I just ran out of the party without paying attention to which direction I was going, and soon, I found myself near the docks- away from the party, and away from the man who was oblivious to the fact that he had my heart. I sat down, and cried my heart out. I couldn't exactly blame him for what I was feeling since he didn't know, but I couldn't take it anymore. It's hard enough having to pretend that everything is okay, but seeing him with another girl just breaks my heart. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't hear footsteps coming from behind me.

"Shuijing?" a soft voice asked, and I turned around and saw Shancai. She was bright red, and was staring at me with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, as she took in the tears rolling down my face. I nodded, and wiped them away. I smiled weakly at her.

"I'm fine Shancai." I answered, then stared back at her. My eyebrows furrowed.

"Want to explain to me why you look so confused? You look like you just got out of an embarrassing situation." I asked her as she sat down beside me. Her eyes shifted from me, then, at the sea beneath her feet.

"Well...I.. uh.." she said as she looked down and fiddled with her fingers. I smiled reassuringly, and placed my hand on top of hers. She looked up at me with a small frown.

"You can tell me. It's okay." I comforted as I gave her a small smile. She looked down again at her fingers and inhaled deeply.

"Daoming Si and I kissed." she answered, and my eyes widened. I knew Ah Si seemed like he was a confrontational type of person, but this was news to me.

"What?! How did- when did- uh..what happened?!" I asked with wide eyes as my voice got louder.

"Well.. he was walking closer to me when the DJ started the countdown, and I kept stepping back when someone bumped into me from behind- so, Daoming Si caught me. Then, the lights turned off. When it came back on, I was on top of him and our lips were pressed together." she explained as she blushed. I giggled.

"You didn't like it?" I teased, and she turned redder than an apple.

"N-n-no way! It was an accident! I don't want him to misunderstand." she defended, and I laughed at her reaction.

"Who do you not want to misunderstand you? By any chance, is it Huaze Lei?" I asked kindly, and she went silent.

"You're in love with Lei aren't you?" I added knowingly and she stared at me in shock.

"I-uh..um.." she tried to explain, but I held up my hand to stop her from talking.

"Shancai, I've been in love with someone for 16 years and I know what it looks like okay?" I reassured her.

"Is that the problem? Are you in love with Lei too?" she asked nervously. I looked back at her, holding back a laugh.

"No. He's not the one I was referring to. It's.. it's complicated Shancai." I said, as I let out a sigh and looked down at the water.

"You can tell me, I won't tell anyone." she comforted as she held my hand. I smiled, and took a deep breath.

"I'm in love with someone who I know can never be mine. I've loved him for years but I know he'll never look at me the same way." I said as I bitterly smiled. She stood back at me in disbelief.

"What guy wouldn't like you Shuijing? You're . You're one of the most beautiful women in the world. You're smart, you're rich, you're pretty, you're kind. What more could someone ask for?" she exclaimed, as she continued to look at me. I smiled.

"That's the problem Shancai. I don't want someone to like me just because of those qualities. I want someone to see the real me because underneath all this..." I said, as I referred to my outer appearance. " is someone totally different. Someone who just wants to be appreciated. Someone who wants her parents to acknowledge her. Someone who just wants the man she loves to love her back. Someone who just wants to be loved-" my voice cracked, and tears rolled down my cheeks for the nth time. I covered my mouth as I continued to cry- to stifle my sobs. Shancai hugged me and rubbed my back to calm me down.

"It's alright Shuijing... I understand." she comforted as she hugged me. I cried and cried until I got a little tired. I pulled away from her hug and smiled.

"Thanks, Shancai. Really. Thank you for listening." I said, which she smiled to. She stood up and offered me her hand to help me up. I grabbed it and began to walk away from the docks.

"So, should we head back to the party?" I asked as we got a little further away from the edge of the water and onto the sand. She shook her head and smiled.

" I don't think I can face anyone at the moment, so I'm just gonna head straight to bed." she answered shyly. I nodded my head in understanding.

"Okay. Me too! Good night Shancai!" I said back, as I walked away and waved at her. The music around the beach had died down, signaling that the party was over. I continued to walk to the villa when suddenly-

"Shuijing!" "Meimei!" "Shui!"

