Disclaimer ½ Prince and all of the characters—aside from my OC's—belong to Yu Wo

Note Another thanks goes to Chicaalterego for her collaboration with me on this chapter. :)


My heart was pounding, my hands were sweating and shaking, my lip was hurting from how much I'd been biting it, nervous energy was pounding through my whole body. Trying to regulate my shallow, uneven breathing, I slowly stepped forward, pushing open the scuffed-up metal door leading into a large abandoned warehouse I had stumbled across. It was dark inside, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.

Keeping to the dirty wall, I tip-toed along, carefully scanning the area surrounding me, checking behind boxes and old machinery before I passed them by. The whole place was quiet, except my soft footsteps across the dusty concrete floor, the gusting of the wind outside, and the rapid thudding of my own heart.

A clatter made me whirl around and lift my shotgun as I dove behind one of those piles of crates. Narrowing my eyes, I peered down the gun's barrel, scanning the dark warehouse again. I couldn't see anything out of place, but I still felt twitchy. Another noise made me turn to the right, my finger trembling over the gun's trigger, ready to shoot if necessary, but again there was nothing.

The malicious chuckle that came a few seconds later filled me with dread and I turned, fearfully looking up at the ceiling as a black-clad figure seated in the metal rafters pointed an alarmingly huge machine gun at my head, chuckled again, and pulled the trigger. Before I could run or even scream, he blasted my head to tiny pieces and splattered the contents of my skull all over the floor.

For the tenth time "YOU'RE DEAD – PRESS START TO CONTINUE" annoyingly flashed in bloody red letters across the right side of the TV screen, and I furiously turned to glare at Heng. He was laughing triumphantly. "You're cheating, aren't you‽" I demanded, kicking him with one foot. "How the hell were you stuck to the ceiling‽"

"I'm not cheating," he denied, giving me a smirk. "And I'm not telling how I got up there. You've gotta figure it out for yourself!"

"Dammit!" Biting my sore lip again, I pressed the start button on my game controller and frowned at the TV, watching while the little me on the screen stood up, my head miraculously intact, although the floor where I had died was still very…messy. "Now I've got to get all my equipment again," I grumbled, moving out of the warehouse and running off to find more weapons, ammo, and armor. Not three seconds later, a tiny red spot appeared on my left ear, signaling that Heng was aiming at me. Before I could react, my head was blown off. For the eleventh time that evening the game told me I had died, as if that wasn't completely apparent.

Letting out a roar, I kicked Heng again. "Stop killing me!"

Heng's face turned red as he laughed and laughed, obviously enjoying this video game much more than I was. "But killing one another is the whole point!" He giggled and leaned forward, taking a mint cookie from the plate on the table and cramming it into his mouth before he flopped back down on the wide couch cushions. "Told'ya I wasn't gonna go easy on you! But I'll be nice and give you a ten second head start. ONE! TWO!"

Stabbing the start button again as he continued to count, I quickly ran away from that damned warehouse, frantically searching for something with which I could arm myself. I smiled grimly as I picked up a set of grenades that had been inside a broken-down truck. With a clicking sound, I buckled them onto my belt and lifted one, turning around to look for Heng, so I could blow him up.

After spotting him on top of the warehouse roof I carefully aimed, then threw the grenade at him. As it sailed off, I turned to run away and find more weapons. However, as Heng got to "TEN!" I was the one who blew up, my limbs and insides disgustingly flying in all directions. I obviously wasn't the only one who had grenades.

"YOU'RE DEAD – PRESS START TO CONTINUE."

"WHY IS THIS GAME SO DIFFICULT‽" I screamed, standing up and squeezing the controller. "YOU PICKED THE HARDEST ONE ON PURPOSE, DIDN'T YOU‽"

Heng gasped for air, leaning forward and shaking as he laughed even harder than the last time he'd killed me. "Y-you're just so-o-o bad at this…" he wheezed. "Don't bl-blame me for your sucky gaming skills!"

"Let me win once!" I ordered, sitting down again and pressing the start button. I died before I could take two steps. "STOP THAT!" Turning, I punched Heng's shoulder as hard as I could. He still didn't stop laughing. "IT'S NOT FAIR THAT YOU WON'T GIVE ME ANY HANDICAPS WHEN I'VE GOT NEXT TO NO EXPERIENCE WITH GAMES AND YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING THESE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG!"

Heng shook his head and continued to laugh, lifting his hands to ward off my attacks. Roughly shoving him off the couch, I gave him a kick, then pressed the start button again, determined to win. Although I was expecting to die immediately, nothing happened. Feeling surprised, I looked down at Heng to see what he was doing. He was laying on the shaggy black carpet, eyes closed and not moving.

Worried, I set my controller on the couch and knelt down beside him. "Are you okay? Did you hit the table?" I anxiously asked.

His eyes cracked open, a pouting look on his face. "That hurt, you jerk."

