Love O2O- Beyond a Beautiful Smile

Chapter 17- Chengde Day 1

A/N: You guys!!!!!!! How on earth did this story end up with 700 reads? Seriously?! I know that there are fan fiction stories out there with thousands of reads but I never expected this to be read at all... let alone by multiple people, multiple times! It does have me interested though; how did you find this fan fiction?

There'll be an extra long chapter tonight (instead of splitting it) to make up for no update yesterday; @Beloved_Sienna introduced me to the side stories that Gu Man wrote about this couple and I may have read them multiple times, instead of writing this chapter. I'd say sorry but.... I don't regret a thing! I have fallen even further in love AND have more of an idea for character development etc. It's also determined that YES, when I finish writing their story in alignment with the series, I will have a break while I finish my final semester of undergraduate study and then will reward myself with a Hao Mei/KO sequel. Speaking of which; how does HOK sound as a ship name? Otherwise I was thinking MeKo? (pronounced like neko? Which I know is another language but now tell me you didn't just picture Hao Mei with cat ears. You're welcome.)

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The trip to Chengde the next morning flew by. Mainly because KO's definition of "first thing in the morning" was very different to Hao Mei's definition of the same. While Hao Mei had expected an early morning, possibly waking up just after dawn and catching the train at 7:56, when KO shook him awake it was pitch black. Luckily, he'd fallen asleep without changing so KO simply had to haul him to his feet and prod him in the right direction. One taxi ride later and the bright lights of the station had burned Mei's tired eyes; he decided to keep them shut and blindly trust KO not to let him run into anything. Or onto the tracks. That would be a horrible way to wake up.

    Having been directed, with KO's hands on his shoulders, into a sleeping berth with four  bunks, Mei flopped onto the narrow mattress and promptly returned to slumber. As a result, it was not until he rolled off the bunk, landing on his face with a painful thud, that Hao Mei realised exactly what KO's definition of "first thing in the morning" was... it really was first thing in the morning. Light infiltrated the room from underneath the shutter and he used it to read his watch. 6am? What happened last night? The bunks opposite were empty; two black bags, that he recognised from KO's room, were tossed on the bottom bunk. He rubbed his eyes. It was inconceivable that he'd slept through boarding a train. Remaining on the floor but wriggling to lean his back against the opposite bunk, Hao Mei reached his arms over his head, arcing his back and feeling his spine stretch. Despite what the evidence was showing had been an eventful night, he felt well rested and calm; something he hadn't felt upon waking up since the last time he'd stayed over at KO's. Come to think of it, he'd used his old blanket then, too... maybe he should take it back? Get some good sleep at home with his comfortable blanket from his dorm days?

    An arm flopped over the top bunk, giving Mei a heart attack. Nothing else was visible but the burn scar on the wrist- from hot oil- and the thin white scars on the fingers- signs of daily duelling with knives- told Hao Mei whose body part it was. He stood, looking at KO's sleeping face. A wave of affection rolled over him. He'd never seen his friend sleep before, and in sleep his face relaxed; softening to look sweet... the sleeping man stirred and Hao Mei hastily added 'in a very masculine way' to his inner thoughts. He'd never proven that KO could read minds but the evidence was stacking up that way. Better to be safe than sorry.

    Rather than remain in the compartment and risk being caught staring, Hao Mei went in search of food; returning to the sleeper with porridge and steamed buns, the smell of which woke KO with just enough time for them both to eat before reaching their destination. The remainder of their journey was completed with a shorter than expected taxi ride, with a driver who was way too cheerful for such an early hour. No one, thought Hao Mei, should be able to make jokes about something as inane as the weather, before 8am in the morning.