Imperfect Desires

18 Spicy Cupcake

On the other hand...

"Baby Xiu'er, would you please come out? You have been inside for two hours." Nora was knocking at the bathroom door where Xiu had locked herself right after coming back from the mall.

She hadn't even given any kind of explanation to Nora for their abrupt departure. And seeing Xiu's face, Nora didn't ask anything either on their ride back. But now that Xiu had been locked inside the bathroom for a long time, Nora was getting anxious.

Inside the bathroom, Xiu stood under the showerhead and kept rubbing her body with a sponge. Her milky white skin had turned red from all the rubbing. It looked bruised at first glance and to be honest, Xiu even felt bruised since now the light contact of water with her skin was enough to make her flinch in pain.

But as if she was adamant on peeling this layer of skin off of herself, she didn't stop. Her knees were in the worst condition; there were blue bruises that looked ugly and the pain was shooting up to her bones. When the knocking at the door grew insistent, Xiu's hazy state was broken and she turned the water off.

Patting her body with the soft towel, she applied some ointment on her knees and wore her pajamas before walked out.

"Ah, finally!" Nora heaved a sigh of relief and looked Xiu up and down with her scrutinizing gaze. "What took you so long?"

Xiu didn't answer and went towards the kitchen while Nora followed her. She saw Xiu heating up some milk for herself and asked again, "Why did we leave without even eating properly?"

Under Nora's persistence, Xiu had to cave in and she did as she narrated the incident in the Men's Bathroom.

"Pfft!" Nora couldn't keep her laughter in control. "Sorry, it's just funny that you ran in Men's Bathroom and labeled that innocent man as a pervert. It's almost like the pot calling the kettle black."

Xiu wasn't amused at all with Nora's words. Instead, her disgust came back as she shuddered a bit. "Hey! How can you call him innocent?"

"Wasn't he innocent?" Nora retorted with interest.

Xiu huffed while crossing her arms before her chest. "Fine, I accept that I was at fault for not looking. But it doesn't make him innocent. He didn't have to embarrass me like that." Thinking back, Xiu felt like puking.

Xiu drank her milk in silence while Nora sat beside her to observe her expressions. Suddenly, she said, "Baby Xiu'er, do you know in the past five years this is the first time you showed emotions?" Her words stunned Xiu for a while as she continued, "After the amnesia, it was like you had become a different person. But now it feels like you're still my Bai Xiu. You always use to overreact and make dumb mistakes. You were labeled as the clumsy of our class."

Seeing Nora's smile of contentment, Xiu felt awkward inside and chose to stay silent. She didn't know how to say that she really wasn't the Bai Xiu she knew of. Bai Xiu was clumsy, she as Chen Xiu wasn't allowed any room to make mistakes. From the very beginning, her mother always told her, "Mistakes are for the losers. Winners are not allowed to fall."

But now, Xiu knew that her mother was wrong. Making mistakes, falling down or winning without a fall... All of that is pointless. One only needs to learn how to stand back up after falling down. Otherwise, even the winners will feel like a loser. Because only a fall can bring out our true capabilities.

"By the way, how can you call that Mr. McHottie as Uncle? I saw him today, he was really... And I mean like really gorgeous." Nora saw the way Xiu stopped talking and decided to change the topic. She had seen Dylan when he exited his car to shout at Xiu.

"Really? I still think he's an Uncle." Xiu answered plainly.

"Oh please, don't be biased just because he messed with you. Be honest, he was one hot stuff." Xiu was familiar that Nora wouldn't compliment other's looks that easily. There was no doubt that Dylan was handsome but Xiu really chose to overlook that fact because of his infuriating personality.

She was indeed biased. But what about it? She didn't care at all. "If you find him so attractive, go date him. I'm pretty sure both of you will suit each other."

"Ouch!" Nora faked as she held her hand against her chest in a dramatic manner. "Can't you stop using that sharp tongue of yours? It does hurt. Anyways, I called him handsome. I didn't say he's attractive. He's not my type at all."

"Thank God, he's not your type. For a second I was scared that I'll have to act politely and cordially with him if he really became your boyfriend." Xiu also followed suit in being equally dramatic and the effect was even better since she was an award-winning actress.

While Xiu was washing her cup in the sink, she said, "We'll have to survive on packaged food or takeouts for another two days. I'm very busy at the office. So, let's go grocery shopping on Friday."

"Works fine with me," Nora replied offhandedly.

As Xiu was walking towards her bedroom after bidding Nora goodnight, she heard Nora's voice from behind, "You didn't tell me what that Bathroom pervert looked like? I'm really curious."

Xiu shook her head at this curious cat she called a best friend and without turning back, she said, "Goodnight, Nora!" With that, she entered her room and fell on her bed tiredly.

Rolling around a bit, she stared at the ceiling in the darkroom and thought about the 'Bathroom Pervert'. What did he look like? Nora's words were still ringing in her mind.

Darren's beautiful gray eyes were the first thing that flashed before her eyes and Xiu felt entranced. He certainly was a treat for sore eyes. But as for his tongue... Hmmm... That was too spicy for her liking.

She found his euphonious voice pleasing to the ears but his words didn't feel that pleasing at all. One could call him a cupcake filled with hot spices. No matter how visually pleasing he was, he'd certainly burn people with that tongue of his. With these thoughts roaming in her mind, she finally closed her eyes and lost herself to the dreamland.