The One Who Listens

Step 9: Mend your Mistakes

Ok, let me not use any misleading words.😂

Not too heavy a chapter plotwise. But still 

ENJOY~~~

Oh! And our Santa comes in here.

Hua Cheng squirmed in his seat. This lecture seemed to drag on for hours, and he could hardly concentrate anymore. His notebook remained open in front of him on the worn-out wooden desk, the page half filled in with notes in his infamous chicken scratch. They were supposed to work on their respective pieces of work for the Year End Exhibition, but Professor Pei had suddenly decided to give them a presentation of Ancient Victorian Art. Hua Cheng did not have a problem with that. He rather loved the art of that era, with all the bright, loud and cheerful colours, the English landscape of rolling hills, distant factories lurking like a faint shadow in the background and small farms, and a stark attention to the tiniest of all details of a painting as simple as that of a bedroom. No, he should have been enjoying the presentation, but the issue was...

Professor Pei went overboard and was holding them back overtime on a half day college.

Even that wouldn't have been an issue. Hua Cheng rather liked his classes. They were fun, lively and open minded. He could paint anything with no reservations and he would not get in trouble for indecency, or leave a question mark on his personality. Rather, it was Professor Pei who would urge his students to let everything out and paint their hearts out and reassured them that he would only try and help them express themselves better.

No. The real problem was...

Hua Cheng had a session with Xie Lian after this. Not just a normal session. A trip to the beach, an hour and a half metro ride away. He could not bring E-Ming along, (he himself was a bit too excited about the trip, for he has never been to the beach before. He could hardly manage himself, so he wondered if he could manage the easily excitable caracal) so he had planned to meet E-Ming, at least show him his face, and then be off to the metro station. But now it seemed he would have to drop that and directly head to the station.

A couple of days back, Hua Cheng had to restock his art supplies and he had taken his own sweet time at the store to do so. The store had lots of varieties and he could not rush through it, nor did he wish to. He had uncapped the paint samples, lightly sniffed at them, tested the thickness and consistency of the paints. He brushed his finger tip over all the types of papers and canvases there on display and then decided on his purchase carefully. It was past dinner time when he had come back to their apartment, incredibly exhausted and hungry.

As soon as he had unlocked the door with his key, he was crowded by his mewing caracal. Hua Cheng had trouble walking in and pulling off his shoes as E-Ming kept rubbing against his knees, mewing which almost sounded like crying, tail lying low and quivering. The dining room was dark, with only a blue light on, indicating that the others had retired in their bedrooms for the night. Looking carefully, Yin Yu's door was slightly ajar. Maybe he was keeping E-Ming some company for the time being.

Hua Cheng knelt onto the floor to raise an arm and E-Ming immediately slid himself under that rough wide palm, his body curving into the touch. No matter what, Hua Cheng ended up feeling bad for E-Ming - he must have been very hungry. But again, Yin Yu always feeds E-Ming if he is not at home during meal time. Hua Cheng felt worse when it finally hit him why E-Ming was being so needy all of a sudden.

E-Ming had taken his owner's prolonged absence too seriously and had thought Hua Cheng had left him behind, never to return ever again, just like his previous households.