Like Father, Like Son
BastardOne cannot even begin to describe the level of discomfort within the GIBI building that Saturday morning when all those whom were absent the day before are now present and making up for their unexpected day of leave, especially when they all choose to arrive around the same time, making their unplanned meeting in the parking lot all the more awkward. There is a moment of silence as the four make eye contact and exchange indecipherable looks.
Unfortunately, the only way into the building from the parking lot is through the elevator so the four are forced into a silent box for a few more moments. Lu Han leaves first, relieving the atmosphere slightly from its tense state. Mei Lin assumes that Gale told Lu Han of the news and Gale assumes that Mei Lin is not completely disconnected from the outside world.
Yi Fan gives Mei Lin one more look before making his way to his office. Gale tries to make a beeline to the lab but Mei Lin tugs on her sleeves and practically drags Gale into her office. “Well?” Mei Lin asks, not expecting much.
“Life ,” Gale says. Mei Lin can only nod. “He proposed. I told him the news. We’re at a standstill right now. I think. I don’t even know. I don’t know anything at this point. Where we stand; how I feel; how he feels.” Mei Lin takes that as her hint not to ask any more questions. “So the were you doing at the Gardens at that hour with your boss?”
“It’s complicated,” Mei Lin sighs, not wanting to reveal anything that could be taken the wrong way. And Gale takes that as Mei Lin’s way of saying I don’t want to talk about it.
“Have you heard from Henry?”
“He hasn’t returned any of my calls,” Mei Lin frowns, sounding more hurt than she’s leading on.
“Well,” Gale states. We totally ed up our relationships, didn’t we? “Was pretty boy wearing makeup or am I seeing things?”
Mei Lin gives Gale a look that says, “I’m not going to condone that with an answer.”
“You’re not telling me something,” Gale deduces.
Mei Lin gives her the same look again. “We have work to do.” And that’s their cue to cut their conversation short and just in time too because Mei Lin’s phone is ringing. She looks at the caller ID and silences her phone. I don’t have time for this.
She busies herself with necessary forms and paperwork, reading reports concerning all of her current clients and all of Gale’s current projects. She’s filing and cataloging when Yi Fan comes into his office saying, “There’s someone looking for you on my line…”
“Hang up,” Mei Lin says bluntly, not even sparing even a glance.
“Mei, I think you should—”
Mei Lin stomps into Yi Fan’s office faster than his long legs can follow and hangs up the call that’s waiting on line one. She blocks the number on her phone and on all lines connecting to the building. “Don’t ask.” Mei Lin leaves but turns around at the last second to add, “My apologies, sir, for the disturbance.”
Yi Fan tries to call the number back but Mei Lin had erased all traces of the number. Who are you hiding from? It only takes a moment for Yi Fan to realize that there are only two people in this world (three if you count Victor at the moment) that would cause Mei Lin to be this way: her parents. Yi Fan goes into Mei Lin’s office and with just one look, Mei Lin could tell that this visit is not business. “Mei—”
“Don’t,” Mei Lin says. “I don’t need this right now. Thank you for your concern but at the moment, there’s other, much more important things that have to be dealt with.”
“Mei.” Yi Fan is persistent.
“Look,” Mei Lin says, locking eyes with the tall blond. “I already know what they’re going to say because I know exactly why they’re calling. They’ve only called me once before and that was to criticize my choice in a romantic partner. I can safely assume that I am disowned indefinitely, which can’t be too bad I guess.” She goes back to work. “Now I have a reason to stop sending them four and a half grand a month in USD.”
“They’re your family—”
“You of all people cannot tell me that I have to care about my family simply due to the fact that they’re my family,” Mei Lin hisses.
“You’re mad,” Yi Fan says.
You have no idea.
“May I ask what they did to deserve—”
“Nothing,” Mei Lin says plainly. “They did nothing. No praise, no encouragement, no assistance, not a care in the world.” She practically slams her drawer shut. “They only spoke to me when something needed to change, or adjusted, or fixed. Only when something wasn’t good enough, or just flat out wrong.”
Sounds like every Chinese parent.
