56 Once upon a Christmas eve 1 (1/2)
The winter air was refreshingly cold. It made the tip of Ben Zi's nose a cherry red. He shivered despite his thick jacket.
\”ACHHOOO!\” he sneezed.
\”I think you're sick.\” Ray Xi commented as she walked beside him.
\”ACHOOO ACHOO ACHOOO!\” Ben Zi sneezed several more times.
\”Yeah you definitely have a cold, maybe you should just go home.\” Qui Ten added.
\”I am not going home!\” Ben Zi said obstinately. \”It is freaking Christmas eve. I am not going to lay sick in my bed, alone, on an international holiday.\”
\”Yeah but it's cold and we might be queing for hours. You're gonna get more sick and you already have a fever Ben Zi\” Ray Xi said with a concerned expression.
\”I won't get more sick!\” Ben Zi growled stubbornly.
\”Yeah yeah okay whatever. Don't go crying to us tomorrow.\” Ray Xi rolled her eyes, Qui Ten giggled.
The trio were walking along a busy street in Chaoyang, heading to a popular winter market where the sale of a new, highly anticipated, console would be held.
\”Oh isn't that the guy!\” Ray Xi exclaimed.
\”Huh what guy?\” Ben Zi looked around curiously.
\”Over there.\” Ray Xi pointed, \”The guy you thought had supernatural powers, the one you gave your number to but he never called you back.\”
Ben Zi's eyes widened as he saw Mao Lu walking ahead of them on the busy street. He looked even more handsome then when Ben Zi had last saw him.
\”I told you he does have supernatural powers. He denied it but I know what I saw.\” Ben Zi said excitedly.
\”Are you still going on about that?\” Ray rolled her eyes, \”It's not funny anymore Ben, rather than studying for exams you've been researching all this supernatural stuff. And you've been going on and on about it all the time. Don't you think you're getting a little obsessive?\”
\”I am not getting obsessive. I'm just curious. I want to know what's out there. And that guy right there is the answer. He has powers.\” Ben Zi said determinedly as he began running in Mao Lu's direction.
\”Hey Ben Zi wait up!\” Qui Ten yelled
Ray Xi sighed, \”He's gonna do something stupid.\”
They ran after him.
…..
Mao Lu was a bright pink as he walked side by side with Chàng Bo. Having their arms looped like this as they walked down the busy street was making Mao Lu's heart beat like crazy. It felt like they were a couple on a date. \”Could they be called a couple? They were soon to be married or companioned for eternity, so they could count as a couple right?\” Mao Lu's brain was racing with all kinds of thoughts as they strolled leisurely up the busy street.
As they walked they got all kinds of stares. Some kind, some curious, and some rude. Mao Lu could hear the mutters, \”Whao who are they, they're both so handsome?\”
\”Look their arms are linked.\”
\”They don't look alike though.\”
\”Maybe they're like…\”
\”Omg!\”
\”Gross\”
\”Wow so brave.\”
Mao Lu heard a variety of comments as they walked down the busy street that was filled with last minute Christmas shoppers.
Before, all this attention would have made him nervous, upset and even sick. But now he barely noticed it. It didn't bother him. All he could think about was how Chàng Bo's pace matched his pace, and how his arm was against his arm, and how his steps matched his steps.
\”These people are rather nosy, do they have nothing else to gossip about other than two strangers walking down the street? And so what if our arms are linked, is it even their business.\” Chàng Bo muttered angrily. \”If they were practitioners in my Realm I would have crippled one of them by now, these mortals know no respect.\”
Even though Chàng Bo didn't have Sense of the Realm like Mao Lu did, Chàng Bo was at the Dao stage. He could easily perceive and hear about 10 kilometers around him. At first he wasn't bothered by the gossip around them but as minutes passed he was starting to get irritated.
Mao Lu patted Chàng Bo's shoulder gently. \”Don't mind them, it doesn't matter.\”
Chàng Bo paused and then a teasing smile came over his face, \”Look at you consoling me. Is this another attempt to make me fall madly in love with you?\”
Mao Lu looked back at him with a mutually teasing expression, \”Is it working?\”
Chàng Bo yet again didn't answer that question, his smile just expanded. His heart stirred.
Chàng Bo was finding Mao Lu more and more attractive with each second they spent together.
\”It's not that I'm falling for him.\” Thought Chàng Bo, \”It's just that he's very entertaining, pleasant to look at and we match well together. I just enjoy his company.\” was how he justified the warm feeling inside his chest.
The pleasant atmosphere between the two was disrupted as Ben Zi ran up to them. He panted a bit before shouting \”Mao Lu! It's you right!\”
Chàng Bo raised both brows in surprise. \”Who is this?\” he wondered.
\”Ben Zi!\”, Ray Xi and Qui Ten caught up to him. They stared at Mao Lu and Chàng Bo awkwardly.
\”You remember me right? I'm Ben Zi. We met at that speed dating event. I was the one that saw you using your powers.\” Ben Zi said excitedly.
Chàng Bo raised an eyebrow, \”Speed dating event?\”
Mao Lu's face went red and he felt flustered, \”It's nothing important.\”
Ben Zi noticed Chàng Bo, he couldn't help but gasp a bit. He had never seen someone so handsome in his life. Ben Zi helplessly stared at him with wide eyes. Chàng Bo was like a flawless jade statue. And those blue eyes.
Ben Zi felt immediately inferior in comparison. \”Wow life is unfair. People this good looking exist.\”
\”Ben Zi, right? What a coincidence.\” Mao Lu said with a forced smile. \”It's been ages. What do you want?\”
\”Oh eerrrr.\” Ben Zi blushed a little as he looked at Mao Lu, \”I just wanted to say hi since I saw you. And… you never called me when I gave you my number.\”
Mao Lu felt a bit awkward when Ben Zi said that, \”Sorry about that. I just…well you were going on about supernatural stuff and I thought it was a bit weird...\”