Diaphanous | Hua Cheng X Reader X Xie Lian

Chapter 28: Tears

Eyes snapping wide open (Y/N) tries to sit up, panicking when she can not move. Her legs kicked outward, hitting nothing but air. The darkness around her did nothing to ease her nerves. The roof above was dark, the walls feeling as though they were caving in. Her breathing grew heavy as she tried to lay on her side, struggling against whatever was holding her down. 

“Chaoxing” She cries out, struggling to get to her knees. She only had one thought in mind as she placed both her hands on the ground, pushing herself up, knocking whatever was on top of her to the floor. “Chaoxing, I’ll find you”

She winces at the hair, which gets caught under her hands, with the tears falling onto her shaking arms, yet she pushes herself to her feet. As she stood up, a soft thud was heard falling to the floor. The floor felt cold against her bare feet. 

Placing one foot after the other, she made her way forward, towards where the door would be, swaying with each step. At the large door, she stops, her shaking becoming more visible “But mom is out there…”

“Chaoxing needs me, I need him” She whispers, looking at the handle. Taking a deep breath in, her hand reaches out, trembling as it grasps the door handle. 

Pushing the door open, she takes in a breath of the air. The stars still shimmered brightly.

Before she could take another step, a pair of arms had wrapped around her, keeping her in place. She looked down at the arms wrapped around her and began to cry. With her hands, she pushed against them, trying to escape their grasp, struggling to step outside.

“Let me go!” She cries out, balling her hand into a fist. As she did so, she had begun to hit it on the arm, her legs kicking upward as she was lifted off the ground. “Let me go! I need to go help Chaoxing! I need to help my brother!”

“(Y/N)” A soft voice calls out, she pauses in her movement at the familiar voice. Turning her head slightly, she looks at the pale skin reflected by the moonlight. His hair was undone, as he watched her with tired eyes. 

“Please, Xie Lian!” She turns to face him upon realizing who held her from going out. Her hands clasped together as she plead “Please let go, I need to go to Chaoxing”

“(Y/N)….” He calls out once more, leading her back to where she was before. It was then she realized the room she was in wasn’t the small, dirty shed. “We can’t go out there..”

“But..Chaoxing” She looks up to him, certain her brother could still be rescued. Xie Lian noticed this grimaces, his heart aching at the way she stared at him. Her eyes were glassy, with a distant look in her face, as though her mind was elsewhere, and it was.

Her mind had yet to process the fact that her brother had passed away, right in front of her too. The only reason Xie Lian had a bit of an idea of what happened was because she had been crying out to her brother in her sleep.

“We can’t help him,” He tells her with a soft tone. Sitting back on the floor, he pulls her to sit on his lap while he runs a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry”

It was as if those words had triggered something in her. She stopped struggling against his hold. Her head hung low as she shook her head “He can’t- He still needs the help. I need-”

Her words get caught in her throat, looking up at Xie Lian, who had a grim expression. The memories began to flood into her mind as her eyes began to water. The little strength she gave in to sitting up and fighting against his hold gave out as she came to the realization. Chaoxing was dead. Her brother was gone.

"He promised," She cried, holding onto Xie Lian's clothes. He wrapped her in a hug, rocking slowly, allowing her to cry. "He promised me he'd stay with me."