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Cao Chunhua materialised in Ling Shu Institute the same way they did everything, — with flourish. Their sleek hair was pulled up with an intricate pin carved with plum blossoms and leaves, their cheeks were flushed from the cold, the rosy glow perfectly complimenting their tastefully done eye make-up. The half of their face below the eyes was covered with a light-coloured veil.
They were greeted by several starstruck Ling Shu apprentices, who stumbled over themselves to escort them as soon as they named Ge Chen and showed the token of entry. Cao Chunhua seemed more amused than anything else, politely listening to the teenagers as they not-so-subtly tried to show off their extensive knowledge about machines on the short walk to the workshop.
So many pretty people are visiting Ge-laoshi lately, the young lads giggled upon arrival. Ge Chen considered explaining that most of those supposed people were only one Cao Chunhua, but realised that it might expose his friend’s cover and opted for waving them off without clarifying anything. The culprit in question watched them leave, hiding a laugh behind their hand.
“Sounds like a-Chen is quite popular around here,” they teased. “I do wonder who all those mysterious admirers might be.”
Ge Chen stared at them, opting for not dignifying the statement with a response.
“You’re not even going to ask how I am?” The pout in their voice was palpable.
“Won’t you show yourself first?” Ge Chen asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t believe I’ve seen someone like you before.”
“Fair enough.” Cao Chunhua’s eyes curved in a smile as they slowly untied the veil and let it slip down their face, pooling at their neck. Their face looked a little smaller and rounder than usual, their nose thinner, lips slightly fuller, their eyebrows drawn into a different shape. The changes were subtle, but worked together to create a completely new face, both familiar and unfamiliar at once.
Ge Chen cleared his throat. “Looks nice.”
He always felt somewhat awkward whenever he tried to compliment Cao Chunhua on their appearance, even if it was something as technical as basic application of make-up; this was true when they were children, and it remained true now. He has already embarrassed himself enough once a while back, when they got drunk together and Ge Chen became adamant on telling Cao Chunhua just how good they looked. Unfortunately, all it consisted of was him saying the word “pretty” in different intonations while Cao Chunhua gave him a placating smile and absentmindedly doodled little drawings directly on his arm.
Despite all his hopes, they ended up remembering every moment of it and teased him for days afterward.
The Cao Chunhua standing in front of him now was gracious enough to not make fun of him, instead grinning and twirling a loose lock of hair with their finger. “Thank you, thank you, I’m glad you agree.”
Ge Chen huffed out a laugh. “Did you come here to show off?”
“Not quite.” Their eyes gleamed. “To be honest, I need you for a quick task.”
Ge Chen paused, eyeing Cao Chunhua suspiciously. “A task? Can’t you ask one of your Lin Yuan partners?”
“They can’t help me with this one,” Cao Chunhua explained, stepping forward and grasping his sleeve. “You’re special and I need you specifically.”
“I-I have work to do,” Ge Chen mumbled, making half-hearted, futile attempts to detach them from his clothes. “We still need to make more adjustments to the new models of farming equipment…”
“But it won’t take long at all!” Cao Chunhua insisted, clinging like a particularly prickly burr. “It’s important! It would be so easy for you, but so difficult for me on my own, you won’t abandon me to grapple with it all alone, right? You’re not so heartless, right?”
Ge Chen felt his resolve begin to crumble, especially when Cao Chunhua, as malicious and cunning as ever, changed tactics and stood up on tiptoes, resting their chin on his shoulder and leaning their entire weight on his body, making eyes at him the entire time. He was only human.
“Fine, fine,” he sighed. “I will help you, stop looking at me like this.”
“Like what?” Cao Chunhua blinked innocently, their smile bright. “Ah, I’m so grateful! Let me show you what exactly I’m setting you up for here.” They stepped back and produced a folded sheet of crumpled paper, previously tucked under their collar. They unfolded it and smoothed it out to reveal a technical drawing of what seemed to be a jewelry box, with a complicated lock mechanism drawn on top of it with incredibly realistic precision.
Ge Chen took the diagram and studied it closely. He has never seen anything exactly like this before, but he could tell that this elaborate contraption was made up out of much more familiar, smaller pieces that were combined together to create this nightmare of a lock.
This must have been designed to be closed once and then never opened again.
