The rumor mill has been rampant lately.

Usually, she's never cared to listen to what the other businesses have to say in their gossips. This is because most of the rumors they spread are false; she would know, because she is frequently the subject of them. But lately, she's kept a close ear on the happenings going on at BPlats, because there was something − or rather someone threatening to her − and whom she now considers to be a rival, even an enemy of hers, though they have never actually met.

Actually, she hasn't even seen her yet. She's heard of her, though. Everyone has.

It's not unusual for a new Vocaloid to be the topic of conversation the first week they start, especially a foreigner. But this girl, this girl has had her name rolling off everyone's tongues for almost a month. Almost all of the male population in every single Company was besotted with her. According to them, she had all the beauty of an angel, and more.

However, this wasn't why she hated her. No, the new girl's beauty was not what caused her to spend most of her work days in a foul mood, overcome with jealousy, and feeling the flames of envy threaten to engulf her whenever she heard the girl's name mentioned.

No, it was for another reason, a much less superficial reason why she'd made up her mind that she had to get rid of the damn girl, and the sooner the better.

Rumor was, she and Longya were going out, and she was living with him.

It's lunchtime on a Monday afternoon, and she's standing on the ground floor of the esteemed Company's cafeteria, wondering whether or not it was worth it to try and fight her way through the masses of hungry employers and Projects – not unlike to a school of ravenous piranhas – to buy herself a bottle of mango juice. Mango juice is her favorite drink and the only thing she will willingly consume from a cafeteria; even if the food wasn't completely disgusting, she'd still never touch any of it because it was mostly all junk food and everyone knows that Mayu of Exit Tunes does not eat junk food.

Just as she decides that it is worth it, and starts towards the stairs leading up to the second floor and consequently, the cafeteria, she runs into Qingxian Mo, a long-time friend of Longya's. Qingxian had been there for Longya throughout the whole Longya-Mayu-relationship fiasco, and she knows – no − knew her quite well. However, when her relationship with Longya had fallen apart, she'd stopped seeing her on a regular basis. Today was the first time she'd seen her face-to-face for months.

"Qingxian?"

"Huh?" She pauses and studies her face, before her own lights up with recognition. "Oh! Mayu, how are you?"

She struggles to keep her expression blank. Seeing Qingxian again and talking to her reminds her far too much of Longya, and the thoughts of him these days were always accompanied by a wave of bitterness, that he'd obviously moved on from her whilst she was still hung up on him.

"It's been awhile."

She deliberately doesn't answer her question, not only because she doesn't want to say "I'm fine", but more than that, she doesn't have the words to express how not fine she's been ever since Longya had got himself a new little girlfriend.

Her attention is drawn momentarily to a short girl with ashen black hair tied in two long, smooth braids down her front, standing next to Qingxian. Qingxian is bidding goodbye to her, and then heads up the stairs to the cafeteria. Something about strawberry milk.

The girl turns around to wave to Qingxian, and it's Qingxian's response that sends Mayu's heartbeat into a rapid rhythm and her head to fill with an onslaught of wild emotions.

"Okay, Tianyi. I'll see you later."

It was her.

Tianyi.

The girl whom all the boys practically worshipped and, more importantly, Longya's new girlfriend.

She says a quick goodbye to Qingxian, muttering something about wanting to get to the cafeteria before all the mango juice ran out, and hurries up the stairs the brunette had climbed previously. The cafeteria is as crowded as usual, and her eyes dart around the room, searching for the girl whom she hated so much. They found her as she was walking back from the vending machine, carton of strawberry and banana milk clutched in one hand. The girl stopped at the foot of the stairs on the other side of the cafeteria room, and it's there that she sees her opportunity.

Pushing past the crowd of workers and the like, gathered around the food counter, she quickly makes her way to the girl, stopping only when she is a few meters behind her.

This is it. The opportunity she's waited weeks and weeks for. What she's known she'd eventually do upon hearing that the girl had replaced her as Longya's girlfriend.

It will be easy for her. She is no amateur to carrying out dirty and possibly incriminating deeds. In fact, what she is about to do is tame compared to some of the things she's done in the past. Fleetingly, she thinks of that fateful day, months ago, when she'd slashed Longya's forehead with her switchblade and left him on the ground to bleed to his death.

"Longya," she whispers, "you lead me to do this."

There is no hesitance in her steps, nothing but steadiness in her arms as they reach out and send Tianyi flying head-first down the flight of stairs.

Author's Notes:

Thus, I present to you my OTP. But, nonetheless, I hope someone does, even remotely, like this, and if you do, please review! :)

Edit:

Ah, and I just thought that Tianyi would look cute with braids. I realized after reading it over for a fourth time that people might confuse her with Ling. I think. Oh well, worth noting, I hope.

Fixed a few tense issues.