing. Just remember, Mei Ying—follow my lead."

"I think I've got it, Liang. You've only said it around three times by now."

Liang salutes her. "With that, my fair lady, I shall bid you farewell! ...For twenty minutes." And he strides out of the quad, hands in his pockets, whistling a cheery tune.

(-_-)

Present time.

"Liang! Liang, are you alright?" Mei Ying dashes into the hospital room, tears pouring down her face. "You—are—so—stupid! What made you say such a thing?"

Liang coughs. "Hey. I'm not an old man. I'm a sprightly young fellow. I'll heal quickly." He closed his eyes. "Besides, it was worth it. Didn't you see that look of pure, untainted jealousy on his face?"

"Well, sorry if I didn't notice it," Mei Ying says frantically. "I was a little distracted by the gallons of blood on the floor!"

Liang attempts to snort, but winces in pain. "You're exaggerating, woman. If I lost gallons of blood, I wouldn't be alive." He grins. "Besides, I know kung fu. Sure, I'm worse than Cheng, but I can defend myself." He lowers his voice. "Don't tell anyone this, but... other than a slight headache, I'm not actually hurt."

Mei Ying stares from the bandages around his head to the oxygen support beside him to the cast around his foot. "Sure you aren't."

"No! It's true!" Liang sits up. "I just hate school. Yunno, if you've got a chance to miss a day, you might as well take it!"

"Are you sure you're Asian?"

"I checked my family tree a few days ago when I was feeling insecure." Liang settle back down. "I just don't like school, yunno? My family—they want me to be a doctor, but I don't want to be a doctor at all." He shudders.

"I... I guess that's kind of like me," Mei Ying says. "I enjoy music, but I'm not quite sure I want to do it as a career."

"It's nice to see that you two are already relaying your deepest dreams and darkest secrets to each other."

Mei Ying whips around, fast as a lightning strike. Cheng is standing in the doorway, his arms crossed.

Liang grins cheekily. "Well. I hope you're here to apologize."

Cheng's eyes narrow. "As a matter of fact... yes."

Mei Ying doesn't miss the look of intense surprise that passes of Liang's face, and neither does Cheng. "What?"

"I'm here to apologize," Cheng repeats curtly. "But I'm here to gain an apology as well."

Liang rolls his eyes. "And thus, the hero shows his true colors," he says dramatically. "Fine. What do you want an apology for?"

"Lying," Cheng says. "You aren't really Mei Ying's boyfriend."

"Oh, really?" Liang turns to Mei Ying and puckers his lips. "Come on, Mei-Mei. Give your Liang a nice kiss."

Cheng's face instantly flashes red; he grabs the nearest pillow and bashes Liang's head with it. Liang, foreseeing the attack, swiftly catches the pillow and twists it, disarming Cheng.

"Naughty boy," he says. "You shouldn't envy other people's happiness."

Cheng's breath comes out in harsh gasps. "Liang!"

"You could've asked her out first," Liang points out. "If you really fancied her all that much, why didn't you just say so?"

Cheng's eyes turn to Mei Ying. His chocolate gaze makes her stomach turn over.

"I don't fancy her!" he says fiercely. "Liang, I don't fancy her! I lo—" But he catches himself in time and cuts off.

"Yes?" Liang prompts eagerly.

Cheng takes a deep breath. "I don't fancy her. I think that she's annoying. She's always flirting with different guys to try to make them fancy her, but it'll never work." His eyes, once warm, are now cold. "You hear that, Mei-Mei? You can flirt with every male on this planet, but they will never fancy you back. So try all you want with that American boy. Try all you want with Liang. No matter what you do, you can never be together with them." He steps close. "Never."

Mei Ying feels tears shooting up to her eyes. Flirting? Me? With different guys? "You are a jerk," she says through gritted teeth, "and I wish I never met you." She turns to Liang. "I'm going to go now. Tell me when you feel better."

Liang says nothing. Even he knows that the atmosphere is too tense for a quip.

Mei Ying makes her way toward the door, passing Cheng. He snatches her wrist.

"You'd better stay here," he hisses.

"What for? So that you can insult me again?" Mei Ying steels her gaze away from him. "I'm really disappointed in you, Cheng."

He releases her wrist. She feels his shock as she steps away.

"Zai jian," he whispers. Goodbye.

Mei Ying would never know what he meant. Was he going to die? Was he not going to see her again? Was he going to keep away from her? Or was he saying goodbye to his hopes? His dreams? His desire for Mei Ying?

Cheng knew.

He was saying goodbye to his freedom. He would study to go to the same college as her; he would work more jobs just to stay in the same cities as her; he would use his time to make sure she wasn't hanging out with other boys.

Zai jian, freedom. Zai jian.

(A/N: Oops. Little mistake there, Cheng? Just maybe. Hm.

Review please. If you remember. More reviews = more story. Less reviews = more story. Because a true writer will write regardless of feedback.

...But seriously, please review. Thanks.)

(Random note: Mei-Mei means 'little sister' in Chinese. So Liang used Mei-Mei as a nickname for Mei Ying, but he could also be referring to her as a little sister, which makes things a bit more weird in Cheng's opinion.)