***4 years earlier***

"Yes, that's right!" Bona ruffled Cheng Xiao's hair playfully. "See, you've got this. I don't know what you're worried about."

Cheng Xiao sighed and buried her face in the book laid on the table in front of her. She had been diligently studying for her last exam of the year – Macroeconomics – for the past month. Every evening they were both available, she would spend some time studying with Kim Bona, the senior she had admired so much and unexpectedly got to befriend over the course of the year. She had seemed so unapproachable, with flawlessly styled hair and outfits every single day, her ballet-straight posture, even the way she spoke. On top of that, she was the top student in her year. Everything about her screamed 'intimidating'. But to her surprise, since their first meeting at that same library, they had grown quite fond of each other. Bona was actually very kind and caring, and always volunteered her time to come help her study and give her first year notes. Even though she was busy with the company as always, everytime she could make time to study, not only did she have great company she enjoyed, she was much more productive. So much her grades had improved quite significantly over that time period.  

"I don't know, I just... worry. Sometimes I don't even know what about."

"Silly. You know that worrying too much causes wrinkles." Bona smiled widely as she gently fixed Xiao's hair.

The latter suddenly lifted her head and drew her hands to her face, startling her friend.

"REALLY?!"  

Bona laughed out loud at Cheng Xiao's typical adorable innocence, earning her a scold from the librarian. She immediately hushed, embarrassed, and held her hands together in apology.

"Well, I'm sure that even if you get wrinkles you'll still be pretty."

Cheng Xiao felt the tingle in her cheeks, looked away, and shrunk in her seat.

"When I do get old and wrinkly, will you be there to see it? Will we still be friends?"

Bona couldn't help but smile. What kind of person still said such a thing at Cheng Xiao's age? She was an angel, untainted by most people's cynical views of the world. That was particularly hard to believe, given that she was raised in a corporate family environment and had been forced to take on a load of responsibility that robbed her of her childhood. Maybe staying so innocent and childlike in her personality was her way of coping with it. Of being the child she was never allowed to be, all the way to her adult years.

Being friends with Cheng Xiao felt refreshing to Bona. Especially because she was the kind of person whose cynical views of the world she had been untainted by. Never had she tried to question those opinions of her own before she made the wonderful choice of letting her in. Being friends with her made her a better person.  

"Of course I will. Of course we'll still be... friends. I'll be there to tell you that you still look pretty even with all those wrinkles and then I'll be out of arguments to convince you not to worry about silly things."

"Good." Cheng Xiao clapped her hands together silently, a slight smirk on her face. "So that means the more I worry, the more time you're gonna have to spend with me to tell me not to, right?"

Bona closed the notebook in front of her, lifting it above her head as if she was about to hit Cheng Xiao with it. The latter giggled as she held her hands up to "defend herself", but ultimately let her senior lightly touch the top of her head with the notebook.

Bona shook her head as she grinned widely and returned the notebook to its original position.

"You sly fox... Now, now. Focus! Let's get this done or we'll actually grow old in this library."

Cheng Xiao put on a 'serious' face and stiffened up while mimicking the military obedience gesture.

"Yes, sir! I mean... Yes, senior!"

Cheng Xiao, in her pink and blue pajamas, let herself fall on the spacious pearl-white leather couch. Her hair was messy, a roll on her bangs. She sat wide-legged, her back in such a bad posture she swore she heard Chinese Dance teacher scolding her in an echo inside of her skull. Today was a day to relax. She'd just known about the last grade of the year – passed with 98 points. Her parents didn't need her at the company that day. She was free, but at the same time a bit sad that her parents weren't there to celebrate the victory with her. She was more than used to it, though.  

Being lonely was a given for her. When growing up, her parents had always been very busy with the business, and from a very early age, started involving her little by little in their work, preparing her to take over in appropriate time.  

Aside from spending most of her off-school time either doing homework, studying, or learning about business affairs, she was also extremely shy and had struggled with anxiety from a very early age. Her hobbies came down to two activities. One was the aquarium – the mesmerizing underwater wonderland they had in their home, which she would religiously tend to with her father. The other, Chinese Dancing. She first got into it when her therapist recommended a creative outlet as a means to help her cope with shyness and anxiety. Her mother hired a private tutor for her, whom she deeply admired and made her fall in love with the art. Sadly, she had to give it up when she started university.

No matter how fulfilling, both had been quite solitary hobbies. Everything about her life made it very difficult to make friends. Her very first true friend, Bona, the senior she had admired from afar for so long, was busy preparing for her graduation ceremony the next day. So once again, she found herself alone.  

Spotting the aquarium from the corner of her eye, she remembered it was probably about time to feed the fish. Just when she was about to use her whole strength to get up, the doorbell rang – which was weird, since she wasn't expecting anyone and housekeeping had already been there for the day.

Looking at the video feed from the intercom outside the majestic villa, beyond the vast, impeccably kept garden, she found...

"Senior? Come on up."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be preparing for graduation with your family." Cheng Xiao said as she opened the door.

