The dim light fell over his face through Xīn's widow, which was wide open. As he blinked and opened his eyes he saw his room ceiling. He was in his bed trying to open his eyes properly. When he clearly saw a little blue image in front of him, he saw someone standing in…his room in front of the window?
"…!"
His mind didn't load for a moment before suddenly it got to his mind, he slowly got up from his bed in the sitting posture. But his face dropped when clearly saw who the person was. He was kind of relieved yet a little dissatisfied, as Xīn said,"Oh, it's you."
Bai Shao who was standing in front of his window turned around with the voice from his back, upon hearing the word "Oh, it's you" Bai Shao couldn't help but give a simple grin to Xīn as he turned to him. Xīn felt not talking a bit for now, he thought it was Cloud but when it turned out to be Bai Shao he was relieved somehow, but why? Now that he had looked back again at Bai Shao, who was looking at him without baiting eye. Who knows what he might be thinking, it can be surely said that Bai Shao was thinking something may be bad or good.
Bai Shao, who was standing there, came out from his looking through Xīn and asked, "Are you okay?"
Xīn carelessly dropped on bed and said "Yea, I am okay" he paused for a moment and said "Just a little bit of pain you know."
"Hah, well that's good too –" Bai Shao continued but his words were cutted Xīns words,"You saw that right?…So is there something wrong with you? Because I think in front of my eyes all things about you are wrong only." With a cold unearthed feeling he said as he moved his face to glance again at that silhouette standing in front of the window.
Bai Shao stood there for a moment, as his cover was blown he didn't intend to hide anymore when it was already exposed. With a little surprised voice he said,"Hmmh, you are quite good looking throughout people's personality or should I say behaviour? Yes there's something wrong with me…..from the day when I was born."
Xīn didn't say anything and looked up at the ceiling with his eyes still dry open, he could see vivid white colour in the ceiling, he went silent for a moment.
With a bashful smile Bai Shao said "Listen closely, the pain in your arm is because of me that you have already known by now," he came close to Xīn's bed, giving an unpleasant sight. He continued,"If you ever come close to Cloud again not only will your arm be in pain but you will die, that body of yours will be a dust in mid air just like those corpses."
As those words were uttered Xīn's eyes were wide, a little as if the person before him wasn't the one who he had met earlier but was possessed. He didn't know what to say, what to reply or what to do, so he was in much pain. He could only tremble a bit not by his words but by the pain that was injected into his body like a slow drug showing its effect little by little and spreading pain in flesh and bones. He wasn't in a state of thinking so much but a thought was roaming, does Cloud hate him that he had someone to deal with him?
The light started fainting with a small to smallest point with an edge of his not fully but a little he saw Bai Shao flipped open his fan wide again and with whirlwind he vanished or may be ascended to his place. Who knows? But it wasn't a drug that Bai Shao put in Xīn's body to cause him pain, but rather it was from yesterday's night battle. Xīn's mind was completely blank and with that pain in his body he slowly closed his eyes again.
By the time Xīn slowly opened his eyes like a weakling, Xīn looked at his phone. It was already nine am. He was asleep from morning onwards. There was a havoc of things in this room but he quickly dressed up and went out for his class.
The weather was clear and warm but it started getting a little cold in the morning, Xīn rushed towards his class, realizing that he might have already missed his third class of the day.
The corridor was crowded as usual. He had to go through the crowd, it was suffocating for him. It was already late, but he still wanted to attend his last class. He was going through the hallway to his class when he saw an earlier figure standing before him. He wasn't able to guess who he was, but somehow it was once again Bai Shao.
Before the person in front of him spoke, "I thought you were resting surely, but look you are here" leaning on the wall the person spoke.
"It's..you Bai Shao." He said.
"Yep."
The person before him was Bai Shao in his human form not actually in his elemental form of robes.
Being Bai Shao was just one thing that someone would hate in university. As Xīn would also hate it that this person had given him warning to stay away from his best friend, and as if Xīn would comply with his conditions we would never stay away from his best friend. In the morning he was weak, if he hadn't been that much weak maybe he could have rejected straight to his face.
Bai Shao smirked and was about to say something, that Xīn somehow knew that was going to be brutally awful, but some kind of luck happened and someone called,"Xīn" from behind.
It was a familiar and soft voice.
Xīn turned around to look behind where Cloud stood behind him that made him startled for a second.
"It's practice time." Cloud said.
"Huh..oh!" Xīn almost forgot about the dance going to happen in the next thirty days, but Xīn felt it was too fast for practice and something had struck in his mind before he opened his mouth again and flustered as he spoke "Wait, did I even agree to dance?"
"Probably not, but I am sure you will agree cause I believe in you." Cloud said with a Crescent smile, it was similar to those he used to give him in childhood.
