Chapter 46- Countdown

Hao Mei glared at the countdown clock as it refused to tick down the minute that had just passed fifteen minutes ago. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating, even in his mind, but he had never realised just how long an entire minute could be. The count down to Demo-Day was driving him crazy and that bloody clock with its smug refusal to count do... nope. There it went. 1 day, 10 hours and 13 minutes. Unable to concentrate on the coding (he'd managed to lose a 7. At least, he thought it was a 7 but it could have been a T) because that blasted countdown clock was giving him the evil eye, Mei headed to the office foyer.

"Food de...liv...ery?" The orange clad delivery man looked nervously at Mei when he stepped through the doorway. More often than not, around this time, Mei could be found crouching against the entranceway wall and it was beginning to scare the delivery drivers. To be honest, it was past the beginning stage and well in to the 'scared all the other drivers off so now only one was willing to make delivery's anymore" stage.

"Come get lunch!" Bei Wei Wei rescued the delivery man, taking the bags of food off him and palming them off to Ban Shan.

"This is today's lunch; this is last week's bill. Please review it." He handed the paperwork over to Wei Wei while trying not to twitch when he happened to see Mei from the corner of his eye. He leaned towards Wei Wei. "What's the deal with your company? There isn't even a proper reception desk. Everytime I come here, he's over there in a strange pose. If I weren't so brave, I wouldn't dare to make deliveries here. Is your company a legitimate business?"

Mei sneered but Wei Wei answered the man seriously. "We are a bonda fide gaming company. We're absolutely legitimate."

"Then.. he..."

"Ah... this you don't know. Inspiration congregates in this area. It's really easy to find ideas here." Wei Wei helped Mei stand and leaned him against the wall. "When our programmers are stuck on their codes, they come to this spot."

The delivery man's eyes widened. "That's some advanced sci-fi technology. But that hair of his looks like it hasn't been washed in days."

Snickers could be heard from the direction of the conference room.

"Is that hair style also for inspiration?"

"Look. Upright hair like this makes it easier to receive inspiration. It's just like an antenna."

To everyone's surprise, the delivery man nodded. "That seems reasonable."

"This bill looks fine. I'll get the money." Wei Wei quickly made her escape before her laughter gave the game away. Left with the delivery man, Mei rolled against the wall until he was facing it, forehead pressed to the surface and eyes closed. Behind his eyelids he could still see the numerals from the countdown clock and he groaned loudly, dropping to his knees once more. From his left the was a sudden scurry and a clatter as the delivery man bolted down the stairs. Wei Wei wandered back over with money in her hand.

"Oh? Where did he go?"

"ET phoned home and scared him off." Li Qiang's contribution was entirely unnecessary and Mei turned to scowl at him. "Now Mr Beauty, with a smile like that you look less like Mr Beauty and more like Mr J."

"Mr J...."

"Mr J. Joker? Batman? What kind of a nerd doesn't know a Batman reference when he hears it?"

"It's geek. Not nerd." Wang Wei smacked Li Qiang on the back of the head. "You work for a gaming company and you can't even get the basics right."

"Mr J..."

"Yes. Mr J. It was a joke. Don't worry about it... even if you smile like the Joker you're still this company's most handsome man apart from laoda."

"Mr J... J! It's a J! Not a 7 or a T! It's J!" Ignoring the food being passed around the conference table, Mei scrambled into his chair and typed furiously on his keyboard. "J... J... ah!"

1 day, 8 hours, 59 minutes.

His bones ached and Mei wasn't sure he had the strength left to bring his chopsticks to his mouth. He was contemplating simply putting his face in the bowl and eating while he slept, but that would ruin his hair and damnit... his hair was finally tamed. No more E.T style antenna. As he ate, he watched the Super Pair through Xiao Nai's office window. Mei and Wei Wei had claimed the two chairs directly opposite the window and after the last three weeks, not even Ban Shan had given them grief about stalking their loves.

"Laosan has been holed up in his office for two days. He hasn't even slept." Ban Shan shook his head at the obsessive dedication of their younger brother.

"When I left yesterday, they weren't sleeping yet. When I came in this morning, they were already working. But Da Shen did sleep for half an hour through lunch today." Wei Wei sighed, watching her partner turn to address KO; their conversation inaudible through the window but the concentration on their faces was clear.

"If this continues, will he be able to keep up physically?" Waving his chopsticks at Xiao Nai, Qui Yong Hou tsked at the hardworking man.

