Finding "you": Chapter 7: A new side of you

Sebastian woke to the bright sun's rays as he hopped out of bed to the living room to find his sister and brother in law were having breakfast with Violet.

"Good morning! Time to head to Phut Bi! Hurry clean up!" Violet cheered as Sebastian smiled looking forward to it.

"Yea, hurry! We made a huge portion of fried noodles here!" Carissa prompted.

"And your favorite milk tea!" Gerald chimed.

"Alright, alright… five minutes!" Sebastian raised his five fingers while heading to the washroom. 

Another day. I wish I could be this happy daily with… Sebastian thought to himself while brushing his teeth and looking at himself at the mirror as the thought of heading to Phut Bi with Violet made him smile even more.  

He shook his wishful thinking away realising the situation he was in before hurrying up for a hasty breakfast.

After a rush breakfast, Sebastian e-hailed a taxi to the airport with Violet. "We hope you had a good stay… come back anytime and we will welcome you with great hospitality!" Carissa said while hugging Violet.

"Thank you so much! I'm going to miss the hospitality!" Violet said as she also gave Gerald a hug.

"Find your courage and come for your second tattoo soon!" Gerald teased as Violet chuckled.

"I will! Take care!" Violet said to the couple as Sebastian waved at them in the taxi.

"You would get a second tattoo. Trust me." Sebastian said with conviction.

"How would you be so sure?" Violet raised an eyebrow as Sebastian laughed.

"You just proved me right," Sebastian said as Violet was actually thinking about it casually but not just yet as she smiled before checking out the video footage she had from the last few days.

Since it was a domestic flight, Violet was editing some of the videos on the way before posting them onto her alternate social media ID when they arrived at Phut Bi. That was when she realised there was a new follower, SapinessXOwhack. She chuckled to herself at the funny name as she followed back the account. 

Sebastian's phone rang with a notification as he discreetly accepted her request. "What's so funny?" He asked, trying to act normal. 

"There's a new follower!" She cheered knowing if she was to be in the mass communication industry, she needed to watch her criticism. She dare not to make fun of others especially their name in public.

"Congrats!" He cheered while they got on to the shuttle bus which would be sending them directly to their homestay. 

Midway, the bus reached a pitstop and had a few passengers alighting. While the bus driver sorted out with the other tour guides, Violet realise their hostel seemed to be nearby.

"Should we walk instead? It seemed nearby…" She suggested while Sebastian absentmindedly shrugged and followed her only to figure though it was near, it was at least a half an hour walk. Sebastian started to feel strange after a distance of walking and they were still on the road with huge fields by the side. The sun may not be shining bright but it was very warm.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Sebastian asked, panicking as he checked her mobile map route while she scratched her head in confusion.

"Seriously? 30 minutes estimated walking time! In this heat? And you call this near?! Do you know how dangerous it can be?" Sebastian bellowed as he took his mobile out and instantly e-hailed for a taxi. Fortunately, there was one reaching them in five minutes.

"Sorry…" Violet chirped while Sebastian tried to let it go.

"Don't ever do such a thing! Drink more water and stay hydrated! Not everywhere is as cooling or safe as Lagopool. Even then, have some sense of security! We could have gotten mugged!" Sebastian began to snap again before the horn from their taxi came by, and they both hopped on the 10-minute ride. 

They had their check-ins done separately but their room was next to each other. Sebastian felt bad about snapping at Violet earlier that he went to knock on her door. She was halfway through drinking from the complimentary bottle of water in the room while reading the local news that she choked when she saw Sebastian at her door. 

"Slowly… You're alright?" He asked while walking in behind her as she nodded and reached for some tissues. 

"I… err. I'm sorry for snapping earlier." Sebastian apologised as she shrugged.

"I should be sorry. You were right. I didn't notice the safety till I checked online earlier on kidnapping cases. My bad…" Violet said as he nodded to accept her apology.

"You're always this free-spirited?" He asked as she blinked and pondered for a moment. 

