Chapter 12 She Will Never Love
The next morning, all of the girls had risen up very early. Qiao helped her friends gather up their belongings.
"Thanks for staying over." Qiao bowed.
"The honor is ours, Xin." Rosefinch bowed back and left the room.
Alpha-Girl and Mystique Sonia just smirked at each other, "Alright, Xin, I'll see you later." Mystique Sonia waved and left Qiao's room.
"Later, kid." Alpha-Girl waved and left.
Qiao had to go deliver her mail to the Big Green post office. She took her morning shower and changed into her male clothing. She grabbed her letter and started to jog towards the mailing room. She passed by Lin Chung who looked he was coming back from something.
He stopped her and said, "You know I only did it to protect you."
"I know." she nodded, "Thanks."
She waved good-bye to him and continued on. Lin Chung waved back, and had the urge to follow her so that he could sketch more pictures of her, but he knew she would not be happy if he did. He had to make it look casual, so he followed her by acting like he was just wandering around.
When she made it to the post office, it was closed. It would not open for another hour.
"Now, what am I going to do for two hours?" she asked herself.
"Is something wrong?" Lin Chung asked her.
She turned and saw Lin Chung, "No. The office is closed, and I want this letter to get to my sisters as soon as possible." she shrugged, "Oh well, I guess I can wait an hour."
"Hold that position." Lin Chung stopped her, and pulled out his sketch book to sketch her, "You make disappointment have a beautiful face."
She blushed. "How many sketches are you going to draw of me?" she asked.
"You are a work of art. I don't think I can ever put my brush down." Lin Chung smiled.
She blushed, but shrugged it off, "Well, I better go make myself breakfast." she walked off, but Lin Chung continued to follow her, and sketch her. She was starting to feel uncomfortable, and turned to Lin Chung, "Lin Chung, please. Just stop."
Lin Chung stopped, realizing he's been in her space for too long now, "I'm sorry, but you've inspired me so much." he flipped through the pages of his sketchbook, "Beauty, brilliance, and benevolence. These are the traits strong, beautiful woman."
Everything that is coming out of his mouth is making her blush, but it was disturbing her as well. Her words became like twisted knots.
Lin Chung finally remembered that he had to tell her about the exorcist he found for her. "Xin, I must tell you something." Lin Chung began.
"Oh no." she said mentally. She believed that he was going to confess to her and she wanted nothing of it. She did not even want to hear it pass his lips. She has no room in her heart for love or a relationship with a man. Qiao turned away from Lin Chung and began running.
"Xin!" Lin Chung called out, he would go after her, but he felt like he has done enough damage, "I better let her calm down."
Mighty Ray walked up to Lin Chung, "Hey, Lin Chung!" Mighty Ray greeted, but then noticed his saddened face, "What's the matter?"
Lin Chung turned to Mighty Ray with a sigh, "I was showing Xin how much I appreciated her beauty through my drawings, and then I was going to tell her about the exorcist, but I guess I scared her off instead."
Mighty Ray was puzzled at first, wondering why Lin Chung would even show Qiao the sketches he drew of her. Then he gasped and grinned widely, "YOU LIKE XIN!"
"W-What? No!" Lin Chung became defensive, "It's not like that!"
Mighty Ray started to tease Lin Chung, "Lin and Xin sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Lin Chung whacked Mighty Ray on the head with his sketch book, "Ouch! What?"
"I'm telling you, it's not like that!" Lin Chung scowled.
"Whatever, man. See ya…" Mighty Ray grinned, "Romeo."
Lin Chung glared at Mighty Ray then glanced back at where Qiao ran off. He began to wonder if he damaged his relationship with her, and decided to go after her. He wanted to fix all this misunderstanding.
The distraught girl ran outside of Big Green. She saw the very tip of Big Green as a good place to be alone and climbed up there. When she arrived at the tip, she began watching the water mix with itself. She knew she had no room or time for love in her life. Restoring proper order of the Liang family was much more important to her than having a relationship with any man. She pulled her body as close as possible as she stared at the waters, just like how she spent her days just after the jester violated her when she was young.
