CHAPTER #18
Since that explosive night when Mr. Crane had visited with the twins and his daughter, he hadn't contacted Qihe again. His second enforcer confirmed that his son had shown up for his security jobs and completed them without problem. He didn't regret coming down on Qihe so hard, because the boy had needed to be taught a lesson in hierarchy and manners. The men reported that Qihe was much more respectful to them than in the past, even if they teased him by using the nickname Mafia Boy. Boss Crane decided to make his son go on a date. The pretty girl wasn't part of a business deal this time, but he thought she could rein in Qihe's fighting because of being elegant and educated.
When Qihe received the details of the date, he almost disobeyed, but decided he'd pushed his father's patience enough lately. So he contacted the girl to pick a day to meet. From their texts and the picture she sent, this date might not be too bad. He decided to keep an open mind, even though it was a girl that his father had chosen. They decided to get lunch together and then maybe a movie. Wearing a black and white pin stripe suit, with matching shirt and tie, he had his father's driver drop him off just outside the restaurant.
"Call me when your date is done and I'll drive you two home," the driver explained.
"Thanks." Qihe leaned against the wall, near the entrance doors and waited.
The girl arrived and he took interest in what he saw. She was well put together; not too much makeup, hair all styled and controlled, carrying a purse that matched the dress and heals.
"Hi are you Mafia Boy, I mean Qihe Crane?"
"Yes, and you are?"
"Daiyu, please to meet you." She held out her hand to him.
First removing his mask, he took the hand and gave it a kiss, then put it on his arm and escorted her into the restaurant. He opened the door for her and even pulled out the chair, at their reserved table. After she was seated, Qihe did so too, unbuttoning his suit as he sat.
"Do you like French cuisine?" Daiyu asked, while looking over the menu.
"I'll try anything at least once, what about you?"
"It's one of my favourite types of food, but I usually only have it when I'm with my parents. I'm not the best at reading French, could you pick me something?"
He'd read her bio, as his father was always thorough with the files on the girls. Qihe knew she was fluent in reading, writing and speaking French. So this was the game she was going to play, which he had expected. "Of course." When the waiter arrived, he order the same thing for them both. "Pour commencer, nous aurons une soupe à l'oignon. Pour le plat principal nous aurons du saumon en papillote." He looked at her, "from the pictures, show him which dessert you would like to try."
She pointed to the hazelnut dacquoise cake and asked, "what about you Qihe?"
"I don't like to eat sweet things."
"We can skip dessert if you want."
"No, I wouldn't stop you from enjoying something you like."
Her smile showed off her perfect white teeth. "When you get to university, what will you study?"
"I'll probably take over for my father eventually," he replied. "What do you plan for your career?"
"Business administration or I might become a diplomatic translator."
"We both have big ambitions."
The soup arrived and Qihe decided he didn't like it, but showed nothing on his face to indicate that. He had 75% of it and then stopped. His hope was that the salmon would be better.
"This is so good, you chose well," Daiyu praised.
Their dishes were removed and replaced with the salmon. The salmon he did enjoy and wished he could order a glass of white wine to go with it, but neither of them were drinking age. "A bottle of Chardonnay wine would've paired nicely with this."
She leaned forward, just enough to give him a glimpse of her lace bra. Her agreement came in a hushed voice, "I would have enjoyed a bottle of Prieur Montrachet."
Qihe knew that wine was in the top seven most expensive French wines. Her true colours had finally emerged. He would test his theory a little later in their date, to be sure.
When her cake arrived, Daiyu's eyes grew wide. "Wow, this is so big!"
His eyes narrowed, would she pull the I'm on a diet lie? To his surprise, she enjoyed every forkful. Just before she finished, he had the bill brought and he pulled out a black credit card. The waiter brought the machine and he tapped it. The receipt was given, which he pocketed and then stood. Putting on the mouth mask was done first. Still playing his role, he helped her stand up too.
"Shall we go for a walk, to help digestion?" He again offered his arm.
Diayu took it, "yes, it's a lovely day outside."
They walked out of the restaurant and window shopped. They passed some jewelry shops and everything she liked, had diamonds inlayed. At last they passed a flower shop, he stepped inside and bought the cheapest, most simple bouquet. She hadn't even noticed he had left her side.
"Daiyu, these are for you," he presented the gift.
She looked at the flowers and threw them at him in disgust. "I'm not so cheap!"
That confirmed it, she was a gold-digger and the type of girl he disliked the most. He raised his eyebrow and pulled out a bunch of expired credit cards and threw them in the air. Without another word, Qihe left. She hadn't noticed the expired dates on the cards and was picking them all up and sticking them in her purse.
He called the car, "take her home, she only cares about money." After ending the call, Qihe crossed the street and got on the transit. It made him wonder if his father had been testing him or if he truly believed that was the type of girl his son liked. Either way Qihe was so done with these set up dates.
It got busy on the bus, people crowding in, which was unusual for a Saturday. He loosened his tie, as it was getting warm with all the body heat. His elbow bumped into someone, but he wasn't scolded. One more stop and then he could get off. Moving was difficult, but he got closer to the door. A girl beside him, was clutching her bag with both hands. The bus lurched and Qihe automatically put an arm around her waist, to prevent her falling down the stairs.
"Are you okay?"
She looked up at him with scared eyes, "thanks."
Was she scared of him or just the crowded bus? His answer came a moment later, when he saw a man trying to put his hand under her skirt. Qihe slammed a punch into the guy's side and at the same time pulled the girl to stand in front of him.
