Chapter 27

Two children passed her as she walked through the streets of Shanghai, her hands loosely folded behind her back. After staying with her Sifu the whole day, and spending the night at his house, she left at early midday, opting to go on foot and see what had changed in the years she had been away.

Nothing, really she thought to herself looking left and right. It was one of the less nice places in the city, at least at night when the less desirable parts of the population made their appearance.

But she had to go through here if she wanted to reach her destination, which was one of the more famous clubs of Shanghai, now more so since a certain tournament champion was working there as a bouncer.

Though she hadn't even known that Jann Lee was working there at all until now. And a reliable source of gossip, namely Bao, told her that he would be working from early evening.

He really became famous it seemed. She had to chuckle at that; he must hate all the attention.

The club was located at Pudong near the Huangpu river. It would have been easier if she just took the tram, but this area held a special place in her memories.

Stopping near an alley she turned her gaze right, looking into it. It was here. Eight years ago when she had passed through here and some sleazy gangsters tried to kidnap her and ransom her to her father. They would have been successful if not for the young man that came to her rescue.

Oh, she had been grateful to him inwardly, even though on the outside she was furious at him, throwing insults at him for his brave action and telling him that she could have handled them on her own. He had only scowled at her, saying that he didn't do it for her and simply walked away, infuriating her even more.

But that was Jann Lee for you, brushing her off even then, though to her he was only called Gi at the time.

Has it really been so long? She wondered. God, she had been only thirteen at the time, full of temperament and eager to prove herself. In a way she owed him a lot. Without him she would have never become the martial artist she was today.

She wouldn't have found the motivation to train without him, nor met her Sifu who had been like a second father to her, even though he had put her through a training that could have been right out of hell.

And without him she wouldn't have made friends with Hitomi.

She could never forget that, would never forget that. It had as much a part inside her heart as the art in her life.

But it was in the past, and she knew now that she could never get closer to him than she currently was, not if she didn't change the person that he was and that was something she wouldn't force upon him.

So it would be better if she ended it today, so that she could move forward.

The two children that had passed her came running back, circling her for a moment before running along, causing the Chinese to smile.

She looked at her watch, checking the time and found herself in the mood for a quick snack. Now that she remembered there was a restaurant in the mall that served some of the best xiaolong bao, pork and crab dumplings, in the whole city. And luckily it was in the direction she was heading into.

With a nod she quickened her pace, already tasting them on her tongue.

Leifang took another bite from the last dumpling of the four she had ordered. Oh god did she miss those, you couldn't get these in Hong Kong, they always got them wrong.

The only one that made them exactly right was her mother, but since she moved into her own place she didn't get to eat her mother's food as much.

But her mother's cooking couldn't compare to Hitomi's. Leifang's thoughts turned to her friend immediately. She hoped she was doing ok. God how much she wanted to talk to her right now, but she still needed to do this one thing.

This'll be over soon Hitomi. Just a little longer. She thought.

Her eyes moved across the faces of various celebrities drawn on the walls, finally stopping up the clock on the wall.

Noticing the time she put the last bit of the dumpling into her mouth and went to pay up before quickly leaving the mall, making her way towards the river.

When she arrived she walked across the shoreline, looking across the water at The Bund, the waterfront area that housed some of the most important buildings of the whole city.

It should be around here she came to a halt and looked upon the club she was seeking. It had a rather old-fashioned look, reminiscing of the late thirties, but undoubtedly high-class. Luckily for her she had traveled to Shanghai in one of her best Cheongsam that she owned, so it shouldn't be a problem to get in.

She walked confidently towards the two suit wearing bouncers in front of the entrance, who had just waved in a couple. Leifang had this sneaking feeling she read about them in the newspapers once, stopping in front of one.

He gave her a once over, obviously checking her out.

"I'm here to speak with Jann Lee." she told him.

The man clicked his tongue and looked at his colleague, who just shrugged, then looked back at her. "You and half the city's female population, lady. Well, go right in, he's in the lounge. Lucky bastard." he muttered the last part, opening the door for her as he stepped aside.

The interior looked very much like what the outside was promising, a tribute to the golden days of Shanghai, and by the way it was filled with guests it seemed that nostalgia like that was in high demand.

She walked towards the lounge, looking at all the people. Some were local celebrities she recognized from way back, others she didn't recognize.

Leifang stopped in the doorway. There he was, wearing a suit that complimented his tall and broad stature, his hair styled in its usual way.

And of course he had that perpetual scowl on his face. She made her way towards him, just when he was turning around to look if something was amiss in the other direction.

"Hey." she spoke up, coming to a halt next to him.

"Not another one." she could hear him mutter but then saw his eyes widen for the fraction of a second before returning to his usual hard look. "Oh it's you. What do you want?"

Leifang simply looked at him, not saying anything. The words that she had wanted to say to him having left her in this very moment.

This was the man that had rescued her without wanting something to return, the man that had ridiculed and humiliated her countless times, the man she had to be in love with.

Waiting a moment for a to reply he smirked at her. "Ah I see. I'm still on duty for while, so you can hang out wherever. If you want a drink just tell 'em to put it on my tab."

He passed by her to walk towards a man that was becoming a bit too grabby for the lady he was talking to. "I'll come and get you when my shift's over."

The Chinese couldn't help but grit her teeth, angry with herself. Why didn't she say anything?

Seething internally she walked toward the bar, ordering something to drink, but nothing too strong. She needed to be sober for this.

After hours of just sitting there, brushing off various flirtations and watching Jann Lee do his job, which was more standing around and showing presence than actually beating up people, he made his way over to her.

"Let's take this out in the back." he said and led the way. Leifang followed him as they left the club, entering a side alley. "Yeah this should work."

He pulled of his jacket and threw it on one of the trash bins, turning towards her and getting in position. "Now this time stay focused." he said, smirking and brushing his thumb across his nose.

Leifang simply stood there, staring at him. This was the extent of their relationship, nothing less and nothing more, as much as she had wished it otherwise. It was her fault for not being honest with herself much earlier.

That would change today.

When she didn't change into her own stance his scowl deepened and he stood up straight again. "What is it? If you aren't here to fight then stop wasting my time!"

He grabbed his jacket, putting it on again and was about to walk past her, leaving her there.

Now or never! she thought. "Wait!"

He stopped and turned his head towards her, simply looking. Leifang noticed that her hands had balled into fist and were shaking. Forcing herself to calm down she turned towards him, looking him directly into the eyes. "I came here to...talk."

"Talk?" he asked. "Tch, not interested."

He made to leave again when Leifang simply grabbed him by the arm. He whirled around angrily, wrestling his arm free and threw a quick punch towards her. She didn't dodge.

His fist stopped a hair breadth away from her face. They stood there for several moments, staring at one another, eyes hard like steel. Then, out of nowhere, he dropped his fist.

"Alright, let's talk." he conceded.

"Could we go somewhere else, please?"

He simply nodded and led her to his car.

A little reminiscing on Leifang's part and *gasp* Jann Lee!

I'm actually not very satisfied with this chapter and since I'm ahead of my schedule I can afford to be a little generous, so...

Nothing to see here, move on to the next one!