Disclaimers: sorry...I forgot this when I first upload it ^^;; Anyway, CCS belongs to CLAMPS and only this story and any character that doesn't appear in the manga/anime is mine ^O^

Key:
*...*= thoughts
= flashbacks
[...]= lyrics/poems
CAPS= yelling/shouting

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Chapter 1: Shattered dreams



"Ah!" a small girl around the age of five struggled against the eight-years-old while laughing delightfully. A pair of tanned hands cupped over the girl's eyes although the little girl knew the owner of those warm hands already, "Let me go, Xiao Ling!"

The hands loosened as the little girl blinked her eyes a couple times to adjust to the light. Her striking ruby red eyes came into focus and twinkled while staring at the brown-haired lad beside her. The eight-years-old smiled warmly and handed the raven-haired girl a bouquet of daisies. Xiao Ling blushed slightly, "This is for you, Meiling."

Meiling gasped in delight upon receiving the flower. She gave the blushing Xiao Ling a tight hug and twirled around with daisies in her arm, "Thanks, Xiao Ling! Promise me you'll always be the only one giving me daisies, alright?"

"Sure," Xiao replied while running a hand through his messy brown hair, "I will be the only one, I promise." He watched the dancing Meiling while sighing to himself, *My favorite flower with my perfect girl, what can go wrong with that?*

**********

"Mama! Papa!" a petite girl holding a bouquet of daisies banged open the door. "Look what Xiao Ling gave me! Isn't that pretty?"

Only silence answered the little girl with pigtails. Her parents stood apart with unbuttoned shirts and red faces staring angrily at each other. The room was a mess. The once comfy sofa was torn, and picture frames dangled on the wall, barely held up by a corner. Thump! A family portrait dropped onto the floor. The glass cracked in the middle marring the brilliantly smiling family taken less than a year ago.

Meiling's father loosened his tie in frustration while his wife set down the plates reluctantly. The unhappy family sat down in silence, the glimmer in Meiling's ruby red eyes faded while she spooned the soup into her mouth mechanically. The soup was bland, the tinge spicy flavor gone from it, the love that brewed the soup turned sour.

The whole dinner went by rapidly in silence, only clattering of chopsticks and bowls was heard occasionally. Meiling's parents kept shooting each other murderous glares while Meiling squirmed in discomfort. Finally Meiling put down her bowl, and both of her parents' heads turned swiftly.

Meiling got up from her seat meekly, "May I be excused?"

Both parents replied with a stiff nod while Meiling rushed into her room and locked the door behind. Tears began to stream down her face. Besides her, a crumpled, withered bouquet of daisies comforted her.

**********

"I have enough!" Meiling's mother, a mid-age woman, set down her bowl.

Meiling's father looked up annoyingly, "Would you shush?"

"Why should I?" his wife stood up. "You never respect me or this family or anything that matters in this household. All you care about is your stinky business!"

SLAP!

Meiling's mother held her burning cheek while her husband shouted, "You know that's to be expected. You have been told since the day we married. So stop your whining!"

"I don't care," the woman spat out her words, "I want a divorce!"

The man scoffed, "You know that can't be done. Li clan would never allow such disgrace."

The dark-haired woman cackled dryly, "Li clan, Li clan...all you ever talk about is Li clan. You work as their underdog and you never get anything in return!"

"It's my family!" her husband narrowed his red eyes dangerously.

The raven-haired woman stood up, "Yeah, the family that doesn't even care about you! You're not going to get anything from it! The heir would not even be you but that pesky five-years-old!"

"Shut up!" Meiling's father scowled.

The wife stood tall and continued accusing her husband, "You know it's true. The clan doesn't care about you or me. It's not even going to twitch if we divorce!"

"That's it," the ruby-eyed man slumped, "you want it, you'll get it. I'll see you at the firm." The tall man went into the bedroom and packed several suits into a suitcase.

His wife trailed behind, "What about Meiling?"

"She's yours."

"I don't want her! She's a burden to me!" the raven-haired wife folded her arms. "You take her!"

"She's not my daughter!" the man dropped his suitcase. "All I ever want is a boy, not a girl. She's useless to me."

The wife twisted a strand of her long straight hair, "So you finally stated your intention. But now who's going to keep Meiling? I'm not keeping her."

"Well, I'm not either!" the door slammed shut as the apartment filled with silence once again.

**********

"Mommy? Daddy?" Meiling shuddered in her bed. "It's all a dream...it can't be true...it's all a dream..."

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Yeah yeah, I know Xiao Ling sounds more feminine but it could be either a girl name or a boy name depending on the Chinese characters used. Well, hope you like this fic ^.~