When they got back to the Cao Mansion, the car that Cao Cao was in stopped there, while the car with the Principal kept going, driving towards Diao Chan’s house.

“1…2…3…heave,” called out Liu Bei. The four of them carried the sleeping Cao Cao back into the house and onto his own bed. Ah Xiang exhaled loudly.

“What a day,” she commented.

“I know right,” replied Yun Lu, flopping down on a seat beside Cao Cao’s bed. She fished out the mechanism of invisibility. “Zhong and I found this thing on the Captain of Riverlands High. Makes you go invisible.”

Ah Xiang and Liu Bei examined it and asked in unison, “How?”

“Well…” said Yun Lu, taking it back, but was stopped by Zhong.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

Yun Lu looked at him. “Are you sure?”

Zhong replied with a nod and pushed the metal thing onto his left shoulder.

“Right, so if you press the yellow button…” said Yun Lu who hesitated. “It might hurt…let’s not.”

“I’ll press it then.” Zhong pressed the yellow button and veins seemed to stretch out to his fingers and other parts of the body from the piece of technology. Zhong seemed to be having a few weird little spasms as the veins continued growing. Yun Lu placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you ok?” she asked, evidently worried.

Zhong blinked several times after the veins had stopped growing and shook his head to clear his mind. “Yeah, I’m fine now.”

Liu Bei and Ah Xiang just stared.

“Then you press the red button here and…” Yun Lu pressed the button and Zhong disappeared. “Yeah, that.”

Liu Bei and Ah Xiang stared some more, their mouths wide open.

“I’m still here!” said Zhong.

“That is really weird,” said Liu Bei finally.

“I reckon. But it might come in use some day,” said Xiang.

Zhong hit the red button again and he was visible once again. He hit the yellow button afterwards. Yun Lu watched him with a worried frown on her face as Zhong underwent another series of spasms as the veins contracted back into the invisible technology.

“Does it hurt?” asked Yun Lu, holding the metal thing in her hands.

“No…you just get a weird sensation. It’s alright, I wasn’t suffering severe pain,” replied Zhong.

“I didn’t think Zhang Lu and company would be capable of having such high-tech things,” said Liu Bei. Then, a beeping sounded. Liu Bei held out his Siman, and Guan Yu’s figure came up.

“Hey, Big Brother. Wang Yun woke up and wants us all to go out for dinner. He says he’ll pay as a thank you to our efforts for getting him out,” announced Guan Yu’s voice.

“But Captain’s asleep, and still kind of sick,” said Liu Bei.

“I’ll take care of him. You guys go have dinner,” suggested Yun Lu.

“You sure? I can stay with you,” said Zhong.

Yun Lu shook her head. “I’ll be fine. You guys go.”

“Well, if you’re alright with it…” said Liu Bei. “Ok, me, Ah Xiang and Zhong will come.”

“What about Yun Lu?” asked Guan Yu.

“She’s staying to take care of Captain.”

Guan Yu nodded. “Ok then, see you. Come to Diao Chan’s place. We’ll go to dinner from there.”

The Siman closed and Liu Bei stood up. “We’ll leave Captain to you then, Yun Lu.” He looked at Zhong and Xiang. “Let’s go.”

“You sure you want to stay by yourself?” asked Zhong.

“Yes, Zhong. I’ll be fine,” answered Yun Lu with a sigh. Xiang smirked, but stopped when Yun Lu cast her a glance which meant, ‘Don’t you dare laugh’.

With that, Yun Lu was left to tend to Cao Cao. She checked his temperature, and it was still above the usual body temperature. But Yun Lu had given the Panadol tablet to him only two hours ago. It was necessary for a four hour gap between each dose. Yun Lu went to the bathroom and wet a towel. She went back to Cao Cao and put the cold towel on his forehead. He shifted a little at coldness of the towel, but continued to sleep.

Yun Lu sighed and leant back into her chair. The day of fighting had tired her, and so, she dozed off. An hour or so later, Yun Lu woke up and accidently hit the wound on her arm against the side of the chair. She hissed at the pain and took her school jacket off and rolled up the shirt sleeve. It wasn’t too bad, Yun Lu figured the jacket was in a worse condition. She could not spare money to buy another jacket so she fished out a sewing kit from her room and set about sewing up the gash on her jacket. When Yun Lu finished, she pulled on both sides of the sewn up gash to see if was durable, and it was.

Cao Cao stirred. Yun Lu abandoned her sewing kit and jacket.

Slowly, Cao Cao opened his eyes and saw Yun Lu. “Where am I?” he drawled.

“Your own room,” said Yun Lu who helped Cao Cao sit upright. The Captain held his head with a hand.

“My head hurts…what happened? Didn’t I get abducted…?” asked Cao Cao.

Yun Lu took the cold towel off and put it beside her. “We got you and Principal out. Everyone else is at dinner with the Principal. Seeing as no one was willing, I thought I’d stay and watch over you.”

“Ah, thanks. When we got abducted…I didn’t know where the person was. He was…I think…invisible! He came in and stunned us both and then I assume he dragged us out through the window…” explained Cao Cao.

“Oh, that explains the invisible machine thing…” muttered Yun Lu to herself.

Cao Cao rubbed his eye and yelped. “Ow, why does my eye hurt?”

Yun Lu looked at him nervously. “Well…while I was taking you out of where you were held hostage…you had a high fever…and you were delirious. So…” Yun Lu picked up another Panadol tablet and a cup of water. “Times up, you need to take this so your fever will go down.”

Cao Cao did so obediently, unlike his first tablet which Yun Lu shoved down his throat.

“Well…while you were delirious, you were saying all these things—”

“What things?”

Yun Lu sighed. “Example number one: I’ll do anything for you, Xiao Qiao.”

Cao Cao blushed and looked away. “I…I said that?”

