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It was a lovely night.
The esteemed leaders of the cultivation world looked one wrong word short of descending into a brawl, Jin Guangyao looked one unheeded plea for order short of a meltdown and Nie Huaisang had succeeded to pick what had to be the juiciest, sweetest orange on the fruit platter.
Sect Leader Jiang’s voice reached a wholly new level of likeness to a foghorn, only to be drowned out by Sect Leader Yao’s even more dedicated bellowing.
“If we could all calm ourselves,” Jin Guangyao pleaded from the throne of the Chief Cultivator, his smile long since frozen into a macabre caricature of itself.
Having finished peeling the fruit, and to lick the juice from his fingers, Nie Huaisang rolled the orange around in a delicate hand, weighing it pensively before selecting the plumpest peg of the fruit. He pried it apart with careful precision and…
“…Huaisang? Do you have anything to contribute, Sect Leader Nie?”
He looked up, his eyes wide and startled, his mouth shaped in a mou of surprise. “I… I don’t know?” Sect Leader Jiang snorted derisively and Nie Huaisang’s shoulders hunched defensively. “Why are you asking me?” In defense, he lifted his fruit for all to see. “I haven’t done anything!”
Jin Guangyao’s smile froze a little more. “So we have noticed.”
His eyes flicked down to the orange and he freed the segment he had coveted while the eyes of the entire Cultivation Conference rested on him. It looked very juicy indeed. He popped the peg of orange into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “But the food is very good, San-ge, you outdid yourself!”
For just a moment, the pretty pleasant mask on Jin Guangyao’s flickered and gave way to something uglier and far more real.
Nie Huaisang felt a shiver run down his spine. Heat settled low and tight in his belly. The sweet taste of the orange couldn’t chase it away, and he knew that henceforth, every time he ate an orange its sweetness would remind him of the pure, unadulterated hate that had flared up in Jin Guangyao’s eyes. Pleasurable goosebumps rose on his skin as he idly wondered if this slight would be enough to make Jin Guangyao snap and show his hand. He pried another peg of orange loose.
The mood of the cultivators turned ever sourer while his orange remained sweet.
Nie Huaisang wondered idly what Jin Guangyao’s snapping would look like. Would it come with knives in the night or poison in his drink or would it be sharp teeth and nails that left bloody marks on his skin? He permitted himself a happy little hum. His eyes lingered on Jin Guangyao, who in his frustrated desperation had descended from his throne to bodily place himself between the furious cultivators.
He did look so much lovelier in Jin gold than he ever had in Nie grey. As much as working from the shadows came more naturally to him, Meng Yao had always been meant to dazzle.
He wondered idly if San-ge would like him tasting of oranges when he came to him tonight, or if he would rather taste his blood.
Popping the last segment of his orange into his mouth just as the conference was disbanded for the night without any progress at all, Nie Huaisang busied himself with wiping his fingers clean. After all, he would hate to get any juice on his favorite fan, what a shame that would be.
He smiled brightly when he felt Jin Guangyao’s eyes on him. The heat low in his belly caught fire. His eyes met Jin Guangyao’s over his fan, a promise and invitation shining in them. In turn, he received the tiniest, tersest nod before the esteemed Chief Cultivator turned away to continue his damage control after this debacle of a night.
He would have many complaints when he joined him, Nie Huaisang had no doubt of it. San-ge would voice them in the most appropriate manner and he would respond in the manner expected of him, which was to not react much at all for Nie Huaisang could hardly be bothered to care about anything that didn’t involve pretty birds or pretty paintings or the pretty moans the Chief Cultivator made when he was sprawled out on his bed.
In the morning, the esteemed personages’ anger would have cooled but the cracks in the Chief Cultivator’s authority would linger.
On the way out, he snatched another orange from the fruit platter. They were very sweet and juicy, indeed. You could always trust Jin Guangyao to give the very best parties.
Maybe Nie Huaisang wouldn’t even ruin the next one, just for him.