Chapter Text
Xie Lian floated belly up as he basked in the gentle light coming from a nearby window.
The surface of the large indoor pond was tranquil, although from time to time a few of his fellow mermaids would surface to either stare at him curiously or look for any food debris that might be floating on the surface. Xie Lian never minded the stares. He was used to them, as they came from both the mermaids and the human caretakers alike ever since he was placed into the pond a week ago.
He hadn’t known what to expect at first when he was plucked from his home; dirty, his tail a pale dull white instead of the gold shimmer it used to have and his hair a tangled, oily mess, but being put on a spaceship, flown however many hours to a human space colony, fed well, cleaned, and then plopped into what he was pretty sure to be a pet shop was not one of his original guesses.
He had to admit it was the most peace he felt in years. He had heard about these shops before from his parents, so he knew that his species was highly sought after by humans for their ability to treat space madness caused by cosmic radiation. Xie Lian supposed that was why he was being treated so well. Considering his near-death experience with a cosmic octo-squid a few days before his capture, this was a very nice change of pace.
Flipping over, Xie Lian floated face down to warm his back as he stared at the colorful rocks and sand beneath him. One red rock. One blue rock. One red rock. One green rock. He had just begun to drift back to sleep when he heard the familiar sound of a bell.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
“It’s time to eat!”
Well, his time of peace was over.
The other mermaids, hearing the sound, immediately surged from their hiding spots beneath the seaweed and rocks. The once tranquil water now pushed and pulled Xie Lian in rough waves as the sound of fishtails slapping the water filled his ears. His vision was filled with the color of bright tails and bubbles, and he waited patiently for the pod to pass him before he swam down to the now empty sandy floor. Xie Lian casually grabbed a piece of kelp before settling on a comfortable rock to eat. He wasn’t keen on being caught in the rush for food and was perfectly content waiting for the others to finish eating before going up to get leftovers.
Nibbling on the kelp, Xie Lian tried to tune in to the conversation the humans were having above, although it was a bit difficult over the excited feasting going on. The usual three were working this morning, the same two men standing near the pond while the other woman walked back and forth with supplies. The first human, wearing a blue apron, was currently throwing dried fish at the mermaids while the other, wearing a purple apron, was checking the oxygen filter. The two chatted as Xie Lian listened.
“Do you think he’ll come today?”
“Who, the marshal? Probably. His officers have been dragging him in here every week whether he likes it or not. It’s getting hard to watch him get rejected each time. Wouldn’t know what that feels like.”
An irritated grunt came from above. “Speaking of which, you flirted with a customer for over an hour while Ling Wen and I dealt with the rush yesterday. I’m docking your pay.”
“Eh,” a proud huff followed, “I don’t mind. I learned that aquarium sand is actually very comfortable. Hard on the knees though.”
“You did not.”
“Oh yes, I did.”
“Pei Ming, I swear to...do you know how expensive...”
A woman’s voice cut through the conversation just as Xie Lian finished his kelp.
“Shi Wudu. Pei Ming. The base is opening in five minutes.”
As the two men left the pond, Xie Lian wondered about their conversation. The sand they used for the pond was very comfortable…was the human called Shi Wudu mad because Pei Ming had used too much of it to sleep on? Why would it be hard on human knees?
This was also another day he had heard about this human ‘marshal’ and was starting to get curious about this mysterious human. Every day they seemed to talk about him - a human with space madness who had symptoms that were too unusual for a hospital to treat and that only a mermaid could help him. However, none of the mermaids wanted to go home with him and hid from him every time he came, so the human’s illness was worsening. Xie Lian couldn’t help but feel pity for this human he hadn’t met.
The other mermaids had finished eating and were now swimming around the tank to exercise, so Xie Lian swam up and popped his head out of the water. A few ripped pieces of dried fish were floating around, which he grabbed and sucked on. Like this, he watched as the store (which the three humans called the ‘mermaid base’) became brighter and a few more workers filed in before the customers did.
Xie Lian had noticed that only rich humans seemed to come into the base. Today seemed to be the case too, as adult humans dressed in what looked like expensive clothes made their way through the store. A few came by the pond and immediately kneeled next to it, holding out their hands. Xie Lian ducked back down into the water as other curious mermaids went to check them out.
If it was one thing Xie Lian noticed and liked about this supposed store, it was that the caretakers always put the mermaids first. It was the mermaid’s choice to go with the human, and if at any point the mermaid struggled to go back to the pond during the adoption process, they were allowed to do so. Here, the mermaid chose the human, not the other way around.