I turned my head and saw Jie with the rest of the boys. Their faces were etched in concern. I raised my eyebrows. Ah Si was the first to approach me.

"Shuijing! Where have you been? You disappeared after the lights went off! " He asked me in concern. Jie came closer along with Ximen, Lei, and...Meizuo.

"Meimei. I was so worried about you. Why are your eyes and nose red?" Jie said worriedly, as her lips pulled into a frown. Shoot! I forgot!

"My eyes are a little red cause of the sand, and my nose- well you know how cold I get easily, Jie." I lied, as I gave them a small smile. "Sorry I worried you all." I added, and Meizuo approached me. He looked at me seriously and a little mad.

"Where were you?" he asked sternly, as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I got bored so I decided to ditch. I was just near the docks, and besides, Shancai found me and kept me company." I answered, and he blushed. I giggled and remembered what Shancai had told me earlier.

"Speaking of Shancai, she told me something crazy. Something about a kiss?" I teased as Ah Si began to blush.

"That crazy girl attacked me!" He said as made wild hand gestures to explain what happened.

"Sure, sure, if you say so." I said jokingly.

"Whatever! I'm going to bed!" He said as he walked away and Ximen followed suite. As well as Jie and Lei. I turned to leave when Meizuo suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Can we talk?" he asked. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned to look at Jie and Lei.

"I'll catch up." They nodded and left me with Meizuo. He grabbed my hand and we sat down on a blanket on the sand.

"What did you wanna talk about?" I asked as I brushed off some of the sand that was on the blanket.

"Why did you run off?" he asked seriously- which made me stop what I was doing. I looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" I answered. He leaned closer to me.

"You know what I mean, Shuijing.. why did you run off?" he repeated, as he stared into my eyes. I turned away because I knew if I kept staring at him, I'd end up doing something I regret.

"Were you jealous?" He added, which made me look at him with wide eyes.

"N-no. What makes you say that?" I answered trying to sound brave.

"Well you did run off at the exact time the lights went on again and you saw everything so I assumed-" I cut him off by forcefully laughing. He looked at me in disbelief.

"Are you kidding? Why would I be jealous of that? I honestly felt sorry for the girl. Imagine that she had to kiss Feng Meizuo. The boy who gave me an entire essay paper on why 2+2 is 5." I said as I continued to laugh.

"Hey! I did that as a joke!" He said as he pushed my shoulder. I pushed him back a little too strongly, and he fell in the sand which made me run away.

He got up from where he fell and started to chase me. I laughed as I tried to outrun him.

He ultimately caught me and threw me across his shoulder. Considering how tall he was, it felt like being on an amusement park ride. He held onto my legs, as we walked towards the direction of the villa.

"Hey! Put me down! I can walk on my own!" I said laughing, as I softly slapped his back which he shook his head to.

"No can do, Your Highness." he answered as we finally arrived, but he didn't put me down.

"Hey! We're already here! Put me down!" I said when we passed Ximen who was drinking tea and reading something on his phone. He laughed at us.

"Ximen, little help please?" I pleaded with him, but he stuck his tongue out and mouthed 'Enjoy!'. I glared at him and continued being carried by Meizuo to my room. When we reached the door, he put me down.

"Okay, now I feel dizzy." I laughed as I held my head with both my hands. He laughed back as he leaned down to my height, and placed his hands on top of where mine were to help steady me. My heart beated faster and faster in my chest.

"Better?" he asked as he smiled. I nodded and pushed his face away from my face.

"Good night, Zuo." I said as I opened my door. He smiled and patted my head.

"Good night, Shui." he answered as he walked towards his room, which was only across from mine.

I went inside and locked the door. I plopped myself flat on the bed and groaned. I was so tired from the crying, the lying, and the rapid beating of my heart against my chest. I yawned and got up again to change and take a quick shower. After 20 minutes of showering, changing, and removing my makeup, I got in the bed and buried myself in the pillows and blankets, and went off to dreamland.

