Kris surveyed the man in front of him, a disdain on his face, not at all pleased. Meanwhile, Lu Han smiled awkwardly as Mr. and Mrs. Lee sat at the head. Xing was peacefully sitting on Xiao Shan’s lap, playing with a plastic robot toy she gave him to quiet him down. And Xiao Shan was tucked into a single corner chair, at head of the triangle between Kris and Lu Han. They were both constantly casting not too subtle glances at the woman with the boy.

“Uh-hum…” Mr. Lee cleared his throat, catching everyone’s attention. “So Kris, what brings you here?”

Kris tore his glaring eyes from Lu Han’s porcelain face and to the elder man. Bowing slightly, he replied, “I’ve got some off days at work and so I thought of coming here to visit everyone.”

His ‘everyone’ was obviously reserved for Xiao Shan and Xing but he didn’t say so. Mr. and Mrs. Lee exchanged knowing looks, hiding a slight grin and smirk.

“Did you have days off? You told me they are lacked of staff,” Xiao Shan chipped in shortly.

Kris turned to her, his eyes only strayed a little to his newly found arch nemesis. Shrugging, he replied, “I have accumulated my days. I’m about to finish my residency anyway.” He put an emphasis on the word ‘residency’, turning back to look at Lu Han. He raised an eyebrow as a regard and continued.

“Hi, I’m Kris. And you are?”

Lu Han jerked in his seat, startled that Kris caught him staring at both Xiao Shan and Xing. He hid his embarrassment by smiling and offered a hand quickly. “My name is Lu Han.”

“So you’re the irresponsible dad,” Kris said rudely, still glaring.

“Kris!” Xiao Shan burst out.

He turned to Xiao Shan, her face reproachful, but he dismissed it quickly. Grunting as a way to give in, he grabbed Lu Han’s hand and gave it a half-hearted shake, but now before squeezing it hard to show him who’s boss.

Lu Han grimaced at the sudden grip but hid it quickly when Xiao Shan made a ‘tsk’ sound and glared at the newcomer again. She shook her head at the childish behavior but said nothing more. The guy called Kris continued to glare at him as Mr. and Mrs. Lee were throwing some questions his way. Curiosity got the better side of him.

“How do you know Xiao Shan?”

Kris almost snorted at that question but out of politeness to the others in the room, he shrugged instead. He’s got to play it cool with this man. “We go way back… We met in Canada when she first moved over. I was just a med student then.”

Xiao Shan rolled her eyes at that way he had so casually thrown in the ‘med student’ part. He was far from a med student. He was a guy who dropped out of school to start a band. And he severed all ties with his dad then. Clearly he’s trying to establish a reputation here by saying that.

“So you two are friends?” Lu Han asked again.

“What’s it to you?” Kris frowned. “And who are you again?”

“Kris!”

Kris threw his hands in the air. “What exactly do you expect me to do? Hug the fella?”

At exactly this point, Xing looked up from his toy and mimicked, “Hug the fella.” He laughed at that sentence and slowly climbed down from his seat on his mommy’s lap. He waddled over to Kris, his arms outstretched. “Xing hugs Uncle Kris.”

Xiao Shan stifled a laugh while Lu Han smiled adoringly at his boy when they watched Kris begrudgingly picked up the boy and allowed the latter to put his arms around Kris’s larger frame. Kris made a face but rearranged them quickly when Xing looked up at him, grinning childishly, “Uncle Kris happy?”

“Yes, very much, Little Prince.” He turned to glare at Lu Han more. The latter shifted in his seat uncomfortably; already he’s sensing hostility from the former.

Kris got up from his seat abruptly, picking up Xing along. He walked over and passed the kid back to Xiao Shan. “I’m sorry for the outburst. I guess it’s the jetlag.”

He casted an apologetic glance at the two elder hosts as well. And back to glare at Lu Han. Straightening up, he announced quite straightforwardly, “If it’s possible, I would like to talk to this man here.”

And without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Lu Han by the arm and heaved him to his feet. Then, he proceeded to drag him out to a nearby room. The other three jumped to their feet in alarm. Kris was out of the door before they knew it, his strength no longer a mystery to them. He smiled to them. “I’ll be real quick and no harm shall befall this charming little man.”

