𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐄𝐑 | xɪᴀᴏ x ᴀᴇᴛʜᴇʀ (On Revision)

021

Xiao

Aether said that he was only going to the bathroom, so why did I follow him?

Venti threw me off when he assumed that Aether may be upset about something. What's weird is that my body quickly reacted on its own and decided to follow him.

It's only an assumption, which means it may or may not be true, so what's the reason to be concerned about it? My mind does have an unresolvable issue.

I sighed. At least what matters is that I'm out of the game. Now, where did he run off to?

I am sure that the bathroom is down the stairs, so I went there, but there was no sign of him. I searched for him in the villa, then my eyes spotted a person standing on the balcony. My lips formed a smile when I saw that it was Aether.

But my eyes noticed that he had a troubled look on his face. It made me wonder what was going on in his mind. He sighed and looked up to admire the beautiful night sky.

I don't want to interrupt the moment because maybe he wanted to have some time alone, but my legs had already moved closer before my command.

"I thought you were going to the bathroom, but what brings you here?

He turned around, and my eyes widened a bit when his eyes reflected the moonlight, making it a shade of gold, and the fresh night breeze was elegantly blowing his blonde hair, which made his beauty more appealing.

"Xiao." He only said my name, but my heart paced faster than before. It's the same sensation again.

He chuckled and said, "Silly, that was only an excuse. I just want to head out and clear my head.

I see. I nodded my head and stared at the night sky as well to view the glowing stars. However, the atmosphere was awkward because of the silence, and we looked like idiots spacing out.

I decided to initiate first and sucked up my courage to ask him. "Are you okay?"

What is this? He didn't respond to my question. Did it make him uneasy? Was it too much to ask? Quick, think of a backup!

"Venti said that you seem upset about something, so I want to ask you if that's true." That's it! Keep the conversation going.

It surprised me when he smiled. "I was upset, but I'm fine now."

It seems that Venti has the power to read people because what he said was true.

"What made you upset?"

"Do you really want to know?" For some reason, it made me nervous, but I wanted to know, so I slowly nodded my head in reply.

"My crush doesn't remember what he stole from me."

It felt like the whole world suddenly stopped when he said that. Crush? Aether has a person he likes?

My chest felt a throbbing pain; it was the same feeling during that night, which was weird because I am not wounded or hurt. Am I?

More importantly, who is that person? Is it Chongyun? Does that mean he really does like that bastard?

Nah. It couldn't be possible because Aether said he prefers to hang out with a cute person, and that bastard ain't it. Also, Chongyun already had a boyfriend, so he's off-limits.

So, who is it, and what did he steal? All these questions gave me a headache.

"I see. What did he steal?" I'm curious. I want to know. Wait, why should I be? It's his life.

But it's not bad to be curious about it, right? Besides, I'm his best friend, and friends don't keep secrets from each other.

Huh? Why did it feel like my heart was being stabbed by a sharp knife? Weird.

Aether sighed and answered, "Something precious."

I scoffed. How dare he mess up with Aether? My blood boiled in fury just thinking of it.

"Who does he think he is? Stealing something so precious is what you call an asshole. Why is he your crush if he did that to you?"

He laughed at what I said, which made me confused. "What's so funny?"

He answered, "You are funny." I pouted and blushed because of embarrassment.

"Wow! My mood is way better than before. You really know how to comfort me, so thank you."

"Yeah, y-you're welcome." I stuttered and felt my cheeks getting hotter than before.

"But to answer your question, the reason why he's my crush is because I like him. Easy as that," he said.

"Do you still like him even though he's a jerk who stole something precious from you?

He smiled at me and answered, "Yes." What's so special about him? He steals, yet Aether still likes him.

I sighed and replied, "You have a bad taste."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nah. He's a good person." Good person? What?

I rolled my eyes. "Are you blind? He can steal, and that's an example of a bad person. Do you still think he's a good person?"

"Yes. I know that he is," he answered with a genuine smile plastered on his face.

I pouted. "Do you really like him that much?"

"I do. He always has a special space in my heart."

I clenched my fist when my chest hurt like hell. What's wrong with me? Pain is usually bearable to me, but this time it wasn't because it felt like there were thousands of blades surrounding my insides.

"Do I know him?"

"Yes," he answered.