Luan Xie did seem to be sceptical at first, always keeping his guards up and not letting He Shun to approach him.
He was still like that.
Luan Xie made himself comfortable in the living room, while He Shun went to his study to practice his lines. The two did not talk at all. He Shun treated Luan Xie as a dream, forgetting about the latter's existence.
Luan Xie, on the other hand, was worried about himself. He wanted to go home so badly. He even lost his golden bracelet. He raked his brain out to find an abnormal behaviour he carried out that brought him here, but he found none. It frustrated him even more.
He walked around He Shun's house, observing the littlest detail of the house. He found it fascinating. Luan Xie had no idea that such a world existed, where there were ungraded and newfound facilities.
Luan Xie still remembered that this morning, he noticed a door opened ajar. He saw He Shun silently reading a sheet of paper, wearing some sort of round invisible circles around his eyes.
Luan Xie found out that they were called glasses, and it was for people who couldn't see well.
He walked to the study room again, finding He Shun in the same position as this morning he was. He barged in the room, startling the actor. Apparently, one more thing that He Shun did not know was that Luan Xie lacked basic manners. Even as a villain, he ought to have minimum manners, but he did not.
He Shun looked at Luan Xie. Before the latter could announce the reason for his presence, He Shun beat him to it, "Why do you use such advanced speech?"
"I do not," Luan Xie had not expected such a question. He thought that He Shun would ask him something more serious and important. Well, humans of this world were stupid.
He Shun rolled his eyes at the answer. He placed his script in front of Luan Xie, the page opening at the dialogues, "Who says these stuffs?"
Luan Xie looked at the script, his eyes following each letter and the way they were represented and written. He took quite a long time to look at it. He Shun thought that he was simply reading it or trying to understand the context. After all, a script was not as easy to understand as a novel.
But to He Shun's shock, Luan Xie said only one sentence regarding the script.
"I do not understand these scribbles."
"These scribbles are what you are talking in right now," He Shun pointed out. He was not able to understand Luan Xie, nor when he read him or when he finally met him. He was like a mystery to be solved, and He Shun was not going to take on the mission to solve it. He had enough on his plate.
He Shun expected Luan Xie to retort his words. After all, Luan Xie was known to be quite egotistical and arrogant. He wouldn't take such degrading comment, even if it was true. For him, his words were the only truth.
However, Luan Xie did not say anything. He pushed the script back to He Shun and stared at the latter. A moment of ice-cold silence passed between them. He Shun analysed, literally, Luan Xie's attitude.
"Don't tell me..." He Shun softly gasped, his eyes slightly widening as he continued his phrase. "You're illiterate."
It was not a question. It was a fact, and it was shocking. Royalties, as far as He Shun knew after all the roles he played, were supposed to possess the ocean of knowledge and to keep learning until their time had arrived. To say that Luan Xie, a royalty, did not know how to read was astounding.
Luan Xie took no shame in that. It was not his fault that he did not know how to read. "So?"
"How?"
"It does not concern you."
He Shun raised his hands in defeat after sensing that he might have been pushing his boundaries. Luan Xie might be fictional, but the one in front of him was emotionally and physically present.
"By the way, it's nearly noon. You should take a shower and switch out of that pyjamas."
Luan Xie looked at himself through the large mirror that was just beside the table. "What should I wear?"
He Shun sighed and got up from his chair. He walked to his room, signalling Luan Xie to follow, which the latter did without putting up a fight. He Shun went through his closet and found something decent. Luan Xie and He Shun did not have that big of a size or height difference.
He Shun was two and a half inches taller than Luan Xie. Those similar characteristics were what made the producers and director of the movie choose him.
"Shower and change into these."
A few minutes later, the shower head turned off. Even though it hadn't been long since He Shun knew Luan Xie, one thing he found out was that Luan Xie did not tolerate wastage, be it water or something else.
"Human, how do you wear this... shirt?" Luan Xie called from inside the bathroom. The pyjamas were easy to wear—Just slip in the shirt from the arms and neck. This one was a button-up shirt.
He Shun sighed again. He truly felt like babysitting a child. "Wear your pants and come on. I'll help you with the shirt," he said.
And so, Luan Xie did so.
The bathroom door opened, a foggy, warm air coming out alongside Luan Xie. He Shun was waiting beside the door. The first thing he saw was how ripped Luan Xie was. He Shun did work out, and he did have muscles, but Luan Xie was on another level.
He Shun couldn't help but to eye the other's body. He frowned slightly when he noticed bruises and marks of being lashed on Luan Xie's back. He Shun desperately wanted to ask about it, but he knew that Luan Xie would shut him out again, so he didn't.
He Shun took the shirt from Luan Xie. He opened the shirt till the holes for the arms were visible. They were relatively close to each other, to the point where He Shun could see the way Luan Xie's eyes slightly flickered in nervousness, gazing right to left and vice-versa but never at him.
"Raise your hands," He Shun gently passed the shirt through Luan Xie's arms. The only task left was to button-up the shirt. He Shun took a step closer, his hands slightly grazing over Luan Xie's abdominal muscles. As he buttoned up the shirt, he glanced over at Luan Xie. The latter was still avoiding his gaze, his cheeks slightly reddened, perhaps from the hot water he showered in.
"It's done."
He Shun backed away instantly. Luan Xie pretended to fix his clothes as he muttered a thank you. He Shun nodded in response. He then walked to the door, about to leave the room.
"Wait,"
He Shun turned around, "Yes?"
Luan Xie had an air of hesitation. He fiddled with the hem of the shirt as he said, "Thank you... for not asking me about the scars and for helping me cope in this world."
He Shun was taken aback. He never expected to receive a thank you from Luan Xie. That was quote a surprise. As far as He Shun had read, Luan Xie was someone who made the world revolve around him and took it for granted. He did not see that one coming.
A few seconds passed—the two still stared at each other. He Shun broke into a soft smile as he shook his head, "Don't worry about it."
Luan Xie nodded as he watched He Shun leave. A pink tint appeared on He Shun's cheeks as he finally made his way to his study. He looked at his hands, unknowingly letting out a small shy smile, thinking about his touch over Luan Xie's skin.