Brick by Brick (Bxb)

Chapter 6: Budding Affection

Terry dreamt that he had stumbled across a weird looking animal, some sort of crossbreed between an armadillo and a giant hamster. Soft, fluffy white fur replaced the hard carapace that was supposed to protect it. He touched the creature, pleasantly surprised to discover how comfortable it felt. 

The cute ball of fur retreated a little, but Terry wasn't willing to let it go. He cornered it to a wall and happily pounced. The instant he did, he felt a strong impact to his solar plexus and woke up grimacing in pain.

The morning air was cool, beams of gentle sunlight penetrated through the gaps in the canopy and into the room. 

Ming Kai stared coldly back at him before jumping off the bed to get changed. Terry realised what he most had likely pounced on, and could only smile apologetically in return.

"Good morning," Ming Kai greeted first, despite what had just happened.

"Mmhhmm," Terry mumbled distractedly, watching Ming Kai change out into the clothes he lent him last night. He had to admit, that the person in front of him was extremely attractive, to the point that he felt envious. Some people were just blessed with redeeming qualities. Ming Kai seemed to be the kind of person who would never lack the company of girls. Then a thought struck him.

"How many girls have you slept with?"

"Why the random question? Get ready or I'm leaving you behind!" and just like that, Ming Kai slammed the door and left, completely ignoring Terry's question.

Today was the only day of the week that Ming Kai and Terry had common lessons together. The rest of their modules were specific to their faculty. After all, Engineering and Business students were as immiscible as oil and water.

Not wanting to waste the precious moment they could spend together, Terry started changing into more appropriate clothes as fast as he could and rushed out, only to find that Ming Kai had already left without him. Cursing inwardly, Terry made his way to the lecture room alone.

He didn't even have time to buy breakfast. Damn it!

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Upon reaching the lecture theatre, he saw Ming Kai sitting at his usual spot; second row from the back. Except this time, the seat beside was taken by the girl whom Ming Kai was always together with; Chen Yu Lin.

Terry felt a twinge of sadness when he realised he had to seat alone for the entire lecture. It wouldn't be nice to disturb the two of them. In fact, shouldn't he be happy for him? He took the seat directly behind Ming Kai, watching Chen Yu Lin whisper something to his ear and seeing him seemingly entertained by it.

All of a sudden, Terry couldn't suppress this cold, dark feeling welling up from inside him. Each time Ming Kai laughed in response to her comments, it felt as though the distance between him and Ming Kai threatened to grow further and further apart. The two of them didn't even seem to notice that Terry was already seated behind them.

Screw this morning! 

First, he woke up late. He had to skip breakfast in order to catch up with Ming Kai, only to find some girl sitting on his spot. And now, Ming Kai didn't even seem to pay any attention to him.

"Ming Kai!" 

Terry accidentally spoke a little louder than he intended to. He simply wanted to let Ming Kai know he was here. And yet, the sound that came out from him was demanding, ugly and filled with intolerance.

Had it always been this difficult to call out his name?

Ming Kai turned to face him, his expression changing from mild surprise to a smirk. He looked apologetically to Chen Yu Lin, then stood up and took a seat beside Terry. At the same time, he took out a paper-wrapped package and shoved it at him. 

Looking inside, Terry spotted a meat bun and a packet of soy milk.

Touched by Ming Kai's act of concern, Terry let out an appreciative cry and tried to hug him, "Ming Kai...you're so good to me!"

"Treat it as thanks for letting me stay over. I'll return the clothes once I wash them."

"You can keep it if you want. It looks good on you anyway," Terry cheerfully replied. None of the frustration he felt previously could be seen on his face. When Ming Kai turned his attention to him, Terry was overcome with joy. He couldn't believe that the simple act of seating beside him or bringing breakfast could make him feel so content.

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Chen Yu Lin gave her feelings some serious thought. She didn't think that she would be the first to fall for someone. Usually, it was the other way around.

Many guys have approached her during her freshmen year, some whom were actually quite attractive. However, she had flatly rejected every single one of them. They were only obsessed with her looks, some didn't even try to hide their ulterior motives. Even now, there were still many who continued to pursue her and she was utterly sick of it.

On the other hand, Ming Kai did none of those. Even during their first meeting, Ming Kai wasn't the least infatuated with her looks.

As she got to know him better, she realised that there were many aspects of Ming Kai that made him increasingly appealing. Chen Yu Lin didn't even realise that feelings for him started to emerge, and now it came to a point where she was constantly thinking about it.

Entering the lecture hall, Chen Yu Lin was surprised to see Ming Kai sitting alone today. Usually, he would have sat with Terry at the last row and made fun of the lecturer's poor teaching style.

She seized the opportunity and went over.

"Did something happen? Where's that guy whom you normally sit with?"

"Who knows. Perhaps he isn't coming today." 

Ming Kai was a little annoyed, recalling how Terry fondled him while half-asleep. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he decided to buy breakfast for that moron when he wasn't even sure if he'd turn up for lectures today.

"What songs are we preparing to sing for the upcoming performance?" he questioned. 

Everyone knew that Ming Kai musical repertoire was lacking, so he needed some help familiarizing the songs.

Chen Yu Lin knew exactly what Ming Kai wanted, and went on to inform him about the songs and details of the concert they were set to perform.

She was enjoying their conversation when a gruff voice called out to Ming Kai from behind. Turning around, she noticed Terry sitting directly behind them. In that moment, Ming Kai turned to her and smiled wryly. "I'll talk to you later," he apologised.

After heading to the back, he took out the breakfast package and handed it to Terry. Chen Yu Lin had assumed Ming Kai bought breakfast for himself, but it turned out to be for somebody else.

Glancing back, she saw that the two of them were currently immersed with fooling around. Terry seemed so close to Ming Kai that she wished to be in his position instead. All of a sudden, Chen Yu Lin thought she felt a pang of jealousy. She clutched her hands to her chest, willing herself to calm down.

They only share this lecture together for the entire week. 

Even though she spent plenty more time together with Ming Kai, why did she feel so apprehensive? Could she be that she was jealous of platonic friendship between two guys?

Disgusted by her own thoughts, Chen Yu Lin shook her head and pushed them aside, deciding to focus on the lecture instead.

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End of Chapter