Mi Cheng was upon her blue bicycle, pedaling leisurely along the dirt path, her black, shiny hair flowing easily behind her. Taking a sweeping glance of her surroundings, her keen eyes took in the picturesque view of the early countryside. The morning air was crisp and the scenery of the rice fields against the golden sunrise was breath-taking. The orange hues painted a vivid image of fiery streaks blending into the azure plot of sky, thus creating an alliance between the warmth and the cold. Its magnificence hinted at a particular significance to Mi Cheng so she felt that something special was going to happen that day. She was always cautious about things that seemed to be out of place.
The endless line of dry plantations gave way to the skyscrapers and business shops which loomed over Mi Cheng’s small and humble physique. Their shiny tops winked at Mi Cheng playfully as the dawn shone on their mirror-like glass windows. She could not see into the buildings but the businessmen in them could see her from the inside. Her bicycle hit a ground of tar as the dirt path too, ended and the cemented road continued its progress. Mi Cheng lifted her vehicle slightly so as to overcome the small elevation the road imposed on all of the country travelers. Then, she cycled through the main circles of the ever-moving industrial production. Faces that looked like they were carved out of stone paraded the footpaths, walking or scampering to their offices with briefcases or designer bags containing crucial documents of development. Under their dignified countenance, the peasants of society lived. They were kicked to the sides, not by physical means but merely by avoidable starvation and the contempt of the rulers. Crimson and grey marks scratched their flesh, leaving a permanent stain that no porcelain tub could clean; no matter how thoroughly. Everyone had sunken cheeks-they both had no choice, however, the choice was not given to them. One had less than nothing and the other had everything, more than enough to handle. They just cruised or carved the path for themselves, without thought of the impact.

Usually, the sight of industrialization would spoil her mood because it alluded to the horrible memory of the accident. But surprisingly, it didn’t! Mi Cheng continued her journey with exuberant thoughts in her mind and she finally reached her destination: Ha Da Private High School. The school that was the home of the elite, talented and intelligent stood before Mi Cheng in its noble façade. She was about to enter it through the front gate when a car honked rather loudly.
She turned to see a blue Porsche behind her. The car honked again, louder this time. In order not to cause a disruption, Mi Cheng had no choice but to give way. She decided to enter by the gate students go through but the security guard stopped her, saying that she had to go by the front. He explained that swarms of students needed to go by that gate so if she went by that entrance, it would be an inconvenience to them if they were to be late because of her bicycle. Mi Cheng also did not want to be an obstruction in that part of the school. So, understanding the school’s conditions, she went back to the front gate just nearby, only to find the same Porsche occupying the entire space to the entrance!
Usually, Mi Cheng did not have the courage to speak to people, especially strangers but her frustration overpowered her shyness when the urgency of getting to school punctually became the top priority.
Therefore, she tapped the front door of the car lightly to ask the chauffeur to enter the school quickly. In response, the car’s rear window opened and she saw that a playful-looking teenager was in it.
He said jokingly, “Sorry, I planned to be late for class anyway.” The window started to close and Mi Cheng seized the chance to put her hand over the closing window. Then she retorted, “Who do you think you are?”
He took off his shades in his suave manner and replied in an authoritative tone, “Of course the next Dean!”
In Ha Da Schools, the influential school positions are traditionally hereditary. Therefore, for him to make this bold statement, he had to be a close relation of the Dean; most probably his son. Stunned that she had just offended someone of a somewhat higher class than her, Mi Cheng backed off and waited. The car still refused to budge! She had no choice but to storm off to the security guard with the intention to beg him to allow her to go through the gate.
However, he brought her to a small run-down building that indicated that it was for latecomers instead of letting her through to proceed to her classroom. Mi Cheng had long been known as a perfect student and she was proud of that so she could not stand the fact that it was because of another person’s absurdity that she had gotten a tardy.
The building was spacious on the inside though, changing the impression of a dark, shabby place as she went in to explore. Looking around the room, it gave Mi Cheng the impression of a peaceful library. Several shelves against the side walls were stacked with books and beside them were some colorful rugs with fluffy pillows thrown upon them. It seemed like it was intended for a reading room instead for a meeting room to discuss tardy matters. There was a broad stage up front and a man in a pressed suit was standing on it, a microphone in hand.
Mi Cheng found the room not that bad-looking when she was there for not too good a reason. Then her eyes caught sight of the root of her problem chatting happily with a few people.
Her temper welled up within her and to her surprise, she found herself storming towards his direction. She had pushed her way through his friends and yelled with an accusing finger, “It’s your fault!” There was no backing out now since she had already made contact with the higher authority.
At first, he could not recognize the new face that he had met earlier but the familiar glare and timber of voice recalled the memory of the transfer student. “It is your fault. You should have gone through the back gate,” he said, shrugging his shoulders in comic resignation. Then he continued his conversation with a teenager in a V-neck t-shirt.
“I didn’t know there was a back gate!” Mi Cheng fumed.
“You didn’t know there was one? Where there’s a front, there’s a back, alright?” He replied while knocking Mi Cheng’s head accordingly. “Anyway if I were you I wouldn’t go by that way because there’s where all those scholars go by.” As he whispered these insulting words loudly into Mi Cheng’s ear, the circle of students around them chuckled.
Proud joker! If that’s the Dean’s son, the Dean should be terrible! Mi Cheng was still fuming when she broke off from the giggling crowd and found a seat among the pillows of the room. Sitting there, she listened to the discipline master’s words.
“Alright, listen up! Your punishment for being late today would be to clean the bathroom, everyone! Except for Yuan Zhen Wei, you have to go to the library to borrow at least 2 books and read them! Make sure to have those book reports by next Friday!” The discipline master, Mr. Jing, bellowed.
Whose and what kind of a punishment is that? Yuan Zhen Wei? Mi Cheng wondered.
“Alright, that would be easy!” A familiar voice in the crowd commented.
Why do I have the feeling that… “You’re Yuan Zhen Wei?!” Mi Cheng blurted out.

