"Ximen isn't going to like that at all," Meizuo frowned, crossing his arms. "You and Ah Si barely made up and now you're ready to piss off Ximen? What has gotten into you Lei?" Lei and I had walked from the back of the shop after I had returned to my normal state. He held my hand reassuring I would be alright and eventually guided me from the back where Meizuo, Shancai, and Xiaoyou were. Lei took my backpack and handed my phone to me. Meizuo stood looking between Lei and I.

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Lei spoke.

"Yes!" Meizuo spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I stood slightly behind Lei, because he wanted to shield me from Meizuo's anger. I still had to talk to Meizuo about what happened. "Listen to Ximen and stay away from Faye! After all it was her decision to tell him everything! You're going to make this worse than it is if you think about taking her."

"Take me where?" I was confused and felt I had missed something. I missed the first part of their conversation. Meizuo looked towards me.

"He wants to take you to Paris. He's going to go see Jing. He has no business taking you with him. I know you weren't at Jings party yesterday, but she made the announcement to study law in Paris and she left for Paris this morning. Lei did not even show up at the airport to say goodbye."

"J-Jing left?" I questioned Lei. I couldn't imagine how he was feeling. Why would he be here if she left? Lei turned towards me and shook his head.

"That is not what happened. I have already talked to Jing. Meizuo doesn't know the whole story. Jing wants to see you and I want to go there to make sure she settles in. There's nothing between Jing and I."

"You can't believe everything that comes out of Lei's mouth," Meizuo intervened. "He was heartbroken last night and he's using you."

"Stop putting things into her head Meizuo," Lei frowned. "I have always been honest with Faye."

"Taking her to Paris is unrealistic. You know Ximen will throw a fit or even worse do something he will regret."

"Lei," I spoke softly. He turned to me and his expression softened. "I don't think... Paris is a good idea," I spoke lightly. I could understand why Lei would want me to have a getaway, but at the same time Ximen would end my friendship and Lei has already confessed his love for Jing.

"What if Ximen agreed to letting you go?" Lei asked me. I heard a frustrated sigh from Meizuo. I would love to go back to Paris. I've only had great memories from my last visit.

"You're unbelievable," Meizuo mumbled. "He won't agree. Instead you're going to be punched in the face."

"Do you trust me Faye?" Lei asked gently. His face calm knowing he had this affect with me, especially since he had just helped me calm down. Do I really trust Lei? He seemed sure Ximen would agree even though I could not see it. Does Lei really want me to go to Paris with him? I nod slowly and he smiled before pulling me into a side hug. He continued to hold my hand.

"Faye..." Meizuo said. "Why are you agreeing to this? I know Ximen is mad, but this isn't the way. I know you like Lei, but this is unreasonable. Please... go back to the house and wait this out." I pulled away from Lei to see Meizuo with a frustrated look. Meizuo does not understand what I've gone through these few days... alone. Lei seemed to have a better understanding of how I felt and knew how my mental health is being affected. Lei was thinking of... me. I seemed to have more trust in Lei at the moment.

"Meizuo," I started off. "You don't understand..." Meizuo frowned. His arms were still crossed.

"How can I not understand? I want to protect you." I lowered my eyes and I felt Lei squeezing my hand. I continued to look down. "You don't need to go to Paris. Stay here and focus on your studies."

"If you can't see the details, then you shouldn't be pursuing her Meizuo," Lei said.

"You think you're the one for her?" Meizuo asked unbelievably now. "You're the one confusing Faye."

"I'm not saying anything. That is for Faye to decide. We are leaving and don't tell Ximen anything that just happened here." Before I could comprehend what was happening, Lei was leading me out of the shop. I turned to Shancai and Xiaoyou waving as I exited the shop. I followed him in silence unsure where he was leading me.

We stopped in front of a bookstore and I looked towards him unsure what we were going to do. Lei looked away from the store to turn to me. I hesitantly took my hand away from his realizing I've been holding his have for more than twenty minutes now. I'm sure he knew I felt flustered by his touch.

