of all the coffeeshop in the world...you just had to walk into mine (Yizhan FF)

chapter 9

There once lived near perfect beings called gods.

They were blessed with good looks, perfect skills, full charms, and they lived in perfect harmony without wars, envy, jealousy, greed and lust. Everything was perfect and peaceful.

The King of the gods was the wisest, the most respected and the most loved by all, and the Queen was the most beautiful person in all five realms.

The King and the Queen had one child.

He grew up to be as wise, as loved, as respected as his father, the King. He was also the youngest and strongest martial god in all five realms.

As a child of a King, a crown prince, it was his duty to carry on the legacy, and on his twentieth birthday, he was getting engaged to the queen of the Fairy tribe, mostly to strengthen their peace bond instead out of love.

The Crown Prince, dutifully accepted because he was taught from young that it was his duty to keep the peace. He did not have any objection at all for the sake of all five realms.

As his birthday and wedding day was approaching, the Crown Prince was feeling restless. He felt that there was something… missing. And he did try to fill the void without much success. Until one day when his best friend, the Festivities God, suggested to him that he went down to the human realm to have some fun.

And he did.

He chose a few weeks before the Dragon Boat Festival to come down and take a look around, because according to Festivities God, the Dragon Boat Festival was the most popular for newbies like him.

The Festivities God helped him with his clothing and how to suppress his majestic aura, also gave him human's money and explained to him the human rules. And lastly, he told him not to attract attention in any way.

The Crown Prince left and he arrived in the less busy part of the city just in time to watch a little boy about seven steal a couple of mantous from the street seller.

Unfortunately the seller noticed and yelled at the boy to give the food back, but the boy refused and ran away. The seller gave chase, and since he was bigger and taller and older, he caught up to the boy fast and was about to hit him when the Crown Prince noticed a couple of smaller kids were hiding under the humble shelter, looking dirty and hungry.

He frowned, and he was about to stop the seller when he saw someone else beat him to the punch.

The newcomer stopped the mantou seller from hitting the boy, and instead he gave money to the seller and coaxed him to let go of the boy.

The seller looked reluctant, but finally he let go.

After the seller left, he watched the man take the boy's hand and let him lead him to the other kids' hiding place and he took them all with him with a gentle look on his face.

And that was the first time the Crown Prince started to feel something.

Unsurprisingly, the man noticed the Crown Prince and gave him a smile and a polite nod, and it made the Crown Prince blurt out the question.

"Who are you?"

The man looked surprised, but he stopped and answered him.

"Hello, my name is Beitang Moran. This childe must be new in town?"

"How do you know?" The Crown Prince went on defensive mode. Nobody was supposed to know that he went to the human realm besides the Festivities God.

"You look… different. And most of the people in this town know me." Beitang Moran gave him another smile, which made his eyes crinkled. "May I know this childe's name?"

It took the Crown Prince a few seconds to answer the question, mostly because of the blinding smile. He never saw anyone smile at him as pure as that. Although he was loved by all, there was always a hint of fear in their smile. Unlike this one.

"Baili Hongyi. And yes, I came here to watch the Dragon Boat Festival. My friend said that it was the most popular festival here."

"Ah, but it is. So, if you don't mind, do you want to come and be a guest at my house? I will take you to see the best of everything so that you will not miss anything."

Beitang Moran's house was big, but upon closer inspection, it was in need of some renovation, mostly because of age. But he did not seem to care about the superficial things and the Crown Prince noticed that there were a lot of children inside of the house.

"Pardon for my humble abode, but I seem to have neglected the maintenance of this place lately…" Beitang Moran was rather sheepish, but The Crown Prince did not mind. It was homely after all, and the children looked happy and well fed.

"I don't mind at all, may I ask what it is your occupation, dear Sir? Why do you have a lot of children in your house?"

"Ah, you might as well call me Moran, and I'm just a humble civil servant. But lately I dedicated myself to shelter and teach these children, so that they can have a better future."

"Ah, I see. You may call me Hongyi then, as we are friends now." The Crown Prince looked around their surroundings with his keen eyes. "This is good. You are a very honorable man. I, Baili Hongyi, am proud to be your friend."

Along the course of the next few weeks, the Crown Prince spent a lot of time talking and observing Beitang Moran, and he came to the conclusion that he was not just a civil servant as he said he was. In fact, the Crown Prince suspected that Beitang Moran had some kind of complicated relationship with the Royals. 

But anyway, he loved to exchange thoughts and ideas with the man. He might look quiet but when he talked about the things he was passionate about, his eyes would light up and he would go on and on and on, and the Crown Prince thought that it was cute.

He thought that it was cute.

Then the Dragon Boat Festival came.

At that time, the Crown Prince had already been mesmerized by Beitang Moran. From his brain, his kindness, his vision, his passion, his smile, his doe eyes, the mole under his shapely mouth… Baili Hongyi had never felt anything like this before toward anyone in his whole life.

But then again, it was probably because Beitang Moran was older than him, and he gained much more experience and a certain view of life that made him humble and kind.

The Crown Prince had never met anyone like Beitang Moran in all five realms before.

And he was sure that he liked Beitang Moran after the Dragon Boat Festival was finished.

They were drinking together under the moonlight, while Beitang Moran played the zither forlornly. The song was his own creation, and it sounded… sad.

"I have to leave tomorrow." Baili Hongyi tried to speak normally, but it's hard with a lump in his throat. "And I don't know when I can be back here again."

"I kinda have a feeling that you would." Beitang Moran continued to play his zither, and he didn't look at Baili Hongyi at all.

"I really wish I can stay."

"We all have our responsibilities that we can not ignore, and I understand."

"Sometimes I wish I could be more like you, living your life according to your heart, without duty to restrain, without people to please…"

"And sometimes, it's all that we had to do. To atone for the mistakes we have made."

Hearing those words, Baili Hongyi wondered what kind of mistakes that made Beitang Moran's eyes suddenly showed so much pain.

The dawn came, and when the Crown Prince looked at his companion, he was already asleep with his hands under his head. The Crown Prince's eyes softened, and he decided right there, that he would be back. Whatever it took him to do so.

And by deciding so, thus marked the beginning of their end.