(+) piaoliang - pretty

(+) baichi - idiot

(+) shenma - what

(+) hao ma? - okay?

(+) hao - okay

(+) ke-ai - cute

(+) Sultan - this is what we call 'King' in Malaysia

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“Tighter.” Alana’s stepmother complied. Alana inwardly sighed. There’s another thing she hated about dinners, --- she would be forced into corsets and those really tight-fitting dresses that would almost suffocate her to death. Sometimes, she finds herself difficult to breathe in such dresses. She hated it all, the dress, the hair, the makeup, the shoes, --- You can say that Alana wasn’t the most girly person in the world, --- she’d rather just wear those pants that people called ‘jeans’ and a pullover and the new shoes with laces that society called ‘sneakers’, but of course that would never happen in an official dinner. It would be a disgrace for Alana, a disgrace for her family.

Alana grunted when the maids had pulled too tight for her to even breathe. “Mother, I think that’s enough.” Alana forcefully said, with a smile. If she had not presented those words with a smile, her stepmother would have called her a rude and an immoral child. And after that, she would comment how Alana’s birthmother didn’t raise her own child properly.

Alana hated it when someone insulted her mother, --- leading to Alana hating her own stepmother. She never had liked that woman anyway, as Alana knew she only married her father to seek for his richness and the honour of the family’s name.

Alana often force herself to call her stepmother ‘Mother’, because if she had not, her stepmother would complain to her father and in result, her father would be very, very mad. “I think so too.” Alana’s stepmother said, as she nodded her head.

“Bring in the dresses.” Alana rolled her eyes when she heard that. *DRESSES? Oh for the love of God, this is going to take some time.* She hated fitting on dresses, they take such a long time, and it’s a painful process, while it wasted her time. Alana could have been completing her Chemistry homework by now.

“And Alana dear, what happened to your right hand?” Her stepmother pointed out. Alana cringed at the word ‘dear’. She hated it when her stepmother called her that. Nether less, Alana answered, “Oh nothing mother, just some small accident at the lab in school today. It shall heal in time.” She lied smoothly. “Alright then. We need a perfect dress to cover that hideous bandage.” Alana’s stepmother said.

Alana frowned and placed her left hand onto the bandage and caressed it. *It’s not hideous. It’s something given out of care. It’s something given by a friend.*Flashes of images entered Alana’s mind and she smiled when she remembered Yixing’s dimpled smile.

__________

“There you are, Alana.” Alana’s father smiled in delight as she walked down the stairs, towards the living room. Alana kept on her stoic expression, but nodded at her father when she reached the last step of the stairs. She had a crème dress on, and it reached the tips of her toes. The dress had been a laced one, and it was tight just as the ones that she had worn on the previous dinners and balls.

Her stepmother walked passed her and took her seat next to Alana’s father. Alana watched her with hatred in her eyes when her father complimented her stepmother for dressing Alana well tonight. She lightly scoffed when her stepmother chuckled, elegantly.

*Men can be so blind sometimes.*Alana thought, as she continued to awkwardly stand by the stairs, not noticing the royalties that had already arrived. Her father than ushered her to greet them, and she bowed ninety-degrees towards the Sultan of Johor, her highnesses, and lastly, the Prince.

How did the prince look like? If you wonder, he has a fair brown hair, hazel eyes, a pointy nose, and a handsome face just like how every other prince looked like. Oh, he also has a really fair skin, Alana noted.

After that, they proceeded to the dining room and Alana saw her driver, also working as her butler, Jiho, stifling his laughter when he sees her looking very uncomfortable in that girly and tight dress. ‘Shut up.’ Alana mouthed towards his direction and gave him a glare. Jiho’s smile just broadens.

They settled down at the dining table and Alana learnt that the prince was seating directly proportional to her. She also didn’t prefer the short stares that he would occasionally give to her, it felt like he was scanning her inside and out, and she felt, irritated and disturbed.

