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Throughout the day, Jun Yang understandably found it difficult to pay attention in class. He teetered between being mad at Feng Qi for doing something like this and mad at himself for doubting Feng Qi. One moment, he had full confidence that Feng Qi would not betray his trust but the next, he was regretting ever placing his trust in Feng Qi.

The problem could be so easily solved if Feng Qi showed up to class that day, that way at least they would be able to hash this out face-to-face, alas that was not meant to be. Jun Yang turned his head around during classes often to sneak a look at Feng Qi's table. Every time he saw the empty table where the young man should have been, his jaw tightened with something that was akin to fury.

Why would Feng Qi pick this day among all the days to play truancy? Was this a maneuver on his part so that Jun Yang would have to face the gauntlet of gossips alone or the real culprit purposely chose the day Feng Qi was absent to do this so they could more easily pin the blame on him? Again, it was the same ol' question with no one to provide him with a definite answer.

Naturally, this did not bode well for Jun Yang's focus in class. In fact, a few of his teachers named him to provide the answers and the young man barely had an inkling what the questions were. Each time, it was Pei Ling who sat behind him who whispered to him the solution. Jun Yang was thankful of her help and due to that, he gained increasing faith and anticipation towards the 'solution' that she mentioned earlier. Jun Yang wanted to hear what she had to say.

Jun Yang managed to survive until the end of school day somehow. Jun Yang never felt tired after a day of class, but that day, he felt both spiritually and physically drained. There was nothing he would not give to lie down, fall into a deep sleep and wake up to realize it was all a dream. Alas, reality was waiting for him.

When the bell for the last class rang, Jun Yang slipped away, afraid of people would come to him for an explanation for the pictures that were shared on the class' Whatsapp group. What the young man failed to realize was, his classmates were only talking about it, they were not going to approach him, if they wanted to, they would have done that already. After all, the pictures had already been shared since yesterday night.

This was proof that panic and fluster could influence a normally careful thinker into making rash and hurried decisions.

Pei Ling had been silently following Jun Yang's movement. When she noticed Jun Yang walk out the classroom, she also quickly packed up her bag to follow the young man. Pei Ling made sure her footsteps made noise when she walked, which was something someone as ladylike as her rarely did. This was to signal to Jun Yang non-verbally that she was following him.

Realizing Pei Ling was tailing him, Jun Yang led the way to a more suitable place where they could have a private talk. When they reached a corner of the school which was relatively secluded, Jun Yang stopped and turned around to ask Pei Ling, "Pei Ling, what do you think I should do now?"

Pei Ling looked at Jun Yang seriously and for some reason, Jun Yang felt weirdly uncomfortable under her gaze, however, he tried his best to not let that show.

After studying Jun Yang for some time, Pei Ling asked a question that Jun Yang did not see coming at all, "Jun Yang, are you in a romantic relationship with Feng Qi?" He definitely did not expect such a direct interrogation.

For Jun Yang, Pei Ling represented the part of his world which aligned with his parents, his family traditions and most importantly his responsibility as the young master of the Jun family. Therefore, when she asked that question, Jun Yang felt like he was being interrogated by his parents as well.

If they ever found out their son was not going to follow the life's path that they had laid down for him, they would be so devastated and that was the one thing you should never do as a Chinese child. Everything you are belongs to your parents.

Therefore, in that moment, before Jun Yang even stopped to think about the implications of her question, he subconsciously moved his head from left to right. It was not until the action was completed that it registered in Jun Yang's mind that he had shaken his head, saying no to the question which was posed by Pei Ling.

Before he could correct himself, Jun Yang saw Pei Ling nod and she said, "Alright, but Feng Qi does not seem to think that way."

For some reason, even in that moment, Jun Yang was compelled to jump to Feng Qi's defense when he heard the accusation in Pei Ling's voice, "He just likes to joke a lot, I'm sure he means no harm."

"Are you sure?" Pei Ling queried. "I am not blind, you know. You might have the impression that you two are only friends but Feng Qi might not think that way. That day at the park, it was obvious that he was trying to come onto you."

"I… I…" Jun Yang stammered, he did not expect Pei Ling to pay so much attention to them. Furthermore, there was nothing he could say to challenge her observation. It did seem like Feng Qi was trying to come onto him. He was foolish to expect others to not notice that.

"I'm sure he does not mean any harm," he repeated weakly and the argument sounded flimsy even to Jun Yang's own ears.

"And that is exactly why I disapprove of you two getting too close with each other. I have nothing against Feng Qi, but Jun Yang, we are simply from a different world than he is.

"Take today's incident as an example, he might think this is just a harmless joke, but it can have serious repercussion for you. This is of course no fault of Feng Qi, he simply fails to understand the severity of his action because he views the world in a way that is completely different from ours."

Jun Yang had nothing to say to that because every word Pei Ling said was nothing but the truth. [If you like my work, I would really appreciate a cup of joe as donation. Thank you. Donate here: ko-fi.com/lonelytree]