Play (24)

Instead of being dragged into a drawn out argument with Pei Ling, Miss M pointed at the small plaque that sat on the counter. It had the following written out in cursive, "We reserve the right to deny service to any customer on any grounds". The overall stylistic of the plaque was surprisingly light and airy considering the solemnity of its content.

This was a sign that Miss M probably bought that plaque for the sake of decoration, she never thought the day would come when she would have to put the warning into use. In other words, she never expected she would one day come across someone as horrendous as Pei Ling.

She tapped the plaque twice to stress her point.

That made Pei Ling's blood pressure surge. "How dare you?! I am worth more than this place and no one is going to chase me out of any store! I can buy the shop out from under your feet, do you even understand that, you old b*tch?!" Pei Ling's arms were flailing around, as she felt the fury with every inch of her body. This caused the flour to form a mist around her and that dampened the threatening aura that she was going for… not that it was going to work on Miss M anyway.

The older lady had gotten enough of Pei Ling's hysterics. Instead of yelling back at the young woman, she held the steel bowl and turned to head back into the kitchen.

Seeing this, Pei Ling gloated, "Where are you going? It's too late for you to even apologize now. You've crossed the line and angered someone you shouldn't. There is an established hierarchy in this world and the ones on the bottom should never come for those above them."

Miss M had no response to the taunt. Seconds later, she came out with the steel bowl refilled with baking flour. She warned in a deep tone, "I'm not going to repeat myself. Get out or suffer another mouthful of flour."

The lady's fingers that gripped the bowl were bulging with veins. She was not joking with Pei Ling. The protectiveness she had towards Feng Qi was showing through.

Pei Ling's lips twitched when she saw the weapon Miss M armed herself with. She was not going to back down so easily, especially when she saw Miss M as someone who was beneath her, but her pride would not allow her to suffer another shower of flour. One such experience was enough to last her for a lifetime.

She gritted her teeth before finally hissing through them, "I know I should not have sunken to the level of such rotten behavior. It is pointless to argue against a mad woman." Then she turned to level her venomous gaze at Feng Qi. "Feng Qi," she called but the young man did not react to her at all. Miss M though moved to stand between Pei Ling and Feng Qi, blocking the former's view of the latter. She was shielding him like how a mother hen would for her chick. Pei Ling's voice though still travelled through Miss M's protection and it landed squarely in Feng Qi's ears. "I hope you remember what I've told you today. Recognize your place in life and be mindful of your boundaries. Try as you might but a magpie is not going to transform into a phoenix for no reason, that only happens in fairy tales."

"Haven't I told you to leave? Or would you like to stay for another shot?" Madam M warned again before Pei Ling got the chance to leave another emotional wound.

Pei Ling harrumphed and whipped her head around and stomped out of the café. She was trying to make the escape as dignified as she could but with puffs of smoke coming out of her with every step, that was hard to make possible. If not for the state of fury Miss M was in, she would have found the situation comical.

After the door slammed close behind Pei Ling, Miss M quickly rushed to check up on Feng Qi. The young man looked shell-shocked, which in other words, was completely unlike how he usually would be. Feng Qi always had a joke or a kind-hearted jab to give Miss M and seeing the young man in this state caused Miss M's heart to be gripped by a deep sense of consternation.

"Feng Qi, are you alright? Don't listen to that horrible girl, don't let her words get into your head," Miss M cooed.

Feng Qi wasn't really paying Miss M much attention because since before, his mind had been stuck on the one thing that Pei Ling revealed. 'Jun Yang has an arranged marriage with Pei Ling…'

…

After the little incident at Mist Café, school continued and it was about time for the class to hand in their assignment for Mr. Sam's class. Yes, it was finally time for the play.

It was the day for rehearsal and the class was separated into groups and were given the chance to use the auditorium for stage practice. Naturally, Mr. Sam would be there to guide all of them through it and to answer questions if there were any.

That day, Feng Qi finally decided to show up for school and once he stepped in class, Jun Yang noticed there was something wrong about the young man.

The usual sense of levity around the young man was conspicuously absent. Whenever Jun Yang was around Feng Qi, the latter would sneak in some embarrassing comments or good-natured jokes but that day, Jun Yang did not hear a peep out of Feng Qi. That was definitely strange.

Jun Yang did enquire Feng Qi what was going on with him or if he could offer any help but the young man assured him that everything was fine. Feng Qi didn't seem like someone who would reveal his thoughts no matter how hard you pushed.

Jun Yang did not press any further because on that day, there was something else which was on his mind. [If you like my work, I would really appreciate a cup of joe as donation. Thank you. Donate here: ko-fi.com/lonelytree]