Rolling my eyes, I gave his head a shove, relieved that it seemed he was simply exaggerating, as usual. "Just how much could it hurt? You fell off a couch and onto a carpet."

The TV suddenly let out an agonized, garbled yell. Confused, I looked up. My avatar was falling to his knees, several knives sticking out of his chest as bright red blood gushed from his newest set of wounds and dribbled out of his mouth. The health bar at the top of the screen drained and he died within seconds.

"Gotcha again," Heng sneakily chortled.

"YOU CHEATER!" I yelled, grabbing Heng's shirt front and shaking him around as the amused giggles bubbled out of him. "I wasn't even holding the controller that time!"

"It's your fault for not pausing the game!" His chest heaving with the force of his laughter, he dropped his controller and grabbed me. We wrestled and tumbled around on the hard floor for several minutes and I quickly forgot all about the game, my mind completely occupied with the want to get back at him for picking on me so much. I eventually managed to pin him underneath myself, and gave him a superior look. With an airy laugh, Heng smiled up at me, lifting his arms to loop them around my waist. "I give up. You win."

Not feeling at all satisfied with this level of revenge, I tangled one hand in his thick hair and leaned down, lowering my mouth onto his. Once I'd barely touched his lips, I drew back, leaving him open-mouthed and inhaling, all ready for a kiss he hadn't received. After a slight pause, I brushed my lips over his again, pulling away and smiling in amusement as his irritated reaction to my teasing started to appear on his face. I tormented him for a while longer, then finally gave in and kissed him. He let out a happy noise and held me closer, his eyes closing. Taking advantage of how he was completely engulfed in the moment, I suppressed my smile and changed my target to his lower lip, sucking on it briefly before carefully but firmly chomping down.

"Ah!" His eyes flew open and he frowned grumpily at me. "You jerk," he mumbled, lifting his hands to grab my head and force it to stay in one spot as he resumed the kiss. Deciding I'd teased him enough, I thrust my tongue into his mouth, still moving somewhat awkwardly, but not as I had been last week. Heng, saying that it was disgraceful that a twenty-four-year-old such as myself had no experience kissing, had been "teaching" me as often as I would let him, and I had obediently and very willingly been trying my hardest to absorb his lessons. Ever since the night of the party he hadn't said anything about how horrible my kissing skills were, so I assumed I was improving.

When the kiss ended, I tucked my head against his left shoulder and relaxed, vaguely wondering if I should let him get up off the floor, but had no willpower to actually move, so there I stayed, squashing him underneath myself. He didn't complain anyway.

"Hey," he said a moment later. I shifted slightly and stared at the side of his blushing face, but he kept his eyes locked on the ceiling. "…What…um, what are we?" A small, somewhat embarrassed-sounding laugh puffed out of his mouth as he added, "I mean, are we dating now…or what? We just never…labeled it…and I kinda want to know…"

Of all the things he could have brought up…

Sighing, I slid off of him and rolled onto my back. "I don't seem to remember agreeing to date you."

"Then what is this?" he asked, his tone becoming a bit demanding.

I sent him an angry glance, but he was still looking upward and probably didn't see. "'This' is…two friends doing something they shouldn't. The situation between you and I remains unchanged, albeit the intimacy levels have…gone up. However, I'm still engaged. Even this much is making me feel guilty and nervous enough to give me stomach aches every time I go home. I can hardly look Jiao or her family in the eye anymore."

We were both silent for nearly a minute. "Do you love her?" he whispered hesitantly.

"No."

"Does she love you?" His tone was a fraction more hopeful than before.

"No. She and I," I began to explain, carefully piecing together an answer that didn't sound too advantageous for Jiao or Heng, "…care for one another, of course. But it's just a marriage of convenience. There is nothing romantic or deep about it. However…well, I respect her, so…hence why I am feeling so guilty about these near-daily make-out sessions with you."

"Why not just tell her, then?" Heng challenged. "If you don't love her and she doesn't love you, then I don't see why you can't just, you know, let it out…She won't mind, will she? I mean, she's probably had guys she's liked. She was only fourteen when you two got engaged, and you never even met until last year. She had six years to fall for someone else. I knew a lot of girls when I was in high school, and most of them had boyfriends galore. I bet she's no different."

"I have no idea if Jiao would mind this or not." I gestured between Heng and I. "However, I know that I most definitely do not want Jiao to have an affair. Although…that's more of a want for her not to get pregnant by someone else, I suppose, since my father would be furious if she had a child that wasn't mine, and then we would probably have to get married faster to make it seem like the child was mine, to avoid making the whole thing into a scandal, and ah…It'd just be messy." Having my life watched so closely by the public eye was definitely one of the most annoying things about being a prominent figure in society. Unlike some of my 'friends' who adored publicity and seemed to make it their mission in life to get into every single newspaper and tabloid article possible, I hated when such things were aimed at me.

