Disclaimer: 1/2 Prince belongs to Yu Wo. Chen Sunnia kind of belongs to me?

A/N: Many thanks to Tiggipi for helping me out with the real-life description of Nan Gong Zhui. You are my 1/2 Prince knowledge guru! And thanks for everyone that reviewed and for the feedback. If Sunnia and Anson sound like odd Taiwanese names, I apologize. When I traveled to Taiwan last summer, I met two individuals by those names, really liked them, and so just decided to use those because they seemed rather unique.

Hopefully the next couple chapters start to build on Sunnia's character. She tends to get away from me and write herself (very obvious in chapter four). The point is to not immediately fall in love with her. In the end she's still Ice Phoenix, but hopefully you will start to see a reason behind her madness.

The more I write of this story, the more I also realize it's a self-reflection. When my long-term boyfriend dumped me last summer, I stopped believing in happy endings. Writing this story is like my own chicken soup for the soul, helping me sort out my own emotions in tandem with the characters.

Chapter Three: Run Away

Chen Sunnia returned home after a day filled with traveling and visiting her soon-to-be new university. She kicked off her shoes, threw her satchel on the floor, and flopped gracelessly onto a nearby bean bag chair. She closed her eyes as she sank into the depths of her plushie seat. Her brother would be back any moment. No doubt he would ask her about her day and interrogate her about every little detail regarding her visit to XXX University. She liked the campus and she was pleased about her new advisor. The only thing she had left to do was find an apartment in the area.

She opened her eyes to look around her fully furnished living space. She would miss living here, but she just had to get out. She needed to be on her own, away from her brother. He was always nosing around her business and acting like he knew better. She didn't care that he was older and had more life experience. How was she supposed to learn anything with him always hovering over her and never letting her figure out how to resolve her own bad decisions?

Maybe if he wasn't so overprotective she wouldn't have run to Fan in the first place. Maybe she would have been more keen to leave him when he turned out to be rubbish. It hadn't been very appealing when her only other option was to go back to being taken care of by her overzealous brother. Fan had also been extremely handsome…the best-looking man she'd ever laid eyes upon until Prince…

Sunnia shook her head, willing herself to stop thinking about Fan. It was a mistake. Fan was no good. She had to keep reminding herself of the fact.

She stood up and walked into the kitchen to begin making supper. Despite her current annoyance at her brother, she knew he always meant the best. He'd been looking out for her ever since their parents passed away when she was twelve. He worked extremely hard to ensure that her childhood continued to remain full of love and as much happiness as a single person could offer. Now he worked as a policeman, doing the job that he always knew best, protecting others. He always went above and beyond, focusing too much attention on other people and forgetting himself in the process. That's why Sunnia managed their finances. It was the least she could do to show him how much she loved and appreciated everything that he did for her.

The door opened. "Sunnia, I'm home."

Black quarter boots came off and were placed methodically by the door. Then off came the badge and he loosened the collar of his uniform by unbuttoning the top. Chen Anson always followed the same routine.

"Welcome home," Sunnia smiled as she prepped her vegetables for cooking. "I'm making curry tonight. Do you mind?"

She watched as her brother's eyes lit up. She was making his favorite dish. "Of course not!" he answered enthusiastically and walked over to lightly ruffle the top of her head in approval. "Sunnia, you're the best."

She hid an embarrassed grin and tried to act every bit the role of an annoyed little sister. "When will you stop treating me like a little girl?"

Her brother grinned right back, his eyes almost on par with hers due to his short height. "When you stop acting like one?"

She waved her hefty chopping knife at him. He laughed in amusement and took a step back. "Alright, alright, I get it." Anson held his hands up in surrender. "You're just growing up too quickly."

Sunnia crossed her arms and huffed. "Brother, I'm only three years younger than you."

"A lot can happen to a person in three years."

"Brother…"

"I know, I know. You're a mature, young woman that can handle herself," her brother allowed her that comment. Sunnia knew he didn't believe in the least what he had just said. He gracefully changed the subject before they went into another argument. "How was your university visit? Did you enjoy yourself? Did everyone treat you well?"

She hesitated for a moment at his last question. It was probably best not to tell him about the other student she'd be working with, at least not until she knew more about him. He was a bit odd with her. What was his name again? She didn't like the fact that he recognized her when she didn't know a thing about him.

"Yes, brother, my visit was just fine. My advisor is nice and the project I'll be working on has a lot of potential for being revolutionary to the field."

He smiled brightly and gave her the most tender look possible. "Sis, you're doing so well for yourself. I'm sure Mom and Dad would be incredibly proud of you if they were still here."

Sunnia felt her throat close up. "Anson, don't say things like that."

"I'm just telling you the truth."

Her parents. It was always a touchy subject. She didn't like to think of them. She hated being reminded; if it wasn't for her…

"Sis, are you crying?"

"No," Sunnia forced herself to say. "It's the onions. Blasted, stupid, tear-gas-filled vegetables." She chopped them with renewed vigor as she spoke.

Her brother thankfully knew when to take a hint. "I'm going up to my room for a bit. Let me know when dinner's ready."

