Chapter 14: A Part of The Truth Revealed
Taking the first-aid kit from the lower cabinet in the kitchen, as indicated by Jing, Shan Chai looked carefully at the face she admired and liked. She was curious.
'Why is he being grumpy and harsh towards Ah Si from morning? Even that incident at the beach was excessively childish. He never occurs as the violence type to me. Hitting Ah Si back was too much. He should've known better. What happen to the caring Lei I know?' she thought deeply while wiping the blood from Lei's cut at the side of his mouth with a cotton bud. He cringed a bit.
"Lei. Ah Si wa doushite naguru o shimashitaka?"
Lei looked at her, shocked. Smiling softly, he answered, "Ima anata no nihon go wa ii desu. Ganbarimasu ne. Omedeto."
She grinned, showing off her straight white teeth. "I'm not that good. I looked through the dictionary first while finding the first-aid kit. That was why I took a long time to be back with it," she said, showing the small, handheld dictionary.
Lei took the dictionary and flipped it through. "I was wondering why you took such a long time to find it. This dictionary has very few words in them. I'll buy you a good one later. Oww. careful. That hurts."
"Sorry. There, it's all done. Such a baby. Lei, you still didn't answer my question," she asked again.
Looking away, rubbing the hand that hit Ah Si, he reluctantly answered, "This is the first time I ever hit anyone. I still can't believe I hit him. He is my friend and my brother. It happened too fast. It surprised me too to have reacted that way. When we were kids, he sometimes bullied me but I never get back at him. I knew it was his nature. I don't know what came over me."
"It's okay. I know Ah Si wouldn't keep it in his heart. Apologized to him tonight."
Lei just stared at her. He lingered there for quite some time before nodding.
~~~*~~~*~~~
'You have no idea it was all about you Shan Chai. He hit me because you were with me last night and in my team during the game. He never loses, Shan Chai. He always gets what he wants. The fact that I hit him, it's true I didn't mean to. But I'm not really sorry either. At least by now, he'll know that this Hua Zhe Lei is no longer the Hua Zhe Lei he could push around. You're my interest and I don't intend to give you up without a fight. I don't want to feel sorry for myself later. I don't want to regret. not anymore,' he said to himself, staring into Shan Chai's questioning eyes.
After some time, he finally nodded. Faking out a smile, he said, "I'll apologize to him privately tonight. Don't you worry."
"Good! I'm going back to the beach. You want to come along?"
"Wait for awhile Shan Chai. I have something for you."
Lei stood up from the couch and head towards his room. A minute later, he came back holding something small and box-like shape. Sitting back at the couch, he handed the box to her. It was gift wrapped in white and light pink ribbons. She looked at him dumbfounded.
"What's this for?" she asked, still not taking the box from Lei.
"It's for you. Yesterday was the second month we've known each other. I wanted to give it to you yesterday but you fell asleep after a short while we were up there. You looked so cute, sleeping with your head rested on my shoulder," he said, smiling.
Taking out her hand, he put the box in them.
"It's not safe to fall asleep while sitting on a railing, you know. So, I carried you down and laid you on the floor, giving your head the comfort of my lap. I hope you're not offended. I'm sorry if it does," apologized Lei to Shan Chai.
"The gift is really nothing expensive or special. I bought it at Japan. It's quite popular there," continued Lei.
"But Lei, I have nothing for you."
"Never mind. We didn't make a promise to give each other gifts anyway. Even if it weren't for it, I would still give it to you. Go on, open it."
Carefully unbind the ribbons, she opened the lid of the small box. Taking a glimpse of what inside, she exclaimed excitedly, forgetting about the disconcertment she felt when Lei explained about the previous night.
"Kawaii! Honto ni kawaii! Domo arigato gozaimasu, Lei."
Shan Chai grimaced, facing Lei, looking at him gratefully. She took out the hairclips from the box and placed them on her hands.
"This is so cute! I love all three. This blue one, the purple one, the pink one. they're all so beautiful. The rabbit figure on them is cute too. thank you Lei. Thank you so much!" proclaimed Shan Chai while checking out the clips.
Feeling very pleased with Shan Chai's reaction, he took the purple pair of hairclip from Shan Chai's palm.
"Don't just hover over them. Here, let me put it on for you."
Lei gently slide the hairclip onto Shan Chai's hair, one on each side. Shan Chai just sheepishly smiled at him. He could see the red blush on her cheeks.
'She is so cute. Especially when blushing. Seeing her like this, I hope the time would freeze and I could savor this moment for eternity. This is all that matters to me. Your smile and appreciation is the best present you have given me, Shan Chai.'
"Thank you Lei. I. I. I think we had better get back to the others. They might be wondering why we took so long," Shan Chai said, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"You go ahead. I think, I better lay down first."
