Shanghai, China

Ming De University, Bridge Club Room

"I'm so tired".I sighed as I leaned my head on the wall I was sitting behind. Classes had just ended and we just met up with our professor to explain our graduation project. I typed up the remaining data onto my laptop while Ximen was reading the outline for the other materials. Lei was practicing for his recital while Ah Si was doing God knows what.

"Hey. Where is Ah Si? We could really use his help right now. This is his idea." I asked Ximen while I was typing frustratedly.

"Probably off annoying that girl who flying kicked him the other day.. What was her name again? Dong Shancai?" He answered smugly. I laughed and shook my head, knowing that was what he was probably doing.

After a few minutes, Ximen's phone beeped. He stopped reading and opened his phone. He smiled and read the text message he got.

"Who's that? New girlfriend? Date?" I asked teasingly. He shook his head and scoffed at me.

"Me? A girlfriend? No way. I don't do girlfriends or relationships remember?" he answered.

"Then who is that?" I asked.

"Jing. She's coming back tomorrow." he said happily.

"Really? Does Lei know? He's gonna be so excited! And- wait. Only Jing is coming back? What about-" I asked as my excitement slowly died down as Ximen only mentioned Jing.

"Don't worry. Your precious princess is coming home as well." he answered with a teasing smile.

"Hey! She is not my precious princess! You make it sound like she's my girlfriend!" I answered defensively. Ximen laughed.

"Is she not? If she's not then why do you sound like this: "How is Shuijing? Is she eating well? She's gotten so much prettier! Who's that guy with her?"" He added as he imitated my voice.

"I do not talk like that! She's my best friend and I haven't seen or talked to her in 3 years. I've only seen her pictures on the news or in tabloids. It's only natural for me to be curious" I said.

"Yeah yeah, whatever Meizuo." He answered dismissively.

"So is she really coming back too?" I asked, hopefully. He smiled sadly.

"No. She's not. Jing just said she's going but she didn't mention anything about Shuijing. Sorry, buddy." He said and my smile dropped.

"O-oh I see." I answered, disheartened.

I haven't seen her in 3 years and she's not coming back with Jing? That's disappointing. I frowned and Ximen placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You miss her huh?" he asked.

"Yeah. I miss her so much. I miss her laugh and the times we spent together. You remember that time she dared us to wear Zhuang jiejie's underwear? She took hundreds of photos of us and had them framed." I laughed at the memory and so did Ximen.

"It was fun until Zhuang jie found us. She wasn't sure if she was gonna get mad or laugh at us and then she called our parents." He answered.

"Yeah, I had a hard time explaining to my dad that it was just for fun and that I wasn't interested in wearing those or dressing up as a girl." I answered, my laughter subsiding.

"Oh really? You haven't had a date for a while? Is it because you've finally realized you're in love with me?" he added, giving me a seductive smile. I decided to play along. I grabbed both his hands and clasped them together with mine.

"Yes. I've realized that you are the love of my life. My heart skips a beat whenever we are together." I said teasingly as I leaned my head on his shoulder. He shoved me away and looked at me in disgust. I laughed and laughed at his facial expression.

"Oh please! Not me!" he answered, laughing. We then heard a loud slamming of a door.

Ah Si had arrived with a grumpy look on his face and plopped himself on one of the chairs. Ximen and I looked at each other and smiled.

"So what happened?" Ximen asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"That stupid girl! She's so annoying! " He answered in frustration as he scratched his head.

"What exactly did you say to her?" I asked, giggling.

" I gave her a makeover and I offered her a chance to be my girlfriend and she said no!" he answered, face scrunched up in annoyance.

Ximen and I looked at each other in disappointment.

"It's not a surprise that she rejected you. You deserved it!" I answered, pointing my finger at him.

"What do you mean? I'm THE Daoming Si! Who would reject an opportunity to be my girlfriend?" he asked, dumbly.

"Well for starters, you don't OFFER someone the chance to be your girlfriend." Ximen said and I nodded.

"Ah Si, if you need help wooing a girl, you could've asked us." I added, placing my arm around his shoulder.

"W-w-wooing? No thanks! I already have a plan! I was planning on filling her locker with shaving cream. That would be hilarious right? Imagine all her books and stuff would be ruined!" He answered as he laughed out loud. Ximen and I just stared at him in disbelief. Sometimes we wonder why we're friends with this kid.

"Anyways, I heard from Jing today. She said she's coming home." Ximen said.

"Really? That's great! Shuijing hasn't told me anything though." Ah Si added and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Since when did they start talking?

"Shuijing talks to you?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah. She helped me out when I made my first one million in the stock market. I've been giving her updates on us for the past 3 years." Ah Si answered excitedly.

I couldn't believe my ears. Why was she talking to Ah Si and not me? Wasn't I her best friend?

"How is she? I've seen her model campaigns here and there but she's rarely seen in public. You think her father is stressing her out again?" Ximen asked curiously.

