DISCLAIMER: The cast of Meteor Garden are not mine. Their children, yes,
they are mine. Um... just so you know, their names are not Taiwanese,
instead, it's Korean. Hehehe... Anyway, the song "THE WAY YOU LOOK AT ME,"
was sung by Christian Bautista, and therefore is not mine, either.
~*~*~*~
I gave her my soul...
I gave her my faith...
I gave her my trust...
I gave her my happiness...
But most of all, I gave her my love...
She gave me her everything...
*~*~*~
DMS' POV
I still remember the way she looked at me that night forty-five years ago...
Yesha had invited F3, Shancai and Xiao Qiao for dinner. That was the night we announced our engagement to our friends. It was also the night when we figured we wanted Shancai's blessings. Until today, I haven't figured out why I wanted to gain her blessing. It wasn't like she was my mother or Yesha's parents. All I knew about her was what my friends told me about her... that she was the love of my life... of course, I didn't believe them, but for the sake of F3, I wanted to respect her.
I would like to say that I was afraid she would cause a fuss when Yesha finally asked her, but, thankfully, she didn't. She was only silent for a minute before she smiled at me with tears in her eyes. Yes, I did say she smiled at ME. I was surprised, honestly, because she wasn't looking at me with anger, jealousy, hurt, or any other negative emotion. Instead, her eyes glowed with compassion, joy, and dare I say it... love.
It irritated me to no end that night and a few more nights after that. All I thought about was how she looked at me. I shouted at her in my mind a thousand times saying, "Why aren't you angry?! Why? I hurt you didn't I? I betrayed your love! I'm marrying another woman, not you!!!" Over and over, I screamed in my head hoping that she'll answer with malice and hate. Now that I think about it, I think I wanted her to hate me because I knew, even then, that I was betraying my heart.
---
No one ever saw me like you do
All the things that I could add up to
I never knew just what a smile was worth
But your eyes say everything without a single word
---
It was three and a half years after our wedding when Yesha and I had our first born son. His name is Ji Hwan, after his great grandmother on Yesha's side.
Six months after Ji's birth, we decided to have a family vacation with the rest of F4 and their families/loved ones. By this time, MeiZhou had married Xiao Qiao and both are proud parents of one year old Sung. Ximen had just been engaged to Xiao You, and Lei has finally realized just how cute Ah Mei was. We, of course, could not forget Shancai, who had just arrived from a one-year travel tour in Europe.
Anyway, we went to Hawaii, where the beach is plainly a sight to see. Ji was crying and his uncles were trying to calm him down, but to no avail. Even Xiao You, Xiao Qiao, and Ah Mei didn't know what do.
But when Shancai got hold of him, he instantly stopped crying, even though it was his first time to be with Shancai. Normally, a baby doesn't want to be in the company of strangers, but Ji just made himself comfortable in her arms.
"Now, now," I remember Shancai saying as she gently stroked the back of my baby, "No worries, all right, Ji Hwan? Auntie Shancai is here. No one will harm you..."
Then she looked at me.
With those same eyes again.
For a minute I thought I was in an alternate world where Shancai was the mother of Ji Hwan. She looked so proud, holding him in a motherly way. Her eyes told me that she will take care of Ji, it told me that she would have lots of adventures with him, and that she would always be there for him like she was there, still waiting, for me.
I had no idea how I could have read that message from her eyes, but I know that I was right. Years later, as each day passed, she became a second mother to Ji.
---
Coz there's something in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I'd never know what you see
But there's something in the way you look at me
---
When Ji Hwan was six, Shancai and I accompanied him and Sung to the park. Yesha had to go to Budan that week and MeiZhou and Xiao Qiao were going to have their second honeymoon. While we were on the way there, Ji and Sung decided that it was a nice time to play tag.
"Tag, you're it!" Sung said before she started running forward, making faces at Ji, daring him to catch her.
"TAG!!!"
"YOU'RE IT!!!"
"TAG!!!"
It went like that for a little while, so Shancai and I paid little mind. We just sat in one of the benches contented with talking and laughing, and watching over the kids once in a while. We were in the middle of our own little game, Rock-Paper-Scissors, when we suddenly heard Ji cry.
He had tripped on his own foot and scraped his knee.
