Hualian AU ~ 12. May All Taboos Be Shattered

Part 2

Xie Lian couldn't breathe. He couldn't move either; his vision was unfocused and his hearing was distorted, echoed. He knew that sensation: he was getting into panic mode. He tried to shake it off, concentrating on breathing in and out; eyes focused on Hua Cheng's face, his ears on his voice.

"Gege! Gege, are you alright?"

He looked at Hua Cheng and nodded; his senses hitched, but he was back. He said, "I'm alright".

"Remember what I said to you? You're not alone, I'm here. I'm here Gege", and he hugged Xie Lian tight. Xie Lian just let himself be hugged.

Hua Cheng continued, "This fucker has nothing on you. You're not 17 anymore, you're your own boss, and if he comes anywhere near you, I..."

Xie Lian said on his ear, smiling, "I'm alright San Lang", and patted Hua Cheng's back lightly.

"I'm calling your mates", he said, and, dialling on Xie Lian's phone, added, "Not that I think they'll do much, but you know...". Somebody picked up, and he said, "It's me. Gege and I are by the back exit."

Feng Xin and Mu Qing arrived in five minutes, and, seeing Xie Lian looking like he was about to faint and Hua Cheng supporting him, they went,

"Oi, what you're doing? Stay away from Xie Lian!"

Hua Cheng was about to snap back, but Xie Lian himself stood up straight and lifted his hand,

"Guys. I brought San Lang back remember?"

"But... he's a stalker!", Feng Xin couldn't help saying.

Xie Lian replied, "We talk later. I trust him."

They hesitated; they clearly didn't approve of Xie Lian still keeping company with Hua Cheng, but they could only respect his will. Besides, they didn't know why Hua Cheng called them either, so they just stood there, forcing down some good manners, or at least ignoring Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian said, "White No Face is back", showing the message on his mobile.

"Fuuuuck! Is it why you look kind of – ", Feng Xin asked.

"I almost had a panic attack just now", Xie Lian said, giving Hua Cheng a glance.

"You can't do this streaming, you can't expose yourself like that", Mu Qing said, and, fishing his phone, "I'm calling Jun Wu. Fuck this Tong'Lu Festival!"

"Mu Qing, stop", Xie Lian said. "I said I'd do the streaming, and I'm gonna do the streaming."

They exchanged worried looks; only Hua Cheng smiled.

"I'm not 17 anymore, and I don't care what he says; I'm doing this assignment as agreed with Jun Wu, be professional, then go home and", he flashed Hua Cheng a look, "go on with my life. I deserve good things, I deserve to be happy", and he smiled brightly.

They wondered if it wasn't toxic positivity as a coping mechanism; only Hua Cheng knew what Xie Lian meant, and smiled happily, saying, "That's right. Business as usual! Let's film some more, then find that workstation we can do some editing on".

"Alright", Feng Xin said, "we're in!"; suddenly they were that Xie Lian crew again, realising they felt good together, doing something creative, arguing and bitching, at the same time loving and trusting one another with their lives, and having fun. That's what old friends are for, as if they were never apart in all those years.

"But, first things first", Xie Lian said, and replied to WhiteNoFace: NOT REALLY, BUT YOU CAN STICK AROUND AND BITCH ME, AS IF YOU COULD DO ANYTHING BETTER 😉.

They went back to the crowds, and started filming; Xie Lian talked about the festival, the line-up on the main stage, and supporting acts on the second stage. Feng Xin and Mu Qing joined him at times; even with the hostility between them and Hua Cheng, Hua Cheng approved of that: it gave the streaming an old Xie Lian videos vibe.

They did one with Feng Xin shirtless, showing off his well-toned upper body, his face beyond sour; Xie Lian happily saying "Well if you're not here maybe you're at the gym getting that nice body-ody-ody? Then follow us on this channel". Mu Qing just laughing, and Feng Xin saying – which was caught on camera – "You guys are fucking objectifying me".

WhiteNoFace replied to Xie Lian: IS THAT A CHALLENGE XIE LIAN?

Xie Lian bit back: YOUR STYLE IS MORE STAYING IN THE SHADOWS I GUESS 😶.

They did a few more short videos before going to the work station. Feng Xin and Mu Qing, still keeping a close eye on Hua Cheng, of course noticed the looks exchanged with Xie Lian, the little smiles and touches, how he fixed Xie Lian's hair before started filming, and so on. But they couldn't say anything, so they just followed.

At the video editing table, Hua Cheng worked skilfully, adding effects and lettering, his sharp eyes darting through its many tools, his hands moving up and down on the shortcuts. Xie Lian had never seen him working before, even though he said himself he was a workaholic; when he was with Xie Lian, he just enjoyed their time together.

He also couldn't help gazing at his serious and handsome face, his reddish brown eyes seeing everything through that mass of black hair, his long and pale hands... Looking at his hands alone made Xie Lian blush several times. He couldn't help remember that night after Qiandeng Temple.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing went to get drinks, not before shooting Hua Cheng a few threatening looks, which were utterly ignored. After they left, Xie Lian nudged himself closer, and Hua Cheng, smiling, put his right arm around him, and kept using his right hand on the editing table.

"Gege", he said.

"Hmm?"

"The way you're dealing with WhiteNoFace now. You're so amazing", he said, smiling. Xie Lian smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

Suddenly, Feng Xin and Mu Qing stormed in, making them jump apart straight away.

"Xie Lian! This is bad!", Mu Qing said, "Have a look", and pushed his mobile to Xie Lian.

It was WhiteNoFace's answer: HOW ABOUT WE GO RAP BATTLING? YOU'RE NOT AFRAID OF ME ARE YOU? 😁

"What? What does he mean?", Xie Lian asked, puzzled.

"He fucking challenged you on Mount Tong'Lu Rap Battling. I mean, this is on the channel, right? It's public, and his challenge is trending, the views going crazy, the comments going up the roof!", Feng Xin replied.

"Rap battling like real ones? Like, WhiteNoFace himself, battling me?", Xie Lian asked, widening his eyes. He realized he had never thought of WhiteNoFace as an actual person – so far he's been just a kind of evil entity to him.

"It doesn't matter, Xie Lian isn't going for it, he's not exposing himself like that", Mu Qing replied.

"Wait, you said it's trending?", Xie Lian asked.

"Yeah. People don't know about WhiteNoFace and you, they think it's one of those twitter spats, they love this kind of thing", Mu Qing replied.

"Well then, in this case I think I should go for it", Xie Lian said.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?", Feng Xin and Mu Qing shouted at the same time; Hua Cheng didn't say anything, just kept looking at Xie Lian.

Feng Xin asked Hua Cheng, "You're gonna let him do that?"

Hua Cheng replied, "If that's his decision"; then he suddenly smiled, "But I think he should go for it too. Face this fucker once and for all".

Xie Lian nodded, "That's settled then. Don't worry, a guy in The Cypher I can handle alright"; he looked tense, but resolved, and, getting his phone, he typed: I'M AFRAID OF NO ONE IN THE CYPHER 😉.

Xie Lian's a bad ass, we all knew, right guys? 😎