“Of course! If you don’t even know that, I feel so sorry for you.” After giving her a look of utter disbelief, he strolled away.
“Now off to the bathroom!” Mr. Jing ordered. What a way to start her first day of school!
#
Mi Cheng hurried off to receive further orders from the discipline master then, she went to collect toilet-cleaning supplies from the store room of the school. After doing so, she was on her way to her assigned bathroom which passed by her science class, when suddenly a pail full of water dropped from someone’s hands. The carelessness came from a kind-looking freshman in front of Mi Cheng. He was not that far off so without warning, Mi Cheng slipped on the wet floor surface made by the lubricant.
Fortunately, a pair of strong and manly hands grasped Mi Cheng’s lithe body from behind to prevent her from falling. And also unfortunately for Mi Cheng, her savior was none other than her arch-nemesis of the morning, Yuan Zhen Wei! He was as surprised as Mi Cheng was when they knew that they were in contact of each other. Then, Mi Cheng scrambled out of Zhen Wei’s grip without a word of thanks and hopped out of the puddle her feet were in.
Looking back, she saw that Zhen Wei walked into her science class. He is a sophomore too! Furthermore, he’s in the same first period class as me? Mi Cheng was bewildered at what she had discovered.
In the midst of her thoughts, the guilty freshman came up to Mi Cheng’s side and apologized profusely for the accident and started to clean up the mess before Mr. Jing came to inspect the students. Mi Cheng lent a hand to help him clean the water up with the micro-fiber cloth she had collected from the store room.
With an air of admiration, he stretched out his hand to introduce himself, “Liang Mi Cheng, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a freshman here named Lim Yi Rui!”
At first, Mi Cheng was reluctant to shake his out-stretched hand. However, seeing that Yi Rui was sincere, she wanted to become friends with him too. “Hello Yi Rui, you can call me Mi Cheng! Anyway, how did you know my name?” She asked with a timid smile on her face.
“Well, you’re popular here! You know that as long as you’re in contact with the Thrill Trio’s Yuan Zhen Wei, everyone here knows who you are!” Yi Rui exclaimed.
“The Thrill Trio?” Mi Cheng almost laughed at the nickname. She thought that Yi Rui had said the Three Musketeers! That was even more appropriate to describe the confident personality of Yuan Zhen Wei. Anyway, Thrill Trio sounded like the name of a circus troupe!
Annoyed at Mi Cheng’s nonchalance, he explained the extravagance of the group he admired.
“The Thrill Trio’s what we call Yuan Zhen Wei, Chen Gao Lei and Mei Xi Sha! They’re the most popular in this high school. Zhen Wei’s the son of the Dean so he’s an immediate authority around here ‘cause he’s rumored to be the next Dean when he graduates from the University. Not only that, he’s one of the smartest people in this school and the Vice-captain of the basketball team. Though, he’s out of hand sometimes as you may have found out. Then, there’s Gao Lei, who is the captain of the basketball team. ‘Cause of his leadership in the team since 6th grade, our team, ‘D Haywires won 6 times in a row in the national tournaments! Finally, Mei Xi Sha’s-”
“The gorgeous, super famous, French, blonde super-model?” Mi Cheng perked up with a renewed interest, throwing aside her cloth in her excitement. It was evident that she was a fan of Mei Xi Sha.
“Yes-”
“So, where do I come in?”
“Well, since you stood up to the most authoritative of the Thrill Trio, everyone applauds you ‘cause no one dares to do that…” Yi Rui abruptly cut off his sentence, looked around swiftly and rubbed off the remaining puddles of water. With a few parting words, he left to his assigned bathroom.
Not too far away, Mr. Jing was heading towards them. Mi Cheng understood the ‘danger’ of the situation and hurried off towards her own bathroom.
As a day came to a close, Mi Cheng would take out her purple diary to record the day’s events. Normally, there would not be much to write about so she would just write a poem or two to relieve the boredom of a stagnant day. However, thankfully, that day was good enough for a lively entry. At the end of the paragraph, she would jot down her hopes for tomorrow.
That diary was what kept her company during the helpless and lonely days of her life. She relied on it so much that it became her most treasured possession and friend next to her sister. That constant writing was what influenced her to take up writing to occupy her free time. This was her diary entry of the day:
July 02














Sunny and rainy+ lightning MON
My first day of school in Ha Da
Dear Diary,

My first day wasn’t that bad if not for that rotten egg, Yuan Zhen Wei!! He thinks he’s all that! He speaks so rudely, dresses in expensive-looking clothes and drives a Porsche to school?! He made me late for school so I had to clean a bathroom stall (though it wasn’t that dirty :P). Not only that, I missed two periods of class! There goes my good, first impression in my new school.
Well, a very good and lucky thing is that I made a new friend! His name is Lim Yi Rui. Finally, a real first friend.
I wonder what tomorrow will be like.

