Hualian AU ~ 6. The Battle of the Lanterns/The Fetus Spirit

Part 2 ~ The Fetus Spirit

Xie Lian spent the whole Christmas break thinking of sunnier and hotter places from when he was backpacking. Sure, his mother spoiled him rotten making foods he liked; Ruoye never left his side, being extra needy, and his father dragged him along everywhere he went. Still, he missed the sun.

So when he was offered a DJ gig at a creative hub opening, he took it, to start saving up for some proper summer holidays. It was a hipster place, with the so-called creatives walking around holding their drinks and talking nonstop about themselves and their projects. Thick rimmed glasses or fancy facial hair for the males was also mandatory.

Xie Lian played obscure b-sides funk and hip-hop, sensing what was setting better with the crowd. They kept bringing him long necks at times, so he only needed to leave his post for toilet breaks. While returning from one of these breaks, after finishing his set for the night, he suddenly had his arm grabbed by hands with claw-like nails. It was that girl from Ghost City!

"Hey hottie, fancy seeing you again!", she said, smiling.

She was wearing low-rise trousers with a psychedelic pattern, a cropped lurex top and a chain belt with little diamanté butterflies. She had an impossibly nice tan, with her long blond hair tied in a high ponytail, her heavy make-up probably changing her real features completely.

Xie Lian thought, she'd be quite pretty if she toned down a bit. He forced a smile, "Hi!"

She insinuated herself close, her hands lightly touching his chest, and she pouted and purred,

"You're not going to escape from me this time. Let's have a drink..."

Xie Lian paused; he wasn't Feng Xin, but that situation was too much even for him. Suddenly, somebody came from behind, passing an arm around his waist and squeezing his bum lightly; a sexy deep voice said by his ear, "Hey babes, I've been looking for you everywhere". It was Hua Cheng.

If Xie Lian was already shocked with that girl's sexual harassment, his mental state just got worse there and then. He froze. However, that girl didn't seem to notice anything off; she just looked annoyed and ready to leave, saying under her breath,

"Hua Cheng", then, "Pfff, why all hot guys must be gay?" and walked away with an attitude.

Hua Cheng chuckled, and said, loud enough for her to hear, "I'll take it as a compliment Lan Chang!", then removed his hand from Xie Lian's waist, smiling cheekily, "There, she won't bother you ever again".

Xie Lian, still shocked, could only say, "T-Thank you..."

"Drink?", Hua Cheng offered, smiling and being his normal self.

Xie Lian seemed to snap out of it, and said, "No thanks. I need to go and pack my stuff", and turned to go. Hua Cheng still said, "I can still get you a drink? What'd you like?"

But Xie Lian just said, "No thanks I'm going home. Enjoy your evening!", and left.

He went to his DJ booth, and started to unplug the cables and get his computer and other stuff in his backpack, busying himself; he was relieved to see Hua Cheng hasn't followed him there. He just felt weirded out, his face hot, and he was sure he just looked damn stupid.

He started to think, well why though? Hua Cheng just put that 'act' to save him from that girl, it didn't mean anything. He even smiled and offered a drink after, as he usually did. It wasn't a big deal; and he was quite rude to Hua Cheng actually. He should definitely apologise.

After getting all his stuff and waving goodbye to the bar manager, he looked around, and Hua Cheng was nowhere to be seen. He left the building and stopped at the entrance, taking his phone out to send a text. Then he felt that sensation of being observed. He turned around.

Hua Cheng was leaning against the wall, drinking what looked like rum and coke from a glass with ice and a lemon slice. He gave him a little smile and nodded lightly, looking like he wasn't going to move from where he was, and it was fine by him if Xie Lian went off.

"San Lang!", Xie Lian said, approaching, still feeling his face burning.

"Gege", he replied.

"I'm sorry", Xie Lian blurted out, "I was quite rude to you back there".

Hua Cheng replied, "I'm the one who should apologise. I invaded your personal space and startled you. No wonder you got mad at me."

Xie Lian smiled, "I could never get mad at you."

Hua Cheng beamed at him, and said, "Alright. Wanna grab something to eat?"

"Hum, now you mention, I'm a little hungry."

"Let's go".

They walked down the road, to a place nearby Hua Cheng knew that would still have its kitchen open; it was quite late, and a week day after all. They sat down and looked at the menu, ready to order their meal; they also felt they needed a drink.

Poor Xie Lian, it must be hard being this sexy. 😜😜😜 

Thanks for reading!