A Fated Encounter

"Hmm... Chen Jun Tian is late." Lin Han Xin said monotonously. He has always been a patient person but this time, he could not afford to do so. He is the heir apparent of the residence of the Imperial Secretary so he must attend the Feast of Flowers in order to not bring shame upon his family's reputation. However, to be able to attend the event, one's team must top the other teams in Yun Lin Academy but if one of his teammates does not show up for the competition, how was his team able to win? Lin Han Xin may not show any emotions on his face but deep down, he was extremely worried. It was almost noon.

"The portal will be closing soon..." Bai Ye Hua added while stealing a few glances of her fellow serpent man. She did not understand how he could stay so calm in such a worrisome situation. He really did not change at all ever since they last met about a decade ago at her ancestor's old mansion. She knew he was looked familiar when she met him the day before but she did not realised it until she arrived home and rummaged through her belongings while packing up her spatial ring.

"What are you waiting for?" Elder Bai shouted at the team, her brow furrowed a bit when she saw her dear niece peeking at the handsome youth but no one else had noticed it. "Pass through the portal now!"

"We have to go." Lin Han Xin claimed as he walked towards the portal along with Bai Ye Hua.

"But what about Chen Jun Tian?" Pouted Fei Qing Niao as he kept on looking at the direction of the academy's gates. Ao Xia Ming who was standing near him had no energy to argue with this childish young master so he ended up dragging him through the portal while murmuring some words in an unrecognisable language.

Meanwhile, Chen Jun Tian who was working at the dumpling stall the night before overslept from exhaustion and ended up coming late to the academy even though the elders specifically warned every students about the portal to the battle grounds being closed at noon so the youth just stood where the portal was with a gloomy face for a few minutes, hoping that it was all a dream. Then from a distance, he saw a familiar figure running towards him. It was the infamous young lady Hu. Her amethyst-colored orbs stared straight into his as she tried to catch her breath from all the running. She was wearing a pale purple silk brocade with golden embroidered orchids and her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, secured with a simple golden hairpin. Even with such a plain outfit, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

"You too huh? Just what are we supposed to do?" She asked with her brows furrowed while thinking of a solution. Her long black hair swayed a bit as the cold wind rustled.

"What if we take the Golden Express to Tao Yuan city centre and stop at the Chamber of Portals? There should be another portal to the battle grounds, right?" Jun Tian proposed, surprising young Lady Hu who was still panicking about not being able to attend the competition. She was trying to think so hard of a solution but after hearing the young man's proposition, she just uttered a simple 'Oh.'

"Come on, let's go!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her hands and started running towards the Golden Express Station in front of the academy's gates. "Hopefully we will get on the next train!"

He wrapped his hands tightly around hers as she could feel the a tingling warm sensation emitting from them. From the beginning, she thought that he was just a cold and distant person because he did not speak much when her cousin introduced them but she was wrong. When he grabbed a hold of her hands, she felt as if there is electricity shooting right through her, creating sparks that she could only feel when she is with him and a light force of gravitational interaction that attracts her towards him. He might not be the handsomest young master whom she has ever seen but he has his own unique charms that she could not see in anyone else.

When the two of them arrived at the station, Jun Tian told her to sit in the waiting area as he ran up to ticket booth and bought two tickets to Tao Yuan city centre. There were not many trains coming to the outskirts of the city so the two had to wait a several minutes for the next train to arrive.

"Do want anything from the vending machine?" He asked as he pointed at a nearby snack dispenser.

"Anything is fine with me. Thank you." He nodded and walked out of the room towards the vending machine as she just watched him from the back... She was in a trance but she then felt a sudden cold sensation on the palm of her hands so she looked up. Jun Tian was holding out a small crystal vial with pinkish-coloured liquid inside, with a small yet friendly smile, making her cheeks slightly blushed.

"I though you might like it." He claimed, still smiling.

"What makes you think I would like it?" She asked as she tried not to look at him, hoping that he couldn't see that she was blushing like a madman.

"It's made from crystal rose essence, many young ladies love to drink it to help improve their skin." His brows furrowed a bit when he saw that she didn't reply to him. "You don't like it? We can swap drinks if you want..."

"N-no! It's okay! I'm fine with this drink. Thank you!" She exclaimed so he just shrugged it off. She just couldn't believe herself that this young man who looked as if he was not interested in any woman actually knew a lot about the things that many young misses like. It made her heart double its pace and her face was in a serious dark shade of red, thinking about his charming smile when he gave her the small crystal vial.

The train soon arrived within the station's platforms so the two of them went on board and sat in their designated seats which was right next to each other then a few minutes later, the magic express departed from the station in the direction of the city centre.

"Young master Chen?" Jing Li called out to him in a soft and gentle voice. She fixed her shinning violet orbs on his youthful features. He was wearing a loose soft blue hanfu adorned with white cloud patterns on his belt and the hem of sleeves and he has his long black hair tied up in a simple ponytail with a silk headband of the same blue colour as his hanfu. Even though his clothing was quite plain, Jing Li felt that the more she looked at him, the more she could see of his hidden beauty.

"Yes?" The grey-eyed male looked at her with an unreadable expression. "You can call me Jun Tian just like everyone else."

"Alright, senior brother Jun." She threw him a little smile. "Why are you so eager to join this competition? We could have just stayed at home. Is it because of the Feast of Flowers?"

"Yes but I also wanted to see the meteor shower at the Xing Guang campsite."

"Meteor shower?" Jing Li looked at him curiously, her eyes beamed with a trace of excitement.

"Yes, it only shows up once every one thousand years and it happened to be tonight. The best place to see is of course at Yun Xing Hai city where our camping area is located." He replied with a bittersweet smile. His mother had always told him stories of the beautiful meteor showers from her hometown so he just couldn't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. "Do you want to go see it with me?"

"Of course!" Young lady Hu was filled with enthusiast but she wasn't sure why he would ask her instead of Bai Ye Hua because she has speculations that there might be something between them. "Are not you going to bring young lady Bai with you?"

"Hahaha!" He chuckled playfully, surprising her because she never knew that she could see such a sight before since he seemed so cold and unsociable just a few hours ago. "Well... here's the thing," he suddenly leaned towards Jing Li, leaving only a few centimetres between both of them as a sweet and craving scent effortlessly entered her nostrils. She could sense his hot breath whispering into her ears while she felt as if her heart was pumping blood at the speed of light. "She is my distant cousin."

When Jing Li heard that, she felt a little bit of weight being lifted off her shoulders. Jun Tian continued to laugh as he shifted back into his normal seating position and the two of continued talking about random things during their train ride. At first, she thought that he was just an introverted person who hates socializing with people but he's actually a really fun person to talk with. However, when Jun Tian leaned in to whisper something into her ears again, the train's velocity made him leaned way further than he had intended. At that same time, Jing Li was turning her face to look at him and just like that, a beautiful something happened…