A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE

"Why are you smiling silly over there?"

Mrs. Yu nudges Yu Mei's arm; she notices her daughter stops eating to look at her phone.

"Uh," Yu Mei beams at her mother, "it's my friends. They sent something funny." She locks her phone and puts it on the table with the screen down.

Mrs. Yu mouths an 'oh' and goes back to eating.

Yu Mei picks the utensils up to get back to eating herself when her eyes meet her brother. From across her, he has eyes looking at her – penetrating into her. She gapes at him, her eyes telling him, 'what the hell are you looking at?' but Yu Jei casually moves his eyes away from her as if nothing happened. He smiles at Mr. Niu, talking about business and whatnot.

'This jerk!' Yu Mei cursed him inside her head. She could never understand him – not even a bit. He annoys her the most - even the way he elegantly eats, she hates it. He always teases her even now that they are adults.

"Mei."

"Hm?"

Yu Mei turns to her mother.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Yu Mei blinks twice. That was an unexpected question. "What? Nothing."

"You're angry." Mrs. Yu insists.

Yu Mei is taken aback. Why does her mother have keen eyes? Maybe her mother is a psychic or something?

"Are you fighting with your brother again?"

Okay, that's it! She is lost for words at the very moment.

'What do you usually say in this kind of situation again?' She wracks her brain for the correct answer.

"No!" Yu Mei denies it in an instant. Forcefully cutting the meat on her plate.

Her mother helplessly gawks at the two of them and sighs.

"Anyway," Mrs. Yu proceeds with what she is about to say initially to Yu Mei, "do you remember the kid you used to play with? You know, that boy—"

"No, Mother. I don't." Yu Mei answered instantly. She knows where this conversation is going. This script is always the same.

"You forgot about him? I saw his mother a few days ago, and she said that Wang Zhengyi is on vacation. He remembers who you are. You should catch up with him--"

"Mom," Yu Mie cuts her off. "I can't. The hospital is always busy. I'm always busy. I don't have time."

"But it's just a friendly date. You know, catching up with a longtime friend."

"First and foremost, he's not a friend. I didn't even remember him. He is a total stranger!" Yu Mei explains.

"It will only be a one-time thing. What if something clicked between the two of you," Mrs. Yu persists, putting the cutleries down.

Oh, this time she, is really serious.

"Mom, we talked about this." She says, exhausted from this conversation. "A no will always be a no."

"But—"

"Mother," Yu Jei butts in, "just leave her be," he utters while wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You can't convince her otherwise, especially if she already made up her mind. Did you already forget how stubborn she is?"

Yu Mei is skeptical of his brother's statement although, she is still grateful for him. It's just a bit suspicious of him to be helping her.

"I'm just helping her out. She's already turning twenty-five this year but she is still single." Mrs. Yu argues with her eyes bulging out.

"FYI, just twenty-five. It is still considered young nowadays. Mother, times have changed. It's the millennium, arranged dates made by parents are not a thing anymore. And besides, Big Brother should be the one to marry first, right?"

Yu Mei almost felt breathless from her long speech. But it feels oddly satisfying to voice out her resentment.

"Oh, do shut up!" is the only reply Mrs. Yu could give. "Your brother is also a hopeless case. Hey! Help me out here in convincing your daughter!" Mrs. Yu seeks out help from Mr. Yu.

"Nah, just let your children be. They're at the right age to think for themselves." Mr. Yu shrugs her off and enjoys his wine.

Helpless and alone, she glares at her two children. "Look at you two ganging up on your own mother! Now, I am all alone!"

Yu Mei giggled at the sight of her pouting - even the serious Yu Jei laughed. She lovingly leans against her mother's shoulder but she shakes her off.

"I just wanted to see my grandchildren soon! Your brother also did the same! When will I ever see my grandchildren? When I'm already in heaven?!"

The siblings laughed hard.

"We'll marry and have children when we want to, Mother. And you're still youthful; you'll live for a hundred years," Yu Jei reassuringly tells her, a sincere smile plastered on his face.

