"Cheers!"

Da Dong, Ya Se, Hong Guang, Lei Ke Si, the Cai sisters, Ella and Selina were sitting together around a large table filled with food, celebrating Zhong Ji Yi Ban's success at the Winter Festival. They were all enjoying themselves in the classroom, chatting and laughing happily. The festival was still going on but it had been a few hours since their performance and the sun had started to set so they decided it was the best time to celebrate. So whilst Da Dong and Ya Se changed into their spare clothes, the others had gotten food and drinks.

"Hey do you think we should have waited for Yu Yan and Xiao Yu?" Da Dong asked abruptly.
Ya Se laughed, "We shouldn't disturb them," he said.
"He's right, after Xiao Yu left the stage mid way through the song, I'm sure something big happened between them," Lei Ke Si added.
Ella giggled, "Do you think they're together now?"
"Please, Xiao Yu is too scared to confess," Da Dong chuckled.
"Yu Yan wouldn't confess either," Yun Han commented, "It's not like her to express her emotions."
"But even if neither of them confessed, I'm sure they are still together somewhere," Selina spoke.

Suddenly, the door opened and Xiao Yu stood at the doorway, still in his costume.

"Eh? It's Mr. Love~!" Hong Guang teased.
"Oooo~!" they all chorused.
"Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao appears," Ella giggled.
"Hey Mr. Love where's your girl?" Lei Ke Si added, jokingly.
"You must have been busy if you still haven't changed," Ya Se continued with a smile.

But Xiao Yu had a serious look on his face. Suddenly, he stormed over to them and punched Da Dong's in the face.

Instantly, everyone was standing up in shock whereas Da Dong fell to the floor. He stood back up, touching his throbbing jaw in confusion.
"Hey Xiao Yu, what's gotten into you?" Ya Se asked, worriedly. But Xiao Yu ignored him and grabbed Da Dong by the collar of his shirt before slamming him against the wall, still clutching his collar.
"Did you know?" he hissed in an almost sinister voice.
Da Dong noticed how sharp and cold his brother's eyes were and how he now looked like a deadly demon. "What are you talking about?" he asked but his voice got quieter as Xiao Yu's face darkened.

"DID YOU KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT YU YAN?!" he roared in his face. It was then when Da Dong noticed the red tint to his eyes.
"Have you been crying?" he asked but he was silenced when Xiao Yu held up his fist, ready to strike him again.
Ya Se grabbed hold of Xiao Yu and tried to pull him away, "Calm down! Xiao Yu what are you doing?!" he exclaimed.
Angrily, Xiao Yu pushed him away before glaring at Ya Se Wang. "You knew too, didn't you?!" he snarled, "You all knew that Yu Yan was our enemy but you all kept it from me!" he yelled at them all.
Da Dong's eyes widened, "Xiao Yu-"
"Shut the hell up!" Xiao Yu snapped, "I'm sick of all the lies! I'm sick of this all!" he exclaimed before pointing his finger at Da Dong and stepping closer to him, "You knew... Da Dong you knew how I felt about her... You all did... But no one told me the truth about her! No one stopped me from falling into this pit of darkness! I feel so betrayed: betrayed by you all!" he continued to yell in frustration with tears pooling in his eyes.

"Xiao Yu..." Da Dong trailed off.
"You knew she was leaving Zhong Ji Yi Ban but you kept me in the dark... why? Why does no one tell me important things like this?!" Xiao Yu asked at a normal indoor volume. He breathed heavily, trying to control himself.
"Xiao Yu, it was in your best interest-" Hong Guang was interrupted.
"Best interest my head!" Xiao Yu yelled, "I was played! Nothing between us was genuine! How am I supposed to deal with the pain?! I believed and trusted her but because no one thought it was a good idea to warn me about her, I got hurt in the end!"

Da Dong pulled Xiao Yu into a loose hug, "You're wrong Xiao Yu! Yes Yu Yan is an enemy but she loves you! She's just protecting you-"
Xiao Yu pulled away from him, "I don't believe you," he spat before glaring at his brothers, "I don't trust any of you anymore. You all betrayed me - some so-called brothers you are," he scoffed before leaving the room, leaving everyone else staring at each other lost for words.

"This is really bad..." Wu Xiong muttered.
"What do we do...?" Lei Ke Si asked.
"We have to fix things," Selina replied.
"But first," Yun Han began, "Wang Da Dong, you owe us all an explanation. Yu Yan being an enemy is news to me."