Sunnia acknowledged his departure with a nod. She couldn't wait until tonight when she could log back into Second Life and escape from her reality. Maybe moving to this new university would help, but for right now, Second Life and donning the role of Ice Phoenix was her only reprieve.

"I love you, brother, but you have to stop sheltering me and let me learn how to live my life."

Unknown to her, Anson heard her quiet whisper.

~o~0~o~

Ice Phoenix managed to escape for a brief moment from the Finance Department. She knew this was about the time that Prince walked to the kitchen for his afternoon snack. She would "pretend" to bump into him under the guise of getting a late lunch and hopefully things would progress from there. She smirked to herself. The plan was almost foolproof.

She slowed to a halt, though, right outside the music hall. She heard the sounds of Wu Qing and Prince bickering. Wu Qing sounded annoyed. Prince sounded downright miserable.

"You just have to ruin everything that's good for you in this life, don't you?" Wu Qing reprimanded. "Why couldn't you have just liked him?"

"I can't control my feelings, Wu Qing! You can't force yourself to like another."

Ice Phoenix pressed her ear close to the door, straining to hear every word of the conversation. She could only guess who they were talking about. It was pretty obvious considering the scene she'd stumbled upon last night and his unusual absence from the game today.

"Why isn't he online? You talked to him. Is it because of me?" Prince despaired. "I didn't want to hurt him. He's one of my best friends. He's like my older brother!"

"I'm your brother," Wu Qing reminded. Phoenix tried hard not to gasp at this new knowledge lest she reveal her location. "Stupid, when are you going to see that the last thing he wants you to think of when you look at him is an image of an older brother? He loves you. You just broke his heart. So yes, he's not logging in because of you."

Prince choked up for a moment as he tried not to cry in front of Wu Qing. "Can you give him a message for me? Tell him that I'm sorry. That I never meant to—"

"No."

"Yang Ming!" Prince pleaded, momentarily forgetting their place in Second Life.

"And he doesn't want you bugging him at school either. Not until he's ready to talk to you again."

"But I just want—"

"Stop being so selfish, and give him some space. Things aren't going back to normal." Silence followed Wu Qing's harsh words. Phoenix heard Prince's voice wobble as he forced the next sentence out of his mouth.

"Stupid brother, what would you even know about love?"

"A lot more than you…"

Sudden footsteps broke the silence, breaking Phoenix's concentration from the emotional conversation occurring inside the hall. Gui's voice sounded from the end of the hallway. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Phoenix backed away from the door looking flustered. The bard did not look down upon her kindly. "I…er…"

"Prince is not in the mood to deal with anyone right now."

She shifted her gaze to her feet and bit her lip before matching Gui's stare brazenly and asking, "Then why are you here?"

Gui's mouth dropped open and he gazed at her in astonishment. He seemed momentarily taken aback. "Prince needs help practicing the new songs for the next concert."

Phoenix gave a dry laugh. "So basically you're just here to cozy up to Prince while he's feeling down. I'm not stupid. I know that Wicked and you were love rivals, and now that Wicked's out of the picture we all have a better chance of getting together with—"

Slap!

Phoenix held a hand to her reddened cheek. Gui stared up at her guiltily, the anger slowly fading from his purple eyes. Phoenix could barely think. "You just…"

"Do not ever place me on your level. I love Prince in a way that you never will. He's more than just a handsome figure. He's the most precious individual I've ever met," Gui willed himself to speak evenly and not let himself become overly emotional again.

Phoenix felt herself starting to cry. She turned her head so that the bard would not see the liquid pooling in her icy blue eyes. Of course she could never view Prince as anything more than just a physical attraction. How could she ever fall in love again? Fan had ruined her. She would never let herself make such a stupid mistake again.

"One of these days you'll break just like the rest of us," Phoenix heard herself say. "You'll learn that love is a lie and the only thing left to appreciate is beauty."

Gui shook his head at her, feeling pity for the poor girl standing in front of him. "You need to stop letting your bitterness get the best of you, Phoenix. Pain and loss are all a part of growing up."

Phoenix turned away to leave. "You wouldn't even know the half of it," she muttered before fleeing down the hallway, leaving Gui to wonder just how much pain Phoenix had endured during her short life thus far.

~o~0~o~

Ling Bin tossed restlessly in his bed. Sleep was a wistful dream. Every time he closed his eyes, Xiao Lan flooded his mind. Her smile, her eyes, her laugh…memories of her consumed his entire being. His heart ached in response.

Feng Yang Ming had been nice enough to call him and ask him if everything was alright. He'd put on a better face than how he actually felt. He conveyed his sadness and need to have distance from Xiao Lan, but he hid the depths of his despair deep within his heart. He didn't want to appear pathetic. He must have looked so stupid for pining over the same girl for eight years. Yet he believed in a silly dream called first love. Xiao Lan was the first girl he'd ever had such strong emotional feelings toward. He naively thought that it meant they were destined to be together. That's why he kept holding onto her, even after she moved away, even after she assumed the identity of Prince, even after she was no longer the Xiao Lan he remembered.

It was all a lie.

He'd wasted eight years loving a girl that didn't love him back. He felt like the world's biggest idiot.

