Xiaoliang's POV...
I stood in silence as I stare at Mingyu peacefully sleeping with her head resting on the table. I lean down for a big to get a good look her sleeping face, only to feel surprised by how pale she looks. She probably didn't get much sleep last night, but I wonder how did she looked so pale and that it makes her look like she's sick.
Never mind. Why am I even so concern about her? Enough with that, I have to study. I pull out a chair next to Mingyu and place my book on the table. I open the book and turn to the last page I read yesterday to continue. As I continue to read, I can't help to glance at Mingyu who is sleeping next to me from time to time. Though she looks extremely pale today, she looks very peaceful in her sleep. For a moment, it seems like her anxiety is gone while she sleeps.
I notice she has a strand of her hair on her face. I hesitate for a moment to move the strand of hair, fearing that it could wake her up. Yet, I decide to do it anyway. I lean in closer to her and move the strand of hair from her face.
There, better.
Looking at her face up close, I decided to study her peaceful face. I have to admit, she looks kinda cute even when she's asleep. Wait, did I just thought about that? Get your mind together, Xiaoliang. I shrug off these distracting thoughts and continue to read my book.
Minutes eventually passed. I look at the time on my watch and realized that the next class is about to start. Mingyu is still asleep on the table. Realizing this, I didn't want to wake her up knowing that she's probably still sleepy, otherwise she would have wake up on her own. Yet, when I think about it again, I don't want her to miss class, since she probably wouldn't like the idea of missing class. Wait, why am I even so concern about this matter? Damn, we're not even that close since both of us are quiet introverts. Ugh, I should think later. Right now, I should just wake her up.
I slowly lean closer to her and place my hand on her shoulder. It's weird because I suddenly feel my heart starts beating faster when I touched her shoulder. I try to not focus on my fluttering feelings at the moment, and just focus on my attempt to wake her up.
"Mingyu, wake up! Class is about to start," I say, while slightly tapping on her shoulder. She didn't move a bit. Man, this could be harder than I thought.
"Mingyu, wake up!" I try again. She still doesn't move a muscle.
I sigh. I tap on her shoulder again, while calling her name a few times, hoping she would eventually wake up.
"Mingyu, wake up!"
Suddenly, her eyes starts opening. I remove my hand from her shoulder gently as I watch her slowly streching her arms out. She yawns before turning her head to her right side to see me who is standing beside her seat.
"What?" she ask with a rather sleepy tone.
"You were asleep. Class is about to start soon," I say.
Mingyu slowly gets up from her seat and fix her yellow sweater. She turns her head to face me. The two of us eventually got into an awkward eye contact. After a few seconds, I turn my head away with an awkward feeling. I could feel my cheeks suddenly blushing, making me feel worried that she'll notice. Why am I even blushing at the wrong time? Ugh, everything's weird.
"Ok, let's go," I say, before walking away and leaving her to stood in silence. Not that I meant to leave her alone, but I just didn't want her to see my blushing cheeks.
A few hours later...
After college...
Xiaoliang is walking through the hallway to exit college, when he suddenly gets surprised by a cheerful female voice he is familiar. He almost jumps, but turns around to see the girl who is standing with a big smile.
"Haha, I surprised you," Yifei says with a bubbly tone, before bursting out her giggles.
Xiaoliang takes a deep breath as Yifei starts giggling at his surprised face. She finally stops with her giggles and stares at the boy with her hands on her hips.
"Ok, sorry about that. So I just want to ask if you what will you be doing this Saturday?" Yifei ask.
"I'll be studying for the weekends. Why?" Xiaoliang ask.
"Well, I already bought two tickets for us to watch Shadow Invasion this Saturday," Yifei states. She opens her bag and pulls out the tickets for the movie and shows it to Xiaoliang.
"The others will also be there," Yifei adds.
Xiaoliang stood in silence as Yifei stands in front of him while showing him the tickets. He is not in the mood to go out, since he already had enough socialising during the weekdays. He wants to spend his weekend studying.
"I'm sorry, Yifei, but I'll be studying. Maybe you can give it someone else," Xiaoliang states in apologetic tone.
"Ahh, come on, Xiaoliang! The others already bought tickets, I can't give this to anyone else," Yifei whines.
Hearing this, Xiaoliang thought for a moment to accept her offer since everyone already has a ticket, despite not really wanting to go out this Saturday. The tension between them starts to get awkward with Xiaoliang hesitating to agree.