Xie Lian had stared wide-eyed in wonder the first day he was here while watching a mermaid get boxed and happily taken away, but with the novelty having worn off he decided to busy himself today collecting scrap from the pond floor. Although he knew he was in a safe environment, he still had his hoarding instincts. By mid-day, he had managed to put some nice colorful pebbles, a few sticks, and pieces of seaweed in a pile when he suddenly heard loud voices coming from above.
There were a lot of humans standing to the right of the pond, but the two main figures were a tall man dressed in white and gold, and another, shorter man dressed in dark green. Xie Lian also recognized the caretakers Shi Wudu and Ling Wen standing to the side. The man in white outstretched his hands and Xie Lian watched curiously as almost all the mermaids in the pond swam over to greet him. A chorus of “Eee!” and “Ya~” followed as many tried to jump in the human’s palm. Xie Lian did feel a comforting sense of energy coming from the man, but there was also something lingering beneath the surface of that energy that made him feel uncomfortable. He couldn’t quite understand why, but he did not want to go to that human.
“Your Royal Highness Jun Wu’s affinity is really extraordinary. When you stand at the shore, all these mermaids come rushing towards you,” said Shi Wudu.
“Of course they would!” cackled the one in green. When he flung up his arms the mermaids scattered for a second before returning. “It’s because he’s the prince of course!”
Xie Lian put down his pebble before swimming up to the surface to peek at the humans. For the man named Jun Wu to be called ‘his highness’ and ‘prince’, he must be human royalty. The man certainly looked it- decked in regal clothes with a handsome face and thick brows. The one standing next to him, the one in green, was much smaller and wasn’t as fancy. He could’ve been considered handsome though if it wasn’t for the gross smirk that contorted his face as he continued to speak.
“Now if someone like that fucker Hua Cheng came...heh...I heard he’s all locked away in that gaudy ass mansion of his. Someone should check if he’s alive or not. Don’t wait until his corpse stinks to find out that he’s gone. Tsk tsk tsk.”
Xie Lian started to swim closer, his curiosity getting the better of him. They were talking about the marshal again. Whether it be ridiculing or fearing him, the humans always seemed to talk about the marshal.
His Royal Highness sighed. “Qi Rong, enough.”
However, Qi Rong kept going. “That fucker killed 33 Zergs? So what? I can do that too! In my sleep! Zergs are nothing but ugly-ass...wait. Pah, why is that fish so ugly?”
Xie Lian glanced up to see Qi Rong pointing a finger in his direction. He turned this way and that before realizing the man in green was talking about him. Xie Lian knew that he had lost a lot of his color and his fins were not what they used to be, but being called ugly still hurt a bit. He stopped swimming, but he was close enough now to be jostled in the waves created by the group of mermaids who were still staring at the prince expectantly.
Jun Wu looked at Xie Lian too, making him feel even more self-conscious.
“I haven’t seen that coloration of tail before,” Jun Wu hummed.
This time, Ling Wen stepped up from the side and explained, “That little mermaid was recently caught in the wild, your highness. That’s why his color is different from the ones we have bred in the base. He was found in an oil spill and has recently been added to this pond for rehabilitation and possible adoption.”
“Caught in the wild?” asked Jun Wu, his eyebrows raising. “Isn’t that incredibly rare?”
Ling Wen nodded, keeping her back straight as he spoke. “Yes, your highness. As you know, there are less than a hundred left in the wild. For this one to have survived for as long as it did is incredibly rare due to the dangers.”
“I see...” Jun Wu murmured. Xie Lian saw that the human was reaching out a hand toward him, but feeling uncomfortable, Xie Lian sank further into the water before beginning to swim away.
He hadn’t gotten far when a voice called out, “Hey! Fucking sashimi how dare you-“
Xie Lian had his back turned, which was why the sudden feeling of a hand engulfing him and pulling him from the water made him let out a sharp, gurgled squeak. He quickly began to flail as the hand tightened around him.
“Hey!”
“Qi Rong! Let it go at once!”
“The mermaid base has strict policies-”
“But your Highness he disrespected you and-”
Panicking, Xie Lian managed to slip out of the hold just a bit. Seeing his freedom, he gave a wide swing of his tail, feeling it hit something with a crisp ‘slap’ before he was let go. He tumbled in the air until hitting the comfort of water, quickly fleeing into the depths to squeeze into a rock crevice to hide behind.