He watched Shan Chai walked back towards the beach. When she was no longer visible, he lies back at the couch and put his left arm over his eyes. He didn't stay that way long when he noticed something different.
"Hello Jing. How long have you been here?" he queried, sitting back up.
"You always amaze me with that, Lei. So, how did you know it was me this time?" enquired Jing, taking a seat beside Lei.
"Perfume. still the same," he answered, glancing at Jing.
"That nose of yours is very sensitive. I have to try to remember changing my perfume when I want to approach you unidentified next time," smiled Jing.
Keeping his silence, he kept his eyes fix on Jing. He's not going to utter anything until she said it out loud first. He knows Jing. He doesn't want to spill the beans out unintentionally.
"I have never seen you talk that much with anybody else before, other than me that is. Is it true that you've known her for two months now? The surprised look, the introduction and the denial was all a lie? An act? You don't even trust me, Lei? Of all of F4, I never expected 'you' to deceive me."
Jing stared him in the eyes, trying to find answers after he didn't answer back. Finally, she gave up and stood up. Lei quickly took a hold of her hand and pulled her back to her seat.
"I didn't intend it to get this far," he said, looking away from Jing.
"She was there for me when I was feeling down. Because of you. That was how I got to know her. She was different. I feel at ease whenever I'm around her. Ah Si was pretty mad when the first time he saw her. I denied knowing her at first because of him," he said, staring at the first-aid kit Shan Chai left behind.
"After the bet was made, I thought, she would discard the others, especially after the warning she gave to F4 before. Never thought they would ask you to bring her in the group. Then, the past two weeks kind of changed the whole perception. Time had seemed to make Ah Si and her get acquainted well with one another. I can't just tell them that I have known her before all this. You know how Ah Si would react."
"Lei, tell me the truth. Do you like her?"
He looked at his hands. He didn't know how to answer the question. He knew Jing will bring up the question, sooner or later. but he still can't find the best way to answer it.
"Your silence gave away the answer. Is that the reason for the change of attitude?"
Staring back at Jing, he answered firmly, "I'm not going to lose her like I lost you."
Caressing Lei's cheek, Jing muttered, "Oh my dear Lei."
"Jing, please don't let the others know about this. I want her to be mine by myself. Not by sympathy or empathy. If she can accept me, love me. no matter how Ah Si tried to win her heart, she will still belongs to me. Don't try to help me either. I want to do this on my own. Pretend that you never know anything about this. Promise me, Jing."
Giving out a slight smile, Jing promised, "You have my word. My Lei has grown up."
Taking the first-aid kit from the lower cabinet in the kitchen, as indicated by Jing, Shan Chai looked carefully at the face she admired and liked. She was curious.
'Why is he being grumpy and harsh towards Ah Si from morning? Even that incident at the beach was excessively childish. He never occurs as the violence type to me. Hitting Ah Si back was too much. He should've known better. What happen to the caring Lei I know?' she thought deeply while wiping the blood from Lei's cut at the side of his mouth with a cotton bud. He cringed a bit.
"Lei. Ah Si wa doushite naguru o shimashitaka?"
Lei looked at her, shocked. Smiling softly, he answered, "Ima anata no nihon go wa ii desu. Ganbarimasu ne. Omedeto."
She grinned, showing off her straight white teeth. "I'm not that good. I looked through the dictionary first while finding the first-aid kit. That was why I took a long time to be back with it," she said, showing the small, handheld dictionary.
Lei took the dictionary and flipped it through. "I was wondering why you took such a long time to find it. This dictionary has very few words in them. I'll buy you a good one later. Oww. careful. That hurts."
"Sorry. There, it's all done. Such a baby. Lei, you still didn't answer my question," she asked again.
Looking away, rubbing the hand that hit Ah Si, he reluctantly answered, "This is the first time I ever hit anyone. I still can't believe I hit him. He is my friend and my brother. It happened too fast. It surprised me too to have reacted that way. When we were kids, he sometimes bullied me but I never get back at him. I knew it was his nature. I don't know what came over me."
"It's okay. I know Ah Si wouldn't keep it in his heart. Apologized to him tonight."
Lei just stared at her. He lingered there for quite some time before nodding.
~~~*~~~*~~~
'You have no idea it was all about you Shan Chai. He hit me because you were with me last night and in my team during the game. He never loses, Shan Chai. He always gets what he wants. The fact that I hit him, it's true I didn't mean to. But I'm not really sorry either. At least by now, he'll know that this Hua Zhe Lei is no longer the Hua Zhe Lei he could push around. You're my interest and I don't intend to give you up without a fight. I don't want to feel sorry for myself later. I don't want to regret. not anymore,' he said to himself, staring into Shan Chai's questioning eyes.
After some time, he finally nodded. Faking out a smile, he said, "I'll apologize to him privately tonight. Don't you worry."
"Good! I'm going back to the beach. You want to come along?"
"Wait for awhile Shan Chai. I have something for you."
