Hiraeth ; Meteor Garden 2018

Chapter 16

Shuijing

After talking to Lei, I headed for the big stairs in front of the fountain. Lei had to leave for music class so I was left alone with my thoughts. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I took in my surroundings.

"Hey." I heard from behind me and turned my head to see Meizuo standing there.

"You disrupted my peace Feng Meizuo." I teased as I pouted at him. He laughed and sat down beside me.

"Sorry Shui but it's lunchtime and I'm starving. So let's go eat?" He said as he looked at his watch. I nodded and got up.

"Where's Ximen?" I asked as I looked around.

"He has a lunch date with one of the girls we met at the bar." He smugly said as I rolled my eyes and walked away.

"Hey wait for me!" He said as he jogged to catch up with me. I laughed and walked faster.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We were at this restaurant we found when Meizuo and I were in high school. It was this gorgeous little place with vintage collections of old vinyl discs and movie memorabilia. Framed in glass frames on the walls were posters of old movies like 'Star Wars', 'Casablanca','The Shining' etc.

"Auntie Mei!" I called out as a chubby elderly woman came around the counter and smiled at me.

"If it isn't little Shuijing! My my, you've gotten so prettier!" She said as she cupped my face as I smiled. She looked behind me where Meizuo stood.

"And Meizuo! Well, I haven't seen you since you started college." She said as Meizuo gave her a hug. She turned back to me.

"And you dear! I haven't seen you since you left for Paris with your sister. That was 3 years ago wasn't it dear?" She asked kindly and I nodded my head.

"Well, sit down and I'll bring out your favorite dishes okay?" She said as she guided as to a table. We both nodded and sat down as she went back to the kitchen.

"This place hasn't changed a bit," I said as I looked around and smiled.

"Yeah. It really hasn't." Meizuo answered as he gave me a smile.

"So what's been going on with you? You okay?" he asked as he moved closer to me. My eyebrows raised in confusion.

"What do you mean Zuo?" I asked.

"Well, the media hasn't been entirely lenient when it comes to making up headlines for your family." He said as I let out a sigh.

"Yeah well, I talked to Jie about it and she isn't pregnant. My parents on the other hand have a hard time believing her so now they're doing everything they can to find my so-called 'secret boyfriend' which is ridiculous considering I'm not in a relationship." I said as I closed my eyes and massaged my temples in frustration. Meizuo laughed and I opened one eye to glare at him.

"You sure you don't have one Shui? Come on, I'm your BFF you can tell me anything." He said as he playfully batted his eyelashes at me. I giggled and said in all seriousness.

"I.Don't. Have. A. Boyfriend!" I answered, pulling his ear harder with each word. He yelped in pain.

"Hey! I was just asking!" He defended as Auntie Mei brought our food out. My mouth watered as my eyes feasted on the plates of food.

"Here you are dears. All your favorite dishes!" She said as she referred to the feast in front of us. There was a plate of fried calamari, a platter of sweet and sour pork, hotpot, a bowl of mashed potatoes, some stuffed duck, a bowl of spicy seafood noodles, and rice.