Steal The Male Lead

5.19

The Emperor seemingly stopped for a bit as he revealed a glimmer of pain in his eyes before he replied with a light smile, "There is no need for such matters. Tell Imperial Mother that I will be away for the night." He returned back to his actions, yet his movements seemed slower than before, his fingers were even shaking.

Xu Wuhui looked at the Emperor but didn't say anything more. He merely nodded his head as he replied, "Alright, Father, I will inform grandmother." He looked at his father at once and finally walked out without another word.

The Emperor looked at his son who had left and sighed. He placed a hand over his red eyes as he whispered, "He really looks like you, he even shares your personality." Then, his eyes turned to look at the painting that hung from the walls, a smile radiating on his face.

Tendou Yagami furrowed his brows, confused by everything that was happening. But, somehow, he felt like he should remember what this was. He tried to touch the painting only for his hands to pass through it as if he were no longer human. He took back his hand at once and looked at it carefully. Finally, he placed his hands back to his side.

Instead, Tendou Yagami looked at the Emperor who had covered his eyes. Why did his actions seem so similar to his own?

The scenes changed again. Tendou Yagami was able to hear the loud noise of a banquet from afar as the Emperor walked towards a tree. It was a peach blossom tree, though Tendou Yagami referred to it as the famous cherry blossom tree.

The Emperor stood under the tree, his mouth opening and closing as he began speaking words that that went unheard by Tendou Yagami. As close as he got, Tendou Yagami was unable to hear anything, merely watching as the Emperor's actions changed.

It didn't take long before the red eyes returned to the Emperor. In fact, even though Tendou Yagami wasn't able to hear anything, he felt a piercing pain in his chest.

He gasped as the image of Bai Mengxiang floated into his head. Only this time, the man smiled at him holding onto the petals of the peach blossoms tree as they stood under it. His eyes shone brightly, one hand holding onto Tendou Yagami's.

As soon as it came, it was gone and Tendou Yagami was left feeling a sense of regret. He should know. Why didn't he understand what was happening?

Xu Wuhui walked towards the Emperor, with him came the same woman who had found out about Bai Mengxiang's death. Perhaps she was Xiao Lan, the woman that Xu Wuhui was talking about. She had to be, for there should be no other people that would be able to be near Xu Wuhui other than those he spoke of. And she had to be close to Bai Mengxiang else the Emperor wouldn't be so lenient towards her.

The Emperor exchanged words with Xu Wuhui as Xiao Lan stood near them. With a gentle smile on her face, even as her eyes reddened so slightly, she looked at the peach blossom tree with reminiscent. The petals fell from the tree, leaving the ground covered in petals. She bent down and picked up a petal and tears flooded her eyes though they didn't fall.

Tendou Yagami was getting a sense of just how much Bai Mengxiang had meant to all these people now. To them, he must've been a man irreplaceable, a man who was the light of their lives.

Tendou Yagami watched as the discussion continued and his feet moved by themselves to walk towards the tree. With every step he took, the expression on his face seemed to morph into a different type of pain. On the tree, there were light engravings on them. They were so faint, almost faded but there were three engravings on them. And there were also Chinese characters that Tendou Yagami couldn't read though he knew automatically what it was.

Meeting, wedding, parting... the first two words were followed by two initials, the last was followed by one initial.

For some reason, staring at it left some pain in his heart. Tendou Yagami knew he couldn't touch the tree physically, but he still reached out to touch it only to miss as his fingers went through the tree.