Cinderella

Yun frowned when he saw a basket of fruit sitting in front of his house. He got down from his car and rung the bell.

Jinhai opened the door to let Yun in, "Who dropped this?" Yun asked pointing to the basket of fruit.

"One of the Mei sisters. She dropped in to say 'hi'" Jinhai said eyeing the basket of fruits.

Yun closed his eyes and used a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. Another Mei sister! Another Mei sister!!

Or was it possible it was the pen thief? Nah! She wasn't the type to go bearing gifts to new neighbors and Jinhai would never have left the basket of fruits outside if it had come from her.

He was beginning to get tired of hearing the names of the Mei sisters. He could vaguely guess it was the last one who visited. What did this one want this time and how the heck had they found out so soon that he was their new neighbor?

"So why didn't you take it from her?" Yun asked wondering how Lijuan would react if she found out he was now her neighbor.

"I don't like her." Jinhai said dismissively before asking,

"So why did you go out on a date with the other sister?" Jinhai asked, his displeasure evident on his face.

"I owe you an explanation too?" Yun asked with an amused expression on his face. He couldn't help but wonder why Jinhai seemed so smitten by the pen thief.

"Of course you do. So tell me why... or did mother put you up to it?" Jinhai asked suspiciously.

Yun simply gave a noncommittal shrug before walking away to inspect the house. He was already beginning to get tired of the whole thing.

**********

"What was that for?" Lijuan asked her mother immediately she entered her mother's room.

"What was what for?" Mother Mei asked with a frown as she walked out of her closet with her box of jewelries. She was still trying to decide on which necklace to wear to the 40th anniversary of Yang Corporation.

"You know there's nothing going on between Yun and I, why did you have to talk to him like that?" Lijuan asked with a worried frown. What if Yun had decided to expose her right in front of Rong and Jiaying?

"He doesn't know I'm aware that your relationship is a sham. Anyway, I think he cares about you even though you're both not in a relationship." Mother Mei said taking out two necklaces she wanted to pick from.

"I don't think so. plus, I already broke up with him." Lijuan told her as she observed the necklaces.

"You returned his pen already?"

"No. I lost it." Lijuan said with a blush.

"Mei Lijuan! How could you lose something like that? What was his reaction when you told him that?" Mother Mei asked with a worried frown. Maybe they would have to replace it with a new one.

"I could tell he was trying really hard not to blow up. He said the pen was given to him by his grandfather and asked me to search for it." Lijuan said without looking at her mother's face.

"You've definitely outdone yourself this time. Let's hope you find it." Mother Mei said with a deep sigh before remembering to ask,

"Did he tell you he's our new neighbor?"

"Neighbor?" Lijuan asked in surprise.

"He moved into that house?"

Why did he decide to move into their estate? What was he thinking? She wondered.

"I guess you didn't know also. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know so you'd know what to do ... you know... before your sisters try to—"

"I'm not interested in him." Lijuan cut her off before she could finish her sentence. If he could not even tell her he was her new neighbor, then she didn't see any reason to try and make friends with him. It was her fault for stealing from him. She truly regretted crossing paths with him.

Mother Mei didn't comment on that.

"You should go and get ready for dinner now... and please, no snide comments at the dinner table tonight." She warned.

**********

Lijuan got to the table before everyone else which surprised them all as they arrived. What was she up to this time? Rong wondered as she took her seat opposite her.

After eating for a while Chairman Mei glanced at Rong, "What was that about you and Vice president Wang Yun earlier today?" He asked curiously. Even though he was not a very good father to Lijuan he wasn't going to tolerate unnecessary rivalry in his home over a man.

"Madam Wang set up a date for us and I couldn't turn her down." Rong said bowing her head to hide her smile.

"His mother did that? I thought you said he invited you out to have a drink with him?" Mother Mei asked with a frown but Rong simply shrugged and kept eating.

