Xiali's voice made Winwin feel a little surprised. Hopefully she didn't feel uncomfortable about him staring at her. He had no bad intentions.

"Can you make me a cup of tea?" Xiali ask in a drunk tone.

"Sure," Winwin says as he stares at his drunk step-sister. "I'll be right back." Winwin adds before walking downstair to make a cup of tea for Xiali.

Meanwhile, at the boys' house...

Ten walks inside the house and enters the kitchen to get a bottle of water. He walks outside the kitchen to sit on the couch along with Yangyang who is on his phone.

"Where's Xiali?" Yangyang ask with a curious tone.

"I drove her back," Ten says casually before he opens his water bottle.

"Why didn't you bring her here? We could have taken care of her when she's drunk," says Yangyang with a slightly higher tone. He knew she and Ten were going out tonight since Ten had told him and the boys earlier. He assume Xiali's probably drunk now since she wasn't good in drinking, yet he was upset about why Ten didn't bring her to their house.

"She wanted to be alone tonight," says Ten. "So I just drove her back home and lead her to the front door."

Hearing this, Yangyang feels his heart once again feeling an uncomfortable feeling. He thought that one of the reasons he's been feeling emotional these days is because he wasn't able to see Xiali for a while, which made his heart feel terrible. Not seeing her only made him miss her more.

"How is she, Ge?" Yangyang ask as he was trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

"She's been through a lot," Ten says before he drinks his water. "And with the Wong brothers trying to approach her, she needs extra protection."

Hearing this, Yangyang starts to worry at the thought of what Xiali's going through and the possible danger that could be after her. The thought of something bad that could happen to her broke his heart and made him more furious than ever at whoever is after her. He wanted to end anyone who has bad intentions for her.

Before Yangyang could say anything, Ten takes a deep breath. "Nobody is gonna touch her. If anyone wants to get her, they're gonna have to go through me first," Ten says.

Yangyang just sits in silence as he stares at Ten. He could feel the sincereness in Ten's voice while talking about Xiali, which he felt was more than affection. He is starting to wonder if Ten had other feelings for Xiali, which made him a bit worried.

"We all care for her, Ge," Yangyang says as he tries to light up his own awkward feeling. "Do you like her?" Yangyang ask with a curious tone. Though he knew that he wasn't prepare to hear the answer, he could only hope that it wasn't like what he thought.

Ten takes a deep breath as he starts to replay the times he spend with Xiali, from the first time they met to the first night they kissed and made love. The more time he spend with her, the more he feels drawn to her in every moment. He finds her cute and innocent personality to be adorable. At first, he told himself to ignore the little attraction he's feeling towards her, and tried to see her as his little sister. Yet the more they get to know each other made him feel harder to resist the butterflies fluttering in his heart. Ten feels lucky that he could be the one to be her guardian angel, because one thing he knew for sure, he is beyond happy to have met such a wonderful woman in his life.

"As much as I like her, I can't rush things," says Ten. "She needs time after all that happened. Right now, all I can do is just protect her and stay by her side."

Hearing Ten's words made Yangyang's heart feel like it's cracked. He starts to wonder if Xiali had mutual feelings for Ten, or would they eventually start dating when she's ready. Just the thought of it already puts Yangyang in deep fear of losing Xiali if she eventually starts dating Ten. He didn't want to lose his childhood friend to his best friend, though he cares for both of them. To him, Ten is like a brother he had known since they were kids, while Xiali is a childhood sweetheart who he had grown stronger feelings after they meet again.

As he tries to hide the pain in his heart, Yangyang forms a small smile on his face. "Take care of her, Ge. I don't want to lose her again," says Yangyang as he tries his best to hold the pain. Deep down he knew he had already lost her to Ten, his best friend.

"I will. I'll take good care of her," says Ten before he gets up from his seat. "Well, I'm going to bed first. I have to pick her up tomorrow morning for college."

Yangyang nods at Ten. "Ok. Goodnight, Ge."

"Goodnight, Yang," says Ten before he walks upstairs to get himself cleaned up for bed, leaving Yangyang feeling heart broken alone in the living room.