Shancai immediately went to pick him up in his arms.
"Oh, Ji Hwan, what is it?" She cooed, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts, Mommy Cai!" Ji cried. Ever since he knew how to pronounce 'mommy,' properly, he's been calling Shancai 'Mommy Cai." It never bothered us, we (Yesha and I) were Mama and Papa. And honestly, that's what the rest of F4's kids call her now.
"Don't worry, Ji," Shancai gently soothed, wiping the blood off his knee with a tissue damped with her saliva. "Mommy Cai and Papa is here, alright? It will be all right soon, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy."
I took Ji from Shancai, then froze. As that ten-second span of time passed, I felt that alternate feeling again where I thought of Shancai as Ji's mother. I swear it was in that stare of hers. She was silently saying, "I'm happy. And I still love you."
Then, it happened. I unconsciously put an arm around Shancai and kissed her hair, silently promising to myself that I had to protect my family.
Fa...Family?! What am I thinking?!
SNAP
"Uncle!" Sung said, as she waited for her picture to come out of her Polaroid camera, "You, Ji, and Mommy Cai, looked so perfect together. I just had to take a picture!"
---
If I could freeze the moment in my mind
Be the second that you touch your lips to mine
I'd like to stop the clock make time stand still
Coz baby this is just the way I always wanna feel
---
Once, when Yesha and I had a fight, I drove all night, just wanting to calm my nerves. When morning came, and I still didn't want to go home, I decided to go to an old hangout, Ying De. There were already students rushing off to get to their classes, but I just ignored them and went straight ahead to the rooftop. Usually, Lei was the one who hanged here, but what nobody knows is that I actually showed this place to Lei when were only eleven.
At the rooftop, I cried.
Yes, the great DaoMingSi cried.
'Stupid!' I thought, 'I should be angry, right now!' But all I felt doing was to cry. I remember the way Yesha looked at me when I left the house the night before.
Her eyes showed fear.
It showed hate and jealousy.
And most of all, it showed mistrust.
Why?
Didn't she trust me? After almost a decade of being married?
WHY!?!
"Don't fret, Ah Si," a female voice interrupted my silent moping. I looked up to see Shancai, "Go home, Yesha's worried about you."
"WORRIED?!" I asked, "SHE DOESN'T TRUST ME! AND NOW SHE'S WORRIED?!"
"Of course she trusts you!" Shancai said, "Don't you think she's just jealous?"
"OF WHAT?!" I asked, not for the first time. "WHAT RIGHT DOES SHE HAVE TO GET JEALOUS ALL OF A SUDDEN?!"
SLAP!!!
"Ouch! What did you do that for?"
"Get some sense into that head of yours, DMS!!!" Shancai reasoned, "You've been spending too much time in work and never have time for your family!!!! Your wife and your children want to spend time with you, too!!!"
"But I'm doing this for them!" I shouted, defending myself. She was about to punch me, but I caught her fist. Big mistake. It caused me to look in her eyes again. This time, her stare didn't convey the usual kindness and understanding, instead, it said, "I'm irritated with you right now."
"Why so irritated?!" I asked.
I think she was surprised that I knew she was irritated with me. But then, she also caught me off guard because suddenly...
PUNCH!!!
"Ouch!"
"Because I was thinking," She answered, "If I am your wife right now and we have children, would you spend so little time with us and more time in your work?! How many times do I have to tell you, pighead, MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING!!! ...I'd have kicked you in your groin long time ago... Be lucky I'm not Yesha."
---
Coz there's something in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I'd never know what you see
But there's something in the way you look at me
---
Twenty something years later, my first daughter, Jin-Sil, decided to get married. A week before her wedding, I overheard her and Shancai talking.
"Are you sure that Tae is the one for you?" Shancai asked.
"Of course!" JinSil answered with a dreamy look. "I love him, Mommy Cai!"
Shancai smiled and told JinSil to sit down on the grass with her. JinSil, of course, did as was told. She even rested her head on Shancai's shoulder.
"What is love?" Shancai asked, surprising JinSil, "What is love for you?"
JinSil looked up at Shancai and answered, "I don't know."
At this point, I got worried. JinSil is marrying someone she thinks she loves! Yet she doesn't even know what love is. But Shancai had a different opinion.