My Hopes:
-I would not bump into that Rotten Egg King!!! (REK) [He is a wreck anyway!]
-School would be interesting
-I’ll meet my first love
Love Mi Mi

#
A raspy voice called from the dining room the next morning. “Mi Cheng, time for Ha Da!”
“Yes, Ma!” Mi Cheng yelled back. She pulled on a pair of denim jeans and a simple, white blouse after jumping out of bed. Taking a blue comb from the top of a white drawer, she ran the bristles of it through her layered, straight black hair and fringe to produce a neat effect. Satisfied with her hairstyle, she grabbed her blue glasses from the side table and rushed down to the kitchen where her mother was preparing breakfast for the two of them.
“Why are you dressed like that? You look like a commoner and not a rich woman’s daughter! Change into a prettier outfit!” Liang Ru Mi, Mi Cheng’s mom reprimanded with a hint of a Mandarin accent. Ru Mi hated the sense of fashion her daughter had and always tried every method possible to make Mi Cheng look decent, Ru Mi’s definition of decent that is. Mi Cheng, of course, did not like this type of arrangements.
“Ma, I’m going to school, not on a date!” Mi Cheng stressed for about the hundredth time.
With that, Mi Cheng spooned some grains of cereal into her mouth. Then, she rushed to get to her bicycle and back pack where she met Lim Yi Rui at the front door.
“Hey, you are… Lim…Yi Rui, right? What are you doing here?” Mi Cheng asked. He seemed confused as for his purpose being at the front door of an acquaintance. Mi Cheng did not mind at all because she was in a hurry to get to school so she forgot about her question. She apologized, wheeled her bicycle into the driveway and with her bag slung on one shoulder, she hopped on the vehicle, ready to pedal off when she remembered Yi Rui on the front doorsteps. Mi Cheng turned around and shouted for Yi Rui to hurry up.
“How is she ever going to get herself a man?” Ru Mi came up to the front door and shook her head in disappointment at Mi Cheng’s single status.

“Don’t worry Ma; I’m here for her if no one wants her…” Yi Rui reassured, smiling faintly.

“Tsk, don’t bet on it! Ha Da has hundreds of good-looking men, surely one of them would fall for her!” Ru Mi was glad that Mi Cheng finally had gotten a friend other than her sister, Liang Mu Xi. So, she liked that Yi Rui honored her by addressing her as Ma. Calling her by that name also relieved the yearning Ru Mi had for her elder daughter.
“I’m from Ha Da!” Yi Rui protested meekly.
“You’re not handsome at all! And besides, I don’t like you!” Ru Mi teased and waved Yi Rui off to accompany Mi Cheng to school.
Ma is so old-fashioned! It’s modern times, surely a Ha Da guy will like a plain Jane like me right? Mi Cheng wondered, staring into space. Due to her careless daydreaming, the bicycle swerved right into the middle of the dirt path. This caused the oncoming vehicle behind her to screech to a halt.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Someone from within the car warned. Mi Cheng recognized the voice and swiveled her head to face the owner of a blue Porsche. This voice could only belong to Yuan Zhen Wei.
“You again!” Zhen Wei and Mi Cheng shouted in resonance when they caught sight of each other.
“What’s wrong with you? You block my way every time!” Zhen Wei accused, leaning out of his car’s rear window.
“What? I blocked your way! Since when did I-” Mi Cheng yelled back.
“Calm down, Mi Cheng!” Yi Rui coaxed.
“Yi Rui, let go of me! He’s just a few feet away!” Mi Cheng argued, starting towards the Porsche. However, she could not advance any further because of Yi Rui’s strong restraining arms pulling her back to the side of the road.
“It’s alright Mi Cheng, your honor’s not at stake! Anyway, you’re holding up the traffic behind him so let it go!” After Yi Rui’s statement, Mi Cheng moved to the side and at Zhen Wei’s command, the chauffeur drove off leaving huge bellows of smoke behind.
As soon as the car disappeared, Yi Rui warned her about picking a fight with the Dean’s son. “Mi Cheng, you shouldn’t mess with him!”
“And why not? If I have to bow my head to rich snobs like him even when he clearly was wrong, then there is no such thing as a Mr. Sherlock Holmes. What would the world come to if he never existed? If he were alive, he would solve this dispute without lifting a muscle unlike you.” Mi Cheng cried out in between coughs caused by the inhalation of the smoke.
“Now, let’s just cycle to Ha Da without throwing any tantrums, okay?” Yi Rui pleaded. Unsatisfied with the result of the incident, Mi Cheng hopped back on her bicycle and cycled off at her top speed.
#
“Mi Cheng, hello!”
“Good Morning!”
“Have a good day!”
Each of the students that walked past Mi Cheng greeted her politely; some of them even bowed their respects.
“Why are all these strange people greeting me all of a sudden?” Mi Cheng asked Yi Rui once they were out of the crowd of apparent admirers.
“Remember, you’re associated with the Thrill Trio!” Yi Rui recalled. “Oh well, anyway we got here just in time, no more bathrooms for me to clean!” He continued, rubbing his hands in glee, grateful that he had escaped the rotten punishment that day.
“And without that REK around!” Mi Cheng announced in triumph.
“Wreck? Who’s a wreck?” Confusion was often one of the emotions that swam in Yi Rui’s innocent, blinking eyes.
“R-E-K, Rotten Egg King, REK!” Though the acronym was still pretty unclear to Yi Rui, he nodded his head to show his acknowledgement.
“Anyway, Yi Rui, see you later!” Both of them bade each other farewell and headed for their first class of the day.
#
“Xu Lao Shi (Ms. Xu), good morning!” Mi Cheng greeted her Science teacher with a brief bow after entering the classroom.
“Good morning, Mi Cheng! Everyone attention please, we have a new student named Liang Mi Cheng! Please take a seat next to Zhen Wei.” Xu Lao Shi replied cordially in turn and pointed out the seat at the back, where Mi Cheng had to sit in.
Zhen Wei? Don’t tell me he’s the Yuan Zhen Wei! Mi Cheng had definitely forgotten that Zhen Wei was in her Science class so she walked with hesitant steps towards the assigned chair. She also crossed her fingers tightly, wishing that it would not be him…
Unfortunately, Mi Cheng found to her dismay that the classmate seating next to her was the Yuan Zhen Wei.
“Today I have a project for you to do with your table partner. It is to construct a volcano. The instructions are on your tables so get to work!”

