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“So, how is it?”
He nods in approval, “Gege has improved.”
“Really?!”
Today the ghost king had shown up with no reason other than to play around, and after a day of just lazing around Puqi Shrine Xie Lian decided to treat his guest to a cooked dinner, something Hua Cheng was more than happy to accept, as always. It seemed the isolated days Xie Lian would usually spend on his own were getting further and further away with Hua Cheng around lately, giving him an added sense of security that he hasn’t felt in such a long time. But while he was usually at peace during these moments, on this particular day both Xie Lian’s heart and mind were in distress.
A conversation still was lingering in his mind from the other day in which Shi Qingxuan discussed the yearly mid-autumn festival banquet that was taking place once again in the Heavenly Court. While Shi Qingxuan was very excited, exclaiming about the idea of the two going to the heavens in celebration together, he seemed even more excited to discuss an alternative.
“ Your highness, why not invite your crimson rain sought flower for the celebration? ”
It’s not like Xie Lian didn’t think of this possibility in the first place. With the yearly banquet on its way, he already understood that he wouldn’t receive even a single lantern, let alone be able to place in the top 10 in the battle of the lanterns. The idea of it was almost laughable, therefore the prospect of going to the celebration up the heavens didn’t pique his interest in the slightest.
Being around Hua Cheng, on the other hand, was starting to feel as natural as anything, especially with the amount of time the two have been spending around each other recently. He thought about their late-night conversations, the laughs they've shared, the secrets held only between the two of them.
But he also thought about lingering gazes, touches that seemed to press on longer than they normally would, and the spark Xie Lian would feel on his skin long after those hands were removed from his own.
He’d be lying if he said the issue as to what to label this relationship hadn’t crossed his mind before.
If he asked Hua Cheng to stick around for the occasion, would it seem too intimate even for them? Afraid of the possibility of pushing Hua Cheng’s boundary while simultaneously pondering the possibility that he might want the same thing has his mind and heart racing in both excitement and fear.
And it would seem that he was not in the position to hide it any longer now.
Hua Cheng’s smooth voice instantly pulls him out of his own thoughts. “Gege.”
“Yes, San Lang?”
The ghost king eyes him attentively, “What’s on your mind? You seem anxious.”
He laughs a little in response, “Observant as ever, but yes you’re right.” Hua Cheng waits for him to continue. “San Lang, what will you be doing three days from now?”
Hua Cheng’s interest has obviously been sparked now but he still replies without missing a beat. “I didn’t have any plans but if gege is busy I’d hope to tag along.” He pauses and then adds, “Is this about the mid-autumn festival?”
Now that they were on topic, how does Xie Lian go about asking him without making it seem like this is a date? Or should he let the intention out in the open, lest if Hua Cheng were to want the same thing?
“It is, actually on that day I was wondering if San Lang wanted to spend the night together?”
… the words came out quicker than Xie Lian could really process the underlying meaning to them but before he panicked he just hoped Hua Cheng wouldn’t be able to pick up on anything.
But he’s never had the best luck when getting what he wants now, has he? (or best of luck in anything really)
As if Hua Cheng could sense the internal dilemma Xie Lian was having over his statement, he eyed him mischievously with one hand perched under his chin. “But we’ve already spent many nights together before, is gege saying this time will be different ?”
As if his words and gestures weren’t enough to make Xie Lian burn with embarrassment, he decides to lean in closer over the table the two were sharing a meal on, the food being long forgotten at this point. “Does gege have sinful intentions for me that night?”
Xie Lian goes red “NONONO ITS JUST IT’S NOTHING SPECIAL AND IT’S NOT LIKE I’D BE GETTING EVEN A SINGLE LANTERN THAT DAY I JUST THOUGHT- WE COULD MAKE THE MOST OF THE DAY TOGETHER!! I-If we both have nothing better to do…”
Amidst his ramblings, Xie Lian fails to notice the solemn expression forming on Hua Cheng’s face. “That’s not true.”
The god stops his speech and tilts his head. “You think so?”
“There truly are believers who worship Your Highness, and there will always be at least one. I’m certain of it.”
It was said with so much conviction that Xie Lian couldn’t help but bask in the warmth it fills him with.
