STORMS OF FAITH

The teacher walked around the room, surveying the students' work with an authoritative tone.

"Fix your designs," she instructed.

Yuming, sitting beside Mei, suddenly complained,

"This design is so hard to make!" She glanced at Mei, who was focused on her work. "Wow, you're really focused! Is it going to be perfect?" Yuming teased.

Mei shot back, "Shut up! Why are you sitting next to me? Move away!"

"Hey, be thankful I'm here beside you, or you'd have been laughed at for talking to yourself!" Yuming retorted.

Mei looked at her, "Am I talking to myself?" Mei asked innocently, and Yuming nodded. "Why are we doing this? Is it part of our lesson?" Mei asked.

"No, it's for a celebration next week. This will be the design," Yuming replied.

"A celebration? For what?" Mei asked curiously.

"I don't know," Yuming said, earning a puzzled look from Mei. "Really, I don't know," Yuming repeated, and then suddenly grinned. "Do you know what I do know?" Mei shook her head. "One of the Qin siblings will perform," Yuming said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Mei's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Who do you think it will be?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it'll be Yijun. He's too busy, and Yuxi would need to be pushed to perform," Yuming said in a serious tone.

"Will they play instruments? If so, who's singing?" Mei asked.

"Bai Linyan," Yuming replied briefly. Mei nodded thoughtfully. Yuming grinned mischievously again.

"Mei'yin, didn't you know that the residence in Fengming are known for their singing talents? I've heard your siblings sing. Why don't you try singing now?"

Mei's face turned bright red as she protested, "N-no! No way!"

"Why not?" Yuming asked.

Mei hesitated before admitting, "I-I don't know how to sing!" Yuming's eyes widened in surprise. Mei continued, "Besides the Feng family's abilities, I don't have any talents like they do. Sometimes I feel like I'm not really a Feng, but my siblings have never made me feel that way."

Yuming comforted her, "Mei'yin, you shouldn't think that way. What matters is that you can do things that others can't, even if they have powers." Yuming eyes lit up with a question. "But why?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. Mei gave her a death glare. Yuming chuckled and said, "Just kidding! Just kidding!"

Mei went back to drawing, and after finishing, she suddenly remembered something. "Mo Yuming!" Yuming looked at her. "I still haven't thanked Yuxi yet," Mei said, sounding like a child.

"Eh? It's been a long time! Just forget about it," Yuming said.

"No way! I don't like owing people, so I need to thank him!" Mei said firmly.

"Then go talk to him!" Yuming suggested.

"No! I'm shy and scared, hehe. Help me," Mei asked. Yuming rolled her eyes and said,

"Mm."

~~~~

Yuming and Mei'yin were in a quiet room, busy writing.

"Fix it, Yuming, show me your excellence in writing a letter," Mei instructed.

"Why write it when you can just tell him?" Yuming complained while continuing to write.

"I don't want to! I get tongue-tied when I don't have something to read, and besides, from what I've seen and experienced, the true emotions of a message are felt more when it's written or read," Mei explained.

"Really? Then maybe you should write it yourself!" Yuming retorted.

"Just shut up and finish writing!" Mei ordered. Yuming rolled her eyes.

After a while, Yuming finished the letter. "Here it is!" she said, handing it to Mei, who was busy reading.

"Wow! You're done? You're really good! Thanks, Mo Yuming, you're a reliable friend, you're one of a kind, talented, smart, and..." Yuming covered Mei's mouth.

"Stop talking so much, just hurry up and give it to Yuxi!" Yuming instructed, and Mei pouted.

As they walked towards Yuxi's room, Mei suddenly asked, "Does Yuxi have someone he likes?"

Yuming looked at her in surprise before grinning. "Why did you ask that? Are you interested in him?"

Mei's face turned red as she protested, "N-no! Is it bad to ask?! Of course, someone like Yuxi would be swarmed by girls, it's impossible he doesn't have someone he's interested in."

Yuming tapped Mei's arm, "I understand you, it's hard to compete with many!"

Mei tapped Yuming's arm hard in response. "Ow! Mei, that hurts!" Yuming complained.

"What are you talking about?! Just answer my question!" Mei said.

"Yes, he does!" Yuming replied quickly.

Mei's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Who? Is it the mother of the child you mentioned, Qin Yuxi's child?" Mei asked rapidly.

" We're here. Just ask him yourself!" Yuming said, opening the door and pushing Mei inside.

"Hey!!" Mei exclaimed, looking nervous.

Yuxi looked up at them.

"You're reading? Sorry to disturb you, Yuxi, but Feng Mei'yin has something to tell you," Yuming said with a grin before closing the door.

"Ah, Mo Yuming!" Mei called out.

Mei'yin nervously faced Yuxi, who had been staring at her with one eyebrow raised.

Mei smiled awkwardly before speaking, "Ah-uhm, I have something to tell y-you—"

Yuxi interrupted her, " I know, just say it."

Mei pouted, then stood up straight and took out the letter from the envelope she was carrying. Yuxi's gaze was serious but curious. "Ehem! Uhm.. I am? Huh, ah! Wait a minute, I don't understand! Is this my name? Ehem! Ehem! I am Feng Mei'yin, the fourth child of Leader Feng Lei... I'm here to... what is this? Thank you?"

Yuxi's expression turned slightly annoyed. "Do you even know what you're saying?!"

Mei looked taken aback, "Uh? Yes, you're getting angry already! I don't understand Yuming's handwriting-"

Yuxi cut her off again, "Stop already. You're wasting my time."

Yuming, who was quietly listening outside, wondered what was happening. "What's going on? I can't hear anything," she said to herself. Yijun appeared beside her, and Yuming jumped in surprise. "What are you doing here? What are you doing?" Yuming asked.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Why are you outside my brother's room? What are you doing?" Yijun replied, but Yuming quickly covered his mouth. "Shh, don't make any noise. Mei'yin is inside. Let's just listen for now," Yuming said, and Yijun nodded.

Mei's eyes narrowed as she glared at Yuxi, crumpled the paper, and spoke. "Hey! I'm here to thank you for saving me, but I shouldn't have to because you guys attacked me when I went to Moya! We should be even, but I believe in being grateful, so I'm thanking you. If you hadn't saved me, I might be... anyway, thanks!" Mei's long speech was tinged with annoyance.

Yuxi gazed at her for a few seconds before responding, "Mm."

Mei's face was unreadable. "That's it? After everything I said, that's all you have to say? You took so long to respond, and it's just 'mm'? Shouldn't you apologize for what you did to me... and for interrupting me like you're superior?" Mei scolded.

Yijun, who was listening outside, turned to Yuming and asked, "Are they arguing? Should we go in?" Yuming shook her head.

Yuxi stood up, his expression unreadable. "You're done? You can leave now," he said, returning to his reading.

Mei's face contorted in frustration, and she was about to charge at Yuxi when Yuming burst into the room, accompanied by Yijun.

"Hey, Mei! Let's go!" Yuming said, dragging Mei out of the room.

"You'd be handsome if... never mind!" Mei exclaimed before leaving.

Yijun's eyes met Yuxi's, and Yuxi raised an eyebrow.

