A/N: This is a modified version of the last chapter; some of the entries included the event that inspired Yixing’s diary entry. Also, this chapter is for CookiesILikeCookies who asked for a longer chapter. I hope this is long enough. LOL! Thank you for reading everyone and please let me know what you think! XOXO.

11th Jun 2002

Dear Diary,

          Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve written something. It’s just that I was so happy and distraught at the same time that I can’t begin to write anything. Today is the day that I’ve finally given my heart to Wufan (please remember that only I am allowed to call him that). Not that he knows it. Yet. Of course I am planning to tell him, you silly piece of paper! But definitely not now. He’s my best friend and all so I’m sure he’ll put up a fight first. But that’s not a fight that I’ll lose. I’m not Zhang Yixing for nothing.

***

09th Aug 2002

Goals in Life

1. Become Wu Yifan’s best friend

2. Become Wu Yifan’s girlfriend

3. Become Wu Yifan’s wife

4. Become the mother of Wu Yifan’s children

5. Make Wu Yifan happy.

***

14th Sept 2002

Dear Diary,

            I got ran over by a truck. Or at least that’s what it felt like when Wu Yifan rejected me.

***

19th Sept 2002

Dear Diary,

            Shouldn’t I be the one avoiding him instead of the other way around? I don’t want to admit it but I think I lost Wu Yifan for good.

***

Yixing thanked the driver for opening the car door for her and handed her book bag to the waiting house help. “Would you like some tea, Ahgassi?” She politely declined and asked her instead to wake her up for dinner. She badly needed a nap. She was about to climb the stairs to the second floor when the door to her father’s office flew open and admitted Yifan. The look of surprise on his face let her knew that he wasn’t there to talk to her. He looked away immediately and walked with hurried steps to the front door.

 She held on to the railing tightly and willed the tears to go away. She already admitted defeat. Despite her earlier bravado, she can’t bear to lose her best friend just like that. She told him the day she cornered him after his basketball practice that she won’t force herself to him anymore if only they could go back to the way they were before. He agreed but they were even more awkward after that and she didn’t want to think they’re fast becoming strangers to one another.

27th Sept 2002

Dear Diary,

            It was the first time in what felt like forever that I saw him inside my house. He wasn’t here for me though. He didn’t even look at me and he left right away when he saw me without talking to me.

I received the packet from LeMann Academy today. I haven’t told Mama and Baba yet but it hurts to see him without talking to him. You think he’ll miss me even just a bit when I leave for Switzerland? Most importantly, will boarding school help me forget him?

 ***

06th Oct 2002

Dear Diary,

            Surprise, surprise, Wu Yifan approached me today and asked me if I have plans for tomorrow. It’s not as if I’m in any mood to celebrate my birthday so I already told Mama to cancel whatever plans she had. His mom will host dinner for me and even if I want to say NO, I can’t just hurt Aunt Sunye like that. Curse me for being kind.

 ***

7th Oct 2002

Dear Diary,

            Sixteen years ago, Mama suffered a lot from giving birth to me. Israelites and Palestinians are still fighting and Wu Yifan’s still ignoring me. Should I celebrate or just treat this day like any other Monday?

Club meeting took longer than usual and when Yixing got home, she was instructed to just go to the Wu family's house for her birthday dinner. The driver asked her if she wanted him to send her but she thought the short walk will calm her nerves and clear her mind. After changing into a simple dress, she went on her way, feeling queasy at the thought of seeing Yifan.   

The uniformed guard greeted her a happy birthday and told her that they're waiting for her. The house was empty but she heard music coming from the backyard. She slid the lanai door open and allowed Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are lead her to where the party's being held. When she got to the poolside though, she was stumped to see it was empty aside from the stunning Wu Yifan standing beside an elaborate candlelit dinner for two. 

"H-Happy birthday." She stood there for good five minutes without saying anything. She honestly didn't know what to think, more so, what to say. He cleared his throat.  "The food's getting cold." He pulled a chair for her. She ignored his attempt to play gentleman and occupied the other chair. The table was laden with all of her favorite food. "This is for you." He handed her a bouquet of yellow tulips. She wanted to hit him for being so insensitive. 

"What's this all about?" She didn’t want to beat around the bush. Was this a lame attempt to say sorry after treating her like ?

“Yixing...” He looked at her in the eye and most of the time she’ll look away since she can’t bear to lose inside those mesmerizing eyes but not today. She was too angry. What was he taking her for? “First things first, I wanted to apologize for being an . You caught me off guard and I didn’t mean to walk out on you like that.” He remembered the day Yixing asked him to meet her atYeouido Park and he winced inwardly. He should have suspected something because a confession in the middle of the most visited park in Seoul was one of Yixing’s inappropriate fantasies.  

