Without You

Chapter 14

~After School~

Li Mei's POV

I drop my stuff off at the house and walk to the cafe. I order a bubble tea and sit down at a table.

"Excuse me, ma'am." I hear a chair being dragged out from under the table.

I look up to see a man in a suit, sitting across from me.

"I work for a modeling company and you have just the look that I was searching for! Would you like to model for our company?" The man hands me a card.

"Uh... I'm not sure." I answer, taking the card from his hand.

"That's alright. The company's number is on the card that I just gave you. If you are interested, please, give us a call." He says before getting up and leaving.

I shove the card into my pocket and head home.

~At Home~

I changed into my pajamas. When I threw my pants onto the floor, the card fell out.

I picked it up and looked at it once more. Do I want to become a model?

I picked up my phone and dialed in the numbers on the card.

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~3 Years Later~

Li Mei's POV

"Alright, that's a wrap! You can get changed now." The photographer grabs his camera and looks through the pictures.

I nod and go into the dressing room.

"Xiao Li? We're going back to Chongqing again. But this time, it's gonna be permanent." My manager steps into the room just as I finish changing.

Chongqing? I haven't seen Dominic or Wang Yuan since I broke up with them. I've barely talked to Junkai, Qin Qin, and Qian Xi.

I nod, knowing that arguing with her wasn't going to get me anywhere.

I looked away. Was I ready to face Wang Yuan again after all these years?

Wang Yuan's POV

"Hey! Come back here!" I laughed, chasing my girlfriend of 2 years who just stole my phone.

"No!" She giggles, speeding up.

Her name is Cindy, I met her a year after Xiao Li left to pursue her modeling career. Cindy's bubbly and cheerful just like me. I guess that's why I fell for her.

I sped up and wrapped my arms around her waist. I tickled her.

"H-H-Hey! S-Stop it!" She erupted with laughter. I took my phone out of her hand.

"Ok, then don't take my phone again!" I laughed, giving her a kiss on the cheek before letting her go.

I heard a cough. I looked up. My heart stopped.

It was Xiao Li. She was wearing a crop top and some jean shorts. She had on some sandals and her hair (which was usually straight) was loose and curled. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. I gulped and bit my lip. I got up and helped Cindy up.

"Hey." It was all that could come out of my mouth.

"Uh, hi..." Xiao Li replied, looking away.

"Hi. Who are you?" Cindy asked. Usually she was friendly and cheery when she met someone new. What was wrong about Xiao Li?

"I'm Junkai's sister. I just wanted to ask Wang Yuan a question." She stared at Cindy before turning to me.

"What's you guys' address now? Junkai told me you guys moved but he didn't tell me the address. I've been trying to call him, Qin Qin, and Qian Xi but none of them were answering." She explained.

"Are you back permanently?" I ask, forgetting to answer her question.

"Yes. Can you answer my question now?" Xiao Li tapped her foot, impatiently.

"Look, I don't know who you are exactly to Wang Yuan, but could you be a bit nicer to him?" Cindy asked with her hands on her hips.

"The address is ********." I answer, nervously rubbing my arm.

"Alright. Thanks." She said, walking off and ignoring Cindy.

"She's so rude." Cindy huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.

"What's wrong?" I say, worriedly.

"What is she to you, Yuan?" She looked up into my eyes.

"She's... She's my ex-girlfriend." I answered, looking down at my shoes.

She frowned.

"She... She's very pretty." She whispered.

I didn't say anything. There was about 30 seconds of silence.

Cindy's POV

Ring! Ring!

Wang Yuan's phone rang. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, glances at me, and walks a small distance away from me.

He starts talking, but I didn't listen. I couldn't help thinking about that girl. She was flawless. No wonder Wang Yuan dated her. I was no competition to her. In no time, Wang Yuan will probably go back to her.

When she was staring at me, I felt so uncomfortable. How did she and Wang Yuan break up? And how come Wang Yuan never speaks about her?

"That was Junkai. He wants us to go back home so we can all welcome Xiao Li." He says.

I nod. So her name was Xiao Li. We walk silently for awhile before I decided to break the ice.

"How come you never told me about Xiao Li?" I whispered, looking away.

Silence.

"Could...... we talk about this another time?" He says finally. I nod and we walk silently back to the house.

Li Mei's POV

Ding dong!

"Who is it?" I hear Qin Qin's voice ask.

I open my mouth. Then, I close it. I think about what I was gonna say.

"It's the pizza delivery guy." I say, using a slightly deeper voice.

"Junkai! Did you order pizza again?!" Qin Qin sighs and the door opens.

Her jaw drops.

"XIAO LI!!!!!!!!" She shrieks, engulfing me in a bear hug.

"Xiao Li!" Junkai hurries over to the door followed by Qian Xi.

"Oh my gosh! You changed so much! We need to go out tomorrow! I am gonna tell you about the past few years and so are you!" Qin Qin squeals, finally letting me go.

"Let me call Wang Yuan and Cindy to come back to the house." Junkai says, walking off.

"Cindy is Wang Yuan's girlfriend." Qin Qin muttered.

"I know. I met them at the park. I just so happened to spot Wang Yuan and since you guys weren't answering the phone, I asked him what the address was." I explained.

"Cindy and Wang Yuan are coming back from the park." Junkai says.

"In the meantime, do you want some cake? We just-"

"YOU HAVE CAKE!???!?!?!?" I exclaimed, dashing into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out the cake.

In 5 minutes, I had already eaten 3 and a half slices.

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QOTD: Do you play any instruments?

AOTD: I play the piano