Imperfect Desires

The people Xiu left behind at the party without thinking twice had been so used to her unusual behavior that no-one even bothered questioning anything. But there was one person who had been in a dilemma since she left. 

"Ah-Si, what are thinking about?"

Ah-Si looked at Dylan who asked the question and sighed out helplessly, "Have you ever had a moment where you wished to be at two places at the same time?"

Dylan contemplated it but ended up shaking his head, "Not really."

"Then you won't understand my feelings right now," was Ah-Si's reply.

"But why do you wanna be at two places? And what are these two places exactly?" Dylan's interest was a little piqued. 

"I really wanted to follow Xiu. She's going to meet my dad for sure!"

Dylan furrowed his brows, "So?"

Ah-Si gave him a look, "Dylan, have you ever seen my dad being passive?"

Dylan snorted, "Uncle Zi? And passive? What dream are you living in bro? People tend to lower their heads before him, he doesn't do that!" Dylan had a look admiration as he went on, "That's why I like him so much. He has that aura I always wanted to capture but couldn't do so. There is no one like Uncle Zi."

Ah-Si wasn't even surprised to hear those praises about his father. Dylan neither was the first person who said it all to him nor the last one. Ah-Si had been way too used to hearing people's praises for his father. He always felt proud of his father as well. Even though he often felt slightly scared of his father but it won't change the fact that his father was indeed a great man. 

"You can stop repeating all that. I already heard enough about my dad's merits," replied Ah-Si. "However, my main point here was that you and I both know that my dad never bows down before anyone!" Dylan nodded his head agreeably. "That's why if one day you see my dad being tamed before someone, what'd be your reaction?"

"That can't happen," Dylan laughed it off not taking his words seriously.

"I said, what if?" repeated Ah-Si solemnly.

Dylan licked his lips and looked around before answering, "It'd something really unbelievable. But it'd also be something I would like to see with my own eyes."

"Exactly!" Ah-Si exclaimed excitedly. "That's why I wanted to follow Xiu. I wanted to be there to see my dad's obedient version that only comes out when Xiu is around. It's something I was looking forward to."

Cali put down her wine glass as she said, "You should have followed her then."

Ah-Si looked at Dylan's girlfriend and smiled, "And that brings us to the main point... I don't want to leave here just yet."

"You want to be here but you want to be there as well?"

"Correct!"

"I understand why you want to be there but what about here?" Dylan asked again. He looked at Nora and added, "And please refrain from using Dazi's lines that you'd want to be where your love is. I'm gonna punch your face for that otherwise."

Nora rolled up her sleeves adding, "Punch his face? Why don't you try!"

Dylan leaned back in his seat and replied, "Relax, Nora! It's not like I can punch him."

"You better not even think about trying!" 

"Woah! So much protective girlfriends!" Dylan was grumbling under his breath when Ah-Si laughed out while he hugged his girlfriend close and leaned against her shoulder.

"Start choosing your words wisely, Dylan..."

"I should," agreed Dylan.

"Anyways, the reason why I want to stay here is that I want to meet Ying Jie's boyfriend."

Dylan hurriedly was in the alert mode as he stood up and wandered his eyes around to find Ying but seeing that Ying was chatting with her group of friends, he pouted, "Her boyfriend is not here. I don't even think she invited her boyfriend."

"She didn't but Xiu invited him," answered Ah-Si.

Dylan looked at Ah-Si for a long moment before sighing, "Why is Xiu involved in everything? How come she has something to do with each of our relationships?"

"Each of our relationships?" repeated Cali as she looked at Dylan inquisitively.

Dylan nodded and continued to explain to his girlfriend, "Ah-Si and Nora would still be crying separately if Xiu hadn't beaten Ah-Si with her bat."

"Hey!" 

Dylan ignored Ah-Si's protest and went on, "You and I wouldn't be taking this step if she hadn't made me realize my feelings for you. In fact, she helped me a lot." He took a pause before adding, "And now, she is after Ying Jie's love life. This girl really knows how to be nosy."

Nora threw a couple of roasted chestnuts at Dylan's face as she added, "If my sister wasn't nosy, none of us would be laughing here."

Dylan picked up the chestnuts that fell in his lap after hitting his handsome face and threw it into his mouth as he agreed, "That I totally agree with but I wish she stops this habit of hers. Thinking about others is good but she had already been hurt because of this."

Nora squinted her eyes at Dylan thoughtfully, "Sometimes you really make me wonder Dylan. You make me feel like you know my best friend's nature more than me."

Dylan shrugged his shoulders, "Because I have understood her very well."

"If you've understood her why are you always looking for trouble with her?"

"Because it's fun. Didn't I already say it? Her comebacks are always one of a kind. Besides, arguing with me helps her in destressing, so why not?"

"When did she need destressing?" asked Cali.

Dylan smiled at his girlfriend as he patiently explained, "The reason why she is so nosy lies with the fact that she is stressed. So, to distract herself, she ends up finding other people's problems to solve. Her theory is that if she can make one person smile, her own problem will eventually vanish."

Nora patted Dylan's shoulder as she added, "Bro, I really underestimated you. Since the time she lost her memory, she became a totally different person and it took me years to realize what made her happy. But you figured it out so easily?"

Dylan wickedly smiled at Nora. He obviously wasn't gonna tell her that it took him years to figure out Xiu as well. The only difference was that the Xiu he figured out was Chen Xiu who happened to be the Xiu they all knew now. 

But listening to them Cali was the person who was getting more and more confused. Although she wasn't that close to Destiny, she still knew about her nature. And the Xiu she met didn't seem like the cousin she knew. Even if Nora said that she changed completely after the memory loss, it was even more confusing to her since memory loss wouldn't change a person's nature. 

It was close to midnight when the four of them noticed a commotion at the entrance and looked over. 

"Why is it getting crowded?"

"Is there a celebrity here?" 

"With the status of each person in this room, a celebrity is not enough to cause a commotion like that."

"Then who is it?"

When they were looking over, Nora caught the glimpse of the side profile of the person and gasped, "Oh! It's really a celebrity though!"

She hurried stood up but on the couch as she tried to see clearly. Ah-Si tried to hold her down, "Nora, what are you doing?"

"Ah-Si, it's my Xiu's favorite actor. I need to get an autograph for her. She'd be so happy to get it!"

Dylan's expressions shifted, "Xiu has a favorite actor?"

Nora nodded her head, "Of course, she has one! She has a scrapbook specially dedicated to his life achievements. She treasures it like her own baby. I always thought she had a crush on him or something since she won't even let me touch that scrapbook."

Now Dylan was oddly very intrigued to find out who this person was. An actress like Chen Xiu also fancied an actor? It was hard for him to digest this but he still stood up to look over.

"Oh, isn't that Han Bohai?" 

Nora looked at her boyfriend with questioning eyes, "You also know him? But then again, he is very famous."

Ah-Si shook his head saying, "I don't know him as a celebrity but I do know him as the Eldest Young Master of Han family. His family is one of the aviation giants in our country. No wonder his arrival caused such a commotion even at this party." He frowned slightly as he added, "But I didn't know that he was acquainted with Ying Jie. He rarely even shows up at any social gatherings."

Dylan was constantly trying to think about where he heard this name but was stunned when his eyes caught a glimpse of Han Bohai's face. "Bloody hell!" he cursed out. He could finally understand why Xiu fancied this celebrity. He could only shake his head as he thought about how loyal Xiu was.

"Oi! If he isn't acquainted with Ying Jie, why is walking towards her? And what is that in his hands?"