1 First He ever Saw

What better send off than the Canton trade fair Qing Shan thought to himself. Today was his last day in guangzhou and for some reason he was feeling very nostalgic. As the young master of the Qing family, he had been made to understand that he would eventually take the position as head of the family and with this responsibility, came some obligations one of which is the Harvard University, Cambridge.

A Maserati pulls up beside him and parks at the side walk. Recognizing Rick's car, Qing Shan shook his head; Rick would get a ticket for that he thought to himself, he couldn't help a wry smile though.

"Hey Shan old man, thought you would be working yourself out with that tasty morsel from last night, best send off ever.." Rick said waggling his brows

Shan looked at his childhood friend, the young master of the An family, "I sent her home last night, her voice was irritating" Shan paused, then studied his friend for a while;

"I feel like I'm on a precipice, like its the last time things would be normal"

Rick "...."

Rick looked at Qing Shan askance. His friend could be very weird at times.

Rick used to think that they were switched at birth. Their mothers were best friends, and had married their fathers who were also buddies.

Shan could get very philosophical at times but, there was no academic or philosopher in the Qing family whereas, the An family, made their fame from being the top scholars and scientists in the country. Rick shrugged as he himself, was more interested in the entertainment and fashion industry, rather than in lofty scholarly pursuits.

Rick looked at his friend, who had graduated top 3 and had been dubbed the most handsome in their class, his rare smile sending girls into a frenzy. Yet, he walked among them like a god with a hint of disdain for all the fawning.

Tall, with a chiseled jaw and eyes the color of topaz, a very unusual deep blue that changed with the light. A friend, once described it as a mysterious blue.

Rick shook his head, amused at his own thoughts.

"Well, you will be missed old man" referring to Shan's earlier statement, and thinking Qing Shan was talking about his imminent departure to the States.

Qing Shan looked at his friend with a wry smile,

"Knowing you Ricky, you will be on the company jet every other weekend with one excuse or the other for coming to the U.S"

Feeling famished, Rick waved his supposed extravagance aside, looking around, he said to Shan,

"C'mon, I hear there is a new seafood restaurant around the block, serving the best abalone and sea cucumbers, let's go have some lunch"

"Ok" Shan hadn't waited around for breakfast at the Qing family manor, before leaving in the morning. Rick kept him up on all the gist from the from the party last night. After graduation, they had organized a party at one of the Qing hotels, to celebrate; one that had run very wild

"Oof"....

Qing Shan looked up to see who bumped into him....

"Hey...!!"

"Oh sorry, didn't see you coming, I can be a little distracted at times", said a fresh faced girl in pig tails, Shan noticed her ruby red lips, shaped like cupid's bow, perfectly sculpted cheekbones, thick luscious lashes with eyes the color of dark rum...

Qing Shan snaps out of his study and rolls his eyes, "No need to act all innocent. Which family, seeks a union with the Qing family now, although I have to give it to them this time, you're almost a natural, I could almost believe you "mistakenly" bumped into me. "

Her face goes pale with consternation, trembling with anger

"There's no need to be rude, unfortunately it seems you have no problem being a block of wood*"

Rick, stunned at this person, gapes and watches the exchange.

Qing Shan is about to reply when his phone rings, he aims a smug smirk at the stupid girl glaring at him as he picks his phone... on seeing the Caller ID he is surprised to see its his mom.

"Mother? "

"Shan come home right now... Oh God! Please hurry home... " The line goes dead and for the first time in a long time, Shan feels dread. He turns to Rick,

"I have to go".

"Hey man,..... What's wrong?"

Qing Shan hurries towards his black BMW gets in and zooms off.

Stomping her foot, she muttered to herself "Ass! I would have given him the tongue lashing of his life"

Seeing an opportunity to flirt with the beauty in front of him, Rick pushes closer to the pouting lady in pigtails. Maybe he would even get lucky, he thought to himself.

"Hey, I'm Rick, friends call me Ricky... What's a pretty girl like you doing with a frown?" "Forgive my friend he's got a lot on his mind"

Amused at his antics she replied "I'm Rachel I just had to come witness the trade fair, I'm always too busy"

"Well nice to meet you Rachel, can I have your number? Be nice to get some dinner, and I hear I'm great at treating the ladies..." Rick replied with a wink.

Laughing with delight, Rachel, adds him to her WeChat and on hearing her name looks up and waves excitedly at someone in the crowd. She says a hurried goodbye to Rick and disappears into the crowd.

Just then, it struck Rick.... He looks up confused... and mutters to himself "there is something familiar about that girl... Just can't place my hand on it"