"Are you alright Faye?" Lei asked.

"I think I'm alright now," I answered truthfully. "Thank you for.. saving me."

"I worry for you," Lei sighed softly. "I know you... can... have your... attacks." His tone was a bit hesitant. "How did Ah Si cause it?" My eyes lowered and I took a deep breath. Remember Lei is here and Daoming Si couldn't hurt me.

"He was giving me a hard time about hanging out with Shancai and he wanted me to meet with him outside the shop. H-he triggered a really bad memory and I started freaking out feeling like something would happen again." I crossed my arms feeling small and fragile thinking he could show up at any moment.

"Why does he give you a hard time?" Lei asked more to himself. "He has acted this certain way towards you since we were younger?"

"I'm not sure why," I shrugged slightly. "Daoming Si has been like this for as long as I can remember." Lei frowned slightly in thought for a moment before focusing on me.

"Let's return to my house," he said after a moment.

"I thought..."

"Joyce can make us something to eat." My stomach grumbled at the thought of food.

"Food sounds great. You don't have to make Joyce make food. We can eat here." Lei reached for my arm and I looked down to his hand.

"Joyce is preparing Sisig. She told me this morning."

"Sisig?" I smiled at him. "I like Sisig. Okay, let's go to your home," I beamed. Lei smiled and let out a light laugh before reaching for my hand now.

"Let's go eat then." We both began walking towards the bookstore wondering if we were now making our way back to his home. "Halo halo or Sapin sapin for desert?" I looked over and noticed his phone in his hand. "Joyce is wondering."

"Halo halo is perfect. Tell Joyce I'm looking forward to everything." Lei nods and typed into his phone with his free hand. We walked into the bookstore and I looked around as we passed the shelves and tables filled with books. A journal came into thought.

"Ooo," I spoke more to myself, but Lei looked away from his phone towards me. He stopped walking and I am immediately pulling him with me towards the section of the bookstore where they displayed journals. Lei remained quiet and allowed himself to be pulled by me. I looked back to see him with a smile before I turned around to make sure I wouldn't run into anything. I took a sharp turn into the art supplies section and began looking for a shelf filled with journals.

Turning another corner, I spot the wall where there were at least fifty or so different journals present. I walked over to the large selection and began looking. I felt Lei letting go of my hand and I stopped looking for a moment before reaching for a journal.

"In need for a new journal?" I hummed in response.

"I like to keep journals and fill them with my adventures and trips. If I go to Paris with you, I'll definitely need a journal."

"You're definitely going Faye."

"I'll believe you when Ximen says yes."

"He's going to say yes and we're going to enjoy our week in Paris. I'll make sure of it." I coughed slightly and turned towards him with my eyes wide.

"A week? We need to practice and what about our classes?"

"We'll bring our instruments with us and we'll be alright. Theory and business management we can work on our project and paper together." Lei looked past me and reached past my head. He brought his hand back to see a beautiful simple leather made journal. He hands it to me.

"This is a cute one," I smiled examining the journal inside and out.

"We can fill this journal together?" Lei questioned curiously. I looked up towards him surprised he asked a question like this. "Can I... fill this journal with you?" No one has ever asked me before. Not even Ximen who has gone on countless trips with me.

"I'd really like that," I smile towards him feeling bubbly. My mind went from racing out of control to being calm in just the short time.

...

"Wait for me in your room," I told her gently hoping she would be alright once we parted for the first time since the tea shop and dinner. We had spent the last hour making our way to Ximen's place. I wanted her to be at ease before arriving at the house. Now we stood just outside the house and I could tell she was nervous for how Ximen would react. It was better if she was not in the room when I talked to him.

