THE NEXT DAY

I was getting ready to head for Mingde because apparently there was trouble. Lei had been calling Ah Si and Shancai nonstop since yesterday to no avail. What happened now?

I was throwing on my white oversized coat over my thin black long-sleeved turtleneck which was tucked into a short black leather skater skirt. I had on some black tights underneath with gray suede thigh high heeled boots.

I grabbed my phone and headed downstairs to my car, driving off to Mingde.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After parking my car, I headed for the big stairs where I saw Lei looking worried on the phone. Ximen and Meizuo saw me and walked over as well.

"What's going on?" I asked as Meizuo kissed my cheek.

"Shancai's phone isn't available and Ah Si's been dodging my calls." Lei explained and my eyebrows furrowed.

"Did something happen? Did they have a fight?" Ximen asked and Lei shrugged.

" I don't know." Lei said and I gasped when I saw Ah Si walking towards us. I nudged the boys and gestured to Ah Si. He had a look on his face that I didn't like, it was how he looked like when the boys were high school seniors. He looked....murderous.

He bumped into people and finally stopped in front of us, his head hanging low. I noticed Qinghe approaching as well, standing beside Lei.

"Ah Si, why did Shancai disappear?" Lei asked but Ah Si stayed silent.

"Wasn't she staying with you all this time? Why would she disappear? Did you make her mad again?" Meizuo prodded. Still no response from Ah Si.

"Daoming Si. Where's Shancai? She has no home and no money. How would she survive?" Qinghe asked, obviously worried for her.

"Is it because of what happened a few days ago? Shancai sacrificed herself to protect them, right?" Lei inquired and I sighed. That sounds like something Shancai would do. Sacrifice her happiness for the good of all. Qinghe looked at Lei in realization, his mouth agape.

"It looks like what happened to Xiaoyou's family and mine is all because of your mom?" Qinghe asked.

"Shut up." Ah Si answered calmly but anger was evident in his voice.

"Shut up? Daoming Si. Why did you let your mom do such a thing to us? Why did she do such a thing to Shancai?" Qinghe asked in desperation but Ah Si kept quiet.

"What did Shancai sacrifice? Where exactly is she? Why can't you protect her?" Qinghe continued in anger and Ah Si lost it. He grabbed Qinghe by his shirt and glared at him.

"I said shut up! Don't you get that?" Ah Si threatened and I frowned.

"Ah Si." Meizuo and Ximen warned but Ah Si didn't budge and continued to glare at Qinghe, his hold tightening.

"Ah Si, let him go." I said calmly and Ah Si looked back at me, glaring. I raised my eyebrows and looked at him a glare that rivaled his own. He sighed and shoved Qinghe back, walking away from us.

"Did you see the look on Ah Si's face? It's the same as before." Meizuo said and I sighed, nodding in agreement.

"The old Ah Si is back again." Ximen declared and we all looked back at Ah Si's retreating figure.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I walked hand in hand with Meizuo as we headed for my car. Today was the 2nd and last day of my shoot for BLANC & ECLARE so he was going to join me. Ximen and Lei were trying to figure out what to do with Ah Si and where Shancai was.

The longer she was gone, the worse Ah Si was. Ximen told us that a girl had baked a cake for Ah Si and confessed to him earlier. Ah Si was already pissed and that girl just had to mention Shancai's name, resulting in her getting her face smashed in her own cake.

With my car, Meizuo drove us back to the site for the photo shoot and it was nice to distract ourselves from the chaos at least for a little while.

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A FEW HOURS LATER

8PM

"And we are done! Thank you for all your hard work guys!" Sooyeon said as she waved bye to the crew who were packing up.

I thanked everyone as Meizuo walked over to me and placed his jacket over my shoulders to cover my back. I had on a red bustier mini dress with ribbon straps. I smiled as he held my hand and headed for the dressing room for me to get changed when Sooyeon called us.

"Shuijing, Meizuo, would you like to join us for dinner? My parents are waiting for us at a restaurant nearby." She invited as Meizuo and I looked at each other.

"Well, we wouldn't want to impose-" I started but Sooyeon shook her head.

"You're not! Please, my parents love meeting new people." She invited and Meizuo gave me a kind smile.

"All right, I'll just get changed." I said kindly and Sooyeon happily smiled and looped her arm with Tyler's.

"Okay, we'll meet you guys there." She said as she gave Meizuo the address while I headed off to change.

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I changed into a red long-sleeved top, a light brown blazer, and dark blue skinny jeans with black zip-up ankle boots.

Meizuo grabbed my suitcase and placed it in the trunk before getting in the driver's side and buckling in.

"Is the restaurant close?" I asked as I put my seatbelt on.

"Yeah, about 10 minutes from here." He said as he started the car and I nodded as he silently drove us to the restaurant with one hand on the wheel and the other was holding my hand.

Shortly after, we arrived at the restaurant, hand in hand.