"What is there to worry about?" Mei struggled to hide his worry from his friends. "Now I finally understand. The difference between me and them isn't in our intelligence. It's in our focus and strength. Look at those two crazy people. They only sleep three hours a day but they're still so energetic. They're not human."

"But it's already the 30th," Ban Shan pointed out the obvious as if the bright red numerals ticking down on the blasted clock weren't clear enough. "We're flying to Shanghai tomorrow night. They're still stuck. Will we make it in time?"

"Don't worry about them. I've taken a look. The optimization hasn't reached our objective but it is pretty good. So, they're just masochistic." Mei choked on his rice. KO? Masochistic? When he could wield infinite patience like a fine edged sword? Oblivious, Yong Hou continued. "We can't help it if they like to torture themselves. We can just bring our current version. We can't lose."

Wei Wei sighed, her attention obviously elsewhere. "Should we tell them to come out and eat?"

"No need to, Junior Wei Wei. Just leave the food here. They'll come out to scavenge for food when they're hungry." As he spoke, Ban Shan reached over and pinched some meat from Mei's container.

Too busy worrying about how long KO was going without food or sleep, Mei barely noticed and Ban Shan took full advantage of his distraction. When he'd picked Mei's bowl clean of meat, Ban Shan started eyeing off the container of ginger chicken that Mei had put aside for KO. The crack of Mei's chopsticks across Ban Shan's knuckles echoed throughout the entire office and his howls of pain only drew laughter from their peers.

The atmosphere of the office relaxed considerably when Xiao Nai disappeared- with Wei Wei and without a word. His exit was the cue for everyone to start yawning, and as soon as people completed what they were working on, everyone drifted off to bed. After only a few hours, Mei was the last one left awake, and the office floor looked like it had sprouted strange blue aphids. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head until his back cracked. He couldn't wait until tomorrow night when he could sleep in a real bed again. A bed with pillows. And a real mattress. And a fluffy doona that he could roll around in to his heart's content. He was so caught up in fantasising about the bed he'd be sleeping in in Shanghai, that it came as a surprise to realise someone else was already in his bed.

He peeled the blanket down, revealing KO's sleeping face. then racked back on his heels to just look at him. Have KO's eyelashes always been that long?

"Come to bed." The murmur was so soft, Mei had to lean forward to hear it and as soon as he did so, KO grabbed his hand and tugged, pulling him onto his chest.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I am."

"But you're talking."

"I'll go straight back to sleep again once you come to bed."

"Shameless." But Mei was kicking his shoes off and sliding under the blanket as he spoke.

Without opening his eyes, KO tucked his arm behind Mei's shoulders; he pulled him closer until he was laying flush against KO's side, with his head tucked onto the hacker's shoulder. Mei sighed and wrapped an arm around KO's waist. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too."

"It's almost over."

"Two more nights."

"Eh? But tomorrow night in Shanghai?"

"I won't go."

"Why? It's the demo. You need to be there."

"You're flying there."

"Ah... your fear of heights includes planes?"

"You don't get any higher."

Their voices were low, mere vibrations that they were able to understand simply because they lain like this, talking in whispers, so many times before.

"That's true. But... well... I was looking forward to seeing Shanghai with you."

"We can go another time."

"It won't be the same. I wanted to celebrate our success with you."

"So sure we'll succeed?"

"Of course. With you helping Laosan, how could we not?"

In the dark, Mei felt KO's lips press against his head.

"Mei?"

"Hmm?"

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"Shit. It is? Happy Valentine's Day to you too."

"What do you want for it?"

"Who cares? I already have you?"

"Urgh. You two make me sick. How much sugar did you eat to be that sweet? Shut up and go to sleep." Ban Shan's complaint echoed through the office. "Got up to go to the toilet and this is what I overhear. You two are sappier than an Indian rubber tree."

His grumbles faded as he headed back to the "Snorer's Zone" but they didn't bother Mei or KO... both had fallen asleep, finally wrapped in each other's arms.

0 days and 22 hours and 7 minutes.

"Stay asleep..." Mei felt KO brush his hair off his forehead and murmured a complaint when he felt his partner leave their bed.

"Don't go.."

"Laoda solved the problem with the coding. Just sleep. I'll wake you when you need to help with testing."

