Imperfect Desires

While Darren was leaving the hospital with Dylan, the latter's curiosity got the best of him as he asked, "Dazi, are you really worried about this girl? I have never seen you get this concerned about some random girl. Are you really attracted to her?"

"What if I am? What's wrong with that?" asked Darren raising his brows in question. "It's in human nature to get attracted to things that shine peculiarly and beautifully."

"Nothing is wrong as such. It's just... she seems like a troubled person," replied Dylan nonchalantly. "Also, you heard what Uncle said about her. She's in severe need of medical attention."

"Or she just needs attention," said Darren knowingly. 

"Whatever it is. She's not suited for you..." was Dylan's weak remark.

Darren stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "What if I'm interested in your Goddess Xiu? Is she suited for me?"

Dylan almost tripped over when he heard Darren's words. "You're kidding, right?" He laughed awkwardly but seeing how Darren's expression didn't change, he cursed under his breath, "Shikes!" before saying, "Bro, I love you but you can't. Not her. My Goddess Xiu is off-limits."

"Why?" questioned Darren seeing Dylan's defensive stance.

"The question is not that she's suited for you or not, the question is whether you're suited for her or not? And the answer is... N.O. NO!" Dylan almost screamed at his face and turned his face away with a hmph!

"Again, why not?" was Darren's question. He seemed too calm compared to his aggressive best friend. Dylan wasn't in the mood to stay calm. He just couldn't do so!

"Daz, your dating history isn't something to be proud of. No matter how much I love you, I don't want my Goddess Xiu to end up as just one of your girlfriends." Dylan was adamant about his decision. He had too much respect and admiration in his heart for Xiu. Poor guy wasn't even told till the end that the girl he just called 'troubled' was, in fact, his Goddess Xiu herself.

If only he knew that he was meant to be a mortal enemy for his Goddess Xiu for the rest of his life. Because even in the future, seeing Xiu and Dylan together would be a recipe for disaster and nothing else.

Darren observed Dylan's expressions for a long moment before saying, "Didi, why can't you be positive? Perhaps, she won't be one of my girlfriends. Instead, she could be THE ONE."

Dylan narrowed his eyes at his best friend with suspicion dripping from his eyes. After a long battle of stares when Darren didn't back out, Dylan sighed in defeat and said, "Fine. But you have to promise me that you won't hurt her."

"Didi, I can promise that but... I have never seen you getting this possessive even for your own girlfriend. Qiuqiu would get jealous if she knew." With furrowed brows, he asked, "Don't tell me you like her?"

"Don't be ridiculous," was Dylan's offhanded response.

If there was anyone else in Darren's position that person would have never bought Dylan's words but Darren did. Only because he believed in his best friend. They were about to board in their car when...

"Wait! Mr. Salvay!" 

Hearing someone call for him from behind, Darren stopped and turned around to find Bai Xiu running towards him. She stopped just a few steps away from him and with her hands on her knees, she panted. Fixing her vibrant blue-dyed hair, she touched her lip ring and said, "You said she's not a Goddess." Darren frowned at her words while she smiled and said, "I don't agree with you. For me, Chen Xiu is and will be a real Goddess. People call her kindness as her pretentious image but only a person like me who had been at the receiving end of her kindness knows how beautiful her soul is."

"What are you trying to say?" asked Darren in curiosity.

Bai Xiu's smile brightened as she rubbed the tip of her nose and added, "Today, I stand before you only because of her act of kindness. I don't think a human heart could be like hers. If you slap a person they'd always return it with a slap. I'm one of those people myself. She isn't. Her heart is too good for this world and only today I realized, how lonely that heart really is."

Even though she didn't elaborate on what kindness she spoke of but Darren could tell that it was something really important. And the sincerity in Bai Xiu's words had stunned him. He had heard a lot about Chen Xiu in the past four months but he wasn't willing to believe that she was really as good as she tried to be. However, for some reason, he wanted to believe Bai Xiu's words. That teenager whose emo look gave an impression of rebellion actually made him want to rethink.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"I don't know. My heart said you needed to hear this," replied Bai Xiu. Extending her hand towards him, she said, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Salvay. I'm Destiny. Destiny Novell. Hope you remember this name." She didn't know why but on instinct, she had introduced herself using her real name. Destiny Novell, the name she was given at birth. She didn't introduce herself as Bai Xiu since she believed it to be a fake name that her mother gave her after bringing her all the way to China.

"I will," said Darren as he shook her hand which had a temporary butterfly tattoo on it. "I don't think I can even if I want to. Your dialect is peculiar."

Bai Xiu pursed her lips before saying, "Just say it sounds weird. I've been here for over five years and yet, my dialect is the worst. Even my Latin best friend sounds better than me. But my Italian touch doesn't leave my tongue. So, my mandarin sounds funny."

He laughed a little at her rambling before saying goodbye to her. Bai Xiu stood there to watch them leave before she went back inside the hospital. None of them knew how destiny had played them that night. It was a connection they all shared but in the fast pace of life, all of them forgot this connection that they once shared.