The Wandering God

9 Hide One's Thoughts and Feelings 1/2

不露聲色
bùlùshēngsè
Don't reveal your thoughts in your voice or countenance.
To not reveal one's true thoughts, to not show or betray one's feelings.
*~*~*~*~*~*

Zakhar ran his hands over the blue silk scarf and debated whether to give it to Ao or not.

The bright morning sun made his head pound like a river was raging inside it. That blueberry wine the villagers made had been deceptively strong.

They had stopped in a small meadow to rest and let the horses graze a bit before moving on. Sanli had stretched out to sleep, not having slept the night before, and Kageyama had disappeared to scout out the land around them.

They had left Mengxiang shortly after sunrise and a quick breakfast of leftover lotus cakes from the night before, which Lao Bang's wife had generously forced on them.

That morning, before they left Mengxiang, Sanli had bought two silk gowns from Lao Bang. One was embroidered with rabbits. The other was the one Ao had worn the night before. Zakhar had watched as Sanli had casually given it to Ao, saying how it 'suited her'.

Damn play prince.

Zakhar had glared daggers at Sanli over Dunya's saddle as he tightened the girth. He had been so distracted that he had tightened the buckle too much, and earned himself a sharp nip in the shoulder from Dunya in reproof.

Now, Zakhar glanced at where Ao sat across the meadow, under a tree, reading a battered book she had pulled from her rucksack. It seemed stupid to give her a scarf, when she had just received a whole dress made of silk.

Also, she had made it very clear she wasn't interested in him, so he worried his gift might seem like an attempt to bribe her feelings. He just meant it as a friendly gift. A friendly gift between friends.

How to make that clear?

Bundling the scarf up and shoving it into his pocket, he walked across the meadow, the thick grass tugging at his boots. "Hey, I won this arm wrestling last night, and I thought it would look nice on you... Hey, I won this last night, and I don't really need it so... Hey, I won this, I really think it brings out the color of my eyes, what do you think? Oh you want it? Oh ok yeah I guess here you go."

He stopped in front of Ao and she looked up, quickly shoving her book back into her pack.

"Is that an old copy of Mountains and Seas?" Zakhar asked, catching the characters on the spine. "You should show Sanli, he loves old books." Good job Zakhar, get them to spend more time together.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, ignoring his comment.

Zakhar hesitated, but the words he had rehearsed had suddenly fled his mind, like hares fleeing a field when the farmer comes. "You never figured out what Kageyama is. You owe me three gold."

Wait what? Is that what I came here to say?

"Ch, I was hoping you'd forgotten." She pouted. "I seem to be a little short of coin... perhaps there's another way I can pay you?"

Zakhar's mind instantly went somewhere it shouldn't. He tried not to blush, but Ao caught it, laughing. "I meant cleaning Dunya's tack or something, you dirty man." Then she smiled that smile, the oh-so-sly one that Zakhar dreaded. "Though, if you had something particular in mind you wanted..."

Face burning, Zakhar pointed to the paper wrapped package that Sanli had given her that morning. It had rolled out of her bag onto the grass beside her. "I want that," he said.

Wait, I do?

Ao looked surprised. "The dress? What are you going to do with a dress?"

Zakhar shrugged, trying to regain his cool. "Wear it, sell it, give it to a pretty lady." Like you. "Wipe my nose on it, when I can't find my handkerchief."