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Mai Ding just wouldn"t open the door. "So what if I am backing out of our deal. I am definitely not going."
 
"If you do not come out this instance, you are going to get it for the rest of the year!"
 
Mai Ding"s dad shouted from outside Mai Ding"s room. He was furious because he had planned this matchmaking lunch for some time. He couldn"t just back out now. It was now a matter of face.
 
Hearing the threat, Mai Ding got a little scared. He called An Ziyan, begging him to help him, "An Ziyan, what should I do? My dad is going to flip. I am afraid I can"t hold the fort any longer. He even threatened me. He said that I"m going to get it for the rest of the year."
 
An Ziyan was roused from his sleep. "If you go, I"ll kill you" And after saying that, he hung up, obviously going back to sleep.
 
Poor Mai Ding, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
 
Mai Ding"s mother was now furiously pounding his door, shouting, "Mai Ding you little s.h.i.t. If you don"t open the door, I"m really going to get angry."
 
Pushed to a corner, Mai Ding blurted, "I already have a girlfriend."
 
Suddenly there was peace. Mai Ding opened the door and saw a look of shock on both his parents" faces. Mai Ding"s mother began, "If you are saying this to get yourself out of this date, you can forget it. I am not so gullible."
 
"It"s true. I have no reason to lie to you."
 
"Why didn"t you say so yesterday?"
 
"The time"s not right. But right now since the both of you are forcing me to go, I have no choice but to tell you the truth." Mai Ding"s ability to lie was also top-notch.
 
"Do you have her photo?" Mai Ding"s mother asked, refusing to believe.
 
"No I don"t."
 
"You have a picture of your handsome dorm mate but you don"t even carry a photo of your girlfriend? Do you think I"m stupid?"
 
"She hates taking photos. That"s not my fault, right?"
 
"Do you think I will believe you so easily? You call her right now. Let me talk to her. In that way, I will believe you and I will let you off the hook." Mai Ding"s mother was rather persistent herself.
Mai Ding didn"t know what to do. He didn"t know his mother would also have her own tactics. All his life, he had been under the control of powerful women and all his friends had been guys. The women he could think of right at that point in time were An Su and Ellen. Both of them would not do. Suddenly, he thought of the perfect candidate: Bai Xiaosi.
 
Mai Ding"s life was definitely tragic. The three women he could think of was all due to his relationship with An Ziyan. Luckily, he kept Bai Xiaosi"s number from the last time. He only hoped that Xiaosi would be quick enough to understand what was going on. Bai Xiaosi was packing her stuff when her phone rang. She saw that it was Mai Ding calling her and answered the call. "What"s wrong now? Is An Ziyan bullying you again?"
 
"h.e.l.lo my dear." Mai Ding used his most seductive voice.
 
Bai Xiaosi nearly puked.
 
"My dear, what are you doing now? Are you awake? My mother wanted to talk to my girlfriend. Do you mind saying a few words to her?" Before she could say anything, she heard an older woman"s voice greeting her. "h.e.l.lo? Are you really Mai Ding"s girlfriend?"
 
Bai Xiaosi was an intelligent lady, and was quick to get what was happening. Acting was also one of her forte and using the sweetest voice that she could muster, she said, "Hi Auntie. This is just too sudden for me. I"m really not prepared. And here I thought Mai Ding was not going to tell his parents about us."
 
"So it is true. I actually thought that my son was lying to me. It"s not that he was unwilling to say but it was because his Dad and I forced him to go for an arranged date. That"s why he told us about you. How long have you known him?"
 
"Oh, I knew him from last winter. It was a cold and dreary night. My jacket was wet
and my whole body was shivering. That was when Mai Ding appeared and lent me the jacket that he was wearing. When I saw him, I immediately knew that he was the one for me." Bai Xiaosi had to pinch herself to prevent herself from laughing.
 
Mai Ding"s mother thought to herself: This girl might not be that good looking, else she wouldn"t have fallen in love with my boy at first sight. However, she is still my son"s girlfriend. That is something to be happy about.
 
"I didn"t know that Mai Ding was such a romantic. Anyway, it"s going to be the New Year soon. Do drop by our place. We would love to see you."
 
"Auntie, I will be away with my family because my grandpa and grandma have moved. I"m afraid that I won"t be able to see you. But don"t you worry. The minute I have time, I"ll pop by your place to see you. Mai Ding always brag about the fact that his mother was a very beautiful woman."
 
