"No," Lei stated firmly and I let out a sigh. I close the piece and look for the spot it was on the shelf. For the past forty five minutes, Lei and I have been here trying to figure out one of the duet pieces we would be performing together. After eating at the cafe, I knew Lei wasn't ready to drive and I had come up with the idea of going to a music store nearby to pass time. We thought it was a good time to start searching for duet pieces.

"You've said that to the last ten pieces I picked out. We need to decide on those three pieces somewhat soon." I turned to Lei standing beside me as he stood next to me browsing at the selection of pieces.He seemed to go quiet after awhile and I wasn't sure if it was something we were discussing over breakfast. The difference between now and at breakfast is the mood. Lei suddenly became quiet and as if I had pissed him off. "Lei?" I asked.

"Hmm?" His eyes seemed to be trained on a particular piece. He seemed so focused on what he was looking at.

"Did I do something wrong at breakfast?" Lei stopped turning the page to the piece in his hand and he turned towards me. His expression doesn't give away anything.

"Why would you think you have done something wrong?" He questioned.

"I feel like something is bothering you."

"You haven't done anything." He turned his attention back to the music and I frowned slightly. During breakfast we were talking and enjoying our meal. The atmosphere was light and relaxed. Now it seemed to have changed. A part of me felt unsure what more I could say if I felt something was wrong. I don't want to pester more than I already have.

Ximen learned from a young age I was very self conscious about what I thought. He knew I was easily brought down by the wrong gesture or words. Ximen was always careful how he reacted or would make sure I was okay when he thought I may have taken something the wrong way.

Lei, doesn't know me well enough to realize this. Hesitantly, I took a step back from the music and turned away from Lei to look around the store.

"I'm going to wait outside," I say lightly wondering what he'll say. He only hums and I bite the inside of my cheek as I made my way out of the store feeling a bit bothered. I took my phone out and sent a quick text to Ximen. Walking out of the store, I looked ahead to see a few cushioned chairs and walked over to take a seat. My phone vibrates and I look down to see a message from Ximen.

: It's going to take some time for him to get used to you Faye. He hasn't been quite himself since our friend Jing left for France

I put my phone back into my purse before leaning back against the chair. I looked around to see many people walking around in groups of both small and large. There were many shops around here. I'm sure there must be a milk tea shop somewhere around here. Hopefully we could run into one. I could go for one right about now.

I pull my phone back out of my purse and log onto my Weibo account to pass by some time. I noticed there were many mentions and tagging of me towards a post. I also noticed I was tagged from Meizuo, who I had recently followed on here. I smiled slightly and clicked on his notification.

Awe this is cute

The picture was a picture of Ximen, Meizuo, and I at the bar the first night I arrived. It was a picture the bartender had taken of us up close. Both Ximen and Meizuo had their arms around me squeezing me in between them. They held their drink with their free hand and I had the happiest smile I've seen in quite awhile. That night I genuinely felt like myself and was enjoying my time.

If Meizuo were to ask me to go out to another bar, I wouldn't mind it. That night, I slowly learned about Meizuo and his personality. He is very lighthearted when it comes to a conversation and I noticed in the past few days he likes to make jokes once in a while to lighten the mood. Meizuo seems to have terrific memory according to Ximen.

Great night with wonderful friends 🤗

Smiling at Meizuo's caption, I liked the post. I looked towards some of the top comments of his post

I can't believe Faye Calinao is with you and Ximen! You're so lucky to have her as a friend 💞

I'm jealous! I want to meet one of the best cellists in the world

She's so pretty Meizuo!

"Faye!" I jumped slightly from the sudden call of my name and looked up from my phone. My heart skipped a beat feeling frightened from the suddenness. Lei stood a few feet away staring at me intently before fully making his way over to me. "I tried calling you a few times. You were so focused on your phone," he spoke. His eyes shifted towards my phone and I locked the screen so it could turn off.

"Sorry." I stood and turned to him. I noticed he had a bag in his hand. "Found something?" He nodded and took a glance down at the bag before looking at me again. I shifted slightly and folded my arms wondering what we should do now. "Is there a milk tea shop here?" He nods and gestures for me to follow him. Quietly, I walked beside him as he began making his way in the direction we were going originally.

