Birthday (2)

The car hired by his family arrived punctually at the gate of Xing Ming Academy.

"Good afternoon, young master." The family driver got out from the car and greeted Jun Yang. He walked towards the backseat and opened the door for Jun Yang to get in.

"Good afternoon," Jun Yang said as he walked towards the open door. He nodded at the driver with a smile as he crawled into the car. The driver closed the door behind him before getting back into the driver's seat.

The car started and it moved away from the school compound. Jun Yang's home was the completely opposite direction from Mist Café, which was a shame because Jun Yang would have loved to confirm if Feng Qi was really working there that day.

Like telepathy, while Jun Yang was thinking of Feng Qi, the phone that was in his pocket rang. He took it out to take a look.

The driver sneaked a glance at Jun Yang through his rear-view mirror. He saw the smile that blossomed on his young master's face. 'It must be some kind of good news. Probably it's from the old master,' thought the family driver.

The driver's prediction was wrong because the message was from Feng Qi. It read, 'Dear sweet boyfriend, do you have time later in the day? Do you mind coming to Mist Café at around 6 pm? I have a surprise for you!'

Jun Yang thought Feng Qi had forgotten about his birthday but from the message, that might not seem to be the case. He did not mention a word about the birthday but the content of the message made many allusions towards it… or at least Jun Yang believed it does.

Jun Yang hesitated whether he should respond to the invitation or not. The answer was screaming in his heart but he had to be rational. This was his birthday, his parents might throw him a ball that night to celebrate.

Of course, that would mostly be a show for the influential families to mingle, one whose main purpose was for the adults to interact with one another using his birthday as a mere pretext, but as the son of the host and the 'main character' of the party, he had to be present. Jun Yang held the phone in his hands and tossed it back and forth. He was caught in a predicament.

In this battle of heart and mind, the heart won out in the end. Before he could talk himself out of it, Jun Yang replied to Feng Qi's message saying, "Okay."

Seconds later after the send button was pressed, Jun Yang started to have second doubts but it was already too late, the message that had been sent could not be taken back anymore. Ultimately, Jun Yang sighed but it was hard to tell whether it was out of relief or regret. What's done is done.

About 10 seconds later, Jun Yang's phone rang again. Jun Yang read the latest reply from Feng Qi. "Wonderful, I'll see you later then, dear boyfriend."

In spite of himself, Jun Yang smiled as he put the phone away. If the young man had to be honest, if he really looked inside his heart, he would have to admit that he felt like he had done the right choice.

In his mind, he knew it was wrong because it would most likely lead to him disappointing his parents but his heart told him that he was right. In that moment, Jun Yang followed his heart but he could not help but be concerned about the possible ramification and consequences.

While Jun Yang was caught in this consideration, the car reached his home. He descended the car. When he walked through the door, the butler who had been looking over the family alongside Jun Yang's mother materialized from the shadows to greet him. "Welcome back, young master."

Jun Yang nodded. Then, the butler had something else to add, "Young master, the old master has been waiting for you at his study."

Jun Yang thought about it and nodded. "Okay, I understand."

The butler finished his assignment and retreated back into the shadows. He wandered off to deal with other minor accidents that happen around the house.

Jun Yang had a few ideas why his father had summoned him. He walked to the study and knocked on the wooden door.

"Who is it?" A powerful male voice said. It was Jun Yang's father, Mr. Jun.

"It's me, father," Jun Yang answered.

"Come in." Jun Yang opened the door and walked in. Mr. Jun's study was a rather spacious room. The centre of the room was dominated by a large mahogany table, which was utilized as Mr. Jun's working table. It had a computer, file racks and other work-related accoutrements.

The wall behind Mr. Jun's table was lined with file cabinets and bookshelves. The shelves were stock with documents and books related to economy and business.

When Jun Yang walked in, his father was seated at his usual place, at the table. The man, who looked around 40, had a severe countenance about him that suggested he was an all-business type of person. He had on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and was flipping through a book. When Jun Yang walked in, he put the book down and lifted his face up to look at his son.

Mr. Jun did not break a smile, if anything, he seemed rather detached around his son. The most he did was to nod to acknowledge Jun Yang's presence.

Jun Yang was used to his father's mannerism so he did not mind it. He nodded back and continued into the study. However, he only took several steps when he stopped. This was because he noticed there was another person in the room.