"Fine," Xiaoliang says, feeling as if he doesn't have a choice.
Upon hearing his answer, Yifei's smile becomes bigger as she stares at the young boy with excitement in her eyes.
She hands Xiaoliang the ticket for him, before putting the other one back in her bag.
"Awesome. So I'll see you this Saturday," Yifei says, in which Xiaoliang nods.
"Well, I gotta go, my chaffeur is here. Bye, Xiaoliang!" Yifei says before walking away from Xiaoliang, leaving him to stood in silence.
A few hours later...
11 PM...
At Mingyu's house...
Mingyu's POV...
I lay down on my bed as I try to get some sleep. I still haven't feel sleepy at this hour, maybe since I took a nap at the library, but other than that, my anxiety starts kicking again as I remember that Junhao told me that he's afraid I'll return to my phase back in high school. The thought of it breaks my heart as all the pain starts surfacing back in my mind.
Flashback...
At Zhong High School...
"Loser!"
A girl with a dark blue headband can be seen running through the crowded hallway crying, as all the eyes starts to stare at her with insulting looks. The boys are all laughting at her, while the girls didn't hesitate to make fun of her, and some of them even push her to the ground and poured cold water on her.
"Ahh, cold!" the girl, Mingyu, slightly screams in tears.
"Aww, the stupid girl is crying for help," a girl with long black hair tied in a high ponytail says as she stood in front of Mingyu, who is sitting on the ground all wet after being poured by cold water.
"Did you really think that someone's gonna come and rescue you?" says another girl with a bob-style haircut.
"Sister, you dreamed too much! A prince won't come to rescue an anxious girl," says the girl with long hair.
"Aww, I bet she never even had her first kiss," says the girl with a bob-style haircut.
"Woah, who the hell wants to kiss a girl who shivers for no reasons?" a random guy suddenly shouts in the crowd.
Mingyu starts covering her face as she continues to cry as all the students forms a circle around her to watch her cry. They continue to laugh at her while throwing insults at her regarding her mental health. At this state, she feels weak and hopeless. She didn't want to face anyone anymore. More than that, she didn't feel like living anymore. She is about to stood and run through the students to escape, when a familiar male voice tinkles her ears, and getting the attention of the students.
"Stop! What the hell is this?" the guy, Junhao, shouts as he approaches the crowd.
The students turn around to look at Junhao who looks furious. His eyes are filled with rage as he steps closer to the crowd. He balled his fist upon seeing the faces who had bullied his best friend, before taking a deep breath. As much as he wants to put a fight and punch those who had bullied Mingyu, he needed to rescue her first.
"Where is Mingyu?" Junhao shouts.
Some of the students starts to shiver upon seeng Junhao's furious look. Junhao pushes the students away and finds Mingyu in the crowd. Her eyes are red and puffy, and she's all wet from head to toe.
Mingyu couldn't bear the pain anymore upon receiving too many insults. Suddenly, she pushes Junhao away and runs away from the crowd, leaving Junhao to feel worry and start chasing her. She eventually disappear from his sight, and Junhao starts searching the whole school for any sign of the girl.
At the school's rooftop...
Mingyu is looking down at the view from the top while standing near the edge. Tears are still running from her eyes, as she feels the cold wind blowing to her wet self, making her shiver. She had enough of everything that happened to her. Whether she's at home or school, she never finds peace and is always in pain.
I had enough, I can't take this anymore. I am done. Mingyu thought as she takes one more step. She plans to let herself walk and fall from the rooftop, when she suddenly hears a male voice shouts her name.
"Mingyu!"
Mingyu turns her head to see Junhao running towards her looking all panicked. He quickly grabs her by the waist and pulls her away from the edge.
"What were you doing?" Junhao ask in a panic tone as he drags Mingyu to the center of the rooftop.
"I had enough, Junhao. There's no use for me to live anymore," Mingyu says, tears starts running from her eyes again.
As Mingyu continues to cry, Junhao gives her a tight hug to comfort her. He embraces her tightly as he caress the back part of her head. The girl continues to cry in his arms. Slowly, she hugs him back as she lets herself sink into his embrace.
"Don't leave, Mingyu. Don't leave this world. You still have a long journey ahead. Please, don't let your journey end like this," Junhao says as he continue to caress her hair.
"Ok, Junhao. I don't have anyone else but you. Don't leave me alone," Mingyu says in a sad tone.
"I won't," Junhao says as he tightens the hug.
