Xiao Yu looked at his reflection and smiled. He was wearing a suit Ya Se had lent him and his hair was styled so that he looked very posh and elegant. He exhaled and fist pumped, "Jia you!" he cheered to himself as the host called him onto the stage. It was now his turn to play the piano piece that would win him that large sum of prize money. Yu Yan will be there to cheer you on, don't miss this up! he told himself, looking at his right hand that was free of bandages. He had just taken them off and planned to put them back on after his performance.

Excitement was running through his veins and he stepped out onto the stage, smiling at the thousands of faces that were anticipating his performance. His eyes travelled down to the first row where his friends were sitting but then he frowned when he only saw Ya Se and the Cai sisters. Beside Ya Se were two empty seats that were meant for Da Dong and Yu Yan. His face fell and he gulped, suddenly feeling nervous. Yu Yan... where are you?
 

~*~*~
 

Da Dong was walking back and forth at the spot where he was supposed to meet up with Yu Yan - but Yu Yan was not there. It had been over half an hour already and the two were already super late for the piano competition. "Yu Yan, where are you?" Da Dong muttered, slipping his phone into his pocket after his call was not answered. He looked at the time and noticed that Xiao Yu was going to be going on in ten minutes. "Yu Yan... you're not really leaving Xiao Yu are you?" he muttered, "You're not really standing him up, right?" he whispered, impatiently. He continued to pace back and forth, waiting for Yu Yan to appear but she still did not come.

Suddenly, Da Dong stopped abruptly. "Forget it. If Yu Yan doesn't show then I should atleast be there to support my brother," he said, before dashing down the streets rapidly.
 

~*~*~
 

Xiao Yu froze on stage. "Uh... Ding Xiao Yu?" the host asked, confused as to why the young man hadn't sat at the piano yet.

"Xiao Yu, jia you!" Ya Se cheered in a loud whisper, worried about his friend. He then turned to look at Wu Xiong who had her brows creased in worry.
"Ye Se..." she murmured.
"Mei, let's cheer him on," Yun Han told her sister before she held her thumbs up for Xiao Yu.
Wu Xiong nodded and mouthed 'Jia You' to Xiao Yu and fist pumped with a smile.

Xiao Yu averted his gaze from his friends to the large doors at the very back of the hall. Suddenly one of the doors open and Xiao Yu held his breath, hoping it was Yu Yan. A head poked out and Xiao Yu's lips flattened into a straight line. It was Da Dong. Da Dong awkwardly climbed over people and across the rows, apologising every second after bumping into people. After he managed to crawl over to his seat at the front row, he smiled encouragingly at his best friend.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ding, please start your performance," the host said.

Xiao Yu made eye contact with Da Dong. "Xiao Yu, jia you!" Da Dong exclaimed loudly, causing the audience to shush him loudly.

Nervously, Xiao Yu nodded and walked over to the seat in front of the piano. He breathed in and out slowly, focusing his eyes on the keys. Suddenly, he felt his right hand begin to throb but nevertheless, he started to play. He winced as his injured fingers applied pressure on the cold white keys but he still continued. The pain slowed him down and the intro to his piece was not in time. The chords and the right hand melody were off beat, throwing him off the whole melody.

Xiao Yu gulped. This had never happened to him before. He was so nervous that he couldn't move his right hand which led to his piece being too slow. And half way through, he forgot the rest of the piece.

"," Da Dong cursed, biting his lip, "This isn't good."
"What should we do," Ya Se whispered, "He's messing up terribly."
Wu Xiong nodded in agreement.
"I know what to do," Yun Han replied before speaking in a louder voice, "Jiang Yu Yan! You're so late!" she said.
The eyes of the three widened and they realised what she was doing.
"Yu Yan, quick! Xiao Yu has already started," Ya Se added. They didn't speak so loud that they disturbed everyone, but because they were at the front row Xiao Yu could hear them - and that was the point.

After hearing Yu Yan's name being mentioned, Xiao Yu suddenly felt a heavy stone being lifted off his head and shoulders and he felt much more relaxed. He felt a smile curl up onto his lips, thinking that Yu Yan really was there listening to him. Xiao Yu, jia you! Yu Yan is here, you have to impress her! he thought and suddenly everything came back to him: his piece and his confidence. Despite his rocky start, Xiao Yu finished his piece beautifully to the point that the crowd stood up and cheered wildly.

He exhaled in relief before turning around to bow - but then he saw the empty seat beside Da Dong. Yu Yan wasn't there. His mood dropped as a result. When he returned backstage, Da Dong and Ya Se rushed over to see him.

