Chapter 4- Yang Xiao You

"Shan Cai, will you be my girlfriend?"

Shan Cai slammed the door shut, flung her bag to the direction of her sofa and leant against the back of the door, head tilted back. She shut her eyes and clasped her hands over her pounding heart, trying to calm herself. Slowly she slid down until she landed on the floor with a 'thump'. After several moments of absolute silence, she gradually opened her eyes again.

It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness of the apartment. She could only see the dim hazy outlines of her furniture, but could tell that her previous throw had been totally inaccurate; her handbag had landed on the floor a few metres away from her aim, it was lucky that there wasn't anything breakable in it, or she would've regretted being so rash.

She couldn't believe it... she just couldn't. It had happened. And she didn't expect it. Shan Cai's mind drifted back to what had happened moments ago, in Ah Si's car.

. : FLASHBACK : .

"Shan Cai, will you be my girlfriend?"

Silence.

Shan Cai stared at Ah Si, dumbstruck by both his openness and rashness. He barely knew her! How could he ask her so soon? They had only just met each other for three weeks! Shan Cai opened her mouth, but found that she had nothing to say, so she closed it again, and fiddled with the hem of her shirt, trying to pass the awkward silence.

Ah Si seeing Shan Cai's silence, kept going, but his voice sounded doubtful and he kept staring at Shan Cai with pleading eyes, hoping for her to look up at him. She didn't.

"I know it might seem a bit well, you know, a bit foolish of me, seeing as we've only just met... but I know that... it just feels right... I mean..." Ah Si frantically tried to explain himself, but only seemed to get more confusing. Desperate, he looked up at Shan Cai, hoping that she would fill in the gaps.

She didn't respond.

Taking a deep breath, Ah Si started again, this time his voice seemed stronger, as if his confidence had been renewed. "I've never felt this way before, Shan Cai, never. Not about anything. Ever since I met you... everything I look at, everything I see and touch, or hear and smell, seems different. My whole surroundings have changed since I met you. You changed me. I don't know how, nor why. But you have... and I have to do something about it, because it's driving me nuts. I can't stop thinking about you. Everything about you shines. You're different to all the other girls I've dated. Everything reminds me of you. Every single minute I spend with you... I... I feel as if there is nobody in the world except for us. Only us."

"So I guess, Shan Cai, what I'm trying to say, is that I think... I think I've fallen for you. Please Shan Cai," whispered Ah Si hoarsely, grasping his rough hands over her slender ones, "Just give me a chance. One chance, that is all I'm asking for. Please. Just one chance."

Slowly, Shan Cai raised her head, and came face to face with the man who had just proclaimed that he loved her. She couldn't help but stare into those deep dark eyes. They were so sincere. So innocent, so naïve...

Could she possible refuse him?

Could she?

Shan Cai smiled and asked mischievously, "Just one?"

Ah Si nodded solemnly, looking hopefully at her.

Shan Cai grinned, "Well," she said, tilting her head as if in serious consideration, and then spoke very slowly and deliberately, "I suppose I could give you a chance. But only one!"

Ah Si looked ecstatic.

. : FLASHBACK : .

So she had said yes. She had done it on impulse. Her logic, and her common sense, all gone in that momentary bliss. But now that she was all alone in her apartment, she realised that she made a mistake.

A huge mistake.

She had lost her excuse.

Over the past few weeks, she knew that she was growing closer to Ah Si, and couldn't possibly hurt him in anyway, even with her duties. So she had devised a plan. She would not get closer to him. Thus, she would have an excuse that there was no way to steal the password for Ah Si's lap top and access the documents. And then either the mission was stopped or given to someone else to accomplish, and either suited her fine. It had been a brilliant plan.

But now it was ruined. All because of a stupid blunder due to foolishness.

Shan Cai knew now that her betrayal of Ah Si is inevitable. She had tried to refrain from doing so, but it now seemed as if fate had chosen instead for her.

She was seriously not in the mood for this. They had been sitting in the air port for over an hour, waiting for some friend of F4 to arrive. The friend however, seemed reluctant to show himself. First the plane was delayed and then there was some problem with landing. If Shan Cai was in one of her good moods, she might've enjoyed the company of F4 in the luxury of air conditioning ( it was scorching hot outside), but the aftermath of having agreed to be Ah Si's girlfriend was still frustrating her to no end.

