Five minutes ago, Yixing

“I wouldn’t have done that if I were you.” Yixing turned and scowled slightly as he saw Yifan approach. The other members of Ruolan’s group had scattered to talk with other artists, leaving him and Yifan alone in the hall.

“What are you doing here?” He asked coldly. Yifan laughed.

“Don’t look so annoyed.” He replied, “I am a performer tonight too, so I thought I would come to visit an old friend. But I never thought that in the process, I would also see a fool in action.” Yixing frowned.

“What are you talking about?” He asked. Yifan crossed his arms.

“You left your girlfriend with a rich girl who is deeply smitten with you.” He answered, “What do you think is going to happen? Hulian isn’t known to be the most humble girl in the entertainment industry.” Yixing frowned.

“I doubt Huilian would try anything in this place of all places.” He replied, although the more he thought about it, the more Yifan seemed to be right. Yifan raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t underestimate how far a jealous woman can go, especially when she’s on the losing end.” He answered, “Besides, Ruolan is experienced enough to know her way around this world, but I can’t say the same about Huilian.” Yixing stiffened as Yifan leaned closer to him.

“Is Xiao Lan really your girlfriend?” He asked, “You don’t seem to care as much about her wellbeing as a true boyfriend would. If I were you, I would never have left, knowing the way Huilian is.” Yixing growled, irritation rising in his chest.

“I don’t need you to teach me how to love someone.” He snapped shortly. Yifan shrugged.

“Suit yourself.” The former Exo member replied, “But I’m warning you, Zhang Yixing. Ruolan is a delicate flower, an orchid that many have their eyes set on. If you fail to take good care of her, there are many others who would not hesitate to snap her up immediately.” Yifan turned his head so that his voice could only be heard by Yixing.

“And that includes me.” He added. Yixing’s jaw tightened, and he pushed Yifan away from him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” He warned, “Ruolan isn’t going anywhere.” Yifan smirked.

“That will depend on you, Zhang Yixing.” He replied calmly. Before Yixing could think of a retort, he heard a loud shriek come from inside the dressing room he had just left not long ago, followed by a loud thump. Both Yixing and Yifan took off at a run, their feet pounding against the linoleum floor. Yixing reached the door first, and he shoved it open to see Huilian on the floor, Ruolan standing less than a feet away from her.

“What’s going on?” He demanded. Without waiting for an answer, Yifan hurried to Ruolan’s side, murmuring soft questions of concern to her. Looking a little frazzled, Ruolan shook her head at whatever Yifan had asked her. Yixing felt an unfamiliar tightness wrap around his chest as he looked at Yifan’s gentle hand on Ruolan’s shoulder. It was a mixture of irritation, anger, and something else he couldn’t put his finger on. His hand twitched by his side, barely resisting the urge to slap Yifan’s hand away from Ruolan. In a moment of pettiness, he walked over to Huilian instead, helping the younger girl up.

“Are you okay, Lian’er?” He asked. Huilian’s eyes filled with tears as she buried her head into her shoulder.

“Xing Xing gege!” She wailed. Yixing swallowed uncomfortably, but patted her on the arm.

“What happened?” He inquired. Huilian hiccuped and pointed a finger at Ruolan.

“It was her!” She accused, “She told me to stay away from you, and when I refused, she pushed me to the ground!” Ruolan stared at Huilian incredulously.

“What did you just say?” She demanded, “I think you’ve got things backwards! You’re the one who insulted me and then fell all by yourself when you tried to slap me!” Yixing looked down at Huilian, who shook her head furiously.

“I never did such a thing!” She protested, “Believe me, Xing gege! I would never be so rude to a senior, much less my future sister in law!” Yixing looked back over at Ruolan, who shook her head quickly in denial of all Huilian was saying. Yixing felt torn; no one knew what had happened inside the room besides the two girls, and now they were saying opposite things. The decision of who to believe was essentially his to make. He took a deep breath and forced himself to think logically. As of now, Ruolan was only bound to be his girlfriend by contract; all the things she did as a girlfriend were only for show. Logically, this meant that she had no need to ask another girl in public to stay away from Yixing, much less push her to the floor because of it. Yixing closed his eyes briefly as he continued to think.

Besides, Lan’er isn’t a person who would resort to physical violence just to get her way. She’s someone who knows what it feels like to be hit by others, and so she would never do that to someone else, much less to a girl who isn’t even an obvious rival. No, my Lan’er is kind and gentle, logical and reasonable in all the things she does. I’ve known her for seven years now, and I’m certain that part of her has never changed. And besides…

In the darkness behind his closed eyes, Yixing could vividly see the look that had been on Ruolan’s face on the day she had left SM Entertainment six years ago. It had been full of betrayal, hurt, and disappointment, striking at his heart like a spear.

