Yu Cheng stays at the balcony for the rest of the night... he's afraid that someone sees him with the cape and he would be pulled into the poison that is called paparazzi, politics and nobility.
He was glad to have brought his backpack so he tried his utmost best to fold the large fabric enough so it wouldn't make the bag bulky.
.
.
It's been two weeks since the jubilee event, and everything is normal, Yu Cheng is upstairs studying for his degree in languages. There is a knock on his door...
"Yes?"
"a-Cheng, there's someone here for you! Hurry down quickly! You don't want to keep them waiting!"
"Just a second, mother"
Yu Cheng makes his way down the spiral of stairs to stop halfway down.
"Your... Majesty!" He is surprised as the male is seated comfortably in his mother's favorite spot on the sofa and drinking...
Is that Yu Cheng's hot cocoa?
He gives his father and mother a disapproving stare. Lan Xichen smiles placing the cup on the coffee table.
"a-Cheng...I wish to court you... your family will be well secured, I assure you of that."
Huh
What was that?
His tongue suddenly feels heavy and his mouth is sealed. His parents are staring at him excitedly.
"I apologize...your highness but..."
"Oh nonsense..." His mother clicks her tongue disapprovingly.
"I need time to think about this"
"Of course, take all the time you need" Lan Xichen is standing up, he takes something from his waist coat...
A ring...
Not just any ring.
The imperial ring...
"When you've made up your mind, please wear it if you agree...if not you can return it." Lan Xichen places the cool diamond encrested ring into Yu Cheng's palm.
It's heavy...
Yu Cheng watches the elder leave...his heart is in a mess.
"a-Cheng, won't you take his offer? He's the Emperor, the richest man in the empire"
"But he's 123 years old..."
"So what? Are you afraid of an immortal boyfriend?"
He absolutely hates talking to his cousin about this, ever since he told his parents about the time he first met the Emperor and what transpired, they kept bugging him to accept his courtship.
"Mother, not you telling me to accept a man I barely know"
"You'll know him later on, think about how good you'll live, this is for you, plus you won't live in this part of the city anymore"
"What's so wrong living in the slums?"
"... a-Cheng."
"Look...mother...I was given time to think about it, and think about it I will...okay?"
He takes his mother's hands "besides...we both know why he wants to court me, I am literally his doppelganger"
"It's good to be second than nothing at all"
"Mother..."
Yu Cheng couldn't blame her, she was right...and his father just lost his job. He wants to have his family prosperous, he just doesn't want to go the wrong way.
