The next day, Katie spotted Daoming Si and Shancai at the bottom of the campus steps. He was holding something in the air, high above her and she couldn't reach it. It looks like things worked out after all, she thought to herself and started down the steps. Daoming Si was the first to notice her.
"Hey Katie!" he shouted and laughed at the same time. "Look at Shancai. Look at how short she is. She can't reach her phone!" He held the mobile phone in mid-air, well out of her reach. Shancai continued to cry for him to return her the phone.
"Daoming Si," Katie said. "Give it back. Don't be a dick."
Ximen and Meizuo appeared. "From here on," Ximen said matter-of-factly. "There will be no peace." Katie couldn't tell if they were glad or sad. Perhaps a mix of both.
"We are fine, alright?" Daoming Si growled and gave the phone back to Shancai. "Remember to give this back to your mom and use the new one I gave you."
"It's good to see you've made up," a familiar voice joined in. Everyone looked and gasped. It was Huaze Lei. He was as gentle- and stoic-faced as Katie remembered from her previous encounter with him. He walked up to them and held his gaze on Shancai, smiling his small smile.
Daoming Si saw it for sure, because he immediately held Shancai's opposing shoulder and yanked her close to him. "Just so you know, Shancai's my girlfriend now." He declared in a childish manner. Katie rolled her eyes. Something's never change.
"That's a shame." Huaze Lei replied, still looking at Shancai. "We should get together this evening. Bring a friend." He walked away with Ximen and Meizuo behind him.
Katie saw Shancai in a daze, eyes still on Huaze Lei's silhouette in the distance. She quickly nudge her gently just as Daoming Si turned to the both of them. "Katie, I'm taking Shancai on a vacation for the weekend. You should come so she has a friend when I'm not watching her."
Shancai protested first. "Wait a minute," she cried. "I didn't agree to go on a vacation with you." Shancai then turned to Katie. "I don't want to go - please say you won't go." Those adorable eyes.
don't want to go, Katie thought desperately. I have so much to do! She caught Daoming Si's face. He was WILLING her to go with them, just so Shancai would go. It would be criminal to turn his favour down after practically telling him to dive senselessly into being with Shancai and he was trying. She couldn't refuse now. "I er …" Katie started reluctantly. "I would really like a vacation if the invitation still stands." She darted a quick gaze at Daoming Si then back at Shancai. "Think of it as going with me instead?" Oh, what on earth was she saying. "Please?" This had to be one of the most humiliating and awkward moments ever. It was totally not her to say things like that.
But it worked. Shancai sighed. "Alright," she said. "I'll go if you go. But only because you want to and I'm not leaving you anywhere near Ximen or Meizuo. They're wolves."
"Wonderful!" Daoming Si exclaimed and clapped his hands. "I'll send the driver to pick you both up tomorrow, bright and early. See you!"
Bright and early indeed. They were all on a plane headed for somewhere and arrived on a sunny island with a large resort and even larger swimming pools by midday. Katie really struggled to keep up. She had to explain her sudden vacation trip to her guardians, her aunt and her husband, last night and they were very hard to convince for they were worried she didn't even know where the location of this vacation was. When she promised she would call them as soon as she reached wherever it was safely, and every night, until she returned to Shanghai did they relent. Then there was the packing - if they didn't know where they were going, she didn't know to pack warm or cold. It was all very frustrating. And Daoming Si didn't answer his social media texts either. Thanks a lot.
When they checked in at reception, Ximen and Meizuo each had a room with a girl they brought along. Huaze Lei also brought a girl with him. Suffice to say, all the girls were strangers to her and Shancai. Each couple including Daoming Si and Shancai were sharing a room. Katie was the third - no wait, ninth - wheel. She was in a room by herself which, awkward as it was, by this time, she didn't care very much. She was going to sleep through the rest of the day so it suited her just fine.
She retreated to her room. After ringing her guardians to report safety, she took a shower and sank into the firm white-sheeted resort bed. A real vacation started with actual peace, quiet and rest.
She must have been sleeping for a while because when she finally jerked up from her slumber, the room was dark and the room phone was ringing in that irritating alarm way. Groaning, she reached for the phone. "Hello?" she said in a sleepy voice. "This better be urgent. I'm on a vacation!"
"Katie, is Shancai with you?" It was Daoming Si. He was panicked. Before she could answer, he went on. "I just woke up and she isn't in the room! We have to find her - I'm coming over to your room right now with the rest of the guys." The line went dead.