Picking up the shiny utensils, she started to delicately run her silver knife over her cooked piece of lamb. Then, she felt his stare again. Exasperated, she looked up, and stared at him dead in the eye. She sliced the piece of lamb without mercy, --- as if giving him a warning, and gave him one last deadly stare, before getting on with her dinner once more.

But Alana heard a soft series of chuckle instead of a silent air. *Why this boy. Had he not get my warning?*She held on her stoic face, trying her best to not give the prince a satisfactory by responding him in any way. She continued to eat her meal, silently and gracefully just like how her father would want her to.

__________

“Alana, why don’t you go walk around in the garden with Adam?” Alana’s father requested. Wiping the tip of her lips with a napkin, she placed the napkin onto her table and nodded at her father’s request, --- no, order.  She stood up from her seat and bowed towards the Sultan and his wife, before walking out of the dining room, leaving the prince in a puzzled state. Alana stopped at the door and glanced back, “Well, come on.” She said, trying to sound polite.

The prince stood up from his seat and trailed after her, while the butlers opened the front door for them. Alana nodded at them and stepped onto the patio, out of the house. She looked up. The sun had just set and she managed to catch a glimpse of the few touches of red in the sky. *Fantastic. I can draw and paint that later.*

She stalked off the patio, while the prince slowly caught up to her, and soon enough, he was walking next to her, side by side. “So, your name’s Alana?” The prince started, as they walked passed by a batch of bougainvilleas. “Hmm.” Alana hummed as an answer. She didn’t want to give him such an easy chance to get to know her. Alana was going to keep herself distant from this prince as she did with the ones before him.

The prince however knew what Alana was planning. He said, “You’re a though one, aren’t you? Trying to keep yourself away from me as far as possible.” “It’s good that you know. Now you know just where you stand in my vocabulary.” Alana replied, while she crossed her arms over each other.

Aghast, the Prince, or most likely known as Adam, stared at her in amazement. After a while, he spoke once more, “Look, we both know what our parents want, so why not just give it to them?” Alana took in a deep breath and clenched her left fist. *Don’t punch him. Don’t punch him. Don’t punch him.*She chanted in her mind.

“Well excuse you, Prince. I am not like those girls out there. I don’t give in easily or nor do I like being wooed. Now since you clearly know how I feel about you, kindly back off, or would you like to receive the same treatment like every other prince that had stepped into this palace?” Alana said, the venom clearly present in her voice.

“Nor do I want to marry you.” She quickly added and turned away. But oh, a hand latched onto her wrist and spun her around. Adam had brought her close towards himself, and he had his eyes on her. “You will regret this.” He said, with gritted teeth. “Well let’s see if I will.” Alana said with a smirk and stalked off, away from the prince.

__________

From afar, a uniformed figure had been watching the two with envious eyes. *He held her so close.* Luhan frowned at that thought. What gave him the right to even get jealous? She wasn’t his, nor was he hers. *Silly me. I can’t possibly fall for her. She’s different.*, and we all know what that ‘different’ meant well.

Luhan’s eyebrows ceased even more when he heard them bickering. *Aren’t they supposed to be happy together?* Luhan’s eyes followed Alana’s retreating figure from the so-called-prince. His large, doe eyes widen when he realised that the prince’s lips had been curved into a smirk when Alana left. Luhan clenched his fists. *He’s trouble. I can smell it.*

He couldn’t bear seeing Alana hurt anymore like what had happened between her and Teacher Chong today, and Luhan swore to himself that he would protect her if anyone, anyone at all were to harm her. He his heels to leave his snooping place, and his eyes landed once more onto the prince, imprinting every single feature of his face onto his mind for future references.

__________

Luhan laid his back onto the grass and lifted his lips when he sees the stars twinkling, above him. He was feeling especially excited tonight, and he didn’t even complained when his mother woke him up for his patrolling duty. Luhan’s mother had nagged him for losing his expensive leather jacket easily, but he waved that matter off easily as his heart couldn’t wait to see her again. Luhan almost forgotten put on his socks just because of her.  And just like the night before, he slowly finds himself falling asleep beneath the stars.

