When it was around time for dinner, Ming Yue Guang was prepared to leave, while Ming was still in his own zone, studying intently. Yue Guang, however, did not interrupt Ming's thoughts. He chose to wait and observe the pale looking scholar. It was a very peaceful setting. Ming's hand support his unblemished face. His thin lips were squeezed on one side. A typical behaviour displayed by people who were thinking hard about something.
It was interesting to Yue Guang that someone could stay so focused on studying for such a long period of time. The friends that he usually hung around were mostly like him and would usually take breaks in between study sessions. It was his first time ever observing such a studious university student. An hour soon passed before Ming finally exited from his deep thoughts. He raised up his head and was welcomed with the sight of Yue Guang looking at him with meticulous eyes.
"A..Ah, why are you looking at me like that?" Ming asked confusingly.
Ming Yue Guang chuckled lightly before giving him an answer, "You were so focused on your work that I felt bad breaking your thought process."
"Huh?" Ming took a look at his phone. Realising that it was already 8 pm, he displayed a shock expression on his face, "Why didn't you tell me to stop? Sorry, sorry."
"Haha.. It's alright Ming. It was interesting to see how concentrated you were on the equation. Did you solve it eventually?"
"I..I managed to solve it in the end." Ming blushed hearing the other Ming's compliment.
"Well do you wanna go for dinner now?"
"Sure." Ming packed up his stuff, while Yue Guang had long finished packing up his books. "Where are we going?"
"Well, what do you feel like eating?"
"You're asking me? I am the last person you should ask when it comes to food."
"Really? Do you not have a favourite food?" The pair left the library while talking.
"No, not really. I grew up with four siblings and me being the oldest, I gave way to my siblings a lot."
"What? Four siblings?! What is that like?"
"It is very noisy at home. I don't think there was ever a point ever since I was a teenager that my home was quiet. I would come home and my siblings would be quarrelling downstairs in the living room."
"Hahaha, that sounds very lively. I wish my house was like that."
"Do you have a sibling?"
"No. I don't have a sibling," Ming Yue Guang looked straight as he reminisced his past, "My father was never home because of his military job, while my mother worked in the local bakery on the weekdays. It is usually quiet at home especially before my mother comes home from work. When my father comes home during his vacation days, only then would my home be filled with noise and laughter."
"Were your parents very in love with each other?" Ming asked curiously.
"Yeah. My parents are the type to show their affection in front of me. They aren't shy to proclaim their love for each other in public." Thinking back, Yue Guang remembered feeling extremely embarrassed whenever he left the house with his parents. Now, he knew that all his father wanted was to spend his precious off days without regrets. In his line of profession, every day on the field may be his last day in this world.
"Really? That's sweet…" Ming showed a thin smile. The attentive Yue Guang noticed that there was something up with the young man's expression.
He probed cautiously, "What about your parents?"
The pale looking prince didn't hide anything. He shook his head to indicate that his family wasn't the same as Ming Yue Guang's.
"My parents were actually arranged to be married by my grandparents. They both came from traditional Chinese families and were forced to be together by their parents."
"Oh…" Immediately, Yue Guang knew that he went too far, "Sorry about that."
"No, it's fine." Ming shook his head smilingly, "In the first year of their marriage, they were extremely unhappy being together. Both my parents worked 9 to 5 jobs and so, they never really had the time to get to know each other. It was only when they had me, did their life changed for the better."
Ming remembered clearly, "My mother said this to me when I was seven. 'Ming, you are the blessing that mom and dad needed.' Of course, I didn't understand that statement when I was young. Only when I was older did I realised that I was essentially the first common factor in my mother and father's lives. It was something that both of them shared and loved together. It was probably why they had my four other siblings."
Yue Guang could see that Ming was genuinely happy for his parents. In Ming's heart, he was glad that he was able to bring joy to his parent's life. Then again, he suffered much in the years that his siblings were around. He was unable to receive the proper amount of attention from his parents, which resulted in a lot of pent up emotions and stress. It even almost killed the young man entirely.
Ming looked over at the attentive senior that was listening to his family's story. Never had he thought that he would be sharing something too personal with someone that he had only met for the second time? In typical Ming fashion, the boy would be reserved and worried that the other person is untrustworthy or up-to-no-good. Yet, towards the 23-year old that saved his life and had pulled him out of his lowest point, he was unrestrained and expressive. He was even more open about himself than when he was around his best friend, Sato. To Ming, there was really nothing to hide from Ming Yue Guang. It was liberating to the core and therapeutic for the year two student.
"You know, you look really handsome when you smile." Ming Yue Guang said to the smiley Ming.
"H..Huh?" Confused, Ming looked away with a blush on his pale cheeks. His heart beated a little quicker after hearing what Yue Guang had said.
"Oh, here we are." The two Mings stood outside a storehouse restaurant a kilometre away from the university. From its oriental store design, anyone could tell that the food was of Chinese origin. Yue Guang asked, "You're okay with spicy food right?"