We went inside and looked around for Sooyeon and Tyler.

"Shuijing! Over here!" I looked around and saw Sooyeon waving her hand at us. We walked over and greeted the two. I looked over the other side of the table and there seated an old couple (whatever their age really were, they looked nothing like it.)

"Mom, dad, this is Shuijing, she's the one working with us on the campaign and this is her boyfriend, Meizuo." Sooyeon introduced as Meizuo and I took turns in shaking the older couple's hands who smiled at us kindly.

"Well aren't you two a beautiful couple." The woman said and she looked quite beautiful. She had on a light blue blouse with ruffles and on her ring finger was a beautiful band with a sapphire on top. Beside her was a man who wore a similar colored polo shirt and a gold plated watch on his wrist. Both of them looked, with the lack of a better word, regal.

"Thank you for having us, I hope we're not intruding." I said with a smile and the old couple smiled back.

"Nonsense, we're glad to have you both here. Please sit." The woman said as she invited Meizuo and I to sit down. I sat beside Sooyeon with Tyler on her other side and Meizuo sat beside me.

We began to order and they continued to talk to Meizuo and I while Sooyeon and Tyler looked in amusement.

"It's so nice to have another couple here, now we can avoid the embarrassing questions." Sooyeon teased and we all laughed.

"There is nothing wrong about wanting to know about my daughter's love life." Her father prodded and we laughed harder.

"Dad!" Sooyeon warned in embarrassment as she sipped her wine and Tyler rubbed her arm. Her mom then turned to me.

"Do you have any siblings Shuijing? Meizuo?" She asked.

"I have two younger sisters." Meizuo answered.

"I have one older sister. She's in Paris right now with her fiancé." I explained and she nodded.

"What about you Sooyeon? Do you have any siblings?" I asked and her smile slowly dropped.

"I used to. ..But not anymore." She explained and I frowned, feeling guilty for asking.

"Oh.. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" I started but she smiled slightly.

"It's okay.. you didn't know." She comforted.

"So what happened?" I asked and she sighed.

"She was taken away." Her dad said as he held his wife's hand, who was trying to hold herself back from crying.

"Stolen?" Meizuo asked.

"Someone stole her away and we never saw her again. All they sent back was.." Her dad continued and pulled out something from his pocket. It was a gold-colored necklace with a silver heart pendant. There were small specks of red stains. I gasped and didn't even notice the tears streaming down my face.

"W-was she-" We all jumped when Sooyeon's dad slammed his hand on the table.

"Those bastards killed her! An innocent child...She was just a baby." He said and Sooyeon's mom calmed him down.

"I'm so sorry.. I can't imagine how you felt." I said and they smiled at me. Her mom reached for my hand, rubbing it gently.

"You know dear, even if we just met you, you remind us of her.." She said sweetly and I squeezed her hand in comfort, offering her a small smile.

"I do?" I asked and she nodded.

"You have her eyes. They were so full of light and happiness." She said as she stared into my eyes. I didn't know why I had the sudden urge to hug her.

What was wrong with me?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On the drive home, I kept wondering on what went down during dinner. I kept my gaze outside as Meizuo drove me home.

"You okay Shui?" He asked and I turned back, giving him a warm smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little shaken up." I said and he frowned before stopping the car near the road.

"Is it because of what happened earlier?" He asked and I nodded.

"I just can't believe someone could do that to an innocent child? She didn't know anything." I said as tears came out. Meizuo sighed and pulled me into his arms.

"I know but we can't do anything about it Shui. All we can do is pray for them. They seemed like a really nice family along with Sooyeon and Tyler." Meizuo said as he rubbed my back and kissed my forehead.

"Yeah.. I wish I had that." I said sadly and Meizuo pulled away, making me face him.

"Hey. We're your family okay? Me and the boys. Shancai, Jing,Li Zhen, Xiaoyou and even wannabe F4 member Qinghe. We all love you okay? Well me most of all." He said as he let out a laugh at the last part and I laughed back before kissing him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It had been a few days and there was still no news of Shancai. Ah Si was getting worse and dodged all of us when we invited him to go out. We began to worry that something worse could happen.

I had enough of his brooding and decided to talk to him myself.

I headed for his house and Mr. Lu let me in. I walked to where his bedroom was and knocked on the door.

"Ah Si." I said.

"Go away." He said and I sighed.

"It's me Ah Si. Let me in." I said and I heard him sigh.

"Okay. Come in, Shui." I heard him say and I went inside. There he was, wearing his pajamas and staring at his laptop.

"What is it Shui?" His voice soft. I guess he wasn't as mad at me as he was to the boys and the others.

"You need to get out of this house Ah Si. It's not good for you to stay cooped up on this house all day." I said and he sighed.

"Sorry Shui. I don't wanna get mad at you and I'm sorry I almost did the other day but I don't want to see anyone else right now." He said and I smiled sadly.

