Gui Gui was awaken by the noisy chatter and high-pitched cries of surprise from somewhere. She rubbed her eyes while wondering if a bunch of pesky girls have gone attacking her thrift store kitchen. Struggling to alert herself, she then weakly caught hold of a piece of warm vest about to fall from her side.

Flashback...

Wang Zi was busy inside the kitchen adding coffee to the espresso maker and next, whipping up the milk. By the doorway, Gui Gui could tell that he was deeply engrossed in those tasks.

"Wa-..." Gui Gui immediately gasped upon realising what she just attempted to utter. She spun around and her heart raced. Then, pinching herself hard, she was thoroughly bothered by the fact that she would call Wang Zi by his popular nick instead of his real name, Qiu Sheng Yi.

She tried her best to not be troubled, "Calm down, Gui Gui...he's not 'Wang Zi', but a snobbish 'Qiu Sheng Yi'...Just are you going to submit to him like everyone else? Why, silly you..."

With one more look to make sure that he had not heard or noticed her at all, Gui Gui was enticed to ponder the reason why he would dare to skip all morning classes to mess with her job.

End of flashback...

Gui Gui blinked and what followed next was the sight of a little envelope left on the table before her. She quickly opened it and read simply, "Sorry and thank you..." Fingering inside, she got out her old locker key.

Scratching her head, Gui Gui grew all the more blur to understand what had exactly happened all the while she was wandering in her sweet dreamland moments ago.

Before long, as she continued in a daze, Ya Tou appeared out of thrift store and urged, "Gui Gui, hurry in...We're loving your new macchiato to death!" She dragged the perplexed girl straight into the kitchen.

When she really did taste the drink, Gui Gui was instantly drawn to its enchantingly bittersweet flavour.

"Hey Gui, I give you ten stars this time!" Apple praised.

Mei Mei gulped down more before complimenting as well, "You sure didn't let us and the whole school down!"

Da Ya grabbed Gui Gui's hands and beamed with pride, "Oh I love you! Gui Gui, this fund-raising drive is gonna work at last, I know!" She then forced a kiss on her wide-eyed and overly confused friend.

The unusually concerned Xiao Jie wondered, "Gui Gui, you look kinda overwhelmed by our reactions...is there anything bothering you?"

"Huh?" Gui Gui tried to pull herself together and feigned an all-knowing smile. She immediately stuffed the locker key into her uniform pocket. "Well, why don't you gals go on to enjoy these freshly-made macchiato..."

Snatching one of the cups of drink, she bade, "I left something back in class...Better go and get it before other students enter...See ya all!"

Gui Gui raced away as fast as she could without giving them a chance to stop her. She then marched up a flight of stairs upon reaching another block of the school's building.

When she finally reached their classroom, it was a huge relief that no one was inside. Panting heavily, she approached Wang Zi's seat. With one hand still pressing firmly onto the key inside her pocket, she paused to think.

The heat from the drink spreading surely to her other palm reminded Gui Gui of what Wang Zi did earlier on. However, it also baffled her as to why he merely left without a word, except for the note which she naively guessed could be written by himself. She sat down and was about to place the drink onto the desk when out of the blue, a sideglance caused her to curiously turned about. There, about a row or two behind Wang Zi's spot, was another similar cup of macchiato sitting on her table.

Tikisomia: What makes MIT and Brown sugar macchiato similar is that Gui Gui falls for the guys first...which leaves no surprises...