And to make it worse she had him as her partner!
“Let’s just get this over with.” Zhen Wei commanded, taking up the materials on their table and got about building the volcano.

Calm down, Mi Cheng. Relax. You’ll survive. Mi Cheng was still in one of her meditative moods when she found it strange that Zhen Wei was extremely quiet. She blinked one of her eyes open and saw that with Zhen Wei’s intense concentration, the volcano was almost done.
Wow! Zhen Wei is kind of smart! He can build a volcano. Opening her other eye, Mi Cheng watched him add the finishing touches to their project carefully. Her eyes travelled from his fingers to his thin but muscular arms, then to his face, her head not moving. They studied his eyes for a while and she realized that they were brown like her own. He looks so ha… What am I thinking? She shook the thoughts of Zhen Wei out of her head until she was satisfied.
“Do you want to burn your hair or what?” Zhen Wei was staring at her, his eyebrows raised when he saw Mi Cheng rocking her head back and forth like a rock star. Apparently, in the process of it, part of Mi Cheng’s hair landed into the opening of the volcano, some staying in the volcano and some slashing their surroundings with volcano mix.
“And, can you get it out of my face too?” Mi Cheng could not help but to giggle when strands of her hair were stuck to Zhen Wei’s face since they were wet with vinegar. Taking caution not to touch his face, she peeled her hair off him. Her fingers brushed his cheek and it felt soft and smooth, not oily or rough like how she would have imagined it to be. It was not that he looked like a horrible toad; it was just that he had the personality of one. He is so… Mi Cheng, stop it! You’re working now, not thinking of creative ways to describe how he looks like… Alright, he’s described in one word: Hideous not ha… She shook her head again-less violently this time- and turned to face Zhen Wei just in time to receive something from him. He was handing a package to her.
“Now, put in the entire packet of the baking soda.” Zhen Wei said. A playful glint lingered in his eyes as the distracted Mi Cheng took up the baking soda package without referring to the instructions laid before them.
Mi Cheng poured the entire content of the baking soda packet into the volcano’s opening. It was extinct at first but seconds after that, it became active and white lava leaked uncontrollably out of the volcano. A dirty wet mess of foam and bubbles collected on their table. Zhen Wei could not help but burst out laughing and so, he caught Xu Lao Shi’s attention. She hated noise during group work. She believed that silence was essential to encourage efficient teamwork, probably using the sixth sense. Consequently, both of them got into trouble. For Mi Cheng, it was the second time for her to be reprimanded by a teacher in her new school. Things were definitely not going well.
“Xu Lao Shi, I’m really sorry! I didn’t see the instructions; I just followed what he said blindly. I thought he was doing the correct thing and-” Mi Cheng mumbled in short gasps in explanation of the recent commotion.

“Lao Shi, just punish us, it’s no big deal!” Zhen Wei interrupted, yawning as he said that. He clearly did not care that it was his fault for the mess. He was also chatting with his classmates when he knew he was talking to his teacher! Xu Lao Shi didn’t care about Zhen Wei’s attitude because she was used to it and she knew she could do nothing about it. Someone else was needed for nurturing his mental health. Her main job was to manage the class properly.

