Hualian's Roman Holiday

V. Gege where have you been, I was worried sick!

Hua Cheng got at Martial Deity Avenue market via one of its lateral streets, and kept walking by the buildings as not to call attention to himself, so he could take a look at the crown prince first. Soon enough he found him, dressed impeccably from head to toe, taking a stroll in the middle of the street, looking at everything with deep interest and seeming to be having great fun.

His looks were out of a high fashion catalogue, so naturally everyone was eyeing him, young girls giving him glances and giggling, and he received many offers of the market wares, to which he declined politely. Hua Cheng kept following him from a distance, buying himself some time: the crown prince had just arrived, better leave him for a bit.

When he reached the end of the street he stopped, uncertain of where next; that's when Hua Cheng made his appearance, first looking concerned, then surprised.

"Gege! Where have you been, I was worried sick!"

"You must be Hua Cheng", he replied, "I recognise the voice".

Naturally, being a prince, he was composed at all times; Hua Cheng wondered if he had actually heard everything while he was asleep, and quickly tried to remember if all the bad things he said were actually too bad.

He smiled, "That's me. I'm sorry for leaving you at my place, I went back to check on you but you were gone...", he managed to sound a tiny bit hurt, as for the crown prince to feel guilty. It worked.

"I do apologise", he replied, "I wrote down your name and address to send my proper thanks later", he said, showing a Ming Guang's napkin with classy and flawless handwriting. He went on, "But if you want a compensation now, that's –", he reached for his breast pocket, certainly with the intention to pay Hua Cheng for his trouble, but Hua Cheng just grabbed his hand.

"Gege, what are you saying? I don't want any compensation. I see you're in need of a day off and wanted to assist you".

"In this case I won't bother you any longer", he said with a polite bow; he didn't look bothered by Hua Cheng approaching him at all, rather he just didn't want to impose.

Hua Cheng got closer to him and said, "I know who you are", in a low voice.

The prince's face dropped. "You do?"

"Yes", Hua Cheng gave a smug smile. "You're a rich kid, running away from home for kicks".

"Oh", the prince smiled with obvious relief, "That's right. How did you know? You're so perceptive!"

'Look at him, thinking he's fooling me', Hua Cheng thought; at playing dumb he immediately got the prince's trust! He kept smiling, "You know we slept together –"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, we slept at my place. So we can be considered friends right? Let me help you". Hua Cheng paused, then went on, "How about I take you in my Vespa –"

The crown prince's eyes lit, "You got a Vespa?"

Easy. Hua Cheng continued, "Yeah. I can drive you around Rome, I can show you the places", he smiled, "But before, let's get you a makeover into proper mod style".

"You mean cool clothes like yours? A hat even?"

Hua Cheng took his pork-pie hat and put on the prince's head, "Not like me. Like you, just way cooler! And I know just the place. If you don't have money –"

"Oh I have money", the crown prince interrupted, fishing out a stack of notes from his breast pocket – Hua Cheng saw many 50,000 and 10,000 lire notes.

He grabbed his hand again, "That's a lot of money Gege, put it away".

The prince then asked, "How about you, you don't have work or school?"

"I need a day off too", he gave him that charming smile, "Let's go!"

The crown prince, wearing a bespoke suit, a tie and a pork-pie hat, followed him, hardly containing his excitement.

Hands up who wants to ride on Hua Cheng's Vespa! 😍

A talented reader even wrote a little poem about this chapter, and this lowly write is more than happy to share. Bravo, bravissimo!

I can show you the world

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Tell me, prince, now when did you last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes

Take you wonder by wonder

Over, sideways and under on a magic vespa ride

Thanks a lot just_maanvi, that was beautiful! ✨✨✨