"Good answer," She said, again surprising JinSil.
"Huh?"
"That's actually the best answer you could say." Shancai explained, "You see, love is unexplainable. You love a person... just because. You feel like you can do everything for the sake of the person/people you love. You don't care if he acts rough or polite, if he is dumb or smart.... You just love him... for reasons unknown."
Once again, JinSil looked at Shancai. It was her turn to ask, and I admit, I was surprised, too, when she asked, "Is that how you feel for my dad?"
She looked away from JinSil and turned to the direction where I was hiding. I had this inkling that she knew where I was and was looking at me. For a few seconds, her face was unreadable, but then, she smiled and mouthed something that I'm afraid is "I love you."
"Yes," She answered, "That's how I feel about your dad."
"You're very stubborn," JinSil said, "I don't think I'll last two years seeing Tae with another woman."
"Yes, well, that's what you're dad loved about me in the first place. My stubbornness. That's why I won't and will never let go."
"But Papa's stubborn, too. He'll never remember you!" JinSil said, "What I mean is that... what? It's been over twenty? Thirty years?"
"Yeah," Shancai sighed, "But that's also why I love him."
---
I don't know how or why
I feel different in your eyes
All I know is that it happens every time
---
A few days ago, someone had kidnapped my grandson, HoJun, asking for ten million dollars. Of course, we could have just given the money and be done with it, but F4 will always be F4. We'd rather fight. And I'm afraid that this attitude of ours had been passed on to our sons and daughters.
Just as JinSil gave the news of HoJun's disappearance, Ji and the other boys rushed to the place where HoJun was being kept, ready to fight.
And of course, F4 will always be F4. We just had to join in the fun and go rescue our sons, and my grandson. Stupid F4. And I'm the leader!!!
Anyway, F4's never complete without their partners in crime, their wives. Stubborn F4 equals stubborn wives. So, here we are. In an old factory near AhMei's hometown. We saw our sons putting up a good fight, they were winning 3:1, but their enemies are just too plenty. They would lose after some time. So we decided to butt in.
"Stop this!" I ordered as Lei, MeiZhou, and Ximen got hold of the stupid children.
There were choruses of "Dad!" or "Pops!" I knew they were frustrated, but not as frustrated as us. Didn't they think that we would worry? HoJun is enough problem and they had to be stupid? They were twenty-plus, for pete's sake, not anymore teenagers!
"Mr. DaoMingSi," the leader of the group, whom I will call Snorty for now because of his big nose, said, "How nice of you to join us. Got the money?"
I shook my head, "Sorry. These stupid children rushed off immediately that we didn't have time to get the money."
"Well, that's too bad, ain't it?" Snorty said, smirking. "We'll just have to kill each and every one of you."
I didn't think he was serious. Or at least, I thought he'll give us a chance to say anything first, but no. So it was so sudden when I heard a shout.
"PIGHEAD! WATCH OUT!"
BANG!
"SHANCAI!"
BANG!
"AH SI!"
...
...
Okay, I guess you're now wondering what the @!*&%^ happened, right? Well, When I heard Shancai shout (I don't even know how she got here), I turned around to see her running at a fast pace. She only stopped when she was already in front of me.
The first gunshot was heard.
I looked up to see a bullet coming towards me.
"SHANCAI!" I shouted, trying to push her away, but it was too late. The bullet had already hit her in the abdomen and a second
"Bang!" was heard. This time, it hit me.
I heard the family shouting our name, trying to get near us if not for the other people pointing guns at their heads, too. But I wasn't really concentrating on them.
I wasn't even aware that I was about to die. I only knew that I was bleeding... and that the love of my life is, too.
Yes, I finally remembered.
At that moment, all I could see was Shancai. She was lying underneath me, gasping for breath, hissing in pain, and still... looking at me with love.
*FLASHBACK* "Mrs. Shancai!" I said, handing her a balloon, "I give you my happiness!"
FLASH
"Trust me, Shancai," I promised, locking the meteor necklace around her neck, "If you're love is not enough, then I'll double mine."
FLASH
"I don't know why I love you," I said, "...I'll follow you everywhere. Even in hell, expect to see me."
FLASH
"In my eyes, there is only you."
FLASH
"In my eyes, there is only you."
