I stare at Tao as he stares at Mom in shock. This whole situation was getting too close for comfort. All I tried to do was hold Mom back as she forcibly insisted we visit Tao at the company to surprise him. I think all she wanted to do was see Wu Fan’s face again.

“Wu Fan!” she exclaims, stretching her arms to gather him into a hug. It was pretty awkward, seeing as his tall frame was quite hard to wrap around, especially one with a small stature.

Tao walks out of the elevators and drags me to the front desk.

“What is that all about?” he hisses, sharply jerking his head backwards notion. “Why is Mom here?”

“She insisted on coming here – she wanted to surprise you.” I say, feeling flustered. “I’m sorry – I called her yesterday when I was feeling jumbled and messed up. I was crying because of that meeting again and I just needed someone to talk to. I think she wants to see him – she still cares for him.”

Tao rolls his eyes and walks away sighing.

“Tao Zi baby wait! Let’s all have dinner together tonight – my treat!” Mom mentions, beaming – something we haven’t seen in a long time. I mean, not since…. Yeah. Her arm is looped around Wu Fan’s long and slender arm. Something that she – again – used to do before… before he left.

“Whatever,” Tao grumbles and walks out, dragging me along with him. I shoot Mom an ‘I-told-you-so’ face before walking out with Tao.

“Who possessed Mom?” Tao asks, frowning deeply. “Why is she being so nice to him?” he asks again, facing me. I shrug. I honestly don’t know the answer.

If anything, Tao and I were probably the only ones feeling the way we do. We were still angry that he left us; feeling betrayed because his actions made us think that we were unworthy of his presence. What made him so righteous that he could leave without us knowing? Did we mean so little to him?

I rub Tao’s back and rested my head on his shoulder.

“Calm down, Tao Zi – Mom’s here now, so let’s enjoy our time together, okay? She’ll be here until your debut in Beijing.” I state, watching Tao’s body melt into a comfortable slouch. He pouted like the little kid he is and faced me.

“I don’t want to feel like this anymore, jie. It’s tiring and I just want to give my full concentration on my debut.” He tells me, before rubbing his eyes. That was something he did when he couldn’t control his thoughts.

“Then forgive him.”

Mom’s voice rattled us out of our little bubble and we both stood rigid at her response. She was alone, thank god, but she looked angry at us.

“What is the point of holding a silly grudge when it’s been so long? Children, he left for a legitimate reason. Let’s be glad that he’s safe and sound now.” She explains, holding our hands. I understood what she was saying, but I couldn’t comprehend why she was saying such things.

I didn’t want to argue with my mother, but I couldn’t contain my anger bubbling inside of me.

“Oh yeah, is that what you really want us to do? After all that he put us through – all the worry, all the calls and advertisements to find him? After all the death scares and my depression? You want me to forgive him as if he did nothing wrong? Mom, let me remind you that you sent Tao and I here because YOU couldn’t even deal with your own emotions. Open your eyes Mother – forgiveness doesn’t come back easily. And he will have to earn not only forgiveness, but respect from me. Understand where I’m coming from – I loved him and he just walked away from me. Let’s see how you deal with that.”

I flung her arm away from me walked away from Tao and my mother, not knowing which direction I was heading to. I had to walk away before I started crying – which was something I was doing a lot these days. I didn’t mean to explode in front of her, but I couldn’t help myself.

I felt guilty for saying those words to my mother, but at the same time, I felt happier that I had said those words out loud. It was as if a burden had been lifted up from my shoulders. But I still couldn’t help the tears from falling. I was trembling so hard that my knees gave way and I landed on the pavement like a sack of potatoes.

“Zi Ying?” a soft voice called my name out and I hugged myself tighter. I didn’t want anyone to see me right now. “Hey, Zi Ying, it’s me, Yi Xing,”

Yi Xing? – As in Zhang Yi Xing, Tao’s band mate? I look up and there he was, squatting next to me with a bag of groceries in his hand. He smiles, showing off his dimple before using the back of his hand to wipe the wet streaks on my cheeks.

“Don’t cry – you’ll make me cry too,” he adds, chuckling. I couldn’t help but smile at that. That was something I used to say to Tao whenever he cried. “What are you doing out here? I didn’t think that you were a market sort of girl,”

I shook my head and stood up with the help of Yi Xing. “It’s nothing, I just needed a walk,” I reply.

“Of course, want me to walk with you?” he offers, and for once I don’t find myself disagreeing.

Yi Xing and I walk around the area – taking the littler alleyways that seem to be much quieter than the populated city streets. He talks about his life in Changsha and how he moved here, and I talk about my University life and how Tao always makes fun of me, even though he’s the younger one.

“So I heard you and Tao used to know Wu Fan Ge back in China,” he mentions and I stop walking. My face and body have gone rigid and my mind goes blank. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, I understand,” he quickly adds, placing a warm hand on my shoulder.

That’s all it takes for me to start breathing normally again. I thank Yi Xing as he nods back.

“Sometimes people need to have secrets of their own, you know? That’s what makes them so interesting for outsiders – they want to know more and more,” he says, smiling, his dimple showing again.

“You might be right,” I say, laughing.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter~ I'm trying to get up to 10 chapters~!