The Fallen Idol And The Artist

Chapter 6

As the night pressed on and Xie Lian continued with his classes he couldn't find a way to fully concentrate. His mind would continue to wander off to areas of his life that he didn't want to look back to. He wasn't sure why he kept thinking back to his times as an idol, but clearly something was just telling him to do so. There was no avoiding it now. He had become surrounded by his past in a matter of a day or so. His two previous companions have now latched themselves onto him again, and the revelation of San Lang being Hong-er was still on his mind.

"Your highness,"

He snaps out of his thoughts and turns to Feng Xin.

"Hm? What is it?"

"You...haven't copied down anything...."

Xie Lian looks down at his notebook and sighs with a hang of his head.

"You seriously are acting weird," Mu Qing says.

"Am I now?"

"What did that strange guy say to you? Surely it was because of him,"

"No, it's not San Lang's fault. No one is to blame for this depression, but me...." he says quietly.

"Depression...?" Feng Xin questions.

Xie Lian stops in talking and gives a soft smile.

"Forget I said anything...it's not something you should feel the need to get involved in."

He didn't want to remain in the classroom any longer. At this point he just wanted to go home. His mind was not in the right place. Just as the class ends, he gathers up his belongings and leaves behind Mu Qing and Feng Xin without a second thought.

His next class may be more bearable as it was the class that allowed him to freely express how he felt. He enters the art room and is greeted by San Lang who lightly smiles while his hands were covered in clay. Apparently he was sculpting something and didn't have the time to really clean himself up. Xie Lian smiles a bit, but it's this smile that causes San Lang to be highly concerned. He turns his whole body around to him.

"Gege....?"

Xie Lian doesn't say anything, instead he keeps his small smile as he steps closer to him. It had been a while since he had felt such strong emotions. For years he's had to hold it all back, and now those same emotions were pouring by force to the front. Emotions that should have stayed in the past.

"What's wrong? Gege, you don't look well...."

Again he doesn't answer. Instead his head merely leans over to his shoulder resting himself there. His hair falls over his body, and his smile dies down completely.

"I'm sorry....but please don't move....for a moment...."

San Lang glances down to him and frowns. He doesn't say anything, but doesn't move either. He feels his body tremble against his as he holds in his breath and his tears.

"Gege...."

Xie Lian lifts himself up and hides his face not wanting to show it to San Lang at all.

"San Lang....can you stay with me again tonight...?"

San Lang is honestly baffled by this request, but seeing as he was in complete distress he agrees to do so.

For the remainder of that period, Xie Lian keeps his body close to San Lang's. He would lean over and rest his head along his body without a care for the eyes around them. He just felt highly exhausted. Something he hadn't felt in so long. Perhaps he kept himself occupied for far too long over the years, and now that he had free time it was as if now his mind and body was just now being affected by the left over emotional discharge. San Lang does his best to console him quietly as to not disrupt the class, but he couldn't help it anymore.