"You're right, I was supposed to be preparing WITH MY FAMILY. But WHAT FAMILY?" The older girl shouted as she stormed inside the house to sit violently on one of the leather couches.

Cheng Xiao sighed, calmly closing the door and taking the seat beside her. She laid a hand on her senior's shoulder.

"Step-Godzilla again?"

Bona grabbed one of the pillows resting on the sofa and pressed it against her face, loudly grunting into it.

"You know, I have a gym down the hall. There's a punching bag." Cheng Xiao tried to keep it light and humorous and not feed into her anger. She found, over time, that it was an approach that worked well with Bona.

"I don't want to punch anything. Except him, obviously." The other answered as she threw the pillow across the room, landing right on the floor. Cheng Xiao ignored it, and was just happy it didn’t hit anything on its way. "I want Xiao Xiao."

Bona wrapped her arms around her. Cheng Xiao found it hilarious everytime Bona forced that cutesy voice in an attempt to charm her and ended up adorably mispronouncing her Chinese name. It contrasted so much with the image she portrays to most people it was funny.

"You'll see. I'm going to get a great job. And when I do, I can finally take my mom away from that monster. God, why did my stupid dad drown us in debt and ruin our family?" She seemed to sob slightly, but it was too soft a sound to be sure. "Now my mom is forcing herself to be with that creep just because he's rich, just because she wants us to have food on the table and she wanted me to go to university. I have to pay her back, I have to find a way to take her away from him, but why am I so scared of not finding a job even though I worked so hard to get these grades?"

"Senior... I already told you that you have a place in WJSN... Why do you keep being stubborn?"

"I can't, Xiao, I told you. If there's one thing I learned from my mom It's that I can't just accept favors. Anything I achieve, it has to be with my own merit. Thank you, but I can't."

"Favor? Do you think I would be recommending you for the company my family built with their own sweat if I didn't think you were qualified? You're graduating as the best student in your year, isn't that something you achieved on your own?"  

"Well, yes but..."

"No buts. Senior, my parents love you. They know how hardworking you are and how much you've helped me, and how smart you are. This isn't new to you, my parents already offered you the job and you always say you'll consider it." Cheng Xiao grabbed Bona's face by either side, in order to meet her eyes. "Think of your mom. You can't put your pride above her. You need a job, you said so yourself. And we'd love to have you. Please?"

Bona thought for a while, sighed, and leaned her head back into Cheng Xiao's chest.

"Besides, wouldn't you like to be working with me? Having me around all the time? Wouldn't you miss me if you didn't?" Cheng Xiao .

Bona buried her head deeper in her chest.  

"C-come on, of course I'd like it... I'd love it."

"You'd what?"

"W-what do you mean?! It's what I said..."

"What did you say? I didn't hear it." Cheng Xiao had a wide, mischievous grin plastered on. Making Bona's senior-like posture crumble was one of her favorite activities.  

Bona suddenly lifted her head, the real color of her skin hidden in tiny spots behind all the red.

"CHENG XIAO XIAO! T-THIS ISN'T AN APPROPRIATE WAY TO TREAT YOUR SENIOR!" She said, crossing her arms.  

"This isn't an appropriate way to treat your senior!!!!!!!" Cheng Xiao repeated after her in a high pitched voice, mocking her. She started poking the sides of Bona's waist, then jumped right on the tickling attack.

Bona started laughing uncontrollably, yelling for the other girl to stop. Cheng Xiao was also bursting out in laughter, enjoying her short moment in a position of power way too much. Obviously, she didn't stop.  

Not until, in the midst of the "fight", she noticed herself on top of Bona, who laid with her back on the couch. Cheng Xiao's knees were on either side of her senior's body, her face nearly glued to hers. The girl below her had wide eyes, pursed lips, and the rise and fall of her chest was visibly intense. Both girls froze like that for a few moments, as the air in the room seemed to stop circulating and the time seemed to stop. Cheng Xiao took the moment to fully appreciate the beauty of her clear skin, her bright eyes, her rosy cheeks, her li----

"I-I'm so sorry." Cheng Xiao said in panic, as she tried to remove herself from the situation as fast as possible.

However, Bona grabbed her hand and pulled on it. She was staring her dead in the eye.  

"You don't have to back away. If you don't want to, you don't have to." Bona swallowed and closed her eyes tightly for a second.  "I don't want you to back away... Honestly."

Cheng Xiao's eyes widened. Her heart tore away at her chest rapidly. Did she want to back away? Most definitely, no. She had, in fact, daydreamed about this moment way more than she liked to admit to herself. As if she didn't have to tell her own body what to do, she automatically started leaning back in, slowly.

Bona gasped for air, and then in a rash movement that must have lasted for no more than a split second, she pulled her in by the collar of her shirt. And so, both their lips finally met the ones of the person they'd been longing for.

Bona stood in front of the door to her favorite place in the whole company. The door, which had a plaque with the name "Cheng Xiao Xiao" on it lead to the office she spent a big part of her work days in, performing the duties of her job as her girlfriend's personal assistant. It was perfect – the job paid well, she was now able to live only with her mother and financially supporting her, and she could spend a great chunk of her day with the girl she loved. They would go over papers, talk about the next moves of the company, staff related issues, and much, much more. Given their considerable personal involvement and the insane amount of overtime they were required to do, when most of the other employees had already left, let's just say that not all the time they spent there was on work-related matters (and leave it at that).

