RE: Intertwined Destiny

A chance encounter (I)

Wang Heiyue kept on walking. He could still feel the gaze of the other person watching him. He proceeded with the feeling of being watched and turned into an alley with relatively fewer pedestrians. 

Strangely, the moment he stepped into the alley, the feeling of being watched vanished, but Wang Heiyue didn't let his guard down at all. Anything could happen. Dark blueish scales slowly emerged, replacing his white porcelain skin with rough patches and talons. 

Such repulsive and appalling looking claws, Bai Shuyin had never seen this side of his transformation. She knew almost nothing about his perfect control as Wang Heiyue only transformed into a cute and harmless little dragon in her presence. 

While he could still bask in her love and warmth, petrifying her with the appearance of a terrifying and monstrous dragon was far from his mind. 

Wang Heiyue flexed his arm, hiding the sharp talons under his long sleeves as he observed every person that walked passed by. An old woman carrying a basket in her arms, a scholar reading a scroll without paying attention to the streets, a peddler heaving two bamboo baskets with a shoulder pole--

Then his eyes caught on someone. 

It was a perfectly innocuous-looking person. 

And Wang Heiyue knew he would run into this person, sooner or later, considering that they were in the Northern Li Kingdom. He just never thought it would be this soon. 

There was a nostalgic feeling, prickling deep inside his heart. He could never forget the features of this person-- alive or dead. 

A youthful and childlike appearance. She donned the glowing white robes  of the Northern Li Kingdom, with images of black-colored snakes and tortoises colliding around her collar and sleeves. 

Her appearance was neat and pristine, with large almond-shaped eyes with an unusual shade of golden iris. Her silky long black hair was tied up in a neat style, held together by a simple but elegant hairpiece made of silver that coruscated under the shimmering sunlight. 

Wang Heiyue froze. He didn't know-- wasn't sure how to face this particular girl, wasn't sure how to-- 

He thought he was hallucinating, it wouldn't be the first time and it wasn't going to be the last. Wang Heiyue clenched his fists, talons dug into the palm of his hand, cutting the rough patch of skin open but he didn't pay any mind to it. 

Until blood dripped down his hands that he realized he wasn't hallucinating at all. He was seeing it right and with a clear mind. 

"Li Fantong," Wang Heiyue said drily, eyes briefly clouded with shadow. "Why the fuck are you here?" 

***

There were many stores selling clothes on the street, varying from finished products to tailor-made. Wu Jiangfeng insisted on purchasing the finished one which was proven to be a difficult task to do as there were more adult-size clothes available. As a result, they had been jumping from one store to another. This was precisely the tenth store they had ransacked because Wu Jiangfeng couldn't find the one he wanted. 

And Bai Shuyin was exhausted! 

Was he the one wearing it or she? Why was he the one making it his business just to find some pretty robes for a mere servant like her? It just didn't make sense at all! Unless… 

Perished that thought! Why was she acting like a high-school girl with— well, she did die as a high-school girl without a crush, after all. 

“Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, turnover!” Bai Shuyin moved instinctively and a gown was shoved upon her face. 

There, hanging from Wu Jiangfeng’s hand was a moon-white gown with a light blue cloud pattern embroidered on it. The gown looked simple yet elegant, the cloud pattern on it only made the gown look even more exquisite. 

The red-headed young man held the gown up in front of Bai Shuyin, scrutinizing it. It took a while for him to nod as he said. “This set, give it a try.” 

The storekeeper rejoiced. He excitedly brought out another new set of the exact same gown and brought Bai Shuyin to the fitting room. 

Bai Shuyin took off her lousy robes and put on the new clothes. There were two pieces of clothing and weren’t complicated to wear at all. It was really elegant in color and the material of the clothes, Bai Shuyin rubbed her fingers against it, they were as smooth as silk. The cloud designs weren’t rough either, they were polished so well like that of satin, as if they came in together with the silk. 

Putting them on, Bai Shuyin came out to look in the mirror. Unlike the full-length mirror she was so used to using in her own room, there was only a small copper mirror available. She couldn’t see clearly but the clothes felt a little too big on her as the sleeves hung over her small body, going past her fingertips. It made her feel like wearing sweater paws instead. 

However, Wu Jiangfeng’s taste was really refined. Wasn’t this a little bit too good-looking?

Wu Jiangfeng stared intently at Bai Shuyin, making her feel embarrassed and she ducked her head, however a gentle and warm hand with calloused tips reached up and traced the underside of Bai Shuyin’s jaw. Bai Shuyin was apprehensive but she allowed those fingers to tilt her chin upwards. Their eyes met and Bai Shuyin felt as though he could see through to the very depth of her soul. 

Wu Jiangfeng cracked a smile and he became even more handsome. His warm hand left her jaw to wave at the storekeeper and Bai Shuyin still felt the lingering warmth left over her chin. 

“Is there anything else similar? Pick a few more sets for her to wear.” 

The storekeeper was delighted. The God of Wealth must have been pitying him that he sent so many blessings today. He turned and attentively pulled out a few more sets with similar designs, just in different shades. 

“Your Highness, this servant doesn’t deserve such luxuriousness—“ Bai Shuyin panicked. What the hell was he doing? Why was he buying so much?

“Xiao Bai, consider this my appreciation towards you.” Wu Jiangfeng spoke. “You are not thinking of rejecting benwang's gifts, are you?"