The Fallen Idol And The Artist

Chapter 15

WARNING: SMUT IS AHEAD YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ENJOYYYYYY!!!!

"Please come inside...because I just need to figure out what I'm getting into."

"That's perfectly fine Professor." Xie Lian says with a smile.

Pei Ming steps aside as he holds the door open for everyone. Once Xie Lian manages to take a step within he takes a moment to really get a look at his decor. The layout of his home was rather spacious, with a set of stairs that led to the second floor. The colors of the walls painted in white, with framed pictures hanging in several areas. Above the living room couch sat a framed picture of Pei Ming and Pei Xiu, in the dining hall a picture of himself standing before his home, and more within the hallway revealing more of the relationship between the duo living there. The color schemes were very much to Pei's style, a bit of bronze here, a bit of gold there, and a bit of white to give the darker colors a reason to pop. The furniture within the living room had velvet like material with a dark brownish color along the cushions—the carpet a plain brown with small golden swirls etched into the corners giving it a more elegant appeal.

"Well considering I have some pretty well known faces here, I'll make some tea for the rest of us."

As he goes into the kitchen, Pei Xiu and Ban Yue decide to sit together in order to have a conversation. A very emotional conversation revolving around their circumstances. With Xie Lian watching the two light up in such a manner, it brought a feeling of nostalgia considering that his face must have looked the same when he realized who Hua Cheng really was.

"Gege, you seem a bit pleased."

He turns to San Lang and nods with a small smile.

"I am. It must have been a long time since they've seen each other. I can only understand the loneliness Ban Yue must have felt when she was separated from her friend for so long. After all, I was separated from people I cared about too.....and it was unbearable...."

San Lang doesn't say more as he joins him in watching the two kids speak.

Xie Lian appreciates his silence, but also feels concerned as he's come to realize something over the course of the passed few days. San Lang has a habit of going into complete silence whenever he is thinking seriously hard about something, or is feeling a bit guilty about something. It took him a while to fully see it, but Xie Lian has been observing him the same way he has been doing the same to him. He notices the small twitches when they speak of the past, the sulking of his posture, the frowning of his lips, and the grief that flashed for a single moment in his eye. He notices the deep breaths that he takes before speaking, and the silence that would often come about as well during certain conversations. It was obvious that San Lang in someway—felt that he was partially responsible for his partners loneliness back in those days.

'San Lang....I know what you're thinking....'

San Lang's eyes glance toward him catching him in the act of staring. He stares back at him, and sees something in Xie Lian's eyes. A look of concern.

"Gege...."

"San Lang..."

He doesn't say anything because he knows that he's been caught by Xie Lian. He sighs lightly just as Xie Lian reaches over to hold his cheek in his hand. He smiles softly.

"San Lang I know what you're thinking right now. Please don't feel guilty okay...? I know that whenever the past is brought up in conversations you tend to tense up more so than even me....things happened so quickly back then. We were only children. There was nothing that we could have fully done to help change much of anything. That's something that I had to learn...."