Payback Time

Seven

"Our dinner warranted a change of outfit?" commented the Ice Prince, hiding a smile. When Ying Kong Shi entered the management floor, the striking man caused a small commotion amongst those present. Yet the Fire employees still present in the office all fell silent the moment the Communications Director emerged from her office.

"No. I was told to wear this." Though there was a chance that she was the reincarnation of Yan Da, her frosty attitude towards Ying Kong Shi would have put any of the Ice Tribe to shame.

He definitely wasn't used to this cold treatment. This certainly was a first - since he was fished out from the lake as Yun Fei by the Fire Princess, not once had Yan Da been displeased to see him even when there was conflict between their tribes.

Zhang Meng didn't beat around the bush. Seconds after the car drove off, she asked, "Mr Ying Kong, what is your purpose of this meeting?"

Clearly, this woman had no affection for him. There wasn't any sense of familiarity - this was definitely harder than he initially thought.

He decided that he would be straightforward too. "You interest me, Miss Zhang. You remind me of a friend."

"Yes, you told me," Zhang Meng stared ahead. "Yan Da, right?"

So she did recall that night at the club. Yet Ying Kong Shi couldn't read her at all, unlike the Fire Princess who was an open book to him.

"But Mr Ying Kong, you have the wrong person. I am not her." Zhang Meng finally turned to look straight at him, her huge eyes almost emotionless.

For once in his very long life, the Ice Prince had no comeback. Perhaps he did miss this old friend so much that his mind was determined that this replica of the Fire Princess was indeed the real thing.

"But let's not waste a perfectly good dress," Her head snapped away, breaking eye contact. "Where are we going for dinner?"

Once she had Ying Kong Shi's answer, Zhang Meng fell and remained silent for the rest of the ride.

Li Li had done a good job securing a reservation at a classy French restaurant next to the Bund. The maitre d' showed them to a table half hidden in a corner but still overlooking a view.

"I hope you like French food." It was then the Ice Prince had no idea what was Yan Da's' favourite cuisine, much less this mortal's.

The waiter unfolded the napkin and placed it on Zhang Meng's lap. "It's OK."

This awkward silence that Ying Kong Shi was racking his mind to break was unexpectedly done by his date when the sound of red wine pouring into the glass rang out disturbingly loud.

"You know what, I was told to be on my best behaviour. Let us start over." The woman flashed a wide albeit phony smile, taking a sip of alcohol. "Show me a picture of your friend."

A picture of Yan Da? Flashes of the feisty princess flitted past his eyes, the last visions were intermixed with Yan Zhu. Had he been so focused on Feng Suo then that he had been unable to tell that Yan Da's behaviour was subtly out of character? On hindsight, she had been less than welcoming on his unannounced visits - he had been truly distracted.

Little wonder Yan Da, or was it Yan Zhu, had accused him of only caring about his brother.

Did Yan Zhu have a hand in Zhang Meng's existence, despite Xing Jiu's findings? The Fire tribe's ancestor would definitely hold a grudge, to put it plainly. Now that his relationship with Feng Suo was secure, Ying Kong Shi had the capacity to be concerned about someone else.

Was or would this lookalike of Yan Da be in danger?

He was grateful for paying attention when Xing Jiu showed him how he had been able to transpose images of Xing Gui onto his mobile phone weeks ago. Sometimes, Xing Jiu's annoying interest in human technology was useful. He reached over the table to pass Zhang Meng his mobile phone that magically stored pictures of the Fire Princess per Ying Kong Shi's memory in seconds.

Her eyes instantly focused on the screen, first widening in surprise and then narrowing in concentration.

"I look exactly like her," whispered the woman, still looking at the picture. "You were right, the resemblance is uncanny."

"Yes, you look just like her," repeated Ying Kong Shi under his breath, who was finally able to examine the woman across him without her noticing. Yan Da and Zhang Meng were two peas in a pod. The same big expressive almond shaped eyes, flawless complexion, full lips, even that thick black hair that Zhang Meng wore different from Yan Da when she was on earth. And from what he had experienced, they even almost had similiar personalities.

From the very beginning, even though the Fire Princess insisted that he was a slave, it was obvious she lavished special attention on Yun Fei. She definitely treated him like a friend, although it was revealed with her dying breath that she had fallen in love with him at first sight.

For someone who spent his childhood without friendship, the Ice Prince only had his brother for company - he didn't know any better. Upon returning to the Ice Tribe after his sudden growth spurt and transformation, he found a kindred soul in the heartbroken Lan Shang. Yet whenever their paths crossed, he was instinctively inclined to give in to Yan Da. The Fire Princess had been his only other friend just as he had been hers.

"But this is not me - I don't own a trench coat in such a colour." Zhang Meng snapped back to reality and handed the mobile phone back. "And I guess I would remember if I ever met someone like you."

When her dinner companion frowned at her comment, she stated point blank, "It's not like you are someone forgettable."

Straightforward to the point of blunt-ness, another trait that she shared with the Fire Princess. Through the millenials, Ying Kong Shi had not encountered women who wasn't afraid to speak their mind - Li Luo had been one of them, you could count Lan Shang too, but the former was always mindful of social conventions while the Mermaid Princess came across wilful.

But this woman, she was something else - not afraid of offending others. Never one to waste energy on the idea of romance, Ying Kong Shi couldn't help but wonder in the same way that Xing Jiu had previously mused - would he be drawn to Zhang Meng if she wasn't the spitting image of Yan Da?