The empire of Yan Shun(赝舜) seemingly shines as a gem next to all others. This empire lies along a great river, Long Yanlei(龙眼泪) which is said to hold the remnants of a great dragon blessing the people with great spirit. While all people hold spirit...
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With the upcoming festivals, Bocheng had made a great effort to have as many family meals together as possible. While Huixin loved her family, she felt reluctant to go. She had wanted to see if Wanglei was still here, though she had also been working hard to avoid him.
She had spent her days sitting with Chaoxiang as he "guarded" and she tried to squeeze whatever information she could about his new love interest. Other times, she would sit in her room with Mingxia talking while playing with Mingxia's mess of curls. Today, she was with Chaoxiang following Mingxia around on her chores. Neither helped with any, but Huixin would argue that their company helped the chores go by quickly.
"Mingxia, please just see if he is still there. I won't ask again, I promise," Huixin begged Mingxia on the way to dinner.
"Huixin, you have said that everyday. Just go see him! He is just walking around the residence as we speak," Mingxia complained tiredly. "Chaoxiang, you are a guard. Where have you seen him?"
"I have not seen him at all to be honest. Are we sure he hasn't already left for the palace?" Chaoxiang asked mindlessly.
"WHAT!" Huixin cried.
"I saw him this morning in the kitchen. He has been helping Wei popo in the kitchen ever since you have stopped going out. Sometimes your mother calls for him, but that is all I know," Mingxia explained in an attempt to calm Huixin. "Is it really that hard to just go find him?" Mingxia asked tiredly.
"Chaoxiang, you must understand how I feel. I can't just talk to him if he is leaving, what if I get attached?" Huixin asked, desperate for Chaoxiangs agreement.
"This is not attached?" Mingxia commented in disbelief. She was quickly met with Huixin pushing her off the path.
"Be quiet. I just, I know it will be worse if we keep hanging out. The most frustrating part is that it will only be like that for me," Huixin cried again.
"Why would his leaving be so terrible? He has been here for only a while!" Mingxia burst, finally fed up with all the nonsense babbling.
That had Huixin shutting her mouth. How could she explain that it was a feeling, it was a feeling she was not ready to lose. She really didn't know what to do. She wanted to spend every second with him while she could, but she also wanted to distance herself now with a slow pace.
~***~
Huixin was sitting at a family dinner but her mind was far from the table. What if he forgot about her? What if they met in the future and she still thought of him but he forgot her? Now Huixin could feel herself getting angry at the thought and her bowl of rice was taking the brunt of it.
"Huixin, what about you?" Huixin heard her father call.
When her face remained blank, her father continued.
"What is your plan for the festival? Since our family is hosting, I thought the three of you could perform for the guests like you used to do when you were little. I loved those performances," her father smiled.