"Please Ah Si? Just for a little while. Just an hour, come and hang out with us. You could use some fresh air and the boys really wanna see you." I said and I gave him a sad look. I could see him holding back a smile before sighing.

"Okay. I'll meet you outside. I'll just get changed." He said giving me a small smile and I returned it before heading out to my car.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I drove Ah Si and myself to the little restaurant where the boys were along with Qinghe, Li Zhen and Xiaozi. Lei wasn't with us because he texted me saying that he was looking for Shancai.

"Hey guys." I greeted everyone before sitting down beside Meizuo who kissed my forehead and placed his arm around me. Ah Si sat in front of me. He still looked kinda pissed.

"Daoming Si. It's been a while. You're still the same old guy, always looking pissed off." Xiaozi started but Ah Si remained silent.

"But check it out. His pissed-off face looks 100 times better than his normal one." Xiaozi ended.

"You're exaggerating. You're just buttering him up." Qinghe countered.

"All right, I'm just kidding." Xiaozi said and a deafening silence followed.

"It has been a while. You don't answer our calls or reply to our messages. What have you been up to?" Ximen asked but Ah Si just played with his phone silently.

"There's not much you can do alone. Probably reading a book, listening to music and playing games." Xiaozi listed.

"Not necessarily. Ah Si has got all sorts of ideas. Right?" I added as I turned to Ah Si who secretly gave me a comforting smile.

"I know. He's been doing embroidery with Ms. Yu and knitting a sweater." Meizuo joked and they all laughed except for Ah Si and I. I already had a sinking feeling in my stomach that this wasn't going to end well. They kept the conversation going but I could see Ah Si seething before he finally snapped.

"You know what this is? Lame. What's up with the act? Pretending to be all close to each other. It makes me sick." He snapped before storming out. I could see Ximen from the corner of my eye. He looked furious.

"Ah Si!" I called out but he kept walking away. Ximen then stood up and followed Ah Si out. I grasped Meizuo's arm and he looked at me before nodding. We all walked out of the restaurant, spectating at what was about to go down with Ah Si and Ximen.

"What's your problem?" Ximen asked, clearly annoyed with Ah Si's attitude.

"What?" Ah Si asked.

"You overreacted." Ximen spat back.

"I overreacted? You made Shuijing go to my house, I came. Why can't you just let me be? There's no need to act all friendly." Ah Si retorted.

"You got dumped, showed up here looking pissed, and blew your top. Who's being lame?" Ximen added but Ah Si just glared at him.

"Refusing to be contacted, taking it out on your friends. What kind of a man are you?" Ximen spat angrily.

"Shut up! It's none of your business." Ah Si spat back.

"This is the reason why Shancai dumped you." Ximen said and I closed my eyes. That was the trigger. Ah Si punched Ximen and I jumped, grasping Meizuo's arm. I shook my head and yelled.

"Enough! Both of you!" I yelled, getting in between the two older boys.

"You guys should go. The situation is out of your hands now." Meizuo told Xiaozi, Qinghe and Li Zhen who turned to leave before walking over to the three of us.

"Ah Si..please.. Don't do anything you'll regret. We'll leave you alone. You can do whatever you want. Just go and cool off." I said and Ah Si's eyes softened down at me, taking a deep breath and walking away not before giving one last glare to Ximen. I sighed as he walked away before turning to Ximen.

"Are you okay Ximen?" I asked and he shook his head, giving me a small smile.

"I'm fine Shui." He said and smiled back.

"That crazy bastard. It's over between us." Ximen declared and Meizuo laughed. I know he was being serious so I held in my laughter.

"Don't laugh. Listen up. I'm staying out of that guy's shit." Ximen reiterated.

"Okay. We'll go back for now and deal with him tomorrow." Meizuo suggested.

"Not tomorrow. Not ever." Ximen said.

"All right. But let's just go back first. And from today onward, there is no more F4." Meizuo said which made Ximen flinch.

"This ends just like this?" Ximen asked.

"You won't deal with him, but you want F4 to stay intact. What is it that you want?" Meizuo asked.

"I'll tell you when I figure it out." Ximen declared and I sighed.

"I think we all know the only thing that'll make Ah Si be okay." I said and they both looked at me. Then frowning in realization.

"Shancai." They both said and sighed.

"But we don't know where she is. Lei can't even find her." Meizuo said.

"I know, but we have to find her somehow. Because if we don't, the Ah Si we once knew will be lost forever." I declared and they agreed silently. I sighed sadly as Meizuo pulled me into a hug.

What do we do now?

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Please don't forget to comment and vote!

NEW CHARACTERS:

as Jung Sooyeon

as himself

*NOTE*

"Hana Yori Dango" (The original manga where Meteor Garden was adapted from) Meizuo's character (Mimasaka Akira) has two younger twin sisters so I kind of incorporated it in this despite not hearing anything about Meizuo's family in this adaptation of the manga.