It was a lunch time and Ya Se was pushing a few of the desks in the classroom together to create a bigger table so that he, Wu Xiong, Yun Han and Yu Yan could sit around it together. Yu Yan had her lips pressed into a tight line as she forced herself to sit with them - she had to act like their friend for her mission so had to endure it. If it weren't for that, she would have gone outside to sit alone.

Wu Xiong placed a box of red bean buns and steamed custard buns in the centre of the table, "I made them," she explained slowly, "Please have a try."
"Wow Wu Xiong, you made so many," Ya Se commented, "How can the four of us finish them all?"
"My sister stayed up all night making them so you better eat them Ya Se Wang," Yun Han threatened darkly.

As Ya Se, Wu Xiong and Yun Han dug into the buns, Yu Yan hesitated. Yun Han noticed this and with a friendly smile, she picked up a bun and placed it in Yu Yan's hand, "Jiang Yu Yan, you'll definitely like it. My sister has really good cooking skills."
Yu Yan accepted the bun and held it in her hand, feeling it.
"Trust me, they're delicious," Ya Se added and Wu Xiong smiled.
Yu Yan chewed on the bun quietly, "I've never tried this before," she said.
"Do you like it?" Wu Xiong asked, curiously.
She responded with a small nod.

Xiao Yu smiled at the sight of Yu Yan getting along with their other classmates. He watched them from his desk as he pretended to play the piano on the piano keys that were painted onto his desk.

An Qi dragged her chair over to his desk and sat next to him, "Xiao Yu, what song are you playing?" she asked.
Da Dong copied her actions and sat next to them, "Woah An Qi, you can hear him play even though he's just pretending?" he gasped, amazed, "I can't hear anything!"
An Qi giggled, "Da Dong, you have to use your heart to be able to hear Xiao Yu play!"
"My heart? What sort of connection do you have with Xiao Yu that I don't?" he inquired, "Do you have some sort of telepathic connection?"
"Who knows? Maybe we're like Zhan Shi De and Li Xiao Xing," An Qi laughed with a shrug.
Xiao Yu smiled, "I wasn't playing anything."
Da Dong laughed, "Your so called telepathic connection has fizzed away An Qi!"

As An Qi continued to chat and laugh with Da Dong, she looked at Xiao Yu to see that he was looking at Yu Yan. She smiled and turned to him, "You must be happy that she's making friends right?"
Xiao Yu nodded.
Da Dong looked at the two, "She seems to be getting along well with Narcissist, he hasn't hung out with us much this week," he added.

"Hey An Qi," Xiao Yu spoke up.
"Hm?" she replied.
"Will you accompany me somewhere after school today?" he asked her.
"Hey don't just invite her, invite me too!" Da Dong joked.
"Sure, where are you going?" An Qi replied.
"Da Dong, I'm sorry but you can't come," Xiao Yu chuckled sheepishly, "I need An Qi's help with something," he said as he looked at Yu Yan.
An Qi noticed this and grinned, "I'd love to help!" she beamed.

"Huang An Qi!" Yu Yan snapped as she suddenly appeared in front of them.
An Qi looked up at her and gave her a small smile.
Yu Yan looked away and held out a red bean bun out in front of her, "Take it," she forced herself to say, "Since it’s your last day in Zhong Ji Yi Ban and all don’t start complaining about me being so unfriendly!"
An Qi gladly accepted it but before she could thank her, Yu Yan had already returned to her seat.
Da Dong looked at An Qi, puzzled, "Since when where the two of you on good terms???"
An Qi giggled as she bit into the bun, "Haven't you heard? We're friends," she emphasised 'friends' and giggled.
"What? No way!" Da Dong exclaimed in disbelief, "How? She's so against becoming our friend!"
Xiao Yu looked at her, "What did you say to her?" he asked, interested.