“Sure, you didn’t. And you didn’t mean to ignore me too, did you?” She scoffed bitterly. She wanted to hurl the bouquet of flowers to the guy in front of her. Yifan usually got by with a few words but his lack of anything to say at the moment was definitely not a choice.

“I guess I have no excuse for my behavior.” He said after the long moment of silence that ensued. “I’m sorry I was a coward. I just can’t accept that you beat me in to confessing first…” Yifan said a lot of things after that but none of them registered. Did she hear it right? He was going to confess to her? He was in love with her, too?

“Wha. . ? W-What did you say?”

“Huh? I said I asked everyone if I can have this day with you. It took a lot of convincing for them to let me keep you to myself on your birthday no less and—“ The next thing he knew, he was wet, cold water seeping through the fabric of his cashmere sweater. Yixing was still holding the goblet of water she just threw at him.

“That’s for being an .”

7^th Oct 2002

Dear Diary,

            This is the best birthday ever!!!

A couple of days later, Yixing was aboard the plane that will take her to Geneva, Switzerland. No amount of persuasion from anyone changed her mind. She didn’t even allow anyone to send her. Yifan received a hand-delivered letter the same day.

Wu Yifan,

           This time apart should be enough to reassess our feelings. The plan to study together in New York is still on, right?

XOXO,

Zhang Yixing

***

Present

A uniformed guard politely bowed and allowed him entry when his Roadster approached Tierra Maria's gates. Taking left on the second street, Heechul's ancestral home welcomed him, shining like a white diamond under the moonlight. His noona now lived a few more streets down the road, in a house that Hankyung built for his family. Right across the street were Kangin and Leeteuk's home that the former inherited from his parents who’re both in the US. Leeteuk's family lived a couple of blocks away.  

He drove straight up, passing half a basketball court he and Kangin built for Sehun's 12th birthday. Growing up, their younger friend was tall and lanky, not to mention clumsy and was always excluded from impromptu basketball games in school. They made sure Sehun got enough practice on his own. The paint of the wooden board was cracked and the net was worn out but it held the fondest memories of scraped knees and eardrum busting cheers. 

On his right was the Oh family's domain. Unlike all other houses in their block, it wasn't gated but instead surrounded by trimmed vegetation. The winding driveway led to the elevated Mediterranean-inspired house. Though it was well-maintained, it was dark and eerie. Sehun's father passed away when they were in high school. His mom left them even before Sehun stopped using diapers. His friend opted to live in a condominium in Seoul when he returned from his studies abroad. 

Before he can reach their own house, he will pass by Yixing's, the largest on their street--perhaps the whole village. Aside from the seven-bedroom house, the whole property included a private polo field, a stable full of thoroughbreds, an off-house wine cellar, a barn/woodworking station, a bowling alley, both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a small arcade, a 16-seater theater and a man-made lagoon. 

Zhang Yitang, Yixing's father, was protective of his only daughter. He'd built his house so his daughter won't have any reason to stay out of it. It was also their favorite hangout place since it had everything they would ever need and want. 

Yifan didn't know what got to him, but he stopped his car and got off. The guard said his greetings before opening the gate for him without any questions. He was a constant visitor even after Yixing left. And when the Zhang couple both died in a sailing accident in Hawaii four years ago, he was shocked when he learned that he was appointed Trustee until their daughter asserts claim. And if he declines, all properties will go to charity. Jianhao begged him to accept it for the sake of his friend's legacy. 

Though Yifan neither confirmed nor denied any allegations about his and Yixing's relationship, her decision to not bring her parents' remains back to Korea after she recovered their bodies in Hawaii had set everything straight. She left Japan and disappeared. A couple of years later, she'll grace several international fashion magazines for her clothing line that Marc Jacobs himself described as "As interesting and as mysterious as the designer." 

Sunye then started haranguing her son about rekindling their old flame, often urging him to visit her in Milan and 'talk things out.' Even the fact that Yixing didn't wish to see any of them didn't change their opinion of her. In their eyes, she was still the perfect Zhang Yixing that everyone adored. 

He bypassed the main house and rounded the side garden to the sprawling backyard. The manmade lagoon marked the end of the property and the beginning of a pine tree reserve. He sat on a dead leaning tree sculpted to a bench. He basked in silence for a while until he heard movement from behind the huge cherry tree overlooking the lagoon across from where he was sitting. He stood alert. This part of the property was off-limits to everyone. Did someone get past through the guards? Aside from the one guarding the front, there were over a dozen people guarding the perimeter including the nearby pine tree reserve.

He was about to take a look himself when the intruder emerged from behind the Cherry tree, an all-too-familiar box in hand and a shovel in another.

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