Hualian AU ~ 2. Tales of the Half-Moon Pass

Part 1

CW: homophobic slur, racism/discrimination, strong language, violence

He was sitting on the train, looking at his phone; after a while he felt he was being observed. He looked up and, sitting in front of him, looking drunk, wasted, half-asleep, was Hua Cheng.

"Hey!", Xie Lian smiled. 'Has he been here all this time?', he wondered. "Sorry I never got so thank you the other day."

He smiled back, "You're welcome. Did it go well, what you needed to do there?"

He didn't see or heard about Xuan Ji, Xie Lian thought, and replied, "Yes, it was alright, thanks. Nice lab you guys got there", then he added, "With fancy hot drinks".

Hua Cheng laughed, "Yeah, salty caramel latte and shit."

Some guys got in the coach noisily; they were obviously drunk, talking slurry and looking like a mess. They looked at Xie Lian and smiled dirtily at each other, as if they had found an easy prey.

"Oi! Lady boy, wanna suck some cock tonight?" and they all burst out laughing. They didn't seem to notice Hua Cheng; maybe they thought he was another drunken thug. They continued, "Yeah, suck cock to start with. Bet he's got a nice little ass there too?". More laughter.

Hua Cheng slowly got up, glaring at them. They were taken aback and, visibly shaken, retreated, "Sorry mate sorry mate", walking unsteadily back to the next coach. "Fuck, did you see that guy?", "He was gonna beat the crap out of us!", they kept mumbling among themselves. Hua Cheng watched they go, then slowly sat beside Xie Lian.

Xie Lian, who didn't get bothered by those guys at all, smiled at Hua Cheng, and said, "That was a fine murderous intent you displayed there". Hua Cheng laughed, "That's my specialty."

"That's a good skill to have when you're out partying", Xie Lian replied, coolly.

"Partying? Nah I just haven't slept at all in three days", Hua Cheng said.

He wasn't drunk then, just dead tired, wanting to get home and sleep. Xie Lian knew the feeling.

"Deadlines. The ones you don't know whether to laugh or cry", and Hua Cheng gave a strained smile.

Then Xie Lian remembered something, "You know what! I still don't know your name?"

Of course he knew, but he himself didn't like when people had that 'I know who you are' attitude.

"You can call me San Lang", he replied.

Xie Lian didn't think too much of it; in his line of work, people usually had all sorts of stage names.

"I'm Xie Lian", he replied, glad he didn't hear "Yeah I know who you are".

He heard the signal for 'next station', looked at the display, then grabbed his bag. "Next stop is mine".

Hua Cheng nodded slowly, and said, "See you later then. Good night", and smiled.

At Xie Lian's station, they announced, "This train terminates here. All change, all change". For unknown reasons, quite often trains or buses didn't follow their routes till the end; and this happened specially when you wanted to get home as soon as possible! Hua Cheng cursed under his breath.

They dropped off; the platform display was showing CANCELLED on all following trains. Hua Cheng took his phone out of his pocket; dead. He shrugged, and said, "Night bus for me then. Fuck!", shaking his head. Xie Lian thought, 'Night buses take AGES to get anywhere! And it's getting cold too...'

He blurted out, "Hey, do you wanna crash at my place? It's a bit shabby, but it's just around the corner". He added, "Better than a night bus anyway".

Hua Cheng looked at him. He was a lifesaver! "Really?"

Xie Lian smiled and nodded reassuringly, "Really. Come".

They walked down the road, and after 5-10 minutes they got to Xie Lian's, a converted tiny flat at an old house's attic. They climbed iron stairs installed on the back; got into a little hallway and a corridor, with a bike at the entrance - of a good quality, but not brand new.

They took their shoes off by the door and walked past kitchen and bathroom, to Xie Lian's bedroom. He walked in, turning the lights on. "Come on in, make yourself at home", and smiled again.

Hua Cheng walked in. It was spacious, with a slanted wall and a window, and scarcely furnished: a double mattress at a corner, with a striped grey and white cover; a pinewood wardrobe, a tall 90s looking lamp and a grey nylon bean bag. Some books were piled by the bed.

On the other far end, there was a table with a computer, mixing table, mic and other music producing equipment, and an old office chair. More books piled under the table. Magazine pictures and a few postcards and photos were stuck on the walls with blu tack.

"Told you it was shabby", Xie Lian said.

"I like it. Cosy.", he replied, smiling.

Xie Lian smiled happily; that's how he thought of his place: cosy. Somewhere he could just relax and be at peace, his own little retreat from the world.

"I call it Puqi Shrine", he said, "It's a little village I visited once. Peaceful and friendly."

"It's a good name", Hua Cheng agreed.

"San Lang, would you like to have a shower? You'll feel better". Hua Cheng looked dead. "Come, I give you a towel", and he fished a clean towel from his wardrobe. He also gave Hua Cheng a new toothbrush from a 'family pack'; he always bought these, they were cheaper.

Hua Cheng dropped his backpack, took off his red jacket, and dragged himself to the shower. Xie Lian put his school stuff away, and went to change the bedding. He only had another set, a khaki one. When he was struggling with the duvet cover, Hua Cheng came back, and said, "Let me give you a hand".

He had only black boxers on, contrasting with his pale skin. He had a fine body, well-toned arms, chest and abs, and a lettering tattoo on his left forearm. He put his clothes on the top of the bean bag and pulled the duvet cover down, while Xie Lian held its upper corners. Then he got down on one knee to button down the cover, looking like those Greek statues, marble white and perfect.

Xie Lian blushed, and said, "Er, do you want a t-shirt?"

Hua Cheng then covered the bed with the duvet, and said, "I'm good. But if we're sharing your bed and you feel weird then..."

"It's fine", he said quickly, "Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to the shower", and left.

When he came back, wearing shorts and an old t-shirt, Hua Cheng was in bed, hardly keeping his eyes open. He looked at Xie Lian and smiled faintly.

"You're ok?", Xie Lian asked, getting into bed, but keeping a distance. Hua Cheng only had his shoulders and chest visible; looking like he was naked under the covers. Xie Lian must have looked alarmed, because he said, smiling,

"I'm not naked", and lifted the blankets to show that he was, in fact, wearing his boxers.

Xie Lian said weakly, "Hum. Just, some people like to sleep naked?"

Hua Cheng turned to face Xie Lian, and said, "If I were in bed naked with someone, then I wouldn't be sleeping, would I?", he gave a cheeky smile.

Xie Lian smiled too, "Haha, okay. Let's get some sleep."

And turned off the lights.

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Here's the part 1 of this Hualian AU series: https://www.wattpad.com/1182223776-hualian-au-~-the-ghost-groom-part-1

Here's a "soundtrack" for this fic: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ghQvmj9vcj3Aw6sQFJSOJ