An Qi munched down on the bun as she tried to hold back another laugh, "We... had a... girl talk!" she confessed, exaggerating.
"You're lying!" Da Dong marvelled, "Yu Yan isn't a girl! She's a bro, she's one of us! How did the two of you have a girl talk?"
"I can't imagine it either," Xiao Yu admitted.
"Wow, you guys are so mean!" An Qi announced as a joke, "Yu Yan is still a girl at heart!"
"I don't believe it," Da Dong replied, "I can't see Yu Yan having a girl talk, that's so unlike her."
"Well I was joking," An Qi replied as she crossed her arms, "But we really did talk," she said as she looked over at Xiao Yu for a second.
"About?" Da Dong asked.
"It's a secret!" she smiled as she stood up and went over to Yu Yan's table to sit with them.
 

~*~*~
 

"I want to buy Yu Yan a New Year's gift," Xiao Yu said as he and An Qi strolled into a store after school.
"That's really cute!" she gushed, "What are you planning on buying for her?"
Xiao Yu nodded in agreement as he looked through the CDs that were on display, "I was thinking about buying her an MP3 player."
"An MP3 player?" An Qi repeated as she browsed through the CDs as well. She came to pick up a Fahrenheit's album and she looked at it, "Does she like listening to music?"

Xiao Yu picked up a S.H.E album before looking at an F4 album that had been on display for a while. "She likes piano music," he replied as he watched An Qi put on a pair of headphones to listen to a song. He looked at the cover of the CD and saw that it was titled 'KO One'. "What are you listening to?" he asked.
"Teachable Child by Fahrenheit, it's a KO One OST," she replied as she hummed along to the song.
"Oh," he nodded as he walked on to look at the electronics.

After about an hour later, An Qi had helped Xiao Yu pick out a silver MP3 player that had a blue stripe running through the middle as well as matching grey earphones. As well as this, she had helped him transfer a few of his piano songs as well as other songs Yu Yan might like to the MP3 player. After buying a cute little gift bag along with it, the two went out to eat dinner together as night had already fallen.

~*~*~

Yu Tong covered her eyes with her masquerade mask and made sure her pirate costume was on properly. She looked at her reflection in a shop window using the light from a street lamp. Her twin sister, Yu Tang, watched her adjust her outfit. She wore a Peter Pan costume and also wore a masquerade mask. "Yu Tong, hurry up before we lose him," she urged.
"It's okay Yu Tang, I saw him and some other girl leave a takeaway just a few minutes ago." Yu Tong replied, "It won't take long to kill him."
"How about that girl? I think her name is Huang An Qi, she wasn't on father's list," Yu Tang answered her.
"Just kill her as well," Yu Tong replied as she turned back around to look at her sister.

"Why does father want to kill a ma gua though? And he's especially assigned the two of us to kill him - is he that strong even as a ma gua?" Ya Tang inquired as they jumped onto a roof.
"I don't know but father said that he's close to Yu Yan so I want to kill him in the most painful way possible." Yu Tong informed as she looked down on the street below.
Yu Tang locked her eyes on Xiao Yu and An Qi as they exited a shop and walked down the streets happily, "Does Yu Yan know about the attack?"
Yu Tong responded by shaking her head. A smirk formed on Yu Tang's face, "Well then, this will get interesting."

Yu Tang and Yu Tong then cornered Xiao Yu and An Qi from above before jumping down towards them.

Xiao Yu looked up, surprised, before he was knocked to the ground.
 

~*~*~
 

"You're tired?" Ya Se asked as he looked over at Yu Yan in his passenger seat.
Yu Yan yawned and nodded.
Da Dong, who sat in the seat next to Ya Se, turned around to look at her, "No way, Yu Yan, you've been tired all day! I thought you'd be energetic after removing your yi neng lock." he said.
"When am I ever energetic?" Yu Yan snapped, "You two idiots have just been boring me to death."

"Ah , sorry guys I'm going to have to stop for gas." Ya Se announced, "I'm running low," he added as he pulled over into a petrol station.
As he parked the car and got out, Yu Yan opened the door to have a whiff of fresh air.
Da Dong also came out and began strolling around. He looked around the streets before seeing two familiar figures not too far in the distance. "Hey, it's Xiao Yu and An Qi!" he exclaimed as he turned to Yu Yan and Ya Se.