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The next day, we were all seated by the beach under some umbrellas and some loungers, along with a table where the snacks and drinks were. The boys were talking among themselves and drinking some juice. Jie was talking to Lei, while I was going for a swim in the ocean. I had on a red velvet bikini top, a matching high waisted bikini bottom, and a small waterproof baby blue watch with some white flip flops. I smiled, and let the vitamin D soak my skin as I swam. After a few minutes, I got a little hungry so I got out of the water. It was at that moment that I realized that I didn't have a towel. I got some weird looks if you can call it that, from the other guests- particularly guys who were there as well. One of them approached me and asked me to join them, but I declined and proceeded to walk to where my sister and friends were, when suddenly- one of them grabbed my arms, and another one placed their hand on my lower back. I was being as polite as possible, but they were really getting on my nerves. Under normal circumstances, I would've already hit these weirdos, but I really wasn't in the mood and anything I do, could potentially do some harm to my family's name. I was racking up solutions in my brain, and I saw Meizuo from the corner of my eye who was coming my way. I brightly smiled and shook off the arms of the boys who were holding me, and latched onto Meizuo.

"Babe! Where were you?" I asked sweetly as I hugged his upper torso, while he held me by the waist. He looked confused for a moment, but when he looked into my eyes and glanced at the group of boys behind me, he got the message and smiled back at me.

"Sorry babe, I was getting you a drink." he said as he gave me a bottle of juice, and looked at the boys.

"Are you guys bothering my girlfriend?" he threatened, as he turned me around to look at them and wrapped his arms around my waist, he snuggled his head in my shoulder, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I giggled and smiled at him. 'If only this were real', I thought, as I reminded myself this wasn't true.

The boys stuttered and quickly walked away from us. When they were far enough, Meizuo removed his arms from my waist and held out his hand instead. I took it and was about to walk away when he pulled me back slightly. I looked back at him.

"What is it, Zuo?" I asked with my eyebrows raised. He removed his outer shirt which was a blue Hawaiian printed shirt and passed it to me. I slipped my arms into the sleeves of the shirt and wore it. He smiled, and proceeded to walk with me towards the group as he let go of my hand, and placed his arm around my shoulder instead. When we reached them, we sat down at the table where Ximen and his date were. Zuo kept his arm around the back of my chair and pulled me closer to him.

"Hey. First kiss Shancai!" I heard Ximen tease across from me, as I opened my eyes to see Shancai and Qinghe arrive.

"Don't call me that." she scolded Ximen as her face turned red. Qinghe turned to her in curiosity.

"What first kiss?" He asked, which in turn made Zuo and Ximen smile.

"She and Ah Si kissed last night," Ximen answered, and Ah Si nodded happily. I giggled since he seemed to be enjoying this. Qinghe turned to Shancai in shock.

"What? Shancai, is that true?" He turned to his friend, refusing to believe what he just heard as Shancai struggled to explain what happened. Ah Si stood up with a smug look on his face.

"Of course, it is. I'm sure she's been waiting so long for this. She tackled me and gave me her first kiss." He bragged with a triumphant smile while Qinghe looked like he was going to lose it.

"Oh my god. Really?" He exclaimed as he turned to look at Shancai as she shook her head in denial, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the person behind me. Lei. She walked closer and stopped when she was in front of Lei.

"It was dark. I couldn't see anything. That's why-" she attempted to explain, but Lei cut her off.

"You don't need to explain. I don't care who you kiss." he answered coldly, as he turned away and ignored her. I frowned at Lei. I turned to Shancai whose face had gone red from embarrassment and ran away from us with Qinghe chasing after her. I shook my head and frowned at Lei, as I drank my juice.

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That night, I was in my room just overseeing some paperwork Dad had sent me. They were business proposals from different companies who wanted to merge with us and he wanted me to read them and give my opinion. I was finishing the last proposal when I heard a loud voice and pounding on the door of the villa.

"Daoming Si! You stole Shancai's first kiss, you jerk!" I laughed and realized it was Qinghe. I guess he was still upset over Shancai kissing Ah Si. I got up from the bed, and opened my door, and looked across the hall to see Ah Si coming out of his room with a smirk.

"Come out. I'm going to kill you. Stop hiding in there like a coward! Come on! Didn't you give me a joker card? I'll take the challenge now. Come out now." Qinghe threatened as he continued to bang on the door of the villa. Ah Si laughed as he decided to go down and talk to the said boy.