“Where did you get this thing?” Ge Chen asked, knowing that a direct response would be unlikely. Sure enough, Cao Chunhua smirked and shrugged, averting their eyes. “Alright. What is inside?”
“I would have already told you if I could,” Cao Chunhua responded patiently.
“Are the contents fragile?” Ge Chen amended.
“Physically, no,” Cao Chunhua said, leaning forward to peek at the diagram. “You can kick the box around whichever way you like, as long as you open it.”
Ge Chen narrowed his eyes. “And this is… necessary?”
“Yes!” Cao Chunhua pouted. “What are you so wary for? Don’t you trust me?”
“No,” Ge Chen said, deadpan.
“Liar,” Cao Chunhua accused, incredibly smug. “You’re already thinking about which tools to take.”
Ge Chen sighed. There was no point in denying it when his friend could see through him so well. He quickly gathered up a few universally useful items, — despite the complicated nature of the lock, he was confident he could figure it out with the minimum amount of tools, — and they set off. Cao Chunhua tied up the veil again, and only took it off after they reached a busier street.
For some unfathomable reason, Ge Chen expected Cao Chunhua to already have the jewelry box in their possession, and could only blame himself for his own surprise when it turned out to not be the case. The two of them spent most of their time walking down side streets and small alleys, making their way into the parts of the capital that Ge Chen was mostly unfamiliar with. Cao Chunhua, however, seemed to be quite at home here, flitting from street to street with no hesitation.
They eventually came upon a lonely wooden building tucked away under a canopy of old oak trees, quiet and soulless; it looked like a residence that was never quite built all the way, and became covered with overgrowth by the passage of time. Instead of leading him through the main entrance, they predictably dragged him over to sneak through a fault in the wall and crept through the few abandoned old rooms to end up in the most spacious one, which may have been intended as a bedroom.
The jewelry box they were looking for was located under a broken shelf, looking conspicuously out of place compared to the other items in the room falling apart around it. It was made out of a rich brown walnut wood and decorated with intricate carved patterns that, curiously, bore more resemblance to the decorative carvings found on military armours rather than the usual decorations that adorned such items. Ge Chen looked at the box, then at Cao Chunhua, then swept his gaze over the dimly lit, half-destroyed room.
“So you brought me here to help you steal,” he said in a lifeless tone.
Cao Chunhua pursed their lips. “Now, now, don’t be like that,” they fretted, making doe eyes at him. “Technically, the contents belonged to us in the first place.”
Ge Chen’s mind grappled with two completely different wolves; curiosity was eating away at him to find out what exactly Cao Chunhua and Lin Yuan Pavilion got caught up in this time, yet at the same time he also wanted nothing to do with whatever it was and would have forced himself to forget the information as soon as he received it. Cao Chunhua was watching his internal struggle with a mild look that signified they knew exactly what Ge Chen was currently thinking.
“What if the owner of the property comes back?” Ge Chen countered, still unsettled. His words earned him a mischievous smile and Cao Chunhua leaned in closer to speak right beside his ear.
“There isn’t even a body left to be discovered,” they murmured, tone nonchalant as if they were simply sharing a piece of juicy gossip. “As long as we keep quiet and leave no evidence that we were ever here, we will not run into any trouble.”
Ge Chen felt a shiver skitter up his spine and forced himself to look as calm as possible. “Robbery and murder, how daring.”
“To be fair, I had nothing to do with the murder part,” Cao Chunhua whispered at a nearly inaudible volume, then fluttered their lashes. “Now, why don’t you demonstrate how to open such a complicated lock, a-Chen?”
“Fine, alright,” Ge Chen sighed, resignedly taking out the few tools he brought. “Keep a look out, will you?”
“Obviously, I’m not an amateur,” Cao Chunhua huffed and slinked away to, presumably, keep watch of their surroundings. Ge Chen stared at their silhouette in the doorway, suddenly finding their figure very fascinating in his reluctance to start with breaking into the box. He only averted his eyes when they felt his gaze and looked back.
Satisfied that they will not be caught unaware by any unwanted visitors, Ge Chen could finally focus on the overcomplicated lock. In person, it turned out to be much less intimidating than he anticipated from the drawing. The iron was worn and reddened from rust, fragile enough to break if Ge Chen applied enough force; Cao Chunhua could definitely break it themself if they wanted to. Ge Chen began to feel a headache coming on imagining how carefully he will need to work with this thing to make sure that it did not break apart completely and perhaps seal up its contents for good.