"Xiao Yu, you were amazing!" Da Dong exclaimed, swinging an arm around his shoulder.
"You really have professional skills," Ya Se added with a grin.
Xiao Yu scowled and removed Da Dong's arm from his shoulders. "Where's Yu Yan?" he questioned.
Da Dong and Ya Se's faces went blank.
"She didn't come, did she?" he further inquired.
Da Dong put a hand on his shoulder, "Xiao Yu, I'm sorry but I couldn’t-"
"Why did you lie to me?" KO4 asked, hurt.
"We just wanted to help you, Xiao Yu," Ya Se answered.
"That was cruel," Xiao Yu told them.
"We're sorry, Xiao Yu, but we didn't mean any harm by it," Da Dong explained.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Xiao Yu muttered, turning around, "Coming here would have wasted her time anyway." He then walked away.

"Xiao Yu, wait-"
"Egomaniac, leave him be for now," Ya Se told his brother and Da Dong nodded.
 

~*~*~
 

It was late at night and Da Dong found Yu Yan sitting alone by the canal. As he approached her from behind, he noticed that she was silent and still and only her hair was blowing in the wind.

"You know... Xiao Yu lost the competition," he began before sitting down beside her. Yu Yan didn't move or say anything. "When he didn't see you there, he froze," he continued slowly, "he really messed up his performance at the start, I thought he was dead for sure," he said with a faint but emotionless smile. "But when he heard us mention your name, he played as though it was his last time playing the piano. It was really beautiful, you should have heard it," he carried on, "But because of his mess up at the beginning, he was scored quite low," he said. Da Dong turned to look at her, "If you were there-"

"Stop," Yu Yan muttered, "I know it all already," she whispered, almost sadly. "I was there. I heard it all with my own ears," she continued, making Da Dong's eyes widen.
"You were?" he said.
"I didn't have the courage to go inside, but I could hear everything from the roof," she admitted.
"Yu Yan, why didn't you go inside? It would have meant so much to him!" Da Dong replied.
"I don't deserve to be his courage," she answered him, lifelessly. "I don't deserve to be so close to him."
Da Dong frowned, "Yu Yan, is this about you being our enemy? But this has nothing to do with it!"
"It does!" Yu Yan exclaimed, "It has everything to do with it!"
"How?" Da Dong asked before seeing tears trickle down her cheek, "Yu Yan, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Yu Yan let her tears fall. "Golden Monkey..." she whispered, "Da Dong... Xiao Yu has a debt of NT$1000000 and if he doesn't pay my father back by the end of this week, he will hurt him and his family... He will also have to leave Zhong Ji Yi Ban... That's why he's taken on so many part time jobs and this piano competition," she whispered through her sobs, "Also... my father killed his father... I can't live with this guilt every single day! It's killing me inside! ... Xiao Yu treats me so well and has done so much for me, I-I can't get close to him anymore or I'll hurt him even more," she cried.
Da Dong was speechless. He couldn't stop himself from pulling Yu Yan into a tight embrace.

"He doesn't know anything... Xiao Yu doesn't know anything and it hurts me so bad, Da Dong!" she continued to cry, "My father is also the one who wants to demolish Wang Papa's church and your house... he also has Ya Se's dad locked in a financial debt... the Tu Long Gang will go bankrupt... My father has control over your financial positions... and he threatened me with them when I told him I didn't want to help him anymore..." she explained as tears ran down her cheeks, "Da Dong I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry..." she continued to cry, drenching Da Dong's clothes with her tears.

"Yu Yan..." Da Dong murmured, rubbing her back soothingly, "It's okay... we're here for you, Zhong Ji Yi Ban is here for you."
Yu Yan shook her head, "This is my last week in Zhong Ji Yi Ban. You won't see me again after the festival," she confessed, "If I don't obey my father... he'll kill you all."
Da Dong tensed up and hugged her tighter, protectively, "We can tell Meng Zhu everything and he can protect you. No one can hurt us or you, Yu Yan. You don't have to worry about us," he reassured her. He looked down at her crying face and felt his heart hurt. Yu Yan who rarely expressed her emotions was crying so badly which showed him that she really was in pain.

"Stop being so nice to me," Yu Yan muttered, "It hurts me even more..."
"It's what friends do, Yu Yan," Da Dong replied with a small smile and for the rest of the night, Da Dong accompanied Jiang Yu Yan, giving her a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear.