A man laughed. "You want to disobey me?" he questioned in disbelief. "You want to go against me because of that stupid boy?!" His voice became louder, "Those useless sisters of yours left one by one and now you want to leave too?!" he laughed hysterically as though he was a madman.
Yu Yan faced down and stepped back a bit, "Please Father..." she trailed off, "I don't want to do this anymore... I don't want to hurt anymore innocent people..."

Slap!

Yu Yan clutched her cheek silently.
"You dare talk back to me?!" the man yelled, "How dare you! What right do you have as a tool to tell me what to do?! To put an end to my decade’s long plan - are you crazy?!" he continued to shout angrily at her. "I gave you your week of freedom and even gave you time to defeat Jiang Ye Zi, how ungrateful can you get?! You deserve a beating for even thinking about defying me!"

A beam of yi neng knocked her to the wall.

"Father, there must be some other way to revive Mother! I don't want to be a part of this anymore!" she screamed at her father.
"Why? Tell me!" he ordered, stepping closer towards her.
"Da Dong, Ya Se, Xiao Yu - they're all my friends, I don't want to hurt them!" she exclaimed, "I've always been loyal to you father, I beg you, let me go!" she pleaded.
The man just laughed, "You don't want to hurt them?" he questioned, "Let me tell you something, my dear girl, you’re already hurting them." he smiled cunningly. He looked at her with a sly smirk, "That boy, Ding Xiao Yu, his aunt is under my control. I threatened to kill her husband if she didn't make her nephew suffer. If I don't have 1 million NT$ by the end of this week, I'll hurt everyone in her family and Ding Xiao Yu will be pulled out of Zhong Ji Yi Ban, as well as being put to sleep early," he confessed, snickering at Yu Yan's pale face.

Her blood ran cold and her hand flew over , "The reason why he's working so hard... is because of... you?" she asked in disbelief in a low mutter.
"Because of me?" her father repeated, "No that's not correct. It's because of you," he added.
"I...I-I..." Yu Yan was speechless. She didn't know what to say. "So if he loses the prize money from the piano competition..." Her face was horror stricken.
"And that's not all. Ya Se Wang's father will go bankrupt soon and Wang Da Dong's father will lose his Church and home any time now. I hold the control over the financial situations of your three precious brothers," the man explained with amusement shining in his eyes.
"Father, stop! You can't do this!" Yu Yan exclaimed, "They're innocent!" she cried with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Her father looked at her seriously, "As long as you obey me and die for me then I can promise you that they will not suffer the loss of a single penny," he said.
Yu Yan fell silent, "What about Xiao Yu's debts?" she asked quietly.
"He still has to pay me," her father replied, "It is his aunt to borrowed money from me so it's only fair for him to pay me back."
"And what if he isn't able to?" Yu Yan inquired.
"He will leave Zhong Ji Yi Ban but I won't touch him… however, there is another condition," her father told her.
"And what's that?"
"You cannot get close to him," he said, "If you do, our deal is off and I'll murder all your so-called friends."

Yu Yan's breath hitched in .

The man laughed and began to walk away. "Enjoy this week at Zhong Ji Yi Ban - it's definitely your last," was the final thing he said before leaving the room.
 

~*~*~

"Welcome back from your break, everyone!" Tian Xin beamed happily at her class. She spoke a lot more but her class ended up drowning out her words before she declared that she was going to make two important announcements.

"Firstly, the school festival has been rescheduled to this Saturday so I hope you all still have your performances ready. Secondly, I will be giving you all a slip to write down any Universities and colleges you would like to go to or any careers you would like to have. Graduation is very close so I want you all to have a clear path in mind," she explained, handing out a form to every student.

"Hey Narcissist, Xiao Yu, Yu Yan," Da Dong called after skimming over the sheet, "Jiu Wu Meng Zhu is impressed by our skills. He wants us to train under
him and become Inter-dimensional Guards after we graduate," he explained, excitedly.
"I'm not interested," Yu Yan snapped immediately.
Da Dong pouted, "But it would be fun if the four of us could work together!"
Xiao Yu looked over at Lei Ke Si who was busy reading a book, "Why don't you ask Lei Ke Si or Hong Guang Ge?" he suggested.
"Xiao Yu, you too? You don't want to either?" Da Dong exclaimed in disbelief, "Lei Ke Si will take over the family business and Hong Guang Ge want to live like a ma gua! Come on guys, please~!" he whined like a child.
Ya Se put down the book he was reading and looked at his best friend, "I'm the Young Master of the Tu Long Gang, I will take it over in the future. Also, I don't want to leave Wu Xiong behind," he explained.
Da Dong sighed and held his head in his hand.
"Da Dong, give us some time to think about it, okay?" Xiao Yu replied with a smile and Da Dong then nodded with a grin.

 

~*~*~
 

During lunch break, Yu Yan and Xiao Yu were together in the music room.

"Little Fish, your hand is broken, how are you going to play the piano?"
Xiao Yu flexed the fingers of his right hand after unwrapping the bandages, "The piano competition final is two nights away, I have to win that prize money," he said.
Guilt struck at Yu Yan's heart, If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be suffering so much right now, she thought sadly. "You won't be able to win like that," she muttered.
Xiao Yu smiled reassuringly at her, "Don't worry. I can still move my fingers just fine," he said.

Yu Yan face away, not in the mood.
"Do you want to hear my finals piece?" he asked her, noticing her glum expression.
Surprisingly, Yu Yan shook her head.
Despite this, he got ready to play, "Your support means the most to me, Yu Yan. If you're there, I know I will be fine," he told her before pressing down on the white keys.
The melody started off slowly and Xiao Yu seemed to be hesitant when tapping them. Suddenly, the whole melody was thrown off key and Yu Yan could hear Xiao Yu release a hiss of pain. "I thought you were fine," she spat at him as she grabbed his hand gently. As she could not see, the dark patches of bruises on his fingers were not noticed by her. Xiao Yu watched silently as Yu Yan re-wrapped his hand and fingers up to his wrist with his bandages. He felt his heart become warm and he found himself staring at her face with a smile blooming onto his own. Yu Yan, I will definitely win. Just believe in me, he thought to himself, happily and confidently.