There was a long silence. Even the other mermaids had gone quiet.
Feeling his heart thumping in his chest, Xie Lian looked up to see Qi Rong with a startled face, a red mark clear across his cheek, and Jun Wu, whose pants had been splashed with water during Xie Lian’s fleeing in a way that left him looking incredibly undignified. Shi Wudu and Ling Wen were frozen in shock, while the other humans in the store who had been watching had their hands over their mouths.
The silence was broken with an enraged scream.
Gnashing his teeth, Qi Rong pointed at the pond and stomped his feet. His face turned so red that it was hard to see the slap mark. “You...how dare you! Manager! Manager! Hand over this stinky fish that’s seeking death! How dare it hit me! How dare!”
Qi Rong was so angry that his chest continuously rose and fell. The other mermaids quickly scattered to the other side of the pond, some even burying themselves under the sand. Jun Wu, on the other hand, sighed and grabbed the back of Qi Rong’s collar. This made Qi Rong freeze.
“Sir Qi Rong,” Shi Wudu said with annoyance disguised as caution. “I want to remind you that these mermaids are incredibly rare and very important. Hurting one is punishable by law. We must ask you to leave the premises at once.”
“W-What?!” Qi Rong’s face went from red to green. “You can’t kick me out! Not until I smash that-”
However, Qi Rong went quiet when Jun Wu suddenly smiled. It was an odd smile, one that even made Xie Lian shiver. Ling Wen had gone to get a towel for the prince which he was using with his free hand to pat himself down.
“My apologies for the…mess,” Jun Wu handed the towel back to Ling Wen. “I will come back another time. Alone.”
Qi Rong shrunk in Jun Wu’s hold. “But-”
“ Alone ,” the prince repeated. Jun Wu’s eyes searched the pond until it landed on Xie Lian’s blurry form underneath. It caused a sudden cold chill to run through Xie Lian and he ducked under the rock, but the prince just smiled.
The small crowd of people parted around the prince as he and Qi Rong started to make their way out of the base, and with the mermaids feeling safer they all surfaced to watch the two go. Xie Lian also popped his head out to look.
He was just about to let out a sigh of relief when the door opened and in walked a human in red.
It was as though all the air got sucked out of the room instantly. Jun Wu and Qi Rong had frozen in place, the former’s hand still out and reaching for the door handle. The other humans in the room seemed to suddenly tense. Even the mermaids bristled with alarm. Xie Lian looked around curiously before his eyes landed back on the human.
From afar, he could already tell that the human was very tall and very handsome. Although slightly shorter than the prince, the man held a stronger presence than him, especially due to the dark red military uniform he was sporting over long black slacks. He had pushed open the door with one hand while the other was holding a round device of some sort, looking incredibly annoyed and not at all like he wanted to be there. When he turned, Xie Lian saw he was wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. Something clicked in Xie Lian’s mind. This must be the marshal.
Xie Lian swam over to the nearest rock and climbed it to get a better view. There were already a few mermaids on the rock who made room for Xie Lian to sit.
The marshal finally looked up from the device in his hand to meet the stares coming from everyone else. The other humans quickly looked away and pretended to continue shopping, but it was easy to tell that all ears were perked towards the door. Especially when the marshal and the prince’s eyes met.
Jun Wu’s smile did not change. Neither did the marshal’s scowl.
“Hua Cheng.”
“Your Highness.”
Hua Cheng gave a short, insincere bow as he shoved the device in his pocket and held the door open for Jun Wu. The prince said nothing, only nodded and left. Qi Rong however, lifted his head and exclaimed loudly, “The mermaid base must be short of money lately if they can just let anyone off the street enter.”
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow before he made the slow motion of checking Qi Rong from head to toe.
“I agree,” he replied smoothly.
Xie Lian couldn’t help a snort that came through his nose as Qi Rong’s face turned red again.
“Don’t get so cocky, you Zerg fucker!” Qi Rong yelled, as he made a hasty retreat out the door. “I’ll see you at your funeral!”
Hua Cheng turned a deaf ear to him and started to walk toward the pond. He ignored all the stares, although when he did stop to look around the others in the shop quickly looked away. In the back, Shi Wudu was trying to convince Qi Rong to leave and stop pressing his face against the glass.