“Well then what about you, will San Lang release a lantern for me this year?” He takes advantage of the wave of confidence that washes over him in order to ask this question, and it skyrockets even further when he notices the smile on his San Lang’s lips in response.
“Of course, if gege would like to accompany me for it.”
The smile Xie Lian gives is enough to light up the entire room, with rosy cheeks he’s unable to suppress anymore. He does not notice the same rosy cheeks are starting to appear on Hua Cheng’s face at the same time. “In that case, I’d love nothing more than to spend the festival with you. Even just one lantern from you is more than enough for me.”
Is he being a little too obvious at this point? He’s way too engrossed in his own happiness to care really.
Waiting at Puqi Shrine has never felt so nerve-wracking .
Three days had gone by faster than any year Xie Lian has lived through before. The two agreed to celebrate together in Ghost City per Hua Cheng’s persistence, and while Xie Lian offered to make the trip there on his own, Hua Cheng insisted that they traveled together. And so here he was, waiting anxiously for his arrival while having a single thought repeat in his head nonstop.
Is this a date?
He wasn’t too sure, even more unsure as to whether Hua Cheng would want the same or not, but one thing was certain.
He was determined to bring this as close to a date as possible, as long as he could help it.
At first, he had planned to look the part but without any proper clothes aside from the silk white robes he regularly wore, he had no other choice but to settle.
He did, however, have the idea of adding a single braid on the right side of his hair, braiding it in almost flawlessly in order to match the one Hua Cheng always wore himself. It was a small gesture he was sure would go unnoticed, or at the very least, he believed his intentions wouldn’t be so easy to decipher. Reveling in the way it made his heart beat, he felt he was fine with either outcome.
“How long are you going to stand there without greeting me?” He says while never looking away from his handiwork.
“I waited to see if gege would notice, as expected nothing gets past you.”
Xie Lian internally laughed at the idea. Although he’d never admit it out loud, having Hua Cheng’s eyes on him was something he craved. As if he wouldn’t notice something he so desperately hoped for whenever they were to meet.
He sighs lightheartedly, turning around to face his partner for the night when suddenly it felt like the wind was knocked out of him.
Hua Cheng was in his true form once again, leaning against the door frame and it was a sight that never failed to leave Xie Lian speechless and in awe.
Black smooth eye patch, red silk robes that fell perfectly on his person without any signs of creasing, and the single elegant braid he felt made his own braid fall short of beautiful. He was breathtaking as always, if not more so right in this moment. For a while, they stood watching each other without a word, but it was Hua Cheng who was the first to break this silence.
“We’re matching.”
Now that something was said to pull his focus back from his thoughts, he notices Hua Cheng staring at the little excuse of a braid he did in his hair with complete fascination. “I guess we are, I didn’t think San Lang would notice hah…”
The ghost king smiles. “Now I really wonder what kind of intentions gege has for me tonight?”
Xie Lian was quick to give a response with the wave of his hand, lest things become too embarrassing to bear. “HAHAHAH NONSENSE, I JUST THOUGHT SINCE SAN LANG LOOKED SO COOL WITH IT THAT I’D GIVE IT A GO MYSELF! YES, THERE REALLY IS NO OTHER REASON!!”
Hua Cheng laughs, “Your Highness made the right decision, I think it looks best on you.”
Xie Lian finds it unfair that he can say it so calmly while it brings his heart into a daze, but he makes no further comment.
In the next second and after a flip of his wrist where two dice were tossed and rolled, Hua Cheng opens the door anew, the scenery of Puqi village no longer in sight as he reaches his hand out towards Xie Lian. “Shall we get going?”
Xie Lian hasn’t forgotten the effervescent streets of Ghost City from the last time he had visited, except now it was packed to the brim even more with a celebration in full swing. The street they were passing through right now held a lively atmosphere with its usual colorful signs and low-lit red lanterns. The residents of this street were just as vibrant with gossiping ghosts, children enjoying their youth as they ran around in play, salesmen who were able to make their voices be heard loud and clear despite all the chatter. Additionally, Xie Lian noticed the increase of food stalls this time around, with the smell of delicacies both familiar and questionable evident in the air.
Hua Cheng was still holding on to Xie Lian’s hand, guiding them both through the crowd with ease. With the lord of the land out and about, it was no surprise that all eyes were on him and his guest but Xie Lian chose to ignore it. “San Lang, I didn’t know the mid-autumn festival was celebrated in the ghost realm as well?”
