Xie Lian's artistic side| Colors of the Heart ~ Hualian AU

Chapter III

It was almost time. Hua Cheng opened his wardrobe to choose which crimson piece of clothing he would wear tonight. It was a big night after all. It was the first night, from the many he had already seen Xie Lian perform, where he could actually go and talk to him after the play. And he was looking forward to it.

***

Many hours after, the crowd stood up to clap enthusiastically. The curtains fell, Xie Lian quickly raised himself from the pool of blood where he was laying and lined up with the other actors. The curtains went up again, he took some steps forward and bowed. The crowd yelled, acknowledging how good his performance has been.

Backstage, Shi Qingxuan opened her arms to receive Xie Lian inside his dressing room with tears rolling down her face. "Puqiiii, how come you're so handsome? How come you're so good? Everything made me want to pour my eyes out!" She was hugging Xie Lian so hard he could barely breathe. She also got herself covered in fake blood, but still hadn't realized it.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing knocked on the door and entered the room smiling. They congratulated Xie Lian and were pushing Shin Qinxuan away, who wanted to hug them very closely, otherwise they would also be covered in blood.

Their little gathering was chaotic but heart-warming, Xie Lian thought, and he only wished his parents would have seen him perform too. He looked at his reflexion in the mirror, almost feeling sorry for himself, but was instantly pulled away from that thought when he noticed a red silhouette at the door.

"Director Hua! Were you here for the play?"

"No, he was here for free coffee. You dummy! Of course he was here for the play! Why else would he be here now?" Shin Qingxuan was overexcited and tended to say everything she was thinking out loud at those times.

Xie Lian was looking at Hua Cheng, who held his hands behind his body and paced inside the room slowly. "Thank you so much for coming, I feel so flattered."

Hua Cheng then showed his hands, one holding a bottle of champagne and the other, a single red rose. The color of the rose was so intense it almost looked like fresh blood, everyone stared at it. He said "Well-done, Gege! I'm looking forward to having you on set in the future." He extended his arms and offered the gifts to Xie Lian.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing had their mouths hanging open, but just could not specify for what reason. Either the fact that the so-called famous Hua Cheng was here, or because he called Xie Lian "Gege", or maybe because he was surprisingly handsome and had even brought gifts!

Shi Qingxuan approached and pushed their mouths shut. "Just follow my lead, please", she whispered for the two of them to hear.

Xie Lian was moved. He took the gifts and said "Should we all have a drink together to celebrate?"

"See, Dianxia, we can still call you Dianxia until the end of the weekend, right? It will only be three presentations and one is already gone..." Shi Qingxuan started mumbling in her frantic way.

Xie Lian quickly interrupted. "You can call me that for life, Puqi. I don't mind." He smiled and look at Hua Cheng, who was observing him intently.

Shi Qingxuan then continued, "You see, Dianxia, I have something tomorrow quite early, and look! I'm all covered in blood now! These boys here were just saying that they had plans with... whatever... girl they like to be with and they also can't stay. But why don't you and Director Hua enjoy a good glass of champagne together?" Shi Qingxuan started pushing Feng Xin and Mu Qin towards the door.

Xie Lian was puzzled. "Whatever... girls? What? Since when?"

Feng Xin scratched behind his neck and said, "Sorry, Lian. We can't stay today. But tomorrow! Or after the final Sunday session, what do you think?"

Mu Qing said nothing.

Xie Lian then eyed Hua Cheng, who said casually "I guess the two of us makes it a work meeting?"

"Of course, let's go for it." Xie Lian waved a hand to his friends and agent.

Before going out, Mu Qing heard Hua Cheng answering a question Xie Lian just asked. He said, "No, it was actually the first time I ever saw you on stage."

***

Xie Lian changed and was just grabbing his keys when his cellphone lit the screen. It showed a notification from a contact named "Stalker Jun Wu", and the bit of the message that could be read said: "Congrats, you looked divine, Dianxia. As usual. I miss y..."

He shuddered by thinking that Jun Wu was amidst the crowd.

"Do you need more time?" Since Xie Lian opened the door but came back inside, Hua Cheng was peaking in.

"No, definitively not otherwise it'll get too late. Let's go."

.

.

.

Thanks for reading and keep coming back for more, please <3