FLASH
"In my eyes, there is only you."
*END FLASHBACK*
"Stupid woman," I said, "Why did you do that?!"
Shancai opened her eyes and stared into my eyes. I guess she figured that I've remembered because she cupped my head in her hands and reached up to give me a kiss on the lips.
"Pighead!" She said with a slight laugh, "Because I love you."
Tears suddenly came pouring out of my eyes. I tried to wipe it away, but it poured away non-stop and wiping it out was just not practical anymore. Besides, my stomach hurt whenever I move my arm.
I looked at her and stared at her beautiful brown eyes. "I'm really stupid, huh?" I asked. But in my mind, I already had an answer, "YES!!! You are so stupid! These past decades, you've seen it in her eyes. Her love. Dammit, DaoMingSi!!! You even saw yourself in there. You knew you loved her... but you denied it. You denied it because you were afraid... COWARD!!!"
I mentally screamed at myself, but, alas, Shancai knew me so well. She shook her head and said, "I love you, DaoMingSi. It wasn't your fault."
"But I was a coward, Shancai," I whispered.
"Shhh..." She said,putting a finger on my lips to silence me.
"That's not important anymore."
"I love you," I cried, laying my head on her chest to listen at her heart.
"I know," She said, putting an arm around me. "I love you, too."
The last thing we heard as we closed our eyes one final time was the sound of police cars coming in. Our family is safe, we can go now...
And that's all there is, there isn't anymore.
---
Coz there's something in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I'd never know what you see
But there's something in the way you look at me
---
I woke up and everything was dark. But after a few seconds, it was like the room was surrounded by golden light.
"AhSi!"
I turned around and saw my Shancai smiling down at me, offering her hand to help me up. I looked at her abdomen, but there was no more wound. I looked at my own wound, but it wasn't there.
I took her hand and stood up.
"Where are we?"
I looked down at her, she looked up at me. She smiled and stared at my eyes.
"We're home, AhSi." She said, "Welcome home."
Then I saw a golden gate appear before my very eyes. It was then, I knew where we were.
Shancai tiptoed and gave me a peck on my cheeks before she said, "Shall we?"
I gave her my arm and she took it.
We walked forward and smiled.
Shancai loves me.
I love her.
And we'll be together.
For eternity.
---
The way you look at me
---
~*~*~*~
I gave her my soul...
I gave her my faith...
I gave her my trust...
I gave her my happiness...
But most of all, I gave her my love...
She gave me her everything...
*~*~*~
DMS' POV
I still remember the way she looked at me that night forty-five years ago...
Yesha had invited F3, Shancai and Xiao Qiao for dinner. That was the night we announced our engagement to our friends. It was also the night when we figured we wanted Shancai's blessings. Until today, I haven't figured out why I wanted to gain her blessing. It wasn't like she was my mother or Yesha's parents. All I knew about her was what my friends told me about her... that she was the love of my life... of course, I didn't believe them, but for the sake of F3, I wanted to respect her.
I would like to say that I was afraid she would cause a fuss when Yesha finally asked her, but, thankfully, she didn't. She was only silent for a minute before she smiled at me with tears in her eyes. Yes, I did say she smiled at ME. I was surprised, honestly, because she wasn't looking at me with anger, jealousy, hurt, or any other negative emotion. Instead, her eyes glowed with compassion, joy, and dare I say it... love.
It irritated me to no end that night and a few more nights after that. All I thought about was how she looked at me. I shouted at her in my mind a thousand times saying, "Why aren't you angry?! Why? I hurt you didn't I? I betrayed your love! I'm marrying another woman, not you!!!" Over and over, I screamed in my head hoping that she'll answer with malice and hate. Now that I think about it, I think I wanted her to hate me because I knew, even then, that I was betraying my heart.
---
No one ever saw me like you do
All the things that I could add up to
I never knew just what a smile was worth
But your eyes say everything without a single word
---
It was three and a half years after our wedding when Yesha and I had our first born son. His name is Ji Hwan, after his great grandmother on Yesha's side.
Six months after Ji's birth, we decided to have a family vacation with the rest of F4 and their families/loved ones. By this time, MeiZhou had married Xiao Qiao and both are proud parents of one year old Sung. Ximen had just been engaged to Xiao You, and Lei has finally realized just how cute Ah Mei was. We, of course, could not forget Shancai, who had just arrived from a one-year travel tour in Europe.
