Author's Note: Hello, my dear Wastelings! I am back again! Can you believe that it's been ten years since I first started this project? I can't. But here we are. I did struggle a bit to put this match together on Saturday, but I managed to make it work. I know the weekend has been crappy for America, but maybe this could take your mind off for a few minutes. Anyway, last time Qi died after being exorcised of her dear friends. But is she really? What does Dr. Faust have in store for her? Why is he so interested in her? Ju feels like there is some business left unfinished. We will have to see what happens next this season. So sit back and enjoy this season premiere.


Tea Leaves and Pink Stockings

Match One: Graduation, Big Dinner, and Boy in the Parking Lot:

-Ju-

My name is Wang Ju and I am graduating from college today. That's right: I am officially done with school. It's been four months since the Qi incident. We've tried to move on. Everything has been rather quiet. No one has seen anything out of place. Hen-to and Fei haven't heard anything either. Still, something has me so uneasy. Almost like there's something that has been left unfinished. Something that isn't over yet.

I tried to push it down just for the day. It was my graduation after all. I had to get through this moment first before I worried about anything else. Just smile and get through this.

The ceremony took place in the morning. The gym was packed too. I thought a third of the country was in here. My whole clan was there. They must have taken up most of the audience in the middle of the gym. I could finally catch up to Tina and Qun. Speaking of which, they were in the audience too. The dean handed me my degree.

"Congratulations, Wang-furen," he said. I bowed as I smiled.

"Thank you, sir," I said. I walked back to my seat. I looked out onto the crowd. Yao held our son in his arms. He gently bounced Jing up and down in his arms. The clan moms stood with their husbands and children. Tina stood with her boyfriend and her son. Qun stood at the end of the row. I waved before walking back to my seat. There were two people missing, however.

My parents will never see me graduate again. I am used to it by now, but I would love to see the look on my father's face. He's always looked slightly disappointed when he looked at me. Almost like he expected me to fail. I wasn't his first choice to run the clan after all. I wish that I could see the look on his face now. The mere thought brought me a sense of twisted joy.

I smiled as the "hard" part was over. I was done. There was going to be no more school. Now, I could just focus on the clan. I looked out at the people in the gym. But first I had to finish this ceremony. I would just have to sit through the others to get their sheet of paper. My smile started to hurt. This was going to take some time.

I let my mind wander off as the final speech went on. To be honest, I hadn't thought much about what I was going to do next. I feel that I don't need to do any more school. I have been asked if I want to get a master's degree.

"I'm tired of school," I said. I stretched my arms above my head.

"I just want to live the rest of my adult life," I said. (Heh. Adult life. What adult life?) All I had was the clan. Speaking of which, after today it was going to be business as usual. Somehow, I was okay with that.

After the ceremony, I walked out of the gym, looking for my family. They seemed to have disappeared into the crowd. Damn, there were so many people around. I bit down on my lower lip.

"Hello?" I asked. "Where are you guys?"

"Ju!" I heard behind me. I turned to see Yao and Jing walking over to me. I perked up and ran over to my family. Yao hugged me the best that he could.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"They're here," Yao said. He pointed over to the crowd of people near the parking lot. My clan waved over at me. I waved back. I stretched my arms above my head.

"Can we go now?" I asked. Yao laughed.

"Yes, we can go dear," he said.

"Thank you," I said. "I want to get out of this robe. It's too hot."

"Fair enough," Yao said. He took me by the arm and walked me over to his car.


We had a big lunch in that new restaurant downtown. The Lucky Dragon Dog I believe is what it's called. The name sounded stupid to me. It was Mei who picked it out.

"How did you find this place?" I asked.

"Just looking around for a date night," she said. Oh, I should've known. Despite the name, the Lucky Dragon Dog was rather nice. Maybe too bright. I had to shield my eyes.

"Gah! My eyes! It's too bright!" I said. "Are we inside?"

"Yes, dear," Yao said. "Now come on." He had to pull me inside.

"Is she okay?" I heard a woman's voice ask. I looked through the cracks in my fingers. A hostess stood in traditional wear.

"Oh," I said. I lowered my hand.

"It's too bright in here," I said. The hostess blinked for a moment.

"Uh-huh… Right," she said. Mei stepped forward.

"Do you have a table for the Wang party?" she asked.

"One moment please," the hostess said. She pulled out her tablet and scanned through the seating plan. By now, my eyes adjusted to the lighting. The lobby actually looked decently decorated with the theme of imperial China. I could hear a fountain running in the background. Soft harp music filled the air. It looked like it was starting to get busy with the people sitting at the slick black tables. By now, I started to smell the incense.

"Ah, here it is," the hostess said. "Follow me." She walked to the back. Mei nudged me in the side and grabbed at me. I rolled my eyes as she followed behind. The rest of the clan and I started walking to keep up.

The party room was the right size for six families. Mei had booked the whole room for us. The tables were all pushed together for everyone. The space and the arrangement were fine. But...

Did everything in this room have to be so gold?

"Here you are," the hostess said. We all took our seats in black leather chairs. She handed us our menus.