I never want to see that look on her face again, and even if I do see it, I never want to be the source of that pain.

Taking a deep breath, Yixing opened his eyes, certain of how to decide. He looked down at Huilian and carefully pushed the younger girl away from him.

“Huilian, you should learn to be polite to your seniors.” He warned, “Being rude and insulting senior singers as a newly debuted junior is not the way to survive long in this career. You should apologize to Ruolan.” Huilian spluttered in shock.

“But Xing Xing gege!” She protested indignantly, “How could you believe an outsider over me?!” Yixing looked over at Ruolan, who was staring at him with wide, shocked eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He walked over and pointedly pulled Ruolan to him and away from Yifan. Yixing reached down at clasped Ruolan’s hand tightly in his.

“Ruolan is not an outsider.” He declared firmly, “She is my woman, and the love of my life. I’ve known her for seven years, and I believe and know for a fact that she would never do something like what you’ve accused her of doing.” He took a deep breath and looked over at Ruolan.

“How can a man say that he loves a woman if he cannot even unconditionally trust her to the fullest?” He continued, “If a man cannot even trust the woman he holds close in his heart, then how can he even call himself a man?” Yixing wasn’t sure where the words were coming from; they flowed so easily from his lips, he barely even had to think about them before he spoke. Ruolan’s eyes were full of emotion as he spoke, a tiny but grateful smile slowly spreading over her lips.

“Now apologize to her.” Yixing finished firmly, his gaze narrowing at Huilian. The younger girl’s jaw dropped.

“Xing Xing gege, you simply cannot date a woman like her!” She wailed. Yixing scoffed.

“Huilian, who I date or do not date is not something you can decide.” He responded firmly, “I am, and will continue dating Ruolan, no matter what you have to say about it.” He hesitated for a moment, then turned and tilted Ruolan’s chin up towards him.

“Unless Ruolan doesn’t want me anymore, I will hold onto this woman until the end of my days.” He said, and before Ruolan could react, he pulled her into a kiss. She squeaked slightly in surprise, then quickly relaxed, her body responding almost instinctively to his touch. The same buzzing sensation from their first kiss filled his body again, the warmth of Ruolan’s body against his flooding through his chest.

It just feels so...right.

“Zhang Yixing!!” Huilian shrieked indignantly, but Yixing ignored her. After a few moments, he pulled away from Ruolan, leaving one hand on her cheek.

“Will you allow me to stay next to you, Lan’er?” He asked. A mixture of emotions filled Ruolan’s eyes as she smiled and nodded.

“Always.” She responded simply, resting her hand on top of his.

“I’ll never apologize to a witch like her!” Huilian shrieked. She turned sharply on her heel and rushed from the room, nearly causing herself to trip and fall again in the process. Yixing took Ruolan’s hand in his and lowered it so he could clasp both of her smaller hands in his grasp.

“Wu Yifan.” He said, addressing the only extra party in the room, “You’re wrong. I can protect my orchid, even better than anyone else could ever hope to do so. Don’t get any wrong ideas; I will never let go of her.”  He heard Yifan take a deep breath before exhaling with a loud sigh.

“You’d better remember the words you said today, Zhang Yixing.” Yifan warned before exiting the room, leaving Yixing and Ruolan alone at last. Yixing sighed deeply.

“Are you alright, Ruolan?” He asked softly. Ruolan nodded silently, and Yixing let out his breath slowly.

“I’m sorry, Lan’er.” He said softly, “I should have known better than to leave you alone with her. Huilian has always been attached to me, but I underestimated how far she would go. If she finds any ways to retaliate, I’ll take care of it.” Ruolan smiled faintly and shook her head.

“I was able to handle her.” She responded softly.

“And that um...kiss.” Yixing added after hesitating for a moment, “It was necessary at the moment. I hope you won’t hold it against me.” Ruolan’s hands clenched lightly in front of her before smiling faintly and shaking her head.

“I understand.” She replied, “It wasn’t the first time we kissed out of necessity anyway.” Yixing coughed awkwardly as memories of their music video kiss rushed up to his mind again and turned away before Ruolan caught sight of his cheeks turning pink. They stood in awkward silence for a few moments before Yixing squeezed her shoulder lightly.

“I’ll go find your members.” He said awkwardly, turning to go. Ruolan’s voice brought him to a stop as he walked towards the door.

“Yixing.” She called hesitantly. Yixing paused.

“Yes?” He asked. Ruolan walked up to him and tugged lightly on his sleeve.

“Thank you.” She said softly, “For trusting me.” Yixing smiled and turned to look at the rookie singer.

“I was only speaking the truth.” He replied, “You don’t have to thank me.” Ruolan smiled faintly and nodded. Yixing felt his heart skip a beat as he looked at the smile on her face. It was warm, gentle, and for the first time in what felt like forever, her smile was genuine.

