Typography Confession Part 1

January 9, 20XX (Wednesday)

Zhao Manor

One day has gone by, and Yang has yet to do the needed thing he has to give to Mei Li. Because of this, he was in Zhao Manor, making something on his computer doing whatever he needs to do. At his side is Mother Zhao asking him questions with a large grin on her face. It was easy to see that Mother Zhao is excited about Yang's plans.

"I heard that you asked her father for his permission?"

Yang mumbled, "Yeah..."

Mother Zhao sat on the nearest chair next to Yang and commented with an approving nod, "That was courageous of you..."

"... Yeah."

Mother Zhao nodded again, proud that she had educated her son right. She crossed her legs and stared at her son who was still face to face with the large monitor while his hands were moving frantically to type or to use the white colored mouse. Mother Zhao asked, "Do you have their permission?"

"...Yeah."

"When are you asking her?" Mother Zhao's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She had just sat down, but she felt an urgent need to stand up so she could wack her son's head if she heard another one-word answer!

"... Yeah."

"ZHAO YANG!" shouted Mother Zhao while slamming her hands on the computer desk, making her son jump in surprise.

Yang, who was concentrating, looked at his mother with wide alien-like eyes so big that it made Mother Zhao's anger soften. Her facial expression became awkward as she forced herself not to laugh at her son's disheveled hair, with a weird expression, and untidy clothes. She refrained her anger just because she was curious to know what he was doing. Mother Zhao swept back Yang's hairs that had covered his forehead and was almost touching his eyes before she asked, "What are you doing?"

Mother Zhao took a peek at the monitor and read the first few lines of the texts that he was typing. Her eyes mirrored Yang's widen ones as she asked with a soft gasp of surprise, "Are you making a poem?"

"...Yeah..." Yang's ears turned red and dragged the screen on the opposite side from his mother's view. He rolled his chair to access the monitor easily and in his hands was the keyboard so he could continue working on what he is doing. His ears still red with embarrassed at his mother's discovery.

Mother Zhao smirked while walking in the direction where the monitor faced and quickly read the words. Yang scrambled to turn the monitor to another direction, but Mother Zhao still followed after it, reading his half done poem with an excited face.

"If you're making a poem, you should organize it cleanly. Don't throw random phrases around." Mother Zhao commented.

The redness on Yang's ears spread to his cheeks, he stood up to push his giggling mother out of his room. He needed this done before the day after tomorrow because he and Mei Li already have reservations on a cafe that makes delicious crepes. He returned to his chair typing his thoughts of Mei Li into words that could also tell what he wants to say.

Hopefully, Mei Li would see the hidden words on the poem's structure. Her paintings always have hidden meanings, so he did this just as she usually does. I'm sure she would appreciate his effort. Yang could already envision Mei Li's embarrassed face when she would receive this poem he had written which he will put on a frame large enough so it could be easily read. He could also imagine her grinning face or frowning lips when she would realize the hidden message, depends on her reaction to the secret message.

While Yang was trying to wring beautiful and romantic words out from his brain, Jerome Bonaparte was on a meeting with France's top government executives that deals with the country's security. He was seated on the left side while his agent named Eliza seated beside him. On their front were three French High ranking agents that were in charge of his protection details from the terrorist group.

"We have confirmed from our spy that the main base of Arcadia might be on a small island in Greece. We are currently working together with the Government of Greece to scour their thousands of islands." The man in the middle spoke first to inform the frowning Bonaparte.

"We have also decided to send you early to Beijing because there is an 80 percent chance that the report your son had given us is correct," the man on Jerome's left side said while sliding two folders with both hands. Jerome opened the nearest folder and saw two one-way tickets for him and Elizar dated to fly on the twenty-seventh of January. The father in him would have jumped with joy if he was not in a somber meeting that could easily affect his life and his children.

"How long can I stay in Beijing?" Jerome Bonaparte asked the man on the right side of the man in the middle. Jerome knew that he and this man shared a common ancestor. They were both descendants of Bonaparte's illegitimate children.

"The Government of China had accepted our plea to help with your security. A woman who knows you by the name Xing Hui Ying had approved your clearance to enter her protection and her son, Zhao Yang, has vouched to do the same."

Jerome gripped both the armrests where his hands rested. Maybe, giving his approval to Zhao Yang would be an appropriate thing to do. He inwardly snarled at himself for thinking about selling his daughter to a Zhao in exchange for helping him! He was grateful with the Zhaos, but that doesn't mean that Zhao Yang could touch his daughter! Two months, just two months of meeting her daughter and he wants to ask her to be his girlfriend!

He'd only give his approval when this Zhao Yang pass every tests that he had already planned to do. Jerome Bonaparte grinned like a psychopath scaring all the people in the room. His list of tests was long; he couldn't wait for Zhao Yang to fail.

Jerome Bonaparte was so angered with thinking about the length of time Mei Li and Yang knew each other and developed feelings that he forgot he had three weeks of whirlwind passion with his children's late mother.

Fathers: they're often blind when it's about their daughters.