What Was Worth A Heart

Chapter 2- Workload

"Livio? Livio! Are you okay?" Shao Long waved his hand in front of the dazed italian man with a frown on his face. Was he sick?

"Huh? Oh! No no, I'm okay. Just......it's nothing...... A-Anyway, you should come out for tea. Gion and Shintarou insisted you come out, but if you feel uncomfortable-"

"Whoa whoa, relax. It's okay, I'll come. What tea anyway?" Shao Long slightly sighed. When did Livio become like this? Looks like they have changed......slightly.

"Black tea, but if you don't want it, I can always make a seperate cup for you".

"Silly! I'm fine with black tea. It's my favourite actually. Why are you being so careful, it's not like I'm your master or anything. I don't even have royal blood" Shao Long chuckled and unintentionally revealed his true warm smile. He looked.........warmer........

Once again, Livio was dazed.....

".....Livio? Hello? Are you really okay?!" Shao Long slightly panicked as he shook the dazed Livio back to earth. "Huh? Oh, I'm so sorry, I swear it's nothing! I'll........go make tea right away!" And with that, he left.

Shao Long was left confused, but didn't bother asking. Maybe the other felt uncomfortable around him? Sensible. It would be logical if Livio was on alert in his presence. After all, he did pose as a threat two months ago.

Shaking his head, Shao Long sighed in exhaustion. In the end, nothing really mattered. Him being here was like a vegetable being left in a lion's den. Useless. If it's like that, what was the point of living? As a tool? A tool without a function?

Just as he relized what he was thinking, Shao Long immediately shook his head furiously 'Bad Shao Long! What are you being so sad for?! It's not like it's that bad!'

'Actually, it's kind of bad......'

'Shut up!'

Shao Long's thoughts were all jumbled up. Part of him had long given up before the two months happened. Now, another part of him just wanted to kill himself, but how could he? Shao Long unconsciously brought his right hand to where his heart pumped.

Dup..dup..dup

So much happened during the two months........and no one would ever thought that in this world, something like this could happen. What Shao Long had experienced was beyond their expectation..........

'Smile, Shao Long! No matter what the world throw at you, you just smile! It helps!' His mind ran helplessly as he once again tried to put on his fake smile, but it felt so hard.

Eventually, he slapped himself.

Just then, he confidently walked to the living room with his perfect fake smile that could fool just about everyone other than those who knew him.

Once there, Shao Long greeted Gion and Shintarou as always and sat on the couch farthest away from the princes. His actions were noted by the two princes, but they didn't say anything. In their hearts, they couldn't help but sigh as they saw the same smile that they had once faced everyday. A fake smile. A sly smile. An unlucky smile.

Shao Long, however, kept fidgeting in his seat. He was very uncomfortable, especially with the silence. But then again, if they were to talk to him, that might actually be even more uncomfortable. Gion was reading a book on the couch opposite of Shao Long. He kept stealing glances over at the young nobleman, noticing his uneasiness. Shintarou didn't mind him, thankfully, sitting on a complete separate couch for singular. He was listening to his mp3 without a care in the world, although in his mind, he resisted the urge to glance over, knowing that the chinese would definitely notice it.