| Fan Fiction |
by Livi
--Twelfth Night, II. v
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Darkness blanketed the autumn sky, with only a pale crescent moon and few twinkling stars scattered across the inky plain above, gracefully shone their beams of silver onto the night part of the earth. But streetlights were brighter which stood still in their arranged positions and obediently provide the light which nature could not.
Only few people appreciated the majesty and mysterious of the night sky. They preferred to appreciate their artificial lights than gazed upon to treasure the stars where the true precious beautiful light of nature laid. These days people seldom thought of the stars’ twinkles were priceless. People preferred to worship the riches of the world. They were more practical, more materialistic and prefer to live in their man made light and artificial happiness.
In Taipei, the busiest and the most populated city of Taiwan was no different with the rest big cities in the world. Taipei was the city of business and money, where it was an intangible line lay among the living of the poor, middle class and a few of the wealthiest people.
F4, the notorious group was belonged to those few elite circles of the wealthiest people. The member of F4 came from the most prominent families in Taiwan. They had been born with silver spoons in the mouths and had their lives lain down before they were born. They never had their hands gotten dirty to acquire the things they had wanted. They had not been allowed to mingle with just anybody.
They were extremely wealthy and four of them were handsome in different way and each of the members had carried their own way of characteristics that was created by their upbringing.
First of all was Dao Ming Si, A si was his short name. He was the leader and the richest not only among the member of F4 but also in Taiwan. Everybody feared him. Everybody had to listen what he said. He was the one who thought that saying sorry made the policemen jobs were useless. He never had felt in love, simply it was because he always thought that every girl only wanted his power and wealth. Not until he had met his match, Shancai Dong. She was a strong and brave girl. Everybody called her the weed girl of Shancai, because of her strong character. And this weed girl was from the other side of his world. For the first time in his life, he wanted someone more than life itself. With all of his power he wanted someone happy. He wanted to make Shancai happy.
Second there was Hua Ze Lei or was known as Lei. He was the youngest among four of them. If Dao Ming Si were fire, Hua Ze Lei were an ice prince. He was the most quiet and reserved person among them. He didn’t care any other business. Not until he had laid his eyes to Shancai. Yes He had felt in love also with the weed girl. Three of them had made a bizarre love triangle. No one had known how it had been started and no one had known how it had been ended. Maybe he had realized that A Si’s love had been greater than his love. Or maybe he still could not have forgotten his childhood girl friend, Teng Tang Jing or all her friend called her Jing who also came from one of the prominent family in Taiwan.
Third on the line was Mei Zhuo Ling. His friend called him Mei Zhuo. He was the energetic and happy go lucky among them. He always put their friendship was above anything and always became the mediator among them. He had been a first class playboy. Instead of calling all of his girls’ names, he simply numbered them. He had been keeping his easy life until he had set his eyes at a famous cello player, Xiao Qiao Ming. Her famous name was Xiao Qiao and she was just like Jing, Had a good and respectable family background. This sweet and shy girl had captivated his heart in an unconventional way not like any other affluent daughters.
Last not least was Ximen Zhong Er Lang. He shared the same thought like A Si that every girl only wanted his power and wealth. He shared the same kind of life like Mei Zhuo had used to live. If Mei Zhou had called his girls by numbers, Ximen Zhong Er Lang only dated his girl for a week. Every girl could only have his attention, his unlimited money and his expertise in seduction for one week. He liked girls and no doubt girls liked him but each of them had their expired date.
The difference that separated him from his other best friends was, he still had this kind of life. And as Ximen Zhong Er Lang, he should have acted like others had perceived about him, that the other had labeled him so long ago. It had been too long until sometimes he had put it in front of his name. The infamous playboy. But no one knew what laid at the deepest of his heart because he had built wall and would not have allowed everyone to know what he felt. No one should have known how he felt empty. No one should have known that this legendary playboy had searched for love for so long. He already had resolved to think that he would never able to find it. He had presumed that only few fortunate people had found the real love and he was not one of them. Ximen Zhong Er Lang had always thought that way until he had met her.
She was different from all the girls that had had crossed his life. She was far too different that when he had gotten to know her, he had tried to control an unaccustomed strange feeling he had. The feeling he had never had before toward girls. She was the only girl that had made him to have a sudden urge to risk everything. Gambling to destroy the wall of his heart that he had worked hard physically, mentally and emotionally. She was Shancai’s best friend.
