"I think that looks better." Chan Lee murmured to herself, eyeing the Moon Bunny now clad in a white shirt and blue shorts. She had sat in her bed while Han Jing had helped the man change to his clothes.
Now the Moon Bunny sat down crossed legged on the floor, pulling at his shirt. "It feels comfortable... and smells like flowers?" He added thoughtfully.
"Thank my mother for that." Han Jing shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Lavender-scented detergent."
"You could have better clothes though, Jing." She tossed a look at her neighbor. "Though, I'm probably expecting too much from you."
"I already lent you my clothes, what more do you want?" Han Jing grumbled.
"Yeah, my bad." She sheepishly smiled, nodding at him. "I owe you a lot. Thank you."
"Not a problem," the man waved her off. "He's pretty skinny though."
"Am I?" The Moon Bunny raised his arms, "I never noticed since I wore robes all the time. Huh, I assumed that pounding pills for Chang'e would develop my muscles?"
She rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about that, Jing here is just fat."
"Hey! To let you know, I'm pretty healthy."
She raised a brow, her lips twitching into a small smirk. "Alright, whatever makes you sleep better at night. Speaking of which, it's nearly midnight... you should probably head back if you don't want your mother to worry about you."
"I'm twenty-four years old, she'd be more than happy to kick me out." Han Jing snorted, rubbing his nose. "...I told her I'd be sleeping over at a friend's place."
Chan Lee blinked, tilting her head. "You have friends?"
"What's with that expression on your face? I have friends, probably more than you have."
Her face grew hot, "Well, good for you then. I'm just more content by being with myself."
"Really, Miss Chan Lee? When I look at the two of you—you seem to be good friends." Moon Bunny spoke up.
"He's just my neighbor." Chan Lee answered, waving at Han Jing dismissively.
"I think it's because I'm the only one she talks with a lot so it seems that way." Han Jing offered.
"I have friends too!" She countered.
"Like, who?"
"There's this girl in my class, Mei and others too...we worked on this project together for an entire semester. And let me tell you, visiting the wet market to study fish sustainability is a bonding moment." She probably should have kept in touch, now that she thought of it.
"You'd be hanging out with them if that was the case—just admit it, you're kinda like me."
"I'm a student, you're not." She frowned.
"I'm a graduate already."
She rolled her eyes. "Who lives with their parents."
Han Jing shrugged at her lousy comeback. "It's more practical you know?"
"If you were working—but I don't want to argue with you," She muttered. "You can head over to your friend's place now."
"Oh, that was a lie..." Han Jing averted his gaze.
"I knew it!"
"I'm staying here."
"What?!" Chan Lee gawked at him, "You're joking aren't you? That's insane."
"Please, you're letting a stranger in your home." Han Jing scoffed. "What's wrong with me staying over?"
"A multitude of reasons!"
"That's a bit hurtful, I won't even think of doing anything weird. You have a dirty mind."
"I didn't even say anything. You're the one thinking of it."
"So you're letting me stay, right?"
She looked away. "You're sleeping on the floor."
"Sounds fair, I just don't want you to snuggle with me."
"What?"
"I was talking to Mister Moon Bunny here."
***
Han Jing watched Chan Lee pour some tea into the other man's cup. After his declaration of staying here with them, she had decided she didn't want to sleep with him around. In lieu of that, she prepared green tea.
"Thank you, Miss Chan Lee."
"You're welcome, Mister Rabbit." She said taking a seat in between them. They had all decided to sit on the floor, a low table in the center where she had placed a decent tea set.
He couldn't help but be slightly irritated for some reason. He looked at the man in front of him."Do you have a name other than Moon Rabbit or Jade Rabbit? It feels like she's treating you like a stuffed toy."
"Stuffed toy?" The man tilted his head, their brows raised.
"Don't be rude, Jing. But is there a name that you call yourself?" A sheepish smile on Chan Lee's face. "It does feel strange to keep calling you Mister Moon Rabbit."
Once again she cut him off like he was a troublesome nuisance. He didn't get why his mother and madam Dongxia liked her so much. Grumbling silently to himself, Han Jing poured himself his own cup of tea.
"...not really. But—it really doesn't make sense for a rabbit like me to get a name." The Moon Rabbit picked up his cup and sipped slowly. "And I stayed with Chang'e for such a long time that even just a look is enough to get our messages across...this is quite pleasant tea, Miss Chan Lee."