"So?" Yu Yan replied as she walked over to him. She used her echolocation to sense their location but then wrinkled her brows after detecting other people.
Noticing her puzzled expression, Da Dong asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Yan then activated her Peek-a-Boo-I-See-You Glass Eye, "...they're being followed from above..." she whispered before she began running over to them.

After using her glass eye, she predicted that the two people that were following Xiao Yu and An Qi would attack them from above. Many thoughts ran through her mind causing her steps to falter and cause her to not use her super speed. "It's Yu Tong and Yu Tang..." she whispered, "...but why go after a ma gua? They're going to kill them... I can feel the dark energy..." she voiced her thoughts, "Do I step in and interfere with father's plans.... or do I follow my heart and try to protect them because I care...?"
Yu Yan felt her heart being twisted out of confliction and her heart beat faster as she panicked on what to do.

“Can you whole heartedly say with your hand on your heart that Ding Xiao Yu means nothing to you? That you wouldn't care if he was harmed? If he was in danger?..."

An Qi's voice echoed in her mind and beads of sweat began to run down of her forehead. She wanted to protect them - protect him.

"The next time you do something like that again, my dear girl, I will break your bones. I'm warning you..."

Her father's threatening voice boomed louder in her head and made her blood run cold. She wanted to protect her classmates... but she was too afraid to go against her father.

She punched her heart as its beating clouded her judgement. Time was running out and she was becoming more and more conflicted. She hated herself right then and there. Her father warned her not to forget her purpose and genuinely develop any relationships with people but that's exactly what she did. She couldn't go against her father, why was she even thinking about doing such a thing? She had been loyal to her father her whole life and how it could end just because of one person? My loyalty to Zhong Ji Yi Ban is barely even skin deep whereas my loyalty to father runs through my veins and the very fibres of my being – how can I go against him after all he’s done for me?

Yu Yan stopped in the middle of the road. She wanted to protect Xiao Yu but she knew it was wrong. What would she say to her father? But she really did want to beat up her sisters out of personal reasons – they were annoying and deserved a beating. But if she even dared to touch them, her father would punish her as a result. If it had been any other person, she would’ve let her sisters do whatever but it was Xiao Yu they were targeting. Despite knowing that her father was determined to kill Ding Xiao Yu, her heart didn’t want his death to become a reality.

No, I'm still loyal... I can handle the punishment... I can make up an excuse just this once... she thought and then found herself tacking her sisters to the ground, knocking over Xiao Yu in the process.

Xiao Yu looked up at Yu Yan, "Yu Yan," he breathed, feeling relieved.

"Jiang Yu Yan?!" Yu Tong hissed, throwing her sister off her and sending her crashing into the wall.

Jiang Yu Yan quickly stood in front of Xiao Yu and An Qi as her body became engulfed in a white light. She stood before her sisters who also began emitting their auras of yi neng.

"Yu Yan, it's best if we escape!" An Qi exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet to help Xiao Yu up.

"Jiang Yu Yan, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Yu Tong hissed at her sister through telepathy.
"This is father's orders, why are you defying him?!" Yu Tang added.

Yu Yan looked back at An Qi, "Stay back," she ordered, "I'll buy you some time to escape," she whispered.

"Are you really going to fight us?!" Yu Tang snapped, "You know that we're stronger than you, even one-on-one you don't stand a chance!"
"Leave it Yu Tang; let's punish her on father's behalf!" Yu Tong then leapt towards Yu Yan and swiped at her.

Yu Yan dodged having already used her glass eye to predict their movements. She firmly placed a punch on her face before Yu Tang kicked her stomach. Yu Yan stumbled but returned a punch and a kick. Yu Tong hit her from behind. Yu Yan ducked to dodge Yu Tang's swinging arm. Yu Tong struck her from behind. Yu Tang attacked her feet. The twins sent Yu Yan crashing into a streetlight and caused it to fall over.

