This chapter is longer than usual, meaning it has more mistakes than usual. I can't do good jobs of editing, sorry.

Chapter Three

"You acted without our consent!" a man shouted.

Li Yelan pursed her lips. "I do not see what is so wrong with inviting my son, the Li heir, to dinner!"

The man glared at her. "The problem is the girl! He cannot be serious about her!"

"I will decide that myself when I see him," said Yelan in an equally forceful tone.

"No. You will not be present. The Elders will decide. Should you decide to interfere, you will face the consequences," the Elder said, with a note of finality to his voice.

The Elder walked away, his white robe swishing behind him. Although old, he walked with his head high and back straight, giving off a confident and commanding aura.

Yelan stared after him, bristling. Ever since Syaoran turned eighteen, the Elders were starting to control more and more aspects of his life. Li Yelan knew if she meddled with the Elders, not only would it mean trouble for her, but for Syaoran, and she would not risk her son's future. But it could only go so far…when would it end?

"No."

"Aw, come on. Please?"

Sakura sighed. "How many times do I have to say it? N-O. No."

"Why not?" Syaoran was starting to get desperate. If he didn't bring Sakura home, his mother would- Well actually, he didn't know what she would do, but he knew it wouldn't be anything good.

Sakura stared at him like he was insane. Which she thought he was, but she had kind of gotten used to him. She raised a brow. "Isn't it obvious? Because it's you."

Syaoran pretended to be hurt, even doing the whole puppy eyes routine. Unfortunately, it had no effect on Sakura like it had everyone else. Sakura looked at him disgustingly. "Don't ever do that again."

"Please? I'd do anything. I'll get down on my knees and beg you if I have to. I'll buy you whatever you want!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "How materialistic do you think I am? You're pathetic. I hate people who grovel."

Syaoran was really annoyed now. "Well maybe I wouldn't be grovelling if you just said yes. You know what…forget it. I don't even know why I bothered. It's pretty obvious you wouldn't agree anyways."

Sakura watched him walk away and felt a pang of guilt. He wouldn't have asked her if he wasn't desperate. This must really mean a lot to him…

"Wait!" she called out after him. "I'll go with you"

Syaoran didn't even turn around or give his trademark smirk. He just said, "Pick you up at seven." Honestly, she didn't understand him. One moment he would be all cocky and the next, he was so cold.

Syaoran arrived at the door of Sakura's apartment. Luckily, he hadn't seen anyone on his way up who might be a big fan of his. It wasn't like he hated his admirers or took them for granted. After all, without them, he wouldn't be where he was. But seriously, that acted like he was above human and that sickened him.

324. He was sure that was her number and that this was the right apartment, but he couldn't help but doubt himself. The building was old and definitely in need of repairs. Sakura didn't even have a doorbell!

Syaoran tapped heavily on the door and waited, but no one answered the door. Instead, he heard loud music being blasted from her apartment. He shook his head. How did anyone here get any privacy?

He was just about to raise his hand to knock again when the door flung open and Sakura poked her head out the door. "I'm really sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't looking at the time. I just have to get my bag."

She was closing the door, but Syaoran pushed it back and followed her into the apartment. Sakura looked embarrassed as he surveyed the room with only a small tv in the corner.

"You live here?" Syaoran asked incredulously. He watched as Sakura's face hardened and he immediately regretted his words.

"Not everyone is rich like you. There are other people on this planet, beyond your superficial, perfect world."

"I didn't mean it that way. I'm just surprised, that's all. I'm sorry if I offended you."

Sakura scoffed, like she didn't believe a word he was saying, but she didn't say anything else.

Something on the coffee table caught Syaoran's attention. It was an old photo album, opened to pictures of a small auburn haired girl with a boy wearing a soccer jersey. They looked strangely familiar…

Sakura followed Syaoran's gaze and grinned. "That's us. This one here is my favourite picture," she said, pointing to a picture of a triumphant Sakura standing over an angry Syaoran, who was sitting at the bottom of a ditch.

Syaoran could remember that incident clearly now. Out of anger, Sakura had tripped him and he had fallen in. Though afterwards, it had been worth it when the doctor concluded that Syaoran had broken his arm; Sakura's parents eventually found out and were furious with her, grounding her for months. Syaoran had enjoyed his Sakura-free summer, while she slumped around in her house, jealously looking out the window at the other children who were licking ice cream cones.