After hearing an affirmative answer to her knock, she let herself in, unable to hide her ear-to-ear grin.

"Xiao Xiao~~~~" She said – more like sung.

Cheng Xiao sat at her desk, one elbow on it in order to support the weight of her head. She yawned before shifting her gaze away from the computer screen to look at the door opening. As she saw the small frame of the blonde woman about to step in, her face lit up.

"Wow, you came to visit?!"

"Of course! What day is it today?" Bona said as she walked towards the desk in baby steps, hands behind her back.

"Thursday?"

"Deeeeeng. It's Friday! Do you know what that means?"

"Oh my gosh, it's past midnight already? I should have been done with this hours ago... I'm so sorry. Did we have something planned for today? I forgot again, didn't I? I'm totally dooming this relationship. What did I forget? I'm so, so sorry..." Cheng Xiao flailed around in panic, her face apologetic.

Bona's cheeks hurt from how widely she was still smiling. She calmly held a finger to her lips, and Cheng Xiao eventually loosened up.

“You didn’t forget anything and we didn’t have any plans. At least, none that you knew of.”

Cheng Xiao cocked one brow and titled her head.

“Happy anniversary.” Bona giggled like a middle school girl as she finally revealed to her girlfriend what she had been hiding behind her back – a small, pink gift box with a rose on top of it, entangled in the ribbon that adorned the box.

Cheng Xiao's hands sprung up to cover her open mouth. Her face looked more horrified than moved or happy.

“I can’t believe I forgot about our first anniversary. How can you possibly forgive me after this? I… didn’t prepare anything.”

Bona went around the desk, stopping behind the chair she sat on. She hugged her from behind and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“I knew you would be too absorbed in work to even remember it. That’s the point. Surprising you is a lot more satisfying.” She waved the present, still in her hand, in front of the girl's face. “Now open it".

Cheng Xiao obliged. As Bona watched in anticipation, she carefully removed the rose from the ribbon and untied it. With her hands trembling in curiosity, she opened the box to find two pieces of paper – tickets. Plane tickets.

“No, we can’t possibly be going to---“

“China! Yes!”

“But I’m piled up with work… When is the flight? For how long?” Cheng Xiao's expression overflowed with disappointment that she would have to turn down such an amazing, well thought out surprise from her girlfriend.

“Actually, you’re not piled up with work at all. I took care of our vacation days with your father and we have his full blessing. You know how hard he's been pushing you to take some time off with no result. If you refuse to take care of yourself, I’m going to be a good girlfriend and take care of you myself. We leave this morning.” Bona said with excitement as she pointed at the ‘time of departure' field in the ticket.

“I don’t know… Is father sure he doesn’t need me around?”

“Positive. He actually thanked me for taking an action against your work addiction. In fact, it’s effective today, so you can leave that chair right now.”

“Hey! I’m, in fact, your boss. You're my subordinate and you can’t tell me what to do.” Cheng Xiao smirked and crossed her arms, leaning back on her executive chair.

Bona feigned indignation and in a swift movement, she pulled Cheng Xiao by her arm off of her chair, instantly taking her place on it.  

"My, my. Who's 'subordinate' now and who tells who what to do? Sit." She commanded, patting her own lap, her voice low and husky.  

Her girlfriend complied, giggling mischievously between her teeth, and sat on her lap with her arms around her neck. She leaned her head in so that their foreheads touched.

"Bona." The latter hummed in response. "I love you so much. Thank you... for being you."

"And I love you, Xiao Xiao. This has been the best year of my life."

***Present***

When Cheng Xiao opened her eyes, she saw the same face she had seen in her dreams that night, only she was lying next to her in that very moment, and not in some distant memory of the past. Bona looked like a porcelain doll that would break upon touch, like a work of art. Cheng Xiao admired the serenity of her sleeping face, every little curve and quirk of it. She reached out to her with a hand, her skin as lightly as a feather would, all the way until her bare, prominent collarbone, finally resting it on the blonde's neck.

Bona slowly opened her eyes, the corners of rising as she saw the face in front of her. Her hand met the one resting on her own neck and grasped it.

"Good morning, Xiao Xiao."  

The silkiness of her skin, her piercing, hypnotic gaze, her electrifying touch, the wonderful memories of her she now had back. The very existence of that girl made her feel as if she was drunk in the thought of her. But why did those same thoughts feel so sweet, and at the same time, so bitter?

---

A/N: Well so here's a chapter basically made up of flashbacks about a couple that you didn't sign up for when reading this fic :D Gosh, I'm terrible. Anyway, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't important for providing context for a lot of things. Please bear with some Boxiao in the meanwhile, and I hope you are able to enjoy the excessive amount of fluff in this chapter. I understand this was a bit more of a relaxed chapter, but expect the present action to resume right up next. Thank you for supporting this fic! :D