“Yes, you said that. Sad thing is, you said it to me. You thought I was Xiao Qiao. Seriously, I had a hard time getting you out when you were trying to hug me. Example number two: Xiao Qiao, tell me you love me too!”

Cao Cao looked down, looking extremely embarrassed.

“And then you tried to kiss me.”

Cao Cao looked up, his mouth agape.

“And that, my friend, is how you got that black eye. I’m sorry, I had to do it. I don’t stand for sexual assault.”

“Um…sorry…” muttered Cao Cao.

“Nothing to be sorry about, you were horribly delirious,” answered Yun Lu with a grin. “Why don’t you tell Xiao Qiao you like her?”

“She likes Zhao Yun…” said Cao Cao.

“Oh yeah…and Zhao Yun likes her…”

“He does?”

“I think so. But they’re not officially together yet, are they?” said Yun Lu. “Give Xiao Qiao some flowers, pretty much all girls fall for that.”

Cao Cao looked up with a smile. “Really?”

“I should think so!” Yun Lu packed up her sewing kit and handed Cao Cao his Art of War. “Back to its rightful owner.”

Cao Cao took the book. “Why do you have it?”

“Riverlands High principal Zhang Lu took you hostage because of it. We attempted to trick him with a fake one, but it failed. But then, we defeated him and took you back,” explained Yun Lu.

“You guys found it?” asked Cao Cao, flipping through the red book of tactics.

“Yeah, Zhao Yun did. And I found out the code with forensic materials.”

“Have you read it?” asked Cao Cao suspiciously.

“No, Liu Bei warned me how protective you were over it. I wouldn’t dare to,” replied Yun Lu with a cheeky grin. “Do you have any bandaids?”

“Yes…why? Did you get hurt?”

“Yes, but it’s only a light slash.” Yun Lu pointed to it on her arm.

“In the living room, first drawer on the left on the wooden cupboard with a pot of flowers on top,” said Cao Cao.

“Thanks.” Yun Lu got up from the seat and went to get what she wanted. Cao Cao watched her leave and smiled. She was a nice, caring girl. She could fight and was quite smart. Rather different to Xiao Qiao; he was sure Qiao would not bother to sit by his bedside and check on his temperature like Yun Lu did. Cao Cao sighed. Xiao Qiao didn’t like him, she liked Zhao Yun. But Yun Lu wasn’t taken…maybe he should give her a shot.

“Give Xiao Qiao some flowers, pretty much all girls fall for that.”

“Is this it?” asked Yun Lu, holding up a box as she walked back into the room, interrupting Cao Cao’s chain of thoughts.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Yun Lu sat down and set the box down to find a suitable bandage. Cao Cao picked on out.

“Here, this one should be good,” said Cao Cao. “I’ll put it on for you.”

Yun Lu smiled and turned to show him the cut which Cao Cao promptly covered with the bandage. “Ah, thank you.” She picked up a temperature reader and turned back to Cao Cao. “Need to check your temperature again.”

Cao Cao obediently turned to let Yun Lu put the reader inside his ear. She held down the button before taking the reader back out. Yun Lu smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “Back to normal.”

“Hope it’ll stay like that,” muttered Cao Cao.

“Yeah…you should get some more sleep, it’ll do you good,” said Yun Lu. Cao Cao watched her with a small smile as she covered him with the blanket. She’s just like one of those sweet caring nurses, thought Cao Cao. Yun Lu patted him.

“Sleep tight.” And then she flicked the switch, turning off the light and left the room.

Cao Cao drifted off into a light sleep with a cute grin on his face.

XXXXXX

Cao Cao felt someone trying to wake him. He pried open his eyes and saw Yun Lu’s face. “Oh hello Yun Lu,” he said with yawn.

“I cooked us some food,” said Yun Lu. “Do you feel hungry?”

Cao Cao smiled and sat up. “Starving.” He got out of bed and followed Yun Lu out to the kitchen.

“Well, since you’ve just gotten better from that fever, I made you some plain congee. Then I found fish fillet in the freezer so I put that in as well so it won’t be too plain,” explained Yun Lu as she spooned up the white content into two bowls. Cao Cao carried his own bowl of congee out to the dining table. Yun Lu picked up a bottle of soy sauce and poured some into her bowl. Cao Cao held out his hand for the soy.

“No,” said Yun Lu calmly, setting it aside.

Cao Cao looked aghast. “Why not?”

“It’s bad for sickly people. Like you,” answered Yun Lu who then put a spoon of congee into her mouth.

“But it’s so plain,” complained Cao Cao as he put a spoon into this mouth.

“That’s the point.”

Cao Cao sighed. “Whatever you say, doctor.”

Yun Lu grinned because she had won.

Then there was a rustling at the door, and the whole group came back into the house.

“Oooh, that was a nice dinner,” said Zhang Fei, patting his stomach. “I liked that lemongrass chicken.”

“You guys made congee?” asked Zhong.

“Yeah. There’s extra inside, do you want it?” asked Yun Lu.

“Ah, yeah sure—”

“CONGEE?? I like congee!!” exclaimed Ma Chao as he spotted what Yun Lu and Cao Cao were eating.

“Er…Zhong?” asked Yun Lu.

“Um…give it to your brother…” answered Zhong.

Yun Lu looked at him glumly, then turned to glare at her brother before entering the kitchen to get another bowl.

“How was dinner?” asked Cao Cao.

“Great, the food was awesome. The drinks too, and then we got these awesome skewers of meat with this tasty sauce and—”

“Fei, shut up,” said Guan Yu who then muttered very quietly into Fei’s ear, “Can you not see that Cao Cao’s only got plain congee to eat? Don’t make him feel bad.”

Cao Cao guessed what they were saying. “No no, go ahead. This congee is great. Healthy, no oil at all, cooked by Yun Lu. No added MSG.”