Once Yu Yan had finished wrapping his hand with bandages, she sighed and stood up from her seat, "Don't play anymore," she muttered quietly, "I don't want you to be in pain."
Xiao Yu also stood up and grabbed her hand, "This pain is nothing. What would pain me is if you left me," he replied in a warm and gentle voice.
Guilt was already boiling at the pit of Yu Yan's stomach and she couldn't bear it anymore. She pulled back her hand back from Xiao Yu and turned her back to him, "I can't guarantee that I won't leave you," she mumbled.
Xiao Yu frowned but then took her hand again, "Then promise me that you'll be at the piano finals. I want to play for you," he said.
Yu Yan bit her lip, "We'll see..." she trailed off.

Suddenly, she felt something being slipped onto her wrist.

Xiao Yu smiled as he looked at the pink bracelet he had gotten for Yu Yan.
"What's this?" she asked, feeling it with her fingers, "I don't like jewellery."
"It's a late birthday present," Xiao Yu told her, "I couldn't find the right time to give it to you," he explained.
Yu Yan pushed down the emotions she was feeling and painted her face with coldness, "I don't want it," she said in a low voice though she did not take it off.
"Please take it," Xiao Yu said, "Yu Yan I-"

"Jiang Yu Yan!" Jin Bao San exclaimed frantically as he rushed into the room. He panted heavily as he bent over to catch his breath.
Xiao Yu and Yu Yan turned to face Jin Bao San. "What?!" Yu Yan snapped, coldly.
"There's a really scary man outside," the class monitor said, "He said he's your father and he's waiting for you!"

Instantly, Yu Yan's face fell and her body tensed up. Xiao Yu noticed her grit her teeth and clench her fists, as though almost in fear. "Yu Yan?" he called softly.
"I have to go," she responded, pushing past the two boys and running out of the room.
 

~*~*~

Yu Yan didn't return to school that afternoon nor did she return to Xiao Yu's apartment. But she did give Xiao Yu a quick call and told him that she wouldn't return that night. This set Xiao Yu at ease. However, the next two days at school weren't normal ones. Yu Yan was distant and she slept the whole day, avoiding contact or conversation with Xiao Yu, Ya Se, Da Dong, Lei Ke Si and even Hong Guang. She spent break times alone and when it was time for practicing for their performance, she was extremely quiet and left immediately after practice was over.

As Ya Se and Da Dong cleared away the instruments, Xiao Yu watched Yu Yan pick up her bag and leave Dong Cheng Wei's warehouse. "What's wrong with Yu Yan?" he asked his brothers.
Ya Se shrugged, "I'm not sure. Maybe she still feels guilty about your right arm?" he guessed, "I mean you can't even play the piano or keyboard at this point, she must be thinking that she ruined our act and feels bad."
Xiao Yu looked down at his right fist that was bandaged.
"Is that why she's been having dinner at Duan Chang Ren's stall these past few days?" Da Dong asked, "She's avoiding Xiao Yu?"
"If she was avoiding me, wouldn't it make sense for her to go to your house, Da Dong?" Xiao Yu pointed out.
Ya Se put down the box of swords they had been using and put his hands on his hips, "Could she be avoiding the three of us?" he asked.
"But why?" asked Da Dong but then he paused and his eyes widened.

"What's wrong Egomaniac?" Ya Se asked.
"Didn't her father come to Zhong Ji Yi Ban the other day?" he questioned in response and Xiao Yu nodded.
"What does this have to do with her father?" Xiao Yu inquired with a raised brow.
"Nothing," Da Dong quickly said, "I'll talk to her. Don't worry Xiao Yu; she'll be at your piano competition today."
A smile formed on Xiao Yu's lips, "Front row?" he said and Da Dong nodded.
"Of course!" he laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.
 

~*~*~
 

At Duan Chang Ren's stall.

"I'm not going," Yu Yan announced to Da Dong.
Da Dong frowned and he watched Yu Yan eat her noodles silently. "Why? You've been to every competition of his and he got through with the best results. He can win if you're there!" he tried to persuade her.
"I can't go," she responded.
Da Dong then noticed the pink bracelet around her wrist, "Are you thankful for all Xiao Yu has done for you?" he inquired slowly.
Yu Yan nodded.
"Then why don't you repay him by supporting him?" Da Dong asked, "Your support would mean so much to him."
"I feel too guilty to even hear him play the piano," Yu Yan admitted, "He loves playing piano so much and because of me he broke his wrist. I don't want to witness him lose so terribly." She faced away from him.

"Don't you believe in him?" Da Dong questioned, "When Xiao Yu plays piano, it's almost magical. He can evoke such strong emotion," he began, "Did you know, his piano playing made everyone in Zhong Ji Yi Ban hug each other with tears in their eyes," he chuckled to himself at the memory, "Yu Yan, Xiao Yu has such amazing abilities. I believe that he can win this competition. Just believe in him." He looked at her seriously.
Yu Yan sighed and lifted up her wrist and touched the bracelet.
"Also, it's not the first time he's used his right fist," Da Dong added with a grin, "And the fact that he was willing to injure himself and risk losing the piano competition shows alot: he cares alot about you, Yu Yan. You mean more to him than the piano. I’m sure he can overcome his handicap if you’re there for him."

Yu Yan bit her lip in thought and clasped her hand around the bracelet, holding onto it tightly.