Glimpses

The Best Friend

The unlikely couple were at it again, bickering as usual. Qinghe looked over at them and sighed. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. As much as liked Shancai, he wanted to be a part of the great and mighty F4 too. His mind wandered off as their bantering grew louder. He had liked Shancai since before he could remember, and what had happened? She had friend-zoned him just a couple of days before. He couldn't believe it, that he was friend-zoned possibly because of that arrogant, cocky Daoming Si. "What does he have that I don't", Qinghe thought to himself with another sigh.

Shancai suddenly stood up at the table where they were all seated. "You're impossible, Daoming Si!" she screeched and stomped out of the restaurant in a huff. Si gave an apologetic look at his friends and rushed off after her. "He's well and truly whipped" remarked Ximen. "It's high time we got going as well." F3 stood up and they each gave Qinghe a pat on the back saying "Goodbye, nouveau riche". He flinched upon hearing that but he just smiled weakly at them and watched them leave.

Leaning back in his chair, he gave yet another sigh, dejected. What does Shancai see in that Daoming Si? He decided to order another drink, since he had nowhere else to go anyway. He raised his head to look for a waitress, but his gaze landed upon a bottle of lemonade which Si had left behind. "Oh well, waste not, want not" he thought. He took a swig from the bottle and made a face. "Ugh, why do we even drink so much of this stuff anyway?" He looked up and his eyes scanned the nearly empty restaurant. Across the room a couple of girls were staring at him. He tried to look away but then they got up and started walking towards him.

He wanted to get up and leave but it was too late. They were already seated on his table. One of them spoke. "Hey, we heard that you're pretty tight with F4." "Er..no..we're just..." he stammered, but before he could finish, the other girl spoke. "My friend here," she flicked her finger, "is interested in Daoming Si. Do you think you could help to hook them up? Maybe pass him her number or something."

A wave of indignation which he didn't know he possessed swept over Qinghe. "Hey! Daoming Si would never look twice at someone like you. Besides, he's already in love with someone else!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't believe he just said that. The two girls mumbled something and walked away, leaving Qinghe a bit stunned at his sudden outburst. Why was he defending Daoming Si? Wouldn't it be better to hook him up with some other girl so he would leave Shancai alone?

Then it dawned upon him. He would never be Shancai's lover, but he would forever be her best friend. And as her best friend, he had her best interest at heart, and that was to make her realise that her heart belonged to Daoming Si. He picked up his bottle of lemonade and left the restaurant, not looking back.