“And I was actually fine with that up until we moved. They never accepted me for who I was—they still don’t accept me. Sure, striving for approval pushed me to do some pretty decent things in the eyes of society but my parents might as well be blind. They’re not worth my time anymore. They wanted a perfect son. I am neither, so therefore, I am not wanted. The only ing reason I’m even alive even though my parents found out I would be a girl is because my mother was getting too old and the chances of my father being able to conceive again were low. I guess I should be happy that their want for someone to take care of them when they get too old was greater than their want for a son. Though at this point, I sort of wish I was aborted, given how things are going nowadays.”
Yi Fan has to fight the urge to walk over and physically comfort Mei Lin. She’s never spoken like this before, but granted, she’s never felt so low before. “I don’t,” Yi Fan says. I don’t know if that means anything but…
Mei Lin calms down a bit from her rant after hearing that, managing a small smile in the process. “Thank you, sir.”
“My mom wouldn’t still be alive if it weren’t for you,” Yi Fan adds.
I’m not sure that’s such a good thing. Mei Lin frowns again. I don’t know how long the new serum will keep her alive…I feel like I’m just extending your wait. “Sir…”
“My name is Yi Fan, Mei,” Yi Fan reminds her. “I’m going to see her tonight.” You should come…
“Thank you, sir, but I think it’s best if we’re not seen with each other in public for the time being,” Mei Lin says. “I’ll have some pink orchids sent.”
Mei Lin decides to deliver them personally when she goes out to grab lunch. Mrs. Wu is reading when Mei Lin knocks with the new pot of flowers in hand. “Are the rumors true?” Mrs. Wu asks after greeting Mei Lin with a warm smile. Mei Lin shakes her head before placing the flowers on the nightstand. “That’s too bad,” Mrs. Wu says honestly. “As out of place as they may seem, he looked happy in those photos. You’re still with Lau’s kid, aren’t you?”
Not sure for how long though, but Mei Lin nods. “He told me he’s coming by to see you tonight. I’m busy, so I can’t join him, but I just thought—”
“Thank you,” Mrs. Wu says. “You’re very kind.”
How kind can I be when I’m just extending your suffering with my work? Mei Lin bows in thank you for the compliment.
“How is he?” Mrs. Wu asks, hoping that Mei Lin would stay a bit longer.
Mei Lin remains standing and says, “He’s been working really hard.”
“Is he sleeping well? How is he eating?” If he had stayed home, I would at least know through the maids.
“I can assure you that he’s been eating well,” Mei Lin says. “I’ll remind him to get some more sleep.”
“He shouldn’t push himself,” Mrs, Wu says to herself.
“He’s like his father,” Mei Lin comments casually. “It’s to be expected.”
I surely hope not. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”
Mei Lin waits to see what Mrs. Wu meant by that but she has nothing more to add at the moment as she debates something. “Madam?”
“My son is a very complicated boy; he is nothing like his father,” Mrs. Wu says.
Why would you say something like that? Yes, they’re different, but they’re not that different.
“Ms. Chen,” Mrs. Wu says. “You are a very kind young lady—” This new medicine gives me no pain. “And I trust you with my son.”
“Thank you, madam,” Mei Lin says, unsure of what Mrs. Wu is trying to say.
“I know that even with all that you’re doing to help me, that you are not God and that you cannot keep me alive forever.”
Don’t remind me; I am well aware of my incapabilities.
“But I want to thank you for all the extra time that you have given me with my son. I feel content should I leave this world now, tomorrow or in a few months. I thought I had lost the baby boy that I used to know when his father—” Mrs. Wu’s slight twitch did not go unnoticed by Mei Lin. “Made him into an heir rather than a man.” Mrs. Wu clears as if she’s uncomfortable. “That little boy is still in there—my son is still in there, so thank you for letting him show me that.”
Mei Lin bows again, “Bié kè qì.” ("You're welcome.")
“I shouldn’t be keeping you,” Mrs. Wu says, referring to the suit that Mei Lin has on.
Mei Lin bows one more time, “I hope to see you again soon.” Please be all right.
As she makes her way to her car, not too far away, the K gang is scouting Mei Lin. “Should we take her out now?” Se Hun asks their leader.
