REAL LIFE:

Feng Lan:

"You're going on a date with Professor Min?" Jing asked, appalled.

"Don't remind me," I groaned as I lay sprawled face-down on the carpeting of my living room.

Yun poked my side, apparently not reading the atmosphere and noticing that I was in mental agony. "Why did you say yes if you don't want to go?"

"I don't know. What else could I have said?" I rolled over and sat up, slumping onto our coffee table. "I don't know if he knows I'm Prince yet, but why else would he have asked me out? I doubt he's asking me out because he really likes me."

"My advice," Yun continued, looking authoritative, "Go on this date. When he takes you out to eat, feel free to completely clean out his wallet."

"You're heartless, even to your fellow man. Are you really a boy?" Jing asked incredulously.

"Siiiisssss, make me dinner!" Yang Ming whined from his room.

"And, that's our cue to go," Jing said and she yanked Yun to his feet. "Bye, Lan!"

As Jing and Yun let themselves out of the house I turned my attention to the kitchen, deciding to make something from scratch so it would take longer and I could torture my brother a little. I chose to make stir-fry and gathered the necessary pans and food items. As I was slicing a cooked chicken breast into slices my cell started to ring. I saw it was from Zhuo-gege and held the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I continued slicing.

"Hey, Zhuo-gege. What's up?"

"Not much, I just wanted to ask you if you were doing anything this Friday. I was thinking we could go see that new movie after your last class is over."

"Mm, I've already got plans," I responded uncomfortably, hesitant to tell him that I had plans with his sworn enemy.

"Oh, I see. What kind of plans?"

"Just, you know, normal plans… Oh, I gotta go. The food's burning!"

"Xaio Lan, wait!"

I hung up the phone and stuffed it back into my pocket, hoping he wouldn't call again. Though I was starting to realize more and more that I couldn't return his romantic feelings, I still couldn't break his heart by telling him I was going on a date with Gui.

Gui:

It had been decided that we would meet on Friday after my class let out at a little ice cream shop that Feng Lan liked. I was extremely glad that she hadn't opted for going out to dinner because I knew that she ate just like she did as Prince. The first time we had gone on a date (though I wasn't sure that one actually counted) she had gotten me to spend 800 TWD on her dinner and she'd consumed it in a mere ten minutes. Maybe she was more like Prince than I had thought.

I checked my watch, wondering if she would actually come. I had cleaned up my desk as fast as I could and rushed to our meeting place, arriving earlier than anticipated.

"Professor?"

I looked up to see Feng Lan peering at me. She was wearing a white blouse over jeans and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked nervous.

"Shall we go in?" I asked, pulling the door open for her.

After we got to the front and started to order, I again realized just how much Feng Lan ate. I just got a scoop of strawberry in a cup, but Feng Lan got a total of seven scoops, each a different flavor, in a waffle cone.

"Are you going to be able to eat all that before it melts?" I asked incredulously, watching as she joyfully bit her ice cream. She shrugged and we left the shop, going for a walk around town. After a while, Feng Lan seemed to relax, joking and laughing. I had stopped comparing her to Prince, instead enjoying the company of Feng Lan herself. I was caring less and less that she was Prince.

"I'm having a really good time, Professor Min," Feng Lan said with sparkling eyes as she finished off her cone.

"Call me Gui." It bugged me every time she addressed me as 'Professor Min'. She could afford to be a little less formal, seeing as we were on a date and all.

"Alright, but you have to call me Xiao Lan, then."

I grinned brightly, feeling extremely smug that she was allowing me to call her the same thing Zhuo Ling Bin called her. "I can do that," I chuckled, nearing the crosswalk.

The next three seconds were pure panic and adrenaline.

Feng Lan:

"Xiao Lan!"

I barely had time to turn and see why Gui was screaming at me before he had grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the street as a car flew past, swerving around dangerously.

"Idiot drunk," Gui murmured, holding me against his body with one arm as he pulled out his phone and called the authorities, reciting the make of the car and what he had seen of the license plate. He hung up and looked down at me as I stood, shaking out of shock. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, still clinging onto Gui for dear life, felling as though I would collapse if I let go of him. He wrapped both of his arms around me and held me tightly, murmuring what were probably reassuring words, but I didn't hear them.

Gui walked me home, keeping an eye on me and making sure I was calming down as dusk started to settle in. I barely noticed anything that was happening until Gui started laughing about a block from my house. It started off as a small chuckle before turning into roaring peals of laughter. I snapped back to reality and stared at him, wondering if he was finally going into shock.

"You- (laugher) you really are… (snort) just like you seem… (gaffaw) in-game. Xiao Lan … (chortle) is really as ditzy… (laugher) as Prince!" Gui collapsed onto the sidewalk, still overcome with laughter.

I flushed, my face becoming red as a ripe tomato. "How did you find out?" I demanded, kicking Gui in the stomach as he rolled around on the ground. It didn't have the same effect as it would have in-game. In Second Life, Gui would have been on top of one of the buildings with that kick. In real life, I doubted that I'd even give him a bruise.

Gui calmed down, gasping for air. He regained his composure and stood back up, though he was still unable to wipe his idiotic grin off his face. I slapped him to assist in its departure. It worked. "Sorry, Xiao Lan. I know I told you I wouldn't go snooping to find out who you really were, but I found out on accident. I swear," He promised, looking at me pleadingly. He was using the same pitiful expression that he had worn when I'd kissed Ice Phoenix and Fairsky but not him. I glared at him, reminding myself to give him a good thrashing in-game.

"You only asked me out because I'm Prince, right?" I asked, trying not to look downcast and failing.

"Well, yes. I wanted to know who the real Prince was. If Xiao Lan is the true Prince, than I like you even more now."

I blushed again, looking at anything but Gui. "But, I'm a girl. Aren't you… you know?"

"I told you once that I would love you no matter what. Gender, race, age… None of it means anything when it comes to me and my Prince… To me and Xiao Lan."

There I was: being looked right in the eyes by a total bishie who had just announced that he loved me. He reached up to brush his fingers over my cheek and, before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed his face and kissed him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he did the same around my waist and we just stood there, lips interlocked for what seemed like forever.

But it all ended too soon.

"Xiao Lan, is that—" I jumped away from Gui like the he was going to burn me and turned to see Zhuo-gege, looking like he'd just heard that his grandmother had died.

"Zhuo-gege, please— Wait! Zhuo-gege!" I called, watching helplessly as the boy who was like my older brother ran away. "I think you should go, Gui," I said sternly. Gui just nodded and left in the opposite direction of Zhuo-gege.

I ran after Zhuo-gege for an hour or so before giving up and going home.

"Siiissss! Make me dinner! You've been gone with that bishie professor all day! I'm so hungry!" Yang Ming whined.

"Make your own dinner, you lazy pig," I grumbled before going to my room and collapsing on my bed. I supposed that the day that had been going so perfectly had taken a bad turn for some balance. The Ying-Yang effect. Still, I thought the day's bad had totally obliterated the good. I'd probably broken Zhuo-gege and I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to talk to me again.

Without bothering to change my clothing, I flopped down on my bed and slipped on my Second Life sleep mask.

Shortly after I wrote and re-read this chapter did I realize just how cheesy and mushy it is. I admit that I almost deleted it all and restarted. Sadly, my friends thought otherwise. They loved it, so I wasn't allowed to scrap the chapter. I will continue writing this mushy FanFic, but I swear to the gods of writing and shounen manga that I will make the next chapter have a lot of action!

Thank you for reading and reviewing my mush.