Girl In The Mirror

Chapter 1 - Zhang Yixing

Zhang Yixing pulled his hood closer when a strong gust of wind pulled around the corner and made himself comfortable on the back of his neck. He immediately buried his hands deep in his pockets again. Small snowflakes danced down from the sky. Happy chatting and laughter from couples and children mingled with the hustle and bustle of the Hong Kong shopping street. Large screens presented the latest trends and sold them as “the perfect Christmas present for your loved ones”. At this time of the year people were in a very special shopping frenzy, because there weren't many days left until Christmas and in the shops you had the feeling that no one in this world has already had all the presents together. The retail sector shone in new splendor. Post and parcel services were particularly looking forward to the festive season. It wasn't because they actually were looking forward to it, but because they had a lot more work to do than they could ever be able to handle on the days before christmas. Most customers still complained, however, if a gift did not arrive on time, the letter had a dog-eared ears, or the items had gotten a little damp from the snow.
Large images of muscular models showed off the latest underpants from Shalvin Blyne, a brand that is particularly popular with young men. A woman with flowing, silky hair presented a specially aromatic perfume in a lavender-colored design and with gold engravings and on the next screen a young lady was delighted who was standing in front of a Christmas tree because her partner had given her a Marowsky necklace.
However, Yixing was not interested in any of these advertisements. He had always liked Christmas because it was the only festival he spent with his grandmother every year. He had always looked forward to the Christmas season - until last year. On Christmas Eve of all times, his long-time girlfriend broke up with him. She couldn't even give him a decent reason. Meanwhile, all those colorful, flickering lights and the happy songs with the sound of bells reminded him of nothing more than his broken heart from last year.
But now he had reached his destination and entered the small café where he had an appointment with his best friends. After stepping through the burgundy front door, he rubbed his shivering hands and breathed in his warm breath.
“Yixing”, he heard Xen Lou's voice, which he was well acquainted with, and who was already waving to him eagerly from their regulars' table in a corner of the café.
"Hey," he greeted her with a smile and a hug before taking off his jacket and taking a seat across from her.
"Huang Li and Ren are a little late," she said while slowly stirring her hot drink with the long silver spoon in her small hand. "There was probably an accident on the way here.", She added explanatory and pushed her long, light brown hair elegantly behind her ear, which was adorned with a small earring with a star pendant. A chain with a small set diamond hung around her slender neck. She had applied a red lipstick to her curved lips and a little snub nose completed her pretty face. To emphasize her dark, brown eyes, she had drawn a subtle eyeliner. Xen Lou always attracted attention no matter where she was and knew how to use this privilege to her advantage.
"No wonder, with the weather," Yixing replied and his gaze wandered out of the window. It didn't snow that hard, but with the current storm that was enough to wreak havoc on the streets. Winter surprised people every year.
"Who are you celebrating Christmas with this year?", Xen Lou asked, sipping her latte macchiato and then crossing her fingers. "Are you going to see your grandmother again?"
"Yes," said Yixing and nodded. “She has no one else besides me. And she shouldn't have to spend the Christmas days alone at her age. She didn't deserve that. 'Every Christmas could be my last,' she always says."
A brief silence depressed the mood for a moment. Xen Lou knew that Yixing only had his grandma. There were no other family members. Without her he would be lonely, even if he had good friends. It suddenly became loud behind Yixing. Huang Li and Ren had just arrived. They were best friends, but they couldn't be more different. Huang Li was tall and muscular. His black hair was combed back and presented his forehead. He was a charmer with a high wear and tear on women. Ren, on the other hand, was a little shorter, lanky, with wild hair and an innocent face. He was more of the loyal type of man who was looking for the love of his life to spend the rest of his life with.
"Good afternoon, you pretty ones," said Ren, grinning briefly and nudging Yixing's hair that was tied together in a braid and sitting next to Xen Lou. Yixing straightened his black braid. He wore an undercut, but let the top hair grow long.
