The Smiling Chessman - Falling into your smile

Wake me up when September ends

A/N - Chapter title from a Greenday song "Here comes the rain again,Falling from the stars Drenched in my pain again,Becoming who we are, As my memory rests,But never forgets what I lost,Wake me up when September ends "

Tang Yao was about to get out of the car and yell when she felt a firm hand on her wrist.

Lu Sicheng, spoke softly " Take a deep breath. Yelling rarely helps. Try to have an objective conversation" She nodded and got down.

Tang Yao called his name out loudly " Little T". Shocked he turned to see his sister standing in front of him. " What are you doing here? Why are you here?", he asked.

Tang Yao responded, " Well, our parents were frantic when they couldn't find you. Mama asked me to look for you. Where have you been? Why haven't you responded to any calls or messages"

Little T scoffed, " Of course they sent perfect princess here to find me , the disappointment of the family. What's with two boyfriends? One not good enough for Little Miss perfect?" Tang Yao's eyes flared, " Watch your words. You still haven't answered my question. Where have you been since last night? Do you know how worried our parents have been?"

Little T responded, " Fine. I was at a party. You know,a place where people go to have fun? Something you know nothing about .."

Tang Yao ignored the insult, " Okay, so you were at a party. Why didn't you pick up the phone or return our texts?"

" Because, he was unable to, isn't it?  Mr. Tang here spent the last 8 hours in police custody. Do you want to tell your sister the truth or should I? ", responded Lu Sicheng getting off his phone( he had been on a phone call the whole time). Lu Sicheng had called the family's investigator to locate Little T as soon as Tang Yao had received the frantic phone call from her parents.

Little T's lips curved to a sarcastic smile, " Well, your boyfriend here is right. I spent last night in jail. I am a total screw up .There, I admitted to it. Happy now?" and started to walk away. Tang Yao chased after him and grabbed his hand, " How could I possibly be happy to learn that my little brother spent the night in jail. You are not a screw up, stop saying  things like that. What really happened? Tell me."

Little T yelled back at her, " Tell you? Why? So you can go fix it for me and be Saint Yao again? No thank you.I am happy where I am" Tang Yao pleaded with him to be reasonable. He screamed, " Do you have any idea how difficult it is to grow up with a perfect sister, with perfect grades and her whole life all mapped out, while everyone looks at you like you as if you are the stain on her shoe? I ran away from all that. I am happy here in my boarding school. I can finally live my life without being in your tall shadow.  Leave me alone, I never want to see you again and you can tell our dear parents that their son is still alive",  turned on his heel and went inside the school.

Tang Yao closed her eyes, desperately trying to compose herself. She knew that her brother disliked sharing their parents' attention with her but she had no idea he loathed her to such an extent.  The Lu brothers were shocked with how badly Tang Yao was treated. They had not wanted to intrude much on the conversation but Little T's animosity had shaken them. Tang Yao sat down on a bench and Lu Sicheng sat down silently next to her, putting his arm around her. There was nothing he could say that would make the situation better. Meanwhile, Lu Yiu still stated disbelievingly trying to process the event that had just transpired.

Steeling herself, Tang Yao called her mother, " Ma, I found Little T. He is back at his school. He was at a party and ma, I need you to be calm as you hear this. He was arrested. He didn't receive any of our calls because he was in police custody for the last 8 hours."

Her mother panicked, " What do you mean he was in police custody? What did he do? Why did they hold him? Is it serious?", while her father who overheard dismissively remarked," Ah! That punk deserves it. I have had it with him. Let him face his fate"

Mama - " Aiyah! Big T, how can you say that about your son? He's just a kid"

Big T- " Kid? He is nothing but trouble from the moment he was born. I am leaving for work. He is on his own. I won't spend any more time or money on that idiot. I have already spent half my savings on him, I want to keep the other half to look after myself in old age. I can tell you now that he certainly won't"

While her parents bickered loudly, Tang Yao glanced at Lu Sicheng. Understanding her silent request for information, he spoke quickly , " Your brother is in a relationship with a girl. Her father doesn't approve of Little T, so he used his influence to keep Little T in police custody for a few hours to scare him. There are no charges against your brother, because legally none of this is a crime. I have already asked our family lawyer to take care of the situation. Don't worry this won't happen again"

Tang Yao said a silent prayer as she got back to the phone call, " Ma, he didn't exactly tell me anything. But I found out through another source. Little T didn't exactly do anything wrong. So he will be fine, I think"

Mama- " Oh! Thank the lord. What do you mean, you think? You are the big sister. Make him talk to you, make sure he is okay. I want you to stay there till he is fine and the situation is sorted" Tang Yao thought bitterly, 'It's all about him. It's always about him. Doesn't matter what I do or how I am.' In an eerily calm voice she spoke clearly, "  Mother, the situation has been taken care of. I know you have forgotten, but I am participating in a gaming contest and representing China at an international contest in Vegas. I leave in two weeks, so no, I cannot stay here. Besides, I am the last person my dearest brother will talk to, so I don't see the point in staying either. I think you should talk to him directly" and disconnected.

Tang Yao felt physically and emotionally drained. She looked at the Lu brothers who were looking at her with concern and said, " I would like to go back. Please take me back". Without a word, she got up and sat inside the car. The two brothers exchanged looks and joined her as they returned.