Right Here Waiting

Chapter 7: Beside You

"Good afternoon, Master." Wei greeted with a smile as Syaoran entered the apartment. “And you too, Kinomoto-san.” He added, seeing the familiar girl in her school uniform.

Sakura bowed her head a bit to show respect, which Wei was grateful off. Even though it had been years since Syaoran let his apartment be her second home, she was still careful of moving inside it.

“Wait for me here.” Syaoran said, letting her sit in the living room. He wanted to go to his room first to change and to arrange some of his things before he tutor her. Once he saw her nod, he turned to his butler and said, “Wei, can you please give her something to eat?”

Wei nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

Sakura sat on the couch for a moment, but chose to follow the old man. She entered the kitchen, seeing him preparing the cups and small plates he needed. “I can do it, Wei-san.” She offered.

"But--"

"It is okay." Sakura smiled at him. "I know you have other things to do. After all, this may be a little way for me to repay Syaoran for his time.”

With that, Wei understood. “As you wish, Kinomoto-san.” He said, stepping back to give her way. Based from Syaoran’s stories, he knew that Sakura was a great cook. She was the opposite of Meiling Li in that aspect, since the latter constantly struggle in order to please Syaoran.

Sakura smiled gratefully. “Hey, can you please just call me Sakura? You saw me and Syaoran grow anyway, and I treat you like a father already.”

Wei gave a short laugh. “As I have thought, Meiling is so different from you. Now I understand why the young Master is drawn too much on you.”

“Hoe?” Sakura gave a confused look, not knowing what he meant. She gazed at him, but the old man chose to remain silent and simply smiled. She wanted to ask him, but Syaoran entered the kitchen.

“Is that chocolate?” Syaoran said, smelling the familiar scent. He found his butler on the side, watching Sakura pour the hot liquid on three cups.

“Yes.” Sakura answered, taking one cup to give it to Wei. She turned to him and smiled. “I know how you prefer hot chocolate more than tea.”

Syaoran smiled, glad that she remembered how chocolate could make him happy. Although this time, his happiness was not fully on the drink, but the fact that she was doing it for him. ‘At least for a short time, Eriol left her mind.’

“Shall we go up?”

Syaoran nodded. He walked beside her. “I’ll take this.” He said, getting the tray away from her. “You can go up now; I’ll follow you for a moment.”

Sakura nodded and did what she was told. Syaoran then looked at Wei, who had a grin written on his face.

“What’s with that look?” the younger man said.
Wei shook his head. “I am just happy, young Master.”

Raising a brow, Syaoran waited for him to speak. He knew very well that Wei got something on his sleeve and he wanted to know what it is.

“It’s just that,” Wei began. “I am glad to see that you and Sakura are doing well. And, it’s nice to see someone taking care of you besides Lady Meiling.”

Syaoran scowled. “That issue again.” He said, receiving a short laugh from the older man. He sighed, simply wanting the issue to leave that place. “I’ll go up now. And please prepare a dinner for three.”

“I will, young Master.”

********

After dinner, Syaoran and Sakura decided to lock themselves in Syaoran’s room to do their homework for the following day. Syaoran helped her first with Chemistry and Math, which gave him a lot of challenge since Sakura was having a hard time grasping the techniques he was sharing.