Lang Yuxuan stood before Yan Renzhong, his eyes downcast and lashes quivering gently.
The picture of vulnerability, he resembled a frightened maiden on the brink of a love confession.
"Senior," he called out. "Have you thought about my request last time?"
Yan Renzhong pinned the younger man with a stare.
"Yes."
The one word made Lang Yuxuan lit up from happiness.
"Really?"
"I have thought about it."
Lang Yuxuan's heart beat so violently that it might just jump out of his ribcage anytime now.
"And... Do you agree?"
"No," Yan Renzhong said curtly.
The brutal, one-word response sent Lang Yuxuan plummeting from the cliff, disappearing into the endless chasm.
"But Senior..."
Unshed tears clung to Lang Yuxuan's lashes when he spoke.
"Why can't you agree?"
"I have told you my reason back then. You should only share a kiss with someone you like and no one else."
"But Senior, I..."
Lang Yuxuan bit into his lower lip and swallowed hard. A soft blush crept into his cheeks when he continued, "At this moment, there is no one I like more than you."
A sudden gust swept the empty running track, sending a flurry of loose hair dancing around the faces of the two men.
Lang Yuxuan pushed a rogue strand of hair from his reddened face and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"That's why, Senior..."
Lang Yuxuan was interrupted by a sharp, unnatural crack in the distance, followed by the relentless cadence of retreating feet.
Both men turned their heads in the direction of the noise, but no one was there. Only the slight rustling of leaves of the neatly trimmed bush at the running track's perimeter betrayed someone's presence until a while ago.
Yan Renzhong made a hesitant move to pursue the eavesdropper, but Lang Yuxuan grabbed his wrist.
"Senior!"
Yan Renzhong abandoned his initial plan and stayed with Lang Yuxuan.
"Yuxuan, I am honored that you deem me a suitable person to take your first kiss. Unfortunately, I am not the kind of person who would make use of our mentor-mentee relationship that way."
He patted his dejected mentee on the head.
"It's just a kiss. If you truly do not care about your first kiss, you can practice with anyone. Otherwise, we can kiss right on the set."
Lang Yuxuan pressed his lips together in disappointment.
"I don't want my first kiss to be on the set. It's so embarrassing."
"I can't help you with that. Our relationship is strictly professional."
"..."
He knew that much.
The bond between Yan Renzhong and Lang Yuxuan was confined to the mentor-mentee dynamic. While Lang Yuxuan's feelings ran deeper, Yan Renzhong's affection remained strictly platonic, mirroring the relationship of a teacher and student.
"Then, I... I won't bother Senior Yan anymore."
Lang Yuxuan released Yan Renzhong's wrist and left.
Yan Renzhong returned to the training hall.
Wen Guilin was waiting for him to have lunch together.
"Where is Little Lang?" She asked.
"He already went back."
"Oh, what a pity. I ordered an extra lunchbox for him. I thought he would want to eat together with us."
"No need."
Yan Renzhong took his seat opposite Wen Guilin.
He noticed a curry bun next to his lunchbox.
"What is this?"
"Oh, it was a little thank-you gift from Little Shen. He said that the bun should cover the one-day renting fee for the pair of training shoes you lent him today."
Yan Renzhong chuckled.
"Why would he return the shoes to me? He should have noticed that I bought them for him in the first place."
Wen Guilin shrugged.
"I don't know. Why don't you go and talk to him? He's outside, practicing the basic movements with Teacher Zhou."
Yan Renzhong ignored the lunchbox and tore the wrapper of the curry bun instead.
"He saw me with Yuxuan. I suppose he might not be in the mood to talk."
Wen Guilin shuddered.
"Best not to approach him right now then. We don't want him to slash you with a sword out of rage."
Yan Renzhong wiped curry sauce off the corners of his lips.
"I already told him that there was nothing between me and Lang Yuxuan."
"Oh?"
Wen Guilin arched her brow at Yan Renzhong, her interest piqued by this information.
"And what did he say?"
"In his words, he said he didn't care."
"..."
Wen Guilin propped her chin on her hand, her gaze fixed intently on Yan Renzhong.
"Look, Little Yan, it has been three years. Three whole years. You are clearly not over him. Now that you two are co-starring in this new drama as lovers, you should grasp the chance and win him back."
"It's not that simple, is it?" Yan Renzhong said after finishing the curry bun.
"Tears fall like rain, but the departed do not return."
The room was cloaked in silence, broken only by the rhythmic crashes and savage shouts of Shen Jingwei as he unleashed his sword on the training dummy outside.
-------------
Author's note :
Mini theater!
Shen Jingwei went rampant on his first lesson in swordsmanship.
Teacher Zhou : Has he always been this passionate about sword-fighting lessons?
Zhu Dongyi : I guess? Look at the way he swings the sword. I should send his training clips to movie producers. Maybe he can play a cultivation sect's disciple in his next cannon fodder role...