"I think so. She responds from time to time but not always. I guess with Jing being a model, she's left with whatever hard labor is left for her." Ah Si answered sympathetically with a sigh. Then he turned to me.

"Hasn't she told you anything? You are the closest to her." he added knowingly.

"Uh..No. She hasn't. I called and texted her a million times over the past 3 years but she never responded." I answered a little depressed.

"Uhm- well, she barely has time to answer all of mine so don't be too sad about it." he quipped with a forced laugh. I smiled a little and proceeded to get my phone from the table.

"I gotta go guys. I'm really not feeling well. I'll just text you guys later." I said as I came around the corner to tell them. Ximen nodded and Ah Si gave me a look saying 'I just got here and now you're leaving?'

"Sure. I'll send you the rest of the details for the project later." Ximen added. I nodded and proceeded to head up the stairs.

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"Did you really have to tell him that you talk to Shuijing?" Ximen scolded.

"Why? What's wrong with talking to Shuijing?" Ah Si asked dumbly while shrugging his shoulders

"You know how sensitive he is when it comes to her. You know how important she is to him like Jing is to Lei. He hasn't heard from her in 3 years and you just dropping a bomb like that made him feel worse." Ximen stated while typing on his laptop.

Ah Si just stared at him. He didn't mean to make Meizuo feel bad and he knew how important Shuijing was to him, no matter how oblivious he was to his own feelings. He really wondered what was taking Meizuo so long.

As clueless as Ah Si was in love and with women, he knew for a fact that Meizuo cared for Shuijing in a more than a best friend kinda care. And he knew that Shuijing felt the same.

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As I headed out of the building, I noticed a couple of girls giggling and calling for me. I smiled at them and greeted them a good afternoon. I headed for my car and proceeded to drive home. But I couldn't shake the thoughts of Shuijing away. A memory flashed in my mind of the last time I saw her.

"Do you really have to go too Shui? What about your parents' business here?" I asked my best friend as I sat with her in the airport, hugging her with my arm around her shoulder as her head leaned on mine.

"In the meantime, they've got it handled. They want me to train and work in Paris and besides, it could be a breather for me. You know how strict they get with me Zuo." she said as she sighed and leaned closer to me.

"I'll miss you Shui." I said as I looked down at her with a sad smile.

"I'll miss you too Zuo." she replied as she looked up at me with the same expression. And the world seemed to stop at that moment and before I knew it, I started leaning in closer and closer-

"Flight SA090509 bound to Paris is now boarding passengers. Please proceed to the boarding gate now"

I stopped and looked ahead. She abruptly stood up and grabbed her passport and phone.

"Well. I guess this is it Zuo." she said as she stared at me with sad eyes. I shook my head, forcing the tears from eyes not to fall.

"Don't say it like that." I said with furrowed brows. She looked at me in confusion.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like you're never coming back." I answered, lowering my head as the tears finally fell.

She stepped closer and held my face in her hands. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore.

"Hey.. Zuo. Please don't cry. It's only 3 years. Not forever. You won't even notice that I'm gone." she comforted.

"How can I not notice that you're gone? I love you!" I exclaimed. She looked at me with wide eyes and then I realized what I just said.

"I love you! You're my best friend! I'll miss you..." I added blushing and I thought I saw a disappointed look on her face but that was probably my imagination. She turned to me with a smile.

"I love you too weirdo! Stop breaking girls' hearts when I'm away cause I'm really sick of getting messages from your multiple exes." she said with a laugh. She then turned to the gate and then turned to me and smiled.

"I gotta go Zuo.. take care of yourself okay?" she said as she gave me a hug.

"You too Shui.. don't get a boyfriend while you're there okay? Men are no good!" I teased as I hugged her back.

She slowly walked away and when she reached the gate, she gave me one last smile and waved. I smiled and waved back. I waited until she went in and my smile slowly dropped.

'She was really gone..' I thought sadly.

After that flashback, I didn't even notice I was home already. I parked my car and went in. I took off my shoes and my jacket and entered my room. I plopped myself on the bed and rolled on back. I turned to my bedside table which had a lamp and a picture frame. I looked at the picture and smiled at the memory. It was Shuijing's 18th birthday party. We went out for dinner and danced the night away. We were dressed all fancy. There was the 4 of us and the Tengtang sisters, Jing & Shuijing. They were in the center of the picture beside each other, laughing. On Jing's right was Lei who wrapped his arm around her shoulders and Ximen beside him who stuck his tongue out. On the other side was Shuijing, me & Ah Si. I was hugging her from behind with one hand, smiling and my other was moving Ah Si's face out of the frame while Ah Si tried to remove my hand despite his face being smooshed. I laughed at the memory but I found myself staring longingly at the girl I had my arms around and before I knew it, a tear had rolled down my face.

I laid back down on my pillow and closed my eyes.

'I miss you so much Shuijing...'

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