Fate Brought You Back To Me

Part 7: I'll Protect Them

"Do you think this will work?" Lei asked Ximen and Meizuo. The three men sat in a bar, waiting to meet up with Xiaozi and Thomas. They were going to try to convince the heiress to bring Shancai to London. They were tired of seeing their friend drown his sorrows with booze, and truth be told, they also wanted to meet Shancai and Ah Si's daughter. "I don't know, but we have to try for Ah Si's sake," Meizuo answered as he took a slug of whiskey. "Let's just hope they don't take forever," Ximen chimed in.

15 minutes passed, and Xiaozi walked into the bar alone, much to the surprise of the F3. "Thomas couldn't make it, he had other things to attend to, so it's only me tonight," Xiaozi briefly explained, "Now what is that you three want?" Meizuo cleared his throat and plainly said, "We want you to bring Shancai here, to patch things up with Ah Si." Xiaozi gave a derisive snort as she sipped from her wine glass. "Haha very funny," she said with heavy sarcasm, "Seriously, what was it?" The F3 just stared at her, and it dawned on her that their words were serious. Bring Shancai to London? These three must be batshit insane!

"Absolutely not," she snapped, knocking back the rest of her drink and steering herself toward the exit, the F3 hot on her heels. Once outside, Ximen grabbed her wrist and demanded, "Wait, just hear us out. We know you've been privy to Shancai's whereabouts for the past 7 years and that you lent her money when she hit a rough patch. We're asking you to help us bring our friend out of his rough patch." "Let go!" Xiaozi hissed, wrenching her hand out of Ximen's grasp. "It's not just about the two of them anymore, consider YueYue. Think of what Mrs. Daoming did to Shancai's friends when she and Ah Si dated, to your fiancée," she poked a sharp finger into Ximen's chest, "What do you think she'll do if she catches wind that Daoming Si has an heir running around?"

At that, the F3 paused; the He heiress had a point. Daoming Feng was an incredibly cunning woman, and always seemed to be two steps ahead of everyone. There was no telling what she'd do to get to Ah Si's daughter. "Let us discuss how we'll deal with Aunt Feng," Lei stepped in, "we just need you to bring her and her daughter here." Xiaozi paused, seriously considering Lei's words when a loud, male voice jolted her out of her train of thought.

"I'll protect Shancai and my daughter with everything I have. I'm begging you to help me see them." Daoming Si said, stepping out from where he'd been hiding. Xiaozi's heart broke at how lost Ah Si looked without Shancai, over the past couple of years, she'd noticed that there was Ah Si was never completely there, a fragment of himself lost, perhaps permanently. No, it isn't permanent. It's just "missing" Xiaozi thought as she eyed the Daoming chairman. In fact, during the couple of times she'd went to see Shancai in person, she noticed it in her, too

*Flashback to 2 years ago*
"Shancai?" called Xiaozi. Shancai didn't answer, the look in her eyes distant, and Xiaozi could see the emptiness they held from where she sat. How it hurt the heiress to see her friend quietly suffer. "Shancai?!" she tried again, and Shancai woke from her stupor. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Shancai asked, plastering a fake smile onto her face. Xiaozi sighed and repeated, "I asked how you and your daughter are holding up."
Shancai replied, "We're alright, we manage." Xiaozi hummed, pausing to take a sip from her coffee. "Where is YueYue, speaking of which?" Shancai gestured to YueYue's bedroom door, "She's taking a nap, she's so full of energy that she tired herself out while playing and running around with her little friends today." Xiaozi looked in the direction of the bedroom and asked if she could see the little girl. "Alright, follow me," Shancai said, and put a finger to her lips, reminding the heiress not to rouse her child as she slowly pulled the door open.

What a pretty little girl, Xiaozi thought as she looked at the sleeping 5 year old. She had Ah Si's nose and Shancai's long eyelashes. She looked so sweet and innocent as she lay dreaming, and without thinking, Xiaozi blurted, "She looks so much like Ah Si." She slapped a hand over her mouth as she realized what she said. The cloudy look in Shancai's eyes was back as she quietly hummed in agreement, turning to exit the room. "We should let her rest," she said softly, "let's go." Xiaozi followed Shancai as she turned to go, but she heard it and saw it.
YueYue had whispered "Papa" in her sleep, and a lone tear had fallen as she clutched her teddy bear closer.
*End of flashback*

"Xiaozi!"Ah Si called, lightly shaking her out of her thoughts. Xiaozi eyed him, and he pleaded, "Please, I deserve to know my child." She bit her lip, thinking about all that could go wrong if she did lend a hand. She exhaled, and she countered, "While you do have a right to your daughter, talk is cheap. How can Shancai be sure that her daughter will be safe from any tricks your mother might have up her sleeve?" Before Ah Si had a chance to retort, the F3 stood behind him and said, "Because he has us standing at his side, we will help protect Shancai's family from Aunt Feng." Ah Si smiled at his friends, they really were there for him through thick and thin.

Xiaozi gave a sigh of defeat, and replied, "Alright, I will bring them here. God help you if anything happens to either of them." That last part was said with a bit of threatening tone, but it fell on deaf ears as Ah Si grinned at the thought of being reunited with his love and getting to meet his little girl. Xiaozi turned to Lei and said "You'll be coming with me." He frowned, he just wanted to go home and sleep, but for his friend, he'd suck it up, so he gave her a slight nod. Xiaozi pulled out her phone and dialed Thomas. "Hello?" he answered.
"When you get home, we need to have a little chat and begin packing. We have some work to do."

Author's note
DUNDUNDUN!!! What will happen next? Stay tuned.
This feels like it's turning into a telenovela. I like it, and I hope y'all do, too.
Thanks!
Gracias!
감사합니다!
ありがとう!
谢谢！
-monicacantwrite
(Just call me Monica)