CHAPTER #8

Although Qihe was no longer needed as a bodyguard for Zhao Xiu, his father had him assigned to be one for a girl that was nicknamed 'The Doll' by the other mafia men. She was some government official's daughter. The Mafia Boss was working with her father, who explained that there were kidnapping threats from a suspected rival triad group called the 14K. Mr. Crane once again had Qihe memorize the dossier on Yǔxī. It was very thorough with details on the threats, her personal information and everywhere she liked to go. It even included details on all her friends.

When Qihe was introduced to her, he understood the nickname, because her appearance was Qi Lolita. Girls who liked this style of dressing, were a combination of Japanese Lolita and Chinese Qipao. He thought she was extra cute, especially with the big eye contacts in.

"Mafia Boy will be your new body guard Yǔxī, he's the one who protected Zhao Xiu from her stalker." Mr. Chen explained to his daughter.

"Daddy I know who he is, everyone on social media knows the Crane twins." She said it with exasperation, but winked at the platinum-silver haired guy who held out his hand to her, like a prince to a princess. "Am I going to school with him too?"

"I'll work out those details after we see how well he can protect you, no offence Mr. Crane."

Qihe spoke before his father got mad. "I'm at your service, please to meet you."

"Ohh you're a true gentleman." She blushed and turned to her dad. "Now can I go to the Lolita Tea Meet-Up?"

"If Mafia Boy escorts you, then yes."

"One of my men has already been assigned to be their driver today. Qihe knows where the car is waiting," Mafia Boss Crane said in dismissal.

"Follow me please," Qihe offered her his arm.

When they were alone, she asked, "could we go shopping first? I want us to match, when we see the other girls. They always tease me that I'm still single."

"Whatever you want, we can do." Qihe thought they already matched, because he had worn all black; dress shirt, pants and shoes. She was in a black, white and red outfit.

Yǔxī clapped her hands happily, "I know just the place. It's on the same street as the tea shop we're going to."

"Once we're in the car, tell the driver the address."

She did exactly that and they went to the mens boutique. During the car ride, they took a selfie together. Qihe asked to see her phone a moment and joined her WeChat. On arrival, Qihe told the driver he'd call, when the car was needed again. Yǔxī put her hand on his arm, just like before and together they went into the shop.

"There are three suit jackets I want you to try on. This one, that's got the same rose red that I'm wearing as the outlining trim. The red pin stripe one and the one that has red down one side and the pocket outlines with a red pin stripe."

He had to admit, she had great taste in mens fashion. Talking to the sales person, they found the suit-jackets in his size. By a bank of mirrors, he tried on each and modelled them for her. Qihe knew which one he preferred, but waited to see what she'd pick.

"The half red one is best, both in how it fits on you and the colour." She came and stood beside him and they faced the mirrors.

"You picked the same one I liked. Does this mean we're the perfect pair?" He flirted, raising an eyebrow at her, since the black mouth mask hid his smile.

"Definitely…. But when we see the other girls, can you pretend to be my boyfriend and not a bodyguard. Having a bodyguard is so embarrassing."

"Your wish is my command," he agreed.

She giggled and then handed the sales person the cash to pay for the suit. The tags were removed and she helped him put the suit-jacket on. Yǔxī sighed, "you look so handsome in this. Consider it a gift."

"Thanks. You said everyone knows who I am, will your friends be upset that I'm Mafia Boy?"

"No, they will be so jealous! Are you named that just because of your father's business or can you really fight?"

"Both."

"I love how mysterious you are. It's almost time to meet the girls, let's get to the tea shop."

This time when they came to the sidewalk, he laced his fingers through one of her hands, immediately accepting his 'boyfriend' role. Her happiness danced in her eyes and smile. They were the second ones to arrive, since the host of the tea session was already at their reserved table.

"This is my boyfriend Qihe Crane," Yǔxī introduced.

The other Qi Lolita blushed and told them to sit down. They were served tea and as they waited for the other girls to arrive, the host asked, "are you Mafia Boy?"