Anyway, we went to Hawaii, where the beach is plainly a sight to see. Ji was crying and his uncles were trying to calm him down, but to no avail. Even Xiao You, Xiao Qiao, and Ah Mei didn't know what do.
But when Shancai got hold of him, he instantly stopped crying, even though it was his first time to be with Shancai. Normally, a baby doesn't want to be in the company of strangers, but Ji just made himself comfortable in her arms.
"Now, now," I remember Shancai saying as she gently stroked the back of my baby, "No worries, all right, Ji Hwan? Auntie Shancai is here. No one will harm you..."
Then she looked at me.
With those same eyes again.
For a minute I thought I was in an alternate world where Shancai was the mother of Ji Hwan. She looked so proud, holding him in a motherly way. Her eyes told me that she will take care of Ji, it told me that she would have lots of adventures with him, and that she would always be there for him like she was there, still waiting, for me.
I had no idea how I could have read that message from her eyes, but I know that I was right. Years later, as each day passed, she became a second mother to Ji.
---
Coz there's something in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I'd never know what you see
But there's something in the way you look at me
---
When Ji Hwan was six, Shancai and I accompanied him and Sung to the park. Yesha had to go to Budan that week and MeiZhou and Xiao Qiao were going to have their second honeymoon. While we were on the way there, Ji and Sung decided that it was a nice time to play tag.
"Tag, you're it!" Sung said before she started running forward, making faces at Ji, daring him to catch her.
"TAG!!!"
"YOU'RE IT!!!"
"TAG!!!"
It went like that for a little while, so Shancai and I paid little mind. We just sat in one of the benches contented with talking and laughing, and watching over the kids once in a while. We were in the middle of our own little game, Rock-Paper-Scissors, when we suddenly heard Ji cry.
He had tripped on his own foot and scraped his knee.
Shancai immediately went to pick him up in his arms.
"Oh, Ji Hwan, what is it?" She cooed, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts, Mommy Cai!" Ji cried. Ever since he knew how to pronounce 'mommy,' properly, he's been calling Shancai 'Mommy Cai." It never bothered us, we (Yesha and I) were Mama and Papa. And honestly, that's what the rest of F4's kids call her now.
"Don't worry, Ji," Shancai gently soothed, wiping the blood off his knee with a tissue damped with her saliva. "Mommy Cai and Papa is here, alright? It will be all right soon, okay?"
"Yes, Mommy."
I took Ji from Shancai, then froze. As that ten-second span of time passed, I felt that alternate feeling again where I thought of Shancai as Ji's mother. I swear it was in that stare of hers. She was silently saying, "I'm happy. And I still love you."
Then, it happened. I unconsciously put an arm around Shancai and kissed her hair, silently promising to myself that I had to protect my family.
Fa...Family?! What am I thinking?!
SNAP
"Uncle!" Sung said, as she waited for her picture to come out of her Polaroid camera, "You, Ji, and Mommy Cai, looked so perfect together. I just had to take a picture!"
---
If I could freeze the moment in my mind
Be the second that you touch your lips to mine
I'd like to stop the clock make time stand still
Coz baby this is just the way I always wanna feel
---
Once, when Yesha and I had a fight, I drove all night, just wanting to calm my nerves. When morning came, and I still didn't want to go home, I decided to go to an old hangout, Ying De. There were already students rushing off to get to their classes, but I just ignored them and went straight ahead to the rooftop. Usually, Lei was the one who hanged here, but what nobody knows is that I actually showed this place to Lei when were only eleven.
At the rooftop, I cried.
Yes, the great DaoMingSi cried.
'Stupid!' I thought, 'I should be angry, right now!' But all I felt doing was to cry. I remember the way Yesha looked at me when I left the house the night before.
Her eyes showed fear.
It showed hate and jealousy.
And most of all, it showed mistrust.
Why?
Didn't she trust me? After almost a decade of being married?
WHY!?!
"Don't fret, Ah Si," a female voice interrupted my silent moping. I looked up to see Shancai, "Go home, Yesha's worried about you."
"WORRIED?!" I asked, "SHE DOESN'T TRUST ME! AND NOW SHE'S WORRIED?!"
