| Fan Fiction |
by Kaiyrah
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It was an impressive feat, he had to admit. The building reached far up into the sky, farther than his eye could see, a monumental structure made of glass and steel. It was a fine piece of architecture, truly fit for the business empire that thrived within. As he took in the sight once more, he almost felt remorse.
Almost.
But the vivid memories from his childhood came rushing back like a monsoon, and before his emotions could overcome him, he closed his eyes to forcefully shut those thoughts out. No, his resolve would not weaken. Not for anything.
His phone rang, waking him from his spell, and hastily he reached into his pocket to answer. His other hand adjusted the Bluetooth device situated in his left ear. "Hello?"
"Hey," a familiar voice echoed into his ear.
He looked up at the building again. "What's up?"
"How'd you do on the interview?" The caller sounded anxious.
He smirked. "Aced it. You know me."
"Good. When do you know if you landed the position?"
"No need. They promoted me right on the spot."
The other man whistled. "Nice. You ready?"
"Ready as I can be."
---
Midterms were next week. She should have cared more, considering that her biochemistry mark so far had been teetering dangerously close to 70. But as she looked over the review sheets and her notes, the words and structures all seemed to blend together in an incoherent mess that seemed even more foreign to her than English.
She must have been staring at the same page for the last five minutes because a hand suddenly materialized in front of her eyes and snapped. Startled, she looked up.
"Oh good, you're still here," Wang Zi laughed. "I was starting to think that someone had taken your soul or something."
"I don't wanna study anymore!" She complained, stretching her back. Promptly she dropped her chin onto her notes. "Tell me why I need biochem again?"
"Because, Dr. Wu Ying Jie," he emphasized the title, "You need it for med school, unless you've forgotten?"
"If only I wasn't such a slave to my major," she heaved an exaggerated sigh.
"...Well, if you weren't, you could always take over your dad's business."
She made a thoroughly disgusted face. Business management was not interesting to her in the least, no matter how appealing her father tried to make it sound. He said that he would support her in her decision to become a doctor, but judging from his constant implications that the business world wasn't as stuffy as she thought it was, it was clear that deep down he still wanted her to inherit the company.
How unfortunate. She had no plans to.
"Fine, fine. How about this -- you answer one last question correctly and I treat you to coffee. How's that?"
Her eyes lit up. Wang Zi treating her to coffee and not demanding that she pay him back? That was a reward in itself. "Hit me!"
Wang Zi shuffled through his own notes for a few seconds before he cleared his throat. "FAD is an important cofactor in many biochemical reactions. Which of these statements is incorrect?" Her eyes followed his index finger as it pointed to the question and possible answers. She read each statement carefully before she replied, "B. FAD results in the formation of 2.5 ATP in the ETC. That's false."
He gave her an encouraging smile, and she felt her cheeks grow a little warmer. "So how many ATP does FAD produce?"
Ying Jie paused. "1.5."
"Right." He closed his book, seemingly not caring if his notes were crumpled. "Let's go?"
Relief spread through her system as she packed her things away in her messenger bag. "Finally."
---
"We should call Xiao Xun too. Maybe she'd want to join us," Wang Zi suggested in line.
Ying Jie forced a smile as she looked up at the menu board. "Yeah. Why don't you call her?"
"I will. You know what I want, right?" he asked, and without waiting for a reply, he pressed some cash into her palm and made his way to a table outside.
Secretly she hoped that Xiao Xun was busy. Soon after that thought had passed however, her stomach began to churn with guilt. Wang Zi had liked Xiao Xun ever since they met. She wasn't quite sure if Xiao Xun returned his feelings, but if she did, then she didn't want to interfere with their happiness.
But that didn't mean that it hurt any less.
She stood in line behind a slightly balding man who was being extremely specific about his latte and found her patience thinning by the minute. Luckily they opened another register. "I can help you over here, Ma'am."
Ma'am? She didn't look that old, did she? Pushing the thought aside, Ying Jie ambled over to the second register and put on a friendly smile. "Hi. A medium coffee and a small mocha, please." Ah, the beauty of simple orders, she thought as she paid (or rather, Wang Zi paid) for the beverages. She had worked part-time as a barista for a few months last year and came to learn rather quickly that the person who asked for no special request in their beverage was like finding a golden needle in a haystack. Ever since then, she'd reminded herself to just add the extras herself at the kiosk.