Xīn doesn't know whether to smile awkwardly or just laugh at it saying he doesn't want to dance, throwing an excuse. And he was also his best friend. He doesn't upset him since he met him not long ago only after their partition in childhood. For a moment Xīn didn't say anything but stood silent like a tall birchwood, he did want to say,"No, I am sorry." But what he just spat out now was something he hadn't wanted and he remembered he couldn't find his way to get out of his childhood best friend's mesmerizing effect. Instead he said, "Okay, I will join in."
As they were talking, Cloud also noticed Bai Shao behind Xīn,"Oh you are here too Bai Shao, do you wanna join us?"
"No," Bai Shao said "Maybe next time…..okay seeya I have class now" continuing his words he smiled and went ahead right, Xīn knows that Bai Shao is a fox, with powerful accents that he wouldn't show it others unless it's some foes in his way.
The hallway had gotten quiet with fewer people towards the place they were going. "Where are we going?" Xīn asked.
"Of coursely, it's hall."
"..." Xīn said nothing.
The hall from outside looks big enough to fit one thousand or more people in it.in front at entrance hall name was written 'Ballad of hall,' the hall seems to look quite older than a normal one, the architecture and designs made within it looks gloriously beautiful. Ballad hall isn't something that people kept simply, it also has a great history that one must know if they were here. Xīn knew about it before joining this university.
"Did you guys select the best song?" They entered the hall and Cloud walked towards a group of two girls and asked them.
"Cloud, yes we did, here's the song!" Among the two girls, one girl who was wearing a bright sunny white dress replied.
"Thank you for your hard work girls" he gave a simple yet satisfactory smile to them.
"No need for thanks, it was our pleasure to help you out seeya, you guys practice nicely."
"Seeya."
Inside the hall it looks quite old with modernist looks that includes a bulb and air conditioner, the curtains that were put on stage were high red and there was a judges table made with a dark old clock.
Cloud went up to the stage taking Xīn with him, and he found a place for his phone to keep,"We will once listen to this song and decide steps, it won't be hard as you already used to take classes and about me don't worry I will learn from you "
The song was played it was light music with not so much noise, if it was unpleasant music or something it would have echoed like hell and would go on through their eardrum making them deaf forever, how ever though the first chord starts with guitar strings producing a melodious sound, the song is based on about fall in love with someone.
The music wasn't that long, at least maybe four mins, not more than that. As the music finished they started finding a few simple steps.
A step came from behind and a hand forwarding in front of him, the music and the dance started at the same time. With swiftly crossed they danced lightly. It was like they danced even in thin air but Xīn couldn't move his hand so much that he tripped over to the ground. But the music wasn't even half a minute. Nice, what a best day again to embarrass himself in front of someone, thinking that again how awfully he fell earlier in the Shao mountain he fell Xīn covered his face. As they were dancing Cloud pulled Xīn's hand that made him feel severe pain. Unable to control, he screamed.
"Arr.."
The scream wasn't that loud nor it was shrill, even though it wasn't loud it echoed like a loud noise because there was no object to absorb that voice if there were many people the noise wouldn't have been noticed.
Cloud stopped,he rushed towards Xīn's arm to check in, lifting his arms cloth he saw a black mark on his arm. He said "This…. ?," frowning he continued "By 'okay' you mean this?" Cloud questioned with that frown look.
Xīn looked away, not making eye contact. He said,"I am fine, it's just a Black mark. It will disappear soon."
"No, it won't disappear so easily like a normal mark, it's a different type of thing," he said."Give me your arm."
With a light of energy he used his transcendental power to consume all his black mark in his sword that he drew out from certain spatial. The sword was filled with black spots that it started shaking violently and getting cracked, soon it was filled with dark energy coming out of its sharp blade and slowly it scattered into small fragments.
The weight over Xīn's arm had gradually faded away, his arm was light now and there was no pain again. They raised up again once more dancing with flow in the melody of the song. But Xīn was not sure whether to agree with the terms of Bai Shao or not. Because he doesn't even know the relationship between those two.
The last tune of the melody started reaching its end point. Xīn had to make a hard point, turning and falling in the hands of Cloud.
The last tune had reached, Xin spun and turned around walking a bit distant in the stage far from cloud then he looked at Cloud. As he ran, he jumped right on his hands, Cloud then caught him raising him towards the up direction and with some tips of step and flow the dance ended slowly with the strings of guitar.
It was an unusual dance for them but doing it on stage at the final is going to be a little bit harder. If you say in a standard way it can be considered as some kind of ballad dance with modernism and the fact that modernism was its dance steps.
They took a break meanwhile Xīn had something in his mind and was thinking whether to ask or not. Gaining a little bit of confidence but not sure he asked Cloud,"Hey.. Cloud can I ask you something?"
On the other hand Cloud scrolling his phone gazingly said,"Yea, sure go on, what's the question?"
"There's a question roaming around my head," he stopped for a moment and said, "Who is that Bai Shao?"
