[Ten thousand views! Thank you guys~ ð]
Today, Ai Chow had plans to go hang out with her friends for a bit of shopping around the city. But the truth was: she was dreading this outing and was purposefully doing her morning routine as slowly as possible because of it.
"Ai Chow dear," her father said during breakfast. "the Liao heir is now eligible for marriage, he seems like a nice fellow."
She frowned.
"Father, I didn't know they even had a heir."
"Oh he is very sweet." her mother smiled. "He is sure to be a competent husband and father. What do you say?"
She sighed and stood up.
"I'll think about it."
Her parents looked at each-other, knowing that this meant 'no' in their daughter's language. She came from a prestigious family, even though most young women of her age and status would already be engaged with a stranger for business purposes by this point, her parents let her keep her freewill when it came to relationships. She was lucky. But, ever since she turned sixteen, friends and family have been asking her questions about her love life, strangers have been asking for her hand and now that her eighteenth birthday party was just in a few days, the pressure has doubled. She loved her friends and family, but they could get on her nerve sometimes.
"But who knows if this will last!" one of her friends said when the subject almost unavoidably came up. "Maybe they'll give Ai a boyfriend as a birthday present!"
She frowned at the idea. That would be so embarrassing, especially since the whole town will be there to watch. She tried not to think about it as she looked at the different stands in the market place her group was walking across.
"I still don't get it." another one of her friends looked at her. "You have dated before, yet you've never dated for longer than a month. What gives?"
"I don't know." she shrugged. "There were just no...spark?"
"Even you don't sound sure of yourself."
"Hey come on, she wants to find 'the one'."
"Or, she's way too picky."
"So which one is it Ai?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're the only rich woman in the entire city with no boyfriend!"
"Well, you got old lady Daiyu but let's not talk about that!"
Her friends laughed. On any other days, she would feel bad and left out, but right now, she was just frustrated and only wanted to shut them up so that she would be left alone for once. She inhaled.
"Actually!" she exhaled as she turned to face them. "I *do* have a boyfriend!"
"...What?" their expression fell, skeptic and understandably so.
"Yeah." she placed her hands on her hips, sounding very sure of herself this time. "We met a while back, he's a traveler so he had to leave at some point, but we exchanged letters in secret." she smiled.
Some looked at each-other, asking themselves if this was true. But her oldest friend still wasn't convinced, she folded her arms.
"Oh yeah? What's his name?"
"Mei-hui."
"That is the exact same name as the love interest from that romance book you love so much."
'Shoot!' she thought. 'I said the first name that came to mind!'
"Yeah." she said in a matter-of-fact way. "That's what drawn me to him in the first place."
"Yeah I do not believe a word of it. A traveler? How convenient." she smiled. "And you exchanged letters that we've never seen?"
"I was hiding them."
"Sure~."
Ai frowned, it was clear they weren't taking this too light-heartedly.
"Oh Mei-hui's real alright. In fact, he's coming for my birthday. In fact! We planned on meeting here today! I wanted to go meet him when we were done shopping! I bet he's here right now!"
Whatever skill the young lady had in lying she made up for it by not knowing when to stop. Most of her friends looked shocked, her childhood friend though was still not convinced.
"Where? Point him out to us."
"Oh I will. Just you wait."
This is where Ai Chow recognized her mistake and began to panic. Still she kept a cool facade as her and her friends went to look for her 'boyfriend'. She knew the longest she took, the less her lie will stand, she had to be quick. So far, every man she spotted was too buff, too tall, too outgoing. Then, she spotted a man with pretty (h/c) hair, although his back was turned, she could see him reading a book. She liked books, maybe this could work she thought. She decided to take this gamble, and pointed at him.
"He's right there. The one in a blue tunic."
Her group of friends almost piled up on top of her in order to follow her gaze. As they looked together, Ai's heart dropped when her 'boyfriend' turned around to reveal 'his' face.
"Your boyfriend is looking rather feminine don't you think?" one of her friends asked as the others tried not to laugh.
'She's wearing such baggy clothes! How was I supposed to know?!'
"Yeah, so what? Feminine men exist." she shrugged it off.
"He also seems rather friendly with that other guy."
She looked over. Another young man with a ring around his head just wrapped an arm around her 'boyfriend''s neck, pressing their heads together side by side, to show him some apples he bought. He shoved one in 'his' mouth, shouting 'Retribution!' and then they laughed. The banter they were displaying was indeed a bit too intimate...
"That's his best friend. They're like brothers."
"Ai, girl, just say you still don't have a boyfriend. It's okay." her childhood friend smiled.
The 'still' bothered her.
"He *is* my boyfriend!" she frowned. "Watch!"
Then, she stomped towards the 'young man', her friends following her in a slight panic, afraid she'd embarrass herself.
"Mei-hui~! Darling!"
She said it so loudly, it caught the attention of the duo. She wrapped her arms around her 'darling' with a big smile.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt your time with your friend but I was just so excited to see you!"
The duo was confused to say the least. They looked at each-other before looking back at her.
"Look, I'm-"
"Please." she cut her off before she could potentially give her gender away with her voice, Ai leaned closer and quickly whispered. "Please just play along. Please? I'll give you money if you want."
The duo's eyes widen slightly and gave each-other a knowing glance. Clearly something was going on. A second passed before the young woman coughed loudly.
"Oh my!" Ai leaned back, feeling relieved to no end. "You must've caught a cold of your way here, let's go buy you some medicine."
"Can we pass by a hotel too?" the young man with the ring around his head asked. "Since you'll be paying for your darling's stay right?" he shook his friend a little bit with a smile. "Y'know, hotels are expensive here."
"Of course of course, now come along." she dragged her 'boyfriend' away while his friend followed them closely.
She passed by her friends, who were baffled by the scene before them. She smiled as they walked passed them.
"Sorry guys, we gotta go. See you soon~!" she waved, so did her boyfriend.
As soon as they walked around the corner of the street. The young man separated them and stood in between them.
"So what's your deal exactly?" he asked, his hands on his hips.
"Yeah," the woman stood by his side, less aggressive-looking for sure. "what was that?"
Ai looked down, her eyebrows furrowed.
The three of them walked in a nearby park and went somewhere no one would see them. Ai sat on a bench and told her story while our two protagonists stood in front of her. Monkey burst out laughing when she was done, even (Y/n) chuckled.
"Please don't mock me!" Ai blushed.
"I'm sorry." she smiled. "It's mostly the situation itself that's funny."
"*Hilarious* even!" he sighed. "But I get it, you used your cunning to be left alone. I can respect that!" he gave her a finger-gun.
"So... you want me to act as your...boyfriend, until your birthday?"
Ai nodded, embarrassed to ask a stranger such a thing.
"I'm very sorry Ai Chow, I want to help but I..." her gaze wandered for a second, as if she was looking for a reason herself. "I don't think I can."