“Welcome back, Mr. Hua,” Ling Wen greeted as he passed her. Her tone of voice was polite and unbothered. “If you need anything please let me know.”
Hua Cheng only nodded to her. He paused just a ways away from the pond and Xie Lian could tell that the marshal was hesitating.
The device in the marshal’s pocket suddenly gave a sharp tone. It seemed to startle him out of his thoughts and with a grunt, Hua Cheng reached his hand in his pocket before tapping his index finger and middle finger to his ear. Xie Lian tilted his head but couldn’t hear what the marshal was listening to.
“Yes, I’m here,” he said out loud, “What is it?”
Xie Lian couldn’t help but think the marshal had a nice voice. It was deep and smooth, like a nicely shaped pebble sliding across sea grass.
As the marshal listened, Xie Lian could hear the whispers from the other humans hiding in the shelves or around the pond.
“Tsk, I’m speechless, can’t he just stay away from the breeding base?”
“If I were him, I would stay at home and wait for death instead of running around causing trouble for others.”
“Keep your voices down, don’t let him hear it.”
The words were full of ridicule and contempt. Xie Lian’s frown deepened. Wasn’t the marshal ill? Why have all these people been speaking so badly of him? Looking up, Xie Lian stared at Hua Cheng. He could feel the thick dark energy radiating off the handsome man from where he sat on his rock. Didn’t this just mean he needed help?
XIe Lian came to a decision then.
Sliding off the rock, he shook his tail and began to swim towards the edge of the pond. However, at that same moment, Hua Cheng finished listening and gave a sharp “Deal with it yourself!” Whoever he had spoken to seemed to give him some motivation though, as he then quickly strutted towards the pond without a second thought.
Beneath the water, Xie Lian was making his way towards Hua Cheng’s direction when he had to quickly dodge a mermaid swimming towards him in a panic. He had looked back in surprise at the fleeing mermaid, so when he turned back around he startled at the sudden pod of thirty or so mermaids coming directly at him.
Xie Lian crashed into the oncoming pod, dense bubbles interspersed as he was tossed this way and that. For a moment, he could not even distinguish his direction underwater. It was evident that they were all fleeing from Hua Cheng and were pushing Xie Lian back too!
When he finally got his bearings, Xie Lian shook his head and looked up to see Hua Cheng standing at the edge of the water. The marshal was looking down at the pond that had become empty due to his existence, his dark, visible eye reflecting the figures of the little mermaids fleeing in panic upon seeing him. All of them were avoiding him like the plague. Just like the humans did.
There was something in the marshal’s expression as he looked upon the pond that made Xie Lian realize he had come here with no hope in the first place. Coming here for the marshal was like a deathbed struggle. How many times had this happened to him to have that sort of expression? After all, with that dark energy swirling in him, if no mermaids went with him he was certainly going to die.
Xie Lian steeled his resolve.
Fighting hard against the pod that had pushed him to the back of the pond, Xie Lian wiggled and pushed with all his might. He was jostled a few times but quickly adjusted. After what felt like an endless amount of shoving he finally popped free!
Xie Lian heaved a sigh of relief and slowly calmed his breath. Swimming to the surface however, that breath caught in his throat.
Hua Cheng was turning to leave!
Quickly, Xie Lian swung his tail to swim after him. His erratic swimming must’ve been noticed, for he heard a humans few exclaim,
“Oh my god- what’s wrong with that mermaid?!”
“Is it crazy?”
When Xie Lian finally reached the edge of the pond, he burst up through the surface. He looked around wildly before raising his head and opening his mouth to call for Hua Cheng.
But Hua Cheng was already looking at him.
The two made eye contact, Xie Lian’s pale golden eyes full of Hua Cheng’s shadow. For a while, it was silent all around. Hua Cheng’s eye had widened as he stared down at him.
Now up close, Xie Lian thought that Hua Cheng was really a handsome human. There was a wild undertone to his sharp face framed by silky, long black hair- the eyepatch only accentuating this feature. He was pale, which Xie Lian knew to be from his illness, but it did not take away from the other’s beauty at all.
Xie Lian was deep in his thoughts and did not notice that Hua Cheng had crouched down. When he came back to his senses, a hand was suspended before him. The marshal’s fingers were slender and fair, and also had the faint smell of medicine. Looking closer, Xie Lian could see that they were trembling slightly.
So without hesitating, Xie Lian reached out to grab Hua Cheng’s middle finger.
