Hello. I'm so late to the party that I think everyone else has left, but here's a story anyway. If there is anyone out there, feel free to give a shout. I am primarily a Hobbit writer with a little bit of Pride and Prejudice thrown in, but I've started to enjoy C-dramas, so I thought I'd give this a shot.
Chapter 1
Dao Ming Si loped swiftly down the streets of London, barely noticing his feet hitting the ground. His eyes darted left and then right as he turned a corner and raced to find the small bed and breakfast where Shan Cai was supposed to be staying. He had gotten that information from Mrs. Yu. Periodically, he paused in an alley and listened for someone or something in pursuit. He hadn't noticed the jingling in his jacket pocket until he stopped to check directions and found a tracker tag. His mother again. He cursed and threw the tag down the stairs leading to the Underground. That would buy him some time.
Shame and longing kept him running. He bitterly regretted breaking up with Shan Cai so viciously. How could he have talked to her that way? Even if there was no other choice, he could have been gentle, he could have been kinder. He snorted and cursed again under his breath. He had betrayed their love for a business venture.
Si replayed the terrible conversation with his mother after his plane landed and he was escorted to their London home by guards in tight formation. He found the next street and kept on running. She had told him about Dao Ming Group's dire situation and the need for him to marry Xiaozi to secure investment capital and save the livelihoods of thousands of employees. She had even blamed him for the company's situation, saying that if she had not been so distracted by his behavior after his father died, she would have managed the company better. Everything was his fault. She refused to accept any blame and, of course, his father watching from heaven wanted nothing more than for his son to sacrifice anything and everything to make things right.
Tears ran down Si's face as he slowed to check the cross street. After looking all around him and seeing nothing suspicious, he ran down a narrow street. Six more blocks and he would be there. He would make things right, but not her way.
After that terrible day, he wandered around the house aimlessly, unable to rouse himself to any effort. Mrs. Yu chided him for being weak while he lay in bed, but it was not weakness that he was suffering. It was heartbreak. He was truly broken without Shan Cai, and nothing but her would make him whole again. Si sobbed throughout the night with great gasping breaths, unable to find acceptance. How could he lead his family business in such a state? How could he be husband to Xiaozi? How was it possible considering what he and Shan Cai had shared?
His face spasmed with pain as he remembered their first time together, and he stopped to take a breath while waiting for a light to turn. They were hiding out in his room, when teasing, he wrestled her on his bed. She lowered her arms, and he gathered her in his. Fear, desperation, longing, and desire drove them together, and she smiled at the naked want on his face. His lips and hands explored all she allowed, and she held nothing back. He had never felt so strong, so whole, so fully a man in his own right. Her joy made her beautiful and passionate beyond his imagination, and he marveled that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
They made love over and over throughout the night and the nights that followed, each time binding them tighter and tighter. They were married in all but name he had said, and she agreed. They made solemn vows to each other before God. He would never look at another woman. She would never look at another man. They would share all burdens and be together always. He would leave everything for her, he had sworn, and he would protect her and their eventual children with his life. His promises lasted less than three weeks. He stumbled over a curb when he remembered her touching her belly and crying. Heaven would not be so cruel, he had said, waving away the possibility of her becoming pregnant. Oh God.
But no more indecision. A night of wrestling with his soul changed the trajectory of his life. He could not and would not lead Dao Ming Group without Shan Cai. They had married before God when they made love, and he would not fail her or himself. He had already made a business plan to modernize Dao Ming Group. He would give that to his mother as his contribution, marry Shan Cai, and start his own business. Two more blocks to go.
Si rounded the corner of a wooded park and saw Shan Cai and Hua Ze Lei heading toward a taxi. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted her name. She stopped and looked around confused. Lei also looked up and around, but they did not see him through the trees. Taking a deep breath, he shouted louder and saw her face brighten. He started toward them, but a white van pulled up and blocked his path. The last thing he felt was an electric shock burning his shoulder before he dropped to the ground.