"Lu Xia? What are you doing here?" Zhuo Zhi asked with the smallest of smirks on his face. The tennis prodigy was sitting on a park bench underneath a large tree to shield him from the warm sun. Sitting beside him was his very mortified younger brother, Zhuo Yu.

Rather than giving an actual response, Lu Xia turned his head and glanced at the blushing Qi Ying standing next to him.

"Zhuo Yu, I'm so sorry! Lu Xia overheard my conversation with Zhuo Zhi and wanted to come and help you as well. I should have notified you, I'm so sorry. I understand if you want to cancel." Qi Ying quickly explained, a worried look on her face as she looked straight at the shocked boy before her.

"No, no, it's ok Ying. I just didn't know that he was coming with us. It's just so embarrassing." Lu Xia's head quickly turned to Zhuo Yu as he noticed his informality with Qi Ying. Zhuo Yu no longer looked mortified, but rather had a soft gaze aimed at the shy girl. Feeling disgusted from witnessing such a puppy gaze, Lu Xia turned his attention back to Qi Ying.

Oblivious to the tension radiating from the tennis star next to her, Qi Ying once more smiled brightly at another boy that wasn't Lu Xia.

Before the irritated teen could speak a single word, Zhuo Zhi chimed in, "Well now that that's settled, let's go. Ying, lead the way please."

"Yes! Let's go. The store isn't too far from here." Qi Ying said. She motioned for the boys to follow her and as she walked away from the park and into a heavily populated market area. With no other option, the group was led by Qi Ying at front with Zhuo Yu walking beside her. Lu Xia and Zhuo Zhi followed closely behind them.

The market area was small and so crowded that Qi Ying and Zhuo Yu arms were touching each other. When it was too crowded, Zhuo Yu would put his hands on Qi Ying's shoulders and guide her through the crowd.

Lu Xia was livid. He glared at the sight before him. Every time the young teens in front of him made any sort of physical contact, his hands would ball up into a fist. Even though there was so much noise around them, Lu Xia could still hear her giggle and laugh here and there at something Zhuo Yu would say. It made him see red.

All the while, Zhuo Zhi was enjoying every moment of Lu Xia's torture. Oh, young love. Lu Xia, you have a lot to learn.

"We're here!" All three boys looked at the store Qi Ying stood in front of. My Sweet-Heart. It was pink. Very Pink. A two-story building of every shade of pink imaginable. Young girls swarmed around the entrance and peered through the store windows in large groups. It was a frightening sight.

Hell, she had led them to hell.

"Ying, are you sure this is the right place?" Zhuo Yu asked nervously. Lu Xia's eye twitched.

"Yes! Now, come on. I know the perfect gift." The shy girl beamed. She grabbed Zhuo Yu's arm and quickly dragged him into the store.

"Lu Xia, I think it's best that we don't go in." Zhuo Zhi said before Lu Xia could take a step.

Lu Xia didn't turn to look at his teammate, but still asked, "Why not?" From where he was standing, he could see Qi Ying and Zhuo Yu looking at some very large pink teddy bears.

"This is a rather private affair for them. We shouldn't meddle." A snort escaped Lu Xia.

"Lu Xia, you have to understand that this is something important to them and we would only be in the way." Zhuo Zhi explained.

The young tennis player's head quickly spun to face the tennis prodigy and looked him straight in the eye.

"Zhuo Zhi, tell me the truth. Is Qi Ying the girl your brother likes?" Lu Xia couldn't hide the cold tone in his voice.

A long moment passed before Zhuo Zhi smirked and asked, "Would it be a bad thing if Ying is the girl he likes?"

A scowl appeared on Lu Xia's face. "Her name is Qi Ying. You have no right to call her that."

"Oh, but she gave us permission to do so. She's gotten quite close with us over the past semester. And soon we'll pretty much be like family."

"What do you mean you will be family?" Lu Xia asked suspiciously.

Zhuo Zhi's smirk grew even more as he ignored Lu Xia's question and aimed his question behind his younger teammate, "Are we ready to go? I'm hungry."

Lu Xia turned around to see Qi Ying walking towards him with a small cat plushy in her arms. Zhuo Yu was behind her with a grin spread from ear to ear.

"We're all set. Let's go back to the park. I brought lunch for us to eat." The young girl said. The brothers nodded their heads and began walking in the direction of the park. Lu Xia and Qi Ying trailed behind them.

For much of the way back, the group stayed in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Xia would observe Qi Ying playing with the cat plushy.

"Did you buy that?" The teen asked.

"No, I didn't buy it. Zhuo Yu bought it for me. Isn't it cute?" She smiled at him as she lifted the plushy to show him.

"Hn." He responded and turned his attention back to the pair of brothers walking in front of them. He was glaring at the back of the younger brother.

After ten more minutes of walking, the group reached the park. They walked towards the shaded area where they could sit and have lunch. As Qi Ying started passing out the food she had prepared and some drinks, Zhuo Zhi decided to break the silence. "Ying, did you buy that for yourself? It's so cute."

The young girl smiled at the older boy before answering, "No, Zhuo Zi got it for me. Once I saw it, I knew I had to get it. He was just kind enough to buy it for me."

"It was really nothing, Ying. You deserve it and more. I can't tell you how much appreciate you and everything you've done for me." Zhuo Yu said as he took a bite of his sandwich. A small giggle emitted from the young girl, and it drove Lu Xia over the edge.

"Qi Ying, it's time to go home." Lu Xia stated as he stood up and started packing his things.

"What do you mean?" A very confused Qi Ying asked. "We haven't even finished lunch yet."

"We'll finish it later. We're leaving." The teen commanded. After noticing that the young girl hadn't moved, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up. He grabbed her bag and grabbed her arm once more and started dragging her in the direction of their home.

"Wait! Lu Xia, what's the hurry?" Zhuo Yu asked confused.

Lu Xia didn't bother to look back nor respond.

"Thank you for everything Zhuo Zhi and Zhuo Yu! Hope everything goes well!" Qi Ying yelled back as she struggled to keep up with the fast pace set by Lu Xia.

"I'll see you on Monday!" Zhuo Zhi shouted at the retreating figures. He looked at his brother, smiled, and said, "You have your own love problems to worry about, so don't get involved in their affairs."

Still confused, Zhuo Yu nodded slowly and continued eating his food.


Sorry for the long wait! Life does get busy at times! :( Anyways, I fixed some errors in chapter 1. And here's to hoping I can finish the last chapter of this story soon :)