Favorite Girl – Chapter 7: "A Broken Heart"
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I never thought that something like this would happen to me.
Sakura touched her lips, remembering what happened a few days ago. She was kissed by Li Syaoran, a guy whom she met two years ago and now a superstar.
Her heart thumped; she always got that kind of feeling every time she was with him, ever since two years ago, even before he was famous. It didn't make any difference whether he was just a guy singing in an alley or a superstar. She was already drawn to him back then.
She looked outside the window while sitting inside a train. Syaoran invited her to visit him and his mother during the weekend. The two of them were already in Tokyo now. Osaka was the last city of his tour, and he already returned to Tokyo a few days ago.
She remembered when he called her on the phone and told her:
'My mother really wants to meet you in person, Sakura.'
And now as Sakura thought about his mother wanting to see her, her heart started to pound even harder.
What was she to him? Actually, what were they? What was the meaning of the kiss that they shared? Being a superstar, did it allow him to kiss any girls he wanted?
She quickly shook her head in denial. How could she think of him as someone who would do that? She thought that she knew him, but during these past two years, there must have been a lot of things happening to him which she didn't know.
She needed to calm down now, but she couldn't control her feelings. She was so flattered, yet so nervous at the same time.
In short, the journey to Tokyo seemed like ages!
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"Mom, she'll be here shortly. She's already with Brad now," Syaoran told his mother after he hung up the phone. He really wanted to pick up Sakura at the train station instead of just waiting at his mother's apartment, but it sounded so risky. Brad insisted that he would pick her up and drive her.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Yelen clasped her hands in excitement. She glanced at herself in the mirror and checked her appearance.
Syaoran found it really amusing. Was she nervous now that she was finally able to meet Sakura?
"You look excited." He couldn't hide his smile as he looked at Yelen.
She quickly turned to face him. "Syaoran, she is as special to me as she is to you." Her eyes were beaming with happiness.
He smiled and hugged her, feeling so grateful to have both she and Sakura in his life.
Not so long after that, the bell rang, and he walked to answer it. He already knew who the guests were, though. He opened the door and found Brad standing with Sakura behind.
"Well, she's here," Brad said. "Don't worry, it was a safe journey," he informed.
Syaoran looked at Sakura, whose face was still hidden under her hoodie. He was glad that she did take his advice to cover herself. He didn't want anything bad happen to her if someone found out that she was visiting him. Even though the securities who guarded the building were very strict, reporters and his fans always found a way to peep at the entrance.
"Thanks, Brad." He poked Brad on the shoulder, glad that Brad did a good job.
Brad smiled and walked off, leaving them alone.
"Hey… you okay?" Syaoran asked Sakura, for she was silent.
She just nodded quietly.
"Well then, come in." He held her hand as they walked in through the door. After closing the door, he faced her and took the hoodie off her head slowly.
Emerald eyes stared at him. Those innocent eyes…
He smiled as he looked at her. She was as beautiful as always. He couldn't help but hug her, feeling relieved that she was finally here. "Thanks for coming," he said sincerely. He could feel her hands brushing against his back as she also wrapped her arms around him.
As Yelen walked into the site, the sound of her footsteps got their attention.
He pulled off from Sakura and introduced her. "Mom, Sakura's here."
Yelen looked so contented that he even thought that she got tears in her eyes. She smiled at Sakura lovingly.
"Sakura, she's my mother," he whispered to Sakura.
Sakura quickly straightened herself up. "I'm Sakura. Thank you for inviting me here."
He could see that she was pretty nervous, and he chuckled at that.
Yelen quickly gave her a warm hug. "Sakura, I'm so happy that you're here. Thank you, my dear."
It seemed like Sakura wasn't expecting it that she just blushed in respond.
Yelen then dragged her to the sofa and sat with her, holding her hands. "So, what would you like to drink? Would you like some tea? You must be hungry too from the journey," Yelen offered kindly and was about to get up to go to the kitchen.
He quickly interrupted her, "Mom, let me do it." He went to the kitchen to prepare the teas and the food. He was cooking a pasta for them: farfalle with bacon, peas and sage. It was one of his best dishes.
"Syaoran here has some wonderful cooking skills. He's been doing that since he was very young."
