A/N: The Spring Festival (春节) is also known as Chinese New Year. The West Lake (西湖) and the Broken Bridge (断桥) are two famous tourist locations in Hangzhou. Both have very extensive histories and are mentioned in many Chinese stories and legends. Also, the Broken Bridge is, in fact, not broken. It is only named that way.

Winter break has arrived, and I'm stuck here in Hangzhou. I can't even go back home to spend the Spring Festival with my parents. This winter holiday sure is going to be a lonely one.

I sighed and looked around as I walked along the West Lake. All was quiet as the usual crowds of tourists were nowhere to be found. The cloudy sky and bare trees were perfectly reflected in the lake's clear water.

"Well, at least the scenery is beautiful and it isn't freezing outside."

I adjusted my shoulder bag strap and then stuffed my hands in my pockets as I continued walking. With each step forward, I took in my surroundings and tried to forget about my loneliness. But when I reached the Broken Bridge, a man at a booth stopped me.

"Miss, would you like to have your fortune read?" asked the man. He waved a fan and his beard as he eagerly waited for a reply.

"Don't you feel cold out here? You're even waving a fan."

He laughed and said, "No matter what kind of weather there is, people will need to have their fortunes read. And you, miss, I can tell something good is coming your way."

"What?"

"Come and write your name down, and I will tell you what good thing is coming for you."

The man placed a sheet a paper in front of him on the table and dipped a brush in ink. He held the brush toward me and beckoned me to take it.

I usually don't take take fortune-telling to heart, but this man was sitting outside in the cold and had finally found a customer. The least I could do was to cheer him up, and what was there for me to lose?

I grabbed the brush and wrote my name down. The fortune teller picked up the paper and examined the three characters carefully.

"Wu Ying Jie, what a beautiful name. A girl who reflects pureness.“

He continued to look at the paper, tracing the characters with his finger. He then looked up and asked, "Have you heard of Bai Su Zhen?"

"Um, yes," I answered. "From The Legend of White Snake."

"Correct. One rainy day, Bai Su Zhen bumped into Xu Xian on the Broken Bridge, and the two fell in love. Despite the obstacles facing them, their love never faded."

I nodded in agreement, but I was confused. What did this classic story have to do with my fortune?

"Miss," the fortune teller said with a smile, "congratulations! True love is on it's way!"

"Tr-true love?"

"Yes! It's all here!" the man exclaimed while pointing at the paper. "True love is on the way!"

I stood there, surprised.

True love? Could it be... No, of course not. This fortune teller must just be making stuff up.

I reached into my pocket and asked, "How much for the fortune?"

"No, no! This is free!" he answered as he waved his hands in front of him. "I wouldn't charge for such a great fortune!"

"But–"

"I'm honored to have read such a great fortune! Really!"

"Well, okay then. Um, thank you."

I took a few steps on the Broken Bridge, but I turned my head to look back at the fortune teller. He smiled and bowed his head. I then looked forward and continued on my way.

"That was strange, really strange."

As I walked, I suddenly felt a drop of rain fall on my face. I automatically ped my bag and stuffed my hand into it, but I didn't feel an umbrella. I searched my bag, moving my wallet and other things to the sides, but there was no umbrella.

"I usually always have it with me, but why do I not have it today? Of all the days to forget an umbrella, it had to be today. Gosh, I'm such an idiot."

I zipped my bag and readjusted its strap on my shoulder. I took a breath and looked up at the sky.

"Maybe... Maybe it will just sprinkle for a bit and then stop."

Right after I finished my sentence, rain started pouring down.

"Really?" I said in disbelief.

Knowing that the fortune teller wouldn't have anyone to help him pack up his booth, I turned to go help him. But when I looked in his direction, the man and his booth had disappeared.

"What the... He... That quickly..."

After being confused for a few seconds, I realized that I was still standing in the rain and that my clothes and bag were getting wet. I held my hands above my head to block the rain and proceeded to run across the Broken Bridge. But when I reached the middle of the bridge, I bumped into someone holding an umbrella.

"Ow..." I said as I rubbed my forehead.

"Are you okay?" the person asked.

"I'm fine," I replied. "I'm so–"

I wanted to apologize for bumping into him, but shock quickly overtook me.