Yu Mei felt goosebumps all over her. The sight of his brother smiling creeps her out. A smile does not suit him - a frown does like he always used to.

----

Yu Mei and Yu Jei wave goodbye to their parents at the entrance of the restaurant - waiting for their car.

"Visit home from time to time." Mrs. Yu reminds them before closing the car door.

"We will, Mother." Yu Jei responded while Yu Mei only said an 'En'.

As the car enters the traffic and out of their view, Yu Jei puts a hand on top of Yu Mei's head. This is one of the reasons why she hates to be around him – the teasing never stops even. He only matured physically.

"Don't you dare start. Remove. Your. Hand. Now!"

Yu Jei sneers. "Sure, Princess. Just follow me," he drags her, never leaving his hand on her head, to his car. "Inside."

"And what if I don't?" She crosses her arms, indicating that she refuses to get in.

"Just do it," he pushes her inside. Yu Jei is too strong. Yu Mei has no choice but to grunt in annoyance and defeat.

"What now?" she harrumphs with her arm still crossed.

Instead of a reply, Yu Jei throws a manila envelope on her lap.

"What's this?" Yu Mei frowns at the brown envelope.

The yellow lighting of the car illuminates their sullen faces.

Yu Mei opens the envelope while staring at Yu Jei questioningly. The latter did not say a word and waited for her to see what was inside.

A crease forms on her forehead, without further ado, she takes out the things inside, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yu Mei stares at his brother, this time, her eyes full of rage.

Yu Jei averts his dead-pan eyes away from her. Staring straight up ahead in the dark, he leans his head against the steering wheel and sighs.

Her frown deepens, "You hired someone to follow me? How could you?"

He laughs at her accusations. "You think I have all the time in the world to do that?"

Yu Mei squeezes the pictures in her hand, crumpling half of it. They were so clear; it looks like a professional camera was used to capture these photos.

"A professional paparazzi sold it to me." Yu Jei simply says, straightening his back.

He snorts. "He even threatened me; can you believe that? I'm being the good brother that I was; I shut him up with money. I don't know what benefit will he get from secretly capturing both of you. I mean, what's the point?"

He smirks, adding, "And also, I've met that asshole--"

"He has a name," Yu Mei interjects. Fury is evident as her nose is flaring and her lips are puckering.

Yu Jei sighs. "That was his name for me. Anyway, I've met him. I guess he never told you. Such a good boyfriend, isn't he?"

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Dear sister, I'm telling you to be careful. You know what will happen if this goes out to the public. Or if this goes into the wrong hands. You know what I'm talking about, right? Be thankful that they approached me first."

He stares at Yu Mei pensively.

"Aren't you going to tell me to break up with him? Is it not your real purpose?"

"Will you do it?"

"No."

"You're really stubborn, aren't you? What's the point of telling you to break with that ass--," he clears his throat, not finishing the sentence.

'Don't worry, I'm still trying to find out everything, and I think I've almost got it,' is what he wanted to say but he still needs to be sure of everything.

Yu Jei watches his little sister droop her shoulders down. Patting her head, he comfortingly says, "Don't cry."

He hates it when she cries.

It may be true that Yu Jei loves teasing her but if anyone bullies her, he will be on the frontline to defend her.

"I'm not crying. I'm not going to cry. I just feel miserable. We were being careful."

"Don't mull over it. I'll take care of everything. Just be careful next time. We never know whose eyes are watching. This time, we are not only dealing with our enemies."

Yu Mei slowly nods her head.

"Big Brother."

"What is it?"

"I love him. And I've decided that I want to be with him for the rest of my life." Yu Mei declares, her voice full of conviction.

"I know."

Yu Mei absent-mindedly walks to her car – trudging her heels on the concrete. Rights, she forgot to thank her brother for the photos. She looks at the envelope in her hand - contemplating if she should tell Su Bin about it.