At Xiali and Winwin's house...

Winwin walks back upstairs with a cup of tea in his hand. He enters Xiali's room and see that Xiali is still lying down on the bed but hasn't fallen asleep. Her body is covered with her yellow blanket.

"Here you go, a cup of tea," Winwin says as he sits on the bed while holding the cup of tea.

Xiali sits up and takes the cup of tea from Winwin's hand. She takes a sip of the warm tea before placing it on the small table beside her bed.

"Thank you," says Xiali in a low tone.

"Don't mention it," says Winwin as he stares at Xiali who is staring down at the blanket on her lap, refusing to have eye contact with him.

"Do you need anything else?" Winwin ask as he tries to light up the awkward situation with a simple question.

"No, thanks," Xiali says as she turns her head to see Winwin who had been staring at her. "Umm..I'm just gonna change into my pajamas." Xiali starts to look awkward.

"Oh ok," says Winwin with an awkward tone as his cheeks turn red after hearing Xiali's words. He gets up from the bed and starts walking to the door. "Goodnight," says Winwin before he starts walking back to his room while feeling awkward.

"Goodnight," says Xiali as she watches Winwin walking back to his room.

The next day...

At Ming University...

Xiali and Ten are walking together to class, when Xiali sees a familiar tall guy waiting near her locker. It's Lucas.

"Hey! Lucas," Xiali says as she walks up to Lucas who looked like he had been waiting for her. Lucas smiles at Xiali as she approaches him. "Going to class?" Xiali ask.

"I'm actually waiting for you to appear. I thought you were gonna get some stuff from your locker," says Lucas with a cheeky smile.

Xiali smiles back at Lucas. "Haha, not this morning," Xiali says. Meanwhile, Ten had been staring at the two with an irritated look. He hated the fact that Xiali is still talking with him thinking he might not be dangerous.

"Well, I'm going to class. See ya!" says Xiali as she walks away from Lucas with Ten by her side.

Lucas watches the girl as she walks away from his sight along with her friend. He starts to admire her beautiful figure from behind, as his mind starts to travel at the thought of the beautiful girl.

"She's pretty hot," Lucas says to himself. Realizing what he just said, he snaps back to his sense as he takes a deep breath.

What the hell? Lucas Wong, what were you thinking? You shouldn't think about how hot your target is. That would be a distraction. I have to stay focus.
Lucas thought.

A few hours later...

At the cafeteria...

"So how's the hangover?" Ten ask before he takes a bite of his stir fried vegetables.

"Way better after a good sleep and some warm tea," Xiali says. "How about you?"

"I wasn't drunk last night," Ten says.

"You were a bit tipsy though," Xiali says in a teasing manner.

"How did you know about that?" Ten ask in a sarcastic tone as he grabs his bottle of water.

"Your eyes weren't gazing at other women," says Xiali with a smile, making Ten's cheeks to turn red.

"Hey! What does that suppose to mean?" Ten ask.

"Only when you're tipsy that you'll only gaze at me and not at other women," says Xiali as she lets out a small giggle.

"I only have eyes for you, Xiali," says Ten with a playful tone. "You just don't believe me, don't you?"

"Not yet," Xiali says with a smile.

"Well, you were the only girl that I had my attention on last night," Ten says. "We danced the whole night together, making the whole club wonder if we were dating."

Xiali rolls her eyes at Ten's sentence. She thought for a moment he was just smooth talking again, but at the same time she knew that he did only have eyes on her last night. She realized that it was the second time she knew that Ten only had eyes on her. The first time would be the night they first kissed, which both of them let out all their passion in a night.

Remembering that night brings back the fluttering feelings inside Xiali's heart. The way he was so gentle made her heart felt a little better even after what happened between her and Yangyang. She was broken by her expectations towards Yangyang, and though she never expected what would happen between her and Ten that night, she never regret anything that happened. Even if she could turn back time, she didn't want to change a single thing about it.

Last night, you were mine, and I was yours. Xiali thought as she glance at Ten shyly as he continues with his lunch.

