Work Text:
"A prize!" someone in the crowd yelled. Hua Cheng said nothing, and the person couldn't possibly see him with Xie Lian blocking the way, but even so Hua Cheng glancing in their direction was enough to turn their voice into a squeak as they valiantly continued: "Chengzhu! He hasn't made a bet yet!"
"That's true," Hua Cheng conceded, and that piercing gaze returned to Xie Lian. "Normally a forfeit would be named before any dice are rolled. Your prize we know - if you win, you get to take that one home, to do whatever you wish with. But what can gege offer if I win?"
What could he bet…?
Xie Lian couldn't really think of anything. Spiritual energy he didn't have enough of to spare any, years of his life he didn't know how many he ought to offer, and in terms of material wealth, he was well and truly broke… While ruminating on this problem he began chewing on his lip, absent-mindedly worrying it between his teeth in deep contemplation.
"How about a kiss, gege?" he heard, breaking him out of his thoughts. Startled, he looked back up at Hua Cheng, dark-eyed and unreadable.
"I really could bet such a thing…?"
"I am the master of this gambler's den. As long as I approve the stakes, anything can be bet."
"Oh, I see…" Hua Cheng really was a powerful man in this place. If he said it was okay, it was okay, even if everyone else thought it was completely unreasonable… And compared to the other things he had seen people bet, a kiss was extremely lenient, especially considering that what Xie Lian stood to gain was Lang Qianqiu's life. "I will bet that, then."
"Excellent," said Hua Cheng, ignoring both the few mutterings of discontent from the crowd and Lang Qianqiu's outraged shouting. "Allow me to show you how it's done, gege."
Hua Cheng placed his hands on top of Xie Lian and shook the cup together with him. Even though Xie Lian tried very hard to pay attention to how Hua Cheng moved the cup, hyper-aware of every shift of San Lang's palms, he didn't really understand what they were doing that was different from what he had been doing before. In the end, he just stopped at random and lifted the cup.
Two ones.
"Ah… I lost."
"I'm teaching you. This time was just a test run."
"So I don't have to…?"
Xie Lian felt a small pang of… relief. It was definitely relief! He should never have put such a thing up for winnings anyways, so he was certainly relieved he didn't have to pay the forfeit, even though…
"Try again," said Hua Cheng.
"Still a test?"
"Hmm," said Hua Cheng. "It can be. But if it is a test, and gege wins, then the win will not count either."
"That sounds fair," said Xie Lian. He definitely would not win this time either; with his luck, there was just no chance. He should take the opportunity to practice more, first, before playing for real.
Only, what if…
…what if he did win? Now that he had decided he certainly wouldn't? Wouldn't that be the unluckiest thing of all, since it was really completely impossible for him to win more than once, to waste his one win on a test round? So really, the way to defeat his bad luck ought to be to just…
Ah, it didn't matter either way; like he'd already learnt, it really was impossible to defeat this bad luck of his!
So, he might as well go all-in from the start!
"Let's not make it a test," he said. "If I lose I lose, if I win I win. That should really be all there is to it!"
"Very well, then."
Once again they shook the cup together, Hua Cheng guiding Xie Lian’s hands. When they stopped, Xie Lian waited hardly any time at all before lifting it away, revealing… a two and a three. Not a good roll - his stomach did a weird sort of flip inside him - but not impossible to do anything but lose either!
“I did better that time!” he exclaimed, not really sure why. Everyone could already see the result, and to take cheer from such a small improvement, wasn’t that a little-
“Gege did well,” said Hua Cheng warmly. “He is learning quickly. Let us see if I will roll higher.”
The crowd cheered as Hua Cheng shook the dice again, saying things like ‘of course Chengzu will roll higher!’ and ‘How could Chengzu lose to such a low roll?’. Not particularly courteous of them… but indeed, when Hua Cheng revealed the result of his roll, it was once again higher than Xie Lian’s. The cheers grew louder. At another sharp look from Hua Cheng, they quieted back down.