"Yes. I didn't know I was that popular."

"Zhao Xiu bragged about you on her Instagram account. Now I see why. In person you are very handsome. Are you as dangerous as they say?"

He shrugged and winked at her, not offering an answer.

Yǔxī replied for him. "My boyfriend only fights people if it involves me."

Qihe raised an eyebrow, when he turned to capture her eyes, the other girl didn't see it. Yǔxī pulled him closer and whispered in his ear, as another Qi Lolita arrived. "You're not mad I said that, are you?"

"My princess has nothing to be worried about."

The newcomer asked, "you call her your princess? That's so romantic, like you're an anime prince!"

"Well I didn't want to seem pretentious by calling her my Queen."

Three more girls arrived and sat down at the table to have tea. Everyone was introduced to each other. Qihe kept his eyes observing anyone who came into the tea shop, making sure they were not a threat. He barely listened to the conversation between the Qi Lolitas. When the cookies and pastries arrived, Yǔxī delicately ate one of each.

Qihe declined eating any of it. "The only sweet thing I like, is Yǔxī."

The other girls practically swooned and his 'girlfriend' blushed redder than his suit.

"He's like Prince Charming, way too smooth with his words." The hostess girl observed.

"That's a fairy tale, Mafia Boy is real," argued the pink haired Qi Lolita that sat on his other side. "He should be called Prince Qihe Crane."

Yǔxī got a phone call and turned slightly away from the table, to answer it. "Dad?… Where are you?…It's hard to hear… oh the mall's underground parking… okay I'm coming." She disconnected from the call and said, "girls it's been nice having tea with you all, but my father is requesting I go to meet him."

Qihe put some cash on the table to pay for their teas and snacks, then helped her stand. Based on his instinct, he found something off about what she'd just said. He bowed gallantly to the other Qi Lolitas then escorted Yǔxī out of the cafe.

"Isn't it strange that your dad would be waiting for you at the Mall and not just come here to pick you up?"

"I guess so, I'll call him back…. That's weird he's not answering. But I can't ignore his request. Do you mind if we just walk there, it's only two blocks away. I'd like to spend more time with you."

"Sure, we can walk."

Just outside of the parking garage entrance, she announced, "that's Daddy's car. Thank you for coming with me today and pretending to be my boyfriend."

"Let me know if you need my bodyguard services again." He replied and watched her get into the car.

There was a nagging feeling that continued to bother him. Qihe texted his father about the call from Yǔxī dad. He got a call back almost immediately.

"Her father is with me. What are you talking about?"

"She got a cell call from him, telling us to go to the Mall. Yǔxī recognized his car and just drove off."

"Damn it, I'll send a few men. We need to find her fast. They must have used a voice recording to sound like her father."

"Don't worry Dad, I have her on WeChat and that lets me use a locator in the app so I can easily find her. She'll be okay. I'll text my location, once I find her."

"If it really is the 14K that kidnapped her, you have permission to kill. Most of the members here in China have a tattoo hidden behind their ear."

"Got it." He ended the call, kicking himself for not listening to his instinct earlier. He called one of the guys who had become his gang at school. "Can I borrow your motorcycle?"

"Sure Boss, I didn't know you could ride."

"I know how to ride, just never bothered getting one myself."

"Because it's classified as an e-bike you don't need a license, but I did modify it after getting it registered. Text me the address."

Qihe waited for the guy to arrive, which wasn't long. "Hold on to my suit jacket, I'll get it when I return your motorcycle."

"Sure, no problem."