"Of course she trusts you!" Shancai said, "Don't you think she's just jealous?"
"OF WHAT?!" I asked, not for the first time. "WHAT RIGHT DOES SHE HAVE TO GET JEALOUS ALL OF A SUDDEN?!"
SLAP!!!
"Ouch! What did you do that for?"
"Get some sense into that head of yours, DMS!!!" Shancai reasoned, "You've been spending too much time in work and never have time for your family!!!! Your wife and your children want to spend time with you, too!!!"
"But I'm doing this for them!" I shouted, defending myself. She was about to punch me, but I caught her fist. Big mistake. It caused me to look in her eyes again. This time, her stare didn't convey the usual kindness and understanding, instead, it said, "I'm irritated with you right now."
"Why so irritated?!" I asked.
I think she was surprised that I knew she was irritated with me. But then, she also caught me off guard because suddenly...
PUNCH!!!
"Ouch!"
"Because I was thinking," She answered, "If I am your wife right now and we have children, would you spend so little time with us and more time in your work?! How many times do I have to tell you, pighead, MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING!!! ...I'd have kicked you in your groin long time ago... Be lucky I'm not Yesha."
---
Coz there's something in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I'd never know what you see
But there's something in the way you look at me
---
Twenty something years later, my first daughter, Jin-Sil, decided to get married. A week before her wedding, I overheard her and Shancai talking.
"Are you sure that Tae is the one for you?" Shancai asked.
"Of course!" JinSil answered with a dreamy look. "I love him, Mommy Cai!"
Shancai smiled and told JinSil to sit down on the grass with her. JinSil, of course, did as was told. She even rested her head on Shancai's shoulder.
"What is love?" Shancai asked, surprising JinSil, "What is love for you?"
JinSil looked up at Shancai and answered, "I don't know."
At this point, I got worried. JinSil is marrying someone she thinks she loves! Yet she doesn't even know what love is. But Shancai had a different opinion.
"Good answer," She said, again surprising JinSil.
"Huh?"
"That's actually the best answer you could say." Shancai explained, "You see, love is unexplainable. You love a person... just because. You feel like you can do everything for the sake of the person/people you love. You don't care if he acts rough or polite, if he is dumb or smart.... You just love him... for reasons unknown."
Once again, JinSil looked at Shancai. It was her turn to ask, and I admit, I was surprised, too, when she asked, "Is that how you feel for my dad?"
She looked away from JinSil and turned to the direction where I was hiding. I had this inkling that she knew where I was and was looking at me. For a few seconds, her face was unreadable, but then, she smiled and mouthed something that I'm afraid is "I love you."
"Yes," She answered, "That's how I feel about your dad."
"You're very stubborn," JinSil said, "I don't think I'll last two years seeing Tae with another woman."
"Yes, well, that's what you're dad loved about me in the first place. My stubbornness. That's why I won't and will never let go."
"But Papa's stubborn, too. He'll never remember you!" JinSil said, "What I mean is that... what? It's been over twenty? Thirty years?"
"Yeah," Shancai sighed, "But that's also why I love him."
---
I don't know how or why
I feel different in your eyes
All I know is that it happens every time
---
A few days ago, someone had kidnapped my grandson, HoJun, asking for ten million dollars. Of course, we could have just given the money and be done with it, but F4 will always be F4. We'd rather fight. And I'm afraid that this attitude of ours had been passed on to our sons and daughters.
Just as JinSil gave the news of HoJun's disappearance, Ji and the other boys rushed to the place where HoJun was being kept, ready to fight.
And of course, F4 will always be F4. We just had to join in the fun and go rescue our sons, and my grandson. Stupid F4. And I'm the leader!!!
Anyway, F4's never complete without their partners in crime, their wives. Stubborn F4 equals stubborn wives. So, here we are. In an old factory near AhMei's hometown. We saw our sons putting up a good fight, they were winning 3:1, but their enemies are just too plenty. They would lose after some time. So we decided to butt in.
"Stop this!" I ordered as Lei, MeiZhou, and Ximen got hold of the stupid children.
There were choruses of "Dad!" or "Pops!" I knew they were frustrated, but not as frustrated as us. Didn't they think that we would worry? HoJun is enough problem and they had to be stupid? They were twenty-plus, for pete's sake, not anymore teenagers!