“Oh! My lord’s friend!” One of the salesmen who was previously making a commotion waves them down to reply. “That’s because this is our first festival!”
Another salesman chimes in. “Yeah! And because of this, my business has been rackin’ in sales, can you believe it?”
“Of course it is, it’s all thanks to the lord after all!”
Praises start pouring in left and right from the nearby residents as a result and Xie Lian takes it all in with amazement. “San Lang has gone all out for today it seems.”
He feels like he sees a hint of shyness forming on the ghost king’s face but it’s fleeting. “This is nothing.” He stops walking, “Hungry?”
They’ve stopped in front of a particular food stall that was advertising mooncakes in honor of the festivities and Xie Lian is internally grateful he’s taken them to a place serving a familiar dish. After receiving their orders and taking their seats at a nearby table it seems Hua Cheng was eager to speak. “Gege, do you know the meaning behind mooncakes?”
He nods, blowing on the snack to help it cool down. “They symbolize happiness and reunion.”
Hua Cheng nods eagerly back. “That’s right! I think the meaning compliments the day perfectly, don't you think?”
Xie Lian believes like this, Hua Cheng is absolutely radiant and his heart can’t really take any more strain if things kept going this way. At the same time, he reminisces over the cool hand that took his own not too long before and how he wishes for it to come back.
In the midst of daydreaming and staring lazily into his uneaten mooncake, an idea suddenly comes to mind.
Oh.
This was his chance!
“San Lang!” His outburst stops the other mid-bite. “I know of another way we can eat the mooncakes!”
“Oh? What did gege have in mind?”
Without another word, Xie Lian takes a piece out of his own mooncake and brings it to the other’s lips. Hua Cheng’s eyes shone with understanding as he opened his mouth to take the bite. Just as eagerly, the ghost king mimics his movements and looks thoroughly satisfied once Xie Lian takes his piece into his own mouth.
Right now they painted the picture of a perfect couple and Xie Lian couldn’t be happier about this fact at that moment.
He chews happily on Hua Cheng’s mooncake for a while before speaking up again. “So San Lang… it seems you’re the one with the underlying intentions.”
Hua Cheng looks falsely perplexed. “How so?”
Oh, I don’t know. The sly remarks, the holding hands, bringing the whole of Ghost City into celebrating the festival with them, does he really need to say more?
“It just seems like you went through a lot of trouble today.”
Hua Cheng cocks a brow towards him. “But gege hasn’t seen the best part.”
Xie Lian brightens up at this statement. “Is that so?”
Hua Cheng nods in response.
“Then, what are we waiting for?”
The ghost king seems amused by his response as he rises from his seat. They lock hands as they set off once again, whether because they wanted to or just to make sure they don’t get swept away from each other in the crowd, Xie Lian likes to think it's for the former.
He starts to think of everything that has transpired up until now and he starts growing a little anxious. Was he getting the message across or were his advances not enough? And if they were, how did Hua Cheng feel about it all?
They turn onto another street, a new sound getting mixed into the chatter of the crowd when Xie Lian notices something different.
Was that always there?
In front of them, what Xie Lian remembers was once a grounded street was now replaced with a river that cut right through the city, the water in it sparkling but looking shallow enough that anyone could just walk right through it. He admires the scenery there while also taking the time to listen in on the voices of the residents in their area.
“Since when was there a river here??”
“Construction started three days ago, where the hell has you been?!”
“So fast! And just in time fo’ our first festival too!”
Did construction really only start three days ago?
Before he could question Hua Cheng about it they arrived at a small boat where the waning moon officer Xie Lian met before was standing, waiting for them. He hands two long oars to Hua Cheng and relays information in a low voice to which Hua Cheng nods too before he himself bows and takes his leave.
He smiles as he’s led to his seat on the boat by one hand and the two are off again, Hua Cheng taking the initiative to row despite Xie Lian’s offer to do it himself. Moving along down the main street, they had started gathering an audience. It was no surprise to have some of the residents stop and stare, the sight of their lord rowing a boat a rarity no doubt. When Xie Lian listens in on the spectators he could hear the astonishment, the praises on his skills, and even some more praises on the ghost king’s appearance. (to which he wholeheartedly agrees with)
He also catches wind of something else too.