Yun Lu looked amused as she walked out with a steaming bowl. “Are you promoting my cooking, Captain?” Her expression then changed to a scowl and she set the bowl down with a thud in front of Ma Chao.

“Do you hate me?” asked Ma Chao who then grabbed a spoon and started slurping away.

“No of course not, why would I, brother?” replied Yun Lu sarcastically.

Ma Chao took no note of the sarcasm. “Oh that’s good.”

Ah Xiang smirked and muttered something in Liu Bei’s ear, who then smiled as well. Both of them looked suspiciously in Yun Lu’s direction. Yun Lu finished her bowl of congee, took a glance at Zhong then turned to Cao Cao.

“Oh, you haven’t finished yet. Let me help you,” said Yun Lu, taking hold of Cao Cao’s bowl.

“What?” asked Cao Cao who was extremely confused. Zhong looked their way with Cao Cao’s sudden outburst.

Yun Lu blew on a spoonful of congee to cool it down, although there really was not point, Cao Cao had already finished three quarters of it, the congee was already lukewarm. Cao Cao stared at the spoonful of congee. “What? Are you spoon feeding me?”

“What do you think, Captain?” asked Yun Lu.

“Ok…!” muttered Cao Cao. He opened his mouth and at the spoonful of congee. He blushed slightly, because he still wished it was Xiao Qiao who was spoon feeding him. But he knew Qiao wouldn’t probably do that for him.

Zhong just stared and blinked. Ah Xiang nudged him.

“Is something wrong?” asked Xiang with a smirk. She knew very well why Zhong was staring. He abruptly looked away.

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine,” he answered shortly.

“Sure, sure…”

Meanwhile, Yun Lu finished spoon feeding Cao Cao the rest of the congee and put both his and her own bowl into the sink for washing up.

Ma Chao continued to eat his serving of congee happily.

XXXXXX

A week or so later, Yun Lu received a bouquet of red roses when class ended. Everyone else had gone out, Yun Lu was taking her time to pack her bag and Zhong decided to wait for her. Jiang Gan had entered and said, “These are for you, from the person in the card.”

She sweat dropped. “Um…”

Zhong looked at the roses stoically. “You don’t like roses.”

“No, I don’t indeed…” muttered Yun Lu. She pulled out the card which read: To the sweet and beautiful girl whom I like very much.And it was signed by…

Cao Cao.

Yun Lu sighed. “Was I being too attractive when I was taking care of his fever?” Even if they were roses, Yun Lu would have been extremely happy, had it been Zhong who sent them to her.

“You spoon fed him,” growled Zhong. His tone did not escape Yun Lu’s ears, and she smirked.

“What am I going to say to him when I see him today?” said Yun Lu as she got up from her seat and pushed it under the table. “Sorry Captain, but I would have taken care of anyone like that, not just you.” Yun Lu shook her head. “Does not work. Funny though, didn’t he like Xiao?”

“Fickle…” muttered Zhong.

“You seem rather emotional about this,” said Yun Lu. Zhong didn’t answer. As they walked out, they were stopped by a group of tough looking girls.

“Oi bitch,” said the girl who looked like the boss of the group. Yun Lu narrowed her eyes, but there was a smirk on her face. She looked at the girl.

“Are you talking to me?” asked Yun Lu sarcastically.

“Course I am, woman,” the girl pointed at the flowers in Yun Lu’s arms. “Who are those from?”

“I think you already know, if you’re asking like that,” replied Yun Lu calmly. “Bian.”

The girl called Bian (who was a class mate of Cao’s) glared at Yun Lu. “Everyone knows Captain’s my guy—”

“Doesn’t look like he’s interested in you,” commented Yun Lu. Bian grabbed Yun Lu by the collar, but Yun Lu just kept a smirk on her face which ticked Bian off.

“Let go of her,” ordered Zhong.

Bian looked Zhong up and down before letting go. “Got yourself a boyfriend here, huh?”

“Better than you,” muttered Yun Lu before leaning closer to Bian’s ear. “You don’t even have one.”

This time, Bian really exploded and readied a fist to punch Yun Lu. One step, and she was stopped.

Zhong had stepped in front of Yun Lu, holding Bian in check. “Don’t touch my girl.”

Yun Lu blushed bright red at this, and had to work hard to keep a straight face. Zhong was not the type to say that.

Bian growled and stepped away, because Zhong’s power was by far greater than her own. She exhaled angrily and pointed a finger at Yun Lu. “You’re not getting away with it, Ma Yun Lu.” With a flick of the hand, the rest of the group followed her and they went away.

Yun Lu sighed.

“Who were those girls?” asked Zhong, watching them leave.

“Bunch of senior female bullies. The one who attempted to threaten me,” said Yun Lu with a laugh. “Is called Bian and she is the gang leader. Also, she has a crush on Cao Cao and hates anyone who he seems to like. They ganged up on Xiao Qiao once apparently, a teacher came by and their group had to scatter.”

“I see…”

“That was nice,” commented Yun Lu.

Zhong looked at her. “What was nice?”

Yun Lu assumed a cold glare and held out her hand like she was stopping someone. “Don’t touch my girl,” she said, pretending to be Zhong. He bit his lip and suddenly found the floor extremely interesting. “You sounded really serious, Zhong.”

“Well…I-I-I had to put up a good act, didn’t I?” stammered out Zhong nervously.

Yun Lu sighed disappointedly. Why was Zhong so…not forward? Yun Lu gazed at Zhong, gaining eye contact with him. “Do you want it to be just an act?”

Zhong stared back, and then a small smile appeared on his face. Ma Chao would probably get all anxious about him and Yun Lu, but that did not matter. Yun Lu looked at him. She was serious, it wasn’t some joke like what she did when she first came to Han high. “I—”

“There you guys are!” said Ma Chao, cutting into such an important scene. Both Zhong and Yun Lu turned to him with different expressions. Zhong sighed sadly, Yun Lu had an irritated scowl etched into her face, which pretty much automatically came out when Ma Chao was around because he had been oblivious to what was happening around him lately. “Where have you guys been?”