He could hear his mother telling Sakura about it. "I can hear you," he shouted from the kitchen and laughed.
Hearing that, Yelen also laughed. "Oh, come on, honey. It's not something that you should be ashamed of," she joked.
He glanced at them and smiled as he saw them chatting in the living room. He was so happy that they were getting close.
Sakura never thought that his mother would be so friendly. She admired Yelen, who was talking to her with enthusiasm. Yelen was so beautiful and so kind. To be here in Yelen's place was such an honor.
Syaoran had told Sakura that his mother preferred living in an apartment while he was on tour. The house which he just bought was too big for Yelen when she was alone. Nevertheless, in Sakura's opinion, Yelen's apartment was still quite big. To be exact, it wasn't an apartment. It was a penthouse!
"Thank you, Sakura…" As Yelen said those words, her voice was so tender, and her eyes became teary.
Sakura stared at her with wonder. What made her become so emotional?
"For having faith in my son," Yelen continued.
Sakura was lost for words. Finally, she could find her voice and responded, "He is gifted," she said truthfully.
"And thank you for believing in that, before I even recognized it." Eyes sparkling with happiness, Yelen looked at Sakura intently. "It's no wonder then that he insisted to buy a guitar a long time ago." She thought about those old times, a smile formed on her lips. "The first guitar that he owns, I bought it after a lot of hard work."
Sakura remembered that he told her before that they used to live very poorly, and that his mother had to work long hours to afford their living. It must have been hard for his mother, being a single parent in such a tough living.
"He still keeps and uses it until now, for sure."
Sakura laughed with her, feeling the joy Yelen had.
"You may think that he's a superstar now. But actually, he's just the same person. My son never changed," the last sentence was said very firmly.
As Yelen looked into her eyes, she could feel what Yelen was feeling inside. Syaoran was the same person, after all. She just smiled in return.
"Please, promise me, my dear… that you will stay by his side and look after him."
Sakura was like-- What? Did his mother really say that? Why her…?
She didn't have any more time to wonder because he just came back from the kitchen to mingle with them.
"What did I miss? Talking about me, aren't you?" He raised his brow playfully while putting the dishes on the dining table.
"Oh, look at that! Syaoran… This is wonderful." Yelen clasped her hands in delight, amazed at his work.
There, she went on again. He could see that she was really proud of him. "Well, isn't it just a pasta?" He shrugged, smiling awkwardly.
She crossed her arms and smiled, shaking her head. "Well… Look at that, Sakura. Every time I make him shy, he's always irritated like that. Just like his father."
He couldn't believe that Yelen just said that. The smile on his face vanished in a second. She couldn't just…
"You mean, Mr Li?"
And Sakura, couldn't she just ignore what his mother said?
"He's dead," Syaoran quickly told Sakura, his voice unbearably cold.
Yelen looked at him in shock, worries written all over her face. Yes, she just ruined everything.
Just one word about his father, and it was enough to make him crazy. Why did she have to mention about his father when he didn't even exist? He better be not existed…
Sakura stared at Syaoran with wonder, and he looked away. He just couldn't look at her… not when he was like this. He stomped out of that place and went to the balcony instead, clenching his fist in anger.
"Syaoran!" Yelen called her son as he was walking away. She couldn't believe what she said earlier. She turned to look at Sakura, with concern. She could see that Sakura was pretty confused now. "Sakura, he's always like that every time I mention about his father."
Hearing that, many questions started to pop up in Sakura's mind. What happened to his father? Why wasn't he here? And why did Syaoran seem to hate him that much?
She knew that Syaoran was not feeling good right now, and she was worried about him. "Please, excuse me." She got up from the chair, and Yelen just nodded silently. In fact, she could see from Yelen's eyes that Yelen was telling her to go after him and comfort him.
She walked to the balcony and saw him leaning against the railing, his back facing her. "Syaoran, the food will get cold if we don't—" she stopped short when he turned around to face her.
His expression showed just how angry and hurt he was now.
"Syaoran…"
"You must be surprised, aren't you?" He wanted to laugh at himself. This was the state that he didn't want to reveal to her, but she knew already now. "Why I'm becoming like this."
