"He's really still monitoring the place?" Zero asked.
"Yup," Edward replied, popping the 'p' sound, "Like you said, persistent bugger."
For the past three months, Kai had sent men to just stalk the cafe everyday. However, it would be Kai himself that stayed in the cafe the whole day every Sunday.
Zero smirked, "He's good, but not good enough. Hasn't been able to find out who Lianne is after all this while. He's not worthy."
"Seriously, Zero?" Lucka admonished him, "With us on his case, including the IT team, how on Earth would he even be able to get a hint?"
"He's still not worthy," mumbled Zero.
The only good thing out of all of this was that there would always be someone who goes into the Cafe to observe the men that Kai had put there. It meant that he could get his cakes and cookies all the time.
Still, it also meant that Zero couldn't go and get it himself. He rather liked sitting in the cafe, enjoying his food and drink. It wasn't the same at home, or at HQ.
It wasn't fair that Kai was the one that could enjoy the cafe every Sunday.
Damn that persistent bugger.
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"Is there something you need to tell me, hmmmm?" Kyle said to Lianne, while raising an eyebrow.
"No, not really," Lianne denied, continuing to eat her food without guilt.
Kyle and Lianne were out on their 'at-least-one-a-month' meal. To connect, to catch up and basically, just to meet-up.
"Really now," Kyle pressed on, "Not even about a certain Kai Sheng?"
Lianne shrugged, "It's under control."
"Duh, I know that," Kyle said, "But how you're reacting to it, is not."
Lianne paused a bit but shrugged again, "I don't know what you mean."
"You're avoiding him, not stopping him," Kyle pointed out.
"Same difference," Lianne countered.
"No, it's not," Kyle said, tapping the table.
"Li," Kyle called out, this time his voice was lowered as he called her by her pet name that only he would, whenever he was getting serious.
Lianne took a deep breath, putting down her utensils. Making a fist with her right hand, she covered it with her left hand and placed her elbows on the table, while covering her mouth with her balled fists.
She didn't look at Kyle, but was seriously contemplating and finally, she looked up and mumbled through her hands, "I don't know."
"You're interested," Kyle prodded, "Or rather, your interest is piqued. You want to see how far he's willing to go."
Lianne didn't reply, so Kyle went on.
"Yet, on the other hand, you want him to stop."
"In a nutshell," Lianne replied with a deep sigh.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing, and everything," Lianne said, "I don't need anyone to disrupt my life right now. I'm happy."
"Are you?"
"Yes," Lianne said, looking at Kyle in the eye, "Ever since I've moved out, I've been at peace. Kai Sheng is trouble. I don't need trouble."
"Then why aren't you just stopping him? You've done the whole 'I-have-a-boyfriend' routine, plus, you've told him off already, right? Yet, he's still trying his best," Kyle said.
"He's a stalker," mumbled Lianne.
"Fine line, really," Kyle said, "For now, he's just trying to find you. He confessed, then lost you. He hasn't even tried to woo you yet, so I can understand his persistence."
"Obsession, you mean," Lianne argued.
"Two sides of the coin," Kyle agreed, "But which one is he? You haven't even given him a chance."
"He's trying to steal me away from Zero," Lianne pointed out, "Isn't that a dick move?"
Kyle rolled his eyes, "Even if Zero was your real boyfriend, you're not married now, are you? Fair game."
"What? Being a third party is good? If he can entice me away from my supposed boyfriend, who is to say I wouldn't be enticed away with another? He's not being very fair on me now, is he?" Lianne said angrily, "Making me out as someone who is so easily swayed. Just because he's good-looking."
"But what has he done, really?" Kyle asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"Did he beat up Zero when Zero 'kissed' you? Hugged you? Did you go forth and create misunderstandings to try and break you up?"
Lianne didn't answer.
"Did he force himself on you? Get angry at you for being with Zero? Talked bad about Zero?"
"Why are you on his side?" Lianne asked suspiciously.
"I'm not," Kyle replied, "I'm on your side."
"Doesn't seem like it," Lianne scoffed.
"If you treated Kai like how you treated Byron, I would not say a thing, Li," Kyle said softly, "Like I said, there are always two sides to a coin, and nothing is purely black and white. There are no absolutes."
"Is it really bad for someone to try and get a girl who already has a boyfriend?," Kyle asked seriously, "If you fell in love for the first time, and feel very strongly, would you step back just because she is in a relationship? Or will you try your luck? Or wait and hope she breaks up? Or be the friend-that-can-be-relied-on, but never can get together?"
Kyle drew an imaginary line on the table, "There is a fine line between being a home-wrecker that forces his feelings on you and finding true love by pursuing his feelings. It all depends on what the guy does."
Kyle looked at Lianne, "And you haven't even given him a chance to show you whether he's a douche-bag or not. Labeling him as one just because he wants to woo you even though you have a 'boyfriend' … well, that's not right now, is it?"
Finishing his drink, Kye then said, "You know, when the book 'Twilight' had Edward Cullen watching Bella sleep at night, you had two sorts of reactions to that. One side felt he was a creepy stalker that was too obsessive and possessive. Another side felt he was being so romantic, so deep in love, and protective."
"At the end of the day, if you like and love the person, his attention to you will seem loving but if you don't like him, his attention is stalker-ish."
"And obviously, you don't view Kai as a stalker, no matter what you say with your mouth," Kyle said, "Because your actions already show otherwise."
Lianne didn't answer and started playing with her food for a while before resuming eating. Kyle dropped the issue as well. He had given her enough to think about.
One thing was for sure, though.
Looks like he would need to go and have a little talk with this grown-up Kai Sheng.