Xiali's POV...
Ten and I are now in class as all the students are listening to the lecture. After what happened between me and Lucas earlier, I couldn't consenstrate at all. My mind is lost. Ten notice how I had been spacing out during class.
"Xiali, are you ok?" Ten ask with his signature soft voice.
"Yeah, just spaced out," I say casually.
Ten gives me a concern look before holding my hand, making my heart skip a beat. Even the slightest touch from him always makes me feel better. When I'm around him, I always feel safe and comfortable.
"Don't stress too much," Ten says as he holds my hand firmly. "You're safe with me."
I smile as I turn my head to his direction. "You always know how to make me feel better," I say.
"Well, you're my favorite thing to learn about," says Ten as he forms a flirty smile at me.
"A thing?" I ask with a playful tone.
"And person. You are my favorite person to learn about." Ten starts carressing my hand softly, making me form a shy smile.
A few hours later...
At the cafeteria...
Ten and Xiali walks inside cafeteria hand in hand, stealing the attention of everyone. Meanwhile, Lucas is sitting together with Hendery as both of them notice the young couple walking inside together.
"Now I know why Junhui failed to approach her," Hendery says as he watches Ten and Xiali walk over to a table, before turning his glance back at his older brother.
"She doesn't play with relationships," Lucas says. "I need to show her that I am capable of being with her."
"Looks like she's taking things too serious with Ten. It's gonna be a tough one for you, Ge," Hendery says.
"I'll have to take the chance," says Lucas with demeanor in his voice.
Hendery start to notice how Lucas had been staring at Xiali differently since these past few days. He always looks annoyed whenever he sees her with Ten. He could see how annoyed his brother is through his eyes.
Hendery lets out a smirk. "Well, what makes it harder is finding a way not to fall for her charm," Hendery says with a cheeky smile. "She is pretty charming."
Hearing his younger brother's statement made Lucas thought about Xiali's feisty personality. He had to admit he was drawn to her cute charm and feisty personality since the beginning, though he tries his best to hold back any feelings starting to develop.
"Yeah, she's hot," Lucas states as he stares at Xiali from a distance while admiring her beautiful figure.
Hendery takes a glance at Lucas. "Are you attracted to her, Ge?"
Lucas hesitates to answer for a moment. He knew what he is feeling right now is not profesional. He has to put all feelings aside despite the fact that he's getting more attracted to the target.
"For a hot looking target, she caught my attention," Lucas says, before he sighs.
Hendery glance at his older brother. "You can't resist a beautiful woman, can you?" Hendery ask with a small chuckle.
Lucas lets out a small chuckle. "A woman's beauty weakens the man's heart."
A few hours later....
At Retro Red Bar...
"Bye, Ten!" Xiali says before she gives Ten a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, Xiali!" Ten says as he watches the young girl walks out of his car. He is excited for tonight's dinner party with the boys' since he already plans a special surprise for Xiali.
As Ten was about to drive off to the supermarket, his phone rings with the caller's name getting his attention. It was his dad.
"Hello, Pa!" Ten says through the phone.
"Ten, are you good? What are you doing?" his dad ask through the phone.
"I'll be going to the supermarket after this. Why?" Ten ask.
He starts to wonder what did his dad wanted to talk about, yet after hearing the answers from him, Ten could feel his facial expression slowly changing upon hearing what his dad had to say.
After the call ended, Ten sighs at the thought of what his dad just said, which was a pretty clear reminder why he don't always get along with his parents at times. Sometimes he wished his parents could try to see from his point of view.
A few minutes later....
At the supermarket...
Ten arrives at the supermarket and starts searching for everything needed for tonight's dinner party. He bought a lot of various vegetables, meats, snacks, and drinks for tonight's special occation.
"That's all," Ten says to himself before pushing the shopping cart to the cashier.
6:45 PM...
At Retro Red Bar...
Lucas and Hendery walks inside the retro style bar. They start to observe their surroundings as they notice some ladies giving them flirty glances, yet Lucas didn't care. He only has one girl in his mind, which is why he finds himself here tonight.
"There she is, looking all pretty," Hendery says with a sassy voice.
"Let's go!" Lucas says.
The two brothers walks over to the bar counter to see Xiali taking orders from a man who happens to be flirting with her. They could see that she looked annoyed at the guy.
"How much would it be to take you out tonight?" the guy ask with a seductive look.