Huang Li took a chair on the left edge of the table. He casually hung his right arm over the back of the chair and stared at Xen Lou. She was not deterred by this, however, and waved the waitress over, who hurried over immediately. It seemed to be a student who worked here after school to upgrade her pocket money a little. The three men placed their order, the girl bowed and put the device, on which she had been making out while ordering, back into her black apron and left the table with the words "Your order will come right away".
"By the way, I'm throwing a Christmas party at my dad's vacation home tomorrow," Huang Li reported, still staring at Xen Lou incessantly as if he were going to invite her straight to his bed. But Xen Lou would refuse this offer, and everyone was aware of that. “In any case, you are all invited!” He said to the group. Yixing actually didn't feel like it, knowing full well that the celebrations at Huang Li always escalated. At the last party, which wasn't too long ago, because two weeks ago Huang Li had celebrated his 25th birthday, hardly any guest could walk straight ahead. Huang Li was anything but stingy when it came to serving alcoholic beverages. However, as you can see, he was Yixing's friend and so he felt obliged to come. It would probably be the last opportunity this year to meet his friends.
Ren immediately nodded eagerly, but no one expected anything else. Since Huang Li saved him from a street gang ten years ago, he had followed him every step of the way. They always hung out together and became best friends. Only Xen Lou looked as if she had no intention of accepting the invitation. A celebration of and especially WITH Huang Li has been quite a procedure for her lately. Of course, she always got a lot of attention when she showed up at a party, but she was still very uncomfortable with people who stalked her like Huang Li was currently doing. He never missed opportunities to hit on her when he was drunk, and he never stopped when she made it clear that she's disapproved of his behavior.
The young waitress came back to the table and served the men their drinks.
“Do you have another wish?", she asked friendly and looked around.
"No, thank you," Yixing replied, smiling back and his dimple was clearly visible in his right cheek again. Her cheeks and ears turned pink and she hurried on to the next table.
"She seems to have fallen for your charm.", Xen Lou remarked and laughed out loud. "Seems like that," he replied, avoiding giving the waitress another look like the others at the table did. He didn't want her to get it wrong. Ren's cell phone, which he had placed on the table, gave a quiet “Ka-Ko” and he read the message. Sighing, he looked at his friends: "Don't you have any advice on what I could give my little sister for Christmas?"
"How old is she?" Xen Lou asked and looked him straight in the eye. Ren quickly averted his gaze, picked up his cup and took a sip of his coffee, which was still too hot. He felt every millimeter that the hot drink covered on the way to his stomach and down his esophagus and, with tears of pain in his eyes, tormented a few words: "Um ... Well, she's sixteen. But I don't know what she might need." Of course, Xen Lou had noticed that he had tried to cover up his embarrassment and gave a short laugh. A lovely laugh, Ren thought. He couldn't imagine a better smile than hers, which made his heart beat faster.
"She's doing her makeup, isn't she?" Xen Lou asked. Ren thought for a moment: "Sure, if mom lets her, yes."
"I thought so. Girls at her age always want to be especially pretty to please the opposite sex. ", Xen Lou said, whereupon Ren looked at her a bit horrified.
"What? That's normal at her age. Even if it's your sister, ”Huang Li interjected. Xen Lou nodded: “Yes. I was like that too. And as you can see, I've become something. " There was a short pause. Then she added, “Anyway, I would recommend a makeup kit for her that is very popular with teenagers right now. It costs a little more, but I think she would be very happy about it. " Ren nodded eagerly: "And where can I find that?" Xen Lou laughed again. The man had no idea, but she was amused by his helplessness: “I'll come with you if you get it. I mean, just if you want me to, of course." "SURE!", he yelled, almost a little too euphorically. After a hoarse cough, however, he had recovered: "That would be really nice." That was the shy Ren his friends had come to know and love again. "Good. Just let me know when you have time. Then we'll manage it. ”, She said calmly. Ren was still on her lips, and not just because of her words, though. Yixing had watched the conversation between the two closely. Ren was incredibly bad at hiding his emotions, and the fact that he knew it himself only made it more entertaining. Xen Lou was the exact opposite. There was no emotion on her face when she didn't want it, no matter how hard you looked for it.