"Mr. DaoMingSi," the leader of the group, whom I will call Snorty for now because of his big nose, said, "How nice of you to join us. Got the money?"
I shook my head, "Sorry. These stupid children rushed off immediately that we didn't have time to get the money."
"Well, that's too bad, ain't it?" Snorty said, smirking. "We'll just have to kill each and every one of you."
I didn't think he was serious. Or at least, I thought he'll give us a chance to say anything first, but no. So it was so sudden when I heard a shout.
"PIGHEAD! WATCH OUT!"
BANG!
"SHANCAI!"
BANG!
"AH SI!"
...
...
Okay, I guess you're now wondering what the @!*&%^ happened, right? Well, When I heard Shancai shout (I don't even know how she got here), I turned around to see her running at a fast pace. She only stopped when she was already in front of me.
The first gunshot was heard.
I looked up to see a bullet coming towards me.
"SHANCAI!" I shouted, trying to push her away, but it was too late. The bullet had already hit her in the abdomen and a second
"Bang!" was heard. This time, it hit me.
I heard the family shouting our name, trying to get near us if not for the other people pointing guns at their heads, too. But I wasn't really concentrating on them.
I wasn't even aware that I was about to die. I only knew that I was bleeding... and that the love of my life is, too.
Yes, I finally remembered.
At that moment, all I could see was Shancai. She was lying underneath me, gasping for breath, hissing in pain, and still... looking at me with love.
*FLASHBACK* "Mrs. Shancai!" I said, handing her a balloon, "I give you my happiness!"
FLASH
"Trust me, Shancai," I promised, locking the meteor necklace around her neck, "If you're love is not enough, then I'll double mine."
FLASH
"I don't know why I love you," I said, "...I'll follow you everywhere. Even in hell, expect to see me."
FLASH
"In my eyes, there is only you."
FLASH
"In my eyes, there is only you."
FLASH
"In my eyes, there is only you."
*END FLASHBACK*
"Stupid woman," I said, "Why did you do that?!"
Shancai opened her eyes and stared into my eyes. I guess she figured that I've remembered because she cupped my head in her hands and reached up to give me a kiss on the lips.
"Pighead!" She said with a slight laugh, "Because I love you."
Tears suddenly came pouring out of my eyes. I tried to wipe it away, but it poured away non-stop and wiping it out was just not practical anymore. Besides, my stomach hurt whenever I move my arm.
I looked at her and stared at her beautiful brown eyes. "I'm really stupid, huh?" I asked. But in my mind, I already had an answer, "YES!!! You are so stupid! These past decades, you've seen it in her eyes. Her love. Dammit, DaoMingSi!!! You even saw yourself in there. You knew you loved her... but you denied it. You denied it because you were afraid... COWARD!!!"
I mentally screamed at myself, but, alas, Shancai knew me so well. She shook her head and said, "I love you, DaoMingSi. It wasn't your fault."
"But I was a coward, Shancai," I whispered.
"Shhh..." She said,putting a finger on my lips to silence me.
"That's not important anymore."
"I love you," I cried, laying my head on her chest to listen at her heart.
"I know," She said, putting an arm around me. "I love you, too."
The last thing we heard as we closed our eyes one final time was the sound of police cars coming in. Our family is safe, we can go now...
And that's all there is, there isn't anymore.
---
Coz there's something in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I'd never know what you see
But there's something in the way you look at me
---
I woke up and everything was dark. But after a few seconds, it was like the room was surrounded by golden light.
"AhSi!"
I turned around and saw my Shancai smiling down at me, offering her hand to help me up. I looked at her abdomen, but there was no more wound. I looked at my own wound, but it wasn't there.
I took her hand and stood up.
"Where are we?"
I looked down at her, she looked up at me. She smiled and stared at my eyes.
"We're home, AhSi." She said, "Welcome home."
Then I saw a golden gate appear before my very eyes. It was then, I knew where we were.
Shancai tiptoed and gave me a peck on my cheeks before she said, "Shall we?"
I gave her my arm and she took it.
We walked forward and smiled.
Shancai loves me.
I love her.
And we'll be together.
For eternity.
---
The way you look at me
---