Classes started for the semester. The professor declared that their next assignment would be drafting a business proposal and that they will have to do it in pairs. However, before he did, he has asked the class to write their names on a piece of paper, and these were separated according to their seats. The aisle separating groups of chairs marked each box of names as east and west. The professor then picked out names, forming pairs from each group.
Dan sighed as he cannot pair up with Midori on this.
"Why are you sighing so hard? We will only be working with a stranger for a week." Midori was teasing him.
"What if you get paired to a d*****bag? I need to protect you at all times." he replied with a serious look on his face.
"Relax. It'll be fine." She smiled.
Suddenly, Dan's name was called.
"Verdan Zhou, and..." The professor picked out a piece of paper from the other box. "Ming Rushi."
Midori's smile collapsed. She scanned the other group of seats. Her eyes finally landed on a despicable sneer from that familiar face.
They were given some time to plan out their assignments with their partners. Midori had a female caucasian partner. All the while, she was distractedly glancing towards Dan and Rushi, nodding to her own partner from time to time. The caucasian girl thought that she might have had difficulty understanding the language for Midori looked out of sorts.
"Do I need to slow down and repeat my idea?" She was being considerate.
Midori snapped out of her trance and tried to focus on the matter at hand.
Eventually, classes ended for the day. Midori walked by herself back to her place as Dan reported to their company.
At the entrance of the apartment complex, she was stopped by a familiar figure, slyly smiling at her.
"Miss Xiu." she sneered.
"What are you doing here?" Midori was quite irritated. How good of a stalker is this girl?
"Nothing much. Just leaving a warning." Rushi walked towards her. She turned to whisper to Midori's ear. "Take care of your sweet man or he'll be mine." Then she laughed sinisterly as her heels clacked away.
Midori was pissed off. She took some time to collect herself as she strode to her place.
She decided to send Dan a message. "What time will you be back?"
In the office, Dan just finished having a tour of another department. He was arranging files on his desk when the phone beeped for notification.
"Miss me already?" he replied, chuckling by himself.
"Time" Midori irritatingly replied back.
Dan looked at the clock, it was half past six. "7pm. Let's grab dinner when I get back."
Midori did not send a message back. She went straight to the kitchen and took out a pan. She grabbed pasta, some meat, tomato sauce and cheeses.
The food was almost cooked when she heard some noises next door. She knew he was back, but he knows the code to her unit, so no need to rush the food. He will come after changing in his place.
The food was ready. Still no Dan. Midori, with her bright smile, decided to grab the pan and went next door.
The door to Dan's unit was ajar. She took a peep as she was to surprise him, but she was the one who was shocked.
She saw Rushi sitting on the sofa sipping juice. She let out a faint gasp and pulled herself away.
Midori walked back towards her place. If she was not holding the hot pan, she would have smacked herself on the face. Her door clicked shut when she went out, the automatic lock in place and she could not press the code to open it.
Suddenly, Dan's door was fully opened, and people were stepping out. She turned away, partially hiding herself by leaning against a pillar.
After sending his visitor away, Dan noticed his girl hiding in vain. Despite being a little worried that she might get the wrong idea, he decided to brush it off as he chuckled.
"What are you doing there?" He leaned to look at her face.