“Here,” growled Yun Lu. Her brother pointed at the flowers.

“Oh, who gave that to you?” he asked.

“None of your business,” replied Yun Lu.

“Well, we need some help with the homework the history teacher set for us. We’re all in the library, wanna join?” asked Chao.

“…Sure,” answered Zhong. He glanced at Yun Lu who was evidently pouting that her brother had ‘ruined’ the moment. He smirked to himself. “Let’s go, Yun Lu.”

Yun Lu shrugged, “Whatever.”

The three went to the library where Yun Lu, Ah Xiang and Liu Bei gave advice on how to do the history homework to their fellow friends who were not as intelligent.

The next lesson they had was PE. All of them changed into their PE gear and trudged out into quad. A male PE teacher arrived and blew his whistle. The whole class bunched up in front of him.

“Hello everyone. Today we will be playing a game. Everybody, take a jog around the court for a warm up!” shouted the teacher. He blew his whistle again and everyone jogged off. Yun Lu, who was in her bad mood fully sprinted around the court, attempting to release endorphins which would enlighten her mood. She finished, a little puffed as everyone else behind her jogged slowly.

“I said jog, Yun Lu,” said the teacher.

“Sorry, but I needed to sprint just then. Really needed to,” explained Yun Lu, though it really was not much of an explanation.

“Ok class,” said the PE teacher. “We’re going to have a three legged race!”

The people who were easily amused by things cheered. Those that were bored said ‘BOOO’ and the rest, like Yun Lu, stayed silent.

The teacher took out 15 pieces of string. “Everyone, get into pairs.”

Yun Lu turned instantly to look at Zhong, and he at Yun Lu. But Ma Chao was standing next to Zhong, and he asked him first. Zhong hesitated, but he wasn’t a guy to reject someone, so he accepted. Yun Lu fumed slightly again. She caught Ah Xiang chuckling at her. Yun Lu shot her a glare. The day was not getting any better for her. It’s as if I’m fighting Ma Chao for Zhong. What the hell? I’m sure Ma Chao isn’t gay.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and twisted around.

“Do you have a partner?” asked Zhang Fei. Liu Bei was with Xiang, Chao with Zhong, Yun with Xiao Qiao and Yu with Diao Chan.

Yun Lu shook her head and paired up with Fei. The teacher went around and handed each pair a piece of string to tie their legs together. Yun Lu tied her right leg to Zhang Fei’s left with the string.

“I’ll say left and right, ok? You’re right,” said Yun Lu, rubbing her eyes.

“Whatever,” answered Zhang Fei. Everyone got ready at the line. At the teachers whistle, everyone rushed forward with their partner.

“Left, right, left, right—RIGHT DAMMIT!” shouted Yun Lu because Zhang Fei was too slow.

“I know I’m right! We were going to fast!” answered Zhang Fei.

“How do we win if we’re not going fast?”

“Who cares about winning?”

Both of them were stumbling, extremely uncoordinated, towards the finish line. Everyone was ahead of them; Zhao Yun and Xiao Qiao had already finished.

“YOU’RE SO DAMN SLOW!” yelled Yun Lu, her bad mood getting the better of her.

“SHUT UP, WHY DO YOU GIVE A DAMN? This is a coordination activity, not ‘run as fast as you can and forget about your partner’!!” hollered Zhang Fei in return. Both tripped when they got to the finish line.

“You made me trip!” shouted Yun Lu, pointing an accusing finger at Fei.

“You made me trip! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Fei was fuming rather badly, but so was Yun Lu. She reached down and unbound their legs, throwing the string aside.

Yun Lu pulled up her sleeves. “You wanna fight?”

“Oh yeah, I wouldn’t mind!” sneered Fei. “Wait, you’re a girl…”

“I CAN FIGHT!” screamed Yun Lu.

“Alright then…” Both readied a stance. Liu Bei ran in between.

“Stop it, you two!” he said hastily. “You guys are fighting because of a three legged race. Don’t be such children!”

“But big brother, she provoked me!” said Zhang Fei angrily.

“What’s up with you today, Yun Lu? You’re usually calm and all,” said Ah Xiang.

“I don’t know!” shouted Yun Lu. “All I know is that I really want to punch someone right now!”

“Oh, what a great idea. Everyone, get back into your pair and we can have a mock fight,” announced the teacher.

“WHAT?!” asked the whole class.

“I request a partner switch,” said Xiao Qiao who pointed at Zhao Yun. “He’s too pro!”

The teacher blew his whistle. “Ok, switch if you want to.”

Guan Yu paired up with Zhao Yun while Diao Chan paired up with Xiao. Liu Bei and Xiang attempted to break Fei and Yun Lu up, but they refused.

“We’ll we’ve got a reason to fight now, haven’t we?” asked Yun Lu with a dangerous smirk. Both went back to their stance and started a hand to hand combat duel. No swords or extra magical attacks were used, just physical, ‘I punch you, you punch me.’

Yun Lu started with a punch at Zhang Fei’s head. He ducked and aimed at punch at Yun Lu’s stomach. She blocked the blow with her other hand, holding Zhang Fei still. With a growl, Yun Lu shoved Fei aside, then swung around and directed a kick at Zhang Fei’s…well, him in person. It hit Fei against the side, and he stumbled a bit before looking back at Yun Lu.

There was a smirk on his face. “You’re better than I thought you would be.”

Yun Lu cracked her knuckles. “Ma Chao’s only slightly better than me.”