"So I lost again," Xie Lian said. His heart beat a little faster. Not in fear, because as much as everyone seemed to think he should be, he wasn't afraid of San Lang, but… maybe he was a little nervous. Wasn't that only natural?
"You did," Hua Cheng replied, showing no hints of sharing Xie Lian's feelings. He remained unflappably confident, completely unaffected, except for how his voice fell lower when he continued: "Is gege ready to pay up?"
For many centuries, Xie Lian had lived almost entirely without shame. Nothing was beneath his dignity anymore. Why worry about losing face when you had no face to lose? There was no end to the shameless and humiliating things he had done to get by, and he really didn’t mind it - people would think whatever they wanted anyhow, so there was no point to concerning himself with trying to salvage an already ruined reputation! In the end, none of it mattered at all.
Years and years of learning not to care about others’ opinions of him, all turned to nothing as he stood there faced with the task of kissing Hua Cheng and realising he had no idea how to. Such a silly thing to worry about, and yet…!
Hua Cheng, of course, noticed his reluctance to act. "If gege does not have the means to pay right now, it could wait. We could consider it a debt between us, to be paid at a later date."
Xie Lian’s heart jolted. Being indebted to Hua Cheng, to San Lang, would of course not be such a terrible thing, but… "That would be silly, wouldn't it? To keep a debt that could be paid immediately?"
"As you say," murmured Hua Cheng, and without further ado, leaned in to press a kiss to Xie Lian's lips.
It was hardly even a kiss at all; a dry brush of lips, chaste and quick, like a fallen leaf bumping against you on its journey to the ground, and then it was over, Hua Cheng moving back once more, leaving Xie Lian feeling strangely… lonely.
The whole thing went by so quickly that he couldn't help but question, "That's it…?"
Hua Cheng raised a single eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up into a smile. "Was gege expecting more?"
Scattered laughter from the other side of the curtain provided an unwelcome reminder that they were not alone. Shi Qingxuan and Lang Qingqiu were right there too…
Oh. Right. Lang Qingqiu.
"Since I lost…" Xie Lian began, turning to glance up at the ceiling, where Lang Qingqiu was still furiously glaring down at them both. Hua Cheng took his meaning.
"There is always the option of making another wager."
"That's alright?"
"That's alright."
Pushing down the strange flutter of nerves, Xie Lian confidently stated, "I would like to bet again."
"Very well," said Hua Cheng, ignoring the slight murmur of discontent from the crowd at Xie Lian being allowed a second - third! - chance before some even got their first. "What will gege bet this time?"
Xie Lian faltered. "I can't bet the same thing?"
"Not this time."
Xie Lian considered this. He couldn’t bet the same thing again, but Hua Cheng was the one who had said he could bet again, so there was clearly something he would accept - San Lang wouldn’t ask him to bet if no wager would be taken. But the person who had to accept the terms of the wager was San Lang himself, so… "You said earlier that any bet would do so long as you approved it."
"Mm, I suppose I did say that."
Despite agreeing he'd said it, he made no mention of changing his mind and letting Xie Lian keep the bet the same… Had his approval changed so abruptly? Even though it was Hua Cheng who ended the kiss first, had he been disappointed…?
"Gege couldn't possibly keep the bet the same," Hua Cheng said, finally taking pity on him. "After all, you can only give someone your first kiss once, right?"
"Oh.” It… had been his first kiss, obviously. Who else would he have kissed? But to think that San Lang knew - could tell? - ah, it was a little embarrassing. “Right. That's true…"
"If gege wants to bet a kiss again, it'll have to be a little bit different."
"Different how?"
"Oh, I'm sure we can think of something," he said, immediately met by that same tittering from the crowd. "There are other places to kiss than the lips. You could let me kiss you here" - he put the tip of his finger squarely on Xie Lian's forehead - "or here" - his cheek - "or even here…" his neck, just between the collar and his jaw.
