A/N: anything you recognize from Meteor Garden I do not own. =)
Oh & the next chapter will be rated R so to those who are reading this
(silent or not), next time you check, click 'all' for
rating =)
And thanks to all who reviewed.

Chapter 3: who could it be now?

"You?" Ximen's voice came out in a croak as he looked down at his 'buyer' in frozen shock.

"Why look so shocked? Were you expecting someone else?"

***

"You?" Lei's voice came out in a croak as he looked up at his 'buyer' in frozen shock.

"Why look so shocked? Were you expecting someone else?"

*** "Hey Ah Si.did you manage to get Shan Cai to tell you who'd bought Lei and Ximen?" Mei Zhou had called as soon as he woke up, quite curious about the mysterious buyers of the night before.

Ah Si groaned at being woken up for such a query. "Mei Zhou!" he muttered exasperatedly.

"Come on.tell me. Xiaoqiao's ready to pitch me over the side of the bed because I'd kept her awake with my incessant curiosity. Please." Mei Zhou begged.

The truth was Ah Si had no answer to that. He too, had barely had sleep last night thinking about the identities of their friends' buyers. Shan Cai had just kept on looking at him pointedly and remained mum about the whole thing. It had annoyed him to no end.

"I don't know."

***

"How are you?" Ximen finally recovered from his shock.

"As you can see I'm doing quite alright." She answered with a smile.

Ximen realized she was telling the truth. She looked beautiful. Even more beautiful than she looked the last time they'd seen each other. The tank top and shorts she was wearing also showed him curves that he'd thought he'd only get to see again in his imagination. He would have complimented her but he knew she wouldn't believe it so he didn't bother.

"Come on. The boat is waiting." She told him as she started walking towards one of the houseboats moored along the marina.

Ximen was surprised. "You own this?" he couldn't help but ask when she had him hop aboard a luxurious houseboat.

"Why so surprised? You don't think I could afford one?" she asked as she bent from the waist up to unhook the boat's moorings from the dock.

He flushed at her rebuke. "I didn't mean it like that you know. I was just." Actually Ximen didn't know what he'd meant. His brain seemed to have gone on vacation the minute he was afforded a tantalizing view of her backside and bare legs when she bent the way she did.

"Forget it Ximen. Just make yourself useful by helping me with this." she told him as she finally stood up straight and threw the rope at him.

He flushed anew at having to be told to help. He should have been the one who did that. He caught the rope and nearly had a heart attack when she proceeded to jump from the dock onto the boat without so much as a warning to him.

He didn't know which of them was more surprised when he moved quickly to catch her. He supposed he did that because he'd feared that she'd break her bones or something. But she didn't. Break her bones, that is, because he'd broken her fall and they'd ended up in a tangle on the floor of the boat with her on top of him and his arms wrapped around her waist. Of course he should have let her go as soon as he realized she was okay. But then he found himself liking the feel of her body pressed against his and had unconsciously prolonged the contact.

One look at her shocked expression made him realize that he'd been holding her far too close for comfort. Far too close.well, for him at any rate because his body, after years of feeling like death warmed over, had chosen that very moment to suddenly come alive.

***

Lei hid the horror he felt at seeing who his buyer was. His worst fears had been confirmed!

A crazy woman had bought him! That was the only explanation he could think of for the way she was garbed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in an innocent-sounding voice as she took a seat opposite him.

"Uhm.nothing." He started to say, because after all, his mother had raised him to be a polite little boy, but then he couldn't help but add, "What's with the black veil?" because his mother had also raised a very curious and inquisitive boy. Her heartfelt laughter washed over Lei like a soothing melody and he couldn't help but feel surprised at his reaction. He found his feelings of dismay slowly turning into intrigue. Why was she wearing a black veil?

"I prefer to keep my identity a secret for now." She answered candidly. "Don't worry, I do not have any contagious disease nor is my face disfigured," she was quick to assure him when he gave her a doubtful look.

"Why?" His question was double edged. He was asking her why she wanted to keep her identity a secret and he was also asking himself why she was suddenly starting to feel quite familiar because her voice certainly wasn't.

"Because." was her only answer.

Quite cryptic but then even he couldn't answer his own question. "Do you mind if we order now?" he asked. He was really very hungry.

"Sure."