Diaphanous | Hua Cheng X Reader X Xie Lian

Chapter 13: A Man, Rude One At That

Kneeling on the dirt ground, (Y/N) reaches over untying the dog. The pup nuzzles into her side out of thanks, happy to be shown care.

Before she could release the rope a loud voice rang through the air. It startled her and the pup, but Hua Cheng seemed unphased and Xie Lian was a little on guard.

A man had exited the home nearby in a fit of rage. Stomping his way over to the group he stops right in front of (Y/N) snatching the rope out of her hand. The dog beside her began to whimper causing the girl to stand up in its defense. After all, the poor creature couldn't speak like she could.

Xie Lian had stepped forward prepared to diffuse the situation but was stopped. Hua Cheng had placed his arm out blocking Xie Lian from moving forward.

"Don't." He simply states, watching the scene with his own eyes "Let her handle it, we can step in if it is needed, but she isn't a child"

With her nose turned towards the air, (Y/N) held a strong glare at the man looking between him and the dog.

"Does the dog belong with you?" She asks, her tone laced with venom.

The man held an equal glare at her, nodding his head. (Y/N) lets out a puff of air from her nose, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Maybe we should just continue on…" Dai Lu states, tugging at (Y/N)'s sleeve.

"Not now Dai Lu, someone needs to scold him for the way he treats his pets!" She scowls tugging her sleeve away. Stomping her foot into the ground she raises a pointer finger in a scolding manner.

The man was slightly confused at her talking to seemingly no one.

"Who-"

He was cut off as she returned her attention to the man, still quite angry.

"You shouldn't treat a pet like this," She begins to scold the man "If you were to leave the pup outside, at the very least feed him enough to keep him healthy, and not scrawny like this! If this pup were your child would you starve your child just like you do this pup?"

"If the pup were your child would you refuse to play with your child?" She continues, her anger growing with each word along with some tears "Would you refuse to clean them, feed them and play? If your answer was no to all that, then treat the pup with the same respect you would your child! They are just like children after all"

A loud slap echoed through the woods cutting (Y/N) off. Her eyes widened as she stared at the man before her. With a shaky hand she brings it up to her cheek. It stung. The man had slapped her.

"You're a woman, you do not speak to me like that, no less you're probably of lower class" He begins, grabbing her by the collar of her robes "It is not my job to know how to care for the kids. That is the job of a wife. Or in this case your job"

"Hua Cheng…" Xie Lian whispers out, his eyes wide at the scene before him. Looking at the taller man from his peripheral vision, he saw an odd sight. Hua Cheng had frozen slightly with an unreadable expression. Returning his gaze to (Y/N) and the man he prepares to step in.

"I don't care if it's my job as a woman, you as a husband and man should be just as supportive!" She growls, not faltering under the man's gaze. She notices the motion of his hand raising once more to slap her again, yet she holds his gaze. Not willing to show weakness. The pup beside the two had begun barking, yet was too weak to attempt anything.

The man's grip on her collar tightened as she braced herself to be slapped again.

Instead the hit never came. Hua Cheng had stood beside the two, holding the man's wrist in mid air. A nonchalant smile graced his feature as he stared down at the man.

"I wouldn't do that again if I were you" He chuckles. Though his tone was playful, anyone on the receiving end of it knew it wasn't as nice as it seemed.

The man falters, letting go of (Y/N) and taking a step away. Huffing, he tosses her the rope holding the dog.

"Fine, if you're so adamant about the care of some animal, take care of it yourself" With that the man turns on his heel and walks off.

"I'm sure there was a more…civil…way we could've handled that" Xie Lian speaks up with a tight, closed eye smile.

"I was being civil!" (Y/N) huffs turning away "The man just doesn't know how to take criticism"

"You do realize he was probably the one we needed to speak to…" Dai Lu chimes in, rubbing the back of her head with her hand.

(Y/N) turns to her with a cartoonish expression. Her eyes wide and mouth hung open in shock. Regaining herself she looks between the dog and the home.

"No. Nope," She turns away towards the forest of trees "I am not dealing with that man again today"

"Well, we did promise Dai Lu that we would help…" Xie Lian reminds her.

"We didn't promise Dai Lu, I simply stated I'd do my best to help" (Y/N) replies untying the dog from the rope and tossing it aside "I don't like making promises"

"Is there a reason?" Hua Cheng asked. His eyebrow raised in a way of questioning.

There was a thin silence in the air as the boys awaited an answer.

(Y/N) shakes her head, grabbing Dai Lu by her hand. She completely ignored his question, not wanting to answer it.

"We will meet you back here tomorrow morning" She states walking in the direction of the trees, a place which she considered a type of home "We can discuss with the man then. For now I'll try to recompose myself"

Turning to the woods she had left, dragging Dai Lu with her. The dog which she had released had walked aside her, ready to protect her, despite still being quite weak and thin.

Along the way a white butterfly had appeared beside the two human-like girls.

"Oh hello there" (Y/N) smiles, holding her hand out to it.

The butterfly rests on her finger which she then moves to her head, allowing it to sit on the top of her head. Dai Lu looks at her with a small smile.

"You know" (Y/N) starts "It looks a lot like the one I had seen before"

"Really?" Dai Lu questions, encouraging the girl to speak more about it

"Yes," (Y/N) smiles, leading her and the dog to a small clearing in the forest, a perfect place to rest. "When I was a kid, sometimes these white butterflies would appear around the village!"

"Woah, really?" Dai Lu questions, tilting her head to look up at (Y/N). "They looked just like that one?"

"Yeah! They are so pretty. I'm sure I'll never forget them!" She smiles allowing the butterfly to move back to her finger as she gently patted its body. "The villagers never messed with them so they were able to fly around freely. Though they would rarely make an appearance."

"That's so cool…"

Settling down on the floor (Y/N) leaned against a tree watching as the butterfly had flown off to the direction they had just come from.

Dai Lu sits beside the older girl snuggling into her side as the pup makes its small bed by her feet. The three had shut their eyes preparing for the day to come.