"Would-" he began, throat so dry he had to stop to swallow part way through the sentence, "Would any of those do?"
Hua Cheng hummed consideringly. "If gege let me do all three," he finally concluded, "I would accept that bet."
Xie Lian agreed at once. Somewhere behind him there was a brief, muffled protest. He didn’t turn around to see if it was one of the ghosts or Lang Qianqiu this time. Once more, they each shook the cup of dice, and once more - well. Really, how could Xie Lian be expected to win after only three lessons? Isn’t it said that it takes ten thousand hours to master a skill? Xie Lian had only been practising for a few minutes!
Hua Cheng’s lips were gentle as ever as they touched Xie Lian’s forehead, then his cheek. Not titillating, but intimate in a way Xie Lian was certainly no longer accustomed to. He couldn’t even remember the last time anyone had touched him so tenderly. It made him feel-
He felt-
Hua Cheng moved on from his cheek, tipping Xie Lian’s chin up with his knuckles to bare Xie Lian’s throat. Briefly, Xie Lian panicked - the bandages covering his cursed shackle, were they in the way, would Hua Cheng see-? - but of course, there was no reason to worry. Hua Cheng didn’t even graze them as his mouth landed just below Xie Lian’s jaw, lingering much longer than he had at any other place. His lips parted, just a little, letting out a small gust of air, and Xie Lian’s lips parted in turn, breath hitching. Why was this so different from being kissed on the forehead, or even the cheek? Was it just the closeness that made it feel so strange, so new?
Xie Lian couldn’t stifle the small, discontent noise he made as Hua Cheng drew back. He felt cold where Hua Cheng had touched him, even though his whole body was heating up so much. Why was it always over so quickly? Why-?
Someone in the crowd behind him laughed. Xie Lian realised he was leaning forward, having followed Hua Cheng back, loath to let the kiss end so soon, and jerked back, blushing furiously.
“HAHAHA,” he said, too loudly. “HA- I, UH. I NEED TO-”
In his newfound embarrassment he’d moved too quickly, and, characteristically unfortunate, his foot caught on the hem of his robe and he went toppling backwards. Xie Lian resigned himself to a new bruise or twisted ankle - but Hua Cheng caught his arms before he’d hit the ground, pulling him upright and into his arms. Face pressed into Hua Cheng’s chest, Xie Lian couldn’t see or smell or think about anything, anyone, else. His interrupted exclamation was forgotten and put aside as he instead tried to stutter his way through expressing his gratitude and regaining his balance once more.
“Careful, gege,” Hua Cheng murmured, letting him go. “It wouldn’t do for you to get hurt before you’re done placing wagers.”
As if that had been a signal, the rest of them exploded into raucous ridicule. Some simply taunted Xie Lian, others shouted encouragement to Hua Cheng to ask for a proper wager next time, or to just throw Xie Lian out already. It was a bit like getting dunked under cold water - suddenly, Xie Lian felt really, ridiculously self-conscious. His shoulders stiffened along with his smile, face furiously heating.
Ha, but it really was silly of him, to react so strongly to so little! How embarrassing for San Lang it must be, to have his kindness met with Xie Lian’s, well…
“WHY STOP THERE, CHENGZU?!” came a shout, louder than the rest, “IF YOU WANT TO FUCK HIM, JUST FUCK HIM, WE’LL HOLD HIM DOWN FOR YOU-”
“Shut up,” Hua Cheng snapped. No trace of the warmth he’d spoken to Xie Lian with remained in his voice - there was only cold, dark, fury.
All noise from outside the curtain died away, too abruptly to be natural even when considering the fear and respect Hua Cheng commanded. Xie Lian couldn’t even hear breathing, or the sounds of the crowd shuffling around anymore. Frowning, he turned to look - but Hua Cheng grabbed his arm, stopping him mid-turn.
