After Yibo and Emily had gone a little round, Yibo was not very talkative, which is why Emily probably preferred to retire to her room, Yibo made a big round of the campus alone. Again and again he slid his fingers over his lips and felt this enormous tingling in his stomach when he thought of the kiss.

After his big round, Yibo went back to the dorm and to his room. He could hardly wait for Youn to come into the room. He wanted, no, he had to tell him about the kiss. And when he finally came into the room, Yibo jumped up from his chair at the desk, grabbed Youn by the shoulders and said, "He kissed me!" It just burst out of him.

"What do you mean, who kissed you?" Youn asked, visibly confused.

"Zhan! It was Zhan!"

"Huh? When?"

"Earlier when the power went out. That's when he kissed me!"

"And how do you know that? It could have been anyone else there." Said Youn, and of course he was right about that. But Yibo enlightened him as to why it couldn't be the others. He had after all thought about it thoroughly and in the end only Zhan remained.

Youn thought about Yibo's explanation for a moment and finally nodded. "Well, if you explain it that way, then of course I understand how you come up with it. And yes, that really only leaves Zhan. But he's with Alessia, isn't he? And you said she looked the same as you felt. So, could he have kissed both of you?"

"No way! And I thought of something else. Zhan has never said in his own words that he's in a relationship with Alessia. He called her a friend, but not his girlfriend. And according to Emily, Alessia had some problems with her parents and was always crying to Zhan. He was probably just comforting her. At least that's what Emily says. And she also said that they were probably hugging as friends and not because they were in love with each other."

"Mhhh. But if he really isn't with her. Then why didn't he clear that up?"

"How? Neither of us asked him about it, and frankly I often hadn't given him the chance. And I guess if they really are friends and she was having problems, maybe he just wanted to be a good friend and stand by her."

"Maybe so. But we should be careful. You have a crush on him, so it's clear you're looking for excuses for his behavior. You want the things Emily told you to be true. Because that would make you feel like you have a chance with him after all and that not all is lost."

"No Youn. I know what you're saying and normally I would agree with you. But I'm telling you, he kissed me! And he certainly didn't do it without a reason. I don't know if that means he likes me too and wants more from me. But I do know that you don't kiss someone without a reason."

"Well, if he likes you too and is in love with you, that would at least explain his absurd behavior today."

"What absurd behavior?"

"Oh Yibo, didn't you notice? He acted like a jealous possessive boyfriend."

"Did he?"

"Yes Yibo!"

"Wow, I didn't notice."

"I notice that. Well, I'd still say find out what's really going on between him and Alessia and how he really feels about you before you let your feelings run wild again."

"Mn. I'll give it a try. But can I at least enjoy the kiss for the rest of the evening? It was my first kiss! And I got it from the man of my dreams!"

"Of course you can be happy Yibo. I'm happy with you. And congratulations on your first kiss."

"Thank you."

"How did it feel?"

"Very nice. I have no references to other kisses, of course, since it was my first kiss. But that first kiss just felt great. Like the perfect first kiss."

"I'm really glad to hear that. So? What are you planning next?"

"I don't have a plan yet. Emily offered to help me. But I think she just wants to provoke him and make him jealous."

"Mhhh, I get that impression too. If you don't overdo it, it might even work. After all, today we saw how Zhan goes off when it comes to you and Emily."

"I honestly thought he was all about Emily because he might be into her. But now I don't think that anymore. Now I have to find a way to distract him from Alessia and get his attention."

"You did a good job of that today. He had stayed close to you the whole time and even invited you to dinner. However, Alessia wasn't there until the evening. And as soon as she came, Zhan was gone with her."

"Mn. That's why I'm saying I need to figure out something to stop this from happening again."

"That won't be easy if they are really friends and he wants to be a good friend to her. And you'll have limited time, too, since they'll be leaving soon to return to their Paradise Academy."

"I know. I mean okay, he'll be back here 8 weeks later then. But maybe I can get him to keep in contact with me during those 8 weeks."

"Good idea. Oh and you really need to find out what he had told you in the hospital room."

"How am I supposed to find out? I was unconscious and couldn't understand it at all."

"But you said you dreamed about it. Maybe if you dream about it again, you can understand it then."

"I can't influence my dreams, and I can't just dream about that moment again."

"That's okay Yibo. You could ask him about it though."

"Yes. I've thought about just asking him too. After all, I was unconscious and couldn't listen to him at all."

"Exactly!"

"Okay, I'll just have to find a good time to ask him about it then. Right now, though, I'm going to take a shower. Before it's lights out!" Said Yibo. Youn joined him and after the two of them showered, they lay in their beds and Yibo thought about the kiss again. He grinned to himself and still couldn't believe that he finally got his first kiss and it was from Zhan!

In the morning when Yibo and Youn were about to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, they saw a police car drive onto the campus. The director walked up to the two police officers and pointed in the direction of the dormitory. "What the hell is going on now?" Youn asked, pulling Yibo behind him back to the dorm.

The two stood in the hallway listening with several other students as the director explained that there must have been new thefts last early evening. The two looked at each other in amazement. The director, who had long since noticed all the eavesdropping students, led the two police officers into the houseparents' office. That was the end of the eavesdropping.

They were about to go back outside and finally have breakfast when the houseparents stopped them and the other students. The house father said, "Unfortunately, I have to ask you all to check your rooms to see if anything has been stolen, if you haven't already. Someone has stolen the master key from our office and used it to gain access to all the rooms and steal valuables. Please check to see if anything has been stolen from your rooms as well."

