Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Dreams of Amber ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9

 

 

“Would you bring the food already? I'm hungry!” Yuan yelled in the direction of the kitchen.

 

“Yuan, have some patience. The food will come when it's ready.”

 

He caught Sakura's gaze, blushed, and shut his mouth, turning back to stare at his plate. Lien muffled a giggle.

 

Standing at the side of the dining table, Sakura resisted the urge to giggle as well. It had been five days since she'd gotten her job back and Yuan was still behaving oddly around her. He still pretended that he didn't like her. But whenever she talked to him or even smiled at him, his face would go red. She found it very cute and ruffled his hair or pat his head, at which he would become even redder. `Now I know how to make him shut up,' Sakura thought amusedly. The young Li was adorable.

 

`Pity I can't say the same about the older Li,' she idly thought as her gaze flicked to Li Syaoran, who was now busy talking to Meiling. For the past five days he had been coming over to the Li mansion to have lunch with the kids. But half the time he would be engrossed in talking on his mobile or discussing work with his designers. So it hardly made much of a difference if he was at home or in his office. The kids didn't seem to mind though—being able to have lunch with their father kept them happy enough.

 

All this meant that Li Meiling, being Syaoran's assistant, would come over quite frequently. Sakura liked that—she liked Meiling. She was spunky, witty and fun to talk to. The kids liked her as well. And having known Syaoran for years, Meiling knew how to handle her boss very well.

 

`If she weren't his cousin, she'd make him a good wife.'

 

And talking about prospective wives, Lauren Ross had come over as well, much to Sakura's dismay. She generally never stayed for lunch, saying that she had photo shoots to attend, but today she had apparently changed her mind. Currently, she was busy talking on her phone about some modeling contract with some agency.

 

Sakura sighed. No one except the kids seemed to be interested in having lunch.

 

“Freshness. Simplicity. That should be our theme. Most designer labels are going for the glam quotient these days. We should be different.”

 

Syaoran frowned at his cousin. “I don't see the appeal of that.”

 

Meiling huffed. “Oh come on Syaoran. Why do you think a simple white dress is more eye-pleasing than a flashy gown full of sequins and colourful designs? Because of its simplicity.” She paused. “Complexity just makes it confusing.”

 

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. “I see. And exactly how did you come up with such an idea.”

 

Meiling smiled. “Actually, it was because of Sakura.”

 

Sakura jumped at the mention of her name. “Uh…?”

 

“I love your choice of clothes, Sakura. They're lovely—simple and elegant. They bring out your natural beauty very well.”

 

Sakura blushed at Meiling's words. “Um… thank you. I'm… flattered.” She reddened even more as she felt Li Syaoran's gaze on her.

 

“Where did you buy them?” Meiling asked.

 

“I didn't buy them. My friend Daidouji Tomoyo designed them for me. She's pretty good at this stuff.”

 

Meiling's eyes widened. “Really? Wow. Your friend? She must be your age then.”

 

Sakura nodded.

 

“Daidouji?” Syaoran seemed thoughtful. “Is this friend of yours related to Daidouji Sonomi by any chance?”

 

Sakura nodded eagerly. “Yes, Tomoyo is her daughter.”

 

“Yes, yes… I remember now. I've met her…”

 

“Syaoran, we've got to have her in our company! She's excellent. Just look at her designs! And she's just… what… nineteen?” Meiling said excitedly. Sakura felt her eyes widen at the suggestion. Tomoyo working for Li Syaoran? That'd be like a dream come true for the amethyst-eyed girl…

 

“Meiling, she probably works for her mother. I don't think she would want to work for—”

 

“Are you kidding me? She's been dying for a chance of working with you!” Sakura cut him off. He raised an eyebrow at her outburst and she felt the familiar warmth spreading on her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “Um… what I meant to say was that she'd love to work for you Mr. Li. She doesn't want to be known as Daidouji Sonomi's daughter anymore. She wants to come out of her mother's shadow.”

 

“Ooh excellent!” Meiling exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Then we can call her immediately and ask her if she'd be interested in showing us more of her collections. What do you say, Syaoran?”

 

Syaoran regarded Sakura closely. Or more specifically, regarded her dress closely. And Sakura tried to will away her blush. `Get a grip on yourself, Sakura. He's just observing your dress. No big deal. It's just his job.'

 

“Yes, simple yet beautiful. Very nice,” Syaoran finally said. Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

 

`He's talking about the dress, you idiot. Not you.'

 

“I really liked the dress you wore on your first day. The blue one,” he continued.

 

She gasped. `Oh my god! He remembers!' Quickly composing herself, she said, “Yeah, that's one of my personal favorites too.”

 

“Great! Sakura, you can give us her phone number and—”

 

“Well, if you ask my opinion…” Lauren Ross, who'd now finished talking on the phone, interrupted Meiling. “I think this Tomoyo's designs are too… well, how should I put it… plain.”

 

Sakura felt a stab of indignation. But fortunately, before she could retort at the statement, Meiling spoke up. “That is the point Miss Ross. That's going to be the theme of our new collection…” She stood up with a faraway expression on her face and Sakura was strongly reminded of Tomoyo. “…Beauty in Simplicity…” She looked at everyone. “So what do you guys have to say?”

 

“You have a stupid look on your face,” came Yuan's voice. Catching Meiling's offended look he quickly added, “I'm hungry.”

