-||chapter nineteen - please tell me how to impress your sister!||-

"The First Princess was finding it hard to concentrate on anything as she couldn't stop thinking about the Crown Prince who she believed had found a permanent spot in her head. No matter what she did, the Crown Prince's face would always flash before her eyes.

On the other side, the Crown Prince finally mustered up the courage to talk to the First Princess to fulfil the promise he had made to his best friend, the Prince."

****************

Earbuds plugged inside her ears, Lu Zhi was working on compartmentalizing her references into categories based on gender and then sub-categories based on the era for the costumes while singing along the tune of the song "Living Hell".

When she couldn't concentrate properly on her work without thinking about Zhang Yi Chen, Lu Zhi pulled out her earbuds and started listening to her favorite playlist. Listening to music always helped her concentrate better on whatever she wanted to; in this case, collecting and sorting the reference materials for the drama series project.

"I can make your life a living hell if I wanted to.....wanted to." she sang while sorting the materials according to her decided categories.

"Whose life are you planning to make a living hell now?" the question came from Bai Yan, Lu Zhi and Lu Ying's mother. She had come and brought homemade lunch for Lu Zhi as she hadn't been home from the past few days.

Usually she would only oversee the resident chef who prepares their meals but there are times when Bai Yan would cook everything by herself. Today was one such day.

She had already delivered the lunch to Ying and only after making sure that her daughter ate the whole thing did Bai Yan come to do the same with Lu Zhi. And the moment she arrived she heard her daughter singing about making somebody's life hell.

Lu Zhi still hadn't noticed her mother as she couldn't hear because she was listening to music at the highest volume and was too focused on the task at her hand to notice anything else.

Bai Yan shook her head and pulled out an earbud from Lu Zhi's ear, "What the -" Lu Zhi stopped completing her statement as she noticed her mother in front of her. "Mom!"

Lu Zhi stood up from the couch and hugged her mother in greeting, "Why are you here?" she asked but then noticed the lunchbox in her mother's hand and took it from her, "You brought me lunch! Thank you."

Bai Yan placed the earbud on the table and asked again, "Who annoyed you so much that you are planning to make their life hell?"

It confused Lu Zhi for a moment but then she realized what her mother was talking about, "It's a song, Mom. I was listening to songs while arranging my reference material."

"Really?" Bai Yan asked.

Lu Zhi rolled her eyes and exclaimed, "I find this distrust in me very disturbing." this earned her a smack on her head.

"It's because I am your mother who knows what you are truly capable of." her response made Lu Zhi snort, "Trust me Mom, I was just listening to a song."

"Hhhmm." Bai Yan hummed and took the lunchbox from Lu Zhi and served her daughter by herself.

"Thank you." Lu Zhi smiled and began eating the food that her mother had prepared, "Did you eat?" she asked, her sound came out muffed as she chewed on her mood.

Bai Yan made a disapproving face, "I did. You, don't speak while there's food in your mouth. Eat first and then talk."

"Okay." 

While Lu Zhi ate the food, Bai Yan continued to watch her daughter enjoying the food that she had made. 

She hadn't eaten even half of the food when her cell phone started ringing. Placing her chopsticks on the lid of the lunchbox and answered the call.

"Hello." began Lu Zhi, "Hhhmm." the more she listened to the other person on the phone, the more her smile widened. "Hell, yeah!" Lu Zhi exclaimed loudly startling her mother.

"I knew it!" Lu Zhi laughed excitedly, "I told you that he will agree but you doubted my intelligence."

"I am quite experienced in this, okay. That's why knew that he would do I say that he would."  Lu Zhi giggled, inviting her mother's interest.

"That's good. Keep me updated, okay. Bye." said Lu Zhi and ended the call.

"Who was that?" asked Bai Yan seeing how happy her daughter looked.

Lu Zhi grinned widely as she replied, "It was a friend from university, Xiao You. She had been in a relationship with a senior of ours. They have been together for like 3 and a half years  now and she wanted to propose him for marriage. But she was worried that he wasn't ready to get married to her as he hadn't proposed her."

"When she talked to me about it, I encouraged her to not wait for him to propose and do it herself as I knew that he would agree. That guy is head over heels in love with her." explained Lu Zhi.