Comments and praises about how good the two looked together, how the two were practically glowing, and questions about just what was the relationship between the lord and his friend?
Hua Cheng looks to the side. “You don’t have to mind them gege.”
Except that Xie Lian kind of does want to mind them, but he keeps his inquiry to himself. But now Hua Cheng’s response has prompted him once again to ask-
Can he consider this a date?
Or has he just been blindly hoping for something that won’t come?
More than anything that’s what he’d hoped for, maybe even a little more than the prospect of his San Lang releasing a lantern for him this year.
At this thought, he’s reminded that he’s been practically silent this whole time while Hua Cheng seems to have been leaving him to his own devices so he asks, “Where are we going?”
Hua Cheng smiles like he’s up to no good and it makes Xie Lian’s heart want to burst for the umpth time that night. “We’re almost there.”
It was then that Xie Lian noticed the lights and bustling noises of the ever-active Ghost City were fading, getting farther and farther away as Hua Cheng started directing the boat into a larger body of water.
One by one familiar flashes of silver suddenly appeared, illuminating the dark waters on their path. Xie Lian reaches out his hand and sure enough, a silver butterfly lands softly albeit excitedly to greet him.
His thoughts start wondering again now at the possibilities to incur now that the two were officially alone. But elaborate schemes that even include one that goes so far as for Xie Lian to start “drowning” in order to be saved are thrown out the window at the sudden glow of orange illuminating the two.
He’s met with the sight of Hua Cheng holding out a single exquisite lantern, no doubt something that wasn’t usually easily attainable although quite possible for someone such as the ghost king himself. And while the lantern was beautiful and littered in fine details, Xie Lian found the way the light sharpened his San Lang’s facial features a sight he’d much rather be watching.
Xie Lian studiously watches his every move as he carefully releases the lantern into the otherwise clear, mid-autumn night sky.
Xie Lian is dazzled, his smile bright and wide as he watches the single lantern take to the skies and he just knows there’s no other place he’d rather be. “You know, this is really starting to feel like a date now.”
“Is it? ”
Hua Cheng is staring with a face full of curiosity and it’s only then that Xie Lian realizes-
He said that out loud, didn’t he?
Xie Lian can feel the nerves trying to get the better of him but he refuses to stop now, not while they’re on topic. “It does, but in that case that would make this my first one…”
He smiles sweetly, thinking about everything that's taken place up to til this point. “And my best one, at that.”
Hua Cheng laughs as he crosses his arms, seemingly amused. “I can do better.”
Better? Xie Lian already felt over the moon as he continued to watch the single lantern Hua Cheng had released for him making its way further up into the night, what more could he have up his sleeve?
Abruptly, Xie Lian starts to sense the warmth of an even brighter light coming from behind. Alarmed, he quickly turns his head back only to see something he had never expected.
Hundreds, if not thousands of lanterns were being released all at once in various parts of the city, not looking like it was going to end anytime soon!
Xie Lian is at a loss for words as he watches the lanterns float all the way over towards their direction, some ending up getting so close that he could reach for them if he truly wanted to.
He's at such a loss for words that he doesn’t think twice when he decides to throw himself into Hua Cheng’s arms.
As if he was expecting it, firm hands steady their hold on him and he starts. “San Lang! do you see the… Oh wait, I'm so sorry! I didn’t even ask if it was okay-“
Hua Cheng shakes his head as he smiles. “It’s fine, actually, I think gege might have seen through my intentions from the start?”
He gives a knowing smile and Xie Lian feels relief instantly wash all over him.
It seems they both wanted this just as badly.
At this, the arms around Hua Cheng’s neck wrapped around even tighter. “I see, San Lang has truly made this day close to perfect then.”
Dumbfounded, the ghost king looks up towards him. “Only close to perfect?”
The god nods earnestly. “That’s right, because you’re missing something.”
Before giving him a chance to respond, Xie Lian cups his face with both hands and quickly closes the distance between them. It wasn’t long until he felt Hua Cheng kiss him back with just as much energy, the two completely immersed with nothing but thoughts of each other.
Now, it was perfect.
They only pull apart to catch their breaths and before they can even think of picking up where they left off Xie Lian remembers something very important. “San Lang?”
“Gege?”
“Just to be sure, this is a date, right? ”