“Not yet,” Kai smirks.
“What if she really is just his secretary?” Chan Yeol asks. “I’d hate to get blood on my hands if it’ll do nothing to make Kris flinch.”
“Oh, he’ll do more than flinch. Girlfriend or not, he cares about this girl. He was out walking with her before joining the fight the other night,” Baek Hyun says. It was dark but he could see a female figure behind the glass when he was on the lookout for cops. “He told her to stay inside from what I could tell.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean ,” Chen says.
“She walked in with flowers and she walked out with none,” Xiu Min points out. “His mom is at this hospital.”
“Why don’t we just kill his mom?” Se Hun suggests.
“Come on, she’s already dying,” Kai chuckles, though he likes how he’s thinking. “Where’s your sense of courtesy?”
“Should I follow her?” Baek Hyun asks.
“She’s not our prime focus, boys; only the means. It’ll be fun playing with Tao and Kris for a bit before giving them what they deserve,” Kai smirks.
“We can’t really do all that much,” Chen sighs. “We’ve been in prison for too long; all of our resources are either dried up, in the hands of the authorities, or long gone.”
“That’s why we’re going after the people they care about,” Kai says. “Leave the old lady alone. She’s going to die soon anyways and it’ll be more painful for him to have her slip away than to blame us. I want his moral to be down first before we start anything. He’ll be more likely to blame himself then. I don’t want an angry Kris on our hands, ya hear? Just keep an eye on the three of them.” The boys disperse from the parking lot. “And boys, the little squealer is mine, got it?”
They all nod and disappear into the streets of Guangzhou; they need to get their hands on some fire.
Meanwhile, as Mei Lin is getting off the elevator and onto her floor, Yi Fan practically jumps out of his seat and storms into her office with Zi Tao in tow. “Where the hell were you?!” he demands. Mei Lin opens to respond but Yi Fan cuts her off, “Why didn’t you tell me where you were going? Why didn’t you take Tao with you? Something could’ve happened—”
“Sir, I’m fine.” As I’m sure you can see.
There are other ways to tell a girl that you’re worried about her, duì zhǎng. “Just let me know next time, Ms. Chan, please.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Mei Lin mumbles. “You pay him to be your driver, not—”
“Mei,” Yi Fan says in all seriousness. “We’ve done things that we’re not exactly proud of but we’re different now and heaven forbid any of that falls back on you simply because—”
“Don’t you boys ever get tired of telling me that?” Mei Lin sighs. “Stop worrying about me. If I have to have this panda follow me around twenty-four seven to get you both to shut up, then I’ll take it. Now please, we both have work to do.” Mei Lin waits for Yi Fan to leave before turning her attention to Zi Tao, “Looks like you’ll be moving in with me until this is all over.” Whenever that will be.
“My apologies for the inconvenience,” Zi Tao bows.
Mei Lin flinches at such formality. “Please, don’t…” She can’t even bring herself to finish verbalizing her thoughts. “You’re more than welcome to sit down,” she says, motioning at the sofa in her office.
“Do you need help with anything?” Zi Tao offers, feeling rather useless at the moment.
“Not really,” Mei Lin says with a flat smile.
“Please, Ms. Chan, if I’m going to inconvenience you, at least allow me to remedy that by assisting you on the work you have to make up.”
Mei Lin looks up and dead into the eyes of Zi Tao, enough to make him flinch. “Only if you drop the formalities,” Mei Lin says, holding out a file. “Could you get that down to the first floor for me? It’s for Lu Han. If he’s not there, then just set it on his desk or give it to Yi Xing.” Zi Tao nods and gives a slight bow before leaving. Damn, am I like that towards Wu Yi? God, I hope not.
Zi Tao looks very out of place with his t-shirt and jeans so when he walks into the Resource Department, many couldn’t help but ask if he was lost. He finds Lu Han in the center of the room, typing away on his keyboard. “Who the hell are you?” Lu Han asks, knives in his usually melodic Mandarin.
“Doesn’t matter,” Zi Tao says informally, “Ms. Chan asked me to deliver this to you.”