Ge Chen’s lock-picking skills were acquired mostly by accident; when he was still a child and messing around with the old iron puppets piled up in the storage rooms of the Marquis Manor, he had to find whatever opening he could in order to get into their mechanisms, and when he could not pry it open using his usual methods, he would try unconventional ones. This later evolved into designing locks in his spare time, ones usually used for storing ziliujin within weapons. After all this experience, any regular lock was easy enough to be mere play.
It eventually became evident that the combination of locks was designed to be opened by more than one person at once. Ge Chen was impressed by the effort of the unknown artisan that came up with it, but could not help but wonder what kind of person would need something like this, and for what.
Ge Chen turned to the doorway, finding that Cao Chunhua’s figure disappeared. “Xiao-Cao?”
They leaned over to glance through the doorway from the other room, head tilted. “What is it?”
“Come here,” Ge Chen motioned towards the box. “I need an extra pair of hands.”
Cao Chunhua soundlessly made their way over and kneeled on the floor, carefully arranging their robes and wrapping their loose sleeves around their arms. Ge Chen then showed them where exactly to place their hands, and, once he was satisfied that they were holding the weak iron firmly enough, got back to work.
While he was picking apart yet another lock, Cao Chunhua scooted closer to get a better grip, their knee brushing against his. Ge Chen focused on the task at hand as best as he could, but he had to admit that having Cao Chunhua so close next to him, warmth radiating tangibly from their body, was somewhat distracting. He was hyperaware of every time his hands accidentally brushed against theirs, every time they adjusted their posture or took a slightly louder breath; at one point they moved their hand to hold down a different part of the mechanism, the movement of their fingers lightly tickling his wrist, and he nearly cracked the lock he was working on.
“Oh, careful!” Cao Chunhua chuckled nervously, caught off guard by the slip-up as much as he was. “Something wrong?”
“No,” Ge Chen muttered, mortified. “Y-you don’t have to hold it anymore, I got it…”
He could feel Cao Chunhua’s thoughtful gaze on him and very demonstratively busied himself with finishing up as quickly as possible. He felt a twinge of regret when Cao Chunhua quietly got up, and decidedly did not overthink it. This time they did not retreat back to the doorway, at least, instead opting to stand a few chi away as Ge Chen disarmed the remainder of the iron latches and finally cracked open the jewelry box.
After carefully lifting the cover, Ge Chen politely looked away; he only caught a glimpse of what seemed to be paper, but absolutely refused to know anything more. Cao Chunhua immediately swooped down to gather up the contents and quickly tucked them into their robes. Once they examined the inside of the box to make sure they took everything, they heaved a sigh of relief.
“Done,” they said, and smiled weakly. “This really…” they trailed off.
“Do you need me to close the box?” Ge Chen asked. “You said to leave no evidence.”
Cao Chunhua faltered, biting their bottom lip. “Would it be difficult?”
In lieu of a response, Ge Chen silently reached over and closed the lid, then carefully moved the iron parts around until he heard a click. “Done.”
“Wow.” Cao Chunhua’s eyes sparkled in genuine awe. “I knew you could do it!”
Ge Chen felt his cheeks heat up and looked down, awkwardly scratching his head. “It’s nothing too hard, it’s just… well it’s actually easy to figure out if you know the basics…”
“I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Cao Chunhua cut him off, nudging his arm with their shoulder. “You really saved me a lot of trouble, thank you.”
“I, well, it was nothing,” Ge Chen mumbled, subconsciously trying to hide his face. He never had any trouble with accepting compliments, unless it came to Cao Chunhua, and especially when they were doing it so sincerely. The concept of praise and Cao Chunhua combined always turned his mind into a mess, no matter what combination they were in.
“No it wasn’t,” Cao Chunhua insisted, starry-eyed. “There’s no one else I could have asked, you really saved me…”
“I-I’m sure there… someone could have…” Ge Chen scrambled, deeply embarrassed that he was turning into an incoherent puddle over one single beautiful person saying nice things to him. He wondered briefly if Cao Chunhua had that sort of an effect on everyone, or if he was the only fool acting like this.