Qihe put on the helmet held out to him and mounted the motorcycle. Taking the cell phone off the holder, he gave it to the motorcycle's owner and replace it with his own cell. That way he could ride and track Yǔxī at the same time. With a curt nod, he rode off, grabbing throttle and unintentionally popping a wheelie as he did so. He pursued the dot on the screen, noticing they were heading slightly out of town. Twenty minutes later the dot stopped moving. There was an abandoned apartment building there. He parked the motorcycle far enough away, that no one would see or hear him coming. Qihe sent the location to his dad, then put his phone on silent mode. Carefully he headed into the building, he guessed that the car had driven into the underground parking so it was out of sight. When he heard shouting coming from below him, it validated his hunch. Slowly he went down the stairs, making no sound. The kidnappers didn't expect anyone to find them and so hadn't stationed a man in the stairwell. Using his cell phone camera, he checked either side of the door, that opened into the parking area. Pictures confirmed no one was waiting. Sticking to the dark areas, where the sun didn't shine through the broken concrete, Qihe penetrated the area and went from pillar to pillar. Moving closer to where he heard the voices. He could see the girl was tied and gagged. There were three guys. One in the car, two standing around the girl.

"Let's just kill the girl as a warning."

"Money first, then we kill the brat."

"Well did her old man text confirmation that he'll pay?"

"Yeah. The two of us will go, you stay with the little doll."

"Can I play with her, before I kill her?"

"Do what you want."

Qihe watched the driver and one other guy get in the car and leave. He texted the info to his father and then got closer. The guy wearing a bandana around his mouth, came threateningly towards her. She tried to move away, terror written on her face. Qihe noticed a tattoo behind the guy's left ear, the number 14 was easy to see. Without further hesitation, he grabbed the guy's head and snapped his neck. Letting go, gravity made the limp body fall to the ground. Coming to a crouch in front of Yǔxī, Qihe untied her hands first and then removed the rag.

"Be careful Mafia Boy, there's another one somewhere." She warned just in time.

A guy came from the darkness and tried to punch Qihe in the back of the head, but he easily dodged the attack and grabbed the arm, pulling forward. He threw an elbow into the guy's gut. The guy pulled back and was let go. The guy fell backwards, hitting his head on the wall behind him. He didn't get up again. Qihe went to the body and took a picture of the tattoo behind that guy's ear. He sent it to his dad, to confirm it was 14K who were behind the kidnapping. He also reported about the two guys he took out. His father would send men to clean up the bodies. This wasn't the first time he'd killed someone, but that had been accidental and this was under his father's orders. The accident had left Qihe feeling like shit and he'd had to go to a shrink because of it. This time he didn't feel as much remorse and he knew that wasn't good either. How his father did that sort of thing all the time without it eating at his soul, Qihe couldn't fathom.

Qihe rubbed the top of Yǔxī's head. "You are safe."

She jumped into his arms, hugging him tight. "Thank you for finding me."

"I'll take you home." He held her hand and lead her out of the old building and towards where he parked the motorcycle.

"I don't know how to ride one of those."

"All you have to do is hold on to me. I'll give you the helmet." He put it on her head and secured it, then put on his sunglasses. "I'll get on first. Then put one foot here and on the other side's peg too, using my shoulder to help you get seated."

He got on and started the motorcycle, using his legs to steady it, while she mounted. As soon as her arms were wrapped around his waist, tightly squeezing him, he removed the kickstand. Slowly he rode off, once back on the main road, he patted her hands and then picked up speed.

At the next stop light he turned and asked, "are you okay? Can I ride faster?"

She nodded consent. So when the light became green, he rode above the speed limit. They got across town in good time and he only slowed down when they came to the street she lived on. Pulling into the driveway, they were met by her father's security crew. He stopped and she got off the motorcycle, then handed back the helmet.

"Miss, your father is still handling the situation. Please come inside, your mother is anxiously waiting for your return."

Yǔxī turned back to Qihe, "until we meet again."

"Take care," he replied and then made a phone call, as she was taken inside. "Where are you and I'll return your Kawasaki."

Getting the address, he gave a nod to security and backed the machine, until he could turn and ride off. This time he opened up the throttle, so he flew threw traffic. It was fun to ride a motorcycle, he hadn't done that in a long time. He stopped outside a ramen restaurant. The guy who owned the motorcycle came outside.

"Thanks, I owe you a favour sometime."

"Get me a date with your sister."

"Anything but that," Qihe laughed.