Wait, what? She was trying to get her thoughts collected. Half her brain was still sleeping. Then there was relentless pounding on her door. OH MY GOD! She wanted to scream. This guy was driving her insane with his impulsion and impatience. It was infuriating! She quickly slipped into a white long-sleeved blouse and denim shorts. The pounding wouldn't stop until she opened the door. "What!" she shrieked at him. "Honestly!"
Daoming Si ignored her and peered into her room frantically. "She's not here." He said loudly.
"Well of course she's not," Katie growled furiously. "I'd tell you if she was." She stopped when she saw the worry in his eyes. "Let's just go and find her." She followed them out of the resort and onto the beach. They split ways. No one said anything except yelling Shancai's name. Katie was hungry by then and stopped by a street stall for a snack while still looking for Shancai.
She spotted her in the distance closer to the ocean, sitting next to someone. A guy. She started walking towards them then saw Shancai giving him a hug. She stopped in her tracks, feeling awkward, embarrassed and really at loss for action. She just froze there and continued to look on. She squinted to see who it was and she almost swore it was Huaze Lei with that mop of hair. Things just got more awkward.
What do I do? she wondered. Wait, why do I care? It's not my business. Don't make it my business. Just walk away and pretend you didn't see anything. That's the most logical thing to do. That way, you won't complicate things. It may not be what you think.
She was having a mental conversation with herself as she peeled away from the scene and she bumped into someone. She stepped backwards from the impact. Daoming Si! Her brain screamed. He had an annoyed look on his face when he saw her.
"What on earth are you doing walking around in a daze when you're supposed to be looking for Shancai?" He wasn't happy and that set her off.
"For your information, I was looking for her," she said pointedly. "Am. I am looking for her." She corrected quickly. That was too close.
"Have you found her? Don't stop until you have found her."
"Do I LOOK like I've found her?" He was unbelievably unreasonable! "No wait, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Not with that attitude." Her temples hurt from yelling at him. "You know what? Forget it. I'm sure she's fine. You can keep looking. I'm going back to my room. I have a headache and standing here having an argument with you is making it worse." She brushed past him and headed back to the resort. She didn't care for a moment that she was lying to him.
It wasn't her business anyway.
The next morning, they gathered next to the pool for a private continental breakfast specially prepared for them on request. While the boys were sipping on drinks around a table under a huge umbrella, the girls were lounging on the poolside deck chairs.
Katie took a quick peek to make sure Daoming Si was preoccupied then leant in over to Shancai, speaking in a low voice. "Shancai, did Daoming Si see you with Huaze Lei last night?"
Shancai nearly choked on her apple juice. She coughed a little then stared at Katie wide-eyed. "How … how did you … you saw?" she stuttered.
Katie nodded. "What's going on?" she continued, almost whispering. "I thought you're with Daoming Si." Shancai was deafening silent. "Aren't you?"
"No …" she started then bit her lip. "I don't know." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm not dating Daoming Si. Not officially anyway. Well, we were starting to go out but then Huaze Lei returned and now I'm confused …" She looked down at her drink, avoiding eye contact with Katie. "I don't know who I like better."
"You should figure that out fast," Katie said firmly. "You don't have much time before he figures out that you've been seeing Huaze Lei. It will ruin the both of you." She then added, "Plus you know what he's like when he loses his mind. You don't want that again." She could only be referring to the most recent social media episode. She hoped Shancai got the hint.
Unknown to the both of them, Daoming Si overheard a casual conversation between the random girls the boys brought to the vacation about Huaze Lei being absent from his room last night. He was now suspicious of where Shancai had gone last night.
That night, Katie was putting away her belongings back into her bags, ready for check out the next day, when there came a knock on her door. When she opened it, there stood Daoming Si. He didn't look particularly pleased and her heart skipped a beat while she held her breath, expecting what he was going to say next.
"Is Shancai here?" he asked.
"No," she answered truthfully. "What's wrong?" She already knew what he would say.
"She's not in the room again. I was hoping she'd be here." He seemed to be hinting at something else, like he didn't really expect her to be in Katie's room. "Come with me, I have to find out what's going on." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of her room, and with his big strides, she was jogging and tripping over herself to desperately keep up. They went out onto the beach again and started walking along the water's edge.
Katie was panicking inside. "Why do you think she would be here?" she asked, trying to sound uninterested. "It's dark and windy out here. I wouldn't be out here if I were her." Please, Shancai, don't be out here with Huaze Lei, she begged in her mind. There's no telling what Daoming Si will do.