“It is to me! Sorry Xu Lao Shi, I’ll just clean it up, okay?”
“Both of you clean it up!” Xu Lao Shi ordered. Her beautiful eyes became fierce slits with tension and the creases at the edges of her mouth straightened out as emphasis was placed on each syllable.
“You clean it up yourself!” Zhen Wei argued, pushing all of the work to Mi Cheng.
“Mi Cheng, you will clean it up and Zhen Wei, you will make a new volcano and that is final!” Xu Lao Shi exclaimed in exasperation, returning to her table at the front of the classroom. She did not want to deal with their petty business anymore.
Mi Cheng was furious that Zhen Wei tricked her into making an unintentional mess and even more so, when she observed that he created a new volcano perfectly. She ardently hoped the last thirty minutes of science class would end quicker so that the torture would end soon.
Finally, the bell signaled the end of first period. Mi Cheng was free from the clutches of the Dean’s son at last! When she was out of the classroom, she opened her bag to rummage through the organized papers in her file for her schedule.
Her next class was Mathematics and it was in Room 402. In her hurry, Mi Cheng bumped into someone in her way. The books and stationery, that were not held in place properly, fell out of her unzipped bag.
“I didn’t see where I was going so…” Mi Cheng mumbled and began picking up her belongings hastily. She was deeply embarrassed that she had caused yet another commotion.
“That’s fine. I was at fault too.” The voice was shaped with that of an English upbringing, although he was somewhat lacking in the English accent. He got down to his knees to help her. The second that she touched his hand as they reached out to grab the same book, a tingling sensation went down Mi Cheng’s spine. She looked up and could not help but gaze at the aquiline, attractive features and deep black, quiet eyes he had been generously endowed with. The black-rimmed glasses that were placed delicately on the tip of his fleshless nose complemented his lightly tanned complexion and gave a scholarly appearance to him. Mi Cheng wished that the moment would never be broken since she finally experienced the disappearance of the first pulses of heartache.
However, some one standing beside him broke the moment too abruptly. “No, it’s not alright; you shouldn’t be apologizing to this person! Gao Lei, let’s go before I have to clean a real volcano this time.” Zhen Wei smirked and pulled Chen Gao Lei up from his kneeling position.

July 03 2011
















Rainy+lightning TUESDAY






The start of something old
Dear Diary,

Why must he make me so mad??!! I didn’t block his ‘lovely’ Porsche for no reason at all!! I mean, is it unreasonable for people to blame someone else for accidentally causing them an inconvenience and also, playing pranks on them, just for the sake of peace, joy and laughter in the tormentor’s heart? This is exactly how the hunter’s prey should feel right now. Unreasonably, Hopelessly, Doomed. To add on to this bad day, unfortunately I have to sit beside the hunter for Science and Math classes.
Well, at least there are saints like Gao lei! (I think that’s his name, most probably, hope so.) I wonder how he is friends with him! Anyway, I hope to see Gao lei more.
My Hopes:
-Who is Gao lei?
- Have extra-curricular activities
Love Mi Mi

“Huh! Kyle, Look at her!” Li Mi snorted, twirling her maroon hair with the tips of fingers which had hot pink nails.
“Look at whom?” Kashino Fugiwaka, her shaggy-haired companion sitting beside her asked in perfect English. Li Mi often addressed people by their English name so she called Kashino, Kyle, even though he preferred his Japanese name.
“Michelle (Mi Cheng)! Haven’t you been listening? She just sits there and guys drool over that new girl! She’s such a vixen!” Li Mi had a curious lisping Spanish accent as she spoke.
Mi Cheng’s courage towards Yuan Zhen Wei earned her many admirers especially from the male population and so; she received many gifts from them in the few days that passed. Mi Cheng did not accept them though thus, this increased her popularity among the kind-hearted. This incident made Li Mi very jealous.
“What’s wrong with her? I think she’s nice and bold-”
“What?” Li Mi shrieked in protest.
“Just kidding!” Kashino stammered, cowering under the heated gaze of his master.
“Good! Hey, here’s a dollar to push that girl down!” Li Mi gestured with her petite, tanned hand to a young freshman and pointed Liang Mi Cheng out to him. She was sitting on the stone bench, bent over her notebook and scribbling busily on it:

The sun’s radiance beat down vehemently on the baked ground below. The blue clouds shivered and melted in fright of the God in the sky. The Sun reigned the day once again, pronouncing the beginning of the dawn... Yeah, that’s just like REK!

“Hey! What’s your deal?” Mi Cheng snapped when she found herself on the gravel with her knees lightly scrapped. The students in the vicinity roared in laughter at the joke Kashino and Li Mi played on poor Mi Cheng. Both of them were clearly two of the influential leaders of the Ha Da social ladder.
“Why you…” Mi Cheng started when a hand appeared. “Oh! Thanks and no thanks for making me fall!” She said sarcastically when she took the offered hand to stand up. Then, she looked up to see Chen Gao Lei staring at her. Embarrassed, she picked up her book.
“I’m sorry I think you were mistaken because I did not push you over. He did.” Gao Lei said in a fast, cool fashion and pointed in the direction of the young freshman.
Was it REK? Mi Cheng wondered, looking behind. No? Just someone I don’t know then. Oh well. “Erm, hey, thank you anyway and sorry too!” Mi Cheng said, smiling apologetically.
“That’s fine. Now, please excuse me.” Gao Lei said and walked back to the court to resume basketball practice.
At least there’s my prince charming in shining armor who saved the damsel in distress! Mi Cheng stood there, staring at the back of her first crush as he walked away.

