Scent of Cherry Blossoms (Ongoing)

Chapter 1 - The Boy Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter 1 - The Boy Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

[Red Star Kingdom, Royal Palace]

Inside a room in the royal palace, an adorable and childish voice shouted with alarm.

"Xiao Ruo! What are you doing?!"

A small hand quickly covered little 7 year old Xiao Ming's mouth to silence him.

"Ssssssssssh!"

Little Xiao Ming was fearfully clutching the other small hand that was trying to strip him. He stared at his sister Xiao Ruo with disapproving eyes.

Xiao Ruo was his elder sister by two years, however their height was somewhat similar. She was the troublemaker in their family, and was always cooking up plans that would fail miserably in the end.

What is she up to now? Thought little Xiao Ming in dismay.

"Be Quiet!" whispered Xiao Ruo. "Do you want those aunties and older sisters to find you?"

Immediately, Little Xiao Ming's face paled at the thought of those aunties and older sisters swarming around him with their stuffy perfumes. They had kissed and pinched his face nonstop, always saying how cute and beautiful he was. His cheeks were still red from all the pinching, and very visible lipstick marks in the shape of lips were printed on his face. A chill crawled up his spine and he shivered. Entering the royal palace was like a nightmare to him. He never thought that accompanying his baba and mama to the palace will be this scary.

Little Xiao Ming shook his head from side to side with dread.

"Are you going to be quiet?" asked Xiao Ruo in a whisper.

The little guy nodded and his sister's hand left his mouth.

"Xiao Ruo, don't let those aunties and older sisters find me. I'm scared." Said Little Xiao Ming in a cute and fearful voice. His round black eyes swelled with tears that were threatening to spill over.

His sister Xiao Ruo smirked slyly and said, "Don't worry Ah Ming. I won't let them find you. But...." Here her eyes glinted as she continued, "you have to change clothes with me. With you in my clothes they won't recognize you. Okay?"

"Okay." Said little Xiao Ming in a sad yet hopeful voice. He wiped his tears and took off his outer clothes, leaving his thin inner clothing.

Xiao Ruo smiled victoriously and gathered his clothes. She went behind a screen and changed into his. After finishing, she came out from behind the screen and helped her baby brother into her clothes.

"Waaah! Ah Ming, you're so cute like a little female doll. If only you were my sister instead of my brother!" laughed Xiao Ruo as she wiped the lipstick off his face and stared at him.

She was teasing him but everything she said was not an exaggeration. He really did look like a female doll. His face was small and his eyes were big and round. They sparkled like stars in the night sky. His hair, which she had let loose, was smooth and silky. His skin was soft and was pale like porcelain. With his sore pink cheeks from being pinched earlier made his face look even more mesmerizing. Not only that but Xiao Ruo's blue clothes looked better on him than they did on her. He looked like a blue fairy that had descended from heaven.

Xiao Ruo sighed inwardly. This is too sad! Why did he get all the looks while I have such ordinary ones? What a waste! If only I had his looks, the first Prince would fall in love with me immediately.

Having heard his sister say that he looks like a girl, little Xiao Ming frowned. I do not! He thought.

Xiao Ruo laughed and said, "Remember, they can't find you with dressing like this."

Suddenly, little Xiao Ming's frown turned into a gleeful smile, forgetting why he was ever upset with her.

Xiao Ruo ushered him out of the room.

"Ah Ming, we'll split up so they can't find you. If you're with me, they might know it you. So, I'm going this way. You, go the opposite way." Quickly, Xiao Ruo left with a wicked thought. Now, dressed like this, I can finally go see the first prince. And maybe even touch him. Hehe!

Left alone in front of the room, little Xiao Ming was speechless at how fast his older sister had disappeared. He gave a long sigh and went in the direction Xiao Ruo had pointed to before.

After walking for a few minutes, little Xiao Ming came upon an arching entrance. When he peeked inside, he saw an overgrown garden with a beautiful and elegant tree in the middle. With its neatly and cared for appearance, it stood out from the rest of the messy garden. Pink flowers covered the tree like snow. They were so fluffy and delicate, little Xiao Ming thought they would look perfect on his dear beautiful Mama.

Little Xiao Ming looked left and right to see if there were anyone inside. Seeing that there was no one, he quickly made his way to stand under the tree.

"Wuaaaah!" said little Xiao Ming in awe. The tree look even more amazing up close. It is definitely befitting of his lovely Mama.

With stubborn determination, little Xiao Ming's little hands grabbed onto both sides of the tree and started climbing up. Once he got to the top, he surveyed the tree branches for the most beautiful flower. Only the best for Mama, he thought while with a brilliant smile.

"There! That's the one!" exclaimed little Xiao Ming when he spotted a plump, bright pink colored flower towards the middle of a tree branch. He slowly crawled on top of the strong branch and picked the flower. Just as he was brimming with happiness and excitement, he heard someone's sobbing getting closer and closer to the tree.

Shocked, little Xiao Ming gasped in fright of being discovered for trespassing. His balance broke and he almost fell off the tree. Luckily, he was able to grab onto the tree branch with his hands. Best of all, the flower he just plucked was dangling from the branch and hadn't fallen onto the dirt below.

Suddenly, he saw a sobbing boy come into view. The boy looked like he was a few years older than little Xiao Ming. Maybe he was somewhere around eleven years old? He was crying nonstop and was saying something little Xiao Ming couldn't quite hear. Hanging from the branch, little Xiao Ming gripped harder so he wouldn't fall.

Please go away! Prayed little Xiao Ming.

However, his prayer was useless. The boy came straight to the tree and sat right on the tree's roots. In fact, the boy was sitting right below little Xiao Ming.

No! Little Xiao Ming cried inside as he saw that. Anger flooded his little cute face as he stared daggers at the boy sitting below. His little arms were struggling with all their strength to keep little Xiao Ming from falling.

"Father, you're so evil. You sided with Concubine Shi and punished my mother. This is unfair! This is too unfair! My mother did nothing wrong! Mother! Mother!" The boy sobbed with his hands covering his face.

As the boy cried, he got louder and louder. Little Xiao Ming thought his ears were going to rip off from the sides of his head. Without thinking, he used one of his hands to cover one of his ears. When he did that his other hand lost strength and he fell off the tree with a scream.

Little Xiao Ming's face was scrounged up as he anticipated the inevitable pain to come.

POOF!!

Nothing. There was no pain. Where's the pain? Little Xiao Ming thought in wonder. Falling from such a height to the hard ground should be really painful. Strangely enough, the ground was not hard but soft.

Little Xiao Ming opened his eyes and saw the boy. He was lying on top of the boy's lap with their faces only three inches away from each other.

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