Hua Xianle

Chapter 24:

As soon as the door closed behind him, Hua Ying fell to his knees and clutched the front of his robes as he tried to calm his breathing.

He’d done it. He faced the Jiangs with his head held high and he didn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing his terror. He felt like his heart was gonna explode from how hard it was pounding in his chest, his mind swimming with dark memories of screams and the crack of Zidian.

“It’s okay…” he whispered to himself, rocking slightly where he had fallen. “You’re okay, Xianle. They can’t hurt you anymore, and you knew you would have to meet eventually. You’re okay, they can’t hurt you, they won’t hurt you…”

He continued whispering assurances to himself as a warm hand gently began to rub his back. He tensed at first but relaxed once he realized it was just his Zi-gege.

“You did good, A-Ying,” his cousin said softly, wrapping his arms around him and letting Hua Ying bury his face in his neck. “You were so brave back there. You stood up for yourself and gave them everything they deserved. I am so proud of you, and I know your Baba and A-Die are too.”

They sat there for a bit, just rocking and letting Hua Ying come back to himself. Once he was finally back in control of his faculties, he pulled back and released a long breath.

“Better?” Gu Zi asked.

“Mn,” Hua Ying replied, wiping his eyes. “I am tired though. Let’s get some sleep.”

They both cleaned themselves up and changed into their sleeping robes, their luggage having been brought to their room by the servants during the confrontation. As Gu Zi helped Hua Ying comb his hair, they continued to talk amicably.

“I heard from Ling-shenshen that the Lans sleep at nine and wake up at five, A-Ying.” He set down the comb at that, chuckling. “How are you going to cope with that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get out of bed any earlier than nine.”

Hua Ying just blinked at him sleepily, making his way over to the bed. “But Zi-gege is here to wake me up though.”

Gu Zi just smiled fondly at him and moved to join him in the bed. He pulled the covers over them both, allowing them to cuddle together comfortably. “So long as A-Ying doesn’t give his Zi-gege a hard time in the morning.”

Hua Ying just pouted and burrowed himself into the blankets even more. “No teasing A-Ying.”

“I am not teasing you,” Gu Zi replied in a clearly teasing tone.

“Yes, you are. You’re teasing me just like Qi-shushu does!”

Gu Zi just chuckled at that and patted his little cousin’s hair, pulling him closer until they both drifted off to sleep. The stress of the evening melted away as sweet dreams greeted them.

All will be well tomorrow.

…

The next morning at nine, both boys woke up peacefully and ready to face the day. Gu Zi decided to stick with an outfit similar to what he wore yesterday, just switching out the inner robe for one that was a slightly darker shade of green. Hua Ying, on the other hand, decided he wanted to go all out. He wanted to rub his status in Jiang Wanyin’s face, and he knew just how to do it.

Hua Ying picked out a set of his billowy robes, which worked out since it is quite cold in Cloud Recesses. The set he chose still had the slits on either side of his legs, just in case he needed to kick someone (Jiang Cheng) in the face. They were ebony black with red accents, flowers and butterflies sewed all across the sleeves and back. He wore trousers underneath and his black boots again, and he wore his hair in a half ponytail tied with a red ribbon. His final accessories were his black bracers, his sword on his hip, and Suibian in the form of a butterfly ring resting on his right index finger. All in all, he looked casual and comfortable… but still expensive.