Kaleidoscope of Death

Chapter 128: Turning Time

Obsidian was also known as Apache Tears. According to legends, tears shed for lost loved ones formed into these black stones. Anyone who possessed an obsidian rock was meant to be forever happy, and never cry again.

Lin Qiushi only learned this meaning behind the name much later. He asked Ruan Nanzhu who came up with "Obsidian."

Ruan Nanzhu said that it was a senior before him.

Obsidian back then was an entirely different group of people. Only, with the passage of time, people came and went and came and went. The only thing to remain unchanged was the name.

After noticing that Lin Qiushi was in a poor state, Ruan Nanzhu took a long vacation and brought Lin Qiushi to a tropical island.

The island was warm and humid, the ocean a beautiful cerulean. There were white sand beaches and towering coconut trees, and the occasional hermit crab scuttling adorably across the sand. Walking on the fine sands barefoot burned a bit; the soft grains slipped upward between the toes and brought with them a gentle tickle.

Ruan Nanzhu stood in the water. He'd pulled up the legs of his trousers and was looking down. He seemed to be rubbing at something. Lin Qiushi sat underneath a beach umbrella not too far away, and watched as Ruan Nanzhu suddenly stopped whatever he was doing, turn, and start back.

The island was small. There weren't many people and it was exceptionally serene. Having stayed here for over a month, Ruan Nanzhu's pale skin had darkened quite a lot, but the chocolate-colored Ruan Nanzhu now looked even tastier. Approaching, he casually pulled off his wet t-shirt, revealing attractive abdominal muscles the color of wheat. And there were still drops of water on his skin, slipping from his neck down to his chest, then disappearing under that slim waistline.

Ruan Nanzhu came up to Lin Qiushi and handed him something. Lin Qiushi took it, and saw it was a huge, beautiful, multicolor conch. He handled it with a smile, asking, "can it be played?"

"I don't know." Ruan Nanzhu sat down beside Lin Qiushi and folded his legs up. Breaking open a coconut off-hand, he stuck a straw inside and began sipping.

Lin Qiushi, on the other hand, tried to play the conch. He was inexperienced though, and indeed failed to make a sound. Head tilting, his expression looked a bit distressed.

Seeing this Ruan Nanzhu took the conch from him and, after a thorough inspection, pointed at its bottom.

"I think we have to mill this bit off."

"Then let's try that?"

"We'll go find the tools later," Ruan Nanzhu said. "What do you want to eat for dinner?"

Lin Qiushi stretched out his back. "I'll make it. Didn't you borrow that barbecue rack...No fish though, right?

Ruan Nanzhu made a noise of confirmation, and then the two lied down under the beach umbrella for a nap.

But who knew that a little bit later, the skies would refuse them the pleasure[1]; thick rainclouds covered the blue skies, and the horizon line was beginning to roil. Ruan Nanzhu woke first. He turned his head and saw Lin Qiushi still deeply asleep beside him, and something in his heart squeezed. Shifting closer, he pecked Lin Qiushi on the lips to wake him.

"It's about to rain."

Lin Qiushi opened bleary eyes and—before he could react—he was already being hoisted up in Ruan Nanzhu's arms and taken into the small beach house behind them.

Lin Qiushi was set down on the soft bed, long fingers from elegant hands sifting through his hair. The pleasant feeling made it so that he couldn't quite tell what was dream and what was reality.