The fingers curled subconsciously in surprise, lifting Xie Lian out of the water. Xie Lian was startled for a moment, but clutching on, he gently swung his tail and wrapped it around Hua Cheng’s wrist. From this position, Xie Lian could feel the dark, unstable mental energy flowing through the other and wondered how the human could have been enduring it all this time. With a frown, Xie Lian fully wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng’s finger and began to push his own spiritual energy into him to relieve the pain. He hadn’t done this for a human before, but he knew how it worked. Back at home, he had always practiced channeling his energy for fun.
Xie Lian wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Hua Cheng’s hand slowly grew warm. Xie Lian could hear whispers around him but didn’t bother to listen, especially since he was starting to slip. Holding onto the finger was getting difficult, so Xie Lian unraveled his tail. Then, holding onto the finger, he hoisted himself over until he was lying on Hua Cheng’s palm. It was a clumsy act, but Xie Lian quickly straightened. From this position, he placed his tiny hands on the edge of Hua Cheng’s wrist and looked up.
Hua Cheng’s eye had somehow gotten even wider. Xie Lian didn’t know if he imagined it, but it looked as though light had suddenly poured into it. HIs once dark eye seemed like it twinkled now, fixated on Xie Lian, and Hua Cheng’s mouth had parted slightly. HIs breath had turned strained.
“That’s impossible!”
Everyone in the room, except Hua Cheng, turned to see that Qi Rong had burst back through the door. He had apparently been watching the scene take place from a window and ran back in.
“There’s something wrong with that mermaid’s brain! He actually did not….he actually dared to approach a fucker like you!”
He wasn’t the only one flabbergasted, even the caretakers and the other humans wore astonished faces. They all recognized Xie Lian as the mermaid who had, only minutes earlier, swam away from the prince and albeit accidentally slapped Qi Rong across the face. But now, Xie Lian sat docile in, of all people, Hua Cheng’s palm.
Xie Lian sat up more and glanced at Qi Rong, whose cheek was still swollen. If Xie Lian had feet, he would have purposely walked over and slapped the other side for the sake of symmetry. However, hIs attention was pulled back when he felt fingers on his head. Hua Cheng was gently straightening out Xie Lian’s hair, which had been disheveled from colliding with the fleeing pod of mermaids. After doing so, the fingers brushed against Xie Lian’s cheek. Xie Lian was taken aback for a moment and looked up to see Hua Cheng looking at him with undivided attention.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, he slowly lowered his head and laid down on the marshal’s palm.
They stayed like that for a while. Xie Lian could feel the eyes of the other humans, and could hear Qi Rong screaming as he was escorted once again out of the store by Shi Wudu, but he focused only on the heat coming from Hua Cheng’s palm. It was very comforting.
Suddenly, Xie Lian felt a light touch on his body like he was being pushed. He involuntarily backed away and used his tail to stabilize himself, but couldn’t stop it when he was lowered into the water. He blinked in surprise, turning in a confused circle, and by the time he came back to his senses, Hua Cheng had gotten up and left!
Xie Lian swiftly jutted his head out of the water, looking at the figure of the man gradually getting away. Xie Lian was at a loss for a long moment. Propping his hands on the edge of the pond, he was about to jump out when he saw that Hua Cheng had stopped before Ling Wen.
No words were said between the two, but Ling Wen disappeared into the back of the store before coming out with a box. Xie Lian had seen many mermaids leave with humans in those boxes. She handed it to Hua Cheng before politely motioning him to follow her. The two came back to the pond, but stood on the opposite end of where Xie Lian was floating. Xie Lian briefly remembered having seen this ritual done with the other mermaids too.
“Put the box in the water,” Ling Wen explained, “As per our base policy, only if the mermaid voluntarily enters the box can you purchase it. We would like to remind you that the base is filled with cameras, and if you use any coercive behavior, your qualification for buying a mermaid will be revoked. Also, if the mermaid chooses to leave the box at any time or tries to fight out of it, you will not be able to purchase it.”
With a short nod, Hua Cheng crouched down again and opened the lid, placing the box in the pond. Despite water instantly filling the box, it still floated near the surface. Ling Wen was watching Hua Cheng carefully, and added “Mermaids are relatively cautious, so you may want to-”
Xie Lian did not wait for Ling Wen to finish speaking. Having already swam the distance he immediately swam into the box. The box was clear on all sides and about the length of him fully stretched out, so it was relatively comfortable. He curled up inside and glanced at Hua Cheng and Ling Wen.