"It's instant tea." He muttered, but it was still good tea to some extent? It was hot and invigorated his body. Still, the guy didn't need to praise Chan Lee too much over it. She didn't even pour him tea! And he was an elder to her by a few years—he wanted justice!
"Thank you, but Jing is right—it's store bought, nothing too special." She coughed into her hand. "But if we could focus on your name? It'd be nice if you have one."
"I'm not really sure…"
"Yùtù?" He shrugged, "Jade Rabbit. Seems easy to me."
"That's calling him rabbit in another way." She rested her face on her hand,"A name should be more special than that…it should be deliberated upon carefully." She rubbed her eyes, before taking a sip of her tea.
Han Jing sighed, she was hard to please. But he mulled over it for a couple of minutes. Their company now silent as they each sipped their tea. After waiting for another minute or two, he cleared his throat.
"Bái, it means white and look at his hair, I say it suits you perfectly." He tossed a look at the man in front of him. "You have long silvery hair, what do you think?"
"Thank you, I like your dark scraggly hair too."
"Pfftt… yeah, Jing." Chan Lee tried to keep a straight face. "You have nice hair too."
Han Jing sighed inwardly before eying the man in front of him, "It wasn't exactly a compliment, but have you decided?"
"Well…" the Moon Rabbit glimpsed at the young woman sheepishly. "If you could choose a name, Miss Chan Lee? What would it be?"
To Han Jing's minor amusement, the girl blearily blinked before snapping out of it. She was getting sleepy—hah! She didn't know that she was up against a champion. He had survived forty-eight hours of not sleeping.
"Um, don't laugh, but I think Xue is a beautiful name." She answered, her cheeks heating up.
Han Jing made a face, rubbing his chin. "Snow? Well, if you had to compare it to what I suggested—"
"I think Xue is a great name—if that's what you want to call me, Miss Chan Lee."
He felt his eyes narrow for a moment, of course the rabbit would choose what Chan Lee wanted. "Should I prepare the red eggs and sweet cakes?"
"Then I'll call you, Xue." Chan Lee smiled a bit before covering her mouth, a yawn escaping her lips. "I'm sorry, but I feel really sleepy already… I'll take a short nap."
"Please don't force yourself, we'll be fine, right, Han Jing?" Xue looked over at him.
He sighed but nodded, "Yeah. We'll wake you up if we need something."
"Thanks, Jing!"
She had shared with them her extra blankets and pillows. Right now he had one of the pillows on his lap—putting it on his head was a recipe for disaster.
"Hmm, are you not going to sleep yet, Han Jing?" Xue had managed to make himself on what looked like a makeshift sleeping bed. Not that the guy knew that, he'd probably imagine a rabbit's burrow or something.
Han Jing shrugged at him. "If you're the Moon Rabbit, you wouldn't need any sleep. Any cultivator could choose not to eat or rest and focus solely on cultivating."
"That sounds boring."
"Y-You're—you're actually right." He reluctantly agreed. "That's why most heroes have cheats anyway..."
"You seem to be knowledgeable in the art of cultivation, perhaps you could join a sect." Xue smiled at him.
Han Jing stared at him, the man knew how to pull some strings. He'd have to give him that, he shrugged in reply. "They're not really a thing nowa—but anyhow, I'm not going to sleep. That's final."
"Will you be alright?" Xue frowned a bit. "Lack of sleep will lead to a lack of yin...and we've already passed the hour of qi regeneration. Could you possibly have an imbalanced liver or issues with your gallbladder meridian?"
He felt his mouth tighten, the man in front of him really knew what to say. He felt the urge to beg for knowledge and for other secrets that the being in front of him knew. Alright, it was better to confront him head-on then.
"I don't trust you."
"That's a relief..." Xue sighed softly.
"Y-Yeah so you better—what?" Han Jing frowned at the Moon Bunny. He must have heard wrong.
Xue ran his hand over his makeshift beddings. "Miss Chan Lee has been most kind to me, even taking me in despite her doubts of me." His lips twitched slightly, his gaze on the blankets and pillows given to him. "That's why I'm relieved that there's someone like you who acts as her protector."
Han Jing stared at him.
Xue looked up. "It's not meant to shock or worry you, I mean no harm at all nor do I have any bad intentions. So you can be at ease...or maybe not? I'm not really sure." He finished with a sheepish smile.
"You're making me doubt you more."