The man I had bumped into was Wang Zi. Out of all the people I could bump into, it just happened to be Wang Zi... In this weather... On this bridge...

"M-my fortune..." I muttered.

"What?" Wang Zi asked.

“I… Um, n-never mind,” I sputtered. “Wha-what are you doing here, Wang Zi?”

“I should be asking you that question. What are you doing here, running in the rain?”

“Just taking a walk, but I didn't know it was going to rain. I usually have an umbrella with me, but I somehow forgot it today.”

“Were you zoning out again when you were going out?"

"I..."

"Always forgetting things. Some things never change, Gui Gui,” Wang Zi said with a smirk.

I glared at him and crossed my arms. “Yeah, some things never change, Prince of Arrogance. I won’t bother your presence any longer, Your Majesty.”

I took a bow and turned to walk away, but I suddenly felt a hand grab my arm, pulling me back. The next thing I knew, my face was inches away from Wang Zi’s. I could feel the warmth of his breath, see the deepness of his eyes, and hear the nervousness of my beating heart. I tried to take a step back, but his hand firmly gripped onto my arm.

“Do you plan on going home soaking wet?” he asked.

“Huh?”

"You don't have an umbrella, remember?"

"Then... Then what should I do?"

"Stay by my side."

My jaw dropped as I said, "What?"

"Gui Gui, stay by the side."

My eyes widened as the rest of my body froze.

What... Does he know what he's saying?

"Gui Gui!" Wang Zi said as he flicked my forehead.

I instinctively flinched and said, "Hey! What was that for?"

"If you don't want to get wet, stay by my side. I can't let you go running around soaking wet."

Wang Zi turned and started walking away. Not wanting to get wet, I had no other choice but to follow. We walked side by side in silence. When we exited the perimeter of the West Lake, Wang Zi took a right instead of a left, heading in the direction opposite of the way to my apartment.

"Um, Wang Zi," I peeped. "You're walking me home, right? You're heading in the wrong direction."

"Who said I was walking you home?"

Before I could say anything, Wang Zi placed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to his side. When I turned my head to look at him, he just smiled.

"Honey, you should stay by my side so you don't get wet," he said as his smile turned into a smirk. "I'll be so sad if you catch a cold."

Has he gone crazy or am I going crazy?

I felt a mixture of shock and happiness as I stared at the scene in front of me. Wang Zi had taken me to an arcade, an empty arcade. I remembered all the times that I had come to an arcade to play, but it was either extremely crowded or my favorite games had really long lines of people waiting to play. I never imagined that there would be a day when an arcade would be completely empty.

"Well, are you just going to stare or play some games?" Wang Zi said.

Being curious, I asked, "You were planning to take me to an arcade?"

"Who said I planned to take you?" he quickly snapped. "Since the Spring Festival is coming, I figured that not many people would be in the arcade. I was planning to come alone, but since I met you on the way here, I thought that it would be more fun coming with someone else."

"Really?" I asked, doubting him.

Wang Zi defiantly crossed his arms and replied, "Of course."

"Aw, Wang Zi is so lonely," I quipped, making a sympathetic expression. "How pitiful!"

"I'm lonely?" He took a step toward me and added, "I'm with my girlfriend, aren't I?"

"You!"

Wang Zi just looked at me with a raised brow, waiting for me to continue.

Not wanting to argue, I took a breath and said, "Go play something!"

Without another word, we separated and went to opposite sides of the arcade.

Being in the arcade was like a dream come true. There was a myriad of games, and I wanted to play every single one. After giving a game a couple tries, I then moved on to the next one. Although this made gameplay short, I had lots of fun doing it. This process repeated and repeated, but it was brought to an abrupt stop when I met a certain someone at a multiplayer duck hunting game.

Wang Zi took a quick glance at me, but he then entered some change into the game machine. He picked up the fake rifle and adjusted his grip on it.  

"Um, Wang Zi, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Playing a game," he answered while placing the fake rifle down. He turned to look at me and said, "You can play with me if you want, unless you're scared of losing to me."

"Scared of losing to you? Hahaha!" I scoffed. I immediately put my money in the machine and grasped the other toy rifle. "We'll see who the real winner is."

"Let's go then."