“Why are you?” Mi Cheng cried out in desperation only to find that her best friend was the one who knocked her on the head.

“It’s you, Yi Rui! Sorry I thought it was those strangers!” Mi Cheng explained, jerking her thumb towards Li Mi and her gang. They were bored of the joke they just played and now, they were involved in loud gossiping.
“Tsk! Have you heard that Mi Cheng is his new target?” A group of giggly girls walked by Li Mi’s gang and discussed the latest information they just heard. Li Mi’s gang strolled off in disgust when they found that people were eavesdropping on their conversation.
“What do you mean? Who is he?” Mi Cheng heard her name being mentioned as that clique of girls walked past and she wanted to know the subject of their conversation badly.
“Zhen Wei’s target is you!” Yi Rui replied.

Mi Cheng raised her eyebrow at the peculiar term used. “What do you mean?”
Noticing her uncertainty, Yi Rui explained that target in school meant a date or an enemy.
“Well, it’s definitely not a date so it’s on, enemy REK!” Mi Cheng proclaimed, pumping her right fist into the air with enthusiasm.
“Don’t be so sure about that!” The same sardonic voice was followed by a hit on Mi Cheng’s head by a hard basketball. Turning around with her hand on her injured head, Mi Cheng retorted with a “And why not, Mr. Zhen Wei?”
“That’s because I have your beloved book of secrets! Do you know the cost of this book in the gossip club?” Another basketball player off the court passed Zhen Wei a basketball and he twirled it on his right fore finger with ease. In his other hand, Zhen Wei had Mi Cheng’s precious purple diary in his possession. She searched through her sling bag thoroughly to confirm that her diary was not with her.

Next, Mi Cheng stormed up to him with eyes full of dread then; she was at a loss of words. After that, she was just able to mumble dumbly, “You have a gossip club?”
“Yup, and the entire student body are members of it. Yi Rui should very well know the speed of distorted rumors in this school! Let’s say, it should be close to a streak of lightning which has the speed of-” Zhen Wei tapped his chin, pretending to think which annoyed Mi Cheng very much.
“So, what do you want?” Mi Cheng demanded, eyeing her book.
“Well, you think fast, don’t you? Of course, I have something in mind. Come with me!” Zhen Wei ordered. Then, he threw the basketball aside, which the same basketball player picked up. And he headed in the direction of a somewhat abandoned alley in the school.
“Mi Cheng, you promised to go home with me!” Yi Rui called after Mi Cheng. She gave him one of her apologetic smiles which seemed to convey the message of ‘Sorry, I have to get my book back, another time?’ and ran after Zhen Wei.
“Hey! Run faster or else this book will be in the trash or even better, in Li Mi’s hands!” Zhen Wei threatened, causing Mi Cheng to quicken her already fast pace.
“Who is Li Mi anyway?”
“Li Mi is the gossip queen who is easily jealous and my ex-girlfriend.”
Ex-girlfriend? Wow, even he can get one with that horrid personality of his? “Oh, whatever! Just give it back to me!” Mi Cheng stopped in her tracks, folded her arms over her chest and refused to follow him anymore.
“No, no and nope! I will only give it back to you under one condition though! Wait, is Yi Rui your boyfriend?” Zhen Wei halted also and waved the book right under her nose.
“No, I don’t have one!” Mi Cheng took her chance and grabbed at the book but unfortunately, Zhen Wei stretched to his full height of 180cm and held the book at the very tips of his fingers. Mi Cheng almost lost her balance but was able to catch herself before she fell, head-first.
“Good! But it’s such a pity, he likes you so much yet I have to take you away from him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Be my girlfriend!” There was a loud ring of conviction as he uttered these three words.
“What!” Mi Cheng’s eyes were bulging with both amusement and bewilderment when she heard of the absurd request.
“Be my girlfriend! Are you deaf?” Zhen Wei repeated, his light brown eyes scanning his surroundings to see if anyone was spying on them.
“Yeah, I heard you but why me?” Mi Cheng had lost her wits. She was of an excitable nature. Now, she was even more so because Zhen Wei’s words took her to an extreme level of surprise that she could not help but to pace back and forth to fathom his motives.
“It’s the only way…” His voice became a whisper from the thunderous pitch he had assumed before.
Mi Cheng’s sensitive ears caught his muttering and stopped right in front of him to question him. “To do what?”
“Nothing! Mind your own business!”
She shrugged her shoulders in comic resignation and said, “Well, I can’t do that, boss, give me another one.”
“Then, let me be your boyfriend!” Zhen Wei smirked.
“Are you always this annoying?”
“If I don’t get what I want!”
“Hey Mister, don’t think you’ll get me that easily!”
“Do you actually think I’m doing this because I like you? I’m trying to get Xi Sha to be jealous! Oh snap!” Zhen Wei knocked his head with Mi Cheng’s diary in frustration when he eventually exposed his purpose for his request.
“So that’s the reason! Your crush is Mei-Xi-Sha, the gorgeous supermodel of Ha Da!” Her eyes and voice both formed an alliance to taunt Zhen Wei.
“So what? You like Chen Gao Lei… my super basketball captain a.k.a. best friend?” His handsome face was tilting closer and closer to Mi Cheng’s oval-shaped one.
“Best friend! Seriously, how can it be that the two of you are of the same breed? Er, wait have you been reading my diary?” Mi Cheng exclaimed.
“You’re talking to me like as if I’m a type of dog!” Zhen Wei roared.
“Aren’t I?”
“Anyway, is it a deal?” He ignored the past remark and continued in a business-like tone.
“It’s a deal then as long as you keep your word. But do not read my diary anymore and please no kissing, hugging or anything-” Mi Cheng stated, counting off all her conditions with her fingers while looking fiercely into his eyes to show her defiance.
Then, unexpectedly, Zhen Wei planted a firm kiss on Mi Cheng’s soft, pink lips before she had time to finish her sentence.
“You talk too much. Besides, that’s what couples do, got a problem? See ya tomorrow, Mi Cheng!” After he had taken his lips away from hers, Zhen Wei waved goodbye cheerfully and rushed back to basketball practice with the diary in hand. His happiness seemed to be over the top so it appeared to be superficial. As her tormentor stalked off, Mi Cheng was just standing there, stunned.