"Hmm... wait... what?" His sleep muddled brain slowly made sense of what KO had said. Electricity shot through his veins and he bolted upright, whacking his head on the desk in the process. "He solved it? Seriously? He was on a date... what did he do- ignore his date on Valentine's Day and drop her home to come straight back to work?"

"Maybe your next prototype should be for a fortune teller."

Mei blanched at the voice coming from behind him. Crawling out from under the desk he waved sheepishly at Xiao Nai.

"Laosan... didn't see you there."

"Mei-ge." Xiao Nai looked tired; the skin on his face was taut and the shadows under his eyes looked like he was a punk rocker caught in the rain. "You're right though; I'm lucky to have such an understanding furen."

"Understanding is an understatement. Saosan is a saint to put up with being ditched on a date for a string of numbers. If it was me..."

Xiao Nai cut him off. "If it was you, it wouldn't have happened because you'd have just jumped KO as soon as his attention started to wander."

"I wouldn't!"

"You would."

"Not on a date... that's in public!"

"And the office isn't public?"

"WHAT?" Mei's voice rose and set of a chain reaction of grumbles form sleeping lumps. He waited until everyone had settled back down before whispering "how do you know?"

Xiao Nai simply smirked, pet him on the head and left him in a state of bewilderment.

"How does Laosan know?"

KO shrugged a shoulder. "He caught me trying to hack into the CCTV."

With a heartfelt groan, Mei threw himself onto the floor and pulled the blanket over his head. "Just kill me now."

A toe nudged him in the side and he peeled the blanket back enough to peer at KO.

"No killing. I'm not in to necrophilia."

Mei threw the pillow at the hacker's back as KO headed off to Xiao Nai's office. "Shut up you pervert! Go back to not talking! Where's my silent KO???????"

Yu Ban Shan, Qing Yong Hou, A-Li and A Shuang soon stumbled out of the office, their bedding in their arms and yawning widely. They all stopped and stared at Mei rolling around on the floor, destroying his pillow. The other three simply shrugged and found empty floor space to lay their beds, but Ban Shan wandered over to investigate.

"Mr Beauty... is this a new Beauty regime?"

"Xiao Nai.. and KO... and Xiao Nai... urgh!"

"They just kicked us out to keep working. Sounds like they'll be at it all night. Just get some sleep... The morning will come soon enough."

Mei sighed. "No... I'm wide awake now. I'll get up and act as gofer for them. You get some sleep. At least you and Monkey won't be zombified come morning. "

Ban Shan grunted and promptly stole Mei's bed, snuggling into the still warm blankets and going straight back to sleep. Mei scowled at his opportunistic friend but couldn't really blame him; it wasn't like Mei was going to be using the bed anytime soon and warm blankets were nicer than cold ones. Stretching his arms over his head, he wandered towards the showers. Xiao Nai and KO wouldn't need anything for a while and if he was going to be sleep deprived then he was going to be sleep deprived in style.

0 days 12 hours and 27 minutes.

"Memory consumption is usually around 750 megabytes in this general setting. It's a little lower than we anticipated."

"Run the River Emperor's Flood Scene."

Hao Mei settled into the chair while everyone around him held their breath, eyes flickering between Mei's screen and Xiao Nai's.

Ban Shan sniffed. "It's so smooth, I want to cry. The graphics haven't been affected at all."

"Peak usage is 880 megabytes. Yes! It's steady below 1 gigabyte. Laosan, we've succeeded. Our memory consumption has been nearly cut in half!" Qui Yong Hou punched the air in celebration.

"Yes! We've succeeded!" Mei jumped up, unable to sit still any longer. "We did it! We don't have to work overtime anymore! I want to sleep! I'm going to sleep for a hundred hours!"

He grabbed Ban Shan and half hugged him, half shook him. "Come on, good job guys!"

Releasing Ban Shan, he hugged KO, holding him tight. "You've worked hard."

Ban Shan cleared his throat behind him and Mei let go of KO, turning to give Xiao Nai a hug and clap on the back. "Laosan, good job."

He sighed. "Laosan, KO, I have to admit it. You two are a tiny bit better than me."

"A tiny bit?" Ban Shan and Yong Hou advanced on the impertinent Mei and he held his hands up in surrender. Out of the corner of his eye he caught KO watching them, a warm smile on his face and for the first time looking like he was part of this great, big, crazy family; no longer on the periphery.

Cheers greeted them as they left Xiao Nai's office and after the initial flurry of questions and congratulations, Li Qiang piped up.

