Tales Under A Cloud

04| Light and Shadow

Lady Fanzi had them practice how they should sit and how they should speak with manners. In the past few days, she has also been teaching them how to make lemon and jasmine tea.

When it was time for the second round. They all went to the kitchen to make tea. Yuxin and Yuyan were sure that this would be their last night here. That's why they didn't take the matter of making tea seriously.

"Will we still be friends after this?" Yuyan asked and it was almost time for her turn. She doesn't want to lose contact with Yuxin, and she is sure that they could do many things together after this.

"Yes, I'm glad we can go back together"

Yuyan was also happy, she had met a great person.

"Nervous, girls?" The two of them turned to see a boy approaching the kitchen. Yuxin had already seen him before. He saluted a few girls that were waiting for their turn and then stopped in front of Yuxin.

"Kun doesn't like it to be too acid, add more sugar to it" he whispered.

"Why are you telling me that?"

"So you can pass to the next round."

"Excuse me, but we don't want to be here" Yuyan spoke, and Chengcheng tilted his head in confusion.

"But you were looking for him" He pointed to Yuxin.

"It was to ask him to eliminate me"

"Oh so that was it, then add salt to it." He commented, pointing to the tea Yuxin made. Even if he knows Kun will eliminate them, he wanted to see his friend's face when he tasted the tea with salt. But Yuxin didn't add anything in it.

The boy smiled and gave the two of them a thumbs up before heading out to the main room where the prince is.

The time passed and the kitchen was getting fewer participants, until Yuxin was left alone. She looked at her cup and realized that it must have gotten cold by now and she didn't add that much sugar either. Well, at least she learned how to make tea. Tonight at home she can prepare some for her parents.

"Participant ten"

Yuxin took what she prepared and crossed the room to the prince's office, the same one she entered and met him for the first time. She knocked twice before entering.

Kun was sitting in front of a desk full of papers, but he was still dressed impeccably like it's not hard work dealing with a lot of paper everyday.

"Hello, Yuxin" the prince greeted her informally and motioned her to sit down.

"I hope you can eliminate me, Prince Kun" He lowered his smile when she said that. Then he pointed to the cup that she brought to evade the subject.

"Let me try that"

"It's not a good idea, it's cold already" Kun ignored her and reached for the tea to take a sip. His face crumbled, but he changed it faster in a blink before Yuxin saw it.

"It's good"

Yuxin didn't say anything. It was obvious that it tasted bad, but the prince wouldn't tell the truth to not hurt anyone.

"Are you liking the place?" he asked after leaving the cup in the table.

"It's big and I don't get used to it"

"Have you wanted to leave the castle?"

Yuxin furrowed in confusion. The prince knows that she wants to go home, so that question didn't make sense.

"What do you mean?" She no longer thought to maintain manners, just as Kun didn't do it with her either.

"You will know soon".

A few minutes after Yuxin left, ChengCheng entered Kun's office and sat on the couch across from him.

"So? Do you know who you will eliminate?"

"Something like that" Kun ordered some papers from the desk and his friend reached for the last cup they left. He tasted it and his face scrunched up like a raisin and then he started coughing.

"This has more lemon than water" Kun turned to see him and took the lemon tea away from his hands.

"It tastes good".

ChengCheng looked at him as if he had a third eye.

What's wrong with this dude?

"You said you can't stand acid, how do you like that?"

Kun didn't answer him. He just smiled and rubbed the cup. It seems that he won't be able to fulfill his promise.

Number one and five were eliminated.

Yuxin was beginning to believe that the prince had her there just to annoy her for asking him to let her go, but there was the matter of Yuyan.

Why didn't he eliminate Yuyan? And she didn't seem upset either.

"Doesn't that seem strange to you?" Yuyan asked with her hand on her chin and thinking hard "The prince must have let us go by now. Unless ..." She looked at Yuxin and realized something very interesting.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing, it seems like we'll stay a few more days here"

"I can't stay any longer, Yuyan" Yuxin sat on the bed and started biting her nails "I'm worried about my parents. I need to be with them."

Yuyan couldn't bear to see her like this. She had never met a person as good as Yuxin, and she would do anything to help her. So she decided to go to the closet and pack her things.

"What are you doing?" Yuxin asked, seeing Yuyan put her clothes back in the suitcase.

Yuyan walked over to where she was standing and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Let's get away from here. Let 's escape".