 

 

~

 

 

Sakura felt a hand grab her arm as she led the kids out of the dining hall after lunch. She turned to face a grinning Dan. “Hey!” he said.

 

Sakura stared at him. “What? I don't have time right now. I've to take the kids—”

 

“I just want to talk to you for a couple of minutes, okay?” Dan pleaded with his eyes.

 

She gave in and turned to the kids. “Yuan, Lien, run up to your room. I'll be there soon.” They looked a bit hesitant at first, but decided to go when Sakura smiled at them pleadingly.

 

“We're going on Saturday.”

 

Sakura blinked at Dan. “Huh?”

 

“Remember our promised friendly date? I said I'd show you around Hong Kong? Yeah, so we're going this Saturday.”

 

“Why Saturday?”

 

“Because that's when the coast is clear. The boss will be busy the whole day and in the evening, he's going out for dinner with Lauren Ross. I heard them discussing it in the car.”

 

“Oh. So he's taking the kids along with him, I can…”

 

He shook his head. “Sakura, Li is going on a romantic dinner with Lauren.”

 

Dan's words sunk in and Sakura felt a stab of jealousy. `Don't be stupid, Sakura. Of course they'd be going out for romantic dinners. She's his fiancée, remember?'

 

“Oh, okay.” Clearing her mind, she caught up with where Dan was heading. “But wait. That means the kids will be left alone. I can't come with you then. I've got to…”

 

“Lu has agreed to take care of the kids the whole day.”

 

“But Li will never allow me to go off sight-seeing, leaving the kids alone.”

 

Dan sighed. “Yes, that's my point. Why do you think we're going on Saturday, then?”

 

Sakura blinked. “Oh… wait. You're saying we're going sight-seeing behind Li's back?”

 

“Ah, thank God. I was starting to wonder if you'd be able to catch on before Saturday.”

 

“But—but—we'll get into so much trouble…”

 

“If we're caught. Which we won't.”

 

“I just got my job back after being sacked and now you want me to…”

 

“Sakura, I've been Li's driver for six weeks now. I know his routine by heart. We'll get back before he does.”

 

Sakura opened her mouth to argue some more, but Dan silenced her, placing both hands on her shoulders.

 

“Sakura, you're managing those little terrors the whole day. You need a break too, right? Besides, this is the only opportunity you're going to get for a long time. Once Li Yelan comes back from Paris, she's going to be breathing down your neck every other minute.”

 

“Oh. When is she coming back?'

 

“This Sunday, I think. Not sure… anyway, so it's a date?”

 

Sakura sighed and gave in. “Okay.”

 

Dan grinned. “Ah-hah! Gotcha! So it's a proper date, after all. Now you're gonna have to kiss me at the end.” He winked.

 

Sakura smiled and shook her head. “That depends on how much I enjoy it,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.

 

 

~

 

 

Sakura pulled at the curtains, blocking out the sunlight. She searched for the light switch and flicked it on. The kids looked snug in their beds. She smiled. “Have a good nap.”

 

“Are you going to sleep too?” Yuan asked.

 

“No, I don't sleep in the afternoons.”

 

“Then what do you do?”

 

“Well, I just roam around the house chatting with the other servants…”

 

“With Dan?”

 

Sakura blinked. “No, Dan's gone to drop your father at his office, remember?”

 

Yuan pouted. “But if he was here, you'd be talking to him.”

 

“Well…”

 

“I don't get what you see in him.” Yuan was scowling now. “I think he's dumb.”

 

Lien, who had been muffling her laughter till now, burst into a fit of giggles. “Brother is jealous…” she said in a sing-song voice.

 

“Shut up! I'm not jealous!” Yuan yelled at his sister, though his cheeks were flaming red. “Why would I be jealous of some dumb driver? You're dumb too.”

 

“Brother is jealous…” Lien continued. She turned to look at Sakura. “You know Sakura, Brother has a little cru—mmph…” Her sentence was cut off by a very red Yuan clamping a hand on her mouth. “I have a little nothing! Shut up!”

 

“Now, now, Yuan. It's nothing—Dan's just my friend. Promise,” Sakura finally said, smiling cutely at him.

 

Yuan blinked at her. “What do you mean `just my friend'?”

 

“He's not my type,” Sakura explained.

 

Yuan still looked confused.

 

“Okay, what I mean is—he's my friend. But we're not like… umm… say the hero and heroine in a movie…”

 

The kids finally seemed to get it and Sakura smiled. `Wonder what Li Syaoran would say if he hears what education I'm giving the kids.'

 

“So who's your `type'?” Lien asked shyly.

 

Sakura stared at her. “My type…” She vaguely remembered a pair of amber eyes and subsequently their owner, and blushed.

 

Lien gasped. “Oh my! You're blushing! This means you do have someone of your `type'. Who is it?” she asked eagerly.

 

“No one,” Sakura answered a bit too quickly.

 

“Do you have a crush? Is he from this house? Is it one of the servants?” Lien persisted.

 

“Enough. Get in your beds and go to sleep.”

 

As Sakura stepped out of the room, she heard Lien's whisper. “Brother, who do you think Sakura has a crush on?”

 

“I don't know and I don't care, okay?”

 

Giggles followed by a sing-song voice. “Brother is jealous…”

 

“Shut up!”