And that brought her thoughts back to Ah Si. He had been grinning the whole time ever since Shan Cai arrived- which earned a couple of odd looks from Xi Men- and kept staring at her like an idiot. But apart from that, he made himself quite distant, really. Shan Cai reasoned that he had not yet told the rest of F4 about them.

Good, she thought forcefully, maybe then there is still a way out of this mess.

With that relieving thought in mind, her mood took a definite upturn and she found herself less angry with the unknown friend, and rather, began to enjoy the scenery outside the air port window. It was quite lovely really, all bright and cheery, like a haven. There were a couple of small fluffy clouds in the air behind the veil of the light baby blue sky. The green hills behind the airport seemed oddly out of place in a world of stone and concrete, but nether the less made an interesting addition to the scenery. In one word, everything was perfect. Too perfect really, thought Shan Cai with a wry smile.

Shan Cai turned back to F4, wanting to start a conversation. She suddenly noticed that the atmosphere was not normal. Wanting to slap herself for not noticing this before, she tried work out exactly why it wasn't normal. Lei, who wore the same expressionless mask today as any other day, was no more a clue than a mere stranger passing by. So moving on, Shan Cai turned to study Ah Si silently and to her immense irritation, was still grinning. But somehow, seeing him feeling this happy about their relationship made her, somehow, feel happy as well. Deciding that today was not the day to work out her weird and random thoughts, she turned back to the mystery of the strange atmosphere.

She next surveyed Mei Zhuo, who proved to be far more informative than Lei and Ah Si put together and doubled. He kept looking expectantly over to the entrance door and looking down at his expensive watch, and tapping his toes impatiently. A very un-Mei Zhuo thing to do.

Xi Men also looked very anxious, though he was not as obvious as Mei Zhuo, Shan Cai could tell from his small body movements that he was just as eager as Mei Zhuo, if not more. Xi Men was biting his lips and glanced every few seconds to the screen that announced the arrivals of planes. His fingers were intertwined with each other, and it seemed that he did not notice it.

What was with it, thought Shan Cai, curious. Hoping that the 'friend' could arrive soon and answer all her queries, she too began anxiously waiting, her previous worries temporarily forgotten.

The speaker in the other side of the room announced that flight SJY206 from Tokyo had just landed. Shan Cai watched Mei Zhuo and Xi Men exchange identical excited grins. Even Ah Si and Lei seemed to have awoken from their dreamlike state, because at least now, they were standing up straight and looking over at the arrival door. From this, it was quite obvious that whomever they were waiting for was on flight SJY206.

Finally, thought Shan Cai.

Suddenly Mei Zhuo jumped up excitedly, pointed to the arrival door, and practically screamed into Shan Cai's ear, "There! I've found her!"

Before Shan Cai had time to register the fact that the friend whom she had assumed was a he turned out to be a she, a tornado of pink, black and blue came whirling at them and enveloped Xi Men. It took Shan Cai a moment to realise that the 'tornado' in fact was a girl who was wearing a pink tank and jeans with black hair.

The two broke the hug and the girl was about to pull away before Xi Men put his hands around her waist and kissed her lovingly on the lips. The rest of F4 turned away, not out of embarrassment, but more out of respect for the two. Shan Cai decided to follow their lead and not stare at the oblivious couple. Because F4 had turned away with such familiarity, Shan Cai noted that this sort of show of affection between Xi Men and this girl was not a rare occurrence.

The two broke the kiss, and when the girl realised that there were four other people with her, she blushed madly. To make matters worse, Mei Zhuo decided to tease her a bit, "Almost done yet, you two? Can we look now-", here he covered his eyes and pretended to take a sneak peep, "-and greet our friend Xiao You? Or would you two like a few more hours?"

The girl, whose name Shan Cai now knew was Xiao You from Mei Zhuo's speech, blushed, if possible, even more. Xi Men, however, just shrugged and held her tighter, after throwing Mei Zhuo a pretend annoyed look. Xiao You seemed to have recovered herself, and grinned at Mei Zhuo, "Now, honestly Mei Zhuo, is that any way to talk to your auntie? Didn't your mother teach you any respect for your elders?"