"By the way, thanks for teaching me some dance moves last night," says Xiali as she tries to brush off the thought of the night she spend with Ten.

"You're welcome. And thanks for actually dancing with me last night," Ten says.

"I wouldn't want to dance with anybody else, Ten," Xiali says before she roll her eyes again.

"Well, I'm flattered to hear that," Ten says with a flirty smile.

This boy...he keeps messing with my heart and mind.
Xiali thought with a small laugh.

A few hours later...

At Jiang University...

Winwin, Yiren, Renjun, and Tzuyu are walking together in the hallway as they head to the college exit. Tzuyu had been talking about her birthday party tomorrow night, which she had invited the three of them.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow night," Tzuyu says as the three of them reach the college exit. "Well, I gotta go now. Bye!"

"Bye bye!" Yiren says as she waves at Tzuyu as she walks away from the college building.

"Bye guys!" Renjun says as he also walks away from Yiren and Winwin.

Yiren turns her head to see Winwin. She wasn't really sure if Winwin had really decided to go the party tomorrow. Since the incident that happened with his late girlfriend, Meixi, Winwin hasn't been socialising much. He only goes out for college and work at Luhan's workshop.

"Please tell me that you're gonna go out this time," Yiren says as she stares at him with a puppy eyes look.

"I'll be working on my homeworks tomorrow. I don't have time to go out," Winwin says.

"That's what you've been saying for a month now," Yiren says as she puts her hands on her hips. "Come on, Winwin. You can't keep running away from the world forever."

Winwin just stood in silence as he turns his head, not wanting to have eye contact with Yiren during this moment.

Yiren sighs as she reaches out to hold Winwin's hand. "I just don't want you to constantly be sad," Yiren says.

"I'm not in the mood for socialising," Winwin says.

"Well, you don't have to. Just pretend that it's only the two of us tomorrow, just like when we went to the bar," Yiren says as she turns her head up to see Winwin's eyes still staring at the ground. Slowly, Yiren lifts up Winwin's chin with her index finger, making him gaze into her eyes.

"I'm not trying to replace her, Winwin," says Yiren as she slowly release his hand.

Winwin stares into Yiren's eyes with mixed up feelings. Though he didn't want to go to Tzuyu's party tomorrow, yet he didn't want to turn down Yiren's request too often since it would make him feel bad. She reached out to him when he was at his lowest state after the accident that happened to Meixi, which he had pushed her away several times. Not that he meant to act cold towards her, but he just wanted to be alone after all the stress. He knew that it was impossible to keep pushing her away just because he was in sorrow when she was trying to help him get through the hard times.

Winwin sighs. "Sorry," he says with an apologetic look. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 6 PM, ok?" he adds as he stares at Yiren who is staring at the ground.

Yiren slowly turns her vision to see Winwin. She forms a small smile at the sight of his charming face staring at her. As much as she hate it when he acts cold and pushes her away, yet she couldn't be mad at him for a long time. In her eyes, Winwin has always been the guy she admired since the first day they met in college. Despite never getting into any serious relationship with him other than friendship, she knew that he was the only guy that has a place in her heart.

"Ok," Yiren says as she gives Winwin a small smile. "Well, I gotta go home. Bye, Winwin!" Yiren adds before placing a kiss on Winwin's cheek, before walking away with a happy feeling, leaving Winwin standing alone with mixed feelings.

Sometimes I question myself. What kind of relationship have I gotten myself into out of the blue? Winwin thought.

A few hours later...

7:15 PM....

At Retro Red Bar...

Xiali is mixing up some drinks as the upbeat music keeps playing at the bar. She's preparing some cocktails for a group of ladies.

Perfect. Xiali thought at the sight of the fancy cocktails on her tray. She walks outside the bar counter to a table with a group of ladies. She places the drinks one by one on the table.

After placing the drinks on the table, Xiali walks back to bar counter, but stops in her steps as she sees a familiar male figure standing near the bar counter. Her smile soon fades into an awkward expression as she sees the guy staring at her with an apologetic look.

"Xiali..." the guy calls her as she stood in silence.

To be continue....