"You remembered…"

Sakura suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well…it's kind of hard to forget your first best friend." She tried to hide it, but Syaoran could detect a rare bitterness to her tone. Sakura turned away and pretended to be busy looking for her bag in the chaos she called home.

Best friends. They had been best friends? Syaoran had to search deep inside his mind to find those memories tucked away somewhere… It took him minutes to remember…

After getting past their rivalry with each other, the miniature Sakura and Syaoran had discovered they were a lot alike and had unknowingly grown on each other. What happened after that, he could not remember. "What happened to us?"

"You ignored me after eighth grade and said you wanted to hang out with the cooler people. The day my mother died, you weren't there. You weren't even at her funeral or when I moved. But I guess that was a long time ago…it doesn't matter anymore."

Instead of making his memory less hazy, what Sakura said just drew a bigger blank. Syaoran was dumbfounded. He knew he had better morals than that. He couldn't ever imagine betraying a friend like that.

He was once again flooded with memories...

He hadn't wanted to hurt Sakura, but the Elders…they claimed she was not good enough. Even at such an early age, he knew he had to obey the Elders. So by hurting Sakura, he was really protecting her…

Sakura finally grabbed her bag from a couch that had seen better days and went to lock the door.

In the dim light, Syaoran could see she was wearing a simple white blouse with a silky black chiffon skirt. He was glad she was low-key and not one of those girls who took two hours just to get ready. Secretly, he liked au naturals better.

Syaoran led Sakura outside to where his car was parked. The fancy sports car looked so out of place next to the ugly old cars with the paint chipping.

Sakura got in and savoured the feel of the soft leather against her skin. Besides the limo she and Syaoran took to the party, she had never been in such a luxurious car. Actually, she had never been in many cars in her life. Ever since she was young, she walked everywhere.

The ride seemed agonizingly long. The only sound heard was the rushing of the car and the wind whipping through the trees. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Syaoran began to slow down. Sakura was not surprised as he pulled up to a huge mansion. He was allowed in immediately.

When they reached the front door, it automatically opened and they both stepped into a room with a big crystal chandelier and many paintings. Sakura tried to envision what it was like to have so much money.

The butler took Sakura's coat. She thanked him and was led to the dining room. She had been expecting Li Yelan and maybe a couple of other family members, but instead, she was faced with three stern-looking men staring at her. It was obvious that they didn't like the fact she was in their presence.

Sakura greeted each of them out of courtesy, but she did not receive a reply. Syaoran looked angry and a little confused, but gestured for Sakura to have a seat beside him. She did, and instantly felt the stiff, hard wood digging uncomfortably in her back.

In front of her was a fancy china plate. On the left, there were two spoons, one almost half the size of the other. On the right, there were various forks. Sakura didn't know the purpose of having so many spoons and forks at one sitting, but she knew she was in for trouble. From the time she had walked into the dining room, she had felt a sense of gloom settling in.

Plates heaped with delicious food began to fill up on the table, but barely anyone touched them. Instead, Sakura was interrogated by the Elders.

"How did you meet Syaoran?" one of them barked.

Sakura was annoyed with the way they all acted like they were superior, but she decided to bare it for Syaoran's sake.

"We work on a movie together," she replied.

One of the Elders scoffed, and voiced his disappointment that Syaoran hadn't chosen "something better" to do with his life. He even went as far as to say that Syaoran was an embarrassment to the Li family for exploiting himself to the world. All through this, Syaoran sat stoically without a word, as if it was common for his family to criticize his life.

Sakura found herself growing angrier. "Well, what the hell do you do that's so great?" she spat. She just couldn't take it anymore and wondered why Syaoran wasn't defending himself.

Syaoran looked at her darkly and she could see in his face that he thought she had just made a big mistake, but she didn't care. They had no right to say that stuff about him, or anyone. Who the hell did they think they were, acting like they had control over the whole world?

The three Elders looked at her disapprovingly, and with shock. Sakura laughed at the looks on their faces. It was probably the first them someone brought them down from their throne.

"What we do is none of your concern," the Elder said, his voice clipped. He gestured to the butler.

"Will you please escort this young lady out while we have a talk with Syaoran?"

The butler led her past the tall oak door and walked her to the front of the mansion. Without saying a word, he closed the door on her face. Sakura remembered seeing a window in the dining room. She walked around the premises until she heard low voices talking. Fortunately for her, the Elders hadn't closed the window. Idiots.

