That night, Jiang Yu Yan stared at the unconscious faces of the Blue Pickle students she had beaten up in a hospital. A sinister smirk found its way onto her face as she held out her hand which glowed with yi neng. She held it above each student, absorbing every single battle point and ounce of yi neng in their bodies and then transferring it to a cylinder. "40,000 battle points. Considering there's 11 of them, I expected more," she tutted before opening a nearby window, "Oh well, I'll take what I can get." She pulled up her hood and then jumped out.

 

~*~*~

Monday arrived quickly and Xiao Yu was walking to school with his brothers. "How should we thank Yu Yan?" he asked.
"A surprise maybe?" Da Dong suggested, "She saved our lives so it has to be something big."
"What can you give a blind person?" Ya Se asked, "I could always get my men to buy her some expensive jewellery or something, but I don't think she'll appreciate it."
"We can't get her any material items because she won't be able to see them," Xiao Yu spoke, "So what exactly will she appreciate? I don't think she would even want a thank you present."
"Wang Da Dong's gratitude should be enough right?" Da Dong asked.
"I don't think she cares about your status, Egomaniac." Ya Se laughed.
"Wait." Xiao Yu stopped abruptly, "I know what to get her." he then turned around and began to run in the opposite direction, "Don't wait for me!" he called out to his friends who watched him in confusion.
 

~*~*~

Jiang Yu Yan entered the classroom through the back entrance and sat down quietly. As soon as she did, several party poppers went off in front of her.
Jumping from shock, she scowled as she covered her ears, "Wang Da Dong, what do you think you're doing?!" she hissed.
Da Dong didn't reply and instead walked to the front of the classroom.

"Everyone, listen up!" he slammed his hand down on the teacher's desk to gain his classmates' attention. "On Friday evening, Jiang Yu Yan saved Xiao Yu, Narcissist and myself in a fight against Blue Pickle High," he explained, "I want to express my thanks by officially recognising Jiang Yu Yan as a member of Zhong Ji Yi Ban so I expect all of you to as well!"

Murmurs flew about the room and all eyes were on Yu Yan. Jiang Yu Yan stood up with irritation radiating off of her, "You're so annoying. I already told you I didn't do it for you." she spat, "And I was already a member of Zhong Ji Yi Ban according to the papers."
"You're so ungrateful!" Sha Jie exclaimed, "Da Dong never thanks anyone like that which shows that he truly values what you did for him, why can't you be nice about it?"
"Be nice?" Yu Yan laughed, "This is Zhong Ji Yi Ban, not some friendship club."
Sha Jie clenched her teeth as Yu Yan threw her own words back at her - she really wasn't going to get on with such a girl even if Da Dong somehow managed to.

"As long as you know that we're thankful, then I don't mind how you take it." Da Dong said, "I value your loyalty to us."
"Tch, whatever," Yu Yan replied before leaving the classroom.

 

~*~*~

Xiao Yu hurried into school, holding onto a pink and yellow stripy paper bag. He was hurrying down the corridor when he heard odd piano noises coming from the music room. Curious, he stopped and entered the room to see who was making such strange tunes.

"Yu Yan?" he blurted out, watching her dig her fingers into random piano keys.
Upon hearing his voice, she turned around, "What do you want?"
Xiao Yu panted and leaned against the door frame to catch his breath, "What are you doing here? Class is about to start."
"That's none of your business, why are you here?" she questioned, resuming her random piano playing.
"I was just walking to class and I heard you play." he answered, "Are you not coming to class?" he asked.
Jiang Yu Yan huffed, annoyed, "How will attending a class where I can't take notes benefit me? Listening to that stupid teacher talk for hours will just put me to sleep."

Xiao Yu was taken aback slightly from her sudden spasm. "I'm sorry?" he didn't know what to say, "Maybe if you talk to the principal he might install some sort of teaching system with braille?"
She laughed bitterly, "Braille? How will that help me?"

Xiao Yu then approached her, hearing a hint of sadness in her voice, "I see with sound, how will braille help me? I want to see not feel," she continued turning her back to him, "Do people really think blind people are satisfied with things like braille? Well I’m not, I'm deprived of vision which you people take for granted - I don't even remember what the sky looks like. All these colours I was once able to see are just fragments of blurred memories, I can't see them anymore and I've almost forgotten what they look like," she ranted feeling a sudden blow of frustration. She didn't know why she was opening up to him but she wanted to inflict her pain on someone else so that she wasn't the only one feeling this way.

Xiao Yu listened quietly, feeling sorry for her. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "I can't imagine how lonely you must feel."
"Lonely?" she repeated, "Don't say that with pity, that's the wrong word to describe it. I don't need friends. I'm fine on my own; I'm an independent woman; when you've been forced to look out for yourself your whole life it's hard to rely on other people."

Xiao Yu didn't reply. "Are you not going to leave me alone?" Yu Yan asked, "You're late for class."
"I didn't think you'd care." Xiao Yu replied.
Yu Yan kissed her teeth, "I don't. Your presence just bothers me."

Xiao Yu ignored her response and sat down next to her, placing the paper bag on top of the piano. "Hey, what are you doing?" she barked, earning a small smile from Ding Xiao Yu, who then began tapping away on the black and white keys, creating a soft melody.

Yu Yan's glare fell when the boy next to her did not respond but continued to play piano. Xiao Yu closed his eyes and he played gracefully as she listened to him quietly. The two sat in silence for an hour, listening to Xiao Yu's peaceful tune that calmed down Jiang Yu Yan. The melody comforted her and when she closed her eyes she could see the blue horizon stretched over her world with the sun shining warmly in a corner. She had never seen the ocean in her life but she could hear it gushing in her daydream. The scene that played out in her head was so vivid and had such rich and vibrant colours that she felt as though she could see again but that hopefulness came to an end when Xiao Yu stopped playing.

"What was that song called?" she asked slowly as Xiao Yu exercised his fingers.
"Yi Ge Ren Liu Lang ['Wandering Alone/Travel Solo' by Fahrenheit]." he stated.
"It was nice," she admitted, finding it hard to ignore the strange and weak flutter in her heart. "But why would you waste your time to play it? I never asked you to do so and never will."
"I'm glad you liked it," he responded with a warm smile, ignoring her question, "I hope you were able to imagine your blue sky."

The softness and sincerity in his voice caused her to stutter in embarrassment, "I-I don't need you to care about such small things, you little fish," she exclaimed, "Not seeing isn't much of a big deal anyway, I've been blind for most of my life so I'm used to it," she lied, trying to regain her cold composure, "What's in that bag anyway?" she questioned, in attempt to change the subject.

Xiao Yu picked it up, "It's a raspberry cheesecake bagel this time," he told her, taking her hand and placing the bag in her palm.
"Does it look like I want it?" Yu Yan sneered, "And don't randomly touch me!"
Xiao Yu got up to leave, on his face was a smile, "Thank you for helping us in the process of helping yourself," he said, knowing how she would react if he thanked her for saving them directly. "Enjoy," he said before he left the music room.

Yu Yan was left with her face scrunched up as she shoved the bagel into in displeasure. Xiao Yu was so persistent in trying to get close to her even when she didn't want him to. He even played her a song for a whole hour, putting her first before his education. Why would he bother with her? Why did he bother with her? She chewed angrily, trying to ignore her fluttering heart. Her heart was as cold as ice and now it was wavering just because a boy played her a song? Just because he allowed her to see the sky again? She refused to accept that at that moment, the flame deep inside Xiao Yu had caused a small crack to form in the barrier of ice around her heart.

"Stupid fish," she mumbled, eating her bagel.