Heng sent me a sneaky smile. "I can't get pregnant. No problem there."

Trying to hide my extreme embarrassment brought on by his statement, I returned his smile with an incredulous frown. "Right. No problem. Male lovers are so much better than illegitimate children. I'm sure my father won't mind at all."

With a heavy sigh, Heng rolled onto his side and stared hard at me. "When did I say we should tell him?"

"You and I were friends in secret for…" I paused, trying to count how long it had been.

"Three months," he supplied after a moment, "but now you're living away from him, so it'll be a lot harder for him to find out!"

"Perhaps it would be," I acknowledged, "but how long can that last?" I turned to look at him. "Four months? A year? Two years? Ten? How long until my father finds out and harms you in some way? How long until Jiao finds someone she loves and decides that since I have a lover she can have one, too? Now we're back to the pregnancy issue."

"Haven't you ever heard of condoms‽"

"Condoms can break."

"Birth control pills!"

"What if she forgets to take them?"

"ABORTIONS!"

"That would be a decision I would leave entirely up to her. And if she decides to keep the baby, what then?"

"Tell the kid and everyone else that you're the father!"

"What if the real father wants to take that role? I would not steal it from him."

Heng let out a roar and flopped onto his back again, looking extremely angry. "Why d'you have to complicate stuff so much?"

"I'm not complicating anything. You're simplifying things." I sat up and looked down at Heng, but Dib was obviously leaking out and he sulkily rolled onto his other side, facing away from me. How did the mood manage to go from amazing to horrible in so short a time?

Feeling hurt that he was blaming all of this on me, I stared at my lap. "I'm sorry, but…right now I can't see any way to change things. I could tell Jiao, but…it's not like I can just casually bring it up.

"And even then," I whispered, eyes miserably darting about the floor, "even if she allowed it…and even if we managed to hide it from my father, how long will it be until you can't stand the jealousy of seeing Jiao and I together?…How long until you tire of hiding and find someone you can be with openly, with no third person involved?"

Gui Wen had left me behind, my father had sent me away…If I was abandoned by another person important to me, I had no idea how I would survive. I knew Heng cared for me, but he had already told me that the friendship between he and I was tiring, so how long would a deeper relationship last? He was very outgoing and had a lot of friends; there was bound to be someone who would catch his eye sooner or later. Someone who was much easier to be with than me. Someone who could really make him happy and content. Someone who wouldn't make him miserable so often like I did.

The fear that he might leave me was suffocating and terrifying, and I was sure that's what would happen eventually, so I didn't want to start anything in the first place—then again, I kind of already had. I had fallen hard for him, and for the most part I didn't regret that, but I didn't want to know what it would feel like to hit the bottom.

Heng draped his arms around me and gave me a hug. "Would you stop trying to put an expiration date on this stuff? I've been chasing after you ever since university, so don't you dare think I'm going to give up so easily."

"I never said it would be easy," I retorted thickly.

"Look, Al…I've known from the beginning that this was going to be super difficult, but I'm going to stick with you for as long as you'll let me. I promise I won't leave. Just trust me."

Relief welled up in me, though it was still edged with disbelief. Squeezing my eyes shut, I leaned forward and pressed my hands to my eyes, trying to keep myself from crying. Heng shifted closer, resting his head on my back. "I do get really jealous when I see you two together…Can hardly breathe sometimes, and I get so angry I wanna smash things…Especially right after I found out about it all. It seemed so unfair, you getting stolen from me so fast after I'd put so much effort into getting close to you. I was so afraid that you'd like her instead of me, then I started wondering if I should back off and leave you two alone…Bu-u-ut, then I didn't. Selfish, as usual."

"If my feelings for you back then were anything like they are now, I would have been extremely depressed for a very long time if you had left," I mumbled, "so thank you for being selfish."

He laughed softly and rubbed a hand on my back. "You're welcome." His comforting weight disappeared for a moment. The room dimmed, and the action-packed music and the ambient noises, all of which I'd been tuning out, coming from the FPS game we'd been playing stopped when Heng turned off the game system and the TV. Then he was at my side again, and pushed me onto my back, sliding on top of me. Supporting himself on his elbows, so I wasn't getting flattened, he gently kissed me, each second both assuring me and making me more anxious. Even if Heng wanted me to stop being so pessimistic, I couldn't help but worry about the future.

"Hey," he whispered several minutes later, interrupting the kissing in which I'd been so absorbed. His eyes cracked open and his face gained a very seductive expression. "…Stay here tonight?"

My heart began pounding nervously at his invitation, knowing what he had in mind definitely wasn't a casual sleepover. Face burning when various scenarios began automatically popping into my head, I struggled to work out a coherent response.

While I stumbled over my words, Heng's face darkened a bit. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he mumbled, resting his head on my chest. A mixture of relief and disappointment rushed through my brain, making me even more confused. He let out a long sigh. "Am I rushing things?…If I'm being impatient, then sorry. I mean, I know it's only been a week since this started…but I've…wanted to sleep with you for a really long time."

Taking a deep breath, I once again attempted to sort out a reply. "Well, I…I want to…I admit…but, um, I'm not…I'm not really ready for that…Not just because it feels so fast, from my view anyway, but also, well, I…said already that what we're already doing is really…stressful, trying to hide it from everyone…"

Propping up his chin against my chest, he stared eagerly at me. "So…does that mean if you tell Jiao then we get to do it?"

"I…um…!"

"I can help you talk to her about it, you know. You don't have to do it by yourself. It'll be easier if you've got backup. Plus, knowing how much you hate talking, I know if I helped then it'd happen sooner. And–"

"He-e-eng," I sighed, "I would much rather do this at my own pace. I—I'm sorry that I'm…holding out on you, or…causing you sexual frustration, or whatever the hell it is, but I don't want to rush through this, okay?"

He growled and laid his head down again, but not before I had spotted the extremely sulky look on his face. Feeling guilty, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, gazing vacantly at the ceiling and wishing there was some way to make everyone happy. It seemed no matter the scenario, someone was going to wind up getting hurt.

"I will try," I assured somewhat desperately. "And hopefully soon…could you just be patient a while longer?"

"Yeah…" he mumbled, sighing dramatically.

Tilting my head back, I gave an upside down look to the clock on the table next to the couch. It was four past eleven, much later than I usually stayed out, which gave me an excuse to leave. Gently pushing Heng off myself, I sat up. "I know this is abrupt, but I should go."

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he shook his head. "No-o-o…stay a while longer."

"It's late. And I have work tomorrow."

"You always 'have work tomorrow.'"

"You have work tomorrow, too, so come on," I huffed, shoving him harder, "let me up."

One of his Dib-ish pouting expressions fell over his face as he finally let go and crossed his arms, kicking one leg at me as I got to my feet. I kicked him back, then walked to the vestibule. Sitting beside the door, I picked up my shoes and slipped my feet into them as Heng walked up behind me. "Want a ride to your car?"

Shaking my head, I stood up and grabbed my bag from the spot where I'd dropped it on the floor earlier when I'd arrived. "I can walk. It's not that far to the lot."

"You sure?"

"Yes," I said, smiling and giving him a brief kiss. "Thank you for having me over. Goodnight."

"'Night," he mumbled reluctantly. "Be careful."

Waving my hand, I opened the door and stepped onto the narrow street, pulling my gloves and hat out of my bag and putting them on as I hurried away from his house, my breath fogging up the air in front of my face and momentarily making it difficult to see where I was going, much like the foggy confusion, which didn't seem to ever go away, muddling up my mind.

Half an hour later, I was finally in the downtown area. Hurrying past the bright neon lights of the bars dotting the roadside, I deeply inhaled the cold air, scented with the usual smells of cars, too many people, and, faintly, the quickly incoming springtime. As I was covering the last stretch of sidewalk, the edge of the parking lot just appearing around the buildings, I gasped in surprise when someone unexpectedly thudded against my back, then a pair of arms snaked around my waist. I was about to tear off the arms and hit whoever it was, thinking it was a thief or a molester, but then I heard the drunken greeting.

"Laoshi!"

Oh, good god, she was everywhere…

Looking behind myself, I spotted the women and sighed deeply. "Hello, Windy," I replied, and took an awkward step away, trying to get out of the overpowering smell of alcohol that surrounded her. It wasn't a thief or a molester, but Zhou Xia wasn't much better, in my opinion, than either of those options. Especially not a drunk Zhou Xia.

She stared up at me for a long while, then gave a glance about us and seemed to be a bit confused. "Laoshi," she repeated, eyes coming back to me, "you shouldn't be in this kind of place. You might get robbed or something."

"There's no need to worry about me," I mumbled distractedly, fighting with her arms in a want to make them let go. I wasn't carrying much money or anything else of value, I had my new self-defense moves that I was a tiny bit confident about, Jiao had given me a bottle of pepper spray as a joke, plus my car was right over there in the parking lot…if I could just get Zhou Xia to unhand my waist.

"I think you are the one you should be worried about," I added, "walking around drunk like this and grabbing people."

Zhou Xia gave a sodden chuckle and declared, "I'm not drunk! I only had a couple of drinks!" She waved her hand about, lost her balance, and promptly fell over backward. Embarrassment smothered me when many of the people walking past laughed at us.

"Yes, not drunk at all," I sarcastically agreed, trying to ignore the discomfort of being made into a spectacle. Sighing again, I reached down and pulled her back into a standing position, keeping my hands on her shoulders just in case she was going to fall a second time. "Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth, but said nothing and looked away from me, taking a deep breath. There was a brief pause, then she smiled, tears abruptly pouring down her face as she said, "I'm perfectly fine," completely unconvincingly.