"You're a bully. Open the door. You're trash. You're garbage!" Qinghe exclaimed as Ah Si opened the door which I took as my cue to leave them alone. I went back into my room and finished what I was doing. I changed into a white crocheted muslin midi dress, before falling asleep shortly afterward.

A little while later, I was woken up by banging on my door. I groaned and grabbed my phone. I checked the time, it was 1 am. I got up, ruffled my hair a little, and opened the door to reveal a very happy looking Ah Si. Maybe I was still sleepy because I had never seen Ah Si this happy. He offered me a stick of what seemed to be squid, I smiled and took it from him. He continued to smile and skipped happily. I looked at the squid and took a bite. It was really good! I put on my flip flops and stood by the door, eating my squid and watched as Ah Si skipped to Meizuo's room next.

"Hey, do you want some grilled squid? Wake up, Meizuo." He said as he banged on Zuo's door, which I giggled at. Ah Si didn't get a response nor did the door open, so he banged on the door again.

"Get up, Meizuo." The door opened to reveal a very annoyed looking Meizuo who was only wearing a white bathrobe, and some shorts underneath. I blushed and tried not to stare at his exposed chest.

"What are you doing? Have some squid." Ah Si said as he turned away from Meizuo.

"You're a pervert!" Zuo exclaimed pointing his finger at Ah Si, which made Ah Si turn around and shove a stick of squid between his lips. I laughed at the sight as Meizuo started to stalk after Ah Si, demanding why he was so loud at this hour. He stopped near my room and looked at me with an annoyed look.

"Awww, did Ah Si get in the way of your nightly beauty routine?" I cooed as I stepped closer to pinch his cheek, which made him pout.

"What time is it exactly?" he asked, as I checked my phone.

"It's 1:10 AM". I answered, as he nodded and looked down at what he was wearing. I giggled and patted him on the back.

"You might wanna put a shirt on because I'm certain Ah Si isn't gonna let us sleep tonight." I said as I looked at Ah Si who had just gotten Ximen out of his room, who was just wrapped around in a blanket. He hopped and complained to Ah Si about why they were having grilled squid at this hour.

"I'll go put a shirt on then we can go. " Zuo said as he went back to his room, while I waited for a few minutes. He just put on a black boxy shirt with a checkered pattern, some black pajama bottoms, and slippers. He held out his arm and I slid my arm through it as we went downstairs to eat.

Qinghe was grilling some squid, while the rest of the people who were staying with us at the villa were getting their food. I told Zuo to save me a seat, while I grabbed a drink. He nodded and went to sit down at a table where Ximen was with the other guests.

"Hi, Shuijing! Want some grilled squid?" he asked brightly as he passed me a stick. I grabbed it and thanked him. I looked back at where Ximen and Meizuo were supposed to be, but only Ximen was there along with the other guests. My eyebrows furrowed, but I shook it off and turned back to Qinghe.

"Qinghe, could you please grab me a drink?" I asked as he continued to grill the squid. He nodded enthusiastically and pulled out a lemon-flavored drink from the container. I smiled and thanked him again. He blushed and looked down.

"S-shuijing? Can I ask you something?" He asked shyly, and I smiled knowing exactly where this was going.

"Sure. What is it?" I answered kindly. He looked up and looked me in the eyes sincerely.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked seriously and as I was about to answer, two arms wrapped a gray oversized wool cardigan around me. I looked down realizing it was mine, but I was sure I left it in my room. I looked up and saw Meizuo. He probably went up to my room and got it for me. I smiled and he smiled back as I wove my arms into the sleeves. He placed one arm around my shoulder and turned to Qinghe.

"Why? What's it to you if Shuijing has a boyfriend?" he asked Qinghe who looked panicked but tried to remain calm in Zuo's presence.

"I'm just curious! A girl as pretty as her couldn't possibly be single!" he exclaimed, as Zuo laughed at the nervousness in his tone- which made me silently elbow him in the ribs as he winced in pain.

"Aww... That's really sweet of you to think Qinghe, but I don't have one nor have I ever had one." I answered back as I leaned into Zuo's arm on my shoulder. Qinghe looked at me in disbelief.

"Really?" He answered hopefully which made Zuo snicker.

"What? You wanna be her boyfriend?" He asked which made Qinghe frown.