《Beneath the surface - YiZhan version》

《Chapter 3《Part 2》》

"Lotus, bring lotuses." The raspy voice of the grandmother broke me out of my thoughts, and the little prince looked surprised as well, his mouth having fallen a little slack open, his eyes wide as he turned to me.

His face burst out in a bright smile I mirrored, giving him a thumb-up.

The grandmother still held her arms in front of her face but had lowered them a little, her stance seeming less of an animal being threathened.

"Is there any specific kind of lotus you'd like us to bring?"

"Black," she responded without any hesitation.

I raised an eyebrow.

Watching the little prince holding himself back from doing the same instead, he opted to nod.

"Of course, then, until next time, granny," the little prince said, still in a soft voice as he gave a small wave, his smile alluring.

The granny waved back, to our surprise, but still tried to keep herself safe.

"Zhan ge?" The little prince got up from his position, holding his hand out, and I smiled, placing mine in his, and to our surprise, his hand didn't slip through mine.

I did feel the coldness of his hand seeping through into my body, and his hands seemed light, almost fading in the sun, but still enough to hold mine.

I couldn't help the smile that escaped me as I intertwined our hands, allowing the familiar cold to seep in.

Glancing a last time over my shoulder at the granny, I saw that she had again turned around to the mansion, her eyes looking up at that one window panel again.

"Zhang ge?" I hummed, turning back to the little prince, who stood on his tip-toes and leaned forward, catching me off-guard as he pressed an ice-cold kiss on my cheek.

"Prince!" I yelped, almost having our hands loosen as I quickly tightened them, looking away as I felt all the blood rushing towards my cheeks.

"Why did you do that?" I muttered under my breath, fastening my pace as the little prince skipped along, a peal of laughter escaping from him.

"Who knows when I will be able to do it again? I might lose my strength in a few minutes and be unable to hold your hand again for God knows how long." I huffed, shaking my head while I felt a glowing orb of happiness spreading inside my chest.

I couldn't help but smile giddily like a child, refusing to meet the little prince's eyes, who chuckled.

As we walked further away from the mansion, we had a long way to go before reaching the town again.

The mansion layaway, close to the edge of the town near the forest, I saw it as a lonely place to live.

After some time, the little prince broke the silence, "Although the mansion seemed to get upheld and as the granny confirmed cleaned, no one seems to live there." I frowned at his words.

"I did notice that the place was scarily clean, but the garden around it definitely wasn't held to the same standards, but what made you say that it's basically 'abandoned'?" I peeked at the little prince, and he seemed deep in thought.

He slowly spoke up, "The furniture inside seemed old, and the cabinet closet near the window, I had been inspecting it while you were distracted again." I huffed, pouting as the little prince smiled, his hand slipping from mine as I realised he lost the strength again.

Which meant we were walking in the right direction, closer to the town and the portal.

The little prince glanced at my hand before continuing, "There was a layer of dust, so I assume the cleaning only gets done for the outside of the house, but that raises the questi-".