“And…” She bit her lip as she hesitated briefly, “This may sound strange, but those words that you said to Huilian...where did they come from? Was it a result of your acting or…?” Yixing froze as her words sunk in. Had Ruolan caught onto something while he had been talking? Had she also felt the ease with which his words had flowed, the slight tension that had crackled in the air as they had kissed, not just the first, but the second time as well? And if she had...what did it mean, both to him and to Ruolan?

“I...of course.” He replied lamely, “Of course. Why would it have been anything else?” For one second, disappointment flashed across Ruolan’s face, but she masked it quickly as she pressed a small smile on her face.

“Of course it was.” She confirmed, “Why would it have been otherwise? Forget I asked, I’m not sure where that question even came from.” Yixing laughed awkwardly and patted her on the arm.

“See you later.” He said, leaving the room before Ruolan could say anything else. Yixing sighed deeply and leaned his head back against the door as he shut it behind him. A whirlwind of emotions rushed through his body, heightening the confusion that was growing inside of him.

I have to get my emotions straight, and soon.

____________________________________________________________________________

A few days later, Seoul

“Earth to Zhang Yixing!” Yixing jumped as a bottle of water slammed down onto the table in front of him.

“What are you doing?” He grumbled as he looked up into Suho’s stern gaze. The Exo leader was standing in front of Yixing with a frown on his face, along with a few of the other members.

“Where has your mind floated off to?” Suho asked, “Focus!” Baekhyun grinned.

“Hyung, his mind must be occupied with Ruolan!” He teased. Yixing frowned.

“That’s not funny Baek!” He protested, “You know how my relationship with Ruolan is supposed to be.” Still though, s had been right. He had indeed be thinking about Ruolan, and how he was supposed to sort out his feelings about her. It had been a few days since the incident in China, but the question had only become more pressing in his mind as time passed by. Chen chuckled.

“So what?” He asked, “If you still like Ruolan, then go for it. Who says a contract relationship can’t turn into a real one?”

“We all have eyes, Yixing.” Suho said, “We’ve seen the way you’ve been treating her lately, and we all know what happened while you were in China a few days ago. If you don’t make your move soon, you might lose her to someone else.” Yixing scoffed and crossed his arms.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He protested halfheartedly. Suho shook his head and pulled Yixing to his feet.

“Come on, we have to prepare for rehearsals.” He said, waving to the other members wandering around the dressing room. As Yixing rose to his feet, he heard the loud synchronized greetings from Eight For Fate coming from further down the hall. The sound of footsteps came down the hall, and before long, Ruolan and her group appeared by the doorway to the dressing room and bowed in greeting. Yixing froze as their gazes met, and he felt his cheeks grow hot as he recalled the incident that had occurred. Ruolan’s cheeks turned slightly pink as well before she smiled politely and bowed.

“We’re going to rehearse for our stage now.” She said, “Please cheer us on!” Suho grinned.

“Of course we will cheer you on.” He responded. The rookie girl group left, but Yixing’s gaze never left Ruolan even as she had her back turned to him.

“Yah!” Suho yanked Yixing back into the empty space in the middle of the dressing room they had cleared out for practice. Yixing grinned apologetically.

“Sorry hyung.” He said.

“You can pursue your girl later, after we perform.” Suho teased. Yixing laughed and gave his leader a light shove.

“Oh shush.” He replied.

————————————————————————————————

A little while later

The voices of nine boys filled the air as the members of Exo sang to their comeback song as they practiced.

“I think that was good.” Suho announced as they finished another round of practice, “We just have to make sure that-” His voice cut off as there was suddenly the sound of a loud boom, sending some of the members jumping in surprise. Sehun’s eyes were wide.

“What was that?” He asked. A staff member appeared at the door, and Suho spoke quickly to the man before returning to s.

“One of the stage sparklers malfunctioned and exploded.” He reported, “We’re going to have to stay here until they assess the damage.” Yixing turned to look at the television that hung in the corner of the room. Since it showed the stage, they had turned down the volume to focus on their practice, and now all he could see was smoke filling the stage and clouding the camera view. He froze as Ruolan’s voice rang through his head.

“We’re going to go rehearse for our stage now.”

“Hyung.” He called to Suho as he turned around, “Who was on stage for their rehearsal when the sparkler exploded?” Suho bit his lip, a grave expression filling his face.

“Tell me!” Yixing insisted. Suho sighed.

“Eight For Fate.” He replied. Yixing felt himself jolt physically, his head beginning to spin as he reeled from the response.

Sparkler exploding...middle of one of the rehearsals...assess the damage…

Fragments of thoughts ran through his mind in quick succession, but one word stood out as he ran for the door, terror striking at his chest.

Ruolan!