Xiali is surprised to hear the man said that. Her fury starts to boil up while she wanted to run away by his impolite question, at the same time she also wants to smack his face.
"Watch your mouth, Sir!" Lucas says as he walks over to the counter, having his eyes on Xiali who looks surprised at the sight of him. "It's ashame to see how your mother raised you to be a trash talker to women. She's my girlfriend and you better stop messing with her," Lucas says as he walks to the bar counter while looking at the man sharply in the eyes. Rage is starting to fill him as he was ready to punch the man at any time.
"Do you need us to do something about that mouth of yours?" Hendery blurts out.
Xiali stood in silence as she was still surprised to hear that Lucas told the man that she's his girlfriend. Not that she didn't like the idea. She was actually thankful that he came at the right time to rescue her from that freak.
"Oh, my apologies," says the man before he leaves the bar counter, looking all scared.
After the man left, Lucas turns his head to face Xiali who stood in silence with a surprised look on her face.
"Are you ok?" Lucas ask with a gentle tone.
"I'm fine. Thank you," Xiali says as she stares at Lucas shyly. "Umm..what can I get you guys?"
"Ah, a glass of white wine would be nice," Hendery says with a sassy smile.
"One glass of white wine. How about you, Lucas?" Xiali ask.
"I wasn't planning to drink tonight, but I'll have a glass of vodka tonight just to see you under the lights," Lucas says, before he gives Xiali his signature warm yet flirty smile, making her chuckle at his action.
"Ok, guys! I'll be back with your drinks soon," Xiali says, before she heads back to prepare the drinks.
Lucas watches Xiali walks to the back to prepare the drinks as he gets mesmerize by her. He felt a bit funny after finding himself feeling furious about the man who tried to seduce her earlier. Though he wanted to make her fall for him at all cost, he didn't expect him to be furious about a man trying to flirt with her in an impolite way.
7:15 PM...
At the boys' house...
"Pad thai is in the house!" Ten says as he puts the big plate of pad thai on the table.
"I have a feeling this is gonna be an awesome dinner," Jungwoo says with excitement.
"Of course it is. Ten hyung here is gonna confess to his crush," Xiaojun says as he gives Ten a sassy wink, making him roll his eyes.
"That's nice to hear, Hyung," Shotaro says as he walks out of the kitchen with a plate of sushi.
As Jungwoo and Xiaojun continue to tease Ten, Yangyang just stood in silence in the kitchen while as he continues to cook chicken soup. He knew tonight that Ten is gonna make it official with Xiali in front of them, and he couldn't deny that the thought of it already kills him inside. He isn't ready to see Xiali getting official with his best friend, Ten. Yet, literally everyone in the house knows that Ten and Xiali have mutual feelings for each other, and Yangyang didn't want to break that. No matter how much it hurts to see the girl he likes fall in love with his best friend, he could never destroy the happiness they have for each other by trying to steal her away from Ten. Love can't be stolen, and that's what Yangyang believes. By that, he could only wish for them to be happy.
"Oh, look at the time. I'll go pick up Xiali now," Ten says as he grabs his car keys from the small table near the couch.
"Bye, lover boy!" Jungwoo says with a playful tone.
"Yeah right," Ten says with a sarcastic tone as he walks out of the front door of the house.
7:55 PM...
At Retro Red Bar...
"My shift is almost done. Do you need anything else?" Xiali ask.
"No, thanks. I had enough glasses for tonight to make me think about you." Lucas gives Xiali a sassy wink, making her roll her eyes with a smile.
"Great pick up lines you got there," Xiali says with a sarcastic tone.
"Hahaha, I only say that to the girl that got my interest," Lucas says, making Xiali giggle this time.
"Good one, Lucas. By the way, where's Hendery?" Xiali ask.
"Lost on the dance floor again," Lucas says, making Xiali let out a small chuckle.
A few minutes later, Xiali's shift comes to an end and she walks out of the bar. She saw that Ten's car is already waiting for her, and by that she just enters the car.
"Hey, Ten!" Xiali smiles at the young boy.
"Hey, Beautiful! It's only been a few hours and I already miss you," says Ten with a flirty tone.
"Please...I am here now," says Xiali as she roll her eyes.
Ten lets out a chuckle before he drives off to the boys' house.
At the boys' house...
Ten and Xiali walks inside the house. The boys are already waiting for them in the living room with enthusiasm.