She pursued her lips and looked down.
"I understand," she nodded again. "it was stupid of me to ask in the first place."
"Hold up." Monkey raised a hand and looked at his friend. "Why not?"
"I just don't think I could pass as a man." she shrugged before looking at her. "Maybe if you just talked to your parents and friends, they'll understand."
"They never do." she frowned slightly.
Monkey frowned. For a while now, even though she never clearly said it, (Y/n)'s been really focused on getting to Guan Yin's island as soon as possible and on learning from Tripitaka's notebook. Which wasn't a bad thing he supposed, but at the same time, this meant less fun stuff was happening. This became less of a fun field trip with a friend and more of a hassling hiking. Like with his journey to the west, but backwards!
"If she mistook you for a guy," he pointed at Ai. "that means you can totally pass off as one. Come on~ this could be fun!"
'Plus I *gotta* see this!'
"Well why don't you do it yourself?" she gestured towards him. "You could just transform into a male version of me, it'd be much easier. Plus, you know, you're an *actually* guy."
"Wait, what?" Ai blinked twice in confusion.
"I can't do that," Monkey shook his head. "it won't feel natural. It's gotta be you, come on!"
"Monkey," she furrowed her eyebrows and looked away. "I really don't think-"
"Come on~," a large grin formed on his face. "Peaches?"
She suddenly looked at him with big eyes and her red face, panicked. Did he know? Since when? Why hasn't he told her?! She can't just ask and bring what happened back on the table! Truth be told: no, Monkey didn't know. But he figured by her reaction that calling her by this nickname could be used as an ace up his sleeve. His grin grew larger, innocent-looking, as (Y/n) only became more flustered.
"You-...Fine." she exhaled.
Monkey sigh through his nose, smiling. Ai's shoulders dropped in relief.
"I'm still not sure if I can pull this off though..."
"(Y/n)." Monkey placed his hands on her shoulders from behind and stood beside her. "You're talking to the master of disguise right now. You are in good hands." he squished her face in between his hands. "Give me a couple of hours and you will be *transformed*!"
"Uh..." she glanced at him, hesitant, even though the idea excited her.
"And you, you're rich right?" he pointed at Ai. "I expect you to pay for your boyfriend's makeover and wardrobe."
"O-Of course!" she stood up and nodded with a decided look.
(Y/n) gulped, she could smell Monkey's chaotic energy from a mile away and now she was a bit scared.
What followed was a marathon around the city, really fun for Monkey (who suddenly developed a fashion sense), exhausting for others.
"Stop sweating, it'll ruin your haircut." he looked back at (Y/n) as he dragged her along.
"Then please slow down~!"
They were lucky Ai Chow was paying, because there was a lot to do. (Y/n)'s chest was flattened with a tight fabric wrapped around it, her hair was brushed, pushed back, tied and/or stylized to fit a more masculine haircut and she got to try on a fancy hanfu for men. She came out of the dressing room and could finally look at herself in the mirror. She gasped, she almost didn't recognize herself.
"Wow~!" she leaned closer, her hands on her cheeks. "That's what I look like?! My Lord!" she stepped back and spun around to fully see herself. "Wow! Uh..." she cleared her throat. "Wow." she said in a deeper voice before giggling happily, covering her mouth.
Monkey folded his arms and smiled, satisfied with the result. But he was mostly happy that (Y/n) finally loosened up and just enjoyed the situation. Meanwhile, Ai was stunned. She indeed underwent a full transformation, she could've fooled her, or anyone for sure. But since she knew she was a woman, she only saw a rather masculine woman. She felt her heart squeeze.
'She looks good.' she couldn't help but think. 'As a guy! As a guy!' she quickly added like she had something to prove to herself.
What was that?
"What do you guys think?" (Y/n) turned to face them, her arms slightly open to present herself.
"You look great bro!" Monkey gave her a thumb up, making the two of them chuckle.
She tried a few others.
"I like them all honestly." she sighed. "I just can't choose."
"We should asked Ai Chow, we're doing this for her after all."
"Oh, right!"
They looked at her, she was fixing (Y/n) her eyes big and her mouth agape, motionless.
"...Ai Chow?" she tilted her head.
"Huh?" she blinked twice. "Y-Yeah! You look very handsome!" she quickly nodded, her cheeks dusted with pink.
"Do I? Thank you!" she smiled. "But which one do I wear?"
"...Why not all of them?" she said in a little voice.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, wait a second." Monkey waved his hands. "We're traveling light, we can't transport all of these with us. We are not doing this again!" he pointed at (Y/n).
"But they're all so pretty~! And this time *you* can wear them too!"
"No!"
Ai couldn't help but laugh.
"The party is in two days," she said. "you'll only need an outfit for each day plus one for the party." she thought for a moment. "We'll also have to get a present for you to give me."
"What are you talking about?" Monkey frowned before gesturing to (Y/n) with both arms. "*She's* the present! Having your boyfriend coming over for your birthday *is* the present!"
"Aww, I'm flattered." (Y/n) bashfully scratched her cheek with her index. "But I also think it'd be better if I had an actual present."
He clicked his tongue, a bit annoyed.
"Fine! But if there's a line, you guys are taking it!" he pointed at them.
They just looked at him confused. After that, Ai brought the hanfus and (Y/n) kept the one she was wearing on.
"I'll have to teach you how to act like a guy too." Monkey said as they left the shop.
(Y/n) frowned slightly.
"I've lived with tons of boys and men, I know how they work."
He raised an eyebrow.
"The boys training to be monks? Some of them with suicidal tendencies among other issues?" he waved his hand. "Please~. So, first of all you have to be more-"
"Ai! There you are!"
They looked over to see her friends rushing over to them, her childhood friend leading the way.
"Dammit." Monkey frowned and quietly said to (Y/n) as he hid the other hanfus from them. "Just don't say much, and don't convey too much emotions."
She just hummed and leaned closer to Ai.
"What's her name?" she whispered, nodding to the girl leading the group.
"Huh?!" she flinched at the sudden proximity. "O-oh, Lihua."
"Got it." she nodded before leaning back, facing the group and taking a deep but silent breath.
"You can't just run away like that!" her friend said once they were in front of the trio. "We didn't even get to say hi to your boyfriend!"
"You're right, I apologize for leaving so soon." (Y/n) bowed, speaking in a deeper voice. "You must be Lihua," she smiled at her. "Ai Chow told me a lot about you. Nothing but nice things of course!" she chuckled. "I'm Mei-hui, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Everyone was taken aback, even Monkey. She continued.
"You..." Lihua looked at her up and down, putting up a tough front. "You changed so much in only a couple of hours."
"All this traveling ruffled me up quite a bit, so Ai Chow offered me a nice clean up. She's just too kind." she gave her a smile. "I told her it wasn't necessary, but she wanted to say thanks for the gift I got her."