She quickly said, "No, I'm sorry! I didn't know that he's—"
"That he's dead?" He looked at her sharply. Yeah, at least that's what he wanted to think about his father. It was such a cruel statement, but he cared not. That person was not even a father to him. That person abandoned him and his mother, and it was something that he didn't yet forgive.
Sakura was still swallowing the information he just shared. Was his father really dead?
"When did he—"
"No idea," he cut her off immediately. "I have never met him my entire life." Those words, although they represented the truth that he knew a long time ago, still wrenched at his heart.
She gasped at hearing that, covering her mouth with her hand. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't imagine being in his position, for she always had her father's love. And indeed, it was something that she treasured so much. It must have been really painful to know that the person whom he kept in his heart abandoned him.
Without her realizing it, tears already formed in her eyes. She closed her eyes, and the tears began to drop.
"Sakura, why are you crying?" he asked, his voice so soft that it was barely a whisper.
"Because you can't…" she said heartbrokenly, her voice filled with pain.
He looked at the scene before his eyes in disbelief. Why did she have to shed tears because of his father? He's not even worth it!
Syaoran's jaw clenched, and he quickly pulled her into his arms as she began to sob quietly.
Suddenly, the tense in his body started to go away. He found himself calming down as he hugged her tightly. He closed his eyes, and now he could only feel her warmth while her soft sob sounded like a melody in his ear.
From the living room, Yelen watched her son and the girl in his arms, sighing in relief. She thanked God that he managed to calm down. The scene before her was such a beautiful thing, even more so than the stars shining above them.
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"Li Syaoran! Congratulations! Your Japan Tour was a blast! Do you have anything to say to your fans?"
"Li Syaoran, when is your next album?"
"Li! Are you collaborating with other artists in the mean time?"
Questions upon questions were thrown at Syaoran while he was walking to the stage inside the press conference room. The securities guarded him tightly, and Brad was close beside him.
"Please, take it easy. He will answer your questions one by one," Yue warned all the reporters in the room, eyeing them sharply.
Syaoran stood at the center of the stage and straightened himself up. He coughed, warning them to be quite. The noises stopped instantly. "I would like to say thanks to all the people who have supported me all this time, especially my fans and those who have helped me in organizing this tour."
They began to write his speech.
"I would also like to thank those who took part in producing my latest album. Of course, the tour was a major step for me to aim higher." He was indeed feeling contented that the tour was a success.
The people gathered in the room started to get noisy again as they began to throw more questions.
Well… This was something he was used to nowadays, wasn't this? Answering questions, no matter how boring or crazy they were.
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"Good afternoon, Mrs. Li," the owner of a flower shop kindly greeted Yelen, who was walking in. "Looking for flowers as usual?" As Yelen was her loyal customer, she knew already why Yelen came.
"Good afternoon, Theresa," Yelen smiled gently, always appreciating her warm welcome. "Yes, but today is special. It's not for me," Yelen told her.
"Ah! It must be for your son." Theresa's face beamed with delight.
Yelen smiled at hearing that, nodding in answer. She knew her son really well. Even though he was really mad, she knew that he couldn't be like that for long. Their bond was stronger than they thought.
"I saw him on TV yesterday. Congratulations! His tour was a big success," Theresa said, looking very excited. "He's on press conference now, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is. Thank you, Theresa," Yelen thanked her sincerely. Theresa was right. Today was his big day.
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The press conference was over, and thank God, it went quite smoothly. Syaoran came back to his dressing room, only to find Paul, his make-up artist, standing right behind the door.
"Syaoran, I can't be happier for you, my lovely superstar!" Paul hugged him with so much joy, enough to make him sway a little. "You become more fabulous day by day!"
Paul's honest, kind-of-cute compliments never failed making him laugh. "Paul, you are fabulous," he shot Paul, who just blushed at hearing the compliment. "Anyways, thanks man." He poked Paul's shoulder as he went further into the room.
"By the way, you got a bouquet over there. My Gosh, it's so beautiful. I wanna cry."
Wait… A bouquet?
Yes, Paul was right. Syaoran could see a beautiful hand bouquet lying on his dressing table. Clearly, it wasn't from his fans because those which were sent by his fans would always be kept in another room, not in his dressing room.
"Who sent this?" He couldn't hide his curiousity.