"I'm looking forward to it," Xen Lou threw in and their eyes met again. She was so obviously intentionally flirting with Ren, whose ears were now almost as red as her lipstick. Yixing's gaze wandered silently to Huang Li, whose displeasure was written on his face. He was well aware that she was making it very clear to him that she was not interested in him. He looked out the window with a fixed, serious look and sipped his tea. Huang Li was actually a very nice person, Yixing knew that, but he often put on a mask to hide it. He wanted to appear aloof, cool and strong, just like a real man. He had made it his business never to show weakness. Only a few knew his real face. Yixing was one of those people. Ren and Huang Li were both in love with Xen Lou, everyone knew that, even if no one had dared to address the fact before. Xen Lou felt more drawn to Ren, Huang Li knew that too, even if his best friend didn't notice it either. Huang Li's heart was almost torn, but he would never admit it in his life.
“When does the party start tomorrow?” Yixing asked now to banish this uncomfortable silence.
“You can come whenever you want. But I had thought of 5 p.m. I'm preparing a big buffet. ", Huang Li replied immediately, now with his typical grin on his face again.
"I'll be in college until then," Ren said, frowning. "So I'll come a little later." "That's fine," said Huang Li and nodded to him.
"I'm sure I won't be out of school until 8:00 pm," remarked Yixing. He worked as a dance teacher in one of the most renowned dance schools in Hong Kong. Most people came to classes after work.
"As always," Huang Li joked and laughed. Then he took heart and looked at Xen Lou: "What about you?" He looked tense and there was something incredibly gentle in his voice. But Xen Lou grabbed her jacket: "I don't think I'll be there." She got up from her chair. She had tried to sound friendly, but it was clear that she didn't like him very much. The two of them had been very good friends, too, until he started courting her about six months ago. In his unfortunately very uncomfortable way. Still, hurting his feelings was the last thing she wanted. She wasn't mean. On the outside she often seemed a little arrogant and almost a bit cold-hearted, but inside she was caring and down to earth. Anyone who had the rare chance to get to know her better could not avoid recognizing her warm character and inevitably going to like her a lot.
Xen Lou said goodbye to her friends and again reminded Ren to call in about the present for his sister. Yixing gave her a compassionate look, which she understood, of course. Her situation wasn't nice for her. She enjoyed it every now and then when the interests of the opposite sex gave her some advantages, but she disliked being caught between a deep friendship. Actually, she hadn't wanted to turn to either of them, but the vulnerable side of Ren had cast a spell over her after all. She had never told him how long it had been, but Yixing suspected it had been the case for more than two years.
Ren had almost jumped up to follow her. But he hesitated out of consideration for his friend and Xen Lou disappeared around the corner. He stared a little ruefully at the place where she had disappeared.
"And you really want to party at your grandmother's?", Huang Li asked after a while of silence. In the meantime the three men had put on their coats and left the café.
"Yes," Yixing replied with conviction. "She is my family."
“Celebrate with us. We're kind of your family too, aren't we? ”Ren asked and grinned. He was well aware of the difference, of course, but he liked to joke. Yixing often looked depressed when he talked about his grandmother.
"It's not the same," Yixing said, but smiled at his friend to make it clear that he understood what he was trying to say.
Yixing would have loved to say a lot more, but the right words couldn't come out of his mouth. It was enough if he knew. He also liked the rural area where his grandmother lived. He grew up there, lived there with his mother. However, this had left her at some point and he and his grandma were left alone. Even so, he had had a very happy childhood and youth there. The Christmas holidays therefore always belonged to his grandmother.
"That's okay." Huang Li said now and pulled Yixing out of his thoughts. “She is your grandma. And after everything you've told me about her, she must be an incredible woman."
