A STORM IS COMING

Ma Rui brought them back to their home the next day. She freaked out at how roguish her skin had become. Her face also was drained of moisture. She didn't want to show her 'ugly' face to her husband, so while she left the kids at home, she went to the skincare center in a nearby town. Before leaving, she warned the kids, especially her son, "Don't do anything reckless. I've already cooked your lunch. Eat when you are hungry and don't bully Luo'er." Ma Rui gave him a final glare and then went out.

Mo Yuan was playing with marbles in the garden. He was so bored. He would've rather gone to Warrego and look for some gold. His eyes landed on the girl who was running after a blue butterfly. She didn't look timid around him like before. She opened up to him after he talked to her. He was glad that he started to speak to her properly. Seeing her like this made him feel at ease. The young girl's face flushed due to overworking herself before finally sitting down on the grass, panting softly.

He smiled faintly as he looked at her and asked, "Are you thirsty?"

Han Luo nodded, too out of breath to respond straight away. He handed her a bottle of lychee juice. She took it and thanked cutely, "Thank you, big brother."

"You can call me 'big brother Yuan'," Mo Yuan said in a gentle manner.

Han Luo's eyes widened. "You… don't mind?"

He composedly retorted, "I don't mind." He carefully observed her reaction.

"All right," Han Luo agreed, her face brightening up. Mo Yuan finally started to accept her; she couldn't be happier. Feeling comfortable, the young girl ran around like a wild cat, playing with squirrels and feeding birds.

It was only ten in the morning. Mo Yuan was reading a picture book under an oak tree. He was looking through photos of the autumn festivals that were previously held in Australia. He was planning to go there with his family and Han Luo. He marked several pages but then noticed that Han Luo's laughing and jumping had ceased.

Worriedly, he looked around to search for her, only to find her sleeping under a Cassia fistula tree – known commonly as the golden shower tree. The yellow flowers gracefully coated each branch, painting the whole tree in a soothing shade of yellow. It was shielding her from the harsh spears of the sunlight. As the soft breeze blew, the branches moved and the yellow flowers showered over Han Luo's small body, covering her with flowers. She looked like a sleeping flower fairy.

Mo Yuan's black eyes deeply gazed at her for a long time. He came forward and laid down beside her. He was looking at her peaceful sleeping face until he dozed off.

He wasn't sure how long he slept. He woke up when he heard a loud splash. When he opened his eyes, he didn't find Han Luo around him. His heart raced. He looked at the swimming pool beside the golden shower tree and found her struggling to swim.

Without a second thought, Mo Yuan took off his sandals and jumped into the swimming pool. He soon got close to her and saw that a baby cat was protectively in between her two hands. The young boy caught her arm and dragged her out of the pool. Years of practicing martial arts were finally paying off.

Han Luo didn't stay in the water for long, but she still swallowed some water. She coughed intensely after she got up. Mo Yuan smacked her back lightly, a couple of times, and then rubbed gently to make her feel comfortable.

Han Luo's whole body was soaked, and she shivered out of fear. "What were you thinking?" Mo Yuan asked sharply. "How could you jump into the pool when you don't know how to swim?"

Han Luo flinched thinking that she made him angry. They finally had become close, but she was quick to anger him. Thinking that, her eyes turned red and she started weeping. She replied with a voice muffled by her tears, "The baby cat fell into the pool. I wanted to save it… sob… sob… sob…" As she cried, her shoulders shook.

A few moments ago, when she woke up from her nap, she saw Mo Yuan sleeping beside her. A sense of joy tingled her heart thinking that she was able to become his friend. 'It means that big brother Yuan doesn't hate Ah Luo,' she thought. It was then when she saw a baby cat walking past her. She carefully stood up and approached it cooing, "Here, cute kitty, kitty…"

But the white kitten got scared and ran without looking anywhere, leading itself to fall into the pool. Seeing that it didn't know how to swim, Han Luo jumped in as well, without thinking. Yet the six year old didn't know how to swim, only realizing that when she started to drown along with the kitten. When she was struggling to help the kitten, despite knowing she might have died, Mo Yuan came to save them both.

The young boy sighed and declared, "You could have called for me."

"I… I forgot…" She was still sobbing.

Mo Yuan didn't like to see her cry. She looked too pitiful. He patted her head and tried to coax her, "All right, don't cry. You should let the cat go now or you will suffocate it."

Han Luo let go of the kitten and it jumped out of her embrace. It was scared witless and quivering strenuously. Mo Yuan glared at it and it flinched. Han Luo didn't see him glaring at the kitten, so she innocently suggested, "I think we should take it to the hospital."

"Relax, it's okay," Mo Yuan gently replied, "this kitten won't die if it has the energy to shake its body so much."

Noticing that he was being gentle to her, Han Luo finally started to relax.

But at that moment, they heard the menacing crash of thunder. The children glanced at the sky and saw that a pall of black clouds had enveloped the sky. The sun hid itself behind the murky gloom.

A storm was coming.