Yu Yan forced herself to stand up as she breathed heavily. She wiped away the blood that trickled down her chin.

"10,000 battle points, she doesn't stand a chance!" Xiao Yu muttered to himself in fear.

Yu Tong began throwing balls of yi neng at Yu Yan at an incredible speed before swiping at her. Yu Yan blocked her sisters' attacks but began falling behind. They chased her up a wall onto the roof of a building and the three clashed. Their incredible speed hid their movements and all that could be seen were vibrant sparks of yi neng produced from collisions which looked like fireworks going off every second. One after another, they exchanged blows. Yu Yan, being the weaker out of the three began to slow down and failed to keep up, despite the power of her glass eye.

Yu Tang smirked as she floored her and then knocked her off the roof. Yu Yan hit the ground with a thud and Yu Tong immediately jumped onto her and lifted her up by her shirt. She then sent her fist flying into her jaw which caused Yu Yan to stagger backwards.

Wang Da Dong and Wang Ya Se hurried over to An Qi and Xiao Yu with worry plastered over their faces. "Yu Yan..." Xiao Yu whispered as he couldn't keep her eyes off her. "Da Dong... we need to help her!"
Quickly, Xiao Yu stepped forward only to be held back by Ya Se who wrapped his arm around him.
"Xiao Yu, you can't do anything or you'll get hurt!" Ya Se exclaimed as Xiao Yu struggled under his grasp.

Xiao Yu's eyes widened as he watched Yu Yan gets beaten up and throw up pools of blood. "I've never seen her so helpless before..." he said, "She's saved me many times so why can't I save her?!" he exclaimed.
Scared, An Qi held onto Da Dong's arm, "Da Dong, we should call someone! Yu Yan won't be able to hold out any longer!"

Yu Yan threw her fists at her younger sisters, sending them crashing into one another. Although Yu Yan was an experienced fighter, her younger sisters had the advantage of sight so were able to become stronger.

Da Dong bit his lip, feeling anxious. Yu Yan had always been a strong warrior in his eyes and he couldn't stand seeing her getting so battered up.

"Get lost!" Yu Yan screamed at her classmates as she turned to face them, "Why don't you leave already?!"
Xiao Yu's hand trembled as he watched Yu Tong throw her to the ground and kick her head.

"This is what you get for being so cocky, Jiang Yu Yan," Yu Tong sneered through telepathy, "You're lucky I haven't blown your cover yet."

Yu Tang strutted over to Yu Yan and trod on her hand and crushed it beneath her foot. Yu Yan's groans of pain caused a strong tugging sensation on Xiao Yu's heart. Yu Yan... she's trying to be strong... why? Why would she jump in to protect us?

Xiao Yu wrestled with Ya Se, trying to get free from his tight hold. Eventually he managed to get himself free and then ran over to Yu Yan. Yu Tang smirked before she lashed out at him, sending him tumbling onto the road.

Yu Yan bit her lip as she remembered her father's endurance training. Battle points didn't mean anything - to her, strength was the combination of strategy, endurance and physical strength. She could beat her sisters for she had done more training than them. If I want to protect them, I can't let my blindness be my weakness - I can't accept defeat so easily! I can't let my fear of father hold me back! she thought as she used all her strength push back on her sisters and stand up.

Xiao Yu felt his vision become blurry as his eyes became glassy. He stared at Yu Yan who got to her feet with determination. He looked at her blood and dirt stained hair, face and body. He looked at her torn clothes from the intense fighting. He looked at all her wounds and felt his heart hurt. How did such a strong person like Jiang Yu Yan become so worn out? It hurt him to see her like that. Despite the blood running down her face from her cracked skull, she smiled at him confidently before she straightened her back and smirked at her sisters.

A man (Joe Cheng) watched the little brawl from the top of a tower. He tutted and shook his head, unimpressed.