"You... got Ai a gift?"
"Of course I have. Not her birthday gift of course, I was just so happy to see her. To be honest, if I knew I'd run into you ladies sooner, I would've given you a gift as well, I'm sorry." she smiled with her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"What did you get her?"
Ai became tense, if she said something wrong, it'd ruin everything. (Y/n) looked back at her for a moment, looking into her eyes and if she could give an answer telepathically. She gulped. (Y/n) smiled.
"It's a secret." she gave Lihua a playful wink, bringing her index to her mouth.
Monkey and Ai both suppressed a cry of shock. Some of Ai's friends gasped and some blushed, Lihua included. They grabbed her and stepped away from the duo to talk in private.
'Oops, did I say too much?' (Y/n) tilted her head, a bit worried.
"What was that?!" Monkey leaned towards her, whispering harshly. "Since when are you so smooth?!"
"Was I?"
"You didn't even notice?!" he shook his head. "Wait, that doesn't matter, what did I say about not saying much?!"
"Well, first impression is important, I wanted to be a good boyfriend."
"And didn't you say you knew how men act?"
"I do. They act like people."
"You-Mmh~." his eyes narrowed. "You got me on that one."
She chuckled.
"Ai Chow."
Said girl gulped again, nervous, her friends cornering her and looking at her intensely.
"Who *is* this guy?!"
"Like, he's not that tall but he's still kinda taller than us."
"Yeah, he's feminine, but like it works on him!"
"He has a mysterious aura too, this guy has secrets! Only to share with the ones he trusts!"
She sighed, relieved, and chuckled as she watched her friends fangirling over her boyfriend.
'He does have a secret, he's a girl.'
"Ai." Lihua placed her hands on her shoulders. "Where did you find this guy?!"
"Umh..." she looked away.
Not letting her respond, Lihua let her go and went back to the two duo.
"So how did you two meet exactly?" she asked, her arms folded.
She looked a bit skeptic, if not baffled, as if she couldn't wrap her head around the situation. But the other young ladies seemed more curious and intrigued than anything. (Y/n) glanced at Ai in the back of the group, who shrugged, anxious. She thought for a moment, before smiling warmly to herself.
"It was like a dream." she said softly.
Ai's heart skipped a beat and her friends looked at her with big eyes, as if to say both 'I cannot believe you didn't tell me sooner' and 'I am so envious of you right now'.
"I would love to chat with you guy longer." she spoke again. "But I'm afraid we have to go, me and my friend still haven't settled in our rooms yet." she walked up to Ai and offered her her arm. "Shall we?"
Ai blushed and didn't really know how to act before she quickly got a grip of herself. She nodded and held (Y/n)'s arm who then looked back at her friends and bowed.
"I do hope I'll be seeing you lovely ladies at the party. Have a good day." she smiled and waved.
Lihua and the others were too shocked to say goodbye back, they just watched as the trio walked away. Once they were far enough, (Y/n) let out a sigh.
"Was that smooth?" she asked her.
"Y-Yeah!" she intensely nodded. "That was smooth! So smooth!"
"Okay, I'm glad." she sighed again, her expression falling. "Now can we please go to a hotel? Because to be honest, I'm exhausted."
"Don't worry," Monkey smirked. "your girlfriend's gonna find us the best inn in the city!"
Ai Chow felt a little twist in her heart.
'Ah yes, of course. It's all an act after all.' she looked down, smiling sadly. 'I got carried away. It just felt so real, it really felt as if I was her-HIS!'
Her eyes widen, she decided to stop thinking for the day. Well she tried to at least.
"Alright. Tomorrow, we're gonna figure out our backstory." she said once she paid for their stay at the fanciest hotel in the city.
"Right, and we'll have to figure out a gift too." (Y/n) pointed.
"You...You don't have to you know."
"Huh?" Monkey raised an eyebrow. "You're the one who brought it up in the first place!"
"But I want to." (Y/n) said, ignoring him.
Ai's eyes widen slightly.
"Mei-hui would be way more believable that way." she added.
"Oh, r-right." she nodded. "Well, tomorrow at 2pm okay?"
"Sure thing, see you tomorrow!" her and Monkey waved, smiling.
She shyly waved back and left. Our two protagonists turned to get to their suite when the staff picked up (Y/n)'s bag.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed as she took it back.
"Calm down." Monkey casually took it from her and gave it to the staff member again, along with all their shopping purchases, which was a lot but he ignored them and the hard time they're clearly having. "They're taking our stuff to our room!"
"Why?" she asked, confused. "We're going to our room right now."
"So you won't have to carry it."
"They're not even going in the same direction as us."
"Yeah, why should *we* have to follow the same path as the servants? It's a rich people thing." he shrugged.
"Oh~ I get it!" she nodded.
If that was (Y/n)'s first taste of luxury, that was just the hors-d'oeuvre whatever that is! Her jaw dropped when they got to their suite and she stood in the doorway in awe whereas Monkey stepped in with a big smile, turning back to his original form.
"Now *this* is my kind of room!" he let himself fall onto the couch, leaning back and resting his feet on the table in front of him.
"This isn't a room!" she said, finally stepping in and looking around. "That's a house!"
"An appartement is more like it but I see your point." he said, picking on his ear. "Either way, this luxury feels more like home!"
"Wow..."
"Yeah, you get comfy quickly here don't worry. I'm gonna order some food, you can order some too if you're hungry." he grabbed a catalogue and started flipping through the pages.
"I'm good. Um...When will my bag get here?"
"It's probably already on the bed." he said, not looking up.
"Already?"
"Yeah. For humans, they work pretty fast in hotels." he glanced to the side. "Although I do suspect there are some demons in there somewhere."
"Right..."
"Oh I saw a pool too on our way here, you wanna go check it ou-?"
He leaned his head back even more, to the point where it was upside down, and saw (Y/n) sitting on the bed and reading Tripitaka's notebook with a focused look on her face. He huffed, frowning and tossed the catalogue back on the table before standing up and walking up to her.
"Didn't you say you were exhausted? You should rest then."
"I'm just reading."
She clearly wasn't 'just reading', she'd mouth the words then look away, trying to repeat them. Not only that, he noticed her red face and her deep breathing. The tight fabric around her chest gave her difficulty breathing, no wonder she was exhausted sooner than usual.
"You know, if you try this hard to memorize something, it'll never stuck." he said. "And take off that binder before you suffocate."
"Yeah yeah, I'll do it later."
He clicked his tongue and snatched the book away from her.
"Hey!" she stood up.
"Take the night off, no more reading for you." he said before looking at the open notebook, he frowned. "The philosophy parts? Why are you wracking your brain over this nonsense?"
"It's not nonsense, I just didn't get the hang of it just yet."
"Why do you want to get the hang of it in the first place? You said yourself that his lessons are confusing as hell."