Feeling alarmed that she'd started crying for some reason, I began to pull her toward the parking lot. "Do you live near here? I can drive you home."

Slapping my hands away, she shook her head. "I'm okay, really. I'm fine," she firmly repeated. She covered her face and I frowned in frustration, wondering what I was supposed to do. Slipping a hand into my bag, I pulled a handkerchief out of one of the inner pockets and stuck it between her fingers, then crossed my arms and looked away, mentally preparing myself for any more crying she was about to let loose. I always felt so awkward and helpless in situations where people were in need of comfort, so hopefully the handkerchief would suffice.

Zhou Xia finally uncovered her face and looked up at me again, giving the handkerchief back. "There is no need for that." Sighing, she looked behind herself. "I need a drink."

Having no idea what to say or do to cheer her up, I immediately countered, "You most definitely do not need a drink, unless it is nonalcoholic," and took hold of her shoulder again, just in case she was about to go wandering off to find another bar.

She gave another weak attempt at shaking me off, but I resiliently held on. "Don't worry too much, Laoshi. Someone will come to fetch me soon," she assured.

"Alright." I glanced around the nighttime crowds, scanning the building fronts for any sign of an open coffee shop in which I could put her. However, it seemed that the only places that were open were bars, clubs, and the like, and who knew what sorts of mischief she would get into if she went to one of those.

I carefully pulled her toward my car again. "I'll wait with you. I don't want to leave you here like this." Much to my relief, she nodded in concession. "Let's sit in my car, then," I suggested. After a very long few minutes of stumbling down the sidewalk, I had deposited her onto the passenger seat. Climbing in on the other side, I turned the car on so I could use the seat heater. Much happier now that I was warm again, I slipped off my hat and gloves and stuck them into my pocket, comfortably stretching my legs.

"Have you…" Zhou Xia began, her words prematurely fading out. "Have…" She sighed and smiled at me. "Are you…good at keeping secrets?"

I laughed faintly at her question. Many, many secretive things quickly came to mind. I had more secrets than I knew what to do with. "Yes," I quietly answered. "I am quite practiced in the art of keeping secrets."

"I…bet I'm better than you at it. Say one thing about me, and I will prove you wrong. It can be whatever…My life is a big lie anyway."

I glanced at her in confusion, then turned to watch the nearby traffic light change colors. "One thing…" I slowly replied. "My father spoke quite positively of you once, when he mentioned how hard you work." Shifting on my seat a bit, I gave Zhou Xia a smile. "However, I have heard many negative things on the same subject, from one or two of my friends. Apparently you often drive your poor employees to exhaustion. How cruel of you."

It was the first thing that came to mind, because I had been unintentionally doing the same thing to my own department for over two years. However, Zhou Xia had, so I heard from my father, worked her employees to the bone for the sake of getting things done quickly; I had worked mine to the bone simply out of my own silliness.

"Well, about that…" she began, "people jumped to the conclusion that I was older than I was. I had no field experience back then and thought that it was the normal pace to work under. I troubled a lot of people, but Dad was by my side all the time pointing out my mistakes and helping me slow down…Well, I don't really know if 'Dad' would be the most appropriate way to call him." She looked at me and admitted, "I'm adopted, and not as an uncle adopting his niece. We are not even blood-related. Surprised?"

I nodded, eyes widening slightly. "Very surprised. That is definitely not something I would have expected…But you're quite blessed, having a parent—father, uncle, whatever you prefer to call him—who cares so much for you, even if you aren't related." I fell silent, picking at the skin on my lower lip and growing to be envious of her for having such a father figure in her life. Then again, Delun's father had been plenty kind toward me, although I still felt somewhat awkward and afraid around him.

"Yup, my daddy is great, and I have great friends…Well, none of them work in the same field that I do. After all, it's full of back-stabbers and blood-suckers.

"You know, Starlight is a very good person. She is kind, loyal, and reliable. A rare find! My life wouldn't be the same without her support. She accepted me for who I am and made me believe in people again…It's a shame that you have such a bad impression of her."

I was barely able to hide the my grimace at the change in topic. Leaning my elbow against the door, I put my chin on my hand, hoping to cover up my expression with my fingers. "Well, it's good to know that she…"

…isn't completely horrible…

"…is such a good friend to you," I replied in a forcefully relieved tone. "Especially while being surrounded by so many horrible people, the back-stabbers and such…Dib is the same for me as Starlight is for you. He's very supportive." After I'd said that, I suddenly realized I was smiling, and quickly wiped it off. I shot Zhou Xia a guarded glance, suddenly remembering she thought I was gay. "A very good friend," I clarified, heavily emphasizing the word "friend" in a want to clear up that misunderstanding, determined to live in denial for as long as I could.