~~~~

Mei sat down beside the road, irritated, and shrugged. "Why is that guy so annoying! So arrogant."

Yuming chimed in, "Calm down, Feng Mei'yin. If I were Yuxi, I would do the same thing." Mei gave her a side-eye, but Yuming just smiled. "Yuxi is really like that, but he's kind," she added. Mei was about to say something more about Yuxi complicated love story when Yuming covered her mouth. "Don't say things like that, someone might hear you," she warned, cutting Mei off.

"Is it a secret?" Mei asked innocently.

Yuming nodded and sat down beside her. "I have something to tell you, and I trust you, so don't spread it around." Mei nodded eagerly. "They love each other, but the problem is that the woman was already with other guy before she her parents promised her to Yuxi . It was too late when Yuxi found out. The woman loved them both. They decided to break up because Yuxi didn't want to hurt the woman further and didn't want to share love to other guy. Yuxi wasn't always like this; he used to be quiet but smiled a lot. So, don't judge him too quickly," Yuming said, pointing at Mei's forehead.

Mei nodded, "Okay, sorry. Yuxi seems pitiful... But who is the woman? Is she the mother of Yuxi's child?" Mei asked curiously, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Yuming stood up, "I won't tell you. You already know too much," she said, about to leave.

Mei quickly followed her, "Wait! I won't ask anymore, I promise!"

As they walked, they ran into Chengxing and Bai Linyan. Mei greeted Linyan warmly, but Yuming seemed uninterested. "Look at that! What bad luck I have today," Chengxing said, looking at Mei, who just ignored him.

"Move aside, we're passing through!" Yuming said.

"You're friends with Feng Mei'yin now, Mo Yuming? Well, you both are quite embarrassing," Chengxing said, sneering.

Yuming gave him a stern look. "What do you mean embarrassing? I don't recall doing anything embarrassing... Oh, maybe when I won against you, but that's not embarrassing to me, maybe to you!"

Chengxing was about to attack Yuming, but Bai Linyan restrained him. "Calm down, there are many people watching." She whispered to Cheng and turned to the two. "Please forgive my brother for his behavior." Linyan said.

"Stop it, Bai Linyan. We shouldn't bow down and apologize to people like them," Bai Chengxing retorted.

Mei said, "Ayst! You're really something, Bai Cheng. You're so mean, you didn't inherit the good manners of your siblings. You're so mean to me and it makes me think that you're starting to develop feelings for me!" Mei exclaimed, just as Yijun and Yuxi arrived. Mei looked away, seemingly embarrassed by what she had said earlier.

"What's going on here?" Yijun asked. Chengxing replied, "Nothing, Yijun!" while glaring at Mei and Yuming.

Yuming whispered to Yuxi, "Why did you follow us?" Yuxi showed her the envelope with the letter Mei had left in his room. Yuming smiled, and got an idea.

Bai Linyan excused themselves.

As they were about to leave, Yuming teased Yuxi, "Yuxi, why did you write a letter when you could have just told Mei'yin what you wanted to say?" The crowd turned to look at them, whispering among themselves. Mei, who had been avoiding eye contact, looked up at Yuxi, who was clueless about the commotion. Yuxi just shook his head, and Yijun smiled at the absurdity of the situation. They already read Yuming's thoughs!

Yuxi approached Mei, handed her the letter, and whispered in her ear, " Your Trash ." Mei was taken aback, and the crowd began to murmur.