This time, Zhang Fei charged in to attack first. They continued on for a long while, landing blows onto each other. Only their fight was for real. Even Guan Yu and Zhao Yun were just lightly whacking each

other. Diao Chan and Xiao Chan were just flailing, and Liu Bei was too afraid of hitting Xiang while Xiang was bravely beating Liu Bei up, albeit playfully. Zhong and Chao were also just having their mock battle, but Zhong was losing because his attention frequently got stolen away by Yun Lu, worried if she would get hurt by Fei. Other classmates were playfully whacking each other as well, and they started clumping into groups of six, fighting each other at the same time.

Yun Lu avoided a blow and rammed against Fei. But Zhang Fei seemed to anticipate the move. He moved so that Yun Lu was behind him and with a swift grab, shoved Yun Lu to the floor and pretended to strangle her with a loose hold around her neck.

“I win,” declared Zhang Fei who was out of breath. So was Yun Lu. Both of them sat on the floor after the duel, watching others slap each other on the arm or whatever. They both sniggered when Ah Xiang landed a slap on Liu Bei’s face.

“Go Ah Xiang!!” yelled Yun Lu. Her attention wandered to her brother and Zhong, then to Zhang Fei. Yun Lu sighed in relief. She had funnelled all her anger through the fight, and was now feeling normal again.

“You’re a good fighter, for a girl,” said Zhang Fei.

“Thanks. Both me and my brother got trained by our father,” explained Yun Lu. She fished out a packet of M&Ms from her pocket and handed it to Zhang Fei.

“What’s this for?” he asked, taking the chocolate.

“Sorry about just then. I was in a bad mood and I lost it. That’s why I yelled at you and all…” apologised Yun Lu.

“Oh, ok. Why were you angry?”

“Oh please, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Zhang Fei shrugged. “Oh whatever. Apology accepted.” But he was obviously curious. He opened the packet and ate some M&Ms. “Do you want one?”

Yun Lu picked out a red one. “Thanks. So…where did you learn your martial arts?”

“At a dojo. I paid for private tuition.”

“Oh, are you a rich kid?” asked Yun Lu.

“Yeah, I own a Peach Blossom Garden.”

“Oh sweet. Is it really pretty?”

“Big time pretty. When we have a lot, we sell them for high prices. Rich people tend to buy them.”

Yun Lu nodded at this information. Zhang Fei pointed to Yun Lu’s hand.

“Did I hit you that hard?” he asked, because there was a bruise there.

Yun Lu in turn pointed at Fei’s who had a cut on his lip. “I made your lip bleed. And a bruise there, there, there…then a scratch there and a graze there—”

“And you have a graze there, there. And look at this bruise!” Zhang Fei poked it, and Yun Lu yelped in pain.

“Dude, bruises hurt, don’t poke them!”

“Oops.”

The teacher blew his whistle and everyone stopped their supposed ‘fighting’.

“Nice job class. We’ll play basketball next lesson. Ok, go and change now!” ordered the PE teacher.

“Yes Sir!” chorused the entire class who then went to the change rooms.

“You look like you’re back to normal,” said Xiang as she and Yun Lu headed for the female change rooms. Jiang Gan sauntered towards the female change rooms as well, but was told off by Xiao Qiao with many whacks to the head.

“Yeah, a good fight helped,” answered Yun Lu.

“How’s it with Zhong?” whispered Xiang.

Yun Lu narrowed her eyes. “Don’t ask.”

“I already did.”

“Then…I don’t want to answer.”

“Fine, be that way!” Ah Xiang turned away.

“You gave Liu Bei a nice slap to the face,” said Yun Lu.

Ah Xiang turned back around with a grin on her face. “I know right.”

“But he didn’t do anything to deserve it.”

“I don’t need a reason to slap someone,” answered Xiang with a laugh.

“That’s…awfully nice of you.”

XXXXXX

Zhong stared at a vase of flowers which sat on top of a wooden cupboard. The vase was quite beautiful, no doubt an expensive antique. The flowers seemed to be starting to die, and Zhong decided to change the flowers to a bunch of yellow daffodils, the flower that Yun Lu liked. Daffodils stood for hope, and Yun Lu was a hopeful person, despite being pessimistic sometimes. And to make the flowers last longer, Zhong decided he would put some sugar into the water. He took the vase and went off to change the flowers. Cao Cao would probably be alright about that.

XXXXXX

Everyone was around the house, doing what they usually did. Zhang Fei and Liu Bei were sitting the living room, Fei deep in thought while Liu Bei looked calm drinking a cup of tea and reading a book.

“Big brother…” started Fei.

“Yes?” prompted Bei before taking a sip of tea and flipping a page in whatever book he was reading.

“I think Yun Lu’s a nice girl,” said Fei.

Liu Bei stopped in mid-sip.

Zhang Fei edged closer to Liu Bei and spoke quietly. “I liked Xiao before…but I’d be really stupid not to notice what’s going on between her and Yun.”

And Captain, thought Liu Bei.

Zhang Fei talked normally again, rubbing his hands nervously. “Well…you know…may I should try Yun Lu?”

Liu Bei choked on his tea. But what about Huang Zhong?

“Woah…” yelped Zhong as he stumbled out from behind a pot plant, clutching a vase of daffodils. No, Zhong had not been hiding behind the pot plant, he had only been passing by and heard Zhang Fei state his thoughts. Zhang Fei’s confession had really stunned him.

Zhang Fei looked at Zhong with a shocked expression. “Zhong… You heard what I said?”

Zhong carefully walked over to the two. “Yeah…”

“Then…will you help me?”

“Er…” Obviously, Zhong would not help someone hit on his own love interest. “Sure…” he lied.

Liu Bei stared at Zhong with a, ‘Why the hell did you say that’ expression.

“Yay!” shouted Zhang Fei.

Meanwhile, Yun Lu had been listening to the whole conversation behind a corner. She had been wondering where the usual vase on top of the wooden cupboard was when the conversation started. Yun Lu seethed when Zhong had said yes. She hit herself against the leg in anger.