"He is?" she asked. "But Dib is a kid. Well…maybe he really is mature. After all, you fell in love with him, and it's for the best to remain friends for the time being. He is really too young for you," she ended with a nod.

If she was a man, I would have hit her really hard for saying that. Hearing it said aloud was painful nearly at a physical level, regardless of how I knew perfectly well that she was right in how I felt about him, minus the part that I was holding back because he was a child.

Gritting my teeth, I turned back to the window and put my head in my hand, hating myself for having just made things worse. I tried to think of something to say to once again deny the claim, but nothing came to my panicked mind. What the hell had I ever done—in public—that would lead people to assume I was in love with the little brat? If anything, I would think people would assume it was a one-sided affection on Dib's part.

Running my eyes over the dark street filled with the nighttime crowds, I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering when her ride was going to arrive. I was very bored, as well as grumpy and tired, and wanted her to go away, so I could go home, so I could go to bed.

A tiny laugh suddenly came from the other side of the car, and she poked my arm. "Don't do that," I ordered huffily, rubbing the sore spot where she'd stabbed me with her finger.

She giggled and poked me again, smiling widely. "You know, Laoshi…" Her voice trailed off, but her finger continued to jab me. Hoping she would get bored if I gave no reaction, I tried my hardest to ignore her as she poked me over and over, the irritation building up the more she picked on me. "Hey, Laoshi," she began again, "can I tell you an amazing secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone."

I gave her a cautious glance, not particularly wanting to know any of her secrets. But she was probably going to keep poking me if I said no, so…"I promise I won't tell anyone," I eventually replied. "What is it?"

"Well…it's about how I ended up in charge of the new branch. Dad had never tried to put me in charge of one before…Guess why he changed his mind." A small smile quirked at her mouth.

Not feeling like thinking very much, I guessed the first thing that came to mind. "It was convenient." However, I doubted that was it, since that wouldn't be much of a secret.

"What kind of reason is that‽" she snapped, looking very pissed off. "Geeze, and I thought my dad was crazy when he named me president of the new branch for agreeing to skip a week of work, so we could go to the beach. But your reasoning is also completely abnormal."

Feeling confused at her anger, I glanced at her again. "It isn't abnormal. Even if there were other candidates, picking you was obviously a convenient choice; he knows you well and you're very skilled." Why would Long Lien have wasted time searching for a person to manage the new branch if he already had someone like Zhuo Xia?

"Yeah, I'm so skilled that he decided that I was ready, since I agreed to lie to my employees. I told them I wouldn't be able to come to work, since I was taking care of my sick uncle. I have never skipped work in over five years, so they all thought that he was on the verge of death. Do you think that I deserve a promotion because of that? The only profitable result was that funeral clothes sold out, since all the people in the company were getting ready for his funeral," she complained, her face turning red.

Covering my mouth with one hand to hide my extremely amused smile, I shook my head. "No, I don't think that is a very legitimate reason…But, um, reasons aside, at least it seems like it was a good decision." Long Lien was surprisingly whimsical.

Seeming to forget that she was inside of a car, Zhou Xia stood up and began to say something, but her words were cut off when her head crashed into the roof. She let out an "Ouch!" and held her head for a moment, then glared at me. "I think my leading a company is absurd! Who in their right mind would let a nineteen-year-old girl be in charge of a company‽"

Staring blankly at her, surprise popped through my head. I'd thought she was around my age, but she was even younger than Jiao. No wonder she was thinking the promotion was strange.

"Ask your father for help if you're feeling uncertain," I suggested momentarily.

With an intense, expectant, teary gaze, she sat down and tugged on my sleeve. "Wouldn't it be too selfish?"

Feeling extremely uncomfortable under her ardent stare, I slowly shook my head. "N-no…?" It would obviously be much better in the long run to ask for help and keep things running properly, rather than stay silent and cause problems through mistakes.

Her face brightened. "So I don't really need to lead the company if I don't want to. That's so great! That settles it, I will quit Lotus and go job hunting!" she declared energetically, reaching into her green shirt. My eyes went wide in shock when she pulled a cellphone out of her bra. Why the hell did she keep her phone in there, of all places?

Horrified, I suddenly realized what she was doing. "Whoa, wait!" I yelled, grabbing her wrist before she could dial any numbers. I was most certainly not going to be the one responsible for causing Long Zhou Xia to leave Lotus.

Taking a deep breath, I stared seriously at her. "Look…I have no idea how much you've been drinking this evening, but you are obviously not thinking properly at the moment, and you should just…put the phone away. Okay? This is definitely not a decision to make when you're drunk."

She tore her arm away from me. "You just said I could! And I'm not drunk!"

"I never said you should quit your job!" I snapped, grabbing her hand again and struggling to take away the phone, although I was somewhat reluctant to touch the object now that I knew where she kept it. "I said you should discuss your problems with your father! This is not discussing! This is being rash! AND YOU ARE DRUNK!"