Mai Ding"s mother could help but smile. "You are right. Being with your family is the right thing to do. Alright then. I shan"t bother you anymore." And smiling to herself, she pa.s.sed the phone back to Mai Ding and then to Mai Ding"s father, she nodded her head, as if telling him that she was extremely pleased.
 
Mai Ding heaved a sigh of relief, but he felt sorry that he had to burden Bai Xiaosi with this matter. He was, after all, the person who stole her boyfriend in the first place. "Thank you." he said to her. "No need to thank me. Just take it that you owe me one." And with that she hung up. Mai Ding understood why An Ziyan would befriend Bai Xiaosi in the first place. Both were rather down-to-earth albeit cold-blooded at times. This should end this whole matchmaking thing. Bai Xiaosi was indeed his benefactor.
 
In a week"s time, it was going to be the New Year. The temperature was dropping even more and daytime was getting shorter. Mai Ding had just finished his dinner, and the sky was already all dark. He slipped into his room and turned on his computer. An Ziyan has not given him a call for almost two days. Mai Ding knew that in a relationship, someone had to be the one to make the first move and he decided that he would be the one and so he took his phone out and dialed An Ziyan.
 
"What do you want?" came the familiar voice.
 
"I"m just calling you to tell you that I obeyed you and did not go for that date."
 
"Yes I know."
 
"What do you mean by "you know"?"
 
"I knew you wouldn"t dare go."
 
"Excuse me? Don"t you know how much that hurts? I respected you. Can"t we have some mutual respect in our relationship? How can you not understand something so basic?"
 
An Ziyan was actually playing basketball with his buddy, Zhou Ge. He was holding his phone with one hand, and was pa.s.sing the ball to Zhou Ge with the other.
 
"What are you doing? You sound like you are doing something strange? Are you, umm... playing with yourself?"
 
"No I"m not you, f.u.c.ker."AnZiyan scolded him.
 
"I"m just joking with you. When are you free? Can you come online now?"
 
"What for?"
 
"I just want to see you."
 
"I don"t want to." An Ziyan thinks that going online to see each other is just a waste of time and it"s idiotic.
 
"But.. But I want to see you."
 
"But I don"t want to see you."
 
"Do you believe that I"ll just kill myself if you continue to speak to me like that? Alright...Why don"t you just turn the cam on and just let me see you. I"m so bored at home." An Ziyan remained silent.
 
"Pretty please? At least dote on me sometimes."
 
"You make it seem as if I torture you every day"
 
"More often than you think."
 
Because he did not outrightly say no, that would mean that An Ziyan had somewhat agreed to Mai Ding"s terms. Mai Ding waited for him by his computer. He had wanted to ignore An Ziyan for a few days because he knew that sometimes absence made the heart grow fonder. However, with An Ziyan, no one could be sure if it would work.
 
At times, Mai Ding really admired An Ziyan. He was a person who lived by the day, and did whatever he wanted. In comparison to Mai Ding, An Ziyan was a more relaxed individual. Mai Ding on the other hand needed an objective, and his day had to be well planned. With regards to their att.i.tudes to life, one could say the Mai Ding worries about the details. An Ziyan, on the other hand, couldn"t care less.
 
As Mai Ding was thinking of such stuff, An Ziyan finally reached home. And as Mai Ding suggested, he turned on his webcam, faced it to the living room and went about doing his stuff. He first went to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. He then took out his book to read. After that, he was lying on the sofa watching TV.
 
Mai Ding couldn"t help but commented, "Are you going to read or are you going to
watch TV? Don"t waste electricity." An Ziyan pretended not to listen. "Your coffee is going to get cold. Are you going to drink it?" After a while, Mai Ding again continued, "The lights to the kitchen are still on."
 
Mai Ding was just insufferable. After some time, An Ziyan calmly got up and walked to the computer. Mai Ding thought that An Ziyan finally wanted to talk to him but instead, An Ziyan closed the laptop, leaving Mai Ding dumbfounded.
 
What"s wrong with him? Who irritated him now? I didn"t do anything to irritate him, right? Who is he showing his colors to? Mai Ding wondered. But in a matter of minutes, he received a call from An Ziyan.
 
"So now you"re going to apologise to me?"
 
"Tomorrow I"m going to pick you up in the morning." Came the answer without even a single "h.e.l.lo"
 
"Why?"
 
"Bai Xiaosi is coming home."
 
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To be continued...