Yibo and Youn immediately rushed back upstairs to their room. They pulled out all the drawers, checked their closets, and looked in their hiding places. Yibo exhaled in relief as he told Youn that nothing had been stolen from him. Youn, on the other hand, was holding his small jewelry box, which Yibo knew Youn had in it a few valuable rings and earrings that he had been given by his parents. "What is it? Is something missing?" Yibo asked.

Youn turned the open jewelry box upside down and nothing fell off. "It's all gone!" Said Youn and tears ran down his cheeks. Yibo hugged Youn and told him he would let the house father know. He did so a few minutes later and only 10 minutes later the police were in their room and Youn had to state what was stolen from him and the value of the items.

Yibo was very relieved that nothing was stolen from him. But then he looked at the wall and the nail that was stuck in it. Suddenly he became very frantic. He jumped up from the bed, pulled the bed away from the wall and searched the floor under the bed. "My cross!" He said when the house father asked him what he was doing.

"What kind of cross? A wooden cross?" Asked one of the two police officers.

"No. It was a gold cross on a gold necklace. My great-grandmother gave it to me when I was really little. I never wore it because it has a real diamond in the middle and I was always too scared to lose the necklace and the cross." Explained Yibo. He felt sick to his stomach. Knowing that this precious heirloom was stolen from him and not knowing how to explain it to his parents made him feel sick to his stomach.

Now that Yibo had filed a complaint against unknown persons, luckily he also had pictures and a document about the valuation of the cross, he and Youn could finally go for breakfast. But neither of them was hungry yet. Instead, they remained sitting on a bench outside and kept silent. They were both immensely sad.

When Zhan appeared to them out of nowhere, he sat down in the middle of them and asked both what was wrong and why they looked so sad. Yibo explained with tears and sobs what had happened. And Zhan suddenly wrapped him in his arms. He hugged Yibo and also Youn and wiped away Yibo's tears with a handkerchief. "We'll find the thief! I promise! I'll help you!" Said Zhan.

Yibo was about to reply something when he saw Alessia coming towards the three of them with big steps and angry look. She skipped the good morning and asked Zhan to accompany her because she wanted to talk to him. But this time Zhan said to her, "Not now! Now I'm here for Yibo and Youn."

Alessia gasped for air. She couldn't believe that Zhan contradicted her and didn't go with her. She tried again. "Zhan, I really need to talk to you."

"I said, NOT NOW! Please go!" He replied furiously. Yibo and Youn looked at him with wide eyes. Alessia gave them both a mean look and then took off.

When Wooseok arrived at them at the same moment Alessia left, Youn and Wooseok withdrew to talk. Yibo was now all alone with Zhan, and Zhan was still holding him in his arms. Nervously and with a slightly trembling voice, Yibo said, "Thank you for listening to me and comforting me. But if you prefer, you can go after Alessia. I'm sure she's mad at you."

But Zhan only hugged Yibo tighter and shook his head. "I'm right where I want to be. Alessia can wait."

"But she's your girlfriend and..."

"Yibo, I've been trying to explain to you for a long time that she's not my girlfriend, she's a friend. I don't know where you get the idea that she and I are supposed to be together. But we aren't. Yes, we get along well and have spent a lot of time together. We were a duo. It's obvious that we had to spend a lot of time together. And yes, we became friends. Also, when I first came here, my brother wasn't here. I didn't know anyone here. And the Wang Yibo my brother told me about in such high terms wasn't here either."

"My mom was in the hospital. I was with her."

"I know. And I'm just saying, if you had been there, I'm sure we would have become friends a lot sooner and I wouldn't have spent so much time with Alessia. I like her. But she's also very demanding."

"Mhhh, so you wanted to be friends with me all along?"

"Yes. Although, after you treated me like an ass, not so much."

"I see. I was really mean to you."

"True. But you also apologized and I wanted to try again to get to know you better."

"So what do you think now?"

"That you're a cute troublemaker. I already realize that you don't like Alessia. But you're going to have to deal with her for four years and you should try to get your anger towards her under control. I'm not saying you have to like her. But don't let her provoke you anymore. And if you don't like something, open your mouth and say it."

"Easier said than done. I want to ignore her, after all. But she keeps doing things that make me so incredibly angry. And I do say things all the time. But..."

"You always let your anger speak then. It doesn't work."

"I know."

"I'm sure you can handle it. And now we should go have breakfast. Yes, I know you're not hungry anymore. But have a snack anyway. It will be a long time before noon and you will need energy for the training."

"Okay."

"Let's go then." Said Zhan. He released the hug and extended his hand to Yibo to help him stand up. Actually, Yibo didn't need any help with that. But to be able to hold Zhan's hand for a brief moment, he accepted the helping hand very gladly.

And as the two walked together to the cafeteria, Zhan put his arm around Yibo's shoulder and softly hummed a song that sounded very familiar to Yibo. When he remembered what song it was, he sang along softly and Zhan joined in. Singing, they continued on their way until they arrived at the cafeteria and Yibo felt like the luckiest man in the world because he had Zhan to himself. Because Zhan was comforting him. Because Zhan preferred him and sent Alessia away. Because Zhan called him a cute troublemaker. And because Zhan put his arm around Yibo's shoulder as they walked to the cafeteria singing. Yibo was happy! Just happy. Even though the pain of the theft of the important heirloom was great, of course.