“Nope,” Cao Chunhua hummed, stepping into his personal space and batting their lashes. “No wonder they call you a prodigy…”
“Don’t make fun of me,” Ge Chen groaned, covering his face with his hands. “You’re welcome, okay? Let’s get out of here.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Cao Chunhua giggled, then nodded. “Yes, yes, we’ve been here long enough.” With a sweep of their unbound sleeves they were already in the doorway, looking back at Ge Chen with a coquettish expression. “Come, won’t you trust this one to lead you safely out?”
Ge Chen walked past them in a few strides, face turned away lest he got any more bewitched. “I remember the way, no need.”
“Are you leaving me behind?” Cao Chunhua called out, laughter in their voice as they chased after him. “A big strong man tossing a helpless commoner like me aside to fend for myself…”
“If you’re helpless, then I’m completely useless,” Ge Chen shot back, already slipping through the crack in the wall and stepping out onto the ground covered in long, unkept grass. He was already turning around the corner of the building when he paused to look back; Cao Chunhua just then caught up to him, clothes a little disheveled from sneaking about and hair endearingly messy.
“Your pin is about to fall out,” Ge Chen pointed out. Cao Chunhua blinked at him, inquisitive, and felt around in their hair, only dislodging the pin further. “No, wait…”
Ge Chen caught their hands and held them in place for a moment, and Cao Chunhua obediently stilled, looking up at him so attentively Ge Chen was certain they could see directly into his soul. He swallowed and attempted to act as level-headed as possible, decidedly not dwelling on how soft and pleasant to the touch their hair was, or how he could smell a hint of delicate perfume when he leaned close enough, — to better see what he was doing, of course. Cao Chunhua slowly lowered their hands and folded them on their chest; Ge Chen’s eyes darted down to track the movement, then quickly returned to their head.
“There,” he said, fully aware that Cao Chunhua knew he spent way too much time on something that should have only taken a few moments. They nodded, still looking at him, as if waiting for something. Ge Chen held their gaze as his fingers slipped through their hair again, hands traveling down to rest on their shoulders. His thumb brushed against an earring, making it swing.
This is no different from the usual contact they share, he reasoned to himself as he continued to stare at them, reluctant to let go. Cao Chunhua did not seem inclined to draw away either, their expression indecipherable. They parted their lips, a word at the tip of their tongue.
“Hey! Who goes there?”
The loud voice completely shattered the atmosphere, and for a moment the only emotion Ge Chen could muster was pure annoyance. Then he remembered where exactly they were and what they were doing, and the cold spike of fear finally kicked in. Cao Chunhua, on the other hand, did not hesitate; their eyes darted in the direction of the voice, seeing someone completely out of Ge Chen’s line of sight, and pushed at him to run in the other direction. Ge Chen obediently darted off, letting Cao Chunhua lead him by the arm, running down the same small streets they used to travel here in the first place.
Ge Chen tried to gather his thoughts. Cao Chunhua may have been spotted, but they were in shadow and their pursuer, most likely, would have only vaguely seen their shape and the approximate colours of their robes. Ge Chen himself has not been seen at all, so as long as the two of them stuck closely together, then Cao Chunhua should be in the clear as well, even if the man chasing them decided to be stubborn and pursue them until the end.
They slipped into a larger street unfamiliar to Ge Chen, but there were quite a few people around, multiple vendors filling up the edges of the road selling their wares. It was relatively easy to seamlessly join the throng of people and slow down to nonchalant walk, sticking closely together. Ge Chen’s hands were shaking lightly from adrenaline.
“Stop right there!”
Despite the instinct to freeze up, Ge Chen forced himself to keep walking at the same leisurely pace. He felt Cao Chunhua firmly grasp his wrist, but they relaxed their hold as soon as they realised they didn’t have to pull him along to keep their cover from slipping. Ge Chen considered holding their hand properly, but the thought evaporated when Cao Chunhua suddenly gripped his wrist much harder again.
The man chasing them finally caught up and, in a rather shameless action, directly grabbed Cao Chunhua’s shoulder and roughly turned them around. Cao Chunhua did not expect this much force and stumbled into Ge Chen, nearly losing their footing. Ge Chen caught them, dislodging the man’s hand in the process; the stranger was not phased by this, however, and grabbed onto Cao Chunhua’s sleeve instead.
