Once We Come Across Love

Something that always confused Xiao Tu is how Ling Chao could be so popular when he hated physical activity. Other boys were mad for sports. They especially liked PE cla.s.s. But not Ling Chao. She even heard girls gossiping about him like he was the prince"s representative. Some even called him Prince Ling behind his back.

Prince Ling? As if! But Xiao Tu remembered a time when she had seen Ling Chao wear sport tear away pants. Her heart had fluttered then. So, yeah, maybe he could be like a fairy tale prince.

It was strange to see Ling Chao, who hates sports the most, playing and playing so well. When did he learn? She observe him for a bit. Watching the cooperation between him and his teammates, he didn"t look like a novice. Turn, shoot, dodge… every move done so gracefully. When did he start playing basketball? Only once did their eyes meet, but only briefly. It seemed that Ling Chao didn"t recognize her, he just continued playing. He never looked at her again.

The end of summer is always sweltering hot, and this September day was no different. Ling Chao was dripping with sweat. His shirt was soaked. Xiao Tu smirked. Doesn"t he hate to sweat? She felt a little cynical. She was about to turn away when two things happened simultaneously. The whistle blew and Ling Chao tossed another perfect basket. The crowd roared with pride. Then he turned and looked for Xiao Tu.

He was a golden boy. Victorious and haloed by the sun and dripping with sweat. He smiled at her. Just a slight smile, just for her. It made her feel dizzy. The whole scene was out of a teen movie or a dream. But a flying basketball shattered the brief moment.

Ling Lingchao"s face changed. He was too far away to stop the ball. He shouted. "Be careful!"

Xiao Tu didn"t see the ball, but she reacted quickly. Because of her martial arts training she was able to dodge artfully. She leaned her head back, and her flexible waist supported her weight as the ball flew overhead. After regaining her posture she looked back to where the ball landed. She patted her heart and sighed in relief. “Wow. That was close!”

Turning to look where the ball came from she collided with Ling Chao who had raced over at an anxious pace. "Are you okay?" He grabbed her shoulder. Xiao Tu saw the worry in his eyes. The ball didn"t stun her one bit, but his proximity made her heart flutter. She didn"t have time to wonder why this boy made her feel like she was in a dream, because all the other players gathered around to check on her too. 

A player from the Blue Team* pushed his way through. “Are you alright? It was an accident?”

"It doesn"t matter ..." Xiao Tu waved her hand dismissively but when she looked more closely at the boy her eyes squinted. “Hey, are you Yin Zihan?” She recognized him.

Yin Zihan"s backstory is required:

Yin Zihan had attended Junior High School together with Xiao Tu. He came from a wealthy and influential family. He was one of the few rich kids at her school.  Rumor had it that his Grandfather had been a foreign diplomat in the Soviet Union when The People"s Republic of China was founded. His dad owned company and was doing a lot of business. His mother was also successful. She was a manager at a securities company in the city. Everyone knew who Yin Zihan was because of his spectacular family. However the reason he stuck out to Xiao Tu was because of Ling Chao.

Yin Zihan life was miserable because of Ling Chao. Sure, he had a private car to drive him to and from school. Sure he was handsome. Sure his academic performance was stellar. He should have been a legend at his Junior High School, except for Ling Chao. They were a.s.signed to the same cla.s.s, and his nightmare began. He always took second place to Ling Chao.

He lost the vote for cla.s.s monitor to Ling Chao.

He lost first place in the math compet.i.tion to Ling Chao.

When he confessed to the long-cherished cla.s.s flower, she told him that she preferred Ling Chao.

That was a blow that cast him into a deep depression. It was also the last straw.

That same day, driving home in his private car, he saw Ling Chao and Xiao Tu walking home. He jumped out of his car to confront Ling Chao. At the time he was filled with righteous anger. He pointed at Ling Chao"s face and said, “If take first place on the next exam, you must give the beautiful cla.s.s flower, Lingling, to me!”

To which Ling Chao replied without expression, “Who is Lingling?”

Yin Zihan was stunned for two seconds. How embarra.s.sing. He loved a girl who was more interested in a boy who didn"t even know who she was! He ran away in tears.

Later, the final test scores came out, and Yin Zihan came in second place again. Ling Chao had beat him by more than 20 points. The cla.s.s flower still preferred Ling Chao too. Yin Zihan couldn"t catch a break. He had to escape Ling Chao shadow. So he transferred to a new school.

※※※※※※

“Why did Yin Zihan come to study in A?” That was Xiao Tu"s first question when she and Ling Chao left the basketball courts to return to their dorms. Jiang Juan followed walked close beside Ling Chao. He gave scowled at her for starting at him so shamelessly.

“Who is Yin Zihan?” he asked.

Xioa Tu was incredulous. “You don"t know him? He"s the one who accidently threw the ball at me. Like two seconds ago.”

"Oh." Ling Chao glared at Jiang Juan again. This time she retreated behind Xiao Tu.

"Didn"t you just play basketball with him?" Xiao Tu asked.

"He is new today, I don"t know."

"Wait!" Xiao Tu suddenly thought of something, "How did he greet you when you met earlier?""

Ling Chao thought for a while: "He said a lot of inexplicable things."

"And how did you answer him?"

"I asked: "Who are you?""

Xiao Rabbit looked at the sky. "I can"t believe you! You did not say that!  T__T

The boy"s dormitory was in next to the girl"s dormitory. When the three of them reached the dorms and were about to part, Ling Chao turned to Xiao Tu. He said "I"ll go upstairs and get something for you, wait a moment." Then he raced upstairs before Xiao Tu could respond. She wondered what he possibly had to give to her?

While they waited Jiang Juan came out of hiding. She wanted to know what kind of relationship Xiao Tu had with Ling Chao and quizzed her mercilessly.

“Honestly explain, what is your relationship?”

Xiao Tu was surprised. "What"s our relationship? It"s nothing, why do you ask?"

Jiang Juan inspected Xiao Tu closely.  "You can"t to fool me! I was watching the whole time we walked here. You don"t have an ordinary relationship with that boy.”

"Who? Are you talking about Ling Chao?" Xiao Tu looked into Jiang Juan"s eyes. "It"s nothing, he is just my younger brother," she promised.

"Don"t you insult my IQ, okay? He is one year ahead of you in school, and you are his older sister! Come on, what is your relationship?"

Xiao Tu was thrown off balance. It"s complicated to explain how Ling Chao is her younger brother and yet he is one year ahead of her in school. After thinking for a while she simply said, “We"ve been neighbors since childhood.”

“Is that the truth," Jiang Juan was skeptical.

“It"s the truth! His mother is my G.o.dmother, and his father is my G.o.dfather, really!"

"The G.o.dmother is also the mother, and the G.o.dfather is also the father. Jiang Juan pondered for a moment, “oh! I understand, Xiao Tu, you are the chosen fiance!" /or maybe indentured servant???

Xiao Xiao Rabbit:> _____

[This post is not finished. I just want to see how the links work]