:: Plan Fake Bf? ::

Cullen Fu turns around robotically. At first, I think he is mind-controlled by psionics powers, but the next moment, he smiles at me seductively and gives me the chills.

"You said wait?" he taunts me with a charismatic smile, one so filled with charm that I almost cannot resist. I take a few deep breaths and bite myself on the lip.

"Cullen Fu, get away from me!"

I repeat to myself, no, I will not be attracted to this player. No No No, Lu Shengyi! You're better than this! I remind myself of the broken-hearted females that were in his 'playlist' before and the angered woman that ran out of his car at the Registry.

Fortunately, I have renounced love, so I don't have to worry about not getting hitched or having someone to love. But seduction and being attracted to Cullen Fu is another matter altogether, and I am not willing for it to happen!

"Miss Lu Shengyi, calm down," he chuckles. "Didn't you want me to wait? Do you have something special to present to me?"

His eyes sparkle at me. Something is making me burn, and not with embarrassment. My, somehow it feels hot in here all of a sudden.

I know my face is turning red with his teasing. I turn away abruptly and try to put my eyes on the meal. After a few minutes, I pull myself together and make my statement to Cullen Fu.

"Cullen Fu," I pronounce his name slowly and steadily. "I believe that where it involves business matters, you and I are rivals. I don't know what you are after, and I have to tell you this. Stop."

Cullen Fu looks nonchalant as usual, unaffected by what I had said. He continues to smile as if I hadn't said anything.

"Stop what?" he sneers. "I am not bothering you and neither am I trespassing in your office. I am here, as a courier man, to deliver your dinner. Nothing else."

"If this is what you are after, then here." I pull out some loose change from my pocket and put them on the table near him. "Take this and go."

The clinking of the coins on the table echoes in the silence. I do not remember how Cullen appeared to react after that, but then the door opened and he was gone. He had left without saying a word.

Was he Cullen?

My chest feels heavy and I had expected a better answer from Cullen, but he just slinked away into the shadows and disappeared. I am now aware of emptiness inside me, that I have never experienced before.

Am I… starting to develop feelings for the annoying and charming CEO who I cannot beat? Why do I even think or daydream about Cullen Fu, when in my heart I know that he's a player and it's impossible for me to love?

In contrast with my failed relationship with Shan Hanyu, I don't feel as miffed as I am right now.

Shan Hanyu and I…. Was it even a relationship? We held hands, hugged, kissed and spent the night together, but all I felt for him was that he was a partner and my second half. Although we were engaged, it felt more like an arrangement rather than the true love I hear from others.

But with Cullen, my attraction for this eccentric CEO is out of this world. I never felt as flustered or desirous for Shan Hanyu like how I do for Cullen Fu. Until now, I cannot understand what is his point in doing what he did or why he suddenly has a hold over me. I, Lu Shengyi, am not one to be trifled or toyed with, and neither do I want to be with a player or hurt again!

I know there must be something about Cullen Fu. What has he done to me? If only, I could wish him gone. But powers don't work like this. There has to be a better way and to go about that, I need to work on a better solution.

Out of the blue, I remember what I told Cullen Fu the other day.

I told him that I have someone I 'like' from university!

Now, for Plan Fake Bf, should I be successful in my act, the best outcome is that Cullen Fu will lose interest! And once that happens, he should stop trying to get my attention in public or challenge me with business strategies! Among my classmates, who can I select that will appear less suspicious to Cullen Fu, and at the same time, appear convincing enough?

Among the fifty potential candidates in my class, I decide to select a less chattery male classmate that I have sat next to during classes. Jia Yulin, one of the not so popular chaps who was born in a less fortunate family. I will reward him handsomely for his participation in my plan.

...............

"Time's up! Stop writing!"

The earlier silent examination hall turns into a racket with everyone babbling excitedly as the long-legged invigilator collects the answer sheets. I avert their gaze, remembering the effects of my rage the other time.

I have already stopped writing half an hour ago. Xiaoxian and Shan Hanyu appear to have had a row, avoiding each other literally by sitting metres away from each other in the hall. Even an idiot would have noticed it. I couldn't care less about the jerk Shan Hanyu, but Xiaoxian's eyes are red and puffy.

"Xiaoxian.." I wanted to greet her, but she just ran away when she sees me approach. I try to call her, but her phone was switched off. It seems unusual of her to be in this way… and who else can I blame but Shan Hanyu?

The man himself is nowhere to be seen.

I continue to follow Xiaoxian, but it appeared that she has isolated herself in the bathroom, and locked the door because outside the bathroom, is where I find Jia Yulin standing outside, knocking on the door desperately.

He blushes when I approach.

Jia Yulin is in love with Xiaoxian? I scratch my head as I absorb what I have just gathered. None of them was existent in my past life, so did this mean they were new creations when I was reborn? But it doesn't sound too bad if Xiaoxian doesn't end up with Shan Hanyu, and ends up with Jia Yulin instead. While I was glad before for the possibility of her 'taking away' my previous fate with Shan Hanyu, I would still want her to be happy.

"Jia Yulin? Are you lost, or trying to find someone?" I pretend to not know the story.

"Shuxian… she's hiding inside," the boy says in a timid voice.

Good grief! If he seriously wants to pursue Xiaoxian, he should behave more gentlemanly and show her that there are better men other than the jerk!

But not now. I need to be the one who enters the room and consoles Xiaoxian, rather than this shy nerd.

The word nerd rebounds in my mind. I realise what this means. In my past life, Shan Hanyu was a nerd, but now, it is Jia Yulin who is the nerd. So many outcomes have been changed, and even the exam questions were not something anyone was prepared for. Even then, I do not wish to see Xiaoxian hurt because of my selfishness. I have a part in her neglect and causing her to be hurt by Shan Hanyu.

If I had told her about Shan Hanyu not being 'right' for her, would she believe my words? Or would she have dated him anyway?

Still, we are all women. What is the best way to console a girl other than another girl sharing her burdens? Perhaps there will be something I can do to help her, I tell myself silently.

If it doesn't work, there's the likelihood of using powers on her, but I still do not know how to control them. Could I probably use a wish to give her temporary charm so that everyone will pay her deep respect?

Aren't these wishes limited? Even I don't have the answer to the questions I am asking in my mind.

It is all dark and silent as I push my way into the bathroom. Though the door is initially locked, a light push from me causes the door to creak as it opens fully, revealing a figure running inside the bathroom to block out the light from outside.

The boy's mouth falls open. "How did you...do that?"

"I'll talk to you later." I gesture towards the inside of the bathroom, where I find a fallen Xiaoxian, with a bruised and bleeding forehead as if she had bumped on the wall earlier.

"Xiaoxian!" I cry out with a choking feeling in my throat, grabbing her and holding her to me as quickly as I can. Hearing her breathing ultimately calms me down and assures me that she has only collapsed.