#
The next morning, Mi Cheng was tossing and turning on her bed, mourning over the loss of her precious first kiss. She was the type of girl who treasured those love moments and hated for them to be destroyed by an uninvited element. That element was of course Yuan Zhen Wei.
It’s just a peck on the lips, right? There’s nothing to it! Anyway, that’s a way of greeting in Europe, right? Maybe, he learned that from Mei Xi Sha! She’s half-French, isn’t she? But, still! That imbecile stole my first kiss right after I agreed to become his girlfriend!? I lost my lip virginity to someone I don’t like and not to mention hate!
“Chen Gao Lei! Why didn’t you save me this time?” Mi Cheng whined in exasperation and ruffled her hair in distress. Her frustration grew when she took a look at herself in the full-length mirror to find two incessant black rings around the features that she took care of the most after she diagnosed with mild myopia; her eyes.

“Hey! What’s the racket up there? What Chen Gao Lei! Is he your boyfriend? I’m coming in, okay?” Ru Mi called with a tinge of concern.
“Ma, don’t go in!” Mi Cheng begged. She didn’t want her mother to see the pathetic state she was in.
“Why not? Who is Gao Lei?” Ru Mi entered the room to find Mi Cheng lying on the bedroom floor and staring into the mirror.
“He is not my boyfriend! He is the boy I like but but… ah!” Mi Cheng screamed in agitation when she stood up to face her mother. She found that she was unable to explain the incident that happened the day before.
“Take it easy…What’s wrong? You’ve never been this worked up before!” Ru Mi said, patting her daughter’s head affectionately.
“That that…”
“Uh huh…” Ru Mi was trying to comprehend what her daughter was saying out of the short and vague phrases she was giving her.
Suddenly, Mi Cheng fell to her knees and snatched up her mother’s hands. “I’m sorry, Ma! I’ve let you down!”
Startled at Mi Cheng’s actions, Ru Mi pulled her back up to her feet.
“What are you saying?”
“I lost my virginity to Yuan Zhen Wei!” Her head was bowed in deep repentance as she broke the news to her mother who obviously interpreted it in a different way.
“What! Don’t tell this to your Pa or else he’ll kill you!” Ru Mi grabbed tufts of her own brown hair in surprise of her own daughter’s conduct.
“Ma! It’s not what you think!” Mi Cheng cried out and paused for a while to allow her mother and herself to calm down before she continued. “That idiot stole my diary so I have to be his girlfriend to get it back! When I said that there should be no kissing or hugging or he… he…”
“What-did-he-do?” Ru Mi herself finally was not able to contain her own anxiety.
“He kissed me.” Mi Cheng replied softly.
Ru Mi stared at Mi Cheng’s pleading eyes with a vacant expression. She placed her hands on her shoulders to stabilize herself like as if she was about to faint soon and after an agonizing moment of silence, she gave a dry response which Mi Cheng hardly anticipated.
“That’s all?”
Ru Mi looked like she was on the verge of giggles and that she was to about faint of laughter and not of shock like Mi Cheng expected. Well, you could not expect Ru Mi to be alarmed at that kind of episode because she wanted Mi Cheng to have a boyfriend all her life that she could not believe her ears at Mi Cheng’s innocence.
“What do you mean by ‘That’s all’? That was my first kiss!” Mi Cheng whined but to no avail because her mother started walking out of her bedroom to attend to better things of interest.
“Wait, Ma!” Mi Cheng stood in front of the doorway and pulled her mother’s arms back into her bedroom.
“So, now you want me?”
“Ma!”
“Aiya (a cry of exasperation), that way you’ll get to experience the world of love! And did you say Yuan Zhen Wei... He’s the Dean’s son? He can also be your future husband!” Ru Mi suggested, with a grim smile plastered on her playful face.
“Ma, get out!”
“Ok, ok!” Ru Mi hustled out of the room and got about her daily routine of house chores before starting her day of farm work.
“What kind of conversation was that, Ma?” Mi Cheng mumbled under her breath once her mother had slipped out of the room and the door closed after her. With that, she stood in front of her wardrobe and picked out her outfit for the school day.
News and gossip certainly traveled quickly throughout the school’s gossip club! That day, the highlight of everyone’s conversations was the relationship between Yuan Zhen Wei, the Dean’s son and Liang Mi Cheng, the popular transfer student.