This shocked Shan Cai. The girl was around the same age as them all, if not younger, how could she be Mei Zhuo's auntie? Her shock must've shown on her face, for Mei Zhuo turned and introduced her to Xiao You and then explained Shan Cai's query.

"My grandmother had my mother when she was very young, and then my mother had me while she was twenty. Around that time, my grandmother had Xiao You. So technically, Xiao You is my auntie, as she is my mother's sister, even tough she is younger than me." Xiao You nodded happily, "Mei Zhuo is my favourite nephew." She purposely put an emphasis on the word nephew.

It's hardly fair," groaned Mei Zhuo, "but that's how the family works, not by age but by generation. So she is my elder, supposedly. But then again, she is Xi Men's fiancée, and Xi Men is like a brother to me, so she will be my sister-in- law."

Xi Men grinned evilly. "Nah ah, Mei Zhuo. I may be like a brother to you, but when it comes to sorting out generations, family comes first. So, because I am Xiao You's fiancée, and Xiao You is your auntie, then I will become your uncle. And because both Lei and Ah Si are like brothers to me, they will be your uncles as well. Geez, Mei Zhuo, you are ever so lucky. You have suddenly gotten yourself three extra uncles."

Mei Zhuo groaned. "And when Lei and Ah Si get married, their wives will be my aunties? What is this world coming to?"

"Poor Mei Zhuo," said Xiao You with mock sympathy "All of us here are your elders. You'll just have to live with it. I promise you, if you listen to us and do as you are told like a good little boy, we won't remind you all the time that we are of your senior. Trust me, I mean, after all, I am your auntie, I do know more than you, do I not?"

Mei Zhuo threw Xiao You a dirty look, and she replied by poking her tongue out at him. He glared back at her, and she rolled her eyes, and then imitated an old grandma, leaning on a walking stick, calling out, "Mei Zhuo! Where is my good nephew? Where is he gone?" Xi Men, pretending to be Mei Zhuo leaning on a walking stick, replied, "Yes Auntie? What is it?" This caused Xiao You to collapse into a fit of giggles.

"Oh well," Mei Zhuo finally said, giving up, and then he turned and saw Shan Cai, "Looks like it's just you and me, heh, Shan Cai? At least you won't suddenly become my senior."

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that Mei Zhuo," said Xi Men teasingly. "If Shan Cai marries Ah Si... then she will become your auntie!"

Mei Zhuo was speechless.

"You won't go back again, will you? You do know that I miss you a lot, don't you. I want you to stay here. All of us. Will you? We'll be together here, and we can be with each other whenever we like," a man's voice asked gently. He hugs another figure even tighter, as if afraid of letting go, "I go crazy without you, you know that?"

A girly giggle is heard, "I'd say you are crazy anyway." Then her voice turned serious. "You know I need to go back, But it's not that bad is it? This way we can appreciate each other more because of the precious little time we spend together."

"What is with girls and studying aboard? We've got excellent schools here. Why can't you go to one of them? Xiao You, I want to be able to see your angelic smile every day. I want to be able to see and touch you everyday, not just hear your voice over some machine."

"One day, Xi Men. One day. I promise."

A/N. Sorry for not posting for like months!! i've just sorta, not been in the mood. But I''ll try to update soon, both this one and Rainless Storm. If you haven't already, check out my other story /RainlessStorm/ and please leave a review.

I once read somewhere from someone that reviews are like the ink of a writer. TOO TRUE!!! so please review and i shall be inspired by it and will write more and more often. To Xiao You and Xi Men fans out there. This is a bit of a chapter dedicated to you guys, as will some others. But unfortunately, they will not be the centre of my plotline.

Speaking of my plot, if anyone has any gueses/predictions/theories, feel free to submit them into a review, or email me Amyranthfanfictionhotmail.com EVERYTHING IS WELCOME. That's all. Hope everyone has a really good weekend. and please review!!!!!

PS thanx jeanna for telling me that stupid mistake. I have also fixed up all those horrible horrible bits where they left out the spaces... so hope that it's easier to read!!!!