Imperfect Desires

"France! Ahh! I'm so happy to see you!"

Well, that's the only thing Darren understood from Zhao Wei's mouth since the rest just went above his head while the two ladies before him were hugging each other as if they had met after a century or something. 

Everyone is dramatic in the family...

Yes, those were indeed Darren's thoughts and yes, he was also part of this dramatic family. There was no denying that either.

As you might have guessed, Darren had brought Francesca to Qiu Family house right after he was done fumbling through his work. It became easier to finish up when Paige took it upon herself to work overtime just so he could spend some time with his mother. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Darren really was grateful for Paige's existence.

However, just when he thought he'd be spending time with his mother, Francesca asked him to bring her to see her only girlfriend, Zhao Wei. He could only comply. 

Although Francesca and Zhao Wei gave him the impression of two teenage girls at the moment, he was still smiling seeing them act way out of character. It wasn't actually a surprise though since he knew how close these two had become over the years. Just like his and Dylan's friendship, their mothers had managed to create their own bond of sisterhood. It was truly heartwarming. So heartwarming that it could move people to tears. But of course, Darren wasn't one of those people so he was gonna keep his tears to himself.

"Why didn't you tell me you're coming?" 

Darren's trance was broken only when he heard Zhao Wei complaining to his mother. 

"It was supposed to be a surprise," repeated Francesca. "Besides what matters is that I'm here. Isn't that right?"

Zhao Wei nodded her head agreeably while she pulled her in for another hug saying, "It brings back so many memories seeing you here. I'm so happy you're finally back." Then she pulled Francesca to take a seat in the lounge area and looked like a curious little girl, "You're here for our Regi's girl right?" Francesca chuckled at her choice of words but nodded in reply. "When are you meeting her? I'll go with you."

"I already met her," replied Francesca and couldn't help smiling fondly recalling her encounter with Xiu.

Zhao Wei's eyes widened in surprise, "You did?" Letting that sink in, she added, "So how is she?"

Darren who was casually munching on the roasted peanuts finally straightened up. That was the question he had been asking his mother from the time she met Xiu three hours ago and he had yet to hear an answer from her. He knew Francesca was only dragging the answer just to tease him but he really didn't think it was funny at all.

"She's..." Francesca looked at her son thoughtfully who appeared to be very nervous for some reason. It really amused her to see Darren like this. Her approval was like a life and death situation to Darren. It was that important to him and she knew it. "She's adorable," said Francesca.

"I know, right?" was Zhao Wei's reply in a matter-of-factly tone. As if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"She's very attentive and bold," added Francesca as she thought back to the way Xiu was acting around Darren. "She's cheerful, caring, compassionate, expressive about her feelings, and lively." She looked at Darren who was smiling proudly now hearing her complimenting Xiu without holding back. "Most of all, she is what my Regi likes to call her." Both Zhao Wei and Darren looked at her with a raised brow. "She is sweet."

Zhao Wei laughed in delight. "See! I told you!"

Indeed, Zhao Wei had already told her all about Xiu. There was no way that Zhao Wei would hide anything from her gossip-buddy. But seeing is believing. Hearing all of this from Zhao Wei was one thing but meeting Xiu and seeing it for herself in a span of less than thirty minutes was a whole different experience for her. Just like...

"Sister Wei, hearing about her was one thing, meeting her in person is a completely different thing. After all, I already had seen her photos and yet in person, she turned out to be even more breathtaking."

Zhao Wei gave a slight nod in understanding. "Oi! Regi, you go and look for something to eat. Leave me some space with my sister."

Darren rolled his eyes as he complained, "My Beauty Wei is ignoring me now that her sister is here. Ouch! I'm hurt!" Seeing how Zhao Wei narrowed his eyes at him, he stopped his performance short. See! This was the side-effect of having a dramatic family, even he couldn't help being one like them. "Where is Didi? I'll look for him instead."

"He went to sleep right after coming back," answered Zhao Wei and Darren nodded his head before heading towards Dylan's room to look for him. Now, that he was gone, she looked at Francesca again and said, "Now, you tell me, was I wrong when I said that Xiu is a perfect match for our Regan?"

Francesca shook her head. "No, sister Wei was right. Xiu is exactly what Regi needs in his life." Her eyes held a bit of sadness as she added, "Xiu is full of life and that's what Regi needs in his life. Someone who could make him want to live all over again."

"She's a beautiful soul," chimed in Zhao Wei in favor of Xiu since she had long been charmed by her.

"Yes, but she's a bit clumsy as well." Francesca couldn't help chuckling as she remembered the way Xiu was gonna fall when she learned of her presence in the room. "She's also emotional." Zhao Wei quirked up her brow and Francesca had to retell the whole story making Zhao Wei shake her head. 

"Now, I know why Dylan said that one of these days Xiu is gonna get in trouble for forgetting the world when her eyes are on Regi. I can't believe she didn't bother to look around at all." Although Zhao Wei had met Xiu a couple of times, she was still surprised to hear that Xiu was this crazy about Darren. 

"That's not what Dylan said to me," stated Francesca making Zhao Wei looked at her inquisitively. "To me, Dylan described her as... 'She's crazy. But she's crazy for Darren.' Those were his exact words and honestly, now I can't even argue with those words because that's the best way to describe Xiu in a few words."

It wouldn't even be in Xiu's wildest dreams that Dylan actually took a few moments to assess her in the best way possible. 

"But her craziness is contagious," chimed Zhao Wei. "Because that girl can bring a smile on anyone's face without her even trying. As I said, with her around, everything will get interesting."

Xiu was completely oblivious to the way she managed to charm her way inside this family and the family members' hearts. Xiu might have taken that 'little girl' compliment as something negative but Francesca actually called her a little girl because Xiu's cheeriness and liveliness reminded her of a kid. Most of all, her flustered look made her look so innocent that it'd be a wonder if someone didn't actually fall for it.

Whether Xiu knew it or not, she had indeed managed to creep her way in. Now, it was only a matter of time when she was gonna creep herself into this family.