"They're alright, gege," Hua Cheng told him, releasing him as quickly as he’d caught him. "It's just a sound-canceling ward. Everyone's still there. Though if gege wants me to kill that one, I will gladly-"
“No, no!” Xie Lian hastened to say. “There’s no need, really no need!”
He didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed to know that Hua Cheng hadn’t just magicked everyone away somehow. Regardless, he did relax a little. "Can they still hear us?"
"When I want them to." Almost apologetically, Hua Cheng added, "I will have to want to, for some of it, or they'll wonder if we're even playing. If gege wants to tell me something private, it would be best to wait for a different setting."
"I see…"
They had a little bit of privacy, but they were not alone. Xie Lian did not have to hear the laughs or jeers anymore, and if he truly made a fool of himself while speaking, maybe San Lang would be kind enough to keep it between them. The curtains would obscure some of the view for anyone watching, but not so much that they'd get away with faking the paying of any future prize…
(‘If you want to fuck him, just fuck him already,’ Xie Lian very deliberately did not think, mind skidding over the words like they were made of ice)
…which, wouldn't that be dishonest, anyways? One really shouldn't bet something they absolutely could not stand to lose in the first place. It was much better to just do things properly from the start, and pay the forfeit when required to do so.
Xie Lian’s gut still churned with lingering embarrassment, but, ah, he’d never been the type of person to quit before continuing on was really truly impossible, and now that it was once again just him and Hua Cheng… It didn’t feel so impossible after all, to try just a few more times.
“Shall we play again, San Lang?”
This time, Hua Cheng hesitated.
"Is gege sure?" he said, uncharacteristically hesitant/vulnerable. "We really could just-"
"San Lang is teaching me how to win, isn't he?" Xie Lian interrupted, for reasons he wasn't going to examine unwilling to let Hua Cheng say anything like we could just say you won anyways or we can come to another agreement. There was no need for that sort of thing! They were doing fine! "I've been doing better and better, right? So we should keep going."
Shock flashed over Hua Cheng's face, quickly replaced by surprised delight and then smug satisfaction. Xie Lian stubbornly ignored the way that smug smile made him feel and pressed on.
"I want to bet again. Will Hua-chengzu accept the bet?"
"What is gege betting this time?"
"I'll bet... I'll..." Xie Lian cast his mind about. How could he improve on last rounds wager? His forehead, his cheek, his neck, and of course, Hua Cheng had already kissed him on the lips, that first time... "...two kisses?" he suggested weakly.
Hua Cheng was startled into a brief laugh. "But gege already let me kiss him three times last turn. Is this bet really an improvement?"
"On the lips," Xie Lian clarified, face burning. "Two kisses on the lips."
"I've already kissed gege on the lips, too," Hua Cheng pointed out, which, Xie Lian knew that! Xie Lian remembered that very distinctly! "What makes these kisses different?"
"San Lang..." Xie Lian pleaded, but Hua Cheng did not relent at his pitiful tone. "I..."
Hua Cheng was still smiling, cocky and confident, all earlier uncertainty lost in the face of Xie Lian's flustered demeanor. It was a close-mouthed smile, more of a smirk, and Xie Lian-
"-open!" he blurted, before his head caught up with his mouth. "O-open. Mouth. Um."
Hua Cheng's smile widened - so, noticeable only if one was looking very, very closely, did his eye.
"Two open mouthed kisses on the lips," he murmured, to Xie Lian's utter mortification. "A generous wager - I will take that bet."
They rolled. Xie Lian hardly let Hua Cheng guide him this time, just rattled the dice cup jerkily and let the dice spill out. Naturally, his roll was low.
"I've told you, gege," chastised Hua Cheng. "You must observe the proper technique."
His own roll was, just as naturally, far higher than Xie Lian's.
Time to pay up. Hua Cheng tapped him on the chin.
Xie Lian wet his lips and whispered, helplessly, "I don't know what to…"
"That's okay," Hua Cheng murmured, just an inch away from Xie Lian's lips. "I will teach you this, too."
