Opposite - Meteor garden

Eight

Ash's eyes widened when she heard him. "Derek, oh my gosh." She went in for a hug and he hugged her back. They haven't seen each other in years so Derek decided to wish her a happy birthday. "I've missed you!" Ash said as she pulled away from the him. He nodded, "I did too." They walked over to the table that Ash was sitting at. Lucinda looked up at Derek and then looked at Ash, "Who's this?" Ash gently pushed Derek in front of her, "This is Derek. Do you remember him?" Derek smiled awkwardly as Lucinda was trying to remember him.
"Ah yes, I remember you. It's great to see you again." Lucinda didn't really think it was great to see him but she didn't want to seem rude in front of Lukas's parents. Derek nodded respectfully at Luka's parents, and they did the same back.

"I'm sure my mom remembers you." Ash said as she took a sip of her glass. Derek shook his head, "I don't think so. It looked like she only did that so she wouldn't look bad in front of those people. Who are they anyway?" Before Ash could answer, Luka came over. "Hey babe," he put his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him. It took Ash a second to realize who it was. "Don't touch me." she grabbed his hand and pushed it away. Luka looked at Derek and mouthed "She's just a little shy" Derek frowned and nodded slowly. He took a sip of his drink before he talked. He pointed at Luka, "So, is this your boyfriend?" Ash shook her head very quickly, "No, of course not. I would never date him." Luke grabbed his chest, pretending to be hurt by her statement. Ash glanced at him and rolled her eyes. Derek chuckled at that and took another sip before putting his drink down.

A soft slow song started playing and Si looked at Ash, who was still talking to Derek. He felt awfully jealous and started debating whether he should go talk to her or not. Lei, on the other hand, felt like he was glued to his chair. Since Si had feelings for her, he didn't want to intervene. They were best friends since childhood and fighting over a girl is just immature. He looked at Si. He seemed troubled.

"Go talk to her." Lei told him.

Si looked at Lei, nodded, and stood up. He made his way to her. "Ash." he said as he stopped right in front of her. "Si! What's up?" she said, turning to look at him. She missed him a whole lot but she tried her best to make it seem like that wasn't the case. Derek glanced at him and gave him a discrete dirty look. Si didn't seem to notice, since his eyes were fixated on Ash. Si stretched his hand out, "Would you like to dance?" Ash tried her best not to blush and she placed her hand on his. He led her to the dance floor swiftly. Ash placed her left hand on his shoulder. Si placed his right hand on her waist and held her hand with the other. They followed the pace of the song. Soon enough, some people started joining them on the dance floor.

Meizuo and Ximen sighed while looking at Si and Ash. "They seem like they are in love." Meizuo said, clasping his hands together. Lei watched as they danced. It was lovely seeing them dance together to a beautiful song, however he despised how it wasn't him she was dancing with. He didn't hate Si, he just hated how they both like the same girl. He knew it was wrong for him to like her too, since Si is very persistent. He would never give up Ash so he could have her. It would be useless to even try. He thought that perhaps it was best to just watch from afar, so he grabbed his glass and drank it all. Although he thought it was best to stay back, he wasn't going to give up on her. He felt different around her, almost like how he felt near Jing.

Lukas immediately recognized Derek. He was working for Derek, to get more information on her and the company. Although it doesn't make sense, since her older brother is the one who took over the company. However, Derek thought it was better to get closer to Ash to have her spit things out about the company. Of course, she was never going to tell anything about the company to Jack or Lukas, since she's had horrible encounters with both of them. Derek, on the other hand, was a better choice to take on the job. She trusts him so much, it won't be hard to get information from her. Lucinda, Ash's mother, was a horrible woman, but her company was great. Her company was so great that they had to destroy it. How could Derek ever compete with such company? He couldn't, which is why needs Ash to reveal such sensitive information about that company.

Winning her trust was crucial and perhaps playing with her feelings wouldn't be so bad.