“Oh, what got our Miss Ma Yun Lu angry?” asked Cao Cao in a suave voice.

Yun Lu turned around, her bad mood still on her and glared at him. “Cao Cao,” she said venomously. It was unintentional, but when Yun Lu got angry, it was best to stay away from the girl.

Cao Cao stepped back a bit at the tone of voice. “Wow, you sound pissed.”

Yun Lu breathed in deeply then exhaled. “Sorry, I was angry with…never mind.”

Cao Cao tapped his foot. Should he ask Yun Lu about the flowers he had given her or should we wait for Yun Lu to talk about them?

Yun Lu looked back onto the scene. Zhong had gotten up, carrying his vase towards Yun Lu’s direction. The wooden cupboard was near Yun Lu, and quickly, she thought up a plan. There had to be a way to get Zhong to ask to go out together. Yun Lu had asked once already, but Ma Chao had interrupted them. Yun Lu was a lady, she didn’t want to do all the asking. But the plan was really unfair to Cao Cao…

“Can I vent my anger on you?” she asked all of a sudden.

“What? Um…” hesitated Cao Cao. Yun Lu was a good fighter, she had strength. Cao Cao winced inwardly. It would probably hurt quite a bit. But he accepted because he wanted to be a gentleman. “Ok…”

Yun Lu smiled. “Thanks.”

Cao Cao closed his eyes, expecting a hard punch anywhere, any time soon. But no…what Cao Cao experienced was…His eyes snapped open when he felt a soft pressure against his lips. Yun Lu was kissing him. Really, really gently though. Was this her answer to his roses? Cao Cao was extremely confused and happy to what was happening.

Somewhere inside him, Cao Cao was told to push Yun Lu away and ask why. But Cao Cao decided that only an idiot would do that. But Cao Cao was far from an idiot. He was a genius. And so he wrapped his arms around Yun Lu and kissed back.

I’m sorry Cao Cao, thought Yun Lu. She opened her eyes and acted like she was shocked that Cao Cao had kissed her. Anytime now…

CRASH!

Both Cao Cao and Yun Lu broke away when they heard the clamour. Zhong was staring at them, the vase that he was holding broken at his feet. Water seeped out from the mess.

Daffodils…thought Yun Lu as she saw the yellow flowers lying in the sugared water and pieces of the vase. Zhong stared at Yun Lu blankly. Yun Lu gazed back and then looked away. She tensed a bit before looking at both Cao Cao and Zhong.

“Well then…um…good night,” stammered Yun Lu. She glided back to her room, crossing her fingers that Zhong might do something so that they could be together…

“Good night,” called out Cao Cao.

Huang Zhong narrowed his eyes at him. “If you harm her,” he clenched his fist. “I’m not going to forgive you.” Despite how everyone seemed to trust in Cao Cao, Zhong sensed a bit of evil in the man. And Zhong was usually very accurate with his readings of people.

Cao Cao smirked. “You should have said that in front of her, Zhong. And from your tone, does that mean you’re going to give up?”

“You two just kissed.”

Cao Cao sighed sorrowfully. He had figured out why Yun Lu had kissed him. “Yun Lu kissed me because she wanted to ‘excite’ you into doing something…obviously it’s had the opposite effect. You’re giving up. Yun Lu doesn’t want that.”

“Why are you telling me this?” asked Zhong suspiciously.

Cao Cao shrugged. “I thought I’d be Mister nice guy this time. What is my role in this affair, you may ask? Well…” He looked Zhong in the eye with a sly smirk on his face. “I’m here to take Yun Lu from right under your nose. So get going, or I’m going to get to her first.”

With that, Cao Cao turned and walked back to his room. He paused for a short moment. “Oh, and clean up that mess. The vase was only a couple thousand dollars, so just throw it out.” Despite the vase being one of his absolute favourites, Cao Cao was in way too high spirits to care. Even though the kiss had a purpose behind it, it had made Cao Cao a rather happy man anyway.

Zhong stood silently for a while, staring at the mess at his feet. He sighed, why was everything so damn complicated? He walked through to the kitchen and took hold of a mop and dust pan to carry the broken shards. Liu Bei and Zhang Fei stared at Zhong who was carrying both things with a dazed

look on his face. He bent down to collect the shards and the daffodils which he had spent some time picking. Daffodils. They were strong and survived through winter when everything else was dead.

But they also say that clinging to hope will only leave you being disappointed…

XXXXXX

Huang Zhong had been acting all weird around Yun Lu, and she felt kind of sad about that.

“Hey, there’s going to be a formal party for the whole school…” announced Zhang Fei as he read the notices. “Is that where everyone has to dress formally and dance around?”

“Yeah, I think so,” said Guan Yu. “Do we need…um…partners?”

“Well, I should think so,” said Xiao Qiao. “When is it?”

“About a two weeks from today,” said Zhang Fei.

Jiang Gan randomly asked, “Ah Xiang, will you go to the ball with me?” as he left the classroom.

“Don’t be stupid Jiang Gan, she’s obviously gonna go with Big Brother, right?” asked Zhang Fei.

Ah Xiang blushed then looked questioningly at Liu Bei. He blushed too.

“Well, um…will you go with me…?” muttered Liu Bei. Ah Xiang nodded. Zhang Fei grinned.

Meanwhile, Yun Lu scribbled down answers to the homework she had been given during the free time. It was really simple, so Yun Lu breezed through it all. But she was also thinking about this ball thing and Zhong. Would he ask her? But he’d been silent lately, and Yun Lu doubted it.

XXXXXX

“Hey Yun Lu, watcha doing?” asked Xiang as she sauntered into Yun Lu’s room.

Yun Lu picked up another dress and held it out in front of her to see in the mirror which suited her better. “Trying to choose a dress for the dance.”