Xie Lian closed his eyes and surrendered himself into San Lang's care.
As he always had, ever since they'd first met, San Lang took good care of him indeed. He was slow, careful, a gentle press of lips onto Xie Lian's own, teasing them further open. His teeth briefly closed around Xie Lian's bottom lip, more a playful nibble than a bite. Clumsily Xie Lian attempted to reciprocate, mimicking Hua Cheng's movement. It felt-
He wanted-
Before he'd been able to figure out what, exactly, it was that he wanted, the kiss was over, and Hua Cheng pulled back. This time Xie Lian was able to keep quiet - which mortifyingly enough only meant that he could hear, all too well, the quiet wet sound of their lips separating. At some point he'd closed his eyes - he wasn't sure when - and opening them now felt risky somehow, so he remained like that, waiting for Hua Cheng to return for his second kiss.
"Gege, won't you look at me?"
Xie Lian had opened his eyes before he'd even really heard what he'd been asked to do.
"Must I be the one to take my prize, every time?" This Hua Cheng said with a playful almost-pout. "Since I've won, shouldn't it be that gege gives me my prize, rather than me having to take it from him?"
It was very obviously mostly a joke. But, well, wasn't it also right? Hua Cheng had won. Embarrassing as it was, it would be better if Xie Lian just gracefully conceded, and...
Not giving himself time to overthink the matter further, Xie Lian leaned forward and gave Hua Cheng a peck on the lips. He'd intended for this kiss to be shorter, truly! But when he made to pull away, Hua Cheng moved back with him, deepening the kiss. Where the earlier kiss had been soft and exploratory, this kiss now was-
Hua Cheng was-
He must have been holding back earlier, Xie Lian noted in some distant part of his mind, to give Xie Lian time to get used to it.
He wasn't holding back now; he was kissing Xie Lian like he wanted to eat him alive after all, like he could climb inside of his body and stay there, like he had been waiting for this exact moment for centuries, not exploring but conquering. Almost desperate, but still - in the careful way he cupped the back of Xie Lian's head in his palms without getting his jewelry caught in his hair even a little bit, in the way he was breathing alongside Xie Lian even though both of them knew now that he didn't need to, in how he was clearly relishing every single moment - not just affectionate but reverent.
When he did, at last, pull back again, Xie Lian was left breathing in little pants. Had Hua Cheng not still held onto him he might've fallen over. He was suddenly so dizzy, like he'd been holding his breath through the entire kiss, and his whole body felt strange and too-hot - was he ill? Was he about to fall ill? Was he-
He glanced up, looked at Hua Cheng, and every single thought in his head fell away, because Hua Cheng was looking back. Hua Cheng was looking at him like... Like he...
The tenderness with which he regarded Xie Lian was unbearable. Xie Lian wanted little more than to grab him by the collar of his robes and hold him still right there, close as they could be, until it went away or turned into something easier to understand. Had anyone ever looked at him like this before?
Who are you? he wanted to say, and didn't. He wasn't going to push, he wouldn't.
If anyone had ever looked at him this way before, Xie Lian certainly hadn't responded to it the way he now responded to Hua Cheng. He wanted, selfishly but very dearly, to stay just like this...
"Again," Hua Cheng demanded.
"I don't know what to bet..."
"Let me kiss you again," said Hua Cheng apparently too impatient now to wait for Xie Lian to come up with anymore creative suggestions.
"Yes," Xie Lian breathed.
They rolled. Xie Lian lost. Hua Cheng kissed him.
"Again."
Another roll, another loss, another kiss.
"Again."
"People are waiting for you," Xie Lian said. He was hardly the only person who'd hoped to challenge the lord of the city in the Gambler's Den today.
"Let them wait," said Hua Cheng dismissively. "Who cares about that trash?"
"San Lang!" Xie Lian admonished. "That's very rude."