“What are you doing?!” Cao Chunhua shrieked, their voice pitched higher than usual. “Let go of me, who do you think you are!”
It finally occurred to Ge Chen that Cao Chunhua’s back-up plan consisted of causing a scene in front of as many people as possible. Damn it.
The man seemed disoriented, second-guessing himself, but not embarrassed enough to actually let go of the sleeve. Ge Chen realised that Cao Chunhua’s words went completely ignored by this stranger, and felt bitterness rise in the back of his throat.
“What is the meaning of this?” he inquired in the same voice he usually used on apprentices when he caught them making trouble, towering over their pursuer. At last, the man seemed to realise that he and Cao Chunhua came as a pair, and had the audacity to look sheepish, finally deigning to speak.
“Well, you see, master…” his voice was low, hoarse and out of breath from running. “This person here, she was snooping around the property of my own master, I saw her myself, who knows what she was doing there?” The man stubbornly held on to the sleeve no matter how much Cao Chunhua was trying to pry his hand off; they clearly were not using their full strength, feebly hitting at his hand. “I can’t just let someone like this get away, yes?”
“Impossible,” Ge Chen frowned. “This person was here with me since morning, and she has not left my sight even once.” He saw Cao Chunhua quickly nod their head in the corner of his eye.
“Well, master, are you sure?” The man looked over at Cao Chunhua, his eyes wandering down their body. “I’m quite certain I…”
“Of course my own husband would be sure of where I am!” Cao Chunhua finally exploded and yanked their sleeve out of the man’s hand, the action punctuated by a loud ripping sound. Free at last, they quite literally jumped into a stunned Ge Chen’s arms and shamelessly buried their face in his chest. “Ah, husband, I’ve been wronged!”
Husband? Husband? Ge Chen cried internally. Could you not have warned me about this plan earlier!
He slowly wrapped an arm around Cao Chunhua, who was quietly making offended sniffling noises, and tried his best to look furious. It was difficult to perceive Cao Chunhua as the helpless little spouse that they were portraying now, knowing full well that they could kill a man if they wanted to. If anything, it should have been the other way around, Ge Chen thought humourlessly.
“This is outrageous,” Ge Chen said lamely. The man did not look convinced, still staring at the both of them in suspicion, one hand raised and ready to grab at Cao Chunhua again. Cao Chunhua made a small huffing noise, and Ge Chen felt them sharply pinch him in the side. Well, what’s that supposed to mean?!
“Master, I really mean no disrespect,” the man pressed on, stepping forward. “But I really am sure this is the person I saw. If I could just take her to…”
“Take me where?!” Cao Chunhua exclaimed, slightly turning their face to glare at the man. Their acting skills were truly extraordinary; they looked every part like a deeply offended, wronged young lady. There were even tears glistening in their eyes. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Ge Chen repeated, and winced internally from his own unconvincing tone. Cao Chunhua winced very visibly, and subtly kicked him in the shin under the layers of robes, hard. What do you want me to do here! Ge Chen pulled on a strand of their hair in revenge, ignoring the offended tsk they muffled in his chest.
“Well,” the man said through his teeth, clearly annoyed and dead-set on proving himself right. His behaviour was becoming scandalous enough that passers-by began to walk slower, throwing glances over at the three of them. “If I could just take her away to ask a few questions, this whole ordeal should be cleared up!” He grabbed Cao Chunhua again, hand closing around their elbow. This movement actually caught them unawares, their sharp gasp sounding unsettlingly too real.
Perhaps it was owed to their incredible acting skills. Ge Chen did not care much about that anymore; he hastily pried the man’s fingers off of Cao Chunhua and swept them to hide behind him, shielding them from any more unwanted contact. They pressed themself against his back, head warily peeking out from behind his shoulder.
“Stop touching her,” Ge Chen snapped. The man paused, caught off guard by his sudden change in attitude; his eyes darted around as a few other people on the street stopped to watch the commotion.
“Well, I,” the man mumbled, fingers twitching. “I think you may be misunderstanding me, it won’t do to figure things out here, I simply want her to…”
Ge Chen felt Cao Chunhua’s fingers dig into his back. Before he could become too exasperated with the rude treatment, he realised that they were writing out words; how… dare…
“How dare you put your hands on my wife!” Ge Chen exclaimed, abruptly cutting off the other man’s incessant mumbling. His voice was loud enough to reach a few more passers-by going about their business, making them pause and also try to take a peek at what was going on. The man finally began to look embarrassed, raising his hands up in defense.
