A Friend of Bai's

"You know," Min said, taking a sip of his iced americano, "that rumors are being spread about you?"

Lai sipped her cola and looked up at him, eyebrows raised in bewilderment.

It was a Saturday afternoon. Lai and Min coincidentally met at Ebony Chocolate café when she had gone to buy some donuts. Upon seeing her, he told her he wanted a few minutes of her time, so they sat together in the café.

"Rumours?" she tilted her head, "What did I do to have rumors about me?"

Min smirked and leaned forward.

"Well," he began, "Everyone's curious about Bai's new PA, who also happens to be such a beauty."

Lai blushed at the 'beauty' part.

"Plus," he leaned back and steepled his fingers, "I've known Bai for a long time, and he usually doesn't hire female PAs. He's had two PAs, and they've all been male."

"Oh," Lai shrugged, "Well, there's nothing special about me, Mr. Xia, that I can assure you."

She sipped her cola and furrowed her eyebrows. She did not like that she was getting unwanted attention just by being Mr. Ying's PA.

Not that she wasn't surprised.

She expected this much to happen, considering he's a billionaire and mafia lord.

"Please, call me Min. Whether there is or isn't anything special about you," Min paused and steepled his fingers, "He usually doesn't get into close relations with women or become their friends."

"Well, we're not exactly friends per se, so tha-"

"Yeah, I know," he cut her off, "What I'm saying is that it's been a while since I've seen him relaxed around a woman. That's why I think you must be someone special to him."

Lai pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say. She didn't think she was special to him.

I mean, sure, she noticed that the man liked her as he's shown this through his flirtatious behaviour, which she had ignored most of the time.

"He's not exactly into relationships either, considering women want him because of his money and status," Min sighed, grabbing his iced americano, "There were even rumours about him."

Lai noticed that Wen was staring at them from across the counter.

'She's probably gonna ask me multiple questions about this guy,' Lai thought, already feeling exhausted just imagining it.

She looked back and saw Min staring intently at his iced americano and stroking the side of the cup with his thumb.

"What rumours?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows.

Min looked up at her and frowned.

"That he was gay."

Lai raised her eyebrows, her mouth agape.

"He ended up hiring a fake girlfriend to get rid of those rumours," he sighed and watched her drink her cola, "She was a no-name actress at the time and instantly agreed because she'd get famous. However, the rumours then came out that he was bisexual."

Lai coughed at this statement, almost choking in the process. He quickly handed her a tissue, and she thanked him, coughing and wiping her mouth.

"Are you okay?" he panicked, and she quickly nodded.

The other customers watched her in surprise, and Wen raised her eyebrow.

"B-bisexual?" she gawked, and he nodded, "Wow, it seems like rumours of love surround him."

"It's what you would expect from a mafia lord's son. He's straight, though," he emphasized, nodding his head, "That I can fully assure you."

Lai rubbed her neck and released a sigh as her coughing fit stopped. She almost died because of his statement. She looked up at him, a concerned look on his face.

"Okay, but why are you telling me this?" she questioned, leaning back on her chair, "I mean, who Mr. Ying likes, and his sexuality has nothing to do with me."

He chuckled and drank his iced americano.

"That is true," he rested his chin on his hand, "Actually, the reason I asked to chat with you for a while is to merely thank you."

Lai stared with widened eyes.

"Thank me?"

He nodded.

"You're the one who saved him a few years ago, right?" he crinkled his eyes and nose as he gave her a dashing smile.

She nodded.

"He told me during that athletic meet, which you were amazing at, by the way. As his close friend, I want to thank you for that. My dear friend wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

She shook her head.

"It was nothing, really," she professed, "I was shocked when I first saw him."

Min leaned forward.

"Can you tell me about that night, Miss Lai?"

She slumped her shoulders and bowed her head, nodding.

"That night," she softly spoke, recalling the scene as Min stared at her with clasped hands, "He...he looked like he was on the verge of death. Like he'd die any second. He was covered in blood and mud."

She looked up at Min, and he saw her lips quiver.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified," she blinked several times, staring down at their table.

As he was about to tell her that she didn't have to continue since the memory must have been traumatising and hard for her to speak about, she continued speaking.

"It was almost like a scene from a horror movie. I was in a trance for a few seconds when I saw him," she sighed, "I am not fond of blood and sometimes faint at the sight of it, but that night was as if heaven gave me strength. Like it told me that I had to save this man who stepped into my workplace."

She glanced up from the table and stared at Min.

"And so I quickly helped him and conducted First Aid, hoping that what I did was enough to slow the bleeding and tone down his pain. I then phoned the ambulance. He was taken to the emergency room after."

Min smiled at her, and she blinked in surprise.

"You must have been shocked by it all," he told her.

She looked up at the ceiling and nodded.

"Very," she bit her lips, "I had no idea who he was at the time."

Min ran his hands through his hair and stared at his watch.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, "I shouldn't be keeping you here for so long. I have one more question."

She nodded.

"Did you see anything suspicious that night?"

She raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Like any weird-looking men lurking about?" he clarified.

She shook her head 'no.'

"No weird-looking men walked past, and if they did," she leaned forward, "I probably didn't see them since I took Mr. Ying to lie down on one of the beds in the backrooms of the café where I administered First Aid."

Min nodded and stood up.

"I see. Well," he walked to her side and offered his hand to her.

She took it. He helped her stand up.

"Thank you once again," he smiled, "And a friend of Bai's is a friend of mine, so consider us friends from now on."

Lai smiled and nodded.

"We'll be seeing a lot of each other, so until then, this is goodbye, Miss Lai."

With that, he bowed his head and left the café. Wen immediately ran to her side and shook her hand.

"Oh my fucking god," she whispered, "Who was that hunk?"

Lai rolled her eyes and smiled.

"A friend, I guess," she shrugged, and Wen gasped.

"Your friend is a hottie," Wen nodded to herself, pressing her finger to her cheek.

"I guess," Lai shrugged again.

"How's work?" she heard Wen inquire.

She hugged her and smiled, holding her left hand.

"Work is great," she turned Wen around and gently pushed her towards the counter, "Now you get back to your work. The customers are waiting. I know you want to ask how your god, Mr. Ying, is doing."

Wen pouted, and Lai chuckled.

"Bye," Lai waved, the box of donuts in her hand.

Wen nodded and waved back, rushing to the counter.

"Hi, sir," Wen beamed at the customer in front of her, "What can I get you?"

Lai smiled and walked out of the café, heading home with a mind full of multiple questions and thoughts about her talk with Min.

"I wonder who the weird-looking men Min was talking about were?" she mumbled, staring at the darkened sky.

Little did she know that she would soon encounter those weird-looking men, and blood would be shed.