“But you haven’t got a partner yet!” exclaimed Xiang.

“And? What am I suppose to do, go and ask?” replied Yun Lu. In truth, both Cao Cao and Zhang Fei had asked her, but she rejected them.

Xiang brightened up. “I know! Ok, I’m going to go find Liu Bei.” She then bounded out of the room, leaving Yun Lu to herself.

“Hmm, I think I like the black one…” muttered Yun Lu as she looked between a simple black dress, and low cut dark blue one and a frilly deep red dress.

“Hello Yun Lu,” came Xiang’s voice. Both she and Liu Bei were shoving a hesitant looking Zhong towards Yun Lu.

Yun Lu stared at them.

“Zhong has something to say,” prompted Liu Bei who then shoved Zhong forward before stepping back.

“Eh…will you go to the um…dance thing with er…me?” stammered Zhong.

Yun Lu flashed him a smile. “Sure.”

Zhong smiled back.

“We’ll leave you guys then,” said Xiang. They backed out of the room and Yun Lu could have sworn they did a high five outside.

“I thought someone would have asked you already,” said Zhong.

“They did,” answered Yun Lu. “But I rejected them to wait for a special someone.” She picked up the deep blue dress. “Now get out because I need to try on these dresses.”

“Wait, one question,” started Zhong, and Yun Lu watched him expectantly. He wavered, wondering why he was going to ask such a question. “What am I to you?” he blurted out.

Yun Lu raised an eyebrow at him, but a grin was evident. “What a funny question, and so I’ll give you a funny answer, my Prince in Black.” She then pushed him out of her room.

Huang Zhong looked extremely confused but just as the door was about to shut on him, he shouted, “I reckon the black dress looks better!”

He racked his brains as he tried to figure out Yun Lu’s answer. She never failed to surprise him. With a happy sigh, he retreated to his own room.

Yun Lu smiled at the black dress. Yes, even Zhong said it was good.

XXXXXX

School had ended, and everyone went home to—Prepare for the dance.

“Have you shown Liu Bei what you’re gonna wear yet?” asked Yun Lu.

“No, he can see later,” said Ah Xiang. Both had put on their dresses and stood in front of the mirror.

There was a banging on the door. “Oi, hurry up. Females are so slow!” shouted a voice which was unmistakably Zhang Fei’s.

“Ready?” asked Yun Lu.

“Yeah,” replied Ah Xiang.

Both females stepped out of the room in their dresses, their high heels clacking against the wooden floor. Yun Lu wore her black dress with black heels which weren’t too high. Ah Xiang too wore heels which weren’t too high and was dressed in a deep blue short sleeved dress.

Zhang Fei whistled. “Oh nice…”

Yun Lu and Xiang smirked at each other and stepped out into the living room where all the guys were waiting, wearing tuxedos of different types and Guan Yu’s remarkably white tuxedo.

“Wow, so white,” said Yun Lu.

Guan Yu grinned sheepishly. “Diao Chan said to wear white.”

Yun Lu took a glance at Zhong who, in contrast to Guan Yu, wore full black. My Prince in Black thought Yun Lu. Yeah, totally. She spotted Cao Cao, isolating himself from the conversation. Yun Lu wondered who Cao Cao’s partner was. He stood up.

“Well, let’s go then shall we?” he asked with a smile.

The rest mumbled a reply which in general meant, “Yeah ok.”

They filed into two cars and drove towards the school. They alighted and walked towards the school hall. They males held the doors open.

“Ladies first,” said Zhao Yun.

Yun Lu and Xiang smiled and walked into the decorated hall, their heels clacking against the floor. People in the hall turned their attention to them as they entered. The people started staring, mainly the guys. Both Yun Lu and Ah Xiang were quite pretty, if truth be told. They exchanged an amused smile as they walked past a group of gawping males. The rest of the guys followed after them, walking in a whole group like some gang.

“Hey Ma Chao!” called out a girl. She quickly walked over to Ma Chao.

“Hello Yang Qiao En,” replied Ma Chao.

“Oh, your partner eh?” asked Yun Lu.

“Yep.”

The group walked over to a table which could seat all of them.

“Do we has a table all to ourselves?” asked Yun Lu.

“Grammar Yun Lu, grammar,” said Xiang with a laugh.

“It was on purpose, gees.”

Zhong and Liu Bei pulled out chairs for Yun Lu and Xiang like gentlemen usually do.

“I wonder where Diao Chan is?” muttered Guan Yu, trying to find Diao Chan in the hall.

“I’m sure she’s trying to find the best clothing to match with you brother,” said Zhang Fei with a smirk. Someone caught his attention. “Oh, it’s Xiahou Chunhua. See you later.” With that, Zhang Fei walked over to the girl.

“Hmm, do you think Xiao Qiao’s coming with Diao Chan?” asked Zhao Yun.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Then the doors opened, and in came the most beautiful woman in the school in the most beautiful dress. She came in gracefully, her long white dress sweeping a little against the floor. Her hair was set and on her hands wore silk white gloves that reached up to elbow. It was Diao Chan, and Guan Yu couldn’t stop staring. Neither could the rest of the guys of the school. She walked over to Guan Yu, sending him a small wave with her hand. Guan Yu blushed. Now he knew why Diao Chan had gotten him to wear a white tuxedo. Xiao Qiao came in, wearing a cute red dress, and she too caught a fair amount of attention.

“Hello Guan Yu,” greeted Diao Chan timidly.

“Hello Diao Chan…” muttered Guan Yu in return. He struggled to say something. “You…you look amazing.”

Diao Chan brushed a loose piece of hair back behind her ear. “Oh thank you.”

“Hey Zhao Yun!” shouted Xiao Qiao cheerfully, bounding up to the handsome Zhao Yun. “How do I look?”

Zhao Yun chuckled. “Like Little Red Riding Hood.”

