Fan Fiction |
by Lhara
******
We were meeting everyone at Mei Zuo’s house. Since Dao Ming Si was no longer in contact with his mother, F4 could not reside at his big house like previously. So Mei Zuo’s house with all its luxuries is now everyone’s favourite hangout, although sometimes everyone goes to Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s for a cosy gathering.
A servant led us three to Mei Zuo’s private living room. In there we found Mei Zuo lounging on a big sofa with his wife beside him. Lei wasn’t sitting far from them. Qing-He was with a girl Shan-Cai called Mimi, and they were all engrossed in conversation laughing amongst themselves. However, I didn’t fail to notice that Xi Men was not with them.
“Hardworking Virgin Number 2!” Mei Zuo cried when he saw me enter the room.
I broke out into a grin as I strode up to Mei Zuo. “Mei Zuo,” I greeted amiably as he stood up to hug me.
“Nice to see you decided to grace us with your presence after all these years,” he said.
“Nice to see you’ve finally decided to settle down,” I replied with another grin, turning to the woman behind him.
Mei Zuo suddenly turned around, as if just remembering his manners and the fact that he had a wife. “Xiao You, I’d like you to meet my wife, Xiao Qiao,” he said putting his arm around her.
“You’ll like her,” Shan Cai had said earlier. “She’s the only woman to have conquered one of the Playboy’s heart.”
Xiao Qiao was beautiful, but not in the same way that Xi Men’s and Mei Zuo’s meimeis had been. Her beauty was meaningful and more than
skin-deep, where as their typical women had been superficial and merely pretty. Xiao Qiao, though tall and of model composition, could never be mistaken for the airheads Mei Zuo had been known to date. I could tell just by looking in her intense, dark eyes that she was a woman who was actually a woman*. Xiao Qiao projected an aura of serenity, intelligence and substance far beyond any of the women Mei Zuo had ever entertained. And that was the reason that she was still with him today. Mei Zuo had finally met his match.
“Hard-working Virgin Number 2,” she mused. “Now, I wonder which guy came up with that name?”
All of us turned to Mei Zuo and we laughed.
“Hmm, but judging by things, I don’t think she is Hard Working Virgin Number 2 anymore, more like Number 1, hey Shan Cai?” Xiao Qiao elbowed her husband whilst Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai blushed.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Xiao Qiao said, shaking my hand. “And if you need any advice on how to get Xi Men,” she whispered in my ear. “I think I know how.”
We grinned knowingly at each other.
I looked down at her stomach to see a bulge there. Seeing my gaze, she said, “I’m expecting in five months,” she declared happily.
“Ooh, Mei Zuo, you’ve been doing well,” I teased.
“Yeah,” he agreed with one of his smiles. Husband and wife looked fondly at each other. And you know what? In that short time I had spent with Mei Zuo, I’d never seen him give anyone that look of adoration, that look of respect, that look of total love. Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai weren’t the only lucky ones here.
“Hey, hey, hey!” A voice called. Everyone turned to Qing-he. “Aren’t you going to say hello to your dearly, beloved friend… me?”
I laughed and walked up to him. He enveloped me in a hug. Qing-He hugs just a little bit too tightly though. “It’s great to have you back,” he said with enthusiasm. Then, “Xiao You, this is my friend Mimi,” I turned to the girl beside him, and mentally laughed. Typical Qing-He to find a girl who was equally crazy as he was, I could tell by her wide eyes! But I knew she was a nice person and I greeted her warmly.
There was one person I hadn’t greeted yet. I walked over to Lei who was sitting quietly on an armchair.
“Hua Ze Lei,” I greeted.
“Xiao You.” His face broke out into a smile that couldn’t quite hide the sadness in his eyes. When he hugged me, I noticed that whilst everyone’s had been warm and welcoming, his was distant. Maybe this was Lei just being Lei, or maybe love had played its part.
“You’ve changed,” he mused. But somehow, I knew he wasn’t talking about my physical appearance. Mentally I had changed. I had learnt a lot of things I thought I’d never know and changed with this knowledge. Lei had the amazing ability to really see people.
“Have we finished with the introductions, because I’m hungry,” Dao Ming Si interjected.
“Dao Ming Si!” Shan Cai scolded.
I giggled. “I’m done.”
We made our way to the dining-room where we all sat down and ate. After our meal, we resumed talking.
“So Xiao You, I am taking a tour group to Canada next month, tell us what it’s like there.” Shan Cai knew what it was like of course, I had already told her, but I knew she wanted the other group to hear about it too.
“Yeah, tell us if the guys are cuter,” Xiao Qiao added. “Taiwanese guys are so ugly. Especially this one here,” she said, jabbing Mei Zuo for emphasis.
“My wife is so supportive,” Mei Zuo drawled.
I smiled. “Canadian guys are different to Chinese guys. It was hard for me to understand them at first; their accents are hard to decipher. I also had to improve my English to converse with them. In some parts of Canada they speak French, so I learnt a bit of that just in case.”
“Oh really?” Qing-He asked sceptically, chin on his hands. “Prove to us you can speak French.”
Mei Zuo rolled his eyes. “Like it’s a big challenge.”
“Bonjour Qing-He. Ça va? Moi, je suis très content car je suis revenue chez moi**.”
Qing-He shrugged. “Sounds French,” he murmured.
“Your French is not bad,” Dao Ming Si mused. “Maybe I should go there to improve my French too…”
“Improve you Chinese first!” Chorused Shan Cai, Mei Zuo and Lei.
Just then a waiter came in and poured everyone a glass of red wine, except Xiao Qiao.
“I don’t drink because of the baby,” she explained. “I want it to be completely fine.”
“Because otherwise it may turn out like Mei Zuo!” Lei exclaimed.
I turned to Lei, who was sitting beside me. At least he seemed happy.
“You know, all you F4 do is drink all the time,” Shan Cai said. “One day you’ll all end up with a hole in your liver.”
“Xi Men got a hole in his stomach once,” Dao Ming Si reminisced.
This news surprised me. No one ever told me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I took a deep breath before saying, “Where is Xi Men?” That was the question I had been wanting the answer to all a long.
Suddenly F3, Shan Cai and Xiao Qiao looked uncomfortable.
Mei Zuo was the one who answered. “Xi Men is… busy.”
Some part of me hoped he meant busy with work. But another, more logical part of me knew- Xi Men was with a woman, and I had hoped in vain that Xi Men would at least come to this gathering, to say hi to a person he once considered a special friend. I guess I wasn’t so special anymore. I drank the rest of my wine to conceal my disappointment. But for the rest of the evening, my head wasn’t really with everybody else. Finally it was time to go. I thanked everyone for this special gathering, before Shan Cai and Dao Ming Si took me home.
*********
*By this statement I don’t mean that other women are actually men, but there’s a difference between being just a woman and a real woman. =)
** I haven’t done French for a while, so this could be grammatically wrong. But basically it says, “Hello. How are you Qing-He? Me, I am very happy because I am back home.” I will give myself a star if the grammar is actually right!
I hope you weren’t bored with my long let’s-greet-everyone chapter. I just like to get in-depth with the other characters. Plus, Mei Zuo and Xiao Qiao are very interesting to write about, don’t you think?
Hmm, my happy quote of the week: Some day your prince will come. Mine got lost and is too stubborn to ask for directions. (My fav quote ever!)