"I'm not!" she stubbornly declared, fighting me to gain control of the phone.

After a brief moment, there was suddenly a loud voice coming from the device, and I jumped in surprise. "WHY IN HELL DID YOU CALL ME AT THIS FRIGGING HOUR‽ YOU DAMNED WEIRDO!"

Zhou Xia took advantage of the fact that I'd let go and lifted the phone to her ear. "Mei, I'm quitting Lotus and moving back to T City right now. Can I stay over at your place?" she asked all in one breath.

Seizing the phone, I yelled into it "DON'T LISTEN TO HER! SHE'S NOT QUITTING!" and smashed my thumb down over the end call button, glaring angrily at Zhou Xia. "JUST THINK IT THROUGH! YOU'RE TRYING TO THROW AWAY AN AMAZING CAREER! UNGRATEFUL IDIOT!"

"WHAT AMAZING CAREER‽ BEING A MARTIAL ARTIST, OWNING A CASINO, AND LEADING A MAFIA ARE AMAZING CAREERS! WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT WORKING IN AN OFFICE‽"

"People work their whole lives to get to the point you're at!" I snarled, ignoring the rings coming from the phone. "Your father may have flippantly handed that position over to you, but that doesn't mean you can throw it away just because you think it's not as interesting as other careers! That is completely irresponsible!"

"But I don't want to lead a company!" she sobbed, tears flooding her eyes. "I want to go back home with my daddy!" She shot me a pitiful look, then snatched up the ringing phone.

Seeing that she was going to answer the call, I leaned over and began struggling with her again, trying my hardest to take it away before she made such a huge mistake. I finally managed to get hold of the phone and pressed the answer button, putting it up to my ear and using my other hand to ward off Zhuo Xia's attempts at taking it back. "Who is this?" I demanded, hoping it was whoever was coming to get her.

"WHO AM I" the woman on the other end echoed, sounding extremely angry. "WHO ARE YOU WHY ARE YOU ANSWERING HER PHONE"

"Give it to me," Zhou Xia ordered in a low, threatening tone while she continued to struggle to regain control of the device.

"I won't!" I huffed at her, then rambled into the phone, "I am Min Zian, an acquaintance of Long Zhuo Xia, who is currently—Ouch! She's quite a bit…intoxicated at the moment!" I belatedly hoped that whoever was on the other end of the line wasn't anyone who shouldn't have known that she was drunk.

She began to yank on my coat and wailed, "ME-E-E-I-I-I, HE TOOK MY PHONE AWAY! HE-E-E-LP ME!"

"So she is drunk. No wonder she is acting so unlike herself. For that girl to claim she is quitting, she must be really wasted…Did you happen to tell her something you shouldn't?"

"I didn't!" I denied, using all of my strength to shove Zhuo Xia away from myself. "She was talking about how she got her job, and then I told her that if she has problems she should ask her father for help! I have no idea why she thinks she should quit!"

"I see…" the woman replied, sounding disbelieving. "Anyway, put her on the phone, so I can fix this and go back to sleep."

"Give me my phone back, you thief!" Zhou Xia commanded furiously. Hoping the woman would be able to fix the situation, I thrust the phone at Zhuo Xia and retreated against the car door, staring guardedly at her and watching intently for more dangerous movement. However, she stopped all attacks, focusing on the phone. "Me-e-e-e-i-i-i!…But Mei…I'm not drunk!" There was a long pause after her grumpy denial, then her face abruptly became shocked and she froze, the phone slipping out of her hand and falling to her lap.

Glancing between Zhou Xia's horrified face and the phone, I sat quietly, feeling utterly confused, and was unsure whether this behavior was any better than how she'd been moments before. Several boring, silent minutes passed before I finally put a hand on her shoulder, knowing she probably wouldn't respond to words alone. "Windy?" I called, roughly shaking her back and forth in an attempt to get her attention. "Are you okay?"

Her face turned red as she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine…just a little drunk and apparently out of my mind."

Completely out of your mind, I thought, taking my hand back. Although I wanted to relax, I kept myself at the ready in case she was about to continue with her mission to leave Lotus. "I really think you should give some more thought to quitting," I told her, hoping she would listen now that she was calmer. "Such decisions shouldn't be made rashly. Of course, in the end it's your own choice whether you'll quit or not, but please don't be so hasty."

"I'm not planning to quit. It's just, I don't know if I'm ready. A new city, a new job…it all happened so fast. I'm capable and all, but I…" She sighed, then looked out the window. "How can I be responsible for the lives of so many people? I can barely cope with my own problems. I…there are times when you just want to run away from everything."

"I know what you mean, although my experience is on a smaller scale," I murmured with a nod, then smiled. "However, you're not the only person in the company. There are many people who will help you if the burden becomes too heavy. You simply have to ask."