__________

Luhan woke up when he felt a gust of wind went by. He waited and waited for that particular figure to appear, but it never happened. Sighing he looked at his watch. It was already half past three. *Maybe she slept well tonight?* Luhan couldn’t help but to feel selfish tonight. He knew hoping for Alana to sleepwalk was wrong and deadly, but he really wanted to see her face, and her hands, after knowing what had happened today.

Luhan almost gave up when his watch turned to the digit four but froze when he heard the bushes slapping against each other. “Alana?” His soft, angelic voice filled the air. “Luhan!” A familiar voice said, sounding almost relieved.

A frazzled-looking Alana appeared from the thick bushes. She was wearing those denim pants called ‘jeans’ and a shirt that had looked too big for her. Luhan recognised on her feet were those new shoes called ‘sneakers’ or ‘converse’.

Alana rushed towards Luhan, causing her to trip over an old and drawn out root, accidently throwing herself onto Luhan. “Sorry about that!” She chuckled. Luhan raised his brows in surprise as he held her elbows and pulled her to an upright position.

“You alright there?” Luhan questioned, worried, while Alana continued on laughing. “N-Nothing.” She clapped her palms against and laughed some more, before fully stopping. “Well, uhm, sorry about that.” She coughed.

Luhan’s heart fluttered at the sight of her genuinely laughing and soon, his eyes curved up into crescents also. *Piaoliang.*He thought. “Oh, here!” She exclaimed once more, and handed him a bag.

“And this is?” He trailed off and looked into the plastic bag. It contained his leather jacket, looking newly washed and also a metal container. “Eh, what’s this?” Luhan asked, looking confused as ever as he pulled out the metallic container. “Something I baked, as a sign of gratitude. Just eat it later.” Alana said and pushed the box back into the bag.

Luhan’s heart softens even more. *She baked something for me? Without the maids’ help?* “Thank you.” Luhan said, as his cheeks flushed bright red. Alana sat down onto the ground and patted the space next to her. Luhan followed her actions and plopped down next to her.

“What took you so long? And by the way, you’re sweating.” Luhan quickly took out his ironed handkerchief and dabbed it onto her forehead that trickled with tiny drops of sweat. “Ah, thank you. I-,” Alana placed her fingers onto his hand, and took the handkerchief away from Luhan’s hands. Her heart skipped a beat.

“I got lost. I couldn’t sleep today, so I had sneaked out and lost myself around the rubber estate before I arrived here.” She sheepishly grinned. Luhan shook his head. “That’s very dangerous, Alana. You should know that the Japanese are coming and it will get brutal. A lady shouldn’t be wondering late night.”

“I know but---“, Luhan cut her off. “No buts.” He said sternly. Alana pouted in her seat. “I’m sorry, but this is for your own good. I think you should stop sleep-walking either, and it’s best if you overcome that habit of yours soon.” Luhan glanced at her direction with a look of fear.

*How silly of you, Luhan. Honestly, last night was the first night I had sleep-walked my way out of the house.* Alana nodded, glumly. “The Japanese... I don’t believe in what they said.” Alana whispered, as her eyes fell upon Luhan’s.

“That’s good. It’s all just an act anyway, to conquer Malaya. They want Britain to get of this land quick so that they can conquer the whole Southeast Asia, and they are fooling you Malays with their propagandas.” Luhan explained. “I know. But I’m not falling for that. I’ve seen on the news how brutally they fought with Korea; it’s scary, honestly speaking.” Alana said, wisely. 

“I don’t mean to sound racist, but they are picking on the Malays first because you are the original resident of this land and they need your support. Next, they’ll pick on the Indians, because the Japanese wants to get Britain off India.” Luhan explained.

“What about you?” Alana said, concerned. “What about me?” Luhan left her eyes and laughed to himself. “There’s no use compromising with the Japanese. They already hate us, so why bother? The Chinese, ---us, will just have to keep on fighting and bear the pain. It’ll be hard, but I’ll survive. I’ve been through worst before.” Luhan finished off with a chuckle.