“Mei has an errand boy?” Lu Han chuckles, still harsh with his words. “Since when does the driver of the chairman’s son do footwork for the prince’s secretary?”
Zi Tao fights the urge to punch this brat in the face and decides to walk away without responding. Either someone’s naturally an or he’s having a tier day than the rest of us.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Yi Fan asks when he runs into Zi Tao in the lobby.
“Helping Ms. Chan; I doubt they’ll do anything here, duì zhǎng.” They can’t even get in here.
“Oh? Where did you go?”
“First floor,” Zi Tao says casually. “You should have a talk with Lu Han. He gives a lot of attitude for someone so small.”
Lu Han? Little Lu Han giving Tao attitude? Yi Fan looks over into the glass lab and sees Gale’s brow knit in pent-up frustration. Looks like we’re not the only one with issues. “Do whatever you have to to keep her safe.”
Zi Tao spends the rest of the day assisting Mei Lin and helping Yi Fan whenever he could so that everyone is now not only back to where they were suppose to be, but ahead in terms of work. It feels odd to Zi Tao to be driven instead of the driver when they decided to call it a night. “Ms. Chan.”
“Yes?”
“How was duì zhǎng’s mother?”
“As well as she could be.”
“Where will her shares and stocks and wealth go when she—”
“According to the prenup, everything would to the chairman unless she specifies otherwise in her will.”
And speaking of the will, guess what Yi Fan just got a copy of when he went to visit his mother. “Ma…”
“This is simply a formality, son.”
Yi Fan busies himself with glances around the room. “Mei was here,” he says, noting the flowers. The sad look in his mother’s eyes prompts Yi Fan to ask, “Don’t worry, ma, it’s only a scandal.”
“I wish it wasn’t,” she says honestly. “You smile more when she’s around.”
“Ma, Mei and Lau are inseparable, and even if they weren’t, I don’t have any feelings for her; she’s simply my friend.”
“Now when was the last time you had a friend like that?” Yi Fan decides that it’s best not to talk back to his own mother. “And how can you be so sure that it wouldn’t work?”
“Because I’m going to be just like my father,” Yi Fan says, wanting to nip this at the bud. “I won’t have time for—”
“You will not be like your father,” Mrs. Wu says sharply.
Isn’t that what everyone wants? “I’m his son, ma, like father like—”
“No.” She refuses to accept that fact.
“Ma, my whole life, I was told to be like him—”
“You won’t be like him,” Mrs. Wu insists.
“And what makes you so sure of that?” Yi Fan has rarely raised his voice on his mother but something about the way she was approaching this made him angry.
“Because you’re not your father’s son!”
The silence that befalls the room could challenge that of a church. Had it not been for the fact that Yi Fan is already sitting down, he would have surely fallen over. No matter how many times he blinks, his eyes could not return to their normal state. They remain wide and tense, tense like the rest of his rigor body.
Mrs. Wu could not take her son’s lack of response any longer and spoke once more. “Like you’ve always said. He’s never around…there’s no possible way that he—”
“I have to go.”
Yi Fan gets up robotically and leaves without another word from either party. He mindlessly gets into the next possible cab and even more mindlessly tells the driver to take him back to the office. It isn’t until he pays and gets out of the cab does he realize where he’s at. He’s about to call for another cab when he catches Lu Han walking out of the building. “Yo!” Lu Han doesn’t stop so Yi Fan runs up to him and grabs him by the shoulder. “You walk fast for someone with short legs.”
“Uh—”
“Come have a drink with me. I think after the day we had, we both could use one.”
Lu Han did little to protest. The boss’ son treating you to a much-needed whiskey sounded just like what the doctor ordered. However, once they got to the high-end bar, Yi Fan remembered that he was different now and that he would try his best not to go back to his former lifestyle, so he only ordered for Lu Han.
“Loosen up, Lu Han,” Yi Fan says. “I’m paying.”
“Since when did you get so generous?”
“Since my life went to hell,” Yi Fan sighs. “What’s got your in a bunch?”