"Your mother. Oh, that is so sweet of her."
He needed a few seconds to swallow the information. But well, that explained a lot. She must have been feeling guilty for mentioning about his father.
The truth was that he was sick of hearing her talking about his father. How could she when his father was so cruel to her? She wasn't supposed to forgive him nor to remember him anymore. She deserved way better than that.
Syaoran picked up the bouquet from the table and found an envelope. It was a letter. He opened it and read silently.
Dear my little wolf,
I'm sorry. You must be upset from what happened two days ago. I must admit that I was thinking about your father. I was so happy to meet Sakura that I wished that your father had also been there with us. He must have loved Sakura too, just like I do. I thought that it would be perfect if the three of us spent time together with her, wouldn't it?
Forgive me if I ruined yesterday's moment. The important thing is that we have each other now. Even if he's not with us… Just like I've promised you, I will always be here for you. And I will make up for the time I've missed.
Love,
Your mother.
Suddenly, his eyes felt like burning, his heart sank, and his breath became heavy. He could feel her love for him. It's warm, yet it hurt as well. Why..? Because he loved her too, just as much as she did.
Without waiting, he said, "Paul, call Yue. We need to go now."
"Right away, little wolf," Paul said happily, picking up his phone to call Yue.
Syaoran couldn't wait to see his mother again and to hug her. She was the most important person in his life. He wouldn't be able to return what she gave him. No way… It was priceless.
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The cold night air blew softly against his skin as he got out from the car. He looked up at the apartment in which his mother lived, a smile on his lips as he imagined her happy face once she saw him.
"Come on, Syaoran," Brad said urgently, snapping him out of his thoughts. If they didn't move quickly, the paparazzi would notice, and there would be extra work.
They were walking to the entrance when he heard someone yelling frantically.
"What happened!?"
"A woman been hit by a car! She was just crossing the street when an idiot broke the traffic light."
"The driver died too, didn't he? Look at that! He crashed the power pole!"
It was a news that instantly got Syaoran's attention. It was such a tragic accident, yet he didn't stop walking, since Brad kept telling him to keep up his pace.
Suddenly, and he didn't know how it began, a strange feeling stirred inside him... Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, his thoughts going wild.
Could it be…
He knew that it couldn't be. It was impossible.
Then, why was he shaking like this..?
He ignored Brad and walked quickly to the site where the accident happened. Why was he going there? What was this feeling? As if something horrifying was happening…
Of all people, how could he think of…
"…Mom?"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing; his eyes widened. His mother was lying helplessly on the street, blood pouring out from her head.
Shaking, he kneeled down to the ground. His heart almost stopped when her eyes stared weakly at his. It's a dream, right..? It must have been a dream…
"No—no!" His voice was shaking uncontrollably. He picked her up and laid her head on his lap.
Brad came into the site, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw what happened. "Syaoran—"
Syaoran scanned the surrounding, still trying to swallow what was happening. Most of the people were shocked too.
Someone, please wake me up from this dream. I can die if I don't wake up…
"Isn't he Li Syaoran?"
"Li Syaoran…"
People started to whisper to each other, not believing that the tragedy was happening to the superstar.
He looked at his mother, and a tear dropped to his cheek, followed by another, and another… "Please hold on." He touched her face, his hand trembling.
Tears were welling up in her eyes too.
She couldn't be like this… This couldn't be happening. She had promised him that she would always be with him. She couldn't leave him. She couldn't!
He quickly looked at the people surrounding them, in horror. "Somebody, please save her!" he cried hysterically. "Save her!" he pleaded, willing to give up his life for her if it could save her.
He didn't know what he should do to make her stay. She had to stay.
"Syaoran…" her weak voice called him, and he turned to her immediately.
Panic rose in him, his heart pounding so hard that he thought it was going to explode. "Hold on! The ambulance is coming."
She forced a smile through pain as her tear dropped.
"No—please…" he cried in denial, his broken eyes staring at hers. "I love you… I love you." His heart was breaking into pieces; his world crumbled seeing her like that.
She just nodded, followed by her weak smile, before her eyes shut.
"NO, please—" He shook her body, telling her to wake up. "Don't go… mom… MOM!"
And his scream echoed in the air that night.