Hua Cheng scoffed, clearly not repentant in the least. Perhaps Xie Lian's admonishment would've been more effective if he'd been able to properly suppress his delight. Hua Cheng was rude, and brash, and irreverent, but he was all of those things in a way that made Xie Lian want to laugh. He was a breath of fresh air in an old, stuffy tomb.
"One more," he negotiated, with both Hua Cheng and himself. He couldn't actually stay here all day, after all...
"Well if it's just the one, we'll have to make that bet worth it, won't we?"
All the heat in his body concentrated in his face. "Did San Lang have something specific in mind?"
Hua Cheng nodded, and leaned in very, very close.
"If I win," he whispered in Xie Lian's ear, "Let me leave a mark."
A quiver ran through Xie Lian's body. "Where?" he replied, whispering as well, although he wasn't sure why.
Hua Cheng paused like he was thinking it over and then deliberately placed his index finger on the side of Xie Lian's neck, just under his jaw - the same place he had kissed before. It was high up. Xie Lian's regular robes wouldn't cover it. Ruoye might, but not if Xie Lian wanted it to also keep covering the shackle. If he agreed, and lost once more, then he'd be walking out of here with whatever mark Hua Cheng decided to leave on him visible for all to see, and he had no idea how he'd explain that to anyone.
"Will that be alright, gege?" murmured Hua Cheng.
Xie Lian held no doubt that if he said no, Hua Cheng would drop the matter at once and probably even suggest a different, easier to bear forfeit.
"Yes," he breathed.
Hua Cheng rolled. He held eye contact with Xie Lian through it, the air between them so charged Xie Lian felt as though he'd be struck by lightning if he leaned too far in the wrong direction. Languidly, Hua Cheng let the dice roll out of the cup.
"Two fives," he declared, not even looking. Xie Lian glanced at the dice and found that he'd been right.
A smile tugged at his lips. "San Lang, are you cheating?"
"Careful, gege. That's a dangerous accusation to make in here."
Xie Lian laughed. "Alright, alright, I don't actually believe San Lang would cheat like this. How did you know, though?"
"If you're good enough, you can sense what the result will be even before you lift the cup. Here, let me show you..."
Hua Cheng put his hands over Xie Lian's, and they shook the cup together in a rolling up-and-down motion. The entire time, he kept on looking into Xie Lian's eyes.
If this was the last roll, Xie Lian really ought to give it his all, so he paid careful attention to every minute shift of Hua Cheng's hands, every movement of his fingers, trying to feel when it would be alright to say that he was done. In his concentration, a slight furrow appeared between his eyes. He really couldn't feel a thing...
"San Lang, are you almost finished?" he asked. "Is it close?"
In lieu of answering, Hua Cheng dropped their linked hands and pulled Xie Lian in close. One hand went to Xie Lian's shoulder, the other to his chin, tilting his head out of the way, and he-
His lips touched Xie Lian's skin again, in that same spot as before. Xie Lian inhaled sharply, hands spasming. The cup fell to the floor, forgotten, as Hua Cheng worried at the skin with his teeth, not painful so much as intense.
"Ah-" said Xie Lian, unthinkingly, "H-aah, I-"
He slapped his now free hand over his mouth, the other one coming up to Hua Cheng's back, grabbing the back of his robes in an iron grip. Hua Cheng sucked and kissed and bit at his throat, all centered on that one spot, until Xie Lian's eyes were tearing up and he was rocking forward onto his tiptoes trying to get just a little, just a little bit closer. Then Hua Cheng finally released him, pressing one last kiss to the tender skin, and then one more to each of Xie Lian's cheeks, kissing his tears away.
Xie Lian really didn't think he'd be able to speak if he tried now. When Hua Cheng began moving away an embarrassingly needy whine emerged, and he squeezed his eyes shut not to have to see Hua Cheng's reaction to it. He still heard the surprised and delighted little laugh, and still felt the other kiss, pressed to the top of Xie Lian's head as Hua Cheng halted in his tracks and stayed in close proximity, passionate embrace turned gentle hug.
