Chapter 20: If it fails, you can always get a divorce
"Hello? Who is this?" Shang Ying asked.
"Hi, is this Shang Ying?"
The caller's voice could be heard, it was a lady's voice.
"Yes. Who am I speaking to?"
"This is Ning Ning...I got your number from your mother. I want to tell you that despite the article about you and that girl, our parents still want us to be together. I've overheard from both of our parents that...that..."
"Just say it. We're both on the same team, we both want to get out of this," Shang Ying cut her off.
"OK. Our parents have arranged for a wedding for us. They said that it'll be held next Friday. How do we get out of this now?" Ning Ning's voice was filled with doubt, and a slight bit of hope.
"Marriage... Next Friday? I'll be back on Friday, this Friday. We'll figure a way out of it. I'll give you a call when I get back."
"Okay..."
Call ended.
Shang Ying walked back to his seat as if nothing happened. Rui Xing unplugged her earpiece and asked Shang Ying, "Who called you?" When he didn't give her a reply after a few seconds, she asked another question, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah all's good," he lied.
"Okay," Rui Xing said as she plugged in her earpiece and continued to listen to music.
Shang Ying was no longer in the mood to watch his Chinese Drama so he kept his iPad, took out his phone and earpiece. He went onto Spotify [1], pressed one of his favorite songs to be on blast while he wore his earpiece. Shang Ying did this when he felt stressed out or faced any problems. Since his friends were doing their own things, none of them knew about the problem he currently faced.
It was only when they reached their hotel did Rui Xing find out about his problem. The bullet train ride ended and everyone got off the train.
As usual, after having alighted the bullet train did Wen Xi's enthusiasm of being in Osaka start to show. She was so peppy and energetic, during that bullet train ride she sure recharged an excessive amount of energy. She was so buoyant until she realized that she had forgotten to book the hotel for them to stay.
"Oh no!!! What do we do now???" Wen Xi said anxiously.
"What's wrong?," Rui Xing asked.
"I've forgotten to book our hotel, I'm sorry guys..."
Li Nang shook his head in disappointment.
"OK, I have a hotel app on my phone, let me check for a hotel nearby here," Rui Xing said.
A few minutes later, Rui Xing said, "OK, done! We'll be staying at Plaza Osaka. The pricing is cheaper than the rest of the hotels and it's a walking distance from where we are currently at."
"You're the best!" Wen Xi said to Rui Xing. She didn't really like receiving compliments so she just shrugged it off. Li Nang and Shang Ying unexpectedly gave her a thumbs up at the same time. Shang Ying and Li Nang stared at each other as if they were about to kill one another. If looks could kill, they would both have been dead by then.
"Are you two alright? The two of you look like you want to kill one another," Rui Xing looked at them, worried.
"Us? We're fine. Don't need to worry about us," Li Nang said, putting his arm around Shang Ying to show that they were on good terms.
Wen Xi and Rui Xing turned back to walk to the hotel after seeing Li Nang's reaction. When they turned around, Li Nang stared at Shang Ying once more before following Rui Xing and Wen Xi. Shang Ying ignored his actions and caught up with the rest before Li Nang did.
Wen Xi whispered to Rui Xing, "Li Nang likes you..."
"Really?"
"Yeah and I think Shang Ying likes you too. Look at the way the two of them look at you," Wen Xi said.
"Hey, speaking of looks, then don't you like Li Nang?"
"What? Me? No...no...maybe..."
"Then he's all yours," Rui Xing said.
"Huh, no... I'm suppose to help him get you," Wen Xi accidentally blurted out.
"What?" Rui Xing replied shocked.
"Fine, since you heard it... I'm suppose to be his wingman and help the two of you get together," Wen Xi said embarrassed.
"Too bad, I don't like either of them right now... I might in the future, so don't regret if I end up liking Li Nang," Rui Xing stuck out her tongue.
They continued walking, Wen Xi thought that Li Nang and Shang Ying didn't hear their conversations, but they did.
"I guess we're still friends to her, but I'm still not giving up," Li Nang said to Shang Ying.
"I will not give up," Shang Ying said confidently.
They reached the hotel in 15 minutes, they had the same room arrangement as the previous hotel.
-In the room Shang Ying and Rui Xing were in-
"Hey room mate," Rui Xing said with a bright smile.
"Hey..."
"You seem off, what's wrong? Tell me... I know it's about the call you received on the bullet train."
"OK, the person on the call was Ning Ning. She told me that our parents planned an arranged marriage for us. My parents haven't told me about this at all and it's going to take place next Friday. My mother really isn't giving us a choice on who we can be together with. We both want out of it," Shang Ying truthfully said.
"Oh I see... I'm sure the two of you will figure out a way to solve it," Rui Xing said. "If it fails, you can always get a divorce," Rui Xing jokingly said.
"Wow, you sure know how to make me feel better," Shang Ying said in a sarcastic tone.
"Yeah I know right... I should get an award for that, shouldn't I?," Rui Xing laughed after she heard those words come out of her mouth.
Shang Ying clapped slowly for her, then responded, "OK, here's your award, 3 slow claps. Happy?"
"HAHAHA thank you for the award, I appreciate it."
"You're most UNWELCOME HAHAHA," Shang Ying continued to play along.
"HAHAHA"
[1] A digital music service that enables users to remotely source millions of songs- or various 'record labels' from a laptop smartphone or other devices.
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