Zhou Xia gave me a small glance before turning back to the window. "I don't need you to tell me about it. I have been relying in other people for years. I know how much I can ask from others and know what other expect from me. I'm not worried about my performance or my job."

"I see," I slowly breathed, staring up at the roof in bewilderment over her characteristically contradictory words. One minute she's telling me she's worried, the next she's trying to convince me she's not worried at all…I once again had to remind myself not to expect her to say or do anything normal. What was the problem if she was already confident she'd be able to manage everything?

A few minutes passed by in silence, then I turned to her again. "When is your ride coming?" I asked, then paused and waited for an answer, but she didn't give me one. I leaned forward and finally noticed her eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep.

"Windy?" I called quietly, pausing again to see if she would wake up. She didn't, so I gently shook her. She still didn't wake up, so I shook her a little harder, but nothing happened. Settling down in my seat, I stared at the road, deciding to wait a while. However, when nearly an hour passed and no one came, I sighed and got out my cellphone, quickly dialing Jiao's number and holding the phone up to my ear, hoping she was still awake. Then again, I kind of hoped she was asleep. I really didn't want to talk to her at the moment.

She answered after several rings. "Hi, Zian."

"Hello," I reluctantly greeted, praying that my voice wasn't giving away how thoroughly guilty I was feeling. "Would you ask the maids to prepare a guest room?" I requested in a whisper, not that I really had to be so quiet, I supposed; it was obvious Zhou Xia wasn't going to be awake again anytime soon. I leaned around her, so I could buckle her seat belt, then I grabbed her phone and put it in my pocket. "I met Long Zhou Xia on the way back from Heng's house…She's really drunk and fell asleep in my car."

Leaning back in my seat again, I buckled myself in and sighed, smiling faintly as I listened to Jiao's chuckles. "Oh my…Alright, I'll have a room fixed up for her."

"Thank you."

"Sure. Who knew the terrifying Long Zhou Xia could behave so normally?" She laughed again.

"You mean 'annoyingly'?" I corrected, shaking my head as I glanced at the sleeping woman beside me. "I'll be home soon."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Ending the call, I stuck my phone next to Zhou Xia's in my pocket, then quickly shifted into drive, pulling out onto the road. When one in the morning was approaching, I had finally arrived home, and was parking my car inside the enormous garage attached to the side of the Lin house. After I'd gotten out and walked around to the other side of the car, I opened the door and carefully unbuckled Zhou Xia, hoping I wasn't going to wake her up. I awkwardly dragged her out of the car and picked her up, my legs and arms protesting against her weight; either I was still super weak, or she was really heavy…or both.

I used my hip to shut the car door, then cautiously walked to the house door, kicking it with one foot, so someone would let me inside. One of the maids opened it seconds later, giving me an amused smile and mouthing a greeting as I stepped through the doorway. Things were going smoothly until I got to the second floor and strode down the hallway, following the maid to the guest room for Zhou Xia. Before we could get there, Delun suddenly appeared, dressed in his pajamas and blinking sleepily. "Oh," he mumbled, yawning, "you're finally…home." His eyes landed on the woman in my arms, and his face went very red with what was unmistakably anger.

Oh, dammit.

"What are you DOING‽" he roared, stomping forward, hands curled into fists. "SNEAKING AROUND AND BRINGING GIRLS HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT‽"

"Be quiet," I hissed, glaring at him. "You'll wake her up."

He didn't listen to me, and continued to stomp and yell about how much trouble I was in. His face went pale when he finally noticed who I was carrying. Inhaling sharply, he furiously glowered at me, grabbing my coat front. "I knew it!" he snapped. "You're having an affair with her! I thought it was weird how nice she was to you at the dinner, but this proves all of my suspicions!"

"I'm not having an affair with her," I angrily denied. "She was drunk and I–"

"You said earlier you were going to Heng's house!" he interrupted. "I see now! You were really out drinking with her! YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU CHEAT ON MY SISTER‽" Guilt once again twisted at my insides as he continued to yell. Although I certainly wasn't having an affair with Zhou Xia, I was with Heng. It was annoying, but Delun had every right to be furious.

"Dàgē!" Jiao suddenly snapped, coming up behind us. "Leave him alone!"

"JIAO-MÈI! I CAUGHT HIM–!" he began, but was cut off when Jiao shoved him backward, gave me a tired look, and began to drag her shouting brother away. Feeling extremely angry with myself—I certainly didn't deserve any of the trust I had been hoping to gain from these people—I continued on down the hall, following the maid again until we got to the guest room. I carefully laid Zhou Xia on the bed, put her phone on the bedside table, then exited the room, leaving the drunk woman to the maids.

Although I could still hear Delun's muffled yells, I didn't go to him to explain myself and instead went to my own room, showered, and crawled into bed. I didn't particularly want to see Delun again that night, but reluctantly put on my Second Life helmet, trying my hardest to quell the guilty nausea swooping over me.