daomingsi, dongshancai.

masquerade, part 2

The sun had set, and it was night now.

And a beautiful one too.

For some reason the air pollution in Shanghai had seemed to disappear for just that one night, as the sky was filled with stars. She marveled at the sight, as she and Tian Ye pulled up at the side of the student parking lot at Minge University.

Shancai clenched her fist tightly, almost ruining the pretty mask XiaoZi had bought in it. How she wished he was here with her to enjoy the stars. And that he would see her like this. Beautiful.

She bit her lip. But, of course, she was too kind to tell Tian Ye that she hadn't even known till a few hours ago that she was attending the ball with him, especially now that he had driven her all the way to the place. He honked at a student who just took their parking spot, reminding Shancai of his presence next to her.

I really, really wish Ah Si was here.

As he shifted gears, he turned to look at her.

"Shancai, are you okay? You look, um, bad."

"Thanks."

"No, no, I meant that you look pale, like you're, I don't know, scared or something. Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to just drive you back home?" He didn't seem to mean it, though, as even as he said so, he had closed the door of his car, and had started walking towards the entrance doors of the ball.

Shancai immediately shook her head violently. She really would want to be driven back home, but there was a large part of her that found it immensely hard to say no to people, at the risk of offending them and making herself feel even worse. "No, of course I'm not sick! I'm just a bit nervous, that's all. I've never attended a masquerade ball before."

He smiled as if expecting her answer, and the two entered the ballroom, which was artfully decorated, with Mardi Gras tinsel wreaths, garlands and centerpieces. Mingde students crowded the huge hall, most of them wearing masks of all colors.

There was a huge amount of people, and Shancai accidentally bumped into someone dancing, her heels getting caught on some of the poofiness of the ball gown, leading her about to trip over her own feet. She gasped as her hands tried to grapple for anything, as a strong hand wrapped around her waist and caught her fall and she, in turn, fell into her savior's arms. She opened her mouth to speak. Could it be?

"Ah Si!" She looked up, hoping to see him.

Oh.

"–Shancai?" Tian Ye smiled confusedly. "It's me, not Daoming Si. Are you really okay?" Oh. The icy feeling of disappointment was like a slab of ice wedging into her, as she tried her best to return Tian Ye's smile. "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Okay." His face looked bitter for a moment, which threw Shancai off for a moment, but then it quickly changed into a different, more smoother smile. "Dance with me?"

Ah Si.

"Okay."

His grin grew even wider, and he reached the hand that had just saved her from ruining her dress to her.

She hesitated, desperately looking around towards the punch serving table.

And that was when she saw him.

_____

She was beautiful.

She'd always been beautiful to him, of course, but for some reason her beauty seemed to be heightened this night, which confused him.

When she hadn't shown up at that girly pink cafe she loved, he'd been worried, so he'd tried calling XiaoYu, and she had told him cryptically to ask XiaoZi. Groaning, he dialed XiaoZi's number, got the truth out of her, and then hung up swiftly when she not so subtly 'mentioned' that she wasn't going to the masquerade ball with anyone.

He glanced at Shancai again from his vantage point at the punch bowl and instantly jerked towards her out of instinct as he noticed with a jolt she was about to trip, but he was too far away, so he started to run, feeling in horror things seeming to go in slow motion. He was almost right by her when what he saw made him stop abruptly.

It was Tian Ye, catching and righting her.

Well, it was a good thing the man had saved her.

Although, something seemed off. The gears in his mind turned rapidly.

Saved . . . Shancai . . . man . . .Tian Ye . . . ball . . . Tian Ye . . . wait.

Tian Ye?

He groaned. Of course XiaoZi had set up Shancai with a date. His girlfriend had a date. And of all people, Tian Ye. That bastard. His jaw clenched and he closed his eyes in extreme annoyance. Tian Ye. Who he knew for a fact knew that Shancai was his. He tried to shape his features into a mask as he pushed down the anger and strode towards them, as she finally noticed him.

Their eyes met.

She looked confused for a second then, really seeing him, smiled happily and his heart felt like it had thudded against his rib cage so hard he'd put a hand to his chest to prevent something from happening. He was about to reach for her and pull her into him as his thoughts suddenly stopped him.

No. He was mad at her for being roped into doing something stupid like this again . . . nonetheless by XiaoZi . . . but still.

He tried looking coldly away from her to Tian Ye, whose hand was outstretched towards her.

"Ah Si!" She cried, interrupting his attempt at ignoring her. Her expression turned tender, as she tried to get him to look at her. "I missed you, stupid."

As soon as he met her gaze he gave in instantly, ashamed at her control over him.

But when could he ever ignore her?

Si decisively turned from Tian Ye and looked back at Shancai.

Really, truly looked.

At her hair, how gorgeous it was, with the exception of the periwinkle crown that matched Tian Ye's corsage marring it.

At her gown, how it fit her body, and how it made him think of things he shouldn't.

At her face, made up with paint, but he would still recognize it, her, anywhere.

She gazed back at him, transfixed by what he seemed to see in her.

A second went by.

Then he took the crown of periwinkle delphiniums off of her hair and placed them into Tian Ye's still awkwardly outstretched hand. Shancai's mouth dropped.

"Daoming Si! What are you doing! Tian Ye, I'm sorry, I–he's, he's my boyfriend, I should've told you earlier, but I couldn't say anything, I mean, I tried–but–"

Then, before she could say anything else, said boyfriend lifted her up into his arms, ignoring her squealed protests as her cheeks steadily grew redder, and started towards the exit.

Si could hear Tian Ye saying something from behind him, and Shancai half-heartedly protesting, her words muffled in his chest, but he tuned it all out: it didn't really matter to him, as all that truly mattered was in his arms.

_____

Their masks were left discarded on the ground as he kissed her outside, underneath the Shanghai sky full of stars.

_____

Author's Note: Hoped you all liked it. This is the first time I've ever included a kiss LOL. Definitely make sure to click that star if you liked the kiss. Even though there was no description. And that there was literally only the word "kissed".

- coexistantLilli :D