daomingsi, dongshancai.

a little piece of advice

"I just don't understand."

Si closed his eyes in annoyance. How could she not get it! He looked into her eyes, huge and filled with hurt, and tried for the thousandth time that day to explain how he felt about her.

"But what could you possibly not understand? You. . . you're Shancai, you're perfect."

Satisfied with his answer, he tried to push a piece of his tart onto her plate, but she shook her head and looked away from him. "What I mean is. . ." she started hesitantly, her voice quavering a bit. "What I mean is," she repeated, "I don't understand why you would choose me, Daoming Si."

This stupid girl! "You–!" he started, but she interrupted him.

"See, I knew you wouldn't understand me," Shancai cried immediately, her eyes looking strangely shiny. He paused, noticing them.

"Are you–?"

"No!" She said violently, as a single tear slid down her cheek, contradicting herself, and she reddened in shame. "But you don't love me, Daoming Si, not like I love you, not at all!"

"What–!"

But she had already fled the restaurant in embarrassment before he could say another word. He cursed as he tried to run after her, but the waiter pushed him back, as he hadn't paid the check yet. He groaned, trying to look out of the windows, but he couldn't see her anymore as she had run too far. Cursing again, he pushed a stack of cash into the waiter's hands and ran out after her, ignoring the rest of the people in the restaurant who were now staring at him.

Outside, Si looked out wildly around the Shanghai street of downtown shops, but couldn't see Shancai. He skimmed each of the shops and restaurants, but to no avail. After a long and fruitless search, he slumped down on one of the benches outside a cafe, and closed his eyes in annoyance.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. How dare she question his devotion to her, his life? He should've been the one questioning her, not the other way around.

He ground the dirt below with the sole of his shoe angrily. Then he sighed.

If he thought about it a little more, though, Si pondered, why did he love Shancai? Whenever she had asked him the question that day, the default and natural answer his brain had outputted for him was that it because she was her, because she was Shancai.

Now he realized how that didn't make much sense.

He looked up to the heavens. Damn. He had no idea where Shancai was or, and now, why he loved her. What a terrific day.

Then suddenly, interrupting his gloom, he felt a sense of foreboding, as if something terrible was looming from behind him. What could it b–

"You look horrible, Ah Si."

Si looked up in surprise and frowned, seeing his sister smirking.

Amazing. His day had just gotten ten times better.

He wanted to punch something.

"Go away."

She ignored him. "Scooch over, idiot."

"No."

"Scooch."

"No."

"Scooch."

"N–Ah!" His sister had pushed him of the bench and into the ground, and she took his spot.

"So. . . " she drawled. "Where's Shancai."