mental note to self | meteor garden [REVAMPING]

06 | 千

Liu Yuxin had a thing against getting involved with conflict. Being involved often came with having to pick sides, which her indecisive self could never. Besides, her Ba always told her it was easier to see everything from a distance. Getting too close would lessen the scope, would it not? Then there were the problems that came with actually putting herself out there for confrontation. Not to mention how drama was ultimately a meaningless distraction that took away time. Precious time.

It was a good practice. It kept her life peaceful, kept her out of tabloid stories and rumor mills.

And that was why she was so surprised when she found herself standing to help a pitiful-looking Dong Shancai off the floor, hitting the back of Daoming Si's head in the process and poking him in the chest to get him to back off. Apparently the not getting involved thing wouldn't be working out.

Ah Si really had a... unique way of treating the girl he liked. Yuxin wondered what kind of satisfaction he had gotten from burning holes into the girl's forehead while she was eating and taunting her after she had fallen trying to run away from him.

Sure, his childish behavior towards his crush (though he wouldn't admit it) was amusing at times. But this, metaphorically kicking her while she was quite literally down? That had crossed the line.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought so, because the most unlikely person from their table went to join her. She was in the process of assessing Shancai for any injuries (it sounded like a pretty hard fall) when none other than Huaze Lei stopped beside her. 

"Is she hurt?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head. Smoothing Shancai's hair into place, she addressed her, "You'll probably have some nasty bruising though."

The younger girl smiled gratefully, and Yuxin moved to join Jing and the other two boys, who had hesitantly come over to watch the scene unfold. Lei stayed with Shancai, helping her brush the dirt off her sleeve.

Si looked greatly affronted at the fact that the only one who seemed to be paying him any mind was Qinghe, the boy Shancai was (to him, infuriatingly) close to. Or, maybe he was just jealous at seeing the starstruck look on Shancai's face as Lei helped her.

Yuxin watched in morbid fascination as a rather painful looking game of tug-of-war unfolded before the eyes of everyone at the popular campus restaurant, both sides unyielding. The day's surprises had not yet run out as Si decided he would rather renounce more than a decade's worth of friendship with Lei than relinquish his hold on Shancai's arm.

Deciding things were getting out of hand, Yuxin hissed, "Enough." She was desperate to resolve this shitshow already. Whatever pissing contest was going on right now was not worth the bad rep and further bruising on Shancai's poor arms.

"Cameras," Meizuo warned lowly, finally snapping Ah Si and Lei out of their heated stare-down. The two of them surprisedly registered just how much attention they'd garnered. Many of the spectators had been quick to record and livestream the latest F4 drama. All the phones pointed at them were making Yuxin herself a bit queasy.

Ah Si was the first to let go, storming off in a tornado of designer clothing and blazing eyes.

As soon as he left, Lei let go of Shancai like she had burned him, reverting back into his indifferent self. A scarily detached look on his face, he perfectly juxtaposed Si's fiery exit with his own bitingly cold zephyr.

After a quick discussion amongst themselves, the remaining four dispersed.

Ximen went to do damage control, using his charms to make sure as little of the event as possible would make it out of the restaurant. Meizuo, the most easygoing, was least likely to be affected by the inevitable verbal (and maybe physical) attacks that came with trying to calm a livid Daoming Si.

Yuxin assumed Jing would want to talk to Lei, but her best friend immediately volunteered to help the freshman clean up. In a quiet whisper before the two headed off to the girls' washroom, she told Yuxin that she wanted to meet the girl Lei seemed so strangely protective of.

And that left Yuxin to look for Lei, though she already had a very strong hunch where he was.

‒∙◇❀◇∙‒

He was, as she had expected, sitting on the rooftop crates again.

Wordlessly, she perched herself by his side. His normally apathetic face was marred by a frown line, a deep valley between his eyebrows. She waited, she quite wasn't sure what for.

With a sigh, he slumped and rested his head on her shoulder. Curly auburn strands tickled her skin as the scent of soap and fresh linen enveloped her.

They had been together a lot recently, what with their shared rooftop sanctuary and the exponentially increased time Yuxin had spent with F4 since Jing returned. (She told herself it was only for Jing, but honestly, they weren't bad company. She wasn't sure what had changed, but she often found herself thinking that they might come to be good friends this time around.) Maybe, he now felt comfortable enough to show his vulnerable side to her. Or maybe it would be the same for anyone that had found him. She convinced herself it was the latter, but still, she hated how special it made her feel.

She wasn't sure how to comfort him. Going off of their dynamic and what she knew about him, she opted to avoid asking him for an explanation for his previous behavior. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she whispered instead.

He shifted his head on her shoulder to look up at her curiously.

In her most humorless voice, she said, "Honestly, earlier, my first instinct was to mourn the food."

A second passed. Two. Three. Then, he dimpled at her. The laugh that followed was breathy, weightless. "You're so weird."

She beamed. Mission accomplished.

Perhaps she could have felt more victorious in that moment, had his laughing into the crook of her neck not sent shivers up and down her spine.

‒∙◇❀◇∙‒

The upcoming week-long midterm break couldn't come fast enough.

Yuxin had done all of her work in advance. That way, the only anxiousness she would have to deal with during the trip would be from the unresolved conflict between Ah Si and Lei.

The F4 boys had planned a trip to Hawaii, and she and Jing were, of course, coming along as well. Yuxin spent a whole day packing her things, meticulously checking things off of her list to make sure she was thoroughly prepared.

She had just put in the last of her toiletries when her phone lit up with a call from Jing.

"Xinxin! Change of plans. We're going to Sanya."

"Hello to you too," Yuxin replied drily. "What happened to Hawaii?"

"I don't know, Meizuo just called me. He said Ah Si wanted to change plans. Seemed pretty adamant about it, too."

"What a weirdo. Why so out of the blue? And why Sanya?"

"Wait, actually... Now that I think about it, Shancai mentioned she had plans to go to Sanya with her best friend when I was helping her clean up."

There was only static on the phone line for a few seconds. Then, "Oh my god! Is he even trying to hide it at this point?" Yuxin was in stitches at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Please," Jing scoffed, "We both know the word subtle isn't in the Daoming family vocabulary."

Mental note to self: Do research on Sanya and update checklist accordingly. Make sure Ah Si doesn't try anything weird on Shancai. Try to get him and Lei on good terms again.