"Please don't anger him too much," Faye spoke hesitantly. I took the bag with the journal and smiled at her reassuring that everything will be alright. I nodded and she made her way up the stairs. I knew Ximen was in the kitchen. I waited a moment before she disappeared from the stairs before walking across the living room towards the hall that led to the kitchen.

Upon entering, I took a sharp breath before walking in. The site of Ximen standing by the encounter focused on pouring tea into a small cup. He glanced towards me before looking down at the cup. I walked up to the counter and stood across from him. It was silent for a moment and I knew Ximen was thinking before he spoke.

"I wasn't expecting you to show." He took the small cup and placed it in front of me. "I thought we were all meeting at Ah Si's house?"

"I was hoping we could talk first about something."

"Is this about Jing? I think you should have gone after her. I can't believe you did not show at the airport."

"This isn't about Jing. I'm here to talk about Faye." Ximen put his cup down and looked towards me, giving me a disapproving look. He crossed his arms and stood staring at me with his full attention now.

"What is there to talk about Lei?"

"Why are you ignoring her?" I spoke to the point needing to be straightforward with him.

"That isn't your conce-"

"It is my concern," I disrupted him. "It's my concern, because you allowed yourself to introduce her to us and we let her in. We took her in, because she's your closest friend as well."

"This isn't for discussion Lei."

"It is." I put the bag down on the counter and crossed my arms. Ximen frowned giving me a cold stare. I wouldn't back down if this were my final moments. I had to do this for Faye.

"She is your partner for the recital, what else can you possibly want Lei?"

"I'm worried for her. You should know her more than I."

"That's right. What is your point?" Clearly he does not know enough of her to see she's not herself.

"You're mad at her for something and I understand you're mad, but why lie about her grandparents having an emergency? Why would you send her back here alone?"

"I'm pissed off right now. I don't want to discuss this any further with you."

"I'm not done."

"We're done here. I need to prepare my things for Ah Si's." He placed his cup on the counter and was about to leave. He was beginning to make his way out of the kitchen.

"I gave up on Jing. Jing already knows that, because I want to pursue Faye." Ximen abruptly stopped and his back was turned towards me. "I know you may have differences with Faye now, but I never ask anything of you. I'm asking you to allow me to be more than just her music partner and let me spend more time with her. I'm asking you as my closest friend to allow her to form a closer bond with me."

The wait for Ximen to respond took what seemed like a few minutes. A sigh came from him and he turned around so he was facing me. He was trying to fight off the irritation he had.

"I know you're mad," I continued, because it seemed like he was listening. "I know she's very sensitive and I know from the past few days seemed... isolated for her. For what reason you are angry with her, consider allowing me to be there for her so she isn't feeling like there isn't anyone there for her." Ximen crossed his arms and it took a moment to realize he did not know she had suffered from depression in the past or was beginning to show signs. I couldn't bring up something Faye wasn't ready to discuss yet. For a moment, it looked like he was thinking to himself before making eye contact with me once again.

"She was dating Meizuo."

"That doesn't change my mind about Faye."

Ximen crossed his arms again going back into thought and I stood there waiting for his approval. He knew I valued our friendship and have never cared for much except for Jing and music.

My thoughts wandered to Faye, who was waiting upstairs anxiously. I'm sure she was wondering what was going on. I hope she was doing alright in the bedroom.

"I'm okay with you pursuing Faye," Ximen spoke tiredly. "I know I've given her a hard time and you wouldn't have come to me if it wasn't for importance to you. I'm not... I don't want to keep away from her happiness, because I'm in a bad mood. I'll talk to her soon. Just... I know you'll be careful with her."

"I would like to take Faye to Paris with me."

"Lei..." he frowned once again.

"Faye wants to go to Paris, but she wants to make sure it's alright with you."

"We just came back from Sanya."

"She did not get to spend much time there. It's only fair I take her somewhere she likes. She also did not say goodbye to Jing as she wanted her at the party yesterday. I can look after Faye and visit Jing while we're there."

"How long?"

"A week."