Your beauty has made even the strongest man in Big Green fall victim… Let us not view this as a curse, but a gift… You could be a seductress and lure men into a deadly trap…
"I wouldn't have the stomach to bare seducing a man." Qiao grumbled, "My beauty brings me nothing but grief."
"Xin!" Mystique Sonia called out as Yaksha helped her to the top of the dome, "There you are!" She noticed Qiao looked a bit upset, "Is something wrong?"
Qiao perked up, "Oh! No, nothing. I just like watching the water."
"If there's something you want to talk about, you can always tell me." Mystique Sonia smiled, taking a seat next to her.
Qiao was hesitant. She did not want to make Lin Chung seem like a bad guy, "It's fine. I can handle it."
"If you're sure." Mystique Sonia patted her back, "Hey, let's go back inside. I made some delicious buns for breakfast."
The princess perked up again, "Really? Okay." she smiled.
"There we go! You're so much prettier when you're smiling, Xin." Mystique Sonia giggled and held her hand.
The girls slid down the dome, and when they were about to hit the water, Yaksha turned into a parachute and glided the girls to the docks. The girls smiled towards each other as they walked back into Big Green. On the other side of Big Green, Lin Chung sprung outside, still not being able to find Qiao. He glanced up at the tip of the dome to see if she was hiding up there, but she was not there either. He glanced at the lands around Big Green.
"There's no way she's on land. Not by herself." Lin Chung shook his head, "But, what if…" he leaped through the path of turtle steps to check the lands around Big Green for her.
Meanwhile, Mystique Sonia pulled Qiao into their briefing room, which is also their eating area. Mighty Ray and Jumpy were already eating. When the stocky man saw Mystique Sonia, he grinned from ear to ear, wanting to tell her what he found out about Lin Chung. Jumpy, who learned from Mighty Ray that Lin Chung liked Qiao, was also beaming with excitement.
"Where's Lin Chung?" Mystique Sonia asked.
The boys shrugged. "I don't know." Mighty Ray answered.
She sighed, "I guess I'll save two seeds for him." She pulled out four seeds and tossed them on the grown. She then spat on them, and they immediately grew into buns. She gave two to Qiao and took two for herself, "Dig in."
A good part of breakfast was used for talking. Mighty Ray refrained from exposing Lin Chung's confession in front of Qiao. Breakfast was quick, though, since everyone just had two buns.
Mystique Sonia glanced up at Qiao, "Xin, can you meet me at training ground B-5? I want to hang out some more, but I have to wash dishes." She then collected all four dishes.
"Oh, okay." Qiao smiled and got up to leave, "Bye, guys."
"Later, Xin." Mighty Ray waved and so did Jumpy. Once Qiao left, Mighty Ray immediately called out to Sonia, "Sonia, you're not going to believe this."
"What is it, Banana Brain?" Mystique Sonia asked.
"Lin Chung is totally in love with Xin." he blurted.
She dropped all the dishes in her hands, "No way." she shook her head.
"Yeah way! He's nuts for her!" he exaggerated, "Why else would he want her to not come on mission with us? He doesn't want her in the clutches of that pervert High Roller!"
The pale woman's eyes widen and she grinned from ear to ear, "THAT IS SO CUTE! We have to hook them up. I know Lin Chung will be perfect for her!"
"Mystique Sonia and Mighty Ray are playing cupid." Jumpy laughed.
Arriving at a training area, Qiao saw Kowloon attacking a worn-out, humanoid dummy. It was about six feet tall with its four arms stuck out like a cactus: two were bent up and the other two were bent down. Its head and arms were wooden but its torso was a long, leather sandbag. It had a target painted on its face, torso, and two hands.
"WAH!" he hollered out his battle cry and rapidly punched and kicked the dummy at blinding speed. Qiao was impressed.
"Wow, you're so fast." she complemented.
Kowloon blushed heavily when he saw Qiao, "Thanks. You give it a shot, Xin." Kowloon smiled, stepping aside to let her hit it.
She walked up to it. She was not meant to fight with her bare fists. Her fighting abilities relied solely upon her blades, but she thought she should give it one shot.