Mr. Lee chuckled to himself when he heard the door to the study slammed shut. Kris has got spunk, he’ll give him that. And he’s hot-blooded as well. He had liked the kid when they first met five years ago. The young man was stubborn as hell and he always gets his way. He just hopes he didn’t threaten Lu Han too much.

Lu Han stumbled into the study room, almost knocking himself on the wooden table. He steadied himself against the table and wheeled around to meet this rude newcomer. Now that there were only the two of them, he has no reservation or whatsoever. Scowling, he demanded, “What is your problem?”

Kris turned the lock into place. When he was satisfied, he moved to let down the blinds to cover the windows that see out to the living room. The last he saw was Xiao Shan’s face, pleading him to not do anything rash and Xing waving at him. He sighed to himself.

“I know everything about you,” Kris began. He spun around to look at Lu Han in the face, leaning back on the window near the door. “When she first told me your name two years ago, I asked a friend back here to check you out.”

Lu Han crossed his arms and leaned back on the table as well. His scowl never lightened up, a front he put on because the opponent was almost a head taller than him. He was aware of the distance between them and when he was satisfied that maybe Kris was not going to attack him, he nodded as a signal to continue.

“I can understand why she likes you; the school popular boy, valedictorian and star soccer player. You are good looking and your family is rich. And from what I heard, you’re a generally nice guy.”

The frown on Lu Han’s face deepened as he stood straighter in his posture. He had a feeling where this is going and he isn’t going to like. Not that he liked this Kris guy anyway. “What are you trying to say?”

“Do you know that when I first met Xiao Shan, she looked like the world’s saddest person? She was so thin and weak, and she cried almost every day. I know it’s because she missed home and she missed you most importantly. Do you even know how important you are to her?”

“I don’t need to hear it from you about how much wrong I have done to her!” Lu Han snapped back angrily. “If I could turn back and re-do, I would! I would have stopped her from leaving. And I would have tried everything to stop all this madness!”

Despite his efforts to try to be civil, though he didn’t try very hard, Kris rolled his eyes. “Please… So now you’re trying to play the victim here. Have you even had any remorse about what happened here?”

Lu Han charged forward and grabbed Kris by his collar. A lot taller or not, he didn’t care if Kris is going to kick his . The other guy was clearly not playing nice so why should he?

“You don’t know anything,” Lu Han gritted out through his clenched teeth. His hands shook in the fists around his shirt. “You don’t know what it’s like to live the days believing you killed one of your best friends. You don’t know what it feels like to watch everyone around you slowly forgetting about her while you hold on desperately. You don’t know what it’s like to love someone and yet you’re forever thinking about another.”

Kris stared down at the smaller guy. In his eyes, he saw a man struggling to keep his head up in his emotional turmoil. He grabbed the fists grabbing his collar and easily pried them apart. Lu Han looked up at him, daring him to continue with his insults but Kris couldn’t continue. Now he knew how Xing could wrestle his way into his heart without trying. There was something in those eyes.

Kris sighed in a silent defeat. “You don’t love Xiao Shan. But she does you. Xing is the proof of that.”

A tear escaped Lu Han’s eye. He pushed Kris away like a child who hates someone and turned away. “Stop it, please…”

“To be honest, I don’t care what your feelings are. My only concern is Xiao Shan and Xing,” Kris continued anyway but this time, he was determined to make his point. “If you think you can take Xing away from her, you can think again. Xing is the only lifeline in her life now and if you take even that away, you’re no real man. And you can go to hell.”

Lu Han tilted his head aside, his eyes scanning Kris’s looming figure beside him. Blinking the tears away, he replied softly, “I will never take Xing away from her. I don’t deserve Xing. I only want both of them to be happy. He doesn’t even know I’m his father.”

“Good…” Kris snapped back. “And you stay away from Xiao Shan because in case you haven’t notice, she’s mine.”

“Has anyone told you that you behave like a high school teenager?” Lu Han asked in a not too subtle sarcasm. “I don’t think she’ll ever date a guy like you.”

“That’s none of your business. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll stay out of this. Or I’m going to beat the crap out of you,” Kris threatened. But Lu Han knew its empty talk. He wouldn’t hurt him. So he answered with his own threat.

“I don’t think Xiao Shan will like to see me beaten up. She hates violence. And unlike you, I do hold a certain position in her heart.”

And Kris lost it.

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Finally, the battle between the two men. I know everyone has been waiting for this~ XD There will be more battles in the future so stay tune to it. ^^