𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ☆ JING YUAN

: FOUR

CHAP : IV
vacation boy(friend)?

The more you spoke about your travels the more it dawned on Jing Yuan just how small the life of a short-life species was.

Each stage in life has its growing period and it's fascinating how quickly life goes on for a short-life species. Though the both of you look about the same age in a way or so, you've only finished a deci fraction of what one can call Jing Yuan's lifetime.

However, the idea of knowing how small your life is didn't sound bad to the General. The way every stage can have a proper set plan, but of course, everything has its pros and cons, all weighed on the scales of life and death.

Short-lived mortals tend to want to live life like it's their last moment to breathe. A mentality which at first Jing Yuan never understood. But seeing you in all those pictures, and listening to your stories gave him a clearer picture about it.

And in that moment he decided that even if it's just a small part. A tiny, not even a huge role that he gets to play in your life.

The Hunt forbid he ever let go of such a chance.

But besides all of this, your life truly sounds amazing the more he listens to you.

"So then Himeko and I bought every coffee bean we could lay our hands on. And till this day she still has them... sometimes she makes odd blends for all of us to try, They are interesting, to say the least, but there are a few which I've liked though."

You narrated as you showed Jing Yuan a picture of you and Himeko with bags of coffee beans in your hands with a surprised look.

"March took the picture, we definitely didn't see that one coming..." you said with a laugh, Jing Yuan  couldn't help but wonder how you ended up on the express.

"Ms y/n if I may be so bold to ask, why did you board the astral express..."

"Oh, that...I just wanted to try something new that's all." It was obvious that you were too hesitant to answer the question, which is understandable given that Jing Yuan is someone you've just met a few times.

Jing Yuan was about to apologise for asking before you swiped to the next picture but immediately swiped that too. But it was too late cause Jing Yuan had already caught a glimpse of it enough to make his face contort from one which was apologetic to full of shock. (Not completely, maybe widened eyes and a slightly agape mouth).

You and another man only Aeons know which planet or spacecraft heck some random place he was from, Cozing up with each other!?!?. Now this can only mean two things in his head.

Ms y/n is already with someone or he is not the first person to have flirted with you.

"Who's that man Ms y/n" he asked you as he swiped back to that picture. That aghast-looking picture gave him such terribly aghast notions about himself and you.

You on the other hand looked calmer than him"Ah! I remember him" It's also quite obvious by the slight hue on your cheeks that you didn't want him to see the picture. "During our time in one of the places we visited, Me, Himeko and Mr Yang, who Me and Himeko dragged, went to the pub together."

You zoomed into the picture and the hue only got darker. Jing Yuan watched as the gears in his head began to turn. It made complete sense now that there was a chance that the fellow in the picture and you must have had something going on or had something going on, he hoped that it was indeed the latter to be the right conclusion.
If only Diviner Fu were here to help ease his state of mind with her incomparable skills in divination.

"If I may be so bold to point out, especially judging by the hue on your cheek, you seem to have some history with that man in the picture?" He garnered the guts to say it. And all you did was smile despondently, a reaction he did not expect.

"He was a sort of interest of mine I suppose... we didn't really last long, both of us were young at the time and you could say he was my vacation boyfriend of some sort." You said 'vacation boyfriend' with air quotes.

Such a term existed!? Jing Yuan thought to himself. Youngsters these days... perhaps he is getting old which of course he thought to himself. Well, he certainly wishes it didn't apply to him. Or perhaps it does in a way apply to his current situation.

"So what happened to him if I may ask?"Jing Yuan asked out of curiosity, though he really had no interest in getting to know this 'vacation boyfriend' of yours.

"Oh well... there's no proper ending to this story, we sort of just went out separate ways after I said I had to leave, he didn't really say anything about it and just nodded his head, now that I think about it he never really had any interest in me the way I did him... perhaps he was never my boyfriend, to begin with, but just a fling...."

The room went silent after that, the two of them didn't speak a word but the silence wasn't anything uncomfortable or uncommon for that matter. But at least Jing Yuan did learn a bit more about you. Which of course gives him an upper hand yet again.

"Would you look at the time" You got up and closed the albums. "Maybe next time, I'll ask Dan Heng whether I can take a few files from the data log. That has more important information about the planets than all this mundane information about em."

"I think I got the gist of the planet quite well from this so-called mundane information Ms y/n" He looked at you with a smile, his words came from the heart.

You couldn't help but smile shyly at his words. "I'll be going then" You waved and left the room.

Hearing your little sob story (if you could call it that) It's clear that Jing Yuan is the one in your shoes and you in the man you used to love. He had been trying to get over his feelings for you, but it seemed like it was becoming increasingly difficult. As things progressed, he knew in his heart that his original goal was slowly but surely slipping away.

And that if things kept going like this, He wasn't sure how he was gonna stop it. Perhaps he should have a talk with Diviner Fu.