"Well that's the thing... I want to understand what he told me when we met. Like, *really* understand."
"Why?" he frowned, not understanding.
She looked down, nervously playing with her fingers. Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Monkey sighed, closed the book and looked at it.
"Look Master," he said, pointing at it with his other hand. "no offense, but you're confusing my good friend (Y/n) here and distracting her while she's on a very important undercover mission!" he placed it on a shelf. "So you're gonna stay up there until the mission is complete, no more teaching and confusion for you young man!"
Seeing him act like an old man scolding a child, she couldn't help but laugh.
'He is technically older!'
"Hahah-Ouch my lung!" she hunched over, her hands on her chest.
"Take off the binder!"
"Someone put it on me, I don't know how to take it off~!" she whined.
"Geez." he tolled his eyes and walked up to her. "Here."
Monkey placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. With swift but smooth movements, he tugged on the fabric on her collar so that he could pull down the upper part of the hanfu, exposing her almost bare back.
"M-Monkey!" she exclaimed, tense.
"Done." he said as he opened the binder, then he put the hanfu back on her shoulders. "Feeling better?"
Tugging the fabric closer to her chest, (Y/n) fixed ahead of her with intense eyes, her mind blank and her face red.
"(Y/n)?" he took a step to the side and leaned sideways to look at her, making her flinch and snap out of her absentmindedness. "You good?"
"You-You scared me!" she elbowed him in the face and turned away. "Give me a heads up first!"
"Well I figured the faster it was done the better." he scratched his nose. "And you can breath now right?"
'Of course not! How can I after this?!?!?!' her cheeks got redder.
"Just order some food already!" without looking at him, she grabbed her pyjamas from her bag and went in the next room to change.
"What's her deal?" he mumbled, frowning.
With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and went back on the couch to flip through the catalogue again. After a few seconds, that's when it clicked. The fact that humans are quite sensitive about having no clothes on, and of course the romantic connotation of it all. But he ignored that last one...or tried to.
"Right~!" he whispered harshly, running a hand through his hair. "Humans cares about that stuff!" he rubbed his face, blushing. "Dammit Wukong, your infinite and extreme smoothness will be the death of you. Or her." he snickered, leaning his head backwards and looking at the ceiling, his smile slowly faded. "What is her deal with that book? She didn't answer..." he whispered with a certain look of concern.
He stayed like this for a short moment before looking back at the catalogue.
'I'll order her favorite food as an apology.'
After choosing their orders, he ripped off the tearable parts of the pages and went to put them in a little box right outside their door in the hallway. Room service will pick those little coupons up when dinner time comes close and they'll see what they ordered. Thankfully, it was all included so Ai Chow was paying for it as well.
When (Y/n) came back, Monkey immediately went up to her.
"Hey, look." he said. "You know how I'm a monkey and monkeys are usually naked? As a civilization we just started this whole clothing thing- well, when I left we just started."
"So it's only been a few hundred years." she said sarcastically
"That doesn't mean we're used to it yet!" he groaned. "Listen, my point is that I couldn't care less if everybody was naked."
(Y/n)'s face twisted trying not to laugh. That bad habit of his came up again, saying stuff without thinking and therefor sounding really ambiguous.
"You sure that's what you want to say?" she asked.
"Wait, no! I-" he groaned again, ruffling his hair with one hand as his cheeks got a shade redder in frustration. "I'm saying I'm sorry! I didn't realize what you'd be feeling at this moment." he huffed, folding his arms. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable." he said more calmly, giving her a genuine apologetic look.
(Y/n) smiled and walked passed him, nudging him in the process.
"Don't worry, I figured you didn't care." she sat on the couch. "Just don't ever do that again, or I swear to the gods I will punch you."
He burst out laughing.
"And you know I can pack a punch!" she added.
"So I heard yeah." he smiled and sat on the second couch on the opposite side of the table. "And of course you can, you learned it from me!"
They both laughed, happy that the atmosphere became lighter. At some point there was a knock on the door and (Y/n) gasped when she opened the door and was offered a trail with her favorite food.
The next day, Monkey and 'Mei-hui' went to meet Ai Chow at the market place, looking for a birthday gift.
"At the market?" Monkey frowned. "She's rich, let's not give her some cheap stuff."
"It'd make sense though." Ai said. "Mei-hui is a traveler, he wouldn't be the wealthiest guy ever. I've been thinking about it," she hesitantly looked at (Y/n). "it should be something that means something."
She tilted her head.
"That means something?"
"Yeah! L-like, like something that's tied to a memory!" she smiled at the romance of it all.
"What memory though? We should figure this out first."
"I've thought about it!" she exclaimed, suddenly more enthusiastic. "Maybe when we met, I was rescuing a cat stuck on a cherry tree, but then I fell but you caught me just in time. And I had some cherry flower petals in my hair and you said something like 'oh I could've sworn you were a flower' and we laughed and so you bought me flower sculpture you made!"
"A sculpture...?"
"Yeah! We just need to find one." she looked at a stand which sold small statues.
"That doesn't feel very genuine if you ask me." Monkey casually said.
"What do you mean?" she looked at him.
"Look at these, you can clearly tell they're not made by one guy in the wild." he gestured towards the products. "Nah it needs to be something that people all around could get a kick out of."
Him and Ai Chow thought deeply while (Y/n) just watched.
"Uh..." she placed the tip of her index on her chin. "Maybe...an actual flower?" she asked, knowing this wasn't the greatest suggestion.
Yet, Monkey and Ai Chow gasped, a flow of inspiration flowing over them.
"A super rare flower that you can't buy in any shop!" she exclaimed.
"One that can only be found at the top of a mountain or somewhere even cooler!" Monkey added. "Bonus is it can grant powers!"
"Great! You go get it!"
"What?!"
"Well, you're the one who fights right? You're the muscles." she gestured towards him up and down. "You can go out in the wild and find a super rare flower for us."
"You-!" he sighed. "Come on (Y/n), let's go."
"No!"
The duo looked at Ai Chow, who just realized how quickly and loudly she said 'no'. She blushed.
"I-I mean." she went to stand closer to (Y/n). "My boyfriend can't leave. What if my friends see me walking around by myself, without him?"
"She's got a point." she shrugged. "Plus, since the party's in just a few days, you have to go full speed. I wouldn't want to slow you down." she smiled, her eyebrows furrowed.
Monkey hummed, his eyebrows furrowed too for an instant before frowning and clicking his tongue.
"Fine! I'll go have this flower fetching, extreme mountain parkour adventure by myself then!" he glanced to the side. "Actually," he smiled. "this wouldn't be so bad after all. It's been a while since I went for a fun stroll." he rolled his shoulders. "I'll see you tonight at the hotel! See ya!"
"Bye~." (Y/n) waved as he squatted down.