"I have a suggestion. As part of the Art Editing Department, I don't have opinions in other areas... but dear Brothers! You guys are representing Zhi Yi Technologies on this trip. Can you guys tidy up your image? Of course, you don't have to Laoda. Good looks can make anything look good. As for the others... I think you can at least buy some new clothes, or get a haircut. Especially you, Old Man Yu. You don't look put together at all."

Yu Ban Shan looked down at his orange and green shirt with the leaf print. "I don't look put together?"

Li Qiang backed down slightly from the menace in Ban Shan's voice. "It's not that you don't look tidy... I just can't pinpoint what it is."

"That is a great idea." Xiao Nai forestalled any further disagreements. "I think we should work on that. Are there any other problems?"

"No."

"No."

"Then we're done here." Cheers rocked the office once more.

"I'm not going to Shanghai." KO spoke quietly and only Xiao Nai and KO heard him over the noise of their peers. "I don't like appearing in the spotlight. And... I don't like dressing formally."

Mei nodded at him, knowing what had gone unsaid, but not willing to let him completely off the hook. "You don't have to attend the meeting. You don't like talking anyway." Heat rushed to his face and he willed it away. "However, you have to let us see how you look in business wear!"

KO inclined his head and Mei took it as acceptance, smiling happily at his partner and already picturing him in a well tailored suit.

"Laoda, I already have a suit. I won't be joining you guys. I'm going to go home and rest. I don't feel so good." A Shuang took his leave from Xiao Nai, and Ban Shan stared after him.

"Why do I feel that A Shuang has been acting strange?"

"It's obvious." Mei wasn't bothered. "He's exhausted from working overtime. I feel strange myself." KO loomed behind Mei's back, ostensibly listing to Xiao Nai's attempt to hold a last minute meeting.

"A Shuang's strange and your strange are two different things. They both need a bed to fix but his includes sleeping."

Mei jerked his elbow back, driving it into KO's stomach. The grunt from the hacker was more than worth the pain in his funny bone. What idiot called it a funny bone? There's nothing funny about it except for stinking bad puns.

Nothing could have prepared the tailor's for the circus that descended upon them. Had they been fully cognizant of just how hectic the afternoon was going to be, then maybe they'd have taken an extended lunch. As it was...

"Hey Beautiful." Mei flashed a winning smile.

"Give me your store's best suit." Ban Shan was more direct and with one line, the gloves came off.

"No! If there's only one, give it to me." Mei stepped in front of Ban Shan and employed his charm.

"Give it to me!" Yong Hou pushed them both out of the way as all three barrelled towards the bewildered assistant.

"Should we go to a different store?" Xiao Nai turned to Wei Wei, attempting to shepherd her from the embarrassment that was their friends.

His efforts were in vain, as Wei Wei eagerly joined the fray. "Please, also choose a suit that would fit this gentleman."

Tugged along by Wei Wei, Xiao Nai's face was a study in emotions; however, the predominant emotion appeared to be that most commonly referred to as "what the hell am I doing here?"

"It's not really 'what the hell am I doing here', so much as 'I thought they were all adults." Xiao Nai scratched his head. "Laoshi, please don't write the next part. I know how your mind works and we really don't have time for what you were thinking." (A/N: Laoshi = teacher/title of respect. Xiao Nai is such a polite boy. Even if he is trying to hijack my story.)

"Consider it a holiday. You've written so much already, let me tell this next part for you."

(You do realise, I still have to write it, whether you tell it or not?)

"But if I tell it then we'll get to the demo quicker and I know you have plans for them after that... why don't you save your idea for then? As a favour for your favourite character?"

(You're not my favourite character. If it wasn't for the fact that you obviously ship HoK then I wouldn't even be allowing you this much room to speak.)

"Why not?"

(No offence, but in the series you kind of appear as though you're made of ice. I mean, seriously, who dates someone for years, lives with them for months, and still doesn't get lucky until the night before the wedding?)

"Seriously?"

(Spoiler alert. Sorry. But yeah... you have a whole lot of schooling in the art of patience ahead of you. Sigh. Fine. You can tell the next chapter. But only because I'm taking pity on your blueberries.)

A/N: The next chapter will be told by Xiao Nai. I can't decide if he's shipping this couple or acting as a c*#k block.

"Both."

Shut up. This is MY author note which means no characters allowed. Out! Shooo!