Hiding behind the wall, Xu Mey stared at Ye Jie’s side profile- he was still looking in the direction Ru left. As if lost in some thought or maybe a memory.

  Whether Ye Jie was thinking of memory or not but Xu Mey surely was lost in a trance as her Sensei’s young face came to her mind.

  Swiftly, a distant voice rang in Xu Mey’s ears, "Friend? I don’t make friends." That was the answer her Sensei gave her back then.

  In restoration, she questioned afresh, "There must be someone that’s really important to you, Sensei." After a pause, she added, "For instance, my best friends are my life. Because I know that they will be standing right behind me whenever I would need them the most."

  "I don’t know about that kind of friendship because in my opinion having a million friends can’t ensure that they’ll be loyal to you. But I do have a best friend. And he is enough for me. He is enough not because he is unique. He is unique because he is enough for me." After a rustle, her Sensei resumed, "He’s the one who taught me that caring is not a crime. Friendship is something that demands care from us."

  "Would you do anything for him, Sensei?" She had questioned.

  The answer she received was, "More or less, I’ll do anything for him. Just like caring for you."

  She frowned. "What do mean?"

  "If it was up to solely me, then trust me I would have never helped you in getting out of that rehabilitation center. It was my best friend who wanted to save you for some reason." After thinking a moment, the voice came again, "I told you at our first meeting, I’m not a good person. Helping someone was never my nature. Because I’m the person who always believed that helping someone will only get us into trouble for no reason."

  "Sensei, what am I to you?"

  "You’re my responsibility."

  "That’s it?"

  "What else there can be?"

  She felt bitter asking, "You don’t love me, right?"

  "Love?" She heard her Sensei’s laugh. "First of all, I don’t know how to love. Second of all, I’m not allowed to love you."

  She pursed her lips and mumbled, "I thought you really loved me."

  "Wake up from your dreams. Not everyone comes to your life to love you. Some people just stumble upon your life to show you the way like myself. I’m nothing more than a guide in your life. Don’t develop unnecessary emotions or attachments for me."

  She felt hurt. "You’re brutally honest." She remarked.

  "My honesty is better than your delusions."

  "But I love you!" She claimed.

  "You don’t love me. What you have for me is called dependence, not love. Also, people don’t fall in love with the monster like me."

  "You’re not a monster." She argued.

  "That’s another delusion of yours. Don’t forget, you called me a monster as well."

  Her face fell. "I was too young. I didn’t know better at that time."

  "And do you think that you know any better now?" Before Xu Mey could argue, the voice came again, "Stop wasting your time on trying to figure me out. I can only get stuck in someone’s mind, not their heart."

  Xu Mey’s trance broke when she felt a gush of cold breeze slapping her face and making her shiver. She looked around but didn’t see Ye Jie. "Huh? Where did Ah-Jie go?" She shrugged her shoulders and took the elevator back to the 3rd floor.

  "Where were you?" Li Qiao asked anxiously when she walked inside the room. Everyone was staring at her and in return, she just smiled.

  "I was getting some fresh air outside," she told everyone and sat back at the couch. Xu Mey picked another shot of drink and gulped it in one go.

  Meanwhile, Ye Jun was dancing at the 2nd floor when his gaze fell on a familiar face making him starry-eyed.

  He came to the bar counter and propped himself right on the stool beside Jun Li Na. He perched his elbow on the counter and supported his face on his fist looking at Jun Li Na’s flushed face with a cheesy smile.

  Jun Li Na noticed his eyes on the side of her face and tilted her face. As she saw Ye Jun, she frowned, "What are you doing here?"

  "I’m looking at you." He replied in matter-of-factly.

  "That even I ca-can see," she slurped a bit.

  "How much did you drink?" Ye Jun asked. Her face was beet-red with her eyes unfocused.

  "Does it matter?" she retorted.

  "Of course, it matters. Look at yourself, you’re wasted. Don’t drink anymore." Ye Jun’s voice was a bit sharp.

  Jun Li Na pointed a finger at him and said, "Who are you to tell me that I should stop drinking? Are you my boyfriend? Or are you my fiance? Just who the hell are you?"

  "Well, I would love to be the boyfriend but since you won’t allow that let’s say that I’m a friend." Ye Jun said patiently.

  She laughed out loud out of the blue. "You can’t be my friend."

  "Why not?" he frowned.

  "Because you said it yourself that you love me. So, if you really love me then this friendship will only hurt you." Ye Jun was surprised that she could even think about all that while she was drunk.

  "Let’s not talk about that while you’re drunk. Where are your bodyguards?" He inquired knowing well enough that they stuck to her like glue.

  She heaved a long sigh and said, "I sent them away. They were irritating."

  Ye Jun was surprised by her answer but didn’t let it show on his face. "Then come, I’ll drop you to your house."

  She stroked her chin pondering for a while before asking, "Do you know where I live?"

  "Nope!" Ye Jun answered honestly. She frowned at his reply while he added, "But I’ll know if you’ll tell me. So, you give me the address and I’ll be your driver."

  "Okay!" She grumbled.

  Ye Jun helped her in walking since she was staggering around because of excessive alcohol consumption. He brought her to his car and helped in buckling her seatbelt the came around to sit behind the wheel and drove away.