To String Together ( Huaze Lei )

Her

Huaze Lei

She looked very beautiful tonight. Nothing could distract me once she had entered the living room area tonight. Faye had my attention and Jing caught me red handedly staring. I walked over to her not being able to myself, because I wanted her to know how pretty she looked today and hoped she had a great time tonight. I had exited the living room knowing I had to leave before I did something without thinking it through.

Leaving for the party on the beach, I sat on a chair to observe everyone surrounding me. Ah Si sat in the chair beside me not saying a word to me as he did the same. I believe we were waiting for Jing and Shancai to arrive. Since Ximen and Meizuo had taken Faye out, they would not be back until the party was nearly over. It was over the moment the lights came back on and I saw Shancai on top of Ah Si. Their lips were attached to each other and I had a feeling it was a mere mistake this happened. The aftermath caused Jing going after Shancai and I going back to the house to prepare for the meal.

It was now close to eleven in the evening. I was making my way down the stairs to find something to eat when I noticed there was someone already there. There was little commotion coming from there as I continued walking. When I walked into the kitchen, I stopped immediately at the sight of Faye mixing cookie batter in a metal bowl.

Her evening dress was changed out for a pair of sweatpants and a shirt. Her hair was up in a loose mop on top of her head with a single curled strand out of place. Her make up from earlier was off. She's pretty even without the makeup. What surprised me were the glasses she wore. Immediately, I thought back to someone I may have once known sometime ago.

Faye seemed very concentrated on mixing. She hadn't noticed I was standing here. A part of me was unsure how she would respond after what happened earlier. It was uncalled for what Meizuo had done earlier. I wanted to explain myself to Faye about Monday and everything between that, but she already knew what I wanted to speak to her about. The way she felt betrayed from the source she found out wasn't the way I wanted her to know.

"Zuo," she spoke and looked up. She stopped mixing once she realized I am not Meizuo. I walked slowly over to the counter hoping she won't walk off like she did earlier. "L-lei," she hesitated.

"Meizuo has a nickname now?" I spoke wanting this conversation to be calm. I'm sure both Ximen and Meizuo will be down here shortly to accompany her. She put the bowl down and crossed her arms. "I'm worried for you Faye." She frowned slightly before shaking her head.

"You have no need to worry for me," she spoke truthfully. "You have Jing." There was the unsettling feeling I had towards her.

"I meant what I said to you on monday Faye. I don't want you to think it was a mistake. I ha- " I stopped speaking as she walked around the island before I could comprehend what was happening. I took an unexpected step back from my unbalanced stance.

She pushed me.

I blinked a few times caught off guard she would do something like that. Her expression now was evident of hurt and betrayal as she now stood in front of me.

"You can't lie to me," she said. Her tone was evident of hurt. "I heard you tell Jing it was something you regret." I took a step closer in worry realizing she heard my whole conversation with Jing early this morning.

"Faye, I-"

"There's no need to explain. I don't want to hear what you want me to hear. Don't sweet talk this." I am stunned she had heard that conversation. If she heard this conversation, she must have come to my room, because something was bothering her. She would have came to me for a reason so late into the morning.

"I don't regret kissing you," I started making it clear to her. In the moment I told Jing I regretted kissing Faye was a mistake on my part. I was trying to talk myself out of wanting a future that could never happen with Faye. I knew I could never date Faye without causing trouble with Ximen.  Ximen was not someone to mess with.

"You to-"

"I don't regret kissing you Faye Calinao," I reminded her. "Your first kiss was my best kiss I've had. I wouldn't regret something as great as that moment with you." Confusion was presented by her as she crossed her arms again. This was the part I did not want.

"You can't say things like that," she spoke softly now. "You have to stop doing this."

"I'm being honest with you."

"If you're being honest... why not give me a chance?" I assumed it was referring to our kiss and my confession of having feelings for her.

"I value my friendship. Reason why I am concerned with you and Meizuo. He knows better. He will hurt you even if this were to stay a secret."

"He wouldn't do that," she spoke defensively. "Unlike you, he is willing to be straightforward and take the risk."

"Aren't you worried Ximen will find out? Faye, you can not be serious."

"Why can't you leave me alone then? If it's so important to you that you value your friendship with Ximen, then I won't tell him the things you've done or made me feel. You can go on pretending we're just music partners, but you have no right to judge what Meizuo and I are doing." I let out a tired sigh. She was frustrating me, because she did not understand part of the point.

"It is not a good idea Faye," I tried to reason with her. She does not know Meizuo like I do. If Ximen knew, he would be very angry about this. Faye would have more of a chance with me than Meizuo, because Ximen knew his closest friend with girls. I knew Meizuo must have gotten to her somehow.

"We should focus on our pieces," she mumbled and turned away ignoring what I've just said. If she wanted to pretend what she was doing is okay, I'll let her. If she wanted to experience a heartbreak, I could not stop her. I wanted to avoid her getting hurt. She seemed just as stubborn as Ximen. Nothing seemed to change her mind.

"Faye..."

"Lei, enough!" She sighed in frustration. I heard someone approaching and we both turned towards the entrance of the kitchen. A moment after we saw Meizuo appear. He was dressed in his silk pajama set. At first he was looking down at his phone before looking up to see both Faye and I.

"Everything alright?" Meizuo asked her as he stood by her side now.

"Everything is fine," Faye spoke before looking towards me. "Lei was getting something to eat." Meizuo nodded and he put an arm around her shoulder. He looked at me and raised a brow.

"Do you have something to say Lei?" Meizuo asked, hinting he was still bothered from earlier.

"No," I spoke calmly. I wanted to hide my protectiveness for her. I wouldn't want to start another argument with him. I walked around both of them and went for the refrigerator to find something to eat.

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Hope you have a wonderful weekend ✨

Next update: Wednesday