Yet he couldn't blame anyone but himself. He'd seen all the warning signs and he'd ignored every single one. For what? For a dream.

"Doooon't stop, belieeeving…" The radio played faintly in the background. He scoffed. Of course it was playing the most ironic song in comparison to his life right now.

He rolled over again and very unsuccessfully tried to clear his mind and fall asleep.

~o~0~o~

Weeks went by. Ling Bin continually forced himself out of bed and dragged himself to school. He was like a machine just going through the daily actions of his life. School was the only thing that kept him going. He was at least rationale enough to know that he needed to get a good job after graduation. He couldn't afford to succumb to depression over a stupid thing like love. He needed to make something out of himself. Maybe then Xiao Lan…

No.

He shook his head to clear himself of that thought. That was wishful and irrational thinking. It was a thought that should not be entertained.

He entered the lounge to grab his usual morning cup of coffee before heading to his work desk. A voice startled him out of his machine-like trek.

"Hello. It's nice to see you again. I feel really bad, but I forgot your name since we last met."

Ling Bin blinked bleary eyes at the redheaded girl sitting before him. She held her right hand out in a friendly gestured. He shook it dazedly, trying to recollect today's date. Was it already the start of the winter trimester?

"Phoenix…" he murmured as he remembered their encounter from weeks prior.

She frowned, looking disappointed. "Chen Sunnia," she reminded him. "I'm only Ice Phoenix in Second Life. And your name again is…?"

Ling Bin finally forced himself to snap out of it and pay attention to the real world instead of his depressing daydreams. "Ah, sorry," he apologized and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Zhuo Ling Bin. Is it your first day here?"

Chen Sunnia smiled. "It is! I'm here on campus today, but I don't have any classes until tomorrow afternoon. I thought I would just drop in and get familiar with my surroundings."

It had been so long since Ling Bin had actually conversed with someone outside of talking to his advisor and the students he TA-ed for. It was almost like he had forgotten what it was like to communicate with another human being. "Oh, ah…I could show you around if you're interested. I don't have anything pressing to do until after lunch."

Chen Sunnia smiled even more brightly. "That would be great!" she exclaimed. "Professor Kao only showed me around the department so I didn't get to see anything else other than my own exploring around campus."

Ling Bin couldn't help but stare at her. She was so lively…and cheery. It was such a stark contrast to how he'd been feeling these past couple weeks. She continued to babble on and on and he was embarrassed to admit he didn't hear a single word she said.

"Zhuo Ling?"

His name brought him back to the present. He looked down to see her frowning up at him. "Er…right, let's head out!" He tried to cover for himself. It surprisingly worked.

"Oh good, you were looking kind of spacey for a moment. I hope that's not what all graduate students in this department look like," she teased. "My brother will throw a fit if I were to always seem so worn out."

Ling Bin faltered for a moment at her comment. "I look worn out?"

Chen Sunnia paused and stared up at him quizzically. "Well, I, er…" She didn't know how to phrase this since she was talking to a man she barely knew. She wasn't sure how he'd take it. "You kind of look like you just lost your puppy…or something…"

How long had he been looking so forlorn? No one had said anything to him. Why was this new girl the one to point it out to him? If she noticed, how many other people had? He realized how silly he'd been acting these past several weeks.

He suddenly laughed in amusement at himself, causing Sunnia's heart to skip momentarily at the smile on his face. She'd seen him smile before, but it had looked so fake. His eyes had never matched his smile, but now they glittered with mirth. "Forgive me. I've been having a rough couple weeks." At her look of terror he added, "But don't worry. It's all personal. Nothing related to school."

Her gaze seemed to soften. "Good, you almost gave me a heart attack there, Zhuo Ling. Making me think that school here could be that hard."

He smiled at her again. "So where do you want to go first?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. "The library! I'm sure I'll spend a lot of sleepless nights there."

As they walked out the door and onto the campus grounds, Ling Bin felt lighter for the first time in weeks. What was it about Chen Sunnia that suddenly made him wake up and see the world? As she continued to babble as she walked next to him, he thought about how strange it was that this same girl was Ice Phoenix. How could someone that appeared so genuine and chipper in real life be the same girl that was so superficial in Second Life? Unless this was also a fake persona that she'd put on…

If so, what was she hiding?

"Zhuo Ling?"

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't listening," he admitted guiltily, picking up on her direct and straight-forward style.

"Sheesh, if you're any indication of what my mind will become from being here, things aren't looking up."

He blinked at her boldness before surprising her with a handsome smirk. He crossed his arms. "I'll have you know—"

"Zhuo-gege…" A quiet voice sounded from behind.

Chen Sunnia watched as Zhuo Ling froze up entirely. The smile dropped from his face and a look of indescribable pain filled his eyes.

"Xiao Lan," he answered before turning around to face the one girl he'd been avoiding since that fateful night three weeks ago.

~0~o~0~

A/N: Special thanks again to my beloved beta-reader Astroelvengoddess for being an awesome best friend and a great editor. The next chapter is already written so should be posted shortly. Regardless, if you have time please be nice and leave a review on your thoughts for this chapter. Thx! ;)