"Did you know about it?" Chairman Mei turned to Lijuan who looked up at him in surprise. He was actually talking to her without a scowl on his face? She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Yun was here to see me earlier, he said the date meant nothing." Lijuan said with a smile as she looked directly at Rong.

'Yun'. They all took note of the intimate way she called him.

Jiaying looked from Rong to Lijuan and could tell that a silent battle was going on between her elder sisters. "So when are we going to pick out dresses for the 40th anniversary?" Jiaying asked trying to distract everyone.

*********

"Baby!!!" Lijuan exclaimed immediately she sighted Shan among the passengers who just alighted from the plane and were coming into the airport.

Shan was also a tall lady but was slightly shorter than Lijuan. She had a long jet black hair which was tied in a ponytail, a small face with all the contours in perfect positions and she wore a casual top and trousers with low heel.

Other people turned to look at Lijuan but she simply ignored them as she rushed forward to catch Shan in a bear hug. Jackie who was standing beside her was very embarrassed by her outburst and apologized to them on her behalf.

"I missed you so much." Shan said as she held on tightly to Lijuan. Jackie took the luggage from Shan and walked ahead of them to drop it in the car.

"Your house or your parents' house?" Lijuan asked as she locked arms with Shan.

"We need to catch up on a lot of things." Lijuan said as they got inside the car.

"Can't we go to your place instead? I'm not ready to face my parents yet. Neither am I ready to clean up my apartment."

"And you think it's safer to meet my family?" Lijuan asked sarcastically.

"Oh shit! I totally forgot about the Cinderella stepsisters in your house.... to the nearest hotel please." Shan said to Jackie who was at the driver's seat.

"I hope you're ready to tell me about everything that's been going on with you..... things like your relationship with Wang Yun, yeah I can't wait to hear about that." Shan said giving her a wink. Even though she knew everything was fake, she was really interested in the whole story.

Jackie frowned as he listened in on their conversation, what did she mean my 'her relationship with Wang Yun?' He wondered as he stole a glance at the both of them through the rearview mirror.

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

"Wait a minute, so if I get what you're trying to say... you just agreed to be his girlfriend and you don't even know him?" Shan asked as she joined Lijuan on the large king sized bed in the hotel room she had lodged into.

"I didn't say I didn't know him.. I said–"

"That's what you're saying. Alright... how sure are you that he is a socialite?" Shan asked.

"Well I..."

"You haven't even met him before. You didn't ask about the family he's from, you didn't even check to see his bank statement or something.. Mei Lijuan!"

"Okay, okay. I guess that wasn't a very wise move. I acted without giving it a proper thought" Lijuan yielded.

"It wasn't wise at all... don't even dignify it by saying 'very wise'" Shan added making Lijuan throw a pillow at her.

"It's a good thing I'm here. We are going to fix all of it. I wonder what you'd ever do without me." Shan added smugly making Lijuan roll her eyes.

"So... I noticed the way your guard was looking at you. I think he has a crush on you." Shan said excitedly.

"No he doesn't."

"Yes he does." Shan insisted rolling her eyes.

"He doesn't" Lijuan said adamantly. Jackie knew the kind of person she was so why would he even think about liking her. It was impossible.

"Okay whatever! So you're really not attending the 40th anniversary? Or you want us to pull a Cinderella move on them?" Shan asked.

"What's your deal with Cinderella?" Lijuan asked giggling.

"You just so remind me of Cinderella, the only difference is you face a mean dad in place of a wicked step mother. But the sisters are a constant." Shan said making Lijuan giggle some more. This was the reason she liked having Shan around.

"You forgot to mention that this particular Cinderella picks things." Lijuan reminded her.

"Which is not really a deliberate action. I'm sure you'll be fine eventually. So tell me what I need to know, I'm very sure you're not just going to sit at home while they go out and have all the fun."

"You know I don't really care about those socialite parties anyway. Especially not when they spend more time whispering about me than drinking their wine." Lijuan said shaking her head. "However... I have a plan, and it'll work better if you're in."