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

Chapter XLV

He Xuan sat on his bed abruptly, feeling his heart beat in his throat. He looked at the time on his phone and found out he was late, that damned alarm did not ring. In fact, it did ring, but he did not notice it. That night he slept well and continuously. No nightmares haunting him, just pitch-black darkness like the bottom of a dead, calm sea.

He left home without breakfast and walked fast on his way to the precinct. For some reason, the image of Hua Cheng disappearing behind the front door of his apartment yesterday showed up in his mind. The detective spent at least an hour talking to the director, mostly about work concerns, accompanied by drinking beer and eating peanuts. What He Xuan said about Hua Cheng "changing behavior since the beginning of this project" was true. Hua Cheng was a restless mess when they met, but it was precisely because of it that he ended up helping He Xuan.

People passing by on the streets seldom want to lend a helping hand to a drunk man. Hua Cheng had just gotten out of a fight and still had blood running down his nose when he tripped on He Xuan, who was huddled down over the sidewalk.

"Get out of my way" was what Hua Cheng not-so-gently said.

The man sitting on the floor looked up at him. He noticed that lad's eyes were vicious, and each of them had a different color.

"Is it Halloween already? Your eyes are creepy." The comment was spontaneous, and the drunk man smiled while saying it, but Hua Cheng did not find it funny.

He crouched and lifted the man by his filthy shirt. "I was just beating someone for pointing that out too, and I'm still in the mood for mor..." Before Hua Cheng could finish his sentence, he watched the man's head bend to the side and stinky vomit jolt from his mouth. It landed on top of Hua Cheng's shoes.

He Xuan did not remember what happened right after that. He was already passing out and the punch in the face that followed his vomiting completely knocked him out. When he woke up, he found himself in that lad's small lodging. After thanking him for his help, He Xuan was informed that there was no generosity behind Hua Cheng's action. He was holding He Xuan hostage until he got a new pair of shoes, considering He Xuan vomited on the only pair he had. Hua Cheng almost beat the man again when he tried to explain he had nothing.

He Xuan was a mess himself for other reasons – or people. In fact, it took him two or three days to remember what he was doing on the streets and where did he live. In the meantime, he stayed with Hua Cheng, who kept track of every cent spent and doubled it. Eventually, He Xuan remembered his job was hanging by a thread at the police station, and Hua Cheng forced him to go face it, so he could pay his debts to the lad.

That was a turning point for He Xuan. He met this guy, who was trying to survive on his own in a huge city, struggling to get around and being bullied at the weird neighborhood he lived in. Hua Cheng wanted to become a play director and, although he almost beat He Xuan up again for laughing at his confession, he was deadly determined to achieve this goal. Hua Cheng was fierce, sometimes even ruthless in his search for excellence, and determination oozed out of him like the steam of his creativity engine at full power.

In between scaring the bullies away, never paying the money owned, and drowning in beer together, they became friends somehow. Hua Cheng was never at peace, He Xuan knew the guy was searching for something. They celebrated Hua Cheng's victory at the contest, and struggled together during the ruin of Yushi Huang's career. Soon after, the director managed to get sponsors for the current project, and that was when he started changing.

He Xuan had the impression Hua Cheng found what he was looking for. The last two times they met, instead of viciousness, he had a peace in his eye. Even when he had to deal with the creeper, it was different. Hua Cheng was emotionally attached to this play, and He Xuan only understood why last night.