Work Text:
“Do you think we didn’t know what the Lantern Festival is in the Valley?” Gu Xiang asked bluntly, interrupting his list of instructions for making paper lanterns.
“Well…” Cao Weining looked anywhere but at her.
“Of course we celebrated, except we didn’t make lanterns out of paper…” Gu Xiang paused for dramatic effect, and watched Cao Weining’s eyes get big. She leaned in close to whisper, “We made them out of human skin and painted them with blood.”
After a long, tense moment of staring each other down, Gu Xiang pulled back and picked up a brush to sloppily write on her lantern. She began to hum tunelessly.
Cao Weining sat down heavily, releasing a nervous laugh. “You really had me there, I almost believed you.”
“What to you mean ‘almost’? It’s true.” Gu Xiang said innocently.
Cao Weining’s brush dropped from his hand onto his leg, leaving a dark smear of ink behind. His mouth hung open, but he was speechless.
Gu Xiang rolled her eyes. “Relax, it was a joke.”
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[FIRST IMAGE] A black and white drawing of Gu Xiang and Cao Weining face each other across a table while painting sky lanterns for the lantern festival. The only splashes of color are the pale green-gray of the textured background and the red, paper texture of the lanterns. Gu Xiang stands on the left, brush in hand as she considers her work. Her other hand rests on her hip as she makes a face of contemplation. An errant brush stroke is on her cheek. Cao Weining sits at the table, his lantern in his lap and brush poised in his hand as if caught mid-stroke, both forgotten as he stares at Gu Xiang in disbelief. His eyes wide and his mouth open. [/END]
[SECOND IMAGE] A simple drawing of Gu Xiang and Cao Weining’s lanterns. Two red sky lanterns with a papery texture sit against a pale gray, rough-textured background. Both lanterns glow slightly at their centers. The left lantern, presumably by Cao Weining, features a simple but artistic brush drawing of a rabbit in black ink. The lantern on the right also sports an ink drawing of a rabbit, but less elegantly drawn. [/END]