"Try kicking his head." he suggested.
She pulled her leg back and launched it towards the dummy's head. She jumped from her toes and smacked the dummy across the head with her foot reaching so high she almost did the splits.
"Wow, great job!" Kowloon clapped.
"I stretch a lot, which makes me very flexible." Qiao giggled, trying to cover up the pain on her foot.
"I can see that." Kowloon grinned, "Now, throw a punch at it."
She clenched her fist then reeled it back in, readying for a punch. She threw her punch and hit the dummy's torso. The sand was like concrete, and the princess's hand cracked so loudly Kowloon heard it two feet away.
"AAH!" she screamed, and rubbed her fists, "OW! OW! OW!"
"Oh shoot!" Kowloon muttered and checked her hand, "I'm sorry! I forgot that not many people can punch it like I can without getting hurt."
Qiao shook her hand, "Is there a technique on how not to get your hand hurt?"
"Of course! If there wasn't, my hands would be broken." he laughed, "Here, let me show you." He walked behind her and positioned her arms and fists, "You have to constantly anticipate the impact, so that your muscles and bones are tensed and ready." He felt her hand when he was showing her where to have her hands hit, "She's so soft." he thought then said aloud, "You hit with the knuckles not the fingers."
"Oh." she nodded, feeling kind of awkward having someone be so close and touch her.
"Now try to punch it." Kowloon said softly almost near her ear.
She followed his advice and hit the dummy again, but this time it barely hurt. With a little more practice, it would not hurt at all. She smiled towards him, "Thank you, Kowloon."
It was such a beautiful smile, even from a woman who continues to pretend to be a man. Kowloon felt embraced by it and suddenly he became speechless.
"You're… uhh…no… um…" he could not keep his face from being red or get his words straight.
The princess only chuckled, "What else can you teach me?"
He already heard from Alpha-Girl that Qiao has trouble letting men into her heart as a woman. He opened up his arms about to embrace her, "Let me show you how to lo-"
"Kowloon!" Lin Chung called out, "Have you seen… Xin!" He smiled widely, "I was looking for you! There is something I really must tell you."
"Li-Lin Chung…" Qiao became nervous. Even though she did not want to hear it, it was going to be said eventually.
"Hey!" Kowloon became furious, "I'm having a moment with her, Lin Chung. You're trying to steal her away!"
"W-what?" Lin Chung was baffled, "N-No! It's not like that!"
Kowloon continued to rant, "Girls always like you, Lin Chung. For once, I've been given a shot and now you're trying to take that away from me!"
"I'm telling you, Kowloon. It's not like that!" Lin Chung was becoming furious at the fact that people thinks he likes Qiao.
Qiao took a few steps back, trying to slowly creep away from the bickering men. She felt that they were going to make her choose, and she wanted nothing of it. She just did not want a man in her life right now and no one seemed to understand that. She quietly tiptoed to the door away from the two. The moment she was near the door, she jumped out and started running.
"Then what is it, huh?" Kowloon spat, "You're telling me you don't like her like I do?"
"She is only a good friend to me. I wanted to tell her about the exorcist I found to get Sima Cao out of her body," Lin Chung explained, "but I either kept forgetting or something just kept interrupting. Who knows when she'll have another episode and fight with him again?"
Kowloon relaxed. He remembered that Lin Chung was not the type of guy to let a woman run his life. What was important to him was to free the humans and animals from High Roller's reign and bring peace. He smiled, feeling kind of stupid, "I get it." he patted his rival's shoulder, "I'm sorry, jealously can turn a guy blind."
Lin Chung smiled, "It's alright, Kowloon."
"I mean, I don't need to be in a relationship now! I'm still young!" Kowloon said smugly, "When this is all over and we kick High Roller's ass, then I'll settle down, get married, and have a few kids."
Lin Chung chuckled, "Let's hope that we can get to that kind of future as soon as possible." He glanced around to talk to Qiao, "Darn, she ran off again. Our bickering must have scared her. I have to go find her."
"Good luck." Kowloon saluted.