Even though Jun Yang’s face was turned away from Feng Qi, he could see the charming smile blossom on the latter’s lips. Jun Yang knew the young man well, he would see this smile on Feng Qi’s face whenever the latter said something teasing towards him with utter shamelessness.

Instead of turning back to answer Feng Qi, Jun Yang took off running down the direction of Xing Ming Academy. He was like a young man running away from his problem.

Assuming that Jun Yang had been made embarrassed and humiliated by Feng Qi’s proclamation, Pei Ling turned to glare at Feng Qi with evil intention before running after Jun Yang to console him.  

Little did Pei Ling know, while Jun Yang felt some degree of embarrassment, he did not mind the teasing that much. If anything, if he was honest with himself, the loud proclamation made his young heart shudder with a flurry of shy excitement.

The real reason Jun Yang sprinted towards the school was because he did not want Pei Ling to see the blush that was rising to his face. Jun Yang would not know how to answer to that.

After Jun Yang escaped from the scene, Feng Qi smiled to himself with much amusement, reminiscing about Jun Yang’s reaction to his advancement.

He shook his head with a grin on his face, thinking, ‘How could there be such a cute person in this world?’

More and more students were showing up for class. Some of them noticed him standing inside the alley and they consciously moved away from him.

Feng Qi noticed this but he merely shrugged. He had always been a misfit among this crowd but it did not matter, he could find power within that.

Feng Qi eventually walked out from the alley. However, instead of heading towards the school, he turned and walked away.

…

“Class, today we’re going to study the selected works of Shakespeare and the relevancy of this literary giant to the English language that we use today…”

It was a class in English language and literature but Jun Yang found it difficult to focus in class. The teacher, Mr. Sam tried his best to make his class as interesting as possible and to his credit, most of the class was listening to his lecture but for Jun Yang, the words simply flew over his head. That was because he had something else on his mind.

Jun Yang’s table was at the most left side of the classroom, meaning he was seated next to the window. While Mr. Sam was going over the words that Shakespeare had coined for the English language, Jun Yang looked out the window at the alley where he was “ambushed” earlier.

As Feng Qi’s fiery stare appeared once more in his mind, the young man could not help the faint blush from crawling up to his face. This was not the first time Feng Qi had accosted him thusly, he had always been open about his affection for Jun Yang but this time, he had definitely left an impression on the young man.

Jun Yang eventually turned his face away from the window and turned around to look at the empty seat at the end of the class. A worried frown was etched between his eyes.

Branded as the outcast, it was only to be expected that Feng Qi would have a seat at the back of the class. He was at the fringe of the pool of interest which centre around Jun Yang and Pei Ling.

‘I wonder where he could be?’ Jun Yang thought to himself. ‘Feng Qi had already reached the school so why did he skip class again?’

While Jun Yang was mulling over that, he felt a tentative poke on the back of his right shoulder. He turned further around to Pei Ling who was seated behind him in class.

The girl pointed at the front of the class and whispered softly, “The teacher is watching you,” before turning back to the open book on her table.

Jun Yang quickly turned around and he was met with a pair of stern eyes that was watching him from the lectern. Jun Yang flashed an apologetic smile and turned his focus back to the class.

Mr. Sam continued the lecture.

After the coast was clear, Jun Yang turned back slightly to whisper back to Pei Ling, “Thanks for the save.”

“You’re welcome,” The girl responded.

Jun Yang paid attention in class and while he was not looking, the girl behind him turned around to the empty seat at the back of the room and a calculative and menacing glint lit up her eyes.

…

The bell rang and school officially ended for the day. Students filled out of class like caged dogs allowed to run loose. Out of the students’ view, the staff also breathed a silent sigh of relief as they returned to the teacher’s lounge to take a well-deserved day’s break and to prepare for tomorrow’s curriculum.

As his classmates rushed out of the room, discussing happily among themselves what their schedule was for that afternoon, Jun Yang sat at his table and patiently went over the homework that was assigned and the extra-curricular activities that he was supposed to do for the day.

After he was done, Jun Yang put his books and stationary away neatly into his bag.

He slung the strap of the bag over his shoulder, stood up and walked out from class. As he walked out, Pei Ling called his name, “Jun Yang!”

Jun Yang looked over and Pei Ling was standing with a group of girls near the stairs. He flashed a friendly smile at them. Pei Ling waved for him to join them and he obliged.

“The girls and I have decided to go to nearby café to relax and unwind before going back home, would you care to join us?” Pei Ling asked as the girls made room for Jun Yang to join their circle.

“But I have something to do this afternoon. I would love to catch up on the studies…” Jun Yang started to explain. He felt guilty for spacing out during Mr. Sam’s class and he had planned to brush up on his Shakespearean knowledge to make up for lost time.

“You’re always studying, you gotta learn to slow down and have fun.” Pei Ling said with plea in her voice. The young lady of Pei family would put herself in a pleading position only around certain people and Jun Yang was one of them. “All work and no play make Jun Yang a dull boy,” she joked.

After some jostling and persuasion from Pei Ling and the rest of the girls, Jun Yang relented.

The group made their way to the café that was not far from Xing Ming Academy. It had a modern look from the outside and the small sign hanging above the door advertised the place as “Mist Café”.

Jun Yang had not been to this place before. Squeezed between studying and his familial responsibility, going to cafés was not really a common activity for Jun Yang.

“How did you find out about this place?” Jun Yang asked Pei Ling. To his knowledge, Pei Ling was not the type of girl who often spent time loitering at cafes either.

“Actually I found it out through a friend, I believe you know him as well.” Pei Ling said and for some reason, Jun Yang had a bad feeling lodged in his heart when he heard that. Before he could dwell on it, Pei Ling ushered him forward, “Come on, let’s go in.”