"Used to be. A little too free lately after, you know… the whole divorce saga." Violet clarified as he nodded again at their awkwardness.

"Well…lunch before the beach?" He suggested as she nodded with a huge grin, trying to act normal. 

He knew she was back to normal as he waited for her to pack her bags to head out but something between them both had changed after the incident. 

In Qi Tai, Pei Li woke to find herself in a hangover. She could not tell it was a hangover as she had never drunk herself to this state under her own consciousness though she had found herself in this state several times. She wobbly made her way to the living room to find Wayne was still asleep on the couch. 

She quickly washed up and went to inspect the fridge to see any ingredients she could whipped up a simple breakfast for them both. When Wayne finally stirred awake, it was the smell of fried eggs wafting from the kitchen stimulating his stomach to grumble. 

He then recalled the research he made the night before about dual personality and given the drastic actions of the two Pei Li he had met, he knew the one in the kitchen must be his "Little Cloud". He walked over to find her humming to happy tune while flipping the ommelete. 

"Good morning…" He said while leaning on the counter where she had placed two plates. 

"Oh… Good morning, Little Wind. I…" She was caught off guard to be able to make out her thoughts.

"Don't worry about breakfast from now on… I have a strict diet to follow but since I am on off days for a week, today's breakfast is an exception." Wayne said while helping her serve the omelet.

"Oh… Okay…" She sounded a little disappointed, but he hugged her after he put down the frying pan into the sink.

"Thank you… I know you meant well. I will make us a nice dinner tonight." He said as she nodded with a smile. 

Tonight… Will you remember the dinner I made for you tomorrow morning, Little Cloud? He questioned in his mind doubtfully before taking his seat in front of her while she poured some milk for herself.

"Do you want some?" She asked while catching him staring intensely at her. He finally shook his head. "Orange juice instead. Fresh." He said as he went to the refrigerator to grab some and made for himself over the counter.

"Start digging first before it gets cold…" He urged as she shyly started to take a small bite while waiting for him. He made some for her as well, and she smiled gratefully. 

"What do you normally have for breakfast?" He asked while digging into her tasty cooking. 

"Nothing…" Pei Li said while shrugging. 

"Nothing?" He reconfirmed as she nodded. "What… How… Why?" It took him a while to find the correct word to ask her. 

She sighed with a sad smile. "Cause we don't have enough to eat three meals a day…" 

"When do you eat?" He asked urgently while throwing the orange peels away. 

"Lunch. Mostly by the roadside stalls aunties. Just rice and a fried egg with soy sauce kind of food. If we are lucky some neighbours will send leftovers for dinners. So, this I hope you won't mind me having for breakfast…" Pei Li pointed to the half-eaten omelet of hers.

He reached out to her hand. "Pei Li, from now on, eat more. Eat all you want. I will make sure you're well fed." He comforted her as she grinned gratefully, which moved him to tears. 

"Thank you, Little Wind." Pei Li said in a cute manner that all Wayne had planned to test Pei Li dissipated away. 

Instinctively, he knew the Pei Li in front of him was not the one he needed to deal with. It was the other personality who seemed to know everything and could be dangerous that he needed to be careful of. 

As they were nearing lunch, he requested for his assistant to make an early delivery for lunch and ingredients for dinner. That way he could still eat with the Pei Li he knew before accompanying the other personality tonight with her favorite dessert wine to know of her intentions.

While he was reading his script for a new drama before lunch, he noticed the poor lifestyle both male and female leads were leading. Being cast for the first time in a drama as a male lead, Wayne admitted he was inexperienced but he recalled his morning conversation with Pei Li and wondered if she could help him out to provide insights and improve his acting. 

He did not notice Pei Li had been busy in his kitchen, not with cooking but with crafts. He was amazed to find her creativity in building a vase of flowers just from scraps she used to prepare breakfast in the morning. It was one of the past he was slowly learning about her again after abruptly leaving her when they were only ten.