Competition

A week later.

"Yu Bing, I appreciate the meal, but I have to get back to university for my afternoon classes," Myra said, pushing her empty plate to the vacant side of the table. They had just finished discussing, over lunch, on the next steps of action that they would be taking to convince their fathers that the relationship was harmonious between them, and that they would be going steady soon. She flipped open her iPad and recited the next class she was having, at one-thirty in the afternoon. He paid for the meal and grudgingly turned the key in the ignition, a bit disappointed that she was about to leave.

"Don't you have to work at all?" she asked him curiously. What had happened to this workaholic's attitude towards work?

"I'll be free till three, and then I have to go to a client's for a meeting."

"Do you want to go for Mr. Wang's lecture?" she suggested.

Yu Bing shrugged. "I see no harm in doing so."

He stopped at a red light, and then turned to watch her, as she was happily texting Yeong So on the results of the research for their project.

"Are you texting Yeong So?" he inquired.

"Yeah, we are discussing on the project," she explained.

"What are you doing later?" he asked. "It's almost the end of the week."

"Well, the presentations for the first phase of the project are next week," she informed him cheerfully. He appeared a bit disoriented, as Myra had been bailing a lot on their meetings as she was busy with the project. Though he didn't appreciate how she was occupied with another man, he had to tolerate the fact that it was part of university life and not something that she could elude from. While he didn't like the boy, what right had he to control her life?

"Myra, do you like him?" he suddenly popped the question.

"We're classmates and teammates," she answered firmly. "I believe I did answer you, that I just want to graduate with honours. Love isn't what I'm looking for right now."

Although he was glad that it wasn't a yes answer, he was still a bit uneasy that she wasn't into a relationship, which meant that the chances of pursuing her would be very low. But since the semester was about to end, perhaps she would have a change of mind. Furthermore, her birthday was approaching soon, and he was positive that his Uncle Wu would have some agenda for his little princess' twenty-second birthday.

Myra's classmates were delighted by the fact that the wealthy heir Mr. Yu Bing had joined them for the lecture, but they were in for a bigger surprise. As Yu Bing took his seat beside Myra, in walked Yeong So, and to everyone's amazement, he blatantly sat himself down in the other vacant seat beside Myra. Yu Bing's fiery eyes burned with animosity, and he stared daggers at the young man's audacity. Was this dude for real?

Tom found the scene before him entertaining, and instead of focusing on the lecturer's lesson on Chinese cultures, he was preoccupied in snapping photographs of the competing males and encouraging his little audience on WeChat to bet on the winning male.

"Yu Bing vs Yeong So for Myra Yang Mixia - place your bets now."

WeChat was equipped with an online wallet function and in a frenzy, his audience began topping up their wallets so quickly that notifications began sounding on the participating students' phones as their wallets were topped up, distracting Mr. Wang in the process.

"What's going on?" the observant Sera whispered to Tom, who just grinned. Sera took a peek at Tom's phone screen and frowned. To think that Tom would be seizing this chance to fill his pockets. She gave him a nudge on his thigh, and he just smiled without explaining anything.

"Myra, do you need a drink?" Yeong So asked, as Mr. Wang called for a five-minute break in between the lecture. Myra had been busy scribbling her notes, ignoring the laughter of her classmates. Mr. Wang's subject had been her favourite, and in hotel management, which she planned to assist her father with upon her graduation, it was greatly beneficial to have some knowledge on Chinese cultures and heritage.

Feeling threatened by Yeong So, Yu Bing reached into his bag and pulled out some sweets, which he offered to Myra generously. Fortunately for him, Myra had a weakness for sweet treats, and he had won this round. But Yeong So wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"Myra, later do you want to hang out?" he asked. "We could practise for the presentation before then, and there's this new cafe in town."

Yu Bing responded, "My dad would like to have you over tonight at our place for dinner. There's something he wants your opinion on."

Myra groaned and said, "Fine, I'll practise with Yeong So first, and then we'll go to the cafe for a light snack, then I'll have dinner at your place, Yu Bing."

The war was not over. None of the men had won for the second round, and Tom declared it a draw. They continued glaring at each other throughout the lesson. In the end, all their classmates' eyes were on the two competing males, and Mr. Wang decided to call it a day.

Tom cashed the money that he had earned from betting that Yu Bing would win. Initially, he had not considered how profitable it would be to earn from his good friend Myra, or how jealous and competitive Yu Bing would be for his good friend. And Yeong So? He had not expected him to fall for Myra at all, in the short time he had come to study at the university. All were good. It was just like one of those plots from the dramas, and he supported Yu Bing to emerge as the victor.\

After all, who suited Myra better than her old childhood playmate?