Ye Delun felt awkward as he stood at the side of the lovey-dovey couple. Although he wasn't sure they were exactly a couple, more of Li Yusheng having an unfound crush on her and not being able to convey it in any normal way.
Ye Delun could be called a very inexperienced boy. He's never felt a sexual attraction towards anyone yet, nor has he been openly searching for a relationship. To him, girls are pretty and nice. So much so that he didn't deserve them. And that wasn't downgrading himself, it was just that he put them on too high of a pedestal to be normal. It was both endearingly sweet and weird.
His friend, who was a very strong-willed female, was very pretty. Although she changed crushes like he did sleeping positions, she was very much adored by boys. She was cute and small and her personality was... interesting, to say the least. But unlike most of the boys who used to be in his class, he didn't have an attraction towards her. Instead, he was befriended by her and dragged around to be her entertainment. When he had asked why she said it was because the way he acted around her made her feel superior. She easily became addicted to that feeling and didn't hesitate to harass Ye Delun into becoming her 'servent'.
Ye Delun was very weak towards assertive women.
[You study the fountain in front of you, it seemed majestic and beautiful in your eyes. The shimmering crystals made of beads of water melt into the skyline. You haven't seen a sight like it in years.]
[But on the other side of the fountain, you spot another pair of your victims, Shen Lin and Yin Meng.]
"Hey look," Ye Delun said to interrupt the rose-filled stare off Li Yusheng was giving the poor 'unsuspecting' Yang Lan. The woman probably already knew all about Li Yusheng's feelings and was probably basking in the attention.
Which is what Yang Lan was indeed doing. Who could blame her, the feeling of a rich boy obsessing over you is something only found in a romance trope. Having it happen to her not outside from a screen, but face to face was making her think that accepting the strange message she had gotten in her inbox was the best decision she had ever made.
"It's Yin Meng and Shen Lin." He said as he gestured towards the pair on the other side of the fountain.
"It is." Yang Lan widened her eyes in surprise. She backed away from Li Yusheng and ran around to the other two. "Hey, guys." She said as she ran up to them with a wave.
Both Yin Meng and Shen Lin turned to look at the three of them.
"You're... Yang Lan." Yin Meng said as he stared at the woman. His eyebrows creased as if he remembered something unpleasant. "And Li Yushang and Ye Delun."
"Who knew we lived so close to each other that we all met so coincidently." Shen Lin said as she gave Yang Lan a wave in return.
"Yeah, we all ended up just meeting up by walking on the street. Who knew we were living in the same town the whole time."
Li Yusheng glowered as he watched Yang Lan talk to Shen Lin. Ye Delun felt that he looked pretty pathetic with the downcast aura and shining jewels. It seemed like a very strange contradiction.
"But why are you two together? Do you know each other?" Yang Lan asked both of them.
Yin Meng and Shen Lin glanced at each other before Yin Meng answered for the both of them, "I asked her to come."
"You were meeting up? And excluding us?" Li Yusheng looked at him accusingly.
"That's because you all would only get in the way. That, and I don't trust you all." Nondiscretly, he turns his head towards Ye Delun.
"..."
'Aren't we past this?'
Yin Meng looks back at Yang Lan and gives her a good look. He frowns again once his eyes meet her face, but his tense posture seems to relax slightly. "But we're also going someplace dangerous, people without experience would only become a burden."
Yang Lan stared back at the man, she didn't seem all too bothered by Yin Meng's stares. "Someplace dangerous? You mean..."
"I mean just like there's a version of your dream self and real self, there's a real version of that dream house."
"And you knew of it and didn't say anything before, but instead you secretly meet up behind our backs?" Li Yusheng said.
"You think that house is a safe place to discuss things like that? That Host bastard would hear about it somehow I'm sure."
"How do you know a place like that exists?" Asked Yang Lan.
Yin Meng stayed silent for a moment as he contemplated telling them or not. "Because I've been there before."
They stayed silent as a gloom overtook Yin Meng. His experience with the house left a large weight on him.
"Oi, why are there so many people." A different voice said. They turned their heads to see both Kang Maixiu and Xiang Tingfeng together. "Wasn't it just supposed to be the four of us?"
"They ended up seeing us while we were waiting for you two."
"Well we can't bring all of them, seven people is too much. It'll be crowded." Maixiu said cooly with his hands in his pockets.
"What? No, now that we're here you guys can't leave us here. We're coming too." Yang Lan called out. Both Li Yusheng and Ye Delun were pulled along.
Kang Maixiu rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, I don't care that you want to go. It's just that it'll be too crowded."
"E-eh? What do you mean too crowded?"
Kang Maixiu pointed his thumb behind him. "Our ride, of course. I don't have enough seats for all of you."
And that's how Ye Delun ended up in the trunk of a vehicle.
If only his mother could see him now, practically kidnapped off the street and forced into going back into his supposed home. His character had probably worked so hard into going outside, and yet these people were forcing him to go back.
Truly a shame.
He curled up into himself to try and be as comfortable as he could. It wasn't that hard as he was a natural at relaxing in difficult situations. He sniffed and wiped his nose. It was itchy because of the amount of dust surrounding him. It made him want to sneeze.
"Is this really safe?" Asked Yang Lan. She was seated on Shen Lin's lap.
"No." Kang Maixiu coldly answered from the driver's seat.
Because of the low amount of seats, and Yang Lan's need to come along, Kang Maixiu just decided to toss them into the back. Because of Yin Meng being so wary of Ye Delun, he proposed putting him into the back, to which Ye Delun didn't seem to have a problem with.
And because they thought it was inappropriate to place Yang Lan onto another man's lap, she was seating onto Shen Lin. The ex-soldier didn't mind and cooly leaned her head on the window and wrapped her arms around Yang Lan like some kind of seat belt.
Yang Lan, on the other hand, was a blushing mess. She was thankful that the boys were being considerate, but she didn't think that this was much better. That, and she kind of wanted to switch places with Li Yusheng, who was forced onto sitting on Xiang Tingfeng's lap.
Li Yusheng had a very dark face as he sat as still as a stone. Him, the prestigious Li Yusheng, seated shamefully onto another man's lap. How shameful. He was sure that this would traumatize him in the future.
Xiang Tingfeng wasn't being any help. He sweated awkwardly and wouldn't stop asking Li Yusheng if he was uncomfortable. "Shut up." He told him.
"There are technically five seats in the car, why did Ye Delun have to be put into the back." Yang Lan asked the two in the front.
"Because Xiang Tingfeng takes up too much space. He wouldn't fit." Kang Maixiu answered knowingly.
Yang Lan turned to look at the free spot where Xiang Tingfeng's large leg took up half of the free space. Xiang Tingfeng turned red with shame, "S-sorry about that."
"Knock it off with the apologies. There's nothing to be sorry for." Kang Maixiu looked back through the mirror towards his childhood friend and gave him a cold glare.
Xiang Tingfeng only coward into himself, "Sorry." He said quietly.
Kang Maixiu let out an exuberant sigh and just shut his mouth.
"You don't need to feel bad about it, Xiang Tingfeng. I think being so big is super cool, you must be really strong." Yang Lan reassured him with a pat on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess. Ye Delun said something similar as well." He brightened up slightly at the thought. "Thanks."
"That, and I don't trust the guy." Yin Meng continued Kang Maixiu's statement from the passenger seat. "There's something about him that throws me off."
The sound of a small sneeze from the trunk echoed through their ears, and Shen Lin gave a snort. "Yeah, so threatening."