My eyes averted to the ground as we walked in silence. For whatever reason, it seemed tense again and I had a feeling something must have happened after breakfast. Lei hasn't told me.

"Senior Lei!" I looked up towards Lei before looking to see two girls approaching us. Lei and I stopped walking. His expression hasn't given anything away as usual. He seemed... neutral.

"Hi," He greeted. The one girl looked towards me and her eyes widened.

"Whoa! You're senior Faye!" The second girl beamed. I smile slightly and nod. It felt like Lei and I had just finished arguing. "Your performance yesterday was amazing!"

"Thank you," I smile.

"We're freshmen in the music department," the first girl said to us. "We're so lucky to have you both as classmates for a year!"

"You're both here together. Are you two on a date?"

"No," Lei answered firmly and I turned towards him. He had a light smile and had his attention towards the girls. The way he said no brought a sinking feeling to my heart. I know we've just reunited and have officially talked for the first time yesterday, but somehow I felt hurt. I shouldn't feel this way. My senior high school days of having a crush on Huaze Lei clearly has not gone away.

"You two would look amazing together! A powerful music duo would make a great couple." The one girl elbowed her friend and shook her head slightly.

"Teng Tang Jing." There is the mention of her name again.

"My dating life is not of discussion," Lei spoke with a sudden authority and shivers ran down my spine. I looked towards him and he did not look angry. The girl's eyes widened.

"S-sorry senior Lei." Both girls apologized and averted their eyes to the ground.

"W-we didn't mean t- "

"Faye is just a classmate." Those words hit me like ice. "Acquaintance." Both girls apologize once again. The two girls began talking to Lei about one of their courses. My cheeks felt warm and uncomfortable standing here. I nudged Lei and he continued to talk with our classmates.

I mentally sighed to myself and excused myself from the conversation.

"Thank you for talking with us Senior Faye!"

"Yes! It was an honor to talk to you in person! We hope to see you on campus!" I nod and looked towards Lei, who seemed to not be paying attention to me. My heart swelled slightly and I walked away. My eyes looked forward in hopes I would find the shop. I hugged myself slightly and tried to think of something other than what just happened.

There were a few stores that I knew I could go to after getting myself a drink. I wanted something refreshing. Walking for what seemed less than five minutes, I find the shop and my shoulder relaxes knowing I've found the shop. Making my way over, I noticed the shop was a cozy size.

As I entered the shop, I noticed there was a long wooden table and smaller table surrounding the larger table for seating. There was also window seating. The wonderful elegant smell of the shop welcomed me. I looked around to see there wasn't a current customer present. I looked to my left to see where the counter is and spotted a worker wiping down the counter. I approached the female smile.

She looked up from the counter and smiled warmly before putting the cloth off to the side. Her brown long hair put into two pigtails complemented her beautiful smile. Under the beige hat, I could tell she had bangs.

"Hi," she greeted. "What would you like to have today?" I looked up towards the menu trying to figure out if I wanted something to go with my drink.

"Can I have one Turo milk tea and a mochi?" I ask as I continue to look up at the menu.

"Of course! What flavor of mochi would you like?"

"Do you have Vanilla bean?" She nods and clicks on a few things on the screen in front of her. I took out my wallet so I could pay.

"Your total today will be $8.49." I nod as I take out my credit card I used for food spending. I hand it over to the worker.

"You have very pretty eyelashes," I smile. Her smile widens.

"Thank you! Yours are just as beautiful! They really make your eyes stand out." I thanked her as she handed my card back to me before beginning to prepare my drink. In a few moments, she has my milk tea and Mochi prepared.

"Thank you so much," taking the wonderful purchase I have made. "I'm Faye. I think I'll be coming here quite often now that I know where your shop is."

"Jiang Xiaoyou. I guess I'll be seeing you here then! I work here most days of the week. Do you want to take a seat?" I nod and she made her way from behind the counter. I followed as she made her way over to one of the smaller tables by the wall. I thanked her and took a seat.

🍂