Hualian AU ~ 2. Tales of the Half-Moon Pass

Part 2

Xie Lian woke up, sighing deeply, and was greeted by a nice deep voice,

"Morning."

He lifted his head, just to see Hua Cheng, dressed and slouching on the bean bag. He mumbled a good morning back, and sat down, gathering all the covers around him.

"Did you sleep alright? You feeling better?", he asked.

"A bit tired still, but ok. Thanks for last night", he said, smiling. Through the messy black hair, his eyes were of a bright reddish brown, a very distinctive colour.

Xie Lian smiled and nodded. "Night buses are a pain". Then he noticed Hua Cheng had a pad on his lap, and asked, "You're drawing?"

"Yeah. When I see something beautiful, I like to draw."

"Can I see?", Xie Lian asked, dragging himself closer. It was his window, with the plant and candles on the windowsill, the sunlight shining through the blinds, making it a striped scene. Hua Cheng used only a pencil, with not many details; yet it was punchy and expressive, like everything on it was a living thing.

"That's so good! You're really talented San Lang", he exclaimed.

Hua Cheng smiled, "It just helps me to think better."

Xie Lian got up, stretching himself, and went to brush his teeth and boil water for coffee. He shouted from the kitchen, "What would you like for breakfast? Eggs? Toast? Porridge?"

Hua Cheng showed up at the door. He looked embarrassed, with his hands on his back pockets. "Hum, you must have plans for today. I better get going."

Xie Lian smiled, and said, "I don't actually have plans. Only you know, laundry, buying groceries, cleaning. Come have some breakfast."

"Alright", Hua Cheng replied, smiling.

Xie Lian made strong coffee, and omelettes with tomatoes, rocket and an ancient parmesan cheese he had in the fridge; it was burnt on the outside and uncooked on the inside, but Hua Cheng didn't mind. He then washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen while Xie Lian was in the shower.

They seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement of Hua Cheng just sticking around. They went shopping and he helped to carry the groceries. Hua Cheng wasn't chatty, but they didn't have awkward silences either. They just felt comfortable with each other. They bought Afghan wraps and beer at a street food market, and Hua Cheng insisted on paying.

Walking back home, Xie Lian kept stealing glances at him. Hua Cheng was too cool for school, he must be always busy with calls and texts, inviting him for stuff. Dating. Doing million things. How come he was there, just carrying his stuff the whole day, and even paying for his lunch!

Hua Cheng himself answered it. Crossing the local park, walking slowly, he said, "You can call me a workaholic, of sorts", he paused. "When I'm not actually working on something, I still keep thinking of projects, ideas. So it feels good to be here with you, not doing anything in particular, just taking it easy."

Xie Lian smiled; he was just taking himself for granted, and here's Hua Cheng really enjoying his company! He replied, "Just stay, if you want. You're welcome anytime."

At home, Xie Lian put some music on; they put away the shopping and cleaned the house. They drank beer and chatted. Xie Lian put the bedding he had removed the night before in the washing machine, then asked, "Do you want to wash your clothes? I might have something you can wear in the meantime."

Hua Cheng happily accepted; Xie Lian was trying to make him comfortable, and, most of all, he seemed to want him to stay.

The day after, they woke up and did nothing, just stayed lazily drinking coffee for a while. Xie Lian showed Hua Cheng some music remixing tricks. Hua Cheng had a good notion, from video editing, he said. Xie Lian was glad he didn't know of his YouTube tutorials from back in the day.

In the afternoon, Xie Lian's phone pinged, with a message on the uni's Twitter. @taoistpriestpuppet was inviting him to The Half-Moon Pass, an event happening that evening to promote some project, at the student union bar. A rap battle.

"Wow, rap battle, I used to love those!", he smiled fondly. Good old days.

"I bet you won all of them", Hua Cheng said, smiling.

"Hey, do you wanna go? It's been a while since..."

Hua Cheng, still smiling, replied. "I'd love to."

Xie Lian replied on the event thread to @taoistpriestpuppet that he was going.

They both had showers, and soon after, Xie Lian's phone pinged again. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were outside; they showed up from nowhere, apparently because they saw Xie Lian was going to The Half-Moon Pass. Seeing Hua Cheng, their faces dropped, like they had just seen a ghost.

They were so rude that Xie Lian said, "San Lang, excuse us for a moment?", and, dragging them out of the house, closed the door behind him and asked, "What's wrong with you guys?". He was pissed off.

"San Lang? And why is his hair wet?", Feng Xin asked, closing his eyes, "Xie Lian, are you and Hua Cheng...", he couldn't finish.

"What?"

"Are you fuckfriends", said Mu Qing flatly.

"What?", Xie Lian couldn't believe Feng Xin and Mu Qing were asking him that, right on his face.

"Haven't we told you to stay away from him?", Mu Qing continued.

Xie Lian breathed in deeply, thinking he wouldn't let these two spoil his day. They were his mates. They were just... a pain in the ass. He said, "You did, and I know you mean well. But if you don't mind, I prefer to choose people I hang around with myself?",

They were pissed off, how could Xie Lian treat them like that? They're his oldest friends!

Xie Lian said, coolly, "Anyway. Let's all be cool ok? Alright?", and he smiled brightly. "Who's up to some rap battle, like in the old days?"

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng chilling in Puqi Shrine. ❤️

Feng Xin and Mu Qing showing up with bad attitude. 😠

A rap battle! 🤩