Fan Fiction |
by manggang_hilaw
***
VS, that night.
Three of the F4 have been sitting silently at their favorite booth in VS for the last 30 minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
Mei Zhou was tense. Although Ximen had told him not to worry, he couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about tonight. It would be the first time that Ximen would face Lei after they had found out about Xiao You. He wanted to warn Lei but didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable for no reason if Ximen should act like he didn’t care about the whole thing. He alternately cursed Ximen’s stubbornness and Lei’s choice of women. Ah Si, to Mei Zhou’s great annoyance, continue to be oblivious to the can of worms that he had just opened during lunchtime. Mei Zhou shook his head silently. Of the four of them, he knows that Ah Si could be the most obtuse so he can’t exactly blame him. But he always thought Lei knew how Ximen felt about Xiao You. He was after all the most sensitive of the group. He liked to pretend he didn’t care about other people’s business but Mei Zhou knew it was just an act. It wasn’t that he blamed Lei for choosing Xiao You. When he thought about it, he could actually see why the two would be perfect for each other. Both had suffered rejection from the ones they loved and maybe they found comfort in each other’s arms. Plus they’re two of the nicest people he knew. But although he would be the last person to want to rain on Lei’s parade, he always thought Xiao You was meant for Ximen. He knew his friend could be stubborn but he never thought it would come to this. He mentally thanked his lucky star again that he and Xiao Quiao had such an easy relationship.
Ah Si, contrary to Mei Zhou’s assessment, wasn’t completely unaware of the delicacy of the situation. He had done much thinking over the last couple of hours and have concluded that Ximen might have been affected by the news of Lei and Xiao You more than he had let on. But although it was always in his nature to confront things head on, he didn’t want to be the one to tell Lei. Maybe because a part of him have never gotten over feeling guilty that Shan Cai chose him over Lei. So he just sat there, nursing his beer, waiting for the others to break the silence.
And Lei, well, he had always been the most quiet of the four so no one thought it unusual that he hasn’t spoken since he arrived. He sensed that Ah Si and Mei Zhou were both trying to feel him out and he almost laughed out loud at their restraint. He knew they wanted to ask him about Xiao You but were hell bent on giving him the privacy they thought he needed. He sighed. “If you only knew…” he thought to himself, but he made a promise to Xiao You and he never broke a promise. So he too just sat there, waiting for Ximen to appear. Dear old, stubborn Ximen, whom Xiao You still pines for up to this day.
“Hi guys! Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ximen greeted the silent trio in a decidedly upbeat voice.
The three all looked up at him at the same time, each sporting different expressions on their faces. Concern was evident in Mei Zhou’s face while Ah Si’s disgust was obvious in the way he took in not one but two mei meis wrapped all over Ximen. Lei just looked like he was about to laugh.
“Nice of you to join us.” Ah Si spoke first, willing Ximen to meet his stare.
“Well, I forgot the time…” Ximen smiled, seeming to offer the ladies by his side as his excuse for being late.
“Really? Well if I had known we could bring girlfriends, I’d have brought mine.” Lei drawled out deliberately, giving Ximen his usual “fa dai” expression.
Ximen’s smile froze and Mei Zhou groaned silently at Lei’s audacity.
Ah Si for once set out to act the mediator by jumping in with “Yeah…and to think I had to sneak out so Shan Cai wouldn’t come.”
Mei Zhou rolled his eyes at the stupidity of Ah Si’s statement. Like Ah Si would ever sneak out of the house without telling his wife where he was going! They all knew it was actually the other way around.
“What?” Ah Si asked testily at Mei Zhou.
Mei Zhou just sighed and gave Ximen a nod. “Why don’t you take a seat.”
Ximen hesitated for a moment before joining the trio. The two girls squeezed in on either side of him. He ordered a beer and two ladies’ drinks for his girls.
“So how is your girlfriend?” Ximen asked Lei nonchalantly, seemingly hell-bent on proving to the three that didn’t care one way or the other.
Lei smiled inwardly at Ximen’s question. He decided to test the waters. “Oh she’s great! She taught me about the beauty of the ‘very moment’.”
Silence.
“Really?” Ximen finally asked casually but all three noted the way his knuckles tightened over the beer bottle he was holding.
“Yes. She told me some guy told her about it.” Lei added fuel to the fire and smiled innocently before he took a swig of his beer.
One could almost hear a pin drop. Mei Zhou and Ah Si were both rooted to their seats, each unable to say anything to break the tense atmosphere.
“Did she…uh…tell you who the guy was?” Ximen seemed unable to help but ask
If Lei had doubts before that Ximen felt something for Xiao You, well, he didn’t have them then. Anyone with even half the sensitivity of an ox would have realized the depth of Ximen’s feelings on the subject given the hopeful, yet painful way the question was seemingly torn out of him. Lei wanted to hit Ximen for his misplaced sense of chivalry when it comes to Xiao You. He wanted to rail at him “You idiot! Don’t you know that love freely given is the best thing that a person can ever receive?” but instead he willed Ximen to look him in the eyes and said “She told me it was someone special to her from a long time ago.”
Ximen looked like he was hit over the head by a baseball bat.
Lei was about to say more but was interrupted by the whining of Ximen’s two mei meis. “Ximen, we’re bored! Why don’t you take us both home…” Ximen looked annoyed for a moment but then visibly shook himself and gave them a smile.
“Well, you heard the ladies…” he shrugged and proceeded to stand up with the two. “I’ll see you guys around…” he added just before he drew both girls towards the exit.
“Well, that went well….” Lei sighed.
Ah Si and Mei Zhou looked at Lei like he’d grown another head.
“What?” Lei laughed.
“You have no idea what you just did.” Mei Zhou whispered, still a bit shocked at what transpired at the table.
“Mei Zhou…”Ah Si warned their friend, although he too was surprised by the turn of events.
Lei looked at the two of them for a while before he said “Trust is a funny thing don’t you think?”
Ah Si looked at Lei as if trying to read his mind. Finally, he said. “I’ve always trusted you.”
Lei nodded. “Mei Zhou?” he asked.
Mei Zhou didn’t want to answer at first, but after Ah Si gave him a nudge, finally relented. “Yes?”
“Don’t worry about Ximen. He’ll understand.” Lei explained. Eventually.
***
As soon as Ximen and the two girls were out of VS, he quickly had his driver take them home. They complained loudly but he didn’t care. He never cared if he hurt their feelings. He only ever cared about the feelings of four women in his entire life. His mother. Xiao Geng, Shan Cai and that slip of a girl he’d been trying his hardest to forget.
“Where to sir?” his driver asked him after dropping the girls off.
“Just drive around…I don’t want to go home yet.” He ordered as he stared out of the window. He thought he could handle it. He had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to come to terms with Lei’s relationship with Xiao You. He thought he was ready. He didn’t think it would be so hard. He almost laughed at his foolishness. It had taken all of his strength not to let his friends see how much Lei’s words affected him. He sighed. Foolish is as foolish does.