The King's Dancer

Chapter 12

After breakfast, Hua Cheng asked if Xie Lian was interested in taking a closer look around the garden, which he definitely was. So, Hua Cheng helped him to get up and hop around in the same way he'd done earlier. He showed him the different flowers and they talked about their beauty and meanings, and they ended up strolling through the garden for what felt like hours.

Once they had exhausted the topic of flowers, Hua Cheng proposed to play a round of go, to which Xie Lian agreed very enthusiastically.

Their match took until nightfall, and even then it was still not concluded. However, Xie Lian was growing exhausted from all the strategic thinking he'd done today, and in order to cut it short, he placed a stone in a bad position on purpose. Once he did, Hua Cheng looked at him and crossed his arms.

"Gege, you're not letting me win on purpose now, are you?"

Xie Lian sighed.

"San Lang... if it's the two of us, I have no doubt we could keep going for another five days without determining a winner. The game has to conclude at some point, and I'm growing tired."

"Then we will continue next time, but take that stone back. I don't want to win like this."

Xie Lian sighed once more, fondly, and took his stone back.

"If gege is exhausted, should I carry him to bed, or do you want to hop your way there?", Hua Cheng asked.

"I can hop."

Of course Hua Cheng still helped him with the hopping. However, just as they entered Xie Lian's current room, he realised something.

"San Lang... I already didn't take a bath yesterday. I really need to take one today. Can you help me get over to the pool?"

"Of course, gege."

Only when they arrived at the edge of the pool did Xie Lian remember that he didn't have any garments he could change into.

When he told Hua Cheng the issue, the king bellowed a loud "Yin Yu!", and just a short moment later a man in dark robes appeared.

"Your Majesty?", he asked.

"Fetch me robes", Hua Cheng ordered, before he turned to Xie Lian again.

"I should have thought of that, gege. I'm sorry."

Xie Lian immediately shook his head.

"I didn't even think of it. Uhm... will... will San Lang also take a bath here?"

"If gege wants me to, of course", came Hua Cheng's instant reply.

Xie Lian thought he must've gone insane at some point, but he nodded. It was going against everything that had ever been drilled into his head when it came to the topic of dealing with alphas as an omega, he realised rather belatedly. While it was true that Xian Le had strived for equality between the dynamics, there were still laws and customs in place to protect omegas from alphas' unwanted attention.

One of those customs had been separated communal baths. Xie Lian had bathed with many people in his life, lots of strangers and distant acquaintances as well as close friends, but never with an alpha. Which was why he didn't quite know what to expect, but he felt much less nervous than he felt he should be. Maybe it was because San Lang was great company, or maybe it was because Xie Lian didn't want to be alone.

"If San Lang doesn't mind", he said, but still felt a bit shy.

Xie Lian had never really felt shy about nudity before; after all, there was nothing more normal than to undress before bathing. Everyone did it, and nobody was shy about it. But there had also always been more than just one other person, if Xie Lian did decide to join the army baths, or it had always just been him, if he decided to take a bath in his own private chambers. So maybe this was also a new aspect that was making him just a little bit nervous.