Alana heaved a sigh. She didn’t like the situation that was going on she didn’t liked it one bit. What was the use of wars and fights anyway? The land is nobody’s, yet it was God’s. She didn’t understand why imperialism has to happen, and why people were foolishly fighting over countries to colonize?

“This is stupid. You might get hurt.” Alana spoke up once again. Luhan chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. I don’t like hurting people either, but we have to protect ourselves.” He then faced Alana.

“And this is why I want you to stop coming out late night anymore. You don’t know the Japanese men, Alana. Their level of lust, it’s--- it’s disgusting. The things that they would do to you, I can’t even expl---“, Alana interrupted and said, “Luhan, you really need to take a chill pill. Did you even saw how I punched that boy’s face today? And why are you so worried anyway? We’re not even friends, --- I don’t even think we’re acquaintances so it’s okay, I’ll be fine!” Alana looked at him in the eyes and offered him a small smile.

“Baichi.” Luhan muttered under his breath and shook his head. “Baichi. Baichi. Baichi.” “Shenma?” Alana replied in Chinese while she placed her hands on her hips. “Are you calling me an idiot?!” She exclaimed and pushed her lips out.

“Baichi! Of course I would be worried! Because I care okay, I care!” Luhan threw his hands into the air dramatically and sighed. “Yixing cares, Wufan cares, and Tao, Tao cares, okay?!” He continued and placed his heads into his palms. Luhan was frustrated, no ---he was beyond frustrated. *Why won’t this girl listen to me?*

Alana’s heart fluttered. *He cares.* All of her seventeen years of living, never had she heard even once someone saying that he/she cared for her. And now, listening it coming from Luhan’s mouth, made her feel even more special.

“Luhan, look. If it bothers you that much, fine! I won’t go out loitering at night anymore, hao ma?” Alana poked his cheeks through the holes that were left between his fingers in attempt to cheer him up. “Hao.” Luhan raised his head and smiled. He looked at his watch and nodded his head towards the estate’s direction.

“It’s time to go, I’ll send you back.” Luhan stood up and dusted off his pants. He held out a hand to Alana and she gladly took it, without hesitation. It was like she already knew Luhan for such a long time. He gives her such a comfortable aura, and when Alana’s with him, she knows very well that she’s safe. “Easy there.” Luhan said and pointed towards Alana’s bandaged hand.

“Can you please tell Yixing that I’m really thankful, once more? And oh, send my regards to Wufan and Tao, please.” Alana said. She was clearly going to miss them as the weekends were starting. It might be only for two days, but being the loner Alana was, she would feel lost and empty without them, her newly found friends.

Alana’s eyes fell onto Luhan’s face. *Should I really start trusting Luhan? It has been quite some time, since I’ve let someone come so close to me like this.*“Sure.” Luhan chuckled and affectionately ruffled her hair. *Maybe I should. Slowly, but still, I’m giving Luhan my trust right?*“Luhan!” Alana pouted, again.

*Ke-ai! You really need to stop doing that, Alana.*”Come on.” Luhan tugged onto her sleeve and together, they walked through the estate, --- back to Alana’s home.   

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SCREAMS HAI! Sorry for not updating yesterday and the day before, I was having fun turning fifteen hehehe. This chapter turned out sort of longer than I had expected, so accept it as a bonus okay? ((its was 6 pages long T_T)) 

Also, I'm really nervous for this Saturday because I'm going to OGS Malaysia alone OTL I am terrified, not because I'm afraid of getting kidnapped or dumb things like that, nonono. I'm scared that the fans turn out to be not so... friendly... uhm HAHA ((I'M AFRAID THAT THE FANS TURNED OUT TO BE SNOBBISH FANS))

So, pray me for the best! Anyone elese going, btw?

Also, if you have any confusions on this chapter, feel free to comment! ^3^ Until next time! //waves//

xoxo, Tuna.