And now Ximen Zhong Er Lang or the people knew him as Ximen was in the executive posh bar lounge. It was almost three a clock in the morning. He just realized it when one minute ago he looked at his elegant Rolex watch.
The bar was dimmed and almost empty. Ximen and a few men were the last customers in the lounge. All of them were drunk. Some even slept on the velvet red sofa, sobered.
Ximen sat alone on the bar. He left the hotel room earlier that night. He left the room silently after he had released his manhood need to a pretty blonde woman he didn’t even bother to remember her name. A glass of whiskey was in his grip as he lifted and finished it in one shot. He felt the hot liquid filled his throat before went to his lung. He grabbed one stick of Daffy Doff cigarette and lighted with the matches.
He could not recall when he started to smoke. Maybe it had happened when he had been too stressed with his over work, or maybe it simply because of her. The second reason perhaps was the actual answer. He thought as if he smoked the memory of her face would disappear and fly into a thin air of the smoke.
However he knew it was impossible. Because her sunny bright smile still made his heart beat faster every time he reminisced. Her laugh liked music to his ears and made his world stopped revolving. Her sweet unique feminine scent still lingered in the wind of his air. Her enticingly long hair had brushed the inner part of his body. And her eyes, those brown innocent eyes were window of her heart. They were always honest to reveal her feeling.
And the pair of her eyes had been sad as he had seen her two weeks ago in front of her parents’ grave. He had seen that pain before in her eyes because he knew he had been one of the rare persons who made her sad. He had made her suffer. He made her crumble into a thousand pieces and made her feel pain. He had made her cry all over.
Seeing her again for him somehow equaled with heaven, although she had been in her most devastating situation. He had shared the pain, had shared the sadness and had shared the prayed with her even if it had been only silently.
He would have traded the world just to hold her by then even though only for a moment. He would have broken his own barriers just to console her in his arms. He would have gone to hell and back just to see her bright sunny smile again. He would have bargained with devil just to make her happy.
Nevertheless he would not. He would not have done all those things. Why? Because if he would, he would have made her suffer got deeper. Because he had been the man that only brought her down. He had been the one who had hurt her beyond everything she had gone through. He had been no God’s gift to women just like his father.
Behind the wealth and the influence, people rarely saw that their huge mansion was rotting inside. His parents’ marriage had been difficult since the very beginning. They had never been a happy couple, never showed their affection for each other. Though it appeared that they were still together, it was only a carnival show. His father had never been in their house for weeks, leaving his mother alone at that palace-like structure.
To him, his mother should have been the last woman to suffer. He didn’t want to add another victim in his life even if he had to sacrifice his need of love. Yes he knew love. Ironically he was afraid to love. He was so scared that he would be ended just like his father. A womanizer man. His father was a man that had hurt his mother feeling. He hated him but at the same time he realized that his blood ran through his vein. He eventually was just like his father. And she didn’t deserve that. She deserved so much more. She deserved a man that could protect very her fragile heart. He knew he was not the right person.
The silent filled the bar since the music had stopped playing. Ximen put the cigarette to the astray before he killed it. He took off his jacket and stood up from the seat proceeded to the corner of the lounge where there was the ebony grand piano.
Ximen sat at the piano bench. His long and beautiful shaped fingers started to play it. Suddenly the lounge was filled with the sound of the piano. The barkeeper and the rest of the customers listened to his playing. He was a great pianist but he didn’t bother to pursue his talent. He was not a music man, he was only a businessman. He did his role very well indeed, as he has been awarded businessman of the year according to Business Week magazine version and he has been holding the title for two consecutive years. It was unquestionable that according to the general public, he also was the most eligible bachelor.
Every girl wanted to capture him but no girl was able to do that. Almost no one, though. There was a girl that had captured his very heart. But he had let her go away. He had let the love slip away just because he had not wanted to hurt her, just because he had not deserved the privilege of being loved. The fate had been cruel to him after all.
He stopped his playing a moment later. He heard only one clapped echoed from one of the man, but he didn’t care. He returned to the bar table, took his Armani jacket and paid the bills. He didn’t bother to check the bill as he slipped the platinum credit card.
Few minutes later his Jaguar car was already speeding fast towards lonely streets of Taipei as he drove his car alone back to his mansion with his heavy heart.