Lu Han says nothing but after a few shots of hard liquor, he is a bit more open about his affairs. “My girl’s pregnant. I want to marry her. I don’t know what’s stopping me, to be honest.”
“Do you love her?”
“Yes.”
“Could you imagine your life without her?”
“Not really.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I don’t want to be a dad. I’m not ready; I never thought about it. We never talked about it. I mean, we did, once, but she was never one for children, so I thought…But she wants this kid and I just feel so betrayed. She’s choosing the damn thing over me and—”
“Breathe.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do right now. We’re out of the office and I am not your little servant; she’s not here right now.”
“What did you call Mei?” I don’t give a if you’re getting tipsy; no one talks about her like that.
“You act like a damn child and she still follows you around. Forget a child; that would be insulting to children. You’re more like ing Peter Pan. When are you going to leave Neverland and realize that Tinkerbell isn’t going to be around forever, huh?”
Yi Fan slaps Lu Han with an open palm. “We’re leaving, now.” How dare you say that about Mei.
On their way back to the office, Gale is forced to deliver something down to the Resource Department now that almost the entire building is empty. He should have gone home by now. Gale hurries to Lu Han’s desk once off the elevator and leaves the reports on his desk. When she turns around, she is almost knocked to the ground by colliding into Yi Xing. “Oof.”
“I am so sorry,” Yi Xing says, catching Gale just as she was about to fall. “How have you been? Haven’t seen you down here in a while.” And by 'a while,' Yi Xing means a few days because Gale will always find an excuse to see her boyfriend at work. “Miss Estelle, are you alright?”
Gale isn’t sure what it is that caused her to breakdown—maybe it’s the look in Yi Xing’s eyes, his typical gentle and caring nature, or maybe it’s just because Gale just really needs a shoulder to cry on right now, literally—all she knows is that she does and it is done in the most unflattering way possible. Luckily, her eyeliner is waterproof, but that does nothing to help the fact that she is crying in Yi Xing’s arms and staining his shirt. He stands firm and holds Gale in a gentle manner. He says nothing and only rubs her back until her sobs subside. Yi Xing does not expect an explanation—he can only assume, not that he does (he’s smarter than that)—he simply comforts Gale until she is able to walk and breathe again properly.
Like the gentleman that he is, he walks her to the parking garage where her car was parked. Unfortunately for him, however, Lu Han and Yi Fan are walking into the parking garage as well at the exact same moment. Clouded by alcohol and loose thoughts, all Lu Han can see is Gale walking with his assistant—or rather, walking in the arms of his assistant (Gale had been leaning on him for support). In spite of being inhibited by alcohol, Lu Han has no problem sprinting across the parking lot from a spike of adrenaline and landing a solid punch on Yi Xing’s jaw.
“Lu Han!” Gale shrieks.
Yi Fan runs after Lu Han a second too late and holds him back from attempting another strike even though Yi Xing is already flat on the parking garage floor, holding his jaw. “…Ow…I think you chose the wrong profession if you can hit like that…”
“What the is your problem, Lu Han?!” Gale demands. “Is that alcohol that I smell? Are you ing drunk? So you won’t accept me and you won’t let me even walk with other people? You might as well punch Mei while you’re at it if you’re going to be like this!” She turns her attention to the man holding Lu Han back. “And you! What the were you thinking? Do you know what time it is? I swear to whatever gods are out there that if he gets into an accident tonight, I will personally kill you.” She looks back at Lu Han but doesn’t bother to change the language she’s been using for this rant. “He was just trying to be nice and caring; you should try it sometime! Here!” She throws the ring box at him, which Lu Han fails to catch. “You can give that back to me when you grow up and grow a set. Bye.”
Gale stomps her way to her car and slams the door shut before pulling out at a dangerous speed and leaves in an even more dangerous speed. At this point, she doesn’t care if she dies or gets arrested. She is simply livid.
Translations/Author's Notes:
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Bié kè qì. (別客氣) = You're welcome. It literally means don't [be] polite. There are many variations in the phrasing of "you're welcome," this is only one of them. None of them are used more often than the other, and they all mean the same thing, it just all depends on the speaker's prefrence (but of course, literal translations indicate subtle connotations).
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