Diaphanous | Hua Cheng X Reader X Xie Lian

Chapter 16: Nap Time? No. Not yet

“So…”

Dai Lu had moved to sit on (Y/N)’s lap, staring at the scroll before them. (Y/N) had her head rested on top of Dai Lu’s as her arms were wrapped around the smaller girl's torso. The lack of sleep seemed to be kicking in once more as she felt her eyes begin to droop. It was quiet in the shrine as the only noise would be the occasional movement of fabrics from when someone would move in their spot.

“There is still a long list of names here,” Hua Cheng says. “Maybe we can narrow it down even more?”

“How should we do that?” Xie Lian questions leaning toward Hua Cheng.

“Maybe,” (Y/N) stops herself as she releases a big yawn “Maybe Dai Lu can use her instincts or something and narrow down the list even more”

Xie Lian had deadpanned at her suggestion, unsure of how it would work. He shared a glance with Hua Cheng, who was mirroring his expression. The main question between the two would be who would tell her it may not have been the best idea, neither was willing to do so.

“Well…I can try,” Dai Lu says, her voice slightly muffled from the sleeve of (Y/N)’s outfit that covered her face.

"See! It could work!" (Y/N) cheers. A lopsided grin rests on her lips as she looks at Dai Lu, looking at her through half-lidded eyes.

Huffing, Dai Lu pushes the sleeve out of her face, grabbing hold of the scroll in front of her, allowing (Y/N) to keep resting on her head. Hua Cheng leaned over, staring at the scroll resting on his hands while Xie Lian was sitting properly staring at it, too. All of them had their attention on the names as Dai Lu slowly reached for the brush.

Stroke after stroke names were being crossed off, some with hesitation while some were without. Each name crossed led to a wider smile on (Y/N)’s face despite her tired eyes, which made it seem as though she was forcing the smile.

This had caught Xie Lian’s eyes as he placed a hand on her head, running it through her hair. The notion made her flinch as she ducked her head away at the quick movement of his arm. Realizing what she had done in her sleepy state of mind, she bows her head, muttering an apology. He gives her a soft smile and continues to run his hand along her head.

“You can sleep if you want. After all you said, you and Ling Wen had gotten very little sleep”

Shaking her head, she causes Xie Lians hand to retreat back to his side “No, I want to see what names we are left with the things…I don’t want to sleep. It's scary here…reminds-” Her words begin to make no sense as she lets sleep take over her mind. Her body pressed into Dai Lu, who grunted at the sudden weight, her stomach hitting the table. Xie Lian frantically moved (Y/N), so her head was resting on his thigh, and Dai Lu didn’t have to worry about crossing out names and the adult taking a nap.

After a few hours, Dai Lu had reached the end of the list, about to cross off the last name. She huffs, reaching for the brush despite having a very, very large height difference. Dai Lu crosses her arms, staring at the paper. In going to sit back in her normal position, her arm hit (Y/N), causing her to stir.

“There is still one name I need to cross out…” She informs him. He places the brush down and shakes his head.

Rubbing her eyes, (Y/N) sits up properly, staring at the paper. Her once tired demeanor disappeared as her usual smile made its way to her face. It seemed as though there was a small appearance of discomfort on her face, but perhaps it was just her waking up. Looking at the scroll, there were only four names on the list left, meaning Dai Lu did well in eliminating potential side tracks.

Looking at the list, her gaze stops in the last one, her eyebrow raising. She goes to reach for the brush herself, but even her hand is pushed away by Hua Cheng.

“Leave it” He states, moving the brush to be out of everyone's reach. “There is a possibility this one could also be an option”

“But..” (Y/N) pauses, looking between the scroll and him “She died during birth?”

“Ghosts can take many forms if they choose so,” He reminds her “I have a feeling it could be a possible clue”

She simply nods her head, fully trusting what Hua Cheng was thinking. He would know more about ghosts than she would and probably had more experience dealing with situations than she had, so sometimes she may just have to let Hua Cheng and Xie Lian lead the way.

“We can start our search tomorrow” Xie Lian replies, covering his mouth with one hand, using the sleeve to cover his yawn. “You and Dai Lu can stay the night, I have the spare mat set up in the other corner you two can share”

“It’s alright!” (Y/N) smiles, standing and stretching, insisting on returning back to the outdoors “I just slept so I can head back to the forest and rest there!”

The others follow suit in standing up, each in different phases of tiredness ranging from wide awake to almost asleep. (Y/N) lets out a soft giggle picking up Dai Lu, who was slumped over on the table. She turns to Hua Cheng and moves her arms slightly, motioning to the girl resting in them.

“If you wouldn’t mind grabbing her and placing her on my back, we can get out of your way for a little and leave you two to rest.”

Hua Cheng says nothing, and after sharing a glance with Xie Lian, he takes Dai Lu from her arms. (Y/N) turns around, waiting for the sudden weight on her back, but it never comes. When she turns back around, she sees Hua Cheng placing Dai Lu on the mat with Xie Lian covering her with the spare blanket. (Y/N) joins their side, surprised at their actions. She’d thought they’d want the two gone to have some time to themselves.

“Are you sure?” She questions, her tone quiet and soft, confused and nervous. It was a mix of it all. It was Hua Cheng’s turn to place his hand on her head as he ruffled her hair. Nothing too harsh but just a gentle pat to her head.

“It’s alright, it would be easier to go straight to the first home if we were all together from the start” He says. She can’t argue and just nods her head. Turning towards the door, she makes her way to it only to be stopped by Xie Lian.

“You can sleep inside” He reminds her, already knowing where she had planned to sleep. Glancing around the shrine in the low sun, she sent a shiver down her spine. Her usual cheery smile was strained as she simply nodded her head.

“Thank you..” (Y/N) makes her way sitting beside Dai Lu and Hua Cheng and Xie Lian head to sleep on the mat on the other side of the room. In the dark, her eyes stared at the wall as her knees were held tightly to her chest. She heard the soft whispers of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian for some time as she ducked her head in between her knees, keeping still in the dark.

When she was sure they were asleep, she moved slightly using her memory of the room to reach the door. She slid out the entrance without a noise, releasing a deep breath once she was met with the cold air of the outdoors. Looking up towards the sky, she saw the bright stars which provided light.

The view made her tense form relax as she sat in the dirt, leaning against the side of the shrine. Releasing a huff, she noticed her breath in the air and giggled. She wasn’t cold in the slightest. Rather, it was a nice temperature for stargazing. Which was what she had done.

Staring at the stars gave her a peaceful mind, and despite being wide awake a few moments earlier, sleep had begun to plague her mind once more. This time, she let it win without a fight.

So there she had fallen asleep. Under the beautiful starry night sky.