"Oh, that's what your question is?," Cloud looked at Xīn and put his phone in his pocket. He continued, "Bai Shao is also an element if you say so, remember that Shao mountain where you were attacked by a corpse. That Shao mountain or other lands is controlled by Bai Shao himself only." He stared at the front of the close door where they came from before saying again, "And the fact that those corpses came in order of someone who has been living there secretly, the investigation is still going on..by some organisations so you needn't to worry."
"So.….How do you know about Bai Shao? So well." Xīn forwarded another question.
"Basically, I just know him ...as an element and that makes me connect with Bai Shao," Cloud said.
Xīn frowns for a moment and generally thinks about something that one might have thought in their mind. By his thought, "I Just know him" means he knew Bai Shao for a longer time than him, that's what Xīn thought so. But the bitter truth that he cannot ask also, "Why didn't you contact me in those years, and how have you had him as your friend for such a long time."
He was in an explicit state of chaos that those questions were flying around him and that he didn't even hear when Cloud called him.
"Xīnnnnnn" A voice called him out from his daze, it was Cloud.
"Huuh!" He jolted by the sudden call of Cloud. He was too close to him that he backed off.
Cloud blinked in daze, before giving a chuckle he said,"Should we get going?"
"Okay." Xīn said.
The hallway was quiet. It was already dusky by the time they got out of the hall, it's really hard to know outside time when you are inside a hall. Though Xīn looked quite embarrassed, this refreshing atmosphere made his embarrassment go away like a sudden storm. Cloud seems a little down but somehow he looks quite happy.
"Wanna go to the convenience store nearby?" Cloud asked.
"Okay, I also need to grab somethin' from there."
"Heeyy guys, wait for mee." Someone shouted from behind. It was the guy from yesterday who added Xīn to the group.
"Why are you here?" Cloud asked, getting annoyed.
"Huh, Can't I join in?" the guy asked.
"No, you are more like an intruder." Cloud said.
They seemed like nice buddies, 'are they always like this?' Xīn thought in his mind. As he had never seen Cloud like this getting annoyed with someone and saying clearly straight forward things.
Both of them were fighting with words, meanwhile there was a twist again. Bai Shao. His voice came back from the back.
"Hey, can I also join you guys to convince the store?"
Xīn looked back. There he was Bai Shao. Standing with an unknowingly gentle smile. Xīn looked back towards Cloud and that guy who also looked back. But there was something that Xīn noticed. The guy who was standing and fighting words with Cloud, now suddenly looks gloomy. As if he had seen some unauspicious thing.
Cloud said, quitting his words,"Yea, let's go then."
The atmosphere is quite so sudden. Xīn didn't utter a word and it was awkward also. The trees on the roadside looked beautiful with a cold and warm breeze blowing outside in the dusk. Xīn was thinking again in his mind, 'Why was that guy's face gloomy when he saw Bai Shao, because earlier when he was fighting words with Cloud he was very energetic but…'
Then suddenly Bai Shao put his arm around Xīn and said, "So guys, how is your practice going on?"
"It was pretty nice." Cloud said.
There was no one talkin' except Cloud and Bai Shao, as for Xīn and that guy they both were quiet.
"Look! we are here." Bai Shao said.
They grabbed the things they needed. Before leaving for his place Cloud looked back and said, "See you tomorrow, 'my dear' Xīn."
Xīn blinked for sec, 'did he misheard the things? Cloud just said my dear, but it was in slow…low and soft voice….., maybe I misheard.'
Xīn replied, "See you tomorrow.."
Giving a charming chuckle, Cloud turned back and left towards his house. Bai Shao also left but he wasn't looking fine though,
And Xīn also started heading towards his home. The guy was also behind him, Xīn thought, 'strange, is he from around here? But I have never seen him around here.'
Xīn looked back, and the guy stopped there and said "You're also from here?"
"I…yeah" Xīn mumbled.
"Oh, how come I have never seen you before here?" the guy said.
"Yeah, the same goes for me."
"Oh wait, I remember I guess you live on the first road that is on the left side, and I live on the second road on the right side. So that's the reason I guess."
"Yea…. That's reasonable but I don't live on the left nor right side of the road, but I live ahead of those two roads." Xīn said.
"Ohh." the guy said.
"Btw what's your name again?" I forgot to ask yesterday.
"Huh? I thought you know..wait before I tell you anything wanna come over to my place, I want to talk about Bai shao with you." The guy said with a serious look on his face.
Xīn thought for a moment and replied to him, "Okay."
For the first time Xīn travelled on the second road that leads to that guy's house.
The place was kinda similar and beautiful but the area was large with small stalls and beautiful lanterns hanging up. The houses in this place were cozy and the people living there were lively and energetic, especially the kids. It was like a whole new different experience for Xīn. There are gorgeous blue and purplish flowers with a wide area that look beautiful and eye-catching for everyone.
Both of them walked a little distance and the guy stopped. And said, "It's my house."
CLACK
"I am home." the guy said, opening the door.
"Sorry for Intrusion." Xīn said.
"Right now, there is no one at home."