And then Wang Da Dong explained everything to his friends, about Yu Yan's mission, her father - everything.
 

~*~*~
 

Xiao Yu unlocked the door to his flat later on that night but as soon as he pushed open the door, Yu Yan's scent poured out. Immediately, Xiao Yu shut the door and turned his back to the door and leaned against it.

"Yu Yan..." he mumbled, sliding down onto the floor. He stared blankly at the ground, feeling lost. He was heartbroken, betrayed, confused and angry to the point that he didn't know what he was really feeling at that moment. He lifted up his wrist to look at the blue bracelet that dangled and he sighed. I feel so pathetic, he thought, I can't believe I was played by her... Anger was kindling in his heart wich sparked the birth of hatred towards her.

"You don't even know that my father is the one who murdered your father and that he is the reason you were in debt."

He clenched his fist tightly as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "Like father like daughter," he muttered, "You've hurt both me and my father," he said to no one in particular. My father suffered alone because of your damn father and because of you, I suffered. How can I continue trusting you?! He slammed his fist into the ground, creating a dent. He ignored the pain in his knuckles and just leaned his head against the door. Ding Xiao Yu... you were betrayed by Jiang Yu Yan... by your brothers.... who do you go to now? He wiped away his single tear and forced himself to stand up, "Duan Chang Ren," he concluded and then slowly went down the stairs to find him.
 

~*~*~
 

Yu Yan was alone in her father's laboratory that night when he was asleep. She had removed her glass eyes as her tears had irritated her eye sockets to the point that she couldn't wear the glass eyes anymore.

She sighed as she came across the glass chamber that held the dead body of Jiang Yu Er. Her body was surrounded by a thick jelly like liquid that preserved it. Jiang Yu Er looked exactly like Jiang Yu Yan except that she had more of a matured face and longer hair. "Mother..." she muttered, placing her hand on the glass, "I'm sacrificing so much to let you and father be happy again..." she spoke, "But will it be worth it?" she ended in whisper. A deep sigh escaped her lips and she remained silent for a few moments. "I wish I never joined Zhong Ji Yi Ban," she mumbled, "I wouldn't have gotten close with Da Dong, Ya Se and Xiao Yu and I wouldn't have..." she paused and slowly took her hand away from the glass, "...fallen in love with Ding Xiao Yu..." she whispered. Her hand then went over her chest and held her hand over her heart, "Does father feel a pain much worse that this when he thinks of you, mother?" she asked before putting both her hands in her pockets.
 

~*~*~

 

"Duan Chang Ren, I apologise for disturbing you so late at night but thank you for letting me stay the night," Xiao Yu bowed his head slightly as he talked to Duan Chang Ren at his house.
"Oh no, it's nothing Little Friend Ding Xiao Yu!" Duan Chang Ren replied, "It's quite boring with it just being me and my wife at home. I should thank you! And also, I understand your feelings, you can stay here as long as you need to," he smiled kindly at him and Xiao Yu returned his smile.
"Thank you," he thanked.
"If you need anyone to talk to, I am here," Duan Chang Ren reminded him and Xiao Yu thanked him again before yawning. "Get some sleep now, little friend," he added and Xiao Yu nodded before Duan Chang Ren switched the lights off in the bedroom and exited.

Xiao Yu closed his eyes with a sad and tired sigh. He stared up at the ceiling in the darkness before his eyelids drooped over his eyes and he drifted off into a deep sleep.

[Xiao Yu's Dream]

He was standing at altar again, wearing his wedding suit. His eyes widened as he realised it was this dream again. He didn't want it to continue but it did.

He turned around to see Yu Yan walk towards him, wearing that same beautiful white dress, holding that same bouquet of flowers and smiling that same innocent smile at him. He felt a pang of pain in his heart. She walked towards him and as usual, his surroundings began to fade away into darkness. But this time, the roses in Yu Yan's hands turned black and the leaves rotted away before the whole bouquet turned into sharp thorns. Yu Yan's happy face turned into a dark smirk before she threw the thorns at Xiao Yu. She laughed menacingly at him as the faces of his brothers appeared behind her and they started laughing. It wasn’t happy and joyous laughter – it was a laugh of mockery.

They were all laughing at him.

His fancy clothes disappeared and were replaced by his uniform and the same happened for Yu Yan and his brothers. But this time, it was Xiao Yu who fell into the abyss of darkness - alone.

[End of His Dream]

Xiao Yu sat up quickly, breathing heavily. Beads of sweat were running down his forehead and his heart was pounding furiously.