"Wei, Ya Se Wang, what is this?!" Yu Yan barked as she sat in front of him with a plate of fast food. She blinked slowly with no emotion as she faced him.
Ya Se popped a chip (fry if ur not a brit) into his mouth, "Lunch," he said freely.
"You forced me to watch that play with you and now you're forcing me to have lunch with you?" Yu Yan said, annoyed.
Ya Se continued to eat, "But you liked the play," he retorted.
"Just because I liked the play doesn't mean I want to have lunch with you!" Yu Yan exclaimed, "We're not friends!"
"Okay okay okay," Ya Se nodded quickly, "Just eat. You're hungry."

Yu Yan puffed out her cheeks in irritation before digging in to her food. The two ate silently for a while until a waitress arrived with a large black forest gateau and a box. She placed the gateau on the table and handed the take away box to Ya Se. He thanked her and she left.

"What's this?" Yu Yan asked.
"A black forest gateau," he answered simply.
"A what? What's it for?" she continued.
"It's for you. Wu Xiong likes to eat a lot of chocolate when she's on that time of the month so I thought a sweet dessert would make you feel good." Ya Se explained as he put the takeaway box in his bag.
"Wow Ya Se Wang, I never thought you could be so considerate." Yu Yan admitted, impressed, "But I don't want it."
"But I ordered it for you," Ya Se responded as he took a sip of his drink.
"I've eaten alot today already," Yu Yan yawned, "Just give it to Wu Xiong or something."
"I've already got her a banana cream pie take away," Ya Se informed her, "Don't worry about the expense, it's all on me."
Yu Yan sighed, "I'm not allowed to eat unhealthily, I have a strict diet."
"You... really don't want it?" Ya Se inquired and Yu Yan shook her head.

I never thought that I'd be able to drag Jiang Yu Yan off to places so successfully... she actually seems quite friendly once you get through her shell... he thought to himself, I'm surprised she hasn't murdered me yet though, I even prepared a bullet proof vest to protect myself but I guess I'll need to save it for when I see Wu Xiong later today, he sweat dropped nervously as he imagined his girlfriend beating him up for going out with another girl.

"What's the point in this anyway?" Yu Yan muttered, stirring her straw around in her drink, "I never asked you to do this so why are you treating me so nicely?"
Ya Se smiled, "It's simple. We're friends aren't we?"
He extended his hand to her over the table.
Yu Yan clicked her tongue, "You should already know my answer to being friends."
"We've already gone through so much together as a group: you, me, Xiao Yu and Egomaniac; we've sung together, had dinner together at Egomaniac's house, played basketball together, heck we even got into an accident together and got in trouble with the police together - isn't that enough for us to be classed as friends?" Ya Se questioned as Yu Yan thought to herself.

The faster I become friends with them, the faster my mission is completed which means I can leave Zhong Ji Yi Ban faster... isn't friendship what I intended since the beginning so that I could get them to trust me? Yu Yan wondered ...I’ve stretched it out enough... I don't have to get so into it since it will all be an act... but... but... Geez Yu Yan, why you hesitating over this? she mused silently as her mind became conflicted. Ya Se looked at her straight face, She's considering it... if I can become friends with her then we can achieve more peace in Zhong Ji Yi Ban... and Jiang Yu Yan has always been an odd and suspicious girl so we can clear all doubts about her this way.
Why does a part of me want to genuinely be their friend?.... Yu Yan, you can't have thoughts like this! Do you even know what a friend is? You've never had one in your life so how can you genuinely want to have a friend? You idiot, just focus on your mission! After it’s a success, all these idiots will be dead so there's no point in forming some stupid bond with them! Yu Yan exhaled before clenching and unclenching her hand slowly. Dubiously, she lifted her hand and shook his Se's before forcing a smile on her face, "Okay... let's be... f-friends." She almost gagged on her own words but sighed in acceptance, This is what father wants... I don't have a choice...

Ya Se smiled, "That's great. So you won't be aggressive anymore?"
"Oh I'll be aggressive all right!" Yu Yan barked, straight-faced and whacking him across the head, "Ya Se Wang, you're pushing it."
 

~*~*~

The next day, Xiao Yu did not go to school nor did he apply for leave. This was unusual as Ding Xiao Yu was not one to skip school so suddenly and without a reason.

"Maybe he's late?" Da Dong suggested.
"But Egomaniac, Xiao Yu has been living with me these past few days. He left so early in the morning without even letting me know!" Ya Se explained, pacing around the classroom anxiously.
"At your house?" An Qi asked, surprised.
"He..." Ya Se looked around before walking over to them, "His tent got wrecked and burned so now he has nothing," he informed them in a hushed voice.

Yu Yan's ears perked up, His tent? He lives in a tent? Weird fish...

Da Dong jumped out of his hammock, "Who dared to do such a thing?!” e exclaimed before he put his hands on Ya Se’s shoulders. “Why didn't he say anything to me? Doesn't he see me as his good brother?" Da Dong clenched his fist, "If he needed something, why hide it from us? We will always be there for him so why didn't he ask me for help?"
Ya Se put a hand on his shoulder, "Egomaniac... I'm sure he had his reasons. You know how Xiao Yu is, if he's struggling he'll want to go through it alone and carry his own burdens," he said.
"But we're sworn brothers!" Da Dong exclaimed, "His pain is our pain! His struggles are our struggles! His problems are our problems too! That's it, I'm going to go find him," Da Dong quickly grabbed his bag to leave.

"Hey, you stupid monkey," Yu Yan, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, spoke up as she sat up in her chair, "Little Fish isn't a kid okay, he's a grown man and knows what he's doing. Just calm down and wait until school is over and then go find him. Have you even tried to text or call him?!" Yu Yan barked, "You fussing about it now is really noisy. Some people are trying to sleep!"

"Classmate Jiang is right, Da Dong," An Qi began, "You can't be impulsive. If you trust Xiao Yu then wait a bit longer, I'm sure he's fine."

Yu Yan scowled at An Qi's input and at her sickening sweet voice. What's it to me anyway? she asked herself before putting her head down on the wall to sleep, "...but what if my father has something to do with his disappearance...?" she muttered, Yu Tang and Yu Tong wouldn't attack him so early in the morning right? But why am I suspecting father? I don't care about Ding Xiao Yu. So what if he lost everything in a fire? So what if he's not here today? So what? It's not my problem and isn't any of my business, so why does Jiang Yu Yan care? That's right, she doesn't! Yu Yan unintentionally turned around to face Xiao Yu's empty seat, My father's going to kill them all in the end so there's no room for emotional attachments. We're all tools: once we fulfil our job we will all be discarded.
 

~*~*~
 

It was now evening and Yu Ting leaned over the park bridge to have a look at the canal that ran beneath it. Beside her was Yu Yan who faced the other way and leaned against the bridge walls. "Yan Yan Jie, you should be careful in Zhong Ji Yi Ban," she said slowly before turning around to look at her sister's face.
"Oh? What threat are they to me?" Yu Yan boasted with a snort.
Yu Ting looked over at the distance, sighing as she watched ordinary people go about their daily lives. "I'm not saying they're a threat. But if you develop emotional ties with them-" she was interrupted.
"Shut up. Do you think I don't know that?" Yu Yan questioned, "I know that if I'm not supposed to genuinely be their friends because we're going to die with them."
"Do to tools even have a death?" Yu Ting wondered, lost in thought.
"Are we tools even alive? That’s the right question." Yu Yan added before touching her chest, "This heart is beating but it's not real. We're not really living, it's not our life to live. This life that Father has given us doesn't truly belong to us,” she lectured before yawning.

"Eh? Isn't that Ding Xiao Yu?" Yu Ting gasped as her eyes fell upon him sitting alone on a bench not too far from them.
Yu Yan's ears twitched, "What's he doing here?" she asked.
"Do you want to go talk to him? He's alone." Yu Ting replied but Yu Yan had already begun walking over to him.

"Xiao Yu!" A female voice entered Yu Yan's ears and instantly she made a u-turn back to the bridge.
"Well... he was alone." Yu Ting shrugged as she popped a lollipop into .
"Why is Huang An Qi everywhere?" Yu Yan grumbled, rolling her eyes back in annoyance.

"An Qi?" Xiao Yu stood up as An Qi rushed over to him and sat down beside him.
"What happened? You weren't in school today!" she exclaimed, worriedly.
Xiao Yu sat back down as his smile fell. He nervously scratched the back of his head as he chuckled, "Ah... I wasn't feeling too well this morning," he answered her.
"I don't believe you," An Qi retorted, before leaning closer to his face.
Xiao Yu blushed and backed away.
"Why are there bruises on your face?" she inquired, squinting at every part of his face.
"Oh... Really? Are there?" Xiao Yu asked innocently, touching his face.
An Qi put a hand on his cheek and at the connection, he flinched. "Xiao Yu, what happened? Did you get attacked?"

Yu Ting watched them closely, "She's leaning in pretty close to him and she's touching his face. They must be really close - hey, do you think they're dating?" she explained without sparing a second to look at her sister.
"Shut up, I don't need a live commentary." Yu Yan barked, feeling annoyed - more than usual.
"Are you jealous?" Yu Ting asked as she looked at her sister from the corner of her eyes.
"Why would I be? We're not even friends!" Yu Yan exclaimed, "What would I be jealous over anyway?!"
"That they're closer than normal friends," Yu Ting answered in a care free tone.
"Should that annoy me, Jiang Yu Ting?" her older sister spat, "Everything between us if fake, it doesn't mean anything to me."
Yu Ting tilted her head at her sister, "Really? I thought he was important to you."
Yu Yan huffed, trying to keep her cool, "Where are you getting all this nonsense from?!" she exclaimed.
Yu Ting shrugged, "You personally helped him and defied father, something you would never think about doing. And... the Yan Yan Jie I know wouldn't have gotten annoyed so easily at the arrival of just a girl."
"Yu Ting!" Yu Yan barked, "You think you know me so well?"

Yu Ting smiled as she watched Xiao Yu as he smiled at An Qi, unaware of their presence. "Yan Yan Jie is someone who is cold and harsh on the outside. Although she acts like she gets annoyed and loses her temper easily, she's really not like that. She just does it to entertain herself because she really can't be bothered to care."
A small laugh escaped Yu Yan's lips as she listened to her sister's accurate analysis of her character.
"And I know that in this world.... the only people that she truly cares for are her Father and... me." Yu Ting finished, still looking at Xiao Yu and An Qi who were talking to each other happily.
"Then if you know that," Yu Yan listened to Xiao Yu laugh, feeling an odd sense of discomfort, "...then why do you claim that that stupid fish also has a place in my heart?"

With an expressionless face, she faced Xiao Yu and An Qi, listening to them laugh and joke with each other before turning her back to them and leaning over the bridge.

Yu Ting sighed, almost out of relief, "If he really doesn't mean anything to you then that's good," she said, before her voice slowly turned cold, "After all... he is number one on father's kill list."
Suddenly, Xiao Yu's laughter disappeared in Yu Yan's ears and now all she could hear was a strong wind blowing through the water in the canal. The sound of the gushing water filled her ears and Yu Yan felt something tug at her heart, "What?" she asked but it came out as a small mumble.
"I don't know why either, but father is so insistent on killing him." Yu Ying replied, "All I know is that father has history with the Ding family. Father encouraged Hei Long to kill Ding Yu Long, Ding Xiao Yu's father."

Yu Yan felt something being lodged into and felt her words being clogged, "Father is an expert at killing... so why hasn't he killed him yet?" she asked, shocked that her father saw someone as lowly as Ding Xiao Yu as a threat.
Yu Ting shrugged as she continued to her lollipop in her happy-go-lucky mood, "Maybe he's trying to use him to lure out a bigger enemy? I don't know and I don't really care. As long as you don't develop any feelings for him, whether they're out of friendship or love, I'm all good."

"Yu Yan?!" Da Dong's loud voice entered her ears and he rushed over to her before his eyes landed on Yu Ting, "And... Little Yu Yan...?"
Yu Yan rolled her eyes, "Wang Da Dong, what do you want?"

Xiao Yu looked up after hearing Yu Yan's name and followed Da Dong with his eyes. He saw Yu Yan and another girl together at the bridge, If she's here, why didn't she come say hello? Forget it, Yu Yan isn't the type to come over for a friendly chat.

"Xiao Yu and An Qi are over there, why don't you join us?" Da Dong suggested, before gesturing to Yu Ting, "Who's this?"
"I'm Yu Ting, her younger sister," Yu Ting answered.
"You go have fun; we were just about to leave." Yu Yan grabbed Yu Ting's wrist and began walking away before Da Dong jogged over to stand in their way.
"Come on Yu Yan! Xiao Yu didn't come to school today; don't you want to see him too?" Da Dong pleaded, pulling on her arm and dragging both girls towards Xiao Yu and An Qi.
"Why would I want to see him? I can't even see, you stupid monkey." Yu Yan spat, annoyed.
"I would say he's a golden monkey since he's got streaks of blonde in his hair," Yu Ting piped up, before whipping out a lollipop from her sleeve, "Lollipop?" she asked Wang Da Dong.
"Stupid golden monkey!" Yu Yan corrected, "We'll be leaving now, let's go Yu Ting."

Wang Da Dong grabbed both sisters' arms and forcefully dragged them over to Xiao Yu, "Hey, look who I just bumped into!" he beamed before Yu Yan and Yu Ting stomped of both his feet really hard. He winced and his mouth opened wide as he tried to endure the pain. Yu Ting took this chance to pop a lollipop into his mouth.

"Classmate Jiang!" An Qi smiled, "Who's this?"
"My sister," Yu Yan replied bluntly.
"Hello," she smiled at Yu Ting and extended her hand out to her.
Yu Ting smiled and placed a lollipop into her hand instead of shaking it.

An awkward silence hung in the air for the next few moments.

"Hey Xiao Yu," An Qi spoke up before she rummaged through her bag and brought out a paper bag, "I've got you a bagel to thank you for yesterday."
Xiao Yu thanked her and took it. He looked at Yu Yan who turned her face away from him.
"Yu Ting, let's get going now," she said, Exchanging bagels now? Tch.
"Okay," Yu Ting nodded as she followed behind her sister. She then turned to look back at the rest of them, "It was nice meeting you all."

"Wait," Xiao Yu spoke up and tore the bagel in half. "Here, have a half," he held it out to her.
"I don't want it," Yu Yan spat, "Huang An Qi got it for you so why are you giving it to me?"
An Qi looked at the two.
"I'll take it!" Yu Ting popped up and grabbed the half bagel. "Thank you!" she beamed before nibbling away at it.