"I'll protect you from this jerk!" He said into her ear.
The girl nodded, then turned and put her own arms around his waist, face resting on his chest. Instantly Qihe became her bodyguard and forgot to get off the bus at his stop.
She looked up at him, "my stop is next. Thank you."
"Did he touch you?"
Tears sprang into her eyes and she nodded, unable to admit it vocally.
"I'll come with you to wherever it is you're going, you don't need to be scared."
The bus stopped and they got off. He saw the guy start to follow. "Wait here, I'll be right back."
Qihe turned suddenly and the guy started to run off. He wasn't fast enough and Qihe fed him a right hook and a left upper cut punch. The man fell to the ground.
"Please don't hurt me!"
People stopped to watch.
"You should've thought about that before you felt up my girlfriend on the bus! If you ever come near her again, I'll report you to the cops."
The bystanders started to shame the man and took pictures. Qihe left the guy to the public punishment for being a creeper. He returned to the girl.
"Thank you so much. I moved twice on the bus and he kept…."
"I'm glad I could help. Where are you going?"
"Home, I was at the mall with friends, but they ditched me."
"Do you have an Instagram account?"
"Yes… why?"
"Let's take a selfie with your phone. I'm Mafia Boy, hashtag it and your friends will be jealous, I guarantee it."
"Okay…. I'm Hai."
"Is there a flower shop near here?"
"On the way to my house, there's a lady who sells some on the street. Is that okay?"
"Perfect, let's go." He offered her his arm and she giggle.
The girl was younger than him for sure. She was cute, with braided pig tails that had ribbons on the ends. It wasn't long before they turned down a side street and he could see the street vendor.
"I live two doors down from here."
"Close your eyes and wait just a moment." As soon as she did so, he went to buy flowers. "How much for all of them?"
"Is she your sister?"
"No, but a girl that needs to smile."
"You're a sweet boy." The lady accepted the cash and filled his arms with all the flowers.
Once he was standing in front of the girl, Qihe said, "open your eyes Hai."
"Oh wow are these for me?!" She shouted happily.
"Of course!"
"Can we take another picture?" Her cheeks were bright red and she looked adoringly at him.
"Let me get down on one knee and hold them for you."
"You're like a white knight or a prince!"
They took the photo and then he followed to her front door. She unlocked it and asked if he could help her bring the flowers inside. He obliged and his eyes showed the hidden smile, when she shouted at her mom that she got flowers. The mother came to see what the commotion was about.
"Hello Ma'am, Hai was upset due to a stranger on the bus, so I thought these might bring back her smile."
The mother nodded, "thank you for caring about my daughter. How do you know her?"
"Mom he's my white knight, just without the horse!"
The mother and Qihe exchanged an amused look. "Well Princess Hai, until we meet again. Ma'am."
"Honey go start filling some vases with water." The mother walked him to the gate. "Will you tell me what happened on the bus?"
"A man touched her and she was terrified. I smashed his face, when we got off the bus and then the public cursed him. I doubt he'll go near her again."
The mother looked upset. "I try not to be too over protective, but things like that make me worry about letting her go out with friends."
"It's never too late to learn self defence. Whether it's from watching Youtube videos or going to a teacher. Basic knowledge is important for all women to know. My sister swears it's saved her a few times."
"I will look into it. Thank you so much, for everything young man."
He bowed, "have a good afternoon." Qihe left and decided to just walk to where he was meeting his friends.
The rest of the weekend had been uneventful, other than Qihe having another e-sports competition later that Saturday evening. On Sunday he'd spent the day with Lu He. They played two basketball games, one with Xiang Shao. With their winnings they went to dinner, then to a salon to dye their hair the same colour and finally came home to do gaming. Neither had work and just enjoyed hanging out together. They even sparred a little, after working out.
"It's been a while since we spent time together, this was nice," Lu He said.
"True, it was all very normal, which is unusual in itself for both of us."
"Has Dad talked to you lately?"
"Yesterday I went on an arranged date with a gold digger. I ditched her after lunch."
Lu He groaned, "what business deal was he trying to close this time?"
"No idea, he did all his talking through his second enforcer."
"Seriously? Well I guess that's for the best."
"What about you, has he reached out to you?"
"No and I haven't been sent on dates lately. Maybe Mom said something."
"Yeah maybe."
"Can we sleep together again?"
"If anyone overheard our conversation, they'd think we were in an incestual relationship," Qihe laughed.
"Gross. The only one who seems like that is our sister. Do you think she kissed Mom or Dad on the mouth?"
Lu He laughed too.
"Maybe Mom, definitely not Dad."
"When she was protecting you from Dad, was the most fiercest I've ever seen her."
"Same. Our family isn't like any other."
"Qihe… I wish you'd stop fighting."
"You really want to start this with me again Lu He?"
"No…sorry." Lu He got quiet.
Qihe looked at his twin, who was pouting. "I know you worry about me and I appreciate that, but you shouldn't." Still Lu He said nothing. "Alright we can sleep in the same bed…. You love using emotional blackmail."
Lu He smirked, "I'm a pro at it."
"By the way, Dad gave me a fake ID and sent one for you too. It says we're 18 already. I'm using it to get my driver's license by the end of this year."
"I'm down to do that too. Do you have the IDs here?"
"Yeah, go get ready for bed and I'll bring yours after I do the same."