Fate Brought You Back To Me

Part 10: Listen Carefully

"What are you doing here?" Shancai asked, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at Xiaozi and Lei. No this was never meant to happen, Shancai thought, struggling to stay calm. But the day had finally come, she'd been found. Her eyes bore into Xiaozi, who wore a guilty look. Xiaozi squirmed under her intense gaze, "Shancai, I can—" "You said that I wouldn't be found here, yet here you stand with Lei," Shancai cut her off in an icy tone. She felt betrayed by the heiress, she knew why she'd ran away, yet she had divulged her whereabouts to Huaze Lei (and most likely the rest of the F4). "Truth be told," Lei piped up, "I was just at the right place at the right time to hear that she was still in contact with you. The rest came easy."

"I'm so sorry, Shancai," Xiaozi said, taking Shancai's hands in hers, "I never meant for any of this to happen, I was so careless." Shancai eyed the two of them with an unreadable look in her eyes, then sighed. "Let's talk this conversation inside, the last thing I want are my neighbors shoving their noses in my business," Shancai said, the latter part of her sentence a jab at Lei. The three adults stepped into the house, where Shancai lead them to living room. Lei sat down on a cushiony chair as Shancai turned to Xiaozi and said, "Come with me, let's get some coffee going." I wouldn't be surprised if she took the chance to skin me alive, Xiaozi thought as she followed the younger woman into the kitchen. "Can you fill this with water?" Shancai asked Xiaozi, handing her a kettle. Xiaozi did as told, and handed her the kettle after it was filled, and Shancai out it on the stove, stoking a blue flame to life. She paused, saying nothing, letting a tense air hang between them, and Xiaozi braced herself for her wrath. Shancai whirled around to face the heiress, she looked absolutely livid. "What the hell happened? Why are you here with Huaze Lei?" Xiaozi winced as she gave Shancai the rundown about what had occurred over the past two weeks.

Shancai drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter, mulling over Xiaozi's words. She inhaled deeply, needing to have her suspicions confirmed. "Does Daoming Si know? About...?" Xiaozi nodded, and Shancai buried her head in her hands. If he knew, no doubt that soon, so would Daoming Feng. As she thought about what she should do, she heard tiny footsteps descend the staircase. Oh no, she thought, and dashed out of the kitchen back to the living room, where she spotted YueYue tapping Lei's shoulder to call his attention. "Excuse me," she said in her sweet little voice when he turned to her, "Who are you?"

Lei's eyes went wide as he examined the little girl's face, she looked so much like Ah Si, but Shancai was there, too. Ah Si is going to go crazy over her, he thought as he held out a hand to YueYue. "Hello, I'm Huaze Lei, I'm a friend of your mama." Yue timidly took his hand and cocked her head, "Are you Mama's boyfriend?" Xiaozi snorted, she could hear them from the kitchen. If Ah Si had heard that, he'd rip Lei's head off, she thought with amusement. "Dong Yue, don't be rude!" Shancai scolded her daughter, "Now go back upstairs to your room." "Why?" YueYue asked, "I don't wanna." Shancai exhaled through her nose, this day was becoming too much for her, and she didn't have the energy to bicker with her daughter. "Dong Yue, I gave you an order, listen to your mother." YueYue plopped onto the carpet, crossing her arms in a rather childish manner. "Uh-uh" she said petulantly. Bratty little girl, Shancai thought, she sometimes felt she coddled her too much. "Oh don't make her go," Lei said, "we were just saying hello." YueYue smiled up at him, "Hi, I'm Dong Yue, but Mama calls me YueYue." That's when Xiaozi came back into the kitchen, with some coffee mugs. "Long time, no see YueYue." The little girl squealed, "Auntie Xiaozi!" before running up to hug the heiress's leg. "I've missed you." Xiaozi smiled at her friend's child, and smiled warmly. "I've missed you, too."

Well I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see them, Shancai thought as she watched her daughter smile warmly at Lei and Xiaozi. "Do you know Mama's boyfriend?" YueYue asked Xiaozi, pointing at Lei. The three adults couldn't help it, they burst into laughter, "Lei isn't my boyfriend, sweetheart. He's just an old friend." Shancai said through her laughter. YueYue blushed, embarrassed by her mistake. Lei leaned forward and ruffled her inky black hair, "I'm not your Mama's boyfriend, but what if I told you I'm not just her friend, but I'm your papa's friend, too?" Yue's eyes grew wide with hope, "You know my papa?"

Shancai's blood ran cold at the mention of Yue's father. No I'm not ready for this to happen, she thought as she glared daggers at the side of Lei's head. "Don't get her hopes up, Lei," she said, before scooping Yue up in her arms and taking her up the stairs to her room. "Mama, wait!" the little girl protested, but they fell on deaf ears as Shancai marched up the stairs and into YueYue's room. "Yue," she began, "I have to go talk to your auntie and Lei. Can you please just stay here while I do that?" She didn't intend to tell her she was going to throw them out, but YueYue wasn't stupid. "But what about Lei knowing Papa?" Tears began to well up in the child's eyes, "Please Mama, I wanna meet him. I wanna have a complete family, I don't wanna see you sad anymore." Yue's words tore at Shancai's heart. Stroking her hair, Shancai responded in a soothing tone, "I wish I could make your wish come true, but there are things that you don't understand yet about why your father and I can't be together." YueYue hung her head, trying not to cry more, but how badly she wished for the happy family of her dreams. Unable to listen to her daughter cry more, Shancai got up and left the room, saying "I'm sorry YueYue, one day you will understand."

Descending the stairs, Shancai sat in a chair across from where Xiaozi and Lei, tapping her foot against the floor as she stared them down. "Tell me the real reason why you're here." Lei leaned forward and plainly stated, "Why don't you ask him yourself?" before handing Shancai his phone, which was already dialing Ah Si for a video call.

*London, England*
Ah Si let out a groan of complaint when he heard his phone's insistent ringing. Checking the caller ID, he answered, groggily demanding, "Lei, do you have any idea what time it is in London?" "My guess is that it's really late at night," a female voice answered, and it was like Ah Si had been splashed with ice water. He opened his eyes and registered who it was he was really talking to. "Shancai," he said, her name tasting so sweet in his mouth. She, however, didn't look happy at all. "You've got nerve, Daoming Si," she snapped, "how dare you come to disturb my life when I'd finally found some peace?" Ah Si sat up, he didn't care that she was being hostile toward him, he was just glad that he could see her, even through a tiny screen.

"Shancai, I..." he began, then paused. He had to really think about what to say, lest she hang up and hide where she would never be found again. "I know about our daughter. I want to meet her." Shancai rose an eyebrow at him, answering "I am aware, Xiaozi and Lei filled me in on your latest shenanigans. And I'm going to be completely honest with you: I don't think it's a good idea." Ah Si's face fell, he hadn't expected her to be that hostile. "Why?" he asked, unable to keep sadness from leaking into his tone. Shancai sighed, "You know better than anyone else why. However, Xiaozi and Lei are right. I can't keep you two from each other. But I have one condition if I do this."

Ah Si fervently nodded his head, "Anything." "I will go to London, so YueYue can meet you, but if I so much as suspect that your mother's sniffing around, I bolt. Understand?"
"You have my word"

Author's note
Here we go 🤫
Thank you!
Gracias!
ありがとう！
감사합니다!
谢谢！
-monicacantwrite