Daoming Si suddenly stopped in his tracks. His grip on her wrist tightened. "Ow!" she said. "You can let go now." He didn't. She saw what he saw: Huaze Lei and Shancai were kissing on the beach. She sneaked a peek at his face and it was horrifying. Once again, he looked treacherous and murderous. "Daoming-" she started in an attempt to calm him even though she wasn't exactly sure what she would say.
"How could the both of you!" he yelled at them and they quickly repelled away from each other as if electrocuted. Shancai was bewildered but Huaze Lei was unfazed with his stoic face. Without another word, Daoming Si punched Huaze Lei on the cheek, drawing blood from his lips. The girls shrieked in shock.
Shancai went to Huaze Lei's aid and glared angrily at Daoming Si. "WHAT is wrong with you?" she cried. "He's your best friend!"
"Not anymore, he isn't." Daoming Si replied coldly. Huaze Lei wiped away the trickle of blood from the edge of his lips and said nothing.
Shancai turned her gaze to Katie. "You told him?" she accused. Katie shook her head, surprised. "If you didn't tell him, how did Daoming Si know where to find us then?" Shancai was now angry at her. Katie was speechless.
"I found you!" Daoming Si interrupted. "Not her. How would Katie know anything about this?"
"Because she saw us last night." Shancai insisted. She then looked like she regretted what she said. "I mean, …" There was no turning back now. They were done for.
"This isn't about her!" Daoming Si snarled. "Shancai, from the beginning, I have only liked you. I devoted myself to liking and wooing you. Think about that."
He shot both of them a death glare each before grabbing Katie again and dragging her away from the scene. He finally stopped when he had stormed away far enough that the resort was but a speck of light in the distance. Katie still didn't know what to say so she remained silent. He yelled at the crashing waves of the ocean, frustrated, disappointed and sad.
Then he turned to her which made her jump a little. "Why didn't you tell me they were together last night?" he asked her loudly above the sound of the waves. He was furious again.
Katie sighed in defeat. "Because it wasn't mine to tell," she said. He was still eyeing her angrily. "Daoming Si, Shancai is my friend - I wouldn't say or do anything to hurt her or her relationship with others, whether I like what's going on or not. It's not my business and it's not mine to tell. I don't want to complicate matters, especially relationships."
"But we're friends too," he retorted. "Aren't we?"
Katie looked into his hopeful eyes. He had a point. Until this moment, she didn't realise he acknowledged theirs as a friendship. "Yes, we are," Katie replied, feeling just a bit guilty. "But this is between you and Shancai." She stopped then added, "And Huaze Lei now. I shouldn't be involved saying things to her or you in private. I'm not taking sides so you'll just have to work it out between yourselves. That's it." She drew an imaginary boundary with her two arms in a cross-way fashion to make a point.
He didn't say anything else. He started walking towards the resort, leaving her behind. She groaned loudly when he was out of earshot. Oh, for crying out loud, this is ridiculous! She thought to herself as she dragged herself out of the sand behind him. I never should have come on this stupid vacation. It's been nothing but trouble and drama.
By the time she made it to the resort, Daoming Si had disappeared so she headed to her room then realised he had dragged her out without her key card earlier so she went to the concierge and asked for access to her room. When they finally checked, double-checked and triple-checked her identity, at which time she was about to slit the concierge's throat, she followed the concierge to her room only to find Daoming Si standing at the door, knocking.
Leave me alone! Her head screamed. "Daoming Si, what are you doing here?" she asked him in the calmest voice she could muster while the concierge obtained access into the room. He had his things with him.
"I'm sleeping in this room tonight," he declared. "I went to get my stuff." Katie was dumbfounded. "I paid for your room, so it's kind of mine too."
Unbelievable, she thought. But she had no energy left in her to argue. It was 10pm. She was mentally and physically exhausted from this so-called vacation. "Okay, whatever." The concierge let them in then excused himself promptly.
Daoming Si threw his things across the floor of the room then disappeared into the en-suite bathroom. Katie figured she would just have to wait patiently, very patiently, for him to finish his shower, complete his tantrums for tonight and somehow, hopefully, he sleeps without snoring. She would then take her shower and turn in for the night. It would be easier that way than to fight this man-child. Neither of them had the capacity for that tonight.
He did exactly as she predicted and he did so in silence, which was fine by her because she had nothing more to say to him anyway. When he finally settled on the couch, she went to take a nice hot shower then quietly emerged from the bathroom. He didn't stir and he didn't snore. She took a peek at him over the head of the couch - he was sound asleep. She pulled out the spare blanket in the closet and threw it over him any how. It landed on most of him - that would do.
She sank into the bed tiredly, curled up and closed her eyes.