“Well no, no, it’s not like this…” the man glanced over at a pair of gossipers whispering to each other and shuffled uneasily.
“Then how is it?” Ge Chen demanded. The anger was so much easier to channel when Cao Chunhua was clinging to him like this, pretending as if they were actually terrified.
“Well now, now,” the man chattered quickly, waving his hands, regret showing on his face. “It’s nothing, it’s really nothing…”
“So you bothered and humiliated my wife for nothing.” Ge Chen accused, feeling Cao Chunhua sneakily write more hints into his back. He hoped his tone had enough force behind it to, at the very least, intimidate the man into not following them once they made their exit. “You even tore her sleeve!” He added as an afterthought.
The whispers from the few people watching them grew louder. The man looked like he was at a loss for what to do, clearly uncomfortable.
“Darling, can we leave?” Cao Chunhua tugged on his sleeve, their voice weak. “This is so embarrassing…”
This situation could not be over quickly enough. The man opened his mouth to say something else, but Ge Chen immediately turned around to face Cao Chunhua and completely ignored him. “Of course, of course.” He grasped their hand and pulled them away from the small crowd, walking quickly and hoping no one called out to them. No one did.
Ge Chen belatedly realised how sweaty his palm was, and tried to smoothly slip his hand out of Cao Chunhua’s. They did not let him, instead linking their fingers together; he had no choice but to surrender, not unhappy about it but still a little self-conscious.
For a while the two of them walked in silence, eventually slowing down their pace to better blend into the crowd. Ge Chen was not sure how successful that was, considering that Cao Chunhua looked miserable and a little ruffled after the altercation, the few tear marks on their face still drying, but no one around seemed to pay them any mind with the exception of a few quick glances. It seemed like their getaway was successful.
Suddenly, Ge Chen felt Cao Chunhua insistently pull on his hand and lead him to walk down a side street. The crowd around them disappeared, thinning out to only a few people milling about; even the amount of vendors running their stalls decreased dramatically. After making their way down a few more such small streets, they ended up in an empty alleyway. Only then did Cao Chunhua finally slow to a stop.
Even though the whole ordeal was a farce, Ge Chen still could not help but worry a little. He tugged on Cao Chunhua’s hand, still held in his. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” they said quickly, then exhaled sharply. “Well, not exactly.”
“He didn’t actually hurt you, did he?” Ge Chen fretted, grabbing their shoulder to turn them around so he could look them over. Cao Chunhua finally chuckled and lightly smacked his arm.
“Only my feelings,” they said, and wiped away a now-fake tear. “Can you believe he accused me of breaking into his master’s property, a-Chen?”
Ge Chen laughed, but the sound died in his throat when he took a good look Cao Chunhua’s face. Despite the joke, Cao Chunhua seemed distressed, eyes downcast. He coughed awkwardly, and lowered his voice. “Does his appearance mean something?”
After a few moments of thought Cao Chunhua looked up and motioned for Ge Chen to lean over. Their voice was so quiet that he had to strain to hear it, even when standing this close together.
“The disappearance will be discovered much earlier than calculated,” Cao Chunhua mumbled, chewing their bottom lip to settle their nerves. “Why in the world would he suddenly come back there? Perhaps his gut feeling told him something might be wrong, but the timing was too suspicious. Getting rid of him is no problem, but there is still the possibility that he somehow heard of this one small plan. What else did he know, and who else did he tell?”
Even though they seemed to currently be alone in the cramped alleyway, Ge Chen preferred to be careful and was not confident that his voice could go as quiet as Cao Chunhua’s. He instead used sign language to ask, «Is he dangerous?»
Cao Chunhua shook their head, and gestured, «Most likely just stupid». They made Ge Chen lean down again to murmur, “He, nor anyone else involved, should be giving you any trouble after today. If they do, though…”
Ge Chen waved his hand. «Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure it out.»
For a while, Cao Chunhua looked at him pensively without saying anything. Their eyes were still red-rimmed from earlier, and though Ge Chen knew the tears were part of the act as well, it was still discomforting to see. He wanted to wipe it away.