With one jump, he was on the roof of the closest building and parkoured away with incredible speed. Ai Chow watched, bewildered.
"Who *is* this man?!" she asked after a moment of silence. "Is he actually part monkey or something?!"
"That's...a long story." (Y/n) sighed before looking at her. "Say, do you know if there's a library somewhere?"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, Monkey took my book away from me and I don't know where he put it." she frowned just thinking about it. "So I figured I could go read in a library, surely they have some interesting books on the subject..." she mumbled that last part to herself.
"Y-yeah, of course! It's that way." she nodded before leading the way.
Ai Chow was excited at first. Reading with your boyfriend at the library? Perfect date! But once there, she realized that (Y/n) came here to study more than to partake in some casual reading. She rushed to the philosophy section and started stacking books in her arms.
"What are you looking for exactly?" Ai asked. "Maybe I could help, I've read some books like this too."
"Stuff about how everything we are and do ultimately means nothing in the grand scheme of the universe and therefor it doesn't matter." she paused, her eyes narrowed. "Something like that...I think."
"...Haven't read that one."
They sat at a table, across from each-other, Ai with her own romance book and (Y/n) with her multiple stacks, flipping through the pages with a look of intense focus. The young lady however, found herself glancing at her 'boyfriend' from time to time. She tried to initiate conversation, but she only received small answers. Ai felt her heart twisting, and this feeling only bothered her even more. Why was she feeling this way?
'It's not like she even wanted to help in the first place.' she sighed. 'I know that...but then why does it hurt?'
"You can stop now."
"Huh?" (Y/n) finally looked up.
"You don't have to pretend anymore, I get that it's taking you away from your studies." she stood up. "I'm sorry I dragged you into my mess."
"What? Hey wait!" she reached and grabbed her wrist before she could walk away.
Ai felt her heart skip a beat and she turned back to look at her.
"Ssssh! This is a library!" someone on the other side of the room whispered harshly.
"You sssh!" his friend said. "Can't you see romance stuff is happening right now? For once Lady Ai Chow came with a man, let her be will you?"
"Is that how you think I feel about all of this?" (Y/n) asked.
"Well...isn't it? You literally said no when I first asked for help."
"Oww Ai Chow, it had nothing to do against you. I just-" she stopped herself when she realized she was still holding onto her wrist.
She let go and sighed. The two of them slowly sat back down. She looked down.
"There's this man, my predecessor. Respected by all, full of wisdom, powerful, he got it, he understood *this*." she gestured to the books. "Now he's gone and I'm here. And I'm the complete opposite of him. I'm not even half as powerful as him, I'm not that smart, and the people up there definitely don't respect me. Not after what I said at least." she mumbled that last part. "And those people they're so...grand, powerful, important. When I faced them I just felt...small. I'm just a tiny human compared to them." she looked down. "But that is exactly why I have to work harder than anyone, to prove to them that I can complete this journey. And I have, a *lot* to catch up on if I want to be at my predecessor's level."
'Maybe if I understood Tripitaka's philosophie, I could unlock more of Golden Cicada's powers and use them to the fullest...' she sighed, leaning back on her chair and looking at all the books with a jaded look.
There was a moment of silence during which Ai Chow tried to process what she just heard.
"I'm sorry I made you feel like a burden." she spoke again. "It wasn't my intension."
"I get it, you have priorities."
"Still...That's not how a boyfriend should act." she paused. "You know what? How about I make it up to you?" she sat back up and pushed all the books away with a newfound determination. "Let's go on a date."
Ai blushed.
"Y-you don't have to."
"Come on," she stood up and went to stand beside her, offering her hand, smiling. "let's go show off your boyfriend to the city."
She pursued her lips and took her hand. On the way out, (Y/n) giggled.
"What's so funny?" Ai asked.
"It's just," she smiled at her. "I would've never guessed that my very first date would be with a girl, or that I'd be dressed as a man. And right now it's *both*."
The two of them giggled.
This time, this was a proper date! Ai took her to the best food stand where they ordered take outs and ate together in the city center for everyone to see. They chatted and laughed. At some point there was a cat stuck in a tree and (Y/n) climbed up and brought it down like it was nothing as Ai watched in amazement. They took turns petting the cat before it got fed up of them, scratched (Y/n) to make her let go of him and he ran away. Ai quickly bought some some bandage to dress up her scratch wound. Once again, they placed themselves strategically so that everyone passing by could see them. Her friend Lihua was one of those people and went up to them, asking questions again, but they answered them all flawlessly. With one last suspicious look, she left.
"She's really skeptic huh?"
"She's my childhood friend, when something's wrong, she feels it." she sighed, smiling.
(Y/n) also eventually told her about how her and Monkey were traveling to see the goddess Guan Yin. She wanted to explain the whys and the hows, but the story would be too long. She instead told the main lines, like how Monkey was a demon and how they had a lot of crazy adventures together.
"You rode a dragon?!"
"I did! Yusheng, eccentric but really nice."
"That's amazing." she said, looking at her in awe.
When the sun started to set, they went to a secluded spot with a great view of the landscape, basked in an orange light. They both sat on a bench, happy that this date was a success.
"Can I ask," (Y/n) looked at her. "you said you're constantly asked about having a boyfriend and that's why you lied. Well, why aren't you dating?"
Ai Chow looked to the side, tilting her head.
"I've dated before but...I feel so bad for this but, non of the boys I've been with ever made me feel...anything." she placed a hand over her heart. "Sometimes, I think something's wrong with me."
"Not at all! You just haven't found the right one."
"I heard that before, but it never happens. I just feel no interest in men in general." she sighed. "Every time I'm alone with a man, I feel so awkward because the situation is automatically viewed as romantic. And it's annoying when people are pestering me about it."
(Y/n) thought for a moment.
"Were you uncomfortable when I acted as Mei-hui?"
"Uh...Actually no." she bashfully looked away. "On the contrary actually-I mean!" she looked back at her, slightly panicked. "I knew you were a woman and I have no problem with women in general!"
(Y/n) thought back to all the times Ai Chow blushed.
"Mmh," she said. "why not date a woman instead then?"
Ai Chow's expression fell, her eyes wide open, she looked shocked but her cheeks got redder at the idea.
"...what?" she asked in a little voice before intensely shaking her head. "I-I couldn't possibly! Everyone would freak out!"
"Why?"
"Because, because uh..." she frowned, thinking. "It's...It's weird right?"
"Why would it be weird?"
"I...I don't know." she frowned again. "Don't you find it weird?"
"Not really." she shrugged. "There's a few same sex couples in my village." she tilted her head and leaned a bit closer. "You didn't deny it though, would *you* be against dating a girl?"
Ai pursued her lips, the two of them looked into each-other's eyes. Her heart squeezed and she looked away.
"What about you?" she shyly asked. "Do you...Do you like...?"
