Michelle ignored the rising queasiness she felt as she made her way through the festooned aisle. Liling had taken up a seat right in front; she chatted away with the other guests merrily, flashing her delightful smile once in a while. Liling had always been that way- prim and proper, quite unlike Michelle. It would have been hard to dislike a girl like her, and Michelle knew that very well.

Michelle sat down on the seat next to Liling’s, taking no notice of the disapproving glances she received from the guests that Liling had indulged in an active conversation with.

“Hello, Michelle,” Liling greeted softly, when she turned around. Michelle didn’t miss the soft gasp the girl let out on noticing her frightful face.

“Uhmm,” she stammered, “you look nice, Michelle!”

She was a pathetic liar, Michelle thought. Her expressions bore no sincerity, it had been quite evident that she looked horrifying, from her lack of sleep and constant substance abuse.

Michelle murmured a small ‘thank you’ before complimenting the girl similarly. However, the first thing she noticed when she turned towards Liling was the bright, lustrous solitaire on her fourth finger. Her dry eyes stung and her heart churned, this only meant one thing.

“We got engaged,” Liling confirmed it for her, concealing her complacency. Michelle looked at her helplessly as she explained more. She wanted to get up and run, she wasn’t certain if her broken heart could take in the news.

“Your father told Mr. Lu that he had never intended to get you affianced to Luhan. We only thought of this as the next appropriate step to take,” she explained. “I’m sorry, Michelle,” she spoke reticently.

Michelle knew this was going to happen eventually, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Luhan and Liling were engaged, they had got what they wanted. They had managed to get rid of their biggest hindrance- her, and they were now happy. She wanted to break down and cry, but she was certain she had no more tears to shed. Did they not care about her at all? They had found the suitable moment to go forth with their engagement and hadn’t even bothered about her well-being. She thought they were friends, and friends were supposed to look after each other, yet her two best-friends had found happiness at the expense of her own.

She got up abruptly to find the only way of comforting herself- the open bar across the banquet. This was all she’d ever be- someone who was nothing but a hindrance to others; someone who didn’t deserve to be loved. What was she going to do with her life now? It had always been pointless, and now that she’d lost her only driving force- her dream of being married to Luhan, she felt dispirited.

When she was down to her fourth flute of the sparkling champagne, someone held her hand, stopping her from consuming more.

“I feel you’ve had enough, Young Miss,” Yixing uttered as he kept the glass back on to the waiter’s tray.

“Leave me alone, you peasant,” she scorned. The last thing she needed was to deal with Yixing. It had been too much for her to handle, she didn’t want Yixing to add on to her woes.

“I don’t think so, Young Miss,” he remarked, “your father has asked me particularly to keep an eye on you today.”

“Of course,” she laughed bitterly, “he probably thinks I’m going to wreck it all.”

“That’s all I ever do, right? I’m nothing but an annoyance to everyone around me,” she yelled, moving backwards to step away from Yixing. All she could think of was the sparkling ring on Liling’s hand- the ring which was meant to be hers. She couldn’t be bitter, she thought. She hadn’t even put up a fight, she had simply given up. She had let Liling win. And she knew, it wasn’t simply because she was afraid of her father.

Perhaps, she had learnt her lesson. She had always tried hard to be loved and accepted by everyone around her. She had tried being the obedient girl who never complained about a thing, and when that didn’t work out, she had tried being the rebellious daughter, who secretly wished to gain her parents’ attention. That hadn’t worked out either. What was she to do? Nothing she did was ever good enough, not for her parents, not for Luhan either. She wished someone could tell her what she had been doing wrong. Why couldn’t she be accepted and loved like everyone else around her?

Yixing’s eyes widened when he noticed her inching closer to the small pond on the side. He walked towards her to stop her.

“No, stop right there,” Michelle barked causing the secretary to raise both of his hands in surrender.  “Good, don’t come close to me,” Michelle breathed, heading dangerously close to the edge of the pond.

“Young Miss, I don’t-“

It was of no use, the next thing he heard was Michelle’s soft shrieks as she fell in to the dew pond, with a loud splash of water. He rushed abruptly to her side, to lend her a hand.

“Take my hand, Young Miss.” He held out his hand for the girl to take, but he should have known not to do so. Michelle smirked softly as she held his outstretched hand, only to pull him forwards forcefully, and the water splashed harshly as he submerged in the ice-cold water. He should have known.

Yixing exhaled loudly, shivering slightly from the cold water that had seeped in through his garments.

“That wasn’t very nice of you, Young Miss,” he commented.

Michelle raised one of her eye-brows, gazing at him quizzically. “Is that so, Mr. Zhang? Then what I’m about to do might be worse.”

She laughed playfully as she splashed more water on him, drenching him completely. Yixing squeezed his eyes shut as the spray of water hit him, soaking him all the more; more drops of water collected at the ends of his jet-black hair.

“Two can play this game, Young Miss,” he quipped, smiling softly.

Michelle gasped mockingly, “You wouldn’t dare!” However, Yixing only flashed a sly smile in response.

Michelle shrieked when the wave of water hit her, wetting her completely. She flared her nose, not wanting to give in easily, leading to a full-fledged water fight between the two. She giggled and squealed, running around the pond as Yixing chased after her, trying to get her more drenched, as if that was possible.
 

“No, Yixing, stop,” she screeched as she tried to get away from him desperately. She finally managed to climb up the pond and run, but the dimpled male seemed to show no mercy. She had forgotten about everything else, she had been laughing merrily at their childish games when she bumped in to the person who was the root cause of her misery- Luhan. He eyed the both of them carefully before taking his coat off to put it around the girl’s shoulders, covering her skin that showed through her water-dripping gown. His eyes were narrowed as he glowered at Yixing, looking at him abhorrently.

“You should know your place,” he said to the other male sternly as he held on to Michelle’s wrists tightly, dragging her away from him.

“What is wrong with you?” Luhan shouted as he made her sit on one of the benches in the garden outside the wedding hall. “It is your sister’s wedding, don’t you think you should behave acceptably for once? What if the guests saw you?” He was fuming, his g