Eventually, Cao Chunhua averted their eyes and stepped back, motioning, «I am only a bird away». Out loud they said, “I think I’ve taken enough of a break now. We should get going.”
“Are you sure?” Ge Chen couldn’t help but ask.
“The sooner I can go and change my clothes, the better,” Cao Chunhua huffed, briefly fixing their hair.
“Fair enough.” Ge Chen gestured at Cao Chunhua’s arm. “Sorry about the sleeve.”
“I had a feeling that something like this might happen,” Cao Chunhua sighed and paused to assess the damage. “All is not lost, though, I can still salvage the fabric and use it for something else.”
“You’ll find a use for it, I’m sure,” Ge Chen nodded. “Also, erm… your make-up is running.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as Cao Chunhua gasped and immediately began to pat at their tear-smudged face to get rid of the mess.
“He truly was a fool, wasn’t he?” they mused, dabbing at their eyes with the torn sleeve. “Causing such a ruckus, as though you don’t look like you could ground him into dust.”
“I don’t want to ground anyone into anything,” Ge Chen protested.
“Well, I know that,” Cao Chunhua grinned. “But he didn’t. Ah, can you give me my other hand back?”
Ge Chen looked down and immediately let go; he did not realise that this whole time, he was still tightly holding Cao Chunhua’s hand, grabbing it again even after using sign language. They laughed good-naturedly and patted his shoulder, then continued to wipe away at the ruined make-up.
The walk back to the outskirts of Ling Shu Institute was entirely uneventful, although the stress from earlier had yet to wear off. Colourful product travelled off of Cao Chunhua’s face entirely onto their sleeve, revealing their true facial features; only the lip paint remained intact. Ge Chen, watching them in the corner of his eye, was once again reassured in his conviction that this familiar Cao Chunhua was the prettiest of all.
He then very deliberately buried that thought.
The two halted next to a tall dove tree, its thin spidery branches adorned with blooming white flowers. A few shed petals occasionally floated down, caught in the light breeze; one of them softly landed on Cao Chunhua’s shoulder.
“I still need to thank you properly,” they said.
Ge Chen quickly shook his head. “You don’t have to.”
Cao Chunhua smiled, then stood up on their tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek. Ge Chen felt his face flush red immediately.
“You shouldn’t keep doing this in public,” he mumbled, torn between wiping off the kiss mark or leaving it be. “Someone might see.”
“Oh. Is that bad?” Cao Chunhua innocently widened their eyes.
“Well no, no,” Ge Chen said quickly. “Just that… well, you know, someone might think… something.”
Cao Chunhua tilted their head, their smile surprisingly gentle. “Ah. I don’t mind.” They shrugged one shoulder and turned away, patting their chest — checking if the precious papers were still tucked in place. Blissfully unaware of Ge Chen’s internal panic at their response, they turned around, adjusting their collar. “Well, here we part.”
“Uh,” Ge Chen said intelligently.
“I will visit you again, don’t worry,” they promised, the corner of their mouth quirking up.
“Yes, good,” Ge Chen nodded stiffly, forcing himself to keep a respectable distance and an equally respectable attitude. He wanted to embrace Cao Chunhua so much his chest vaguely hurt, but if he allowed himself to indulge, they would have questions that he was not prepared to give answers to. As freely as they gave affection to each other, Cao Chunhua was fine-tuned to the emotions of others; they would know that Ge Chen meant more with it than was acceptable between friends. Bury the impulse and move on.
“I swear I won’t drag you into any trouble next time,” Cao Chunhua chirped and sealed the promise with a wink. Ge Chen would not have minded no matter how much of a mess they may get him into, but nevertheless hummed in response, rolling his eyes. Cao Chunhua laughed quietly, raised a hand to catch a dove tree flower swaying its way down in the wind.
Their smile was soft as they carefully tucked the flower behind Ge Chen’s ear.
“Until we meet again,” they said pleasantly and spun around, leaving Ge Chen to stand there all alone, with his tangled knot of feelings that seemed impossible to untie, and the brighter, calming certainty that he will see them again very soon.
Ge Chen’s fingers very, very lightly ghosted over the fine petals of the flower in his hair, afraid that the slightest bit of force will dislodge it.
Cao Chunhua’s figure disappeared in the distance.