"Huh." (Y/n) looked up, thinking. "I've never really asked myself... I don't think so. Since I like-" she stopped herself.
Ai looked at her, seeing her covering her mouth with a distant look in her eyes, blushing, her eyebrows furrowed. It was the first time she saw her like this so her heart skipped a beat, but at the same time, there was a stinging sensation.
"You already have feelings for a man." she finished her sentence for her. "...Is it your friend?"
(Y/n) glanced at her and looked ahead of her again before nodding.
"I...do like him, a lot but..." she sighed sadly. "I just can't."
"Why? Oh, is it because of your studies?"
She nodded again.
"I'm feeling a lot of pressure right now, I don't think I could manage a relationship on top of that. Plus..." she looked down at her intertwined fingers with a sad smile. "I don't think he likes me."
'Or women in general.'
"I see..."
There was a moment of silence before (Y/n) smiled and nudged her.
"You changed the subject you sneaky girl! Would you be against dating a woman?"
"I-I don't know!"
"Picture it."
She looked at her for a moment, long enough to make (Y/n) feel awkward. Eventually, she softly gasped, as if she's discovered something about herself. She whined and leaned back in her seat.
"What am I gonna do? All my parents want is an heir!"
"That I admit I don't know." she paused. "Mmh, you could adopt an heir."
"But it won't be my blood."
"Does it matter?"
"Of course."
(Y/n) tilted her head, trying to understand, but she eventually slowly shook her head.
"Rich people stuff is confusing."
Not finding a solution to this hypothetical problem, the two ladies went to walk around the city some more before going back to the hotel. The walk was quiet, but not awkward. Soothing even.
"I'll see you tomorrow then? We could go on another date before the party. M-Me and Mei-hui I mean!"
"Uh, actually. I forgot I have something super very important to do, I'll probably be too busy to go on a date. I'm very sorry." she bowed.
"Oh, that's okay." she waved a hand. "I'll see you at the party then, I'll send you and your friend an invitation."
"Great. Oh, wait."
Before Ai Chow could ask, (Y/n) gently took her hand and kissed its back. She gagged in surprised.
"I had a wonderful day today Darling." she spoke in a deeper voice before glancing to the side.
She followed her gaze to see some people passing by and looking at them.
'Oh. Figured.' Ai sighed, disappointed, but still smiling.
(Y/n) went back to her suite and took off her binder (now she knew how to take it off), she let out a long sigh when her chest was released, despite the fabric now being a bit looser. She changed back to her normal clothes and picked up a brush and a bunch of parchments that were available in the room. She sat on the floor at the table and started to write. Once it started to get dark outside, Monkey came back, entering through an open window. He was covered in dirt and his clothes were a rip ripped here and there bur he had a large grin on his face.
"Man! Today was a good day! You should've been there (Y/n)! I discovered a secret village full of mountain gods and the chief was like 'if you want the flower, you'll have to prove yourself worthy' and I was like 'bring it'! And he gave me three trials but of course I bamboozled him everytime and in the end the village chased after me but of course they were no match for me! He said something about how the flowers were like the source of their powers and that without them their village was doomed or something. But I was like 'you can't fool me! Why would you be so stupid as to give them away then?!' In the end, I took them all!" he slammed a hand on the table and with the other showed her the five glowing flowers he had.
When he did that, (Y/n) finally looked up from her writing.
"Oh! They're beautiful Monkey! Great job!"
"Hehehe~! I know I know!" he flexed his muscles with a smug smile.
Then he noticed she just went back to writing.
"What are you writing exactly?" he raised an eyebrow.
"My birthday gift."
"Huh?" he blinked twice, a bit confused.
The next evening, our two protagonists went to Ai Chow's house. (Y/n) stood there in disbelief in front of such a big party. She's been to village festivals but this was next level! People were partying inside, outside in the streets, everywhere. She felt overwhelmed at first, but when they showed their invitation with the guards, they lead them to the inside court yard of the house, where the richer people were, the 'VIP's as Monkey called them. There were less people here so she was more comfortable. Ai Chow came up to her and she gave her the flowers. With her parents watching, they came up to their daughter's 'boyfriend'. (Y/n) gulped and prepared herself. She respectfully bowed and introduced 'himself'. Ai Chow's parents were actually pretty nice, they were happy she found a relationship.
"A shame you were scared to tell us sweetie." her mom told her.
"He's a simple traveler, I was scared you wouldn't approve."
"Well, if Mei-hui is willing to learn how to run our business, we'll welcome him with open arms." her dad smiled.
"Um, I'm honored sir but... I must be on my way shortly, I have a long way to make."
"A shame, truly..." he sighed and looked at Ai Chow. "Since you're finally comfortable dating, I'll allow this relationship to continue. But ultimately, when the time comes, you must marry and continue our lineage. Why don't you go speak to the Liao heir? He came here for your birthday and he's very excited to meet you!"
The young couple looked at each-other. Ai said a quick and sad 'thank you' before the two of them left.
"I'm sorry Ai Chow." (Y/n) placed a hand on her shoulder with an sympathetic look.
"It's fine, I figured this would happen." she sighed. "Right now I... I just wanna be with my friends."
"Of course, go ahead." she nodded with a light pat on her shoulder.
Ai smiled faintly and went to join her group of friends in their own little corner while (Y/n) went back to Monkey.
"Well that wasn't so bad." he said, his hands on his hips, when she told him what happened. "You bought her time until she finds a real boyfriend."
"That's not what she wants though." she shook her head. "She doesn't want a boyfriend."
"What's her deal then?"
She looked around.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Monkey blinked twice, confused, still he followed her and the two of them went to stand against a wall, where no one would hear them. She told him what happened during their date.
"Yeah makes sense." was his first reaction, along with a nod.
"She's so scared that her parents would be angry at her, I don't get it." she tilted her head, frowning slightly. "Why would they be angry for something like that?"
"...I was about to give an example with demons, about how when a human sees one, they're afraid because of all these prejudices. But demons can actually kill and eat people. What harm can *she* do?"
"Exactly!"
He folded his arms.
"In Flower Fruit Mountain, some don't even care about the gender of their partner..." he let his gaze wander a bit. "I guess I don't either."
"...What do you mean?"
He scratched the back of his neck, rolling his head a bit.
'Right, he doesn't know that I know.'
"As long as there's a really deep strong bond between the two people, I guess I don't care if they're a boy or a girl."
(Y/n)'s eyes widen. She was familiar with same sex attraction but...both?
"So you... You like women too?"
"Doesn't matter to me, I'd need to *really* know the person though, like we've been through a lot together and..."
He trailed off as they looked into each-other's eyes, motionless for a moment that felt longer to them. As soon as she realized they were having a moment (she felt her heart beating like crazy), (Y/n) looked away, inhaling loudly.