As we played the game, we were neck in neck. Wang Zi would lead by a point or two, but I always managed to tie our scores. I nudged his arm several times to make him miss, but he just nudged me back.

After a couple minutes of gameplay passed, we were heading to the final seconds of the game. We were tied at 34 points, and we both knew there would only be one duck left. Not wanting to miss a chance at the winning point, we went silent and concentrated on the screen. Right when the final duck appeared, we fired at the screen at the same time. I closed my eyes, slightly afraid of seeing the outcome, but I decided to open them a few seconds later.

"Player 2 wins!" said the game machine.

Player 2 won the game. I won the game.

"Yay!" I said as I jumped up and down in excitement.

“You were just lucky," Wang Zi said while placing the toy rifle down.

I mischievously stuck out my tongue in response. After putting my rifle down, I turned to him and mockingly smiled.

"Fine, I admit it. You won," he said. "I guess that means you will get a prize."

"A prize?" I asked as my eyes twinkled with excitement. "What kind of prize?"

Wang Zi suddenly took a step toward me. I instinctively tried to take a step backward, but I ended up bumping into the arcade game machine. He continued to come closer and closer. My hands gripped on the edge of the machine as I leaned back, but he placed his hands next to mine on the game machine, his face leaning toward mine. My heart stopped as he gazed into my eyes.

"Like this," he said.

Wang Zi leaned in even closer. His eyes scanned my face as I began to feel hot. He then tilted his head, almost... almost as if he was about to kiss me. Panicking, I turned my head away and closed my eyes. I could hear his breathing as his face slightly brushed against mine.

"Gui Gui..." he whispered into my ear. "Lunch is on me."

I immediately opened my eyes and looked at Wang Zi as he laughed and stepped back.

"Why are you turning red? What did you think I was going to do?" he asked.

"I... You..." I sputtered, holding my cheeks to hide my redness and my embarrassment.

Leaning your face so close to mine... What else was I supposed to think?

I observed Wang Zi as I ate my bowl of beef noodles. He was just eating his own bowl, but something seemed off.

Protecting me from the rain, taking me to the arcade, acting so strangely... Why is he being like this?

"Gui, why are you looking at me?" Wang Zi asked.

"I..." I muttered as I turned my gaze to my noodles. "I was just curious..."

"Curious about what?"

"Um, about why... Why..."

Although I wanted to know why he was being weird, why he was teasing me, but I couldn't just say ask him outright.

"Uh, why aren't you in Taipei? Shouldn't you be celebrating the Spring Festival with your family at home?"

"Why would I want to spend the Spring Festival in an empty house?"

"An empty house?"

Wang Zi placed his chopsticks down and said, "No one is going to be home, so why would I want to celebrate it alone?"

"Oh."

"But how about you? Why are you still here in Hangzhou, instead of going back to Taiwan?"

"Unlike you, I'm not that rich. I can't just fly back and forth. I haven't spent a Spring Festival with my parents since I started studying here."

"Really? Looks like the Spring Festival will be a sad and lonely day for the both of us."

"Not if we celebrate it together!"

Suddenly realizing what I had just said, I bit the tips of my chopsticks as I silently cursed at myself for blurting that out.

"Okay."

"Wh-what?" I asked as my jaw dropped.

"Let's celebrate the Spring Festival together. If we can't celebrate it with family, we can always celebrate it with friends. I mean, celebrating it with a friend is better than being alone, right?"

Still shocked by what I was hearing, I just looked at him and said nothing.

"Only if you don't mind spending it with me, of course."

"No, no! I don't mind at all!" I quickly replied.

"I guess it's settled then. I'll call you on New Year's Eve before I go pick you up at your place."

"Okay."

We then continued eating our noodles in silence, silence that was interrupted by loud slurping and laughs from the both of us.

When Wang Zi got up to pay for our meal, I tugged on his sleeve and stopped him.

"Thanks, Wang Zi," I said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For... For..."

"For the meal? For the Spring Festival thing? Or for our date today?"

"D-date?"

"Hanging out at the arcade all day and eating lunch together, I think that counts as a date." He leaned toward me and added, "I mean, you are my girlfriend."

"I... You..." I muttered as my cheeks began to grow red.

Wang Zi smirked as he straightened himself and walked away.

This jerk... This smart, handsome, caring, and lovable jerk.