"A week?!" Ximen's eyes widen. "You can't expect me to be okay with her missing a week worth of class."

"We have just about identical courses."

"Except for her physics course and lab."

"She doesn't have lab next week."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Faye told me over dinner and she can ask her lab partner for notes. For our music courses we will be rehearsing while in Paris, and our other courses we have under control."

"Fine," Ximen spoke and closed his eyes for a moment. He seemed to be having a headache from all of my requests. "I'm not stopping you two from going. I'm sure your coursework is taken care of if you both will miss a few days."

"Faye wants to ensure you're not kicking her out of the house."

"Wei!" Ximen whined slightly annoyed. "I'm not going to kick her out. Fine, I'll send her a text. You can tell her she can go to Paris with you." I nod and smiled before following Ximen out of the kitchen. We parted ways when he began for the direction for the front of the house and I made my way for the stairs.

: You can go to Paris with Lei. Please enjoy your time there

There was a knock on the door and I looked up to see Lei slowly appearing. I placed my phone onto the nightstand and brought my knees closer to me. I sat on the windowsill with a blanket on top. Nothing seemed to show stress or evidence of anything going wrong. He walked over towards me and took a seat by my feet.

His eyes did not look cold like they were the first day we officially met. Seeing him now made me feel at ease and calm.

"Ximen said it's alright for you to go to Paris with me," Lei spoke and I smiled.

"How long should I pack for?"

"A week. Is your cello here?" I hummed and gestured over to the corner of the room where Mr.Min placed my cello and my bag for school. "We can rehearse while we are there. There's no need to delay our rehearsal time."

"We should figure out our other pieces."

"Pulcinella Suite, Stravinsky," Lei spoke softly. "The violin and cello duet you were thinking about. You seemed interested in doing that piece."

"I'm interested in doing that piece if only you want to do this piece." Lei looked down towards his hands and smiled before looking directly at me.

"I'm interested in what you'd like to do Faye. I have confidence in your choice of pieces." Hearing him say that made me feel reassured. His actions today alone was enough to make my heart swoon for him. I felt I had to be cautious. He is at an advantage knowing my feelings for him and could lead me on. After all, having a liking towards me doesn't mean we would get together and become something more.

"We'll do that piece then." Lei nods.

"I'll make sure to pack our music then."

"You purchased them?" My eyes widened. When did he...

"The day we went to breakfast and went to the music store. I purchased the piece after you left. I was distracted that day and I apologize for... leaving you at the mall suddenly." I thought back to that evening. "You were really funny that evening," Lei said more to himself. "Do you remember being on Meizuo's shoulders?" I tried to hold my smile in to hide that I remembered what happened with Lei.

"Hmm... vaguely," I shrugged slightly. "I think we started karaoke. Did you and Ximen eventually arrive?"

"You don't remember at all?" Lei raised an eyebrow curiously. Something seemed to cross his mind before he looked away. "Ximen and I did get there eventually. You weren't feeling well. Meizuo told me you had to rest upstairs for a while." That was the evening I told Meizuo I liked Lei.

"How... is Meizuo doing?" I was unsure. "He seemed very frustrated earlier."

"Meizuo became angry and frustrated when Ximen told us on Monday to stay away from you. Meizuo and Ximen had a big argument about you dating Meizuo. Ximen was not having it and told him the cold truth."

"The cold truth?"

"Ximen went into detail of Meizuo's dating life and did not find it pleasing when he found out he was trying to pursue you. Meizuo likes older women and it has always been that way. Ximen knows Meizuo's way of thinking and wants to protect you."

"Oh..."

"Do you like Meizuo?" I noticed Lei turning to me.

"Uh..." it felt strange talking open with Lei. "As a friend."

"Why would you agree to date Meizuo then?"

"I think you know why," I said lightly.

"No. This isn't something that was clear to me Faye." His tone was serious. "Nothing is quite clear to me when it comes to you."

✨

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