She took a bite of her food and chewed on it properly before continuing, "So Xiao You proposed him and he agreed as I said he would. I have acted as a matchmaker for so many of my friends that I have become quite experienced in this thing." giggled Lu Zhi.

"Tch. Will you spend your whole life helping your friends find their better halves? What about you? When are you going to bring me a son-in-law?" questioned Bai Yan and then added, "I told you I wouldn't mind a daughter-in-law either!"

"Mom!" 

"Don't you have someone you like?" asked Bai Yan.

"Who said I don't?" Lu Zhi smiled shyly while biting the corner of her lip.

Her expressions caused a burst of excitement inside her mother, "Who is it?" she asked, her lips stretched wide in a smile.

"Daniel Wang." told Lu Zhi in a teasing voice. She was just joking with her mother but of-course Bai Yan took it seriously.

"The actor?" Bai Yan had a contemplating look on her face, "Well, he is extremely famous, has been awarded numerous times for his excellent performances. He is indeed doing good work. Hhmm."

"I should contact him and invite him over for dinner so we can discuss about your future with him. Let me tell your father, he will have his assistant get Daniel Wang's contact information." Bai Yan took out her cell phone from her handbag and was about to call her husband but Lu Zhi snatched her phone from her.

"I was just joking Mom!" Lu Zhi shrieked while Bai Yan looked angry that her daughter would joke about such a matter.

Bai Yan hmphed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Why would you take Daniel Wang's name then?"

"It was a random thing. Actually, Daniel Wang is starring as the male lead in this new drama for which my company is designing costumes for." Lu Zhi got up from where she was seated and went to stand behind her mother. 

She hugged her mother from behind and apologized, "I was just joking, Mom. I am sorry. Don't be mad at me."

Bai Yan scoffed but then placed her hand on Lu Zhi's cheek in a loving manner. Smiling slightly, Bai Yan said, "I know that it must be annoying for you and your sister that I continuously talk about you two finding a life partner but darling I just want you two to have that someone special in your life."

"Someone who will love you even more than us, someone who will make you their number one priority, someone who will do anything to make you smile and would burn everything to avenge your tears. Someone whose center of universe would be you, someone who will love you, each and every side and part of you."

"Someone who will love you so much that he can not only die for you but kill for you as well. Like how your father loves me and I love him back with the same intensity. I want you and Ying Ying to experience the same kind of love in life. It is why I am always urging you two to find someone to share such love." explained Bai Yan.

"I doubt we will ever find a love like yours, Mom. It's one of a kind." Lu Zhi was well aware of her parents' love story and all the trials and tribulations they had to face before finally being able to get married.

"Do you think I will ever find someone who will love me like that?" asked Lu Zhi, her tone soft and filled with hope.

"Of-course you will." assured Bai Yan, "I have gotten your and Ying Ying's horoscope read by a renowned astrologer and he had told me that both you and Ying Ying have a fated partner. He was especially astound when he read your horoscope and told me that you will experience a kind of love that comes only once in a lifetime."

"What else did he say?" asked Lu Zhi, interested to know about what else had that astrologer predicted about her love life.

"He had said that your love story is going to be a very unique one, it will be a journey of healing and unions of two halves of a soul. It will be like a prayer, pure and sacred but it will also be like a war, easy to begin but very hard to end." as Bai Yan explained her eyes grew misty. She was overwhelmed as she could still feel the intensity behind that astrologers words.

"Wow!" Lu Zhi sounded breathless.

"All his predictions about your life and career have come true so far so I believe his predictions about your love life will come true soon." told Bai Yan, "Maybe he's already entered your life but you are not aware of it yet." she added and right at that moment, Lu Zhi's landline phone started ringing.

"Hello." greeted Lu Zhi as she answered the call.

"Uumm, Miss Lu, it's me Zhang Yi Chen. Actually, I wanted to ask you something." he was able to connect to her directly because Lu Zhi had previously instructed Dai Xi to simply forward all of Zhang Yi Chen's calls to her.

"Ask away." smiled Lu Zhi.

"Will you please tell me how to impress your sister?" asked Yi Chen.

"WHAT?!"