"…only trying to get your money. We have checked her background and she is poor! Her father's health is failing and she lives alone in a shabby apartment. She is not a good match for you!" she heard an Elder say.

After him for money? They made her sound like some prostitute. She wasn't even really going out with him! What the Elder said hurt a little, but the words that came out of Syaoran's mouth hurt worse.

"She means nothing to me. I despise her." Syaoran explained their circumstances and judging from the Elders' tones, she could tell they were not pleased. They started talking about his bad choice in a career and that he should just give it up. Sakura decided she had heard enough and ran out past the iron gate.

It had started to get chilly and the wind whipped around her. Sakura was freezing in her thin blouse and her skirt was flying in every direction, but so blinded by irritation, she didn't notice.

Screw Syaoran and his family. She'd just walk the two hours home and forget about him with a nice tub of ice cream. He could keep sucking old ass for all she cared.

Sakura had barely walked three metres when Syaoran pulled up beside her and forcefully dragged her into the car.

"That's called harassment," said Sakura, struggling to get free.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't have gotten in any other way. Besides, you actually plan to actually walk home in those shoes, did you?"

Now that he mentioned it, Sakura noticed her feet were hurting a little… Okay, they hurt a lot but still, he had no right to force her to get in his car like that! She glowered at him. "You lied to me."

"I didn't know it would've been like that. My life is always being controlled. They must've found out about my mother's invitation and like always, intervened. That's what happened when we were younger…"

"Oh, boo hoo for you. I feel so sorry for you. Like I said, the past doesn't matter," Sakura said curtly. "I mean, it's not like I mean anything to you. And you don't mean anything to me." The truth was, the past did matter do her. When she was younger and more naïve, she had developed feelings for Syaoran. Feelings that exceeded past those of friendship. Feelings that had been trampled on when he deserted her. It had taken her so long to get over him. When she saw him again, it took her awhile to remember him, but when she did, she was glad she did not have any feelings towards him but annoyance.

Syaoran glanced at her for a few seconds before comprehension dawned on him. "I didn't mean what I said back there. It was just to shut them up. Why do you care anyways?"

"I don't."

The car stopped in front of a restaurant and Syaoran got out. Sakura looked at him quizzically. "This isn't my house."

Syaoran fought hard not to say something sarcastic. He walked towards the restaurant, knowing Sakura would follow. The waiter saw him and grinned, leading Syaoran to his usual table in a secluded corner. It faced the window and since the restaurant was high up above the ground, it gave a beautiful view.

Sakura sat down across from him as Syaoran began giving orders to the waiter. Soon, steaming hot dishes were placed in front of them and they began eating. Syaoran raised a brow at how much Sakura was eating.

Sakura looked up, feeling Syaoran's gaze on her. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just nice to finally eat with a girl who doesn't count calories all the time."

Did he just give her a compliment? Whoa. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Sakura offered to pay half the bill, but Syaoran wouldn't allow her to, which she was secretly thankful for, because five hundred dollars was not something she could spend so lightly. She had a lot of financial issues and was trying really hard to keep up, which was why she decided to try her hand at acting. She had always felt a passion for acting, because it let her escape her own life for a while, and pretend she led a completely different life.

"Would you like to go home…or go someplace special with me?" Syaoran asked with an amused expression.

To his surprise, Sakura chose the latter. He took her to a crumbling dock. Sakura didn't seem to mind because she was too busy taking in the stars and the lights of the city.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"Like you," Syaoran said jokingly.

Sakura laughed at the overused line. "Do you say that to every girl?"

She expected him to reply with the, "Nope. You're the first," line that always followed that question, like in books and movies, but he casually said, "Well, it works doesn't it?"

Sakura stood there baffled, before she realized he was joking. She laughed, then realized the dock was falling beneath her feet and she fell into the cool water.

When she surfaced, she found Syaoran in the water with her. She grinned. "That was so fun. I wish I could do it again!"

Syaoran gave an evil smirk as he picked her up and dunked her into the water. She screamed in delight and before they knew it, time had passed by. Shivering and wet, they got into Syaoran's car. He didn't seem to mind that his expensive car was getting wet.

To her surprised, Sakura felt sad as they reached her house. She had been having such a great time, with Syaoran of all people. Giving him a hug, she stepped out of the car and thanked him, then rushed up the stairs, before Syaoran even knew what had just happened.