image [https://auroraluxi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/chapter-14.png?w=630]

"Oh, before you leave, I forgot to tell you guys something! Yuming, my best friend, is visiting today... Want to hang out after practice?"

Kaili's interest piqued in an instant. "Is she cute?"

Her smile widened. "Very."

Kaili had already started gathering his things. "I'm heading out early."

"Why?" she asked, puzzled. "We still haven't practiced yet."

Kaili grinned like a cat who had just stolen the cream. "Gonna clean my room."

Hooman, perched on a nearby chair, gave Kaili a light jab in the stomach, his stubbled chin jutting forward with a teasing grin. "She isn't going to your room."

Meilin stifled a laugh. "Uh, yeah, we're actually going to the movies."

Ningshun's eyes lit up, a switch flipping on. "Let's go! I've been wanting to go out for a long time."

Her eyes widened. 'He's been so calm and quiet all day, and now he's this excited?' She turned to Han and Hooman, her gaze inviting like a warm, open door. "Do you want to join us too?"

"A girl? I, uh..." Han stammered. "Alright..."

"What's wrong, Han the Boulder? Nervous?" Hooman teased, his laughter gentle as Han managed a faint smile and turned to Meilin. "Sure, why not?"

"Great! I'll text her about this!"

~*~

After practice, the whole team gathered outside a towering building in the middle of an urban square, with plants decorating every corner. Kaili, Hooman, and Meilin laughed at their jokes while Han conversed with Ningshun.

As they waited, a strange presence prickled at Ningshun's senses, like unseen eyes lurking in the shadows. He clenched his jaw, forcing a casual shrug. 'I'm probably just tripping.'

A subtle ripple of energy emanated from the bustling crowd, precisely, one man who stood out among the rest in his black worn-out robes covering his head. His eyes, weathered by the passage of time, caught a glimpse of their interaction, jolting his pupils into a tremor.

"This feeling..." The old man's eyes, shadowed and hollow, landed on Ningshun. "His power... it's from realms beyond here. Yet he is not of my kind. What is he?" his voice quavered like the rustling of old parchment. Bowing his head, a ray of twisted hope shone through his gaze. "It matters not; he may be my escape... Yes, yes, at last. This is a sign. I can go back to my world..."

~*~

As the group waited, Kaili sighed and tapped on his arm. "It's been over fifteen minutes. She better be cute, or else I'll—"

"Meilin!"

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Kaili turned around, his jaw dropping, eyes tracing the girl's delicate features. Short bobtail hair with an ash-brown undertone accentuated her amber eyes. A soft pink hue graced her lips, and light-brown eyeshadow rested above her innocent, round eyes.

Meilin's smile blossomed as she spotted Yuming, and without a second thought, she sprinted toward her, arms spread wide. "Yuming!" She leaped into her friend's arms, squeezing her arms around her as if afraid to let go.

"I've missed you so, so much!" Yuming leaned closer, glancing over her shoulder, and whispered, "Are they...?"

"Yes!" Meilin pulled back and turned, waving toward the others. "Hey, boys! Come over here."

Ningshun and Han sauntered over, offering polite nods to Yuming.

Kaili sprinted toward the girls, shoving his hand forward before Yuming could grab Ningshun's, beating him to it. "I'm Kaili. The pleasure is all..." He turned to Ningshun's bewildered look. "...mine."

Ningshun rolled his eyes. 'Seriously, why's he stressing? She's not even my type! I thought he'd know that by now.' He released a sharp breath, his tone casual yet firm. "Yeeeah... I'm gonna go sit over there." Veering off as the group interacted with Yuming, he sank back onto the bench.

Meilin glanced at Ningshun, noting the tightness in his facial muscles as he took out his phone. 'He keeps checking his phone. Could it be the same person who called him this morning? Ugh, I shouldn't meddle in this!'

In the distance, away from the group, Ningshun's gaze drifted to the tiles underfoot. Lost in his thoughts, a shadow edged into his view. Tensing his brows, he drew his gaze upward, staying quiet as Meilin stood before him.

"Hey," she murmured. "Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

Just as he parted his lips to reply, his phone rang. He closed his eyes, releasing a heavy sigh as a crease formed between his brows. "One sec," he breathed.

She nodded, her smile small and hesitant, sitting beside him. "Sure."

He pulled out his phone, a name glaring on the screen. 'Again with this.'

"Where are you? I expected you to be here an hour ago."

Listening in, her heart raced like a caged bird breaking free as she uncovered the truth he had kept to himself. 'He had somewhere else to be, yet he chose to be here... with me?' A sly fox's grin teased at the edges of her lips as the pieces fell into place.

Ningshun caught her smug look, the cocky tilt of her head. 'She's catching on, huh?' He clicked his tongue, turning away.

"You good-for-nothing!" With a growl, the call ended with a sharp click.

He stared at the blank screen and pocketed his phone, his gaze darkening like a clouded sky. "I didn't tell you because it didn't matter."

Meilin's gaze softened, her smile gentle. "It matters to me, Ningshun..."

He stiffened.

"You know, whoever he was, I don't buy into his opinion."

His head jerked to the side, eyes widened. "What?"

She shifted closer, her voice dipping into a softer, more personal tone. "If you were good-for-nothing, there wouldn't be millions of people admiring you."

He stilled, confronted like ice clashing with fire as her words hit like an unexpected truth. He did not flinch, but his gaze held hers a beat longer, torn between acknowledgment and deflection before he glanced away.

"Oh, right! The movie's starting soon! I'll see you by the snacks?" Meilin beamed from ear to ear, like a sunburst.

With a final, dazzling smile that shimmered like a shooting star, she sprinted away, leaving his mouth agape in a spellbound hush.

Ningshun blinked, arms crossed over his chest as he slumped back against the bench. Releasing a sigh, a faint smile adorned his lips as he gazed at the sky.

~*~

The old man lingered in the periphery, his gaze filled with unsettling intensity, following Ningshun's every move as dark energies whispered in his ears.

"I know, little ones," he murmured in an eerie voice as his ghastly creatures circled around him.

A sly grin crept across his face as he snapped his fingers.

In the distance, Ningshun froze for a moment, a sudden chill creeping down his spine like icy fingers as an unseen force tugged at him. His fist clenched, teeth gritted as he turned, movements sharp and tense.

A blinding white ray shot from his palm, making its way to his victim, only to fizzle out as it approached Ningshun, as if repelled by an unseen force.

"No reaction? How odd." The man ground his teeth. "He's not ploying something? An ambush?"

He scanned the area, eyes narrowing, but nothing unusual emerged.

"Better to stay low for now. It wouldn't be fun if it were easy. We'll meet again... when the time is right." The man scowled in the shadows, hidden in the bustling crowd, his mind racing as he plotted his next move for the next time he would see Ningshun.