A/N: Thank you for the reviews and for the people who added me to their favorite stories and alert list, I really appreciate it. And I would love to extend a thank you to sakura li 19, it was possibly the best review I ever got. I makes me feel that I'm on to something. And a thank you also goes to rawritskim, I'll try to update as soon as I can so please bear with me. With work and my sisters needing the internet, I can only promise to try my best. And still, a thank you for those who had believed in my ability when I myself doubted. Happy reading everyone. wipes tears of happiness

Chapter 3

The next day, everyone noticed a change in Sakura's mood. Not matter how slight the change was, everyone felt relieved seeing that she's a little bit more cheerful than the past few weeks. She's laughing more, talking more, and there's excitement reflected in her eyes.

Tomoyo felt like crying watching Sakura getting back some of her old sparkle and felt even more determined to preserve this state. She rallied Naoko, Rika, and Chiharu around her when Sakura went to the bathroom and told them her plans.

As one, they reached a unanimous decision to keep Sakura busy and to keep her spirits up. Lastly, before they parted, Tomoyo reminded them to ask the teacher if their plan would be okay to execute for cultural festival.

Sakura walked in just before the girls had a chance to get back to their seat. Sakura looked at them puzzled while she settled on her seat. "What's up?"

Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika exchanged a nervous look and tried their best not to squirm under Sakura's level stare. Tomoyo stayed cool and smiled indulgently at Sakura, "So, Sakura, are you ready to tell us what you and Li-kun talked about last night?"

"How did you know that?" Sakura asked flabbergasted. She hadn't told Tomoyo yet that Syaoran called her up that night.

"Because Sakura-chan always look happy when Li-kun calls." Tomoyo said knowingly, smiling even bigger.

The other three took that cue and started with their own adlib, forgetting momentarily the meeting they just had behind Sakura's back. "Yes. How are Li-kun and Mei Ling-chan doing?" Rika asked.

"I heard they're putting on a play." Naoko added.

"I wonder if they have an awesome designer like Tomoyo to do their costumes." Chiharu wondered aloud.

Sakura smiled at her friends and started telling them about her conversation with Syaoran. She got so into it that she didn't realize that aside from the girls, some other people had gathered to listen. They all got curious about who put the smile back on Sakura's face, and it didn't hurt that they were all such a good audience, sighing and ooh-ing at the right moments.

"So tell me Sakura-chan, when will the package arrive?" Tomoyo asked.

"He said he'll have it expressed delivered. So it would probably get here at the latest the day after tomorrow. I can't wait to see what he saw that reminded him of me." Sakura gushed, her eyes shining with innocent excitement.

"Wai, that's so romantic." Naoko sighed out. "Just like Li-kun to be this romantic to a faraway Sakura-hime. Wait! I got it."

Just like that, Naoko rushed away from the crowd in search of a pen and paper, muttering things like, "This will be the best story yet. It would be such a hit, I know it."

Several pairs of eyes followed her movements watching resignedly. They're all used to Naoko dashing off to write something as soon as inspiration struck. Before they could start another conversation, the bell rang, signaling the end of the break.

The students shuffled back to their seats, all murmuring among themselves how different the air feels when Kinomoto-san is cheerful. A lot of the people who hadn't met Li Syaoran, having come from different elementary schools, couldn't help but feel as if they know him very well just by listening to the stories Sakura told, and they thanked him in their minds for putting the light back in Sakura's eyes.

"Hey Syaoran, I said we should book tickets to Japan as the earliest possible time. Are you listening to me?" Mei Ling all but slammed the books she was holding.

Syaoran had been staring off into space ever since they got home from after school practice. The sound of books hitting the study table broke through his daze. "Wha…?"

Mei Ling settled back across from him and regarded him with a sigh. "I can't wait for this month to be over so you can stop worrying about her and see her yourself."

"What did you say?" Something Mei Ling said finally registered in his muddled brain. "See her? When?" Like a shot, Syaoran was off his seat and leaning eagerly against the desk, so unlike the brooding Syaoran of late.

Taken aback, Mei Ling just stared at him. Mention Japan and Syaoran turns into an eager puppy.

"Well?" Syaoran asked after Mei Ling been quiet for awhile.

Remembering what she was saying, she shook her head to clear it. "As I was saying, Tomoyo invited us to Tomoeda for their cultural festival. We should book our flights and have Auntie Yelan write out excuse letters for our absence here."

"Then what are we waiting for? I'll ask Wei to book us a flight to Japan as soon as possible." Syaoran retreated from the table and prepared himself to search for Wei.

"Not so fast. We have to finish our cultural festival and Tomoyo doesn't want us there until the day of the event. She wanted to surprise the two of you." Mei Ling said, settling more comfortably at her seat.

"Surprise us?" Syaoran looked at her with raised brows.

"Yes. She doesn't want Sakura to know you're coming and she wanted their class presentation to be a surprise for you." Mei Ling enjoyed being the one with all the answers.

"Oh." Syaoran replied and settled back on his seat.

That frustrated Mei Ling. "Is that all you're going to say? You're not going to ask me what the surprise is about?"

"Well, you said it yourself, it's a surprise. So why should I go and pry, you're not going to tell me anyway. And if I know any better, you don't have an idea as well." Syaoran shrugged his shoulder, picked up his schoolbooks and headed to his room.

If he had looked at Mei Ling then, he would have realized that he hit a nerve. Mei Ling looked flushed and irritated, because she's been dying to know the surprise as well.