There were quite a few people ahead of her, so she figured it would be awhile until they filled her order. She headed outside and set her bag down at Wang Zi's table. "So? Can she make it?"
Wang Zi shook his head, clearly disappointed. "She's gotta meet with her study group in a half hour."
Ying Jie mentally kicked herself for being so happy about this piece of news. "That's too bad."
"Yeah. But at least you're here," he once again gave her that charming smile, and her heart began to pulse faster. It was that smile that hooked her in the first place, and her reaction now just meant that she was still as in love with him as she had ever been.
They had been classmates their first year at university, her and Wang Zi. They sat next to each other in biology class and subsequently became lab partners. Outside of class, they studied together at the library. Outside of the library, they studied at this cafe. Their friendship was cemented upon the discovery that they were both majoring in medicine. It was a typical friendship, now that Ying Jie thought about it.
Except for the fact that she was madly in love with him.
But he had always put her in the friend zone. It only worsened when Ying Jie had her birthday celebration at the local KTV, where she first introduced him to Xiao Xun, whom she'd been friends with since high school. He'd taken an interest in her right away, and while it was hard for Ying Jie to accept, she couldn't say that she was surprised. Xiao Xun was everything that Wang Zi was looking for -- she was intelligent, kind, talented, and not to mention very, very beautiful.
Needless to say, Ying Jie had given up hope that Wang Zi would ever return her feelings. But still she wanted to be his friend, at the very least. Being by his side was enough for her.
"Medium coffee and small mocha!" The barista's voice floated outside, and Ying Jie jumped up. "Ah, that's ours!" She hurried back inside.
"Thank you," she offered the barista a smile, and took the lid off the mocha. Ah, the smell of chocolatey goodness. It was likely sweet enough already, but she liked to add a little more sugar anyway. The lid on the coffee stayed put; she'd known Wang Zi long enough to know that he took his coffee black.
The sweet aroma of the coffee was enough to sway her thoughts from her unrequited love as she promptly twirled around to face the napkins kiosk -- only to bump into a man and watch in horror as her mocha spilled all over his blue necktie and crisp white shirt.
"Oh... oh my god," she whispered, wide-eyed, and met the man's eyes. He couldn't have been much older than her, perhaps four years at the most, but judging from the briefcase in his hand and the stately suit that he'd dressed in, he must have been a very successful businessman.
A businessman that she had just spilled coffee on. His eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"I... I'm so sorry!" She apologized finally, and grabbed a handful of napkins. "I'm so, so sorry, let me help you with that..." Quickly she began dabbing at his shirt with a napkin.
"Don't bother," he said, his tone icy, and he shoved her hand away.
"But --"
"It's fine," he bit out harshly. The slight shake in his voice told her that he was trying his hardest not to yell at her. Without another word, he turned and made his way out.
Her conscience wouldn't let him go just like that. She followed. "I'm really sorry, sir! I can accompany you to buy a new shirt if you want."
"No need," the man scowled.
"Okay then, how about I give you my number so that you can call me if you change your mind and decide you want a new shirt after all?" Ying Jie stopped in front of him and pulled out a pen from her pocket. The man glared at her. A chill went up her spine.
Before she could back away, the man had grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her toward him, leaving only centimeters between their faces.
"W-what are you doing?" she squeaked. The irrational part of her brain noticed that he was quite handsome. Still, that didn't change that fact that he was uncomfortably close, and a complete stranger at that.
A handsome stranger. Ying Jie mentally kicked herself for the second time that day.
"You've tried my patience for the last time today. So now you have one of two choices -- you can either shut up now and leave me alone or I can take you with me and make you shut up."
His voice was dangerously low, and somehow Ying Jie knew that he was a man of his word. She held her breath, afraid to even make a sound in this man's presence, and she broke eye contact, choosing instead to stare at the ground between their feet. The sight began to blur as tears filled her eyes.
"...Good." He let her go and straightened the coat draped over his arm, then walked past her. He was already about ten paces away when Ying Jie finally raised her eyes to watch his retreating figure. A small piece of paper slipped from the pocket of the jacket on his arm.
It was a business card, she realized upon picking it up.
"Yan Ya Lun," she whispered. The name sounded oddly familiar.
General Manager, the card read. Impressive. That young, and already a GM?
Her eyes widened as she spotted the logo. Aurora Hotel Taipei.
This man worked for her father.
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tbc
uploaded 18 May 2009