"I will have a server come by your table," she said. The hostess bowed and walked out of the room. Mei smirked the whole time.

"It's all on me!" she shouted. Wan turned and glared at her daughter.

"How are you going to pay for this?" she asked.

"I've got it, mom," Mei said through gritted teeth. She rolled her eyes and forced herself to smile.

"Thank you for dinner!" I shouted. She gave me a nod. I picked up my menu and started to look through the food items. Mei says that it's on her but I don't want to be that girl and get the most expensive thing on the menu.

"I feel like having some Szechuan," I said. Yao looked at the menu with me.

"I want this one," I said. I pointed at an item under the seafood section. Yao raised his eyebrow at me.

"You sure you want that?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

"You just want shrimp?" Yao asked.

"Yeah. Is that wrong?" I asked. He just put up his hands in a shrug.

"Nothing," he said. I frowned as he looked for an entree.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said again. "That's up to you." He ran his finger down the page. I looked down at my menu. Did he have to shame me for my choices? A waitress came by our table.

"Welcome to Lucky Dragon Dog," she said. "My name is Li Ming and I will be your server. What can I get for you to drink?" Most of my table ordered tea. I wanted a pearl milk tea. Szu gave me a funny look.

"Since when did you start drinking that?" she asked. I shrugged.

"I just wanted to try it out," I said.

"Heh," she said. "I guess I will try it too." I gave her a stunned look.

"You haven't tried it yourself?" I asked.

"I like Pepsi," Szu said.

"Oh," I said. Li Ming finished taking our orders.

"Okay, I will be right back with you in a little bit," she said. She turned and walked out of the room.

It didn't take long for the table to descend into chatter. When was the last time we were like this? It was my birthday, wasn't it? Yeah, that had to be it.

"We should toast when the drinks get here," Mei said. I quickly waved her off as my face turned red.

"No, you don't have to do that," I said.

"Don't be silly," Mei said. "Of course we do! You're the boss after all."

"Well… yeah, but…" I said. Yao squeezed my hand. I turned my head. The look in his eyes told me to just enjoy the moment. I dropped my shoulders.

"Fine," I said. "Toast me all you want."

"Yes!" Mei said, pumping her fist in the air. I pressed my lips together as I shook my head. The waitress came back with our drinks.

"Here you are," Li Ming said as she handed around each cup and glass.

"Thank you," Chih said, lifting his glass. I nodded as I got my pearl milk tea. Szu nudged me in the arm.

"What?" I asked. She pressed her lips together as she smiled.

"Want to try this tea together?" she asked. Really? She just turned twenty last month. She's too old to be acting like this.

"Sure," I said. Szu giggled as she picked up her straw. She stabbed it through the hole of the plastic lid. I picked up mine and stabbed it through the hole.

"Ready?" Szu asked.

"Yeah, yeah," I said.

"One," she said. I rolled my eyes. We really were going to do this, were we? Okay, fine.

"Two," I said.

"Three!" we said together. We both took a sip at the same time. It was kind of sweet but I didn't expect a tapioca ball to shoot into my mouth.

"Gah!" I said in shock. Yao glanced over at me with his cup in his hand.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," I said quickly. "I think I swallow a tapioca ball the wrong way. I'm fine now. Really I am." I took another sip of my tea. Szu sat next to me giggling with her pearl milk tea.

"Is it good?" I asked. She set down her cup and grinned.

"I think I have a new favorite," Szu said.

"Heh," I said. I took another sip of my drink. Our waitress finished serving our drinks.

"Is everyone ready to order or do you need more time?" she asked. I raised my hand.

"I'm ready to order," I said.

"Okay, what would you like to eat?" Mi Ling asked. We all gave her our orders. She wrote everything down and headed to the back.

The rest of the feast went like it normally would. First came the appetizers with fresh, piping hot spring rolls and egg rolls. Yao fed Jing his bottle before the main course came. All of the dishes made my mouth water. My Szechuan seafood dish actually tasted good.

"Can I have a bite?" Yao asked. I gave him a funny look before stuffing a shrimp in my mouth. Yao held up his hands.

"Okay, okay," he said. I chewed and swallowed my shrimp. Hmpf. Served him right for implying that I was being cheap for my meal.

Sometime later, I got and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I don't think my party really noticed. If they did, they didn't say anything. I got up and slipped out of the party room.

On my way back, I happened to look out the window and notice something rather peculiar. I saw a little black boy with short messy black hair standing across the street in a parking lot. He had on a messy little black suit. The child just stood there staring at me. (At least I thought he was staring at me.) Something about him seemed so familiar…

"Excuse me, miss?" someone asked behind me. I turned to see another member of the wait staff gently shaking me on the shoulder. I blinked at her.

"Yes?" I asked. The server looked hesitant to speak their mind at first.

"Yes?" I asked again. The server pressed their lips together.

"What exactly were you looking at out there?" he asked in a soft voice. I was about to answer when I turned my head. That little boy was gone. Where did he go? How did he go away that fast? I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"I just thought I saw someone I might have known," I said. I walked back to the party room before the server could say another word. What was that just now? That feeling that I left something unfinished resurfaced in my gut.