When the Autumn Comes | BoyxBoy

11 - 7.6 Billion Puzzle Pieces

When the autumn comes, I'll be the one who finds you in the crowd.

"I'm early this time," Xu Yihan wondered to himself as he glanced down at his watch. Putting the box he was carrying down, he hugged himself, his body shivering as the wind wheezed by every now and then. Now that October transcended September, it also means that the weather is getting colder as days pass. Yihan didn't know when he stopped wearing his usual attire of suit shirt, vest, and trousers, but when he started wearing wool sweaters and jeans, somewhere in him decided to drop his formal attire unless it was necessary for him to wear it. And he didn't regret that decision in a bit now that he waited for Jorden Liew to come. Pieces of dry leaves waltzed their way down as the sky faded its mixture of shades of blue and warm orange. The birds above him flew from one side to the other in batches, as if to signal that it was time for them to migrate from one place to another. As usual, the cicadas in the background hummed, adding more sound of nature to the surrounding. The melody both the birds and the cicadas made felt so soothing and comfortable that he thought he could listen to it all day long. In his bedroom, he could still hear it in the background but that didn't beat the real experience of him standing here in the middle of the forest.

I can get used to this, Yihan smiled to himself. Unfortunately for him, his phone rang, disrupting the peaceful silence that he was enjoying as he waited for his companion. Clicking his tongue, he fished his phone out of his phone and put it near his ear. "Hello?"

"Do you miss your favourite Hannah?" chirped the girl on the phone as if she was having a whale of her time. "Because I miss my handsome cousin, you see."

"Hannah, if I'm not wrong, you're not supposed to call me at this time. Did you skip etiquette lesson just so you can make this phone call? Where is Ross, anyway?"

Hannah rolled her eyes but there was no way Yihan could see it. "You're a spoilsport. Lesson's canceled because the instructor sprained her ankle or something. Ross, being the usual oh-so-serious Ross is taking over her by giving me the lesson instead. Untactful but he's seriously cute when he does so! Oh my god, let me tell you how Ross-"

"Wait, wait, wait. I don't want to hear about how Ross is so adorable, handsome, gorgeous, stunning or whatever adjective you're going to use to describe him. If you have nothing to do, just stop giving the poor man so much trouble and listen to him. Wait, is that Ross shouting in the background?" Yihan hung the phone as he solemnly prayed for the poor Ross who seemed to be having a tough time on the other side of the phone. Even though Ross was just a house butler in his villa, he was so trusted by both Hannah and Yihan's parents for his die-hard loyalty for the family that they let him in in some family secrets that only their families knew. Reserved, introverted and a man of few words, Ross had no problems in carrying out all of the duties tasked to him until Hannah came along. Well, Hannah being Hannah was hard to deal with, especially her frivolous, extroverted and open personality. It didn't take one plus one to know how 'well' they would get along, but it seemed like Hannah had taken a serious liking to the butler who wished he had nothing to do with her. He didn't know how long he had waited as he stood patiently but he was brought back to reality when he heard the twigs and the dried leaves cracking at a distance.

"I'M SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT THIS LONG!" Yihan looked at the direction where the voice came from, only to see Jorden rushing to him with his school bag dangling from left to right on his left shoulder. "How long did ya wait?! Wait-20 minutes! Gosh, sorry!" His face still looks a little pale...Yihan fixed a worried gaze on him.

Gesturing for Jorden to hand him his bag, Yihan took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the other male. "Wipe your face and drink some water later. You don't have to rush like this, I can wait." When he saw Jorden staring at the handkerchief in a daze, he bent down and waved his hand in his face. "Are you okay?"