Xiao Qiao looked offended. “How could you!?”

“It’s a compliment though. You look stunningly cute.”

Xiao Qiao’s expression immediately softened. “Aww, that’s nice of you.”

Meanwhile, nobody noticed that Cao Cao was looking longingly at Xiao Qiao. No one but Yun Lu.

“Hey, Captain…” Yun Lu waved her hand in front of his face. “Wakey wakey.”

Cao Cao snapped out of his trance and looked at Yun Lu. Sadness befell his expression. “What…?” he said, sounding miserable.

Yun Lu sighed. He still liked Xiao Qiao. “Who’s your partner?”

“It’s—”

“Captain!!” called out a shrill voice. Both Cao Cao and Yun Lu in the same direction and groaned. It was Bian.

“Does that answer your question?” asked Cao Cao.

“You cannot be serious!” said Yun Lu, horrified. Bian wasn’t a bad looking girl, she was perfectly fine. But her attitude and personality was way too…bitchy. And on a night like today, she decided to don as much makeup that could fit on her face and wear extremely flamboyant clothing. “You could have gotten a decent girl.”

“Well, I didn’t care anymore, after getting rejected by you and Xiao Qiao. You two are the only ones I would want to go to this ball with. Bian asked me to go with her,” said Cao Cao with a dejected sigh. “Man I feel sad.”

“Really, there are way more girls than me and Xiao Qiao,” said Yun Lu. She knew Cao Cao like her, and Cao Cao knew she did. They just talked about it like the one who Cao Cao liked was not Yun Lu.

“Captain! You look great in that navy tux!” praised Bian. She went over to Cao Cao and latched onto his arm, pointedly ignoring Yun Lu’s presence. “Let’s dance!”

“Save me,” moaned Cao Cao quietly.

“Sorry man, don’t think I can get you away from this vulture,” answered Yun Lu. Then the captain was pulled away by Bian onto the dance floor.

“Looks like that Bian woman got her wish to be with Captain,” muttered Zhong. Yun Lu jumped at his voice.

“Don’t scare me like that!” said Yun Lu. Actually, she was just wondering whether or not Zhong had heard her conversation with Cao Cao. Zhong did not say anything about it, so Yun Lu assumed that he hadn’t.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this ball that I have decided to hold!” boomed a voice, none other than the principal of Han High, Wang Yun. “This ball will end at about eleven. The food!” The principal clapped his hands and servants filed out with trolleys of food. “Will be served right now! Please return to your seats so that you may eat you dinner. Once dinner is over, you may sign up for the ballroom dancing competition. If not, feel free to dance at leisure. Let the party begin!!”

A roar of cheers erupted from the occupants in the hall.

“Father looks quite happy today!” chirped Diao Chan happily. Guan Yu nodded in agreement.

The food was served, and everyone ate happily as chatter filled the room. When dinner was finished, waiters stood around with deserts and random nibbles. Nice dance music came on which signified that the competition was about to start. People went to sign up and get a sticker with a number on it.

“Hey, wanna join?” asked Yun Lu.

“Ok…?” answered Zhong. In preparation for the party, everyone was required to learn formal dancing during their PE lesson, so they had a little practice…

People who had signed up went up with their partners to dance. Then finally, the numbers of the gang were read out. They went up to the dance floor and readied a dance pose/stance thing.

“Oh Captiain, this is so exciting!” squealed Bian.

Cao Cao looked at her glumly. Yun Lu decided Bian had two personalities, recalling how she had called her a ‘bitch’.

Yun Lu had one hand on Zhong’s shoulder, the other, laced with Zhong’s.

A rumba song was played and the group danced to the beat, repeating the steps that they had learnt in PE. One minute into the start of the dance, they started stuffing up their steps. Xiao giggled when she dripped over Zhao Yun’s feet, Ma Chao and Yang Qiao En weren’t faring too well either. Zhang Fei and Xiahou Chunhua weren’t taking it seriously, and neither were Liu Bei and Xiang. Cao Cao got tugged along by a hyperactive Bian. Guan Yu and Diao Chan looked absolutely stunning in their white outfits, but sadly, their dancing was rather stiff.

However, Yun Lu and Zhong looked like they actually knew their stuff. Both, dressed in black danced flawlessly, swerving to the left and right in synchronisation. The spot light which was panning around the dancers then swung onto Zhong and Yun Lu.

“Hmm, pretty good are we?” asked Yun Lu as she curled in and leant against Zhong before spinning back out.

Zhong simply answered with a cute grin.

Couple minutes later, the song ended, and the dancing stopped. Loud cheering and applause broke out.

“Well, well, nice dancing there, couple no. 13,” called out Wang Yun as the spotlight continued to focus on Yun Lu and Zhong. They both bowed slightly and smiled. “Alright, back to your seats please. The next group, numbers 18, 19…”

“Hi five man,” said Yun Lu who held up a palm. Zhong slapped his into hers.

“Yeah, we totally owned everyone.” Both of them returned to the table and sat down to order snacks and drinks.

“Hah, that was fun!” said Zhang Fei. Chunhua nodded in agreement.

“Let’s do that again!” she shouted.

“Where?”

She pointed to another dance floor where random people were dancing for fun, not for a competition. Zhang Fei hopped up, grabbed Chunhua’s hand and went off.

“Want to go too, Qiao En?” asked Ma Chao. She nodded brightly.

“Sure!”

Zhong noticed Yun Lu watching the people dance. He stood up and held out a hand to Yun Lu.

“May I have this dance?” he asked her.

Yun Lu looked up at him with a slightly blush. “You may,” she said and took Zhong’s hand.

“Hah, you joining to make us feel ashamed of our pathetic dancing skills?” asked Ma Chao.

Yun Lu grinned mischievously at her brother. “Of course, dear sibling. Why else?”