She had just finished dressing up when her phone rang and showed a video call. She tapped to answer. The screen showed Masaichi's gorgeous face.

To be frank, the resemblance between the siblings was too obvious. That was why they always get annoyed when people mistake them for lovers, especially when Midori hit p.u.b.erty. She was especially irritated as her brother is 8 years older than her. Despite bickering every chance they get, they are really close and their love and concern for each other are never too much.

"Hey, spoiled brat! Happy birthday!" Masaichi was grinning.

"Masaichi! Quit teasing your sister." The screen moved to show their parents.

"Hime! Otanjoubi omedetou!" Her parents greeted in chorus.

Midori was smiling, teary eyed. It was her first birthday away from her family.

"Hey, there's more!" Masaichi panned the camera.

It showed Aunty Lan and their maids.

"Shobe, happy birthday! I hope you are eating well!" Xiu Lan was smiling warmly.

"Young Mistress, please take care of yourself. If you need help, we can come." her personal maid had a concerned face.

Then the camera went away again. This time it showed Masaichi with an arm on Agatha's shoulder.

"Happy birthday...uhm...Imouto-chan!" Agatha's face had uncertainty and she looked shy.

Midori was smiling, desperately fighting her tears.

"Thank you so much, everyone! I miss you!"

"We miss you too, sweetheart! Take care of yourself! Have fun on your big day!" Aoi turned to her son. "Masaichi, your sister will be late for cla.s.s. We should hang up now."

"Okay." He positioned the camera to capture their faces.

"Happy birthday, Hime!" They said in chorus before the call ended.

She finished her look with some makeup.

Her phone beeped for a message notification. "Sorry, but I had to go out early today. I'll see you in cla.s.s." Dan sent.

She snickered and shook her head. He was too obvious.

Dan waited for the professor to arrive before taking his usual seat beside Midori. This way, he escaped casual conversations with her. Since they only had one cla.s.s for the day, he made an excuse to report to the company.

"I need to report much earlier so I could get off work earlier too. It was lucky that the other cla.s.s was postponed. I will see you at seven tonight, okay?" His gentle smile appeared before he left.

Her lips curved into a smile. She understood that he was making terrible excuses for his surprise so she let him be. She took out her wallet and stared at the platinum card.

"Maybe it's time to get you swiped."

She went to a shopping center after having a quick lunch in the cafeteria.

She bought a new dress, a pair of heels and a handbag. She got herself a cleansing facial and hair treatment. It was half past 5 when she got back to her place.

_________

While she was at the mall, Dan was busy preparing chicken galantina, following the online recipe seriously. The strawberry shortcake that he somehow managed to bake was already peacefully sitting in the fridge.

It was 6pm when he was simmering the gravy for the chicken when the doorbell rang. He shook his head with a smile on his face. She's early...and had to ring the bell again. For what did I give her the pa.s.scode then?

He turned off the stove and walked to open the door. He was smiling like a weirdo imagining her face.

Much to his surprise, he saw a familiar face with a bright smile while holding two cups of sundae.

"Oh, it's you." he blurted out.

She pouted and said, "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Uhm...I have plans." He will not lie.

She tried to peek inside. "Right now?"

"Ehrm...in an hour." He scratched the back of his head. He did not want to be rude, but Midori finding Rus.h.i.+ in his place again will spell trouble.

"Spare me some time? I can't finish these by myself." She motioned with the cups in hand. "I promise to go away after eating this. I just wanna celebrate a little and thank my partner for my good grades." She displayed an innocent pleading look.

________

Meanwhile, on a flight to City B.

Lu Shaoting was browsing over a script to pa.s.s the time. He was supposed to travel with Mei but her shoot ended late so she booked a later flight. She convinced him to take their original flight as she will be joining them in no time.

"Because you will be there earlier, you can 'warn' them not to do shameless things so they'll be prepared before my arrival." He remembered how she playfully uttered her words.

"Are you sure you can figure out how to get to their place alone? I can pick you up."

"How dare you underestimate Jiang Mei Ling! Of course I can. No need to bother. I will arrive there before you know it." She waved her hands as she replied animatedly.

"Okay then, don't forget to bring your gift."

Lu Shaoting was smiling in his seat as he recalled their conversation. If not for the script he was pretending to read, people will think he was crazy.

____________

It was 10 minutes until 7pm. Midori was doing a final look on herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a red neoprene dress, with a boat neck lined with crystal embellishment, low back and high-low skirt showing the pink inner side of the skirt. She had a new pair of pointed white pumps with a matching handbag. She pulled back her hair into a fishtail braid and her makeup was light on the eyeshadow and blush, but featured b.l.o.o.d.y red lips. A pair of silver climber earrings with crystals traced the helices of her ears. She smiled to her reflection.

It was a quarter past seven and she was anxiously sitting on her sofa, staring at the door. Dan has never been late whenever they go out. She decided to send him a message.

"You're late. Are you still at your place? I'm coming over if you're not here in 5 minutes."

She got no reply, and seeing that time was up, she went out and walked towards his unit.

She frowned after realizing the door was ajar. She continued her strides with a worried look on her face.

When she entered, she found the living room and the kitchen empty. She proceeded towards the bedroom. The door was also ajar.

Her face paled and she tightly clutched her handbag.

Inside, she saw Dan's naked chest, over which was Rus.h.i.+ with her exposed b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She was smiling happily at him, with her disheveled hair and flushed face.

Dan's eyes were closed. He seemed to be resting.

Midori stood frozen. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

Rus.h.i.+ suddenly opened her mouth. "So, was I better than Miss Xiu?"

Midori's tears streamed down her pale face as she heard him reply with a "Hmmn."

Midori's body wobbled a bit, but she found the strength to move her legs and dashed out the door. She ran as far as she can. Coincidentally, the elevator opened and a young man with a luggage stepped out.

Lu Shaoting saw Midori rus.h.i.+ng out of a room. As she went pa.s.sed him, her tears fell on his cheek. He turned around, tried to stop her, but the elevator closed and went down before he could reach it. With his curiosity, he went to the room where she came from, leaving his luggage on the hallway. He quietly entered through the ajar door. He somewhat found the bedroom.

His eyes shook upon the scene. Rus.h.i.+ was b.u.t.toning her blouse as she sat on the side of the bed. Dan was still asleep with the sheets barely covering his chest. She then moved to caress his cheek.

When Rus.h.i.+ stood up, Shaoting hurriedly fled from the scene. He grabbed his luggage, went down through the elevator, and held a cab to the airport. He needed to spare Mei of all these.

_________

The sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly outside when Dan woke up. He was still in the clothes he had on while cooking. He had a slight headache. As he sat up, it dawned on him.

It is the next day! He slept through her birthday!

He looked around. Nothing seemed out of place. Did Midori put him to bed?

He grabbed his phone on the bedside table and tried to call her. It went straight to mailbox.

With his messy hair and clothes, he jogged to her unit. He decided to ring the bell. He pressed the code in and entered as no one went for the door.

She was nowhere to be found. He bed was neatly made. He looked into her closet with a worried expression. All her things were in place.

He decided to wait for her. He waited for hours until the new day broke. He was panicking. He cannot go through her phone. To his shock, even her parents and friends were out of reach.

Hours became days. He could not help himself but inquire with the staff. From them he was told thst she dropped out of school.

He cannot believe it. She was gone.