Lei stood up from the couch and head towards his room. A minute later, he came back holding something small and box-like shape. Sitting back at the couch, he handed the box to her. It was gift wrapped in white and light pink ribbons. She looked at him dumbfounded.
"What's this for?" she asked, still not taking the box from Lei.
"It's for you. Yesterday was the second month we've known each other. I wanted to give it to you yesterday but you fell asleep after a short while we were up there. You looked so cute, sleeping with your head rested on my shoulder," he said, smiling.
Taking out her hand, he put the box in them.
"It's not safe to fall asleep while sitting on a railing, you know. So, I carried you down and laid you on the floor, giving your head the comfort of my lap. I hope you're not offended. I'm sorry if it does," apologized Lei to Shan Chai.
"The gift is really nothing expensive or special. I bought it at Japan. It's quite popular there," continued Lei.
"But Lei, I have nothing for you."
"Never mind. We didn't make a promise to give each other gifts anyway. Even if it weren't for it, I would still give it to you. Go on, open it."
Carefully unbind the ribbons, she opened the lid of the small box. Taking a glimpse of what inside, she exclaimed excitedly, forgetting about the disconcertment she felt when Lei explained about the previous night.
"Kawaii! Honto ni kawaii! Domo arigato gozaimasu, Lei."
Shan Chai grimaced, facing Lei, looking at him gratefully. She took out the hairclips from the box and placed them on her hands.
"This is so cute! I love all three. This blue one, the purple one, the pink one. they're all so beautiful. The rabbit figure on them is cute too. thank you Lei. Thank you so much!" proclaimed Shan Chai while checking out the clips.
Feeling very pleased with Shan Chai's reaction, he took the purple pair of hairclip from Shan Chai's palm.
"Don't just hover over them. Here, let me put it on for you."
Lei gently slide the hairclip onto Shan Chai's hair, one on each side. Shan Chai just sheepishly smiled at him. He could see the red blush on her cheeks.
'She is so cute. Especially when blushing. Seeing her like this, I hope the time would freeze and I could savor this moment for eternity. This is all that matters to me. Your smile and appreciation is the best present you have given me, Shan Chai.'
"Thank you Lei. I. I. I think we had better get back to the others. They might be wondering why we took so long," Shan Chai said, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"You go ahead. I think, I better lay down first."
He watched Shan Chai walked back towards the beach. When she was no longer visible, he lies back at the couch and put his left arm over his eyes. He didn't stay that way long when he noticed something different.
"Hello Jing. How long have you been here?" he queried, sitting back up.
"You always amaze me with that, Lei. So, how did you know it was me this time?" enquired Jing, taking a seat beside Lei.
"Perfume. still the same," he answered, glancing at Jing.
"That nose of yours is very sensitive. I have to try to remember changing my perfume when I want to approach you unidentified next time," smiled Jing.
Keeping his silence, he kept his eyes fix on Jing. He's not going to utter anything until she said it out loud first. He knows Jing. He doesn't want to spill the beans out unintentionally.
"I have never seen you talk that much with anybody else before, other than me that is. Is it true that you've known her for two months now? The surprised look, the introduction and the denial was all a lie? An act? You don't even trust me, Lei? Of all of F4, I never expected 'you' to deceive me."
Jing stared him in the eyes, trying to find answers after he didn't answer back. Finally, she gave up and stood up. Lei quickly took a hold of her hand and pulled her back to her seat.
"I didn't intend it to get this far," he said, looking away from Jing.
"She was there for me when I was feeling down. Because of you. That was how I got to know her. She was different. I feel at ease whenever I'm around her. Ah Si was pretty mad when the first time he saw her. I denied knowing her at first because of him," he said, staring at the first-aid kit Shan Chai left behind.
"After the bet was made, I thought, she would discard the others, especially after the warning she gave to F4 before. Never thought they would ask you to bring her in the group. Then, the past two weeks kind of changed the whole perception. Time had seemed to make Ah Si and her get acquainted well with one another. I can't just tell them that I have known her before all this. You know how Ah Si would react."
"Lei, tell me the truth. Do you like her?"
He looked at his hands. He didn't know how to answer the question. He knew Jing will bring up the question, sooner or later. but he still can't find the best way to answer it.
"Your silence gave away the answer. Is that the reason for the change of attitude?"
Staring back at Jing, he answered firmly, "I'm not going to lose her like I lost you."
Caressing Lei's cheek, Jing muttered, "Oh my dear Lei."
"Jing, please don't let the others know about this. I want her to be mine by myself. Not by sympathy or empathy. If she can accept me, love me. no matter how Ah Si tried to win her heart, she will still belongs to me. Don't try to help me either. I want to do this on my own. Pretend that you never know anything about this. Promise me, Jing."
Giving out a slight smile, Jing promised, "You have my word. My Lei has grown up."