Xie Lian’s first reaction after collecting the pile of money was to wonder if this had been dropped by some unsuspecting person, so he walked out of the alley and called out to the passersby on the street.
“Excuse me, did anyone drop their money?”
Most people shook their heads, but there was an idle good-for-nothing lout who came over looking sheepish, saying “I did! I did!” When Xie Lian asked him to confirm how much he dropped, however, he hemmed and hawed and ran off amidst a laughing crowd.
Xie Lian stood there and waited patiently, worried that the rightful owner would come back in search of his lost money, yet no such person approached even after he waited for nearly two hours. His hunger was becoming more and more apparent, and after a long time, he let out a sigh.
He glanced at the money in his sleeve. Why don’t I just borrow a bit of it and return it ten times over afterward? he thought.
There was no other option at this point. Thus, after waiting another incense time, he bought a steamed bun at a streetside stall.
Xie Lian had never eaten steamed buns before, never mind ones made with such crude dough—it looked so big and stupid and bland. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to use too much of the money he’d found; it’d be terrible if it turned out to be someone’s emergency fund, so he only used the bare minimum.
It certainly was a novelty to have such a humongous steamed bun in his hand for the first time in his life. He walked past the alley and came to a smaller, quieter street. Just as he was about to take a bite of the bun, however, a hand suddenly swiped it from him.
It was a fantastic steal—Xie Lian had only paused for a moment, then the bun was gone. When he turned his head, the one standing next to him was the man in red from the teahouse!
Xie Lian was stunned speechless. He had never expected this man to follow him all the way here—or to steal his steamed bun! He was dumbfounded for a while before it occurred to him to reclaim it.
“Give that back!” he cried as he jumped.
His grab was extremely fast, but the man was faster—not to mention taller—so the attack was swiftly dodged.
“Don’t eat this,” the man said. Then he took a bite out of the bun, leaving a gap behind.
Now Xie Lian couldn’t eat that bun even if he wanted to—there was no way that an esteemed crown prince could eat a steamed bun that someone else had taken a bite out of.
Eyes wide, he exclaimed, “You—!” He was left momentarily stumped, then griped angrily, “Why are you like this?”
And to think he had assumed the man was a rare character, someone worthy of befriending. It turned out he was a capricious lout!
Their two figures, one red and one white, moved so fast it dazzled the eyes—no one would believe such an exciting fight was over a steamed bun. Although Xie Lian vaguely suspected that he could be faster, fast enough to keep up with this San Lang, there was something he was missing, something he wasn’t quite grasping, and his limbs weren’t really obeying his control. Moreover, he had spent the entire day tired, annoyed, confused, and achy all over.
Distracted by his fury, he twisted his foot and fell. A quiet yelp of pain escaped through the cracks of his teeth.
It hurt.
An unspeakable pain was spreading from an unspeakable place. This pain had already been there, but it wasn’t obvious—the injury had been carefully tended to at some point, and Xie Lian had tried to ignore it. However, his face changed instantly after the fall, and San Lang’s face changed too as he immediately bent down to catch his arm.
“Ge—” he blurted, but quickly cut himself off and said instead, “Are you all right?”
Mortified, Xie Lian desperately wanted to dig a hole and bury his head in it. “Please don’t refer to me by any random address!” he exclaimed with a burning face, yanking his hand back. “And don’t grab me like that either!”
San Lang let him go, but the gesture was only for show, as he swiftly clutched Xie Lian’s shoulder instead.
“How are you? Does it hurt anywhere?”
He sounded genuinely, deeply concerned. “One does not slap the face of the smiling,” or so they say; by all rights, Xie Lian should have been grateful for the kindness. But when he thought of where it hurt and why, he was both embarrassed and upset, and the frustrations he’d pent up all day finally spilled over. He slapped San Lang’s hand away and scrambled to his feet on his own.
“…I don’t hurt anywhere—I don’t hurt at all!”
He turned and tried to run off, but the man behind him caught his wrist and he couldn’t struggle free no matter how he tried. Unable to endure it any longer, Xie Lian whipped around, his eyes round with rage—yet he was met with the sight of San Lang gazing deeply at him.
San Lang let out a soft sigh. “It’s my fault, Daozhang. The blame for everything lies with me alone, so please accept my apology and don’t be angry with me anymore. How about this: won’t you let me treat you to another drink to make it up to you?”
For some reason, whenever Xie Lian saw this man’s face, his heart fluttered. He wasn’t used to the feeling, and it only made him want to run.
“I don’t need you to take me anywhere. I never drink! Let me go, now!”
“Okay, okay, okay,” said San Lang. “No drinks. How about a meal, then? Surely you must be hungry?”
Xie Lian was so mad. What was that tone? He was practically cooing to him like he was placating a child. He’d never suffered such humiliation before.
“I don’t need you to take me out to eat either. I’m not hungry. Please watch your tongue and show some respect!”
But the awkward thing was, as soon as he’d spoken, a weak protest grumbled from his stomach. Xie Lian froze, then grew even angrier, so angry that his face turned red. Even his speech started to stutter.
“You…you…why are you pestering me? Stop pestering me!”
However, San Lang only stared hard at him. “Daozhang, you didn’t notice?”
His sudden severe expression had Xie Lian asking, “Notice what?”
“There’s an evil creature on you,” San Lang said.
Xie Lian was shocked. Without warning, his wrist went slack and that wristband-like silk bandage slithered down his hand like a white snake. It raised itself up to eye level with him, and then—it lunged!
The man in red caught it in an instant before its strike could land.
“See?”
“…”
The white silk band squirmed like a choked venomous snake—it was creepy. And this monster had been hiding on him all this time! Xie Lian understood at last.
He blinked, then said, “So…you approached me because you detected this evil creature hiding on me?”
San Lang’s expression had gone much more serious and severe. “Yes. This creature is quite strange, which was why I was keeping an eye on it. Thank goodness it didn’t hurt you.”
Now the truth was out—it was clear that San Lang had approached him out of goodwill. Recalling how rude he had been to this gentleman, pulling faces and slapping his hand away, made Xie Lian embarrassed.
He bent forward into a solemn bow. “Thank you very much, sir. I was mistaken earlier.”
Before he could fully bend at the waist, San Lang stopped him. “Please. It was nothing.”
Xie Lian looked up, feeling somewhat confused. He got the impression that although this man in red appeared wholly serious, his eye was full of smiles. He figured that it was because he’d shown the man the absolute state of disarray he was in, and also his uncouth behavior… It was a little embarrassing.
Though, it was strange. Xie Lian was far more restrained and dignified than most others his age, yet the mere sight of this man rendered him restless and agitated.
San Lang didn’t seem to notice his discomfort, though, and said, “Since all is resolved, then I shall be on my way. Daozhang, shall I see you next time?”
“Yes, see you next time,” Xie Lian replied without thinking.
San Lang waved, then turned around and left. Despite himself, Xie Lian followed for a few steps.
Maybe it was because he really didn’t know where to go, or maybe because his mind was addled, but Xie Lian only snapped out of it when San Lang looked back. He was startled out of his reverie and stopped abruptly, pretending to look elsewhere. But it was already too late.
The light laughter from up ahead embarrassed Xie Lian so badly that his earlobes turned red. He forced himself to look again, and San Lang was standing there with his arms crossed.
“Let’s not wait for next time,” San Lang said with a chuckle. “I think the time is now. What do you think? Is Daozhang finally willing to have a drink with me?”