"Hey! Uh, where's Ai Chow? I can't see her!" she looked around, her hand above her eyes as if it was helping her sight.
Monkey blinked twice and sighed through his nose, out of relief or disappointment, he didn't know, but he did feel his heart beating fast. He spotted her almost instantly.
"Over there, with the shady guy and the demon." he pointed before picking up a fruit from the buffet table and eating it, thinking.
Her eyes widen and she quickly looked towards the direction he was pointing at. Ai was talking to a young man, thin and feeble-looking, about her age. She was smiling but her body language made it clear that she wasn't comfortable, the guy she was talking to didn't get the hint and kept talking to her. At some point, she turned to her friend and while she wasn't looking, the young man put some powder in her drink, he did it very quickly so no one noticed. (Y/n) didn't waste any time and rushed towards her.
"(Y/n)?" Monkey called out.
But she ignored him, walking through the crowd, trying her best not to bump into anyone. She watched as Ai talked and slowly lifted her drink to her mouth, she felt a twist in her stomach and picked up the pace. At the last second she bumped into her and slapped the drink out of the way, making it drop on the floor.Her, her friends and the shady guy gasped in surprise. Ai Chow's heart skip a beat when, for a split second, (Y/n) had a grave and serious expression on her face.
"Oh my! I am so sorry!" she said with a deeper voice. "I'm so used to be in the middle of nature, when I'm around people I just keep bumping into them." she smiled. "Mei-hui, nice to meet you." she quickly introduced herself to the shady guy before looking at Ai. "Anyway, Ai Chow Darling, they're playing my favorite piece. Would you like to watch the dancers with me?"
"Oh, yes of course." though she was a bit confused, she'd gladly get away from this guy.
"Wonderful. By the way, you shouldn't drink this. I heard it was made from some rotten fruit." she said while glancing at the young man.
He looked enraged. Arm in arm, the two young women walked away.
"Thank you so much." she whispered on their way to the dance floor. "He was really weird, can't believe I'm forced to be nice to him for the sake of business."
"He seems like a creep for sure."
"With the way he talked, you'd swear he's some demon."
"He isn't, but the guy he's with is."
"What?!"
"Sssh~."
Ai discreetly looked back, the Liao heir was accompanied with a tall chubby bodyguard, he looked grumpy and hasn't said a word since the beginning.
"That's a demon?!" she whispered harshly. "Oh my lord!"
"Calm down, calm down." she patted her hand. "Yes, the guy he's bodyguarding is a creep, but so far, he's just doing his job."
"What do we do then?"
"Nothing, we just keep an eye on him. The second he starts attacking people, we stop him."
"Is that how you always do you and Monkey?"
"Yes." she nodded.
Ai sent her a worried look. They arrived at the dancefloor and took a seat at one of the tables in front to watch the dancers.
"Um, I lied." (Y/n) leaned closer. "I've never heard this piece in my life."
She puffed a chuckle.
"Why don't the guests dance by the way?" she continued. "So rich people don't dance?"
"They do the dancing for us." she nodded towards the dancers.
"That's a shame, dancing's fun."
Suddenly, a table flew in out of nowhere and knocked over a few dancers. For a moment, everyone looked on in shock
"Nevermind!" (Y/n) broke the silence. "I'm good where I am!"
Monkey burst out laughing somewhere in the background.
People suddenly started screaming, the two young women looked to see a giant toad demon rampaging through the courtyard.
"You idiot!" the Liao heir yelled at him. "I said kill *him*! Learn to aim, and kill him! I will not be disrespected!"
"What are you, five?!" (Y/n) glared at him and moved away from Ai and people in general so they wouldn't get hurt. "If you have something to say to me, let's take this outside."
"We *are* outside you nincompoop!"
"That is the worst insult I've ever-Woah!" she dashed out of the way when the toad sticked his longue tongue towards her, it crashed the musicians' instruments (thankfully, they dodged it too). "You are so sensitive! And you're a creep, I saw you put some weird powder in Ai Chow's drink!"
"What?!" Ai and her parents looked at him in shock.
"Wha-I-You- Raaaah! Just kill this poor wrench already!" he stomped the ground.
The giant toad sticked out his tongue again, this time completely missing her and destroying a pillar.
"What are you doing?!"
"He's a toad!" Monkey exclaimed as everyone ran away. "Toads are stupid! Just like the people who think it's a good idea to hire them!"
"What did you call me?! Kill him too!"
But the toad demon seemed to be overtaken by the relief of being in his true form (for him, transforming was uncomfortable) so he began to happily hop around, causing chaos.
"Everyone, run to safety!" Ai's parents exclaimed.
The guards did their best to defend the guests that were to afraid or simply unable to run, but it was no use. Ai following the ones running away but then she noticed her friend Lihua stuck under crashed furniture and went to help her.
"Ai Chow!" (Y/n) exclaimed.
She wanted to go help her too, but then she saw the toad's tongue going right for her. It would've hit a bullseye if Monkey hadn't picked her up by the waist and jumped away just in time. Quickly, while everyone was busy panicking, he climbed up and entered the second floor through a window. They were now in an empty hallway.
"Sorry about the wait," he said as he let go of her. "I was thinking."
"We have to go back and stop him!"
"About that, I thought of a plan." he pointed at her. "Take your clothes off."
"WHAT?!" she covered her chest, her face red.
"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Ai told her friend and the two of them started running.
"Stop making me look bad!" the Liao heir shouted at his bodyguard.
"You *are* bad!" she stopped and glared at him. "You're an unlikable creep and I hate your guts!"
"Why you-!"
Seeing that she insulted his boss, the toad demon stuck his tongue out towards her. Ai knew there was little time to dodge so she pushed her friend out of the way and praised for impact. Suddenly, (Y/n) was in front of her and caught the tongue with one hand.
"(Y/n)?" she said quietly.
"Mei-hui?!" her parents exclaimed.
"Don't you know it's impolite to stick your tongue out to someone?" she lifted her foot and stomped the tongue to the ground with a playful smirk. "I'm afraid I'll have to put you in timeout!"
"What the- Kill him!"
The toad jumped in the air. (Y/n) picked Ai up bridal style with surprising ease.
"Hang on tight." she whispered.
She dashed out of the way and when the toad landed, crashing all the decoration in its path, (Y/n) jumped on him, making him cry out in pain and anger. Ising his squishy body as a trampoline, the two of them went even higher in the air as everyone looked in awe. Then, they landed on the roof and (Y/n) let go of Ai, who has never looked as flustered as she was in this moment.
"Come on." she gestured to follow her.
She led her back inside the house, and the two of them ended up in the second floor, walking through an empty hallway.
"(Y-)...(Y/n), you-"
"Ai Chow! Thank gods you're okay!"
She looked ahead and her heart dropped when she saw (Y/n), wearing Monkey's clothes, running up to her. She looked back and forth between the two identical women, dumbfounded. The look on her face made one of them cackled and that was when it clicked.