“...”
Hua Cheng picked up the box, gently as to not jostle Xie Lian inside, and asked, “Like this?”
Ling Wen coughed behind her hand. “Yes, that’s right,” she said, ignoring the others around them. They were staring so much Xie Lian wondered if any of them had even blinked. “Now please follow me. Before any purchases are made we are required to go over instructions on mermaid care.”
“Alright.”
Xie Lian watched from the box as Ling Wen led Hua Cheng past the shelves, down a corridor, and into a small, private room. He tried to get a better look around, turning in the box this way and that with excitement before feeling a heavy gaze fixed on him. Looking up, he saw that Hua Cheng was staring at him. Xie Lian felt embarrassed and stopped moving, curling up his tail to sit in the corner.
The box was placed on the table while Ling Wen and Hua Cheng took a seat. Before they spoke, Ling Wen handed a small white bun that had been sitting in a container on the desk to Hua Cheng.
“You can feed this to your mermaid while we talk,” she said. “Make sure to break it into small pieces.”
Hua Cheng only nodded again, opening the top of the box first before breaking the mantou into bite-sized pieces. He dropped one piece in the water. Xie Lian hadn’t seen a snack like this before and grabbed it with his tiny hands. Hugging it to his chest, he took a bite.
It was good.
Xie Lian had only been eating kelp and dried fish since he was put in the pond, so this soft, pillowy feeling in his mouth was a delight. He happily chewed until it was gone, only looking up when he saw that another piece was dropped into the box.
Like this he passed the time, chewing and relaxing as Ling Wen took out some thick guidebooks on mermaid rearing and was explaining them to Hua Cheng one by one. From time to time, Xie Lian would glance at the marshal, who looked to be listening very carefully to Ling Wen. Xie Lian had long tuned out and wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying, instead focusing on the fact that Hua Cheng was still dropping pieces of mantou into the box without looking. His fingers sometimes dipped into the water by accident. The motion sparked something playful in Xie Lian that he couldn’t control.
Waiting for the next dip, Xie Lian grabbed Hua Cheng’s finger instead of the mantou and gave it a gentle bite.
The hand instantly froze. Realizing what he just did, Xie Lian felt a wave of embarrassment flood him but he didn’t let go of the finger. Instead, waiting for Hua Cheng to look at him, Xie Lian gave the finger an apology kiss. He let spiritual energy flood into the marshal as he did so, before letting go and taking the originally offered mantou to eat.
“Is everything alright?” Ling Wen asked, stopping her explanation.
Hua Cheng took his fingers out of the box and nodded. Xie Lian wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Hua Cheng’s ears looked a little red at the tips.
By the time the lecture was done, Xie Lian felt like his stomach was about to burst. He was lying on the bottom of the box when Ling Wen let out a sigh.
“All right, that’s about it,” concluded Ling Wen as she put down the materials and gestured to the box. “As a reminder, this mermaid’s growth period may be different from usual due to him being caught from the wild, but if you have any questions or concerns our light brain is turned on twenty-four hours. Feel free to reach out to us at any time. Now, how would you like to pay?”
Hua Cheng took out his wallet and slid Ling Wen a black card. Xie Lian stared at it curiously, following it with his eyes from one end of the table to the other.
“I will also be buying the highest quality set of care items and guidebooks you have. You can charge it to the card,” he said, tapping his fingers on the desk. “You said you do delivery, so send it to the address that’s listed.”
Ling Wen took the card with a “Yes, Mr. Hua.” After she had left the room, Hua Cheng reached for the box. Xie Lian thought that the marshal was going to pick it up at first, but instead the fingers came down and brushed the top of Xie Lian’s head. Xie Lian only now noticed that they were slightly calloused, which felt good on his cheek.
“Are you sure?” the marshal asked quietly, his fingers pausing. His voice was steady but Xie Lian could tell the other was uncertain. “I…”
Xie Lian straightened his body and patted the back of Hua Cheng’s hand before giving him a bright smile. He didn’t really know why, but he felt very happy.
“Eeee!” he let out. “E-ya~”
Xie Lian knew Hua Cheng couldn’t understand him, but seeing the smile that lit up the marshal’s face and the light that now reflected in his eye, he knew he had gotten the point across.
‘Yes, now let’s go home!’