Payback Time

Three

He never thought he would see her again. But there she was, the Fire Princess, in the flesh. Her hair was long and black as he remembered and her eyes lit up, twinkling. Like most females in the club, she was wearing close to almost nothing. Perhaps after millenniums, Ying Kong Shi had finally grown up. He never had before realised just how beautiful Yan Da was.

Walking straight towards the woman, Shi made light work of the crowd as though he was parting the red sea. He waltzed into VIP area with a wave to the bouncers, and in a few steps, came face to face with the Fire Princess. Up close, her lips were cherry red, almost exactly the shade all those lifetimes ago. Her dance came to an abrupt stop and even her annoyed expression was familiar.

"Yan Da."

Despite the noise around them, he could tell the woman had heard him clearly.

"Who are you?"

Except she didn't seem to know him - Ying Kong Shi.

"Yan Da, it's me, Shi. Ying Kong Shi."

At first she was puzzled. "I'm sorry, you got the wrong person." With a flick of a stray lock of hair, the woman continued to move to the music, ignoring the stranger.

The wrong person? How could it be?

Yan Da had died in his arms, twice. There was no way he could have mistaken any other person - immortal or human - as the same wilful, proud individual who sacrificed herself for him, two times over. Even with her dying breath, the stubborn woman still asked the question that hung heavy over both of them in their various lives.

"Ying Kong Shi, have you ever liked me?" The Fire Princess' last words echoed in his ears, in time with the beats of the loud music, as he watched this woman before him dance.

This meeting had to be more than a mere coincidence. When Ming Na inadvertently brought up Yan Da yesterday afternoon, Shi had to admit that he had stopped thinking of the Fire Princess for a time. As outwardly emotionless the Ice Prince was, the immortal was as sentimental as they came. Except what good would it be to reminisce about a person that he couldn't see and touch ever again? His heart repeatedly broke whenever he thought about Ka Suo during the time they were apart and don't even get him started on the pain whenever his mother floated into his conscious.

Perhaps Yan Da was right - there simply was no room for her in Ying Kong Shi's overcrowded heart.

Ironically, it was Xing Jiu who had told Shi that they needed to check out the club. Finally getting a break after babysitting Feng Suo, the Head of Dreamers self-invited himself to join Ice and appointed himself Shi's partner. It was as though Xing Jiu never had a day of fun and was making up for lost time now. HIs latest business plan was to break into the entertainment industry and was looking to acquire one such business.

Shi had only been to such an establishment once and disliked it immensely - a nightclub was a meat market of the crudest kind. However, the moment Shi stepped into the club at eleven that night, as if like a homing pigeon, his line of vision instantly focused on the woman who was the spitting image of a certain Fire Princess.

The subject of Shi's penetrative gaze must have felt uncomfortable - the woman who wasn't Yan Da stopped mid-song and walked away. Shi followed suit, with the manner of a professional stalker.

Upon reaching the crowded bar, she must have spotted his reflection in the mirror behind the bartender, for she turned around and barked, "I don't know you. Go away."

"Zhang Meng, is he bothering you?" A tall man sidled up to the woman.

So that was her name - Zhang Meng.

Shi didn't like how the man's hand grazed her waist, that was exposed. The Ice Prince never had a problem with people manhandling his counterpart - why did he have to start now?

Apparently, the woman also had an issue with the slimy individual. Meaningfully plucking his fingers off her body, she said pointedly, "No. You are the one who's bothering me. If you touch me again, I will jab your eyes out."

And she wasn't Yan Da? Shi had to hide a smile at the exchange.

"There you are, Shi. I was looking for you." The man heard Xing Jiu's voice before the Chief of Dreamers came up behind him, only to stop short. 

There was something about Earth's atmosphere that had an effect on Xing Jiu - he had lost all ability to be subtle and Shi was reminded of this fact for the man now stood staring blatantly at the Fire Princess' lookalike.

"Yan ... Yan Da princess." muttered the newcomer.

Not bothering to use telepathy since the club was crazy noisy anyway, Shi asked, "You mean you didn't know?"

"No," Xing Jiu's huge eyes didn't blink at the apparition before him. "I'm as surprised as you are."