TIAN DI【天地】

ch.5: warm

p.o.v. xianliang

I woke up in cold sweat, couldn't breathe and was shaking hard. God...why, out of all days in my life, am I dreaming of this day? It's been so long ago already...

Even though it's the day my parents died and my brother started hating me with all his heart, it's also the day I first met my Wenyan. How unfortunate...This would've easily been the most precious day in my life if the rest didn't happen.

Someone knocked on the door. Who would come here when it's still dark outside? ,,Uhm..Yes?'' The person opened the door and quickly came inside while closing the door again. The person sat down in front of my bed and lit a candle. Finally I could see who it was. ,,It's me.'', Xuhuan-jun quietly said. ,,What are you doing here?'' ,,I had a nightmare and couldn't fall asleep anymore...'' ,,That's funny..'' ,,Huh...?'' ,,I also just woke up from a nightmare.'' ,,What a coincidence..''

He looked like something was on his mind, but I don't know him too well, so just asking him would come off as weird. Who even is he? What exactly did I miss during my time in heaven? ,,Xuhuan-jun?'' He looked up with a gaze of an emotion I couldn't tell.

,,What has happened here in the last few years?'' Slowly he looked down again. ,,A lot...'' ,,Could you please tell me about it?'' ,,I'm afraid I can't..'' ,,Why?'' ,,It's still pretty..overwhelming for me...'' ,,I thought you'd brag about it all day when we first met.''

,,I've never talked about it with anyone..'' He's so different than when others are also around. ,,If you really don't want to, I respect that. ,,Thank you, Master...Uhm..'' ,,Right, you still don't know my name.'' ,,Would you tell me your name?''

,,Okay, fine. But just my courtesy name.'' Xuhuan-jun nodded, looking excited. ,,Hanyu.'' ,,Hanyu...Okay..'' ,,And what about you?'' ,,I'd really like to stay anonymous..'' ,,At least tell me a nickname you have. Calling you Xuhuan-jun all the time feels kind of distant. I'd like to be your friend instead.'' ,,You do?'' ,,Yes!'' ,,When I was little my relatives used to call me Xuxu. Xuxu as in 'warm'...'' ,,Why 'warm'?''

,,I always helped my aunt with everything, got along well with all the people in the village I lived in and that's when people started complimenting me for my kind nature..No matter what background others had, I always treated them well. I never really cared about what others told me about them. If it turns out they're really a bad person, I at least experienced it myself. Rumors or gossiping doesn't concern me at all.'' Hearing him say these things made me immediately think of Wenyan again. This sounds so much like him, something he'd do, something he'd say. ,,Han..yu, are you okay?'' ,,Ah, why yes..'' ,,Are you crying...?'', he asked concerned. Confused I touched my cheek, which felt wet. Wow, could it be that I'm getting more sensitive day by day? Now just thinking of him makes me sob..

,,Are you thinking of that person again?'' ,,How do you know?'' ,,Well, I don't know much about you, but that you really miss and appreciate him. Even though I don't know who it is.'' ,,You're so understanding..'' ,,Am I? I'm just speaking my mind.''

,,Xuxu suits you so well.'' ,,I'm glad to hear that.'', he answered with a fond smile. This smile feels so..welcoming. Somehow warm, safe. I'm convinced we'll become good friends very soon.

,,Shall we go have some breakfast now? I'm starving...'' ,,Good idea.'' We went outside, then into the kitchen. Yusheng was already sitting there, enjoying some chicken soup. ,,Good morning.'', I greeted him. The youngster looked up from his bowl.

,,Oh, it's you, good morning.'', he answered and wiped over his mouth with a tissue. We sat down next to him and filled our bowls with soup. ,,I'll go get some fresh water, wait here.'', Xuxu said, then quickly went outside with a vase.

,,Qin Yusheng?'' ,,Mhm, yes?'' ,,Please don't ever call me by...'', I cleared my throat, ,,...my full name...'' He raised an eyebrow in confusion. ,,Could I get an explanation?'' ,,Our respectable Xuhuan-jun likes staying anonymous, right?'' ,,Right...''

,,So do I. Please just call me Hanyu from now on.''

,,Are you, by any chance, a criminal that ran away...?''

,,Not that I know of.''

,,Is Xian-", he started, but Xuxu came back, so I quickly put my hand over his mouth.

,,Did I miss something?", he asked weirded out.

,,Nothing, nothing." I pulled my hand away from Yusheng's mouth and started eating. ,,You-!''

,,Hanyu?"

,,Hm?"

,,Can I take you to the Spring Festival tomorrow?"

I smiled surprised. ,,Yes, of course."

The next day

Kind of early in the morning Xuxu called me to his room to find an outfit for me to wear for the Spring Festival. He showed me some pretty basic gowns, some really surprisingly ugly ones and finally some really elegant, high-quality ones.

I chuckled. ,,You sure you want to let me wear these? They look really expensive..'' ,,It's fine as long as you take care of it well, okay?'' ,,Thank you...'' ,,Do you maybe want to..put it on? The opening ceremony will start soon.'', he asked and handed me the gown.

,,Right, right. Where can I change?'' ,,Here...? Where else?'' ,,What if I'm shy?'', I joked. ,,I could turn around.'' ,,No, no, it's fine.'' I took off my robe and carefully put on the dark blue gown, which was detailed with golden cherry blossoms and leaves.

Xuxu looked at me as I was closing the tie around my waist. ,,It looks good on you. Suits you better than me.'' ,,Oh, thank you. Will you also change?'' ,,Yeah, I'll wear this jade colored one.'' A few seconds later he already opened the tie of his robe and made it fall onto the floor. There was a big scar over his chest, ending on the left side of his stomach. It looked quite deep, probably took a long time to heal... ,,What happened?'', I asked curious and pointed at the scar. He looked down slightly embarrassed and quickly put on the gown. ,,Years ago there was a war between a few clans, including mine and my...friend's...A member of another clan slit through my chest, which caused me to...bleed to death...'' His eyes looked watery as he was speaking.

,,What happened to your friend?'' ,,I never heard of him since then, so I assume he died shortly after me..'' ,,So you became an earth immortal then?'' He nodded.