“But she must also have a crazy mind. I mean, look at her grandson! ”Ren added with a cheeky grin and patted Yixing on the shoulder. He started to laugh and again the little dimple flashed: "I think I can't disagree." Ren looked at his gold-studded watch: “I have to go guys. My shift will start soon. " As if by remote control, Yixing and Huang Li also checked their watches: 5:38 pm. They said goodbye to their friend and let their shoulders crash against each other before Ren went on his way. Huang Li and Yixing stood in silence for a moment and watched him go. But then Yixing broke the silence with a question that burned on his tongue: "Huang Li, if Ren and Xen Lou become a couple …"
"Then that's fine with me!", The latter interrupted him. “I'll get over it. Maybe not right away, it will take a while, but I will certainly be fine with it when my friends have the opportunity to be happy together. "
"And your friendship will stay?", Yixing wanted to know. All three of them, Xen Lou, Ren and Huang Li, were very close to his heart. If this friendship ended because of an argument, it would hurt him very much.
“I could never hate him, he's like a brother to me. But… ”Huang Li paused for a moment and sighed. “But I think I would stay away from both of them for a while until I get used to it. Time brings the rest with it."
It didn't seem easy for him. Huang Li had always been unlucky enough to suffer even if he didn't deserve it. In high school, he was one of those people who always stood up for others, defended the weaker, or settled disputes before they had a chance to escalate.
Bullying was one of the things he hated most of all in the world. If he had got his hands on someone who had dared willfully and out of boredom harm another person, then one could be sure that that someone would receive a just punishment.
Huang Li's reputation did not improve. It was said that his behavior was nothing more than the hypocrisy with which he picked out his own victims. And if he was thrown into the role of victim himself, he had endured it with dignity. He didn't defend himself, almost as if trying to carry the suffering of the world on his own shoulders before others were broken under the weight. Yixing smiled, "Huang Li, you are a good person."

In the evening, Yixing sat on his bed in his small one-room apartment and stared at a picture on the wall. He and his grandmother could be seen on it. They stood together in front of an old, traditional Chinese house. It was his grandmother's house, in which she still lived to this day. Not much longer and he would be able to embrace her again. She had raised him and he was grateful to her like no other person. He owed her for everything that had become of him. She had always supported him in everything he had in mind. She had accepted a one-hour trip to Hong Kong twice a week to drive Yixing to his dance classes, which he had attended since he was 10 years old. Without her efforts, he would not have been able to take part in these innumerable championships, of which he had won quite a few. Without her, he wouldn't be a dance teacher himself today. His name got around by now and everyone wanted to take courses with him. Soon he wanted to open his own dance school. The only thing that stood in the way of fulfilling his dream was the right location.
Yixing smiled. The memories of his childhood and what had become of it always left him in a good mood. But then it fell like scales from his eyes! He didn't have a present for his grandmother yet! Every year she complained that Yixing shouldn't waste his hard-earned money on her and should invest it in his school, but in the end he always found something that made her so happy that tears came to her eyes .

After Yixing finished his classes at school the following day, he took the subway downtown to finally get a Christmas present for his grandmother. He didn't have much time left as it was 7:30 p.m. But since he still had no idea, he first walked from shop window to shop window, trying to avoid being approached by salespeople who were out on the streets. He had purposely not put on a hat so that the earplugs in his ears were clearly visible. He stopped in front of a watch shop. He looked at the ridiculously expensive variety of wristwatches, the displays of which were far too small for his grandmother to read. He went on in silence. Even half an hour later, he still had no idea and was on the verge of simply giving up on his plan for today. But then he stood in front of a shop that sold traditional jewelry. Since pretty brooches and pendants for chains were on display in the shop window, he actually dared to enter the shop. He wandered from showcase to showcase, passing rings, bracelets and other things, but it wasn't until he got to the hair accessories that the idea came to him. A traditional bobby pin would be perfect. His grandmother used an old clip to put her hair up, which was still long, every day so that it wouldn't get in the way of her housework. But it was time for a new bracket. He smiled as he held the perfect piece in his hand. Satisfied, he took out the earplugs and told the saleswoman, who in his opinion was wearing way too much make-up, not to mention the amount of perfume she had put on, that he was going to buy it. She packed it up for him and eyed the young man with interest. Yixing tried to ignore her, but to his disappointment, she asked after all: "For your girlfriend?" "For my grandma," he just replied, paid a lot of money for the bobby pin and left the shop after saying goodbye.
A look at his watch told him that he now had to slowly make his way to Huang Li's party. Yawning, he made his way to the subway.