Fragments

Ink Blot

When people thought of Daoming Si, two words usually sprung to mind; logical and ruthless. Ah Si's reputation as a business whiz kid almost always preceded him, and snap judgements were quite often made about his character. Although, this was a reputation that Ah Si had worked hard to cultivate, so he didn't especially mind if the masses avoided him. He was aware that he was incredibly handsome, he had girls fawning over him constantly and it drove him insane. At least his scowl sometimes kept them at arms length. It was ironic that the only girl he did want wasn't impressed at all by his face; it really was just his luck! It was easier to keep people at arms length when they were terrified of you, but that had never been his intention with Shancai; he had been putty in her hands from the second the words 'green shoe guy' had left her pretty little mouth. His legendary explosive temper also contributed to his fearsome reputation; no one had ever dared to cross Daoming Si. Except for her of course. He was usually content to let people think he was a shallow, two dimensional hot headed fool; he had never been good at making friends, and at least if he could reassure himself it was because people were intimidated by him, he wouldn't have to feel like such a failure. His mother was largely absent and he didn't particularly miss her either; Zhuang Jie and F4 had always been there for him, and that had always been enough for him. That was until he met Dong Shancai and his world had been turned entirely on it's head. He hated the idea of her viweing him as shallow and pedantic; she made him want to write poems, to sing silly songs with her, to dance, even to unleash the talent that he had always kept hidden from the world for fear of ridicule.

Yes, Daoming Si, the almighty, untouchable heir, had a hidden talent that he kept close to his chest. He had always been able to draw; he had never been trained, but the shapes just seemed to make sense to him. As soon as he put pencil to paper, the lines just seemed to flow out of him uninterrupted, effortless and calming until he had filled the page with his vision. Be it paint, charcoal or ink, Ah Si had mastered them all; he had just never told anyone. This was partly due to embarrassment; he was supposed to be a business tycoon, not the next Rembrandt. His mother certainly wouldn't approve of such a frivolous waste of time. And the other reason was Lei; the boy had always longed to be able to draw - he knew his friend was frustrated by his lack of artistic skills. His friend took it as a personal slight that he couldn't draw so much as a stick figure; he had always been known as the creative one, so this lack of ability deeply annoyed him. Ah Si had never felt the need to brag about this concealed part of himself; he drew to calm himself, to help himself focus and to pass the time when he was dehabilitatingly bored. It wasn't something he felt he needed to share. However, when he came across Shancai sitting on the university steps, her perfect brow furrowed in anger as she harshly scribbled on a piece of paper, an idea flitted through his mind. Perhaps Shancai, stubborn girl, would be impressed by this talent of his? He knew she thought he was incurably immature and impulsive; perhaps if he acted more like Lei, showed her a gentler, more peaceful side of himself, he would finally be able to win her over? She seemed drawn to Lei; perhaps if he showed his softer side, he could make some progress?

Xi Men and Meizuo always said he was useless with the ladies, that he had no concept of romance and they had suggested that he needed to try wining and dining Shancai in order to win her favour. However, Ah Si felt like he knew her better than that. Shancai wasn't the type to be overly impressed by him flashing his cash and she would be deeply uncomfortable if he took her to a gourmet restaurant; and to be honest, he highly suspected that anything she cooked would be one thousand times tastier. And he wasn't just saying that because he was in love with her; it was because everything she made had soul and effort poured into it. Shancai was fiercely independent and he adored that part of her, but it was also the reason he was certain that Xi Men's and Meizuo's tactics wouldn't work with her. She was too clever, too special to be taken on such a bland, pre-planned date - she made him feel fire, and she deserved so much more than mediocrity. His mind was spinning as he plopped down beside her, jostling her as she absentmindedly chewed the end of her pen in frustration. She jumped, startled by his sudden movement, and her pen clattered noisily to the ground. They both reached at once to grab it, their hands brushing lightly; Shancai froze at the feeling of his fingertips on hers, and Ah Si felt the slight touch thrum through him like an electric shock. Even that simple touch was enough to ignite his senses, and his eyes were dark as he slowly raised his head, smiling slightly when her eyes slanted shyly away from him.