"Monkey?" she pointed at the one that just saved her.
"Yep!" he nodded. "Figured your parents would like to have a heroic son-in-law. Although now I made the toad mad." he looked out the window, down into the courtyard, most people have evacuated, but the demon was still out there. "Mei-hui will take care of it. Be right back!" with a flick of the wrist, he hopped out the window like it was nothing.
"Seeing him with my face is weird." (Y/n) said once they were alone.
"It...It really is."
There was a moment of silence.
"Oh! By the way," she put a hand inside Monkey's tunic, making Ai look away. "I have something for you. I wanted to give it to you before leaving the party but..."
She took how a little stack of parchments, tied together with a little rope, and handed it to her.
"Happy birthday, from me this time." she smiled.
"What is this...?"
"Letters. I know it sucks that your parents want you to eventually marry a man - And who knows, maybe they'll be accepting if you tell them the truth. - But until then, you can pretend Mei-hui wrote you. I even wrote a goodbye forever letter just in case."
"...That's what you were busy doing yesterday?"
She nodded. Ai Chow looked at her with big eyes, touched.
"Thank you..."
"There you are!"
They looked over to see the Liao heir running towards them, he looked exhausted with his face all red and sweaty.
"How did you change clothes so fast?! Whatever! Now we can fight like men! Prepare yourself!"
He ran towards them full speed. Ai nervously stepped back but (Y/n) stood in front of her.
"Come on, let's run." she whispered, tugging on her tunic.
She didn't respond. If this had happened a few months ago, she'd be terrified, but right now, he was the least scary thing she's ever seen. Once he was close enough, she punched him dead in the face, the sound itself made Ai gasp, and he fell on the floor, knocked out clean.
'My first successful punch!' (Y/n) smiled to herself.
"There," she turned back. "he won't bother anyone now- Uh, Ai Chow?"
She wasn't responding, her face was red and her mouth was agape, fixing her with big eyes full of stars, and a few hearts.
Naturally, in a matter of minutes, Monkey defeated the toad demon. He stood on top of the demon, posing heroically as the remaining people were cheering on him turned into (Y/n) dressed as Mei-hui.
"Mei-hui!" Ai's dad called out.
"I'm sorry sir, but I have to make sure my dear Ai Chow is safe and sound. I will be right back." he said before hopping up the wall and climbing up to the same window as last time. "Alright, we can switch back-Wow, what happened here?" he smiled in surprise when he noticed the knocked out guy on the floor.
"He came at me first." (Y/n) smiled, proud of herself, showing her fist. "This guy's way weaker than I thought."
"Nice~!" he bumped it with his own. "See, I told you being with me has its perks!" he turned back to his 'regular' human form. "Ai's dad wants to talk to Mei-hui by the way."
"Really?" Ai Chow asked.
"Of course. As he should, after I showed off like crazy. And for once I'm letting someone else take the credit for it, so take your clothes off and get down there quick."
"Stop saying it like that!" (Y/n) blushed, then sighed as she began to loosen her belt, then she stopped. "Turn around! Both of you!"
"Hey, I have to undress too!" Monkey exclaimed as he and Ai (her face red) turned around.
"I won't look either then!"
"W-we have changing rooms if you want?"
"Oh thanks heavens, please let us use them!" (Y/n) tightened her belt again and joined her hands together. "It was a real mess the first time we did it!"
"Mei-hui my boy!" Ai's dad rushed up to them once they went back to the courtyard.
Before (Y/n) could say anything, he threw his arms around her into a big hug. Good thing she had her binder.
"I am so sorry I misjudged you!" he looked at her, his hands still on her shoulders, his eyes glassy. "You're truly a respectable and selfless man and I would be *honored* to have you as my son-in-law!"
"Oh yeah speaking of which, we caught this guy." Monkey pointed at the Liao heir he was dragging along with him by the collar.
"He was about to attack us father!" Ai Chow exclaimed. "But Mei-hui stopped him like it was nothing!"
"I'm just happy he was stopped before he could do any more damage." (Y/n) smiled.
Ai's dad sniffed, getting emotional.
"You saved my sweet daughter, you saved us. Thank you." he bowed. "If you want, you can stay here. You know, have a stable home, take over the family business, earn a sizable income, marry my daughter, all that you know? What do you say boy?" he smiled widely.
The young couple looked at each-other, shocked that this was happening.
"Can't your daughter do that?"
"Marry herself?"
"No, I mean take over the family business."
He thought long and hard, humming in the process.
"I suppose that would be a solution, if you really want to keep traveling. But of course, you'll have to learn." he looked at Ai.
"I'd rather! But then, you... You won't force me to marry father?" she asked.
"With a hero like that? Not a chance, he's a keeper."
She giggled happily and hugged him.
"Thank you father, thank you!"
"Now," her mom approached the Liao heir with a scary look on her face. "what should we do with him?"
(Y/n) and Monkey stepped back, whatever happens at this point, they were pretty sure they had it covered.
The next day, Ai Chow went to say goodbye to our two protagonists.
"I'm honored to have met you guys. Thank you so much for what you've done." she bowed.
"Oh, it's okay." (Y/n) waved a hand. "I'm glad we were able to help."
"So you're leaving to see the goddess Guan Yin?"
"That's pretty much the first step yeah." she nodded.
"...Can I come with you?"
"Nope!" Monkey shook his head. "Not gonna happen!"
"I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous. And even we don't know how long this journey will take. It'd be a shame to leave your friends and family like that." she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Take care okay?"
"You're right, stay safe too." she smiled. "If you need anything, *anything* I will do my best to help!"
"Hehe, thank you."
They waved goodbye to each-other, she kept watching them until they were out of sight. She sighed. With a newfound determination, she asked to meet her childhood friend Lihua in secret.
"I...I think I like girls."
"I know."
"What?!"
"You've never had interests in guys, it was pretty obvious. That's why I just couldn't believe you when you said you had a boyfriend."
"Yeah, about that..."
She then explained everything that happened, they had a good laugh over the whole thing.
"You can tell the others you know? I'm sure they'll be okay with it too."
"I know, but...I still want to wait a bit."
"I get it. Thank you for telling me."
The two friends smiled at each-other.
"You know what Monkey," (Y/n) said as the two of them walked side by side. "I'm glad you got me to stay. This was a fun little detour."
"I told you! I'm glad we stayed too, now maybe you'll loosen up a littl-" he looked at her with a smile but frowned when he saw her taking out Tripitaka's notebook and reading it again.
He snatched it away from her.
"Hey!"
She tried to take it from him but he'd dodge effortlessly everytime.
"You want it? Come get it!" he smirked mischievously before running away.
"Monkey~!"
He just cackled loudly, knowing he'd win this game of tag.