Innocuous (YiZhan/ZhanYi)

Chapter 8 Unleashed

Author notes: English is not my first language, so please forgive my mistakes and awkward writing. This is NOT for profit. I don't own them. AU (as in Alternate Universe) and maybe OOC (as in Out of Character).

Author notes 2: My eternal gratitude to @JJSin2020 for editing this.

Author Notes 3: The song is Unleashed by Epica

Thanks for the votes and comments! They really encourage me.

"Good evening," a deep melodic voice brought the hostess at the restaurant's entryway out of her distracted state. Automatically, she welcomed the arriving guest without really looking at him, her perfunctory smile in place.

"Good evening sir, welcome to Lost Heaven. Do you have a reservation?" she asked him while moving her head to have a glance at him.

Her eyes widened, the man was truly beautiful. A tall and slender frame, dressed in clothes that fitted perfectly, enticing almond eyes, shoulder length black hair and a tempting mouth filled her eyes. It was not an everyday occurrence at her work place to see someone as breathtaking as he was.

The guest smiled and she felt her knees buckle under the force of that gesture. Wow, what a gorgeous smile! She was getting entranced by it when the guest spoke again.

"I have a reservation for a party of two, under Xiao please."

She looked at her register and found his name, Mr. Xiao, table for two. "Of course Mr. Xiao, let me take you to your table.

"Has the other person arrived?" he asked.

"Not yet Mr. Xiao," she told him, her voice all too sweet for his taste.

"Thanks," was his neutral answer. He had seen that look on women's faces before. He'd better keep his distance. He was not here for a potentially embarrassing situation after all.

While she was guiding him to his table, he took the time to admire the restaurant's décor. Red hues dominated the space with hints of golden shades. Warm dimmed lights gave the place an air of mystery mixed with coziness. Each table had its own overhead lamp, which conveyed a feeling of intimacy, allowing the people who sat at the same table to clearly see each other, while the rest of the guests faded in the shadows around them.

Zhan was seated in one of the central, most visible tables of the restaurant, nervously waiting. He was truly uncomfortable, feeling exposed with too many prying eyes on him. He knew what he looked like and his looks frequently made him a target of curious and admiring glances. Instead of making him feel flattered, those stares made him feel scrutinized, like he was being studied under the objective lense of a microscope effectively magnifying his shortcomings.

However, he had purposely chosen that table for that precise reason. He had been hiding from his demons long enough and it was time to face them. Being the center of attention was one of the things that made him most uncomfortable so he was stubbornly set out to endure it. He needed to learn to control his own emotions so this was an exercise for him.

Unconsciously, he was hiding behind the menu in his hands, but he could not help it. It was one of the many tricks his dear friend had taught him at his most dire hour. He couldn't stop himself, his mind wandered, remembering his time in Tokyo right after the sakura fell, it had been the lowest point in his entire life.

**

The warmth that the sakura season had brought to his heart disappeared as soon as the sakura's petals flowed, carried aimlessly by the wind. It had been a rough week at work. He had been distracted and unfocused, so he had made several costly mistakes. He had apologized profusely and corrected them, but the harm had already been done. His team was behind schedule and it was almost impossible to meet their deadline now.