"Hey, it's our favorite couple," Jungwoo says as he greets Ten and Xiali, making both of them blush.
"We have everything prepared. Shall we start dinner now?" Kun ask.
"Sure. Let's go!" Ten says.
The boys walk to the dining room with Ten dragging Xiali to follow them.
Xiali's POV...
I pull out a chair to sit next to Ten in the dining room. Shotaro starts pouring the wine to our glass, before sitting down next to Kun. I saw Yangyang walking over to take a seat next to me, making me sitting in the middle between two guys. It feels a little awkward, but I'll just try to chill with situation and not think much. Besides, Ten and I are getting closer than ever, while Yangyang and I are in pretty good terms now. I should be pretty happy that my relationships with my favorite boys are getting better.
"Ok, so before we start tonight's dinner, I have a little announcement to make on this beautiful night," Ten says, trying to get everyone's attention.
"What do you want to say, Hyung?" Jungwoo ask with a curious and excited tone.
Ten gently grabs my hand, making me blush. "Regarding the various accidents that happened since weeks ago, I've come to realize that this situation is getting much more dangerous," Ten says as he turns his head to look at my direction. "Zhang Xia Li, your life is on the line. The stalkers are still after you, and I don't want anything to happen to you. At first, I was only suppose to be your guardian, and little did I expected to be drawn to you with time."
I start to feel butterflies dancing in my chest as I stare into his eyes, having no idea why he is saying all these things suddenly in front of the boys, including Yangyang who had sit in silence since the beginning.
"Though I won't deny that I did found you cute when we first met, but that wasn't really the reasons why I keep finding myself drawn to you more and more everytime," Ten smiles at me. "You brought my heart back to life. I am forever grateful for that. I want to bring life into your heart everyday, forever, and always."
My heart almost stop after hearing all those things Ten said. I couldn't believe what I heard as I try my best to hold back the tears of happiness that are slowly forming in my eyes. I turn my head down to avoid eye contact with him, since I didn't want him to notice that I was struggling in holding back my tears.
"Xiali, I love you," Ten says as he gently holds both of my hands.
I couldn't hold my tears any longer as it starts running on my face. I couldn't believe I was hearing this from him, my best friend who I thought could never fall for me. Being a popular student in college and also smooth with his words, never have I imagine that Ten would say all these things tonight, to me.
I calm myself down as I turn my head slowly to face him. "Ten....I love you too," I finally said the words I've been scared to think about, just because I never expected us to have mutual feelings.
Ten gives me a bright smile as we stare into each other's eyes with sparkling eyes. We broke our eye contact at the sound of all the boys starting to cheer for us, including Yangyang, who gives me a small smile as he claps his hands.
We eventually start dinner with everyone trying out various dishes from different cultures that everyone cooked. Kun, Xiaojun, and Yangyang made dim sums, chicken soup, and lamian. Jungwoo made tteokbokki, Shotaro made sushi, and Ten made pad thai. All the dishes tasted amazing. After dinner, Xiaojun insisted we all play a drinking game, which everyone agreed.
"I win!" Xiaojun says in a drunk tone as he puts down his 7th glass of white wine. Before walking over to the couch to lie down.
"Hyung looks drunk!" Shotaro says in a tipsy tone.
"Tell me about it." Jungwoo tries to get up and walks over to get a glass of water.
"How about if we go outside and leave them alone?" Ten whispers as we notice how everyone was getting more worse.
"Sure," I say.
Ten gets up and drags me to the back garden. It's a good thing both of us are not drunk, since we didn't go crazy with the game. We decided to drink slowly and not too much back there.
Ten and I walks outside to the garden. He grabs my hand gently as both of us starts admiring the stars in the sky. I take a glance at him for a second with a smile.
"It's been a beautiful night," I say as I slowly lay my head on his shoulder. "Thank you for tonight, Ten."
Ten glance at me and smiles at the sight of my head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around my waist. "Thank you for everything, Xiali," Ten says.
I slowly form a small smile on my face upon hearing his words. For a moment, I feel safe knowing that I have him, the person I love, beside me. Tonight is indeed a beautiful night.
"Xiali," Ten says.
I slowly turn my head to face him with a curious look. "What?"
"The situation is getting more dangerous than before. It worries me too much knowing that the stalkers are still out there to get you," Ten says. "Xiali, I want you to join our team. By that, I can always protect you anytime, and we will always be together."
To be continue....