“Hey, Si He! Do you know Liang Mi Cheng is Zhen Wei’s girlfriend now?”
“What? That’s fast! It’s just her 4th day here and they are attached?”
“Yes, yes! Something must have happened between them!”
“Yeah, disgraceful!”
Mi Cheng knew that something of that sort would happen so she chose to enter school through the gate the elite loathed; the back gate. She also wanted to avoid the radar of the person who stole her first kiss as soon as possible.

“Mi Cheng! What happened yesterday?” Yi Rui asked, following close behind her. A questioning look was upon his face because they did not usually go by the back gate which was much further than going by the front.
“That’s none of your business!” Mi Cheng snapped, looking about her to ascertain that the coast was clear before stepping into the high school.
“Hey, Mimi!” Yi Rui ejaculated.
“Who is Mimi?” Mi Cheng was still on her guard so she paid almost no attention to her friend.
“Can I call you Mimi?”
“Yes!”
“So, what happened? Tell me! Tell me…”
“Come over here!” Mi Cheng was finally satisfied that she was safe so she was in a comfortable mood to tell Yi Rui the truth. She brought Yi Rui behind a gnarl tree and whispered into his ear urgently, “He kissed me!”
“Then?”
“What ‘and then’?” Mi Cheng mocked, annoyed at his nonchalance which was the same as her mother’s. “Zhen Wei, that creep, wants me to become his girlfriend for his own gains then when I set the conditions of no intimacy, he went against it and I became violated!” Her hands were flailing in the air to represent her anger.
Yi Rui stared at Mi Cheng with a serious expression then he too exploded into loud chuckles at the expense of Mi Cheng’s anger.
“What’s so funny?”
“How did you… get into … this kind of situation?” Yi Rui’s words were coming out in broken phrases because he was still unable to control his laughter.
“Do I look like I know?”
“Mimi, I’m sorry I have to go now because here he comes! I wish you the best of luck!” Yi Rui hurried to his first class of the day as soon as he saw the person he considered as the most authoritative of the Thrill Trio.
Despite her careful measures of avoiding the very person walking up to her, Zhen Wei still found his way to Mi Cheng.
“Hi, Babe!” Zhen Wei said and stole his left arm around Mi Cheng’s waist imprudently.
“Don’t touch me and never call me B- that name you just said, call me… call me…” After swatting his arms away, she tapped her chin to think of an appropriate nickname.
“Mimi?”
“Yeah, that’s it!” Mi Cheng agreed.
#

“Xi Sha! Do you know Zhen Wei fell for that new girl already and they’re going out?”
A sweet, angelic voice like that of a gentle lullaby asked her informant, “Who is she?”
“Her name’s-”
Zhen Wei overheard their conversation that was not too far away so he shouted ‘Mi Mi’ loud enough for them to hear. After knowing that their attention was turned towards them, he pulled Mi Cheng close, “Mimi, let’s go to science class now, alright?”
Mi Cheng nodded with a forced smile and was led to her class with a stranger’s arm around her.

Once they reached their classroom seats, Mi Cheng pushed Zhen Wei away from her. “You don’t have to be so close to me during class!” she hissed.
When the class heard this, they started whispering, “Hey, Ti De, what is happening to the hottest couple?”
“I don’t know, Zhi Di.” Chen Ti De replied, observing Mi Cheng and Zhen Wei who was two seats away from him.
Minutes after that, Zhen Wei tapped Mi Cheng on her arm, gave her one of his killer smiles and passed her a note saying that she had to go on dates with him for at least three months in order to get her diary back safe and sound. She knew the consequences when she did not comply with his conditions however, she still her dignity to defend too.
“What! There are more conditions? Seriously!” Mi Cheng exclaimed. Zhen Wei hushed his ‘girlfriend’ and then, continued with his threatening tone again, “If you want the contents of your prized possession in public, be my guest!”
“Yes, control freak!” Mi Cheng relented, saluting.
“Meet me at 6pm.”
“Today?”
“Haven’t you been on a date before? This kind of language of course means today!”
No, I haven’t been on one. What’s wrong with that? “Wait, how do you know my place?” Mi Cheng pointed out. She remembered that she had never given him her address on her own accord.
“Thanks to your bicycle blockage!”
Oh, right!