The two teenagers hugged for a while at the the rooftop, not caring if they're gonna get detention for missing class. Right now, for Junhao, all that matters is that he makes Mingyu feel better.
End of flashbaack...
Remembering those dark days shatters my heart again. It was one of the darkest times of my life, that I even thought about ending everything. If Junhao didn't stopped me that time, maybe I wouldn't even be here today, attending college, meeting new people, and continue to survive with life. A tear slide down my eye as I try to shrug those thoughts away. I had enough of emotions for one night. It's time to go to bed.
A few days later...
5:30 PM...
At Mingyu's house...
I grab my gingham pattern black and white cardigan and put it on. I'm all set to go to Moonlight Cinema and watch Shadow Invasion with the others. I need to thank Junhao for choosing a cinema that's actually near from my place, otherwise my momma will be furious if I find an excuse to go out alone at this state. Today I told Junhao that he didn't have to pick me up, since I want to go to the cinema on my own. I didn't want to bother him, especially knowing that he have to pick up Meiling. Seems like they're getting closer these days. Well, I'm happy to see my best friend who always tries to make me feel happy, finally found someone can make him feel happy.
Downstairs...
I walk pass the kitchen and see my mom preparing some noodles in the kitchen. I already told her earlier that I'll be going out to watch a movie, yet just to be safe, I have to tell her again.
"Ma, I'm going out," I say.
"Yeah," she answers while still preparing the noodles. Well, at least she didn't ignore me this time.
I walk out of my house and starts heading to the cinema. After about 10 minutes of walking, I eventually arrive at the cinema. I see Junhao, Meiling, and Yifei all waiting outside the cinema. I see no signs of Xiaoliang though. Maybe he hasn't arrive.
"Hi!" I say as I approach the trio. They all turn their heads to look at me.
"Mingyu, glad you actually came," Meiling says with a small, yet half-hearted smile.
I smile awkwardly at her, as I feel myself starting to sweat out of anxiety. I start to think that maybe she didn't like my presence since she's afraid I'm gonna interrupt her boyfriend, who is my best friend. Geez, I have no intentions to do that.
"We're just waiting for Xiaoliang," Junhao states.
"Oh, I see," I say casually.
"Well, well, who do we have here?"
I turn my head to see Liqiang walking to us with a big smile. What the hell? I thought Junhao said that he didn't tell him about movie night. I glance at Junhao for a moment and see that he's also surprised to see Liqiang, before turning my vision to both Meiling and Yifei. Funny, cause these two girls don't really look surprised.
"What a coincidence that I happened to meet you guys here," Liqiang says in a sarcastic tone.
Junhao chuckles awkwardly. I could tell he feels awkward for me that Liqiang suddenly popped out in our sight out of no where.
"Liqiang, what a coincidence. You're here to see a movie?" Junhao ask with an awkward tone.
"Hell yeah! I'm here for Shadow Invasion," Liqiang says before turning his vision to me. He gives me a quick wink, in which I turn my head away.
"Cool. We're also gonna watch Shadow Invasion," Yifei says.
"Ah, that's awesome," Liqiang says.
The tension became awkward, mostly between Junhao, Liqiang, and I. After a few minutes, Xiaoliang finally arrives at the theater, just in time since the movie is about to start.
"Hey, sorry I was late," Xiaoliang says as he walks over to us.
"No worries. Let's just go," Yifei says before she quickly grabs Xiaoliang by his arm, making me stare at them with an awkward feeling.
Inside the cinema...
The movie starts and everyone is seated at their seats while some of them are also enjoying their snacks. Liqiang got seated next to Junhao, since he fears that Liqiang will do stupid things to irritate me. I got seated next to Meiling, while Meiling is seated on Junhao's other side. As for Yifei and Xiaoliang, they got seated together not far from our seats.
Through out the movie, I notice that Liqiang had been glancing at me a few times, trying to throw a flirty smirk from time to time, in which I ignored. Yet, I also caught him a few times glancing at both Meiling and Junhao as the two continue to hold hands through out the movie. He throws dirty glances at Junhao when he sees him holding Meiling's hand with affection. Of course, Junhao didn't notice the boy's action, since he's too busy with both the movie, and Meiling herself.
After about an hour, I decided go to the restroom. I walk outside the theater and enters the restroom. After a few minutes, I exit the restroom, only to see someone I didn't expect, standing in front of the restroom.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
To be continue...