Get yourself together, Xie Lian thought to himself, trying to get his breathing back under control. Since when did he react like this to being bitten? He'd been bitten lots of times! Honestly, he-
"Well, would you look at that," said Hua Cheng, smirk audible in his voice even without looking at his face. "Looks like that one was gege's win."
Xie Lian blinked his eyes open in sheer confusion. "What?"
Hua Cheng gestured to the cup on the floor, dice having spilled out from it.
Xie Lian had rolled two sixes.
He stared, incomprehending.
"I... won?"
"Yes, gege," said Hua Cheng indulgently, amusement radiating off every word, "You did."
Xie Lian's eyes widened. His gaze darted to Hua Cheng's lips (still bright with moisture from the kissing), back down to the dice, and then up at Hua Cheng once more as his hand flew up to cover the mark (the MARK!?!?) Hua Cheng had certainly left on his neck. "But! Then- you-?!"
"This one may have been a bit too hasty in extracting his prize," said Hua Cheng, clearly entirely unrepentant. "My apologies, gege. I'm sure gege can think of some clever way for me to repay him."
Xie Lian unintentionally let out another high-pitched whine from the back of his throat.
He clearly wasn't sorry at all...!
Mind whirling, he kept quiet as Hua Cheng contentedly helped him straighten out his clothes - when had they gotten so wrinkled? Had they really been that handsy with each other?! - and lead him back out through the curtain. Immediately, Xie Lian was struck by the return of noise. Back there, he'd almost forgotten that it wasn't that they were alone, but that Hua Cheng had created some sort of barrier to keep the noise out. Now, he was harsly reminded that everything outside of their little world had in fact continued to exist, looking in dismay at Lang Qianqiu who in his absence had been taken down from the ceiling and gagged. Despite this attempt to shut him up, it was clear that he continued shouting.
The moment Hua Cheng and Xie Lian emerged, most of the room turned their attention to the two of them instead of to Lang Qianqiu, or the other gambling still taking place.
Hua Cheng had lead Xie Lian back into the room by the hand. It looked, Xie Lian couldn't help but note, a little bit like Hua Cheng was introducing him to the people of his city. This Gambler's Den, after all, might as well have been a throne room, and now Xie Lian was up on the dais with him, being led so gently by the hand...
He pushed the thought away. What a thing to think, haha! What a thing to get stuck on in the middle of a mission from the Heavenly Court!
Hua Cheng announced to the room that Xie Lian had won, silencing any grumbling from the crowd with a stern glance, and soon enough they were raucously celebrating Xie Lian's success instead. Lang Qianqiu was let down from the ceiling (rather less courteously than how Xie Lian had been treated. The table nearly broke).
At the back of the crowd, Xie Lian spotted Shi Qingxuan, their eyes locked onto Xie Lian and Hua Cheng's linked hands. Xie Lian, feeling a bit contrary, squeezed Hua Cheng's hand harder.
"There!" Hua Cheng declared. "Gege has won, and been given his prize. Although what he wants with trash like that is beyond me..."
"Well, I am a scrap collector, San Lang," Xie Lian retorted, instead of the far more reasonable options of "don't say that..." or even "one man's trash is another man's treasure!"
Lang Qianqiu made another outraged noise behind the gag. Hua Cheng looked torn between laughing and crying.
What did he say? the crowd surred. Who is he to call our lord so intimately? Wait, but chengzhu isn't telling him to stop, neither! Who is this guy?!
"Will you be able to find your way back to the gates on your own, gege? I can send someone with you if you need help transporting your price," said Hua Cheng, staunchly ignoring the crowd, ready to gesture someone forth to assist Xie Lian.
"No, no!" Xie Lian said hastily, envisioning how much worse Lang Qianqiu would take it if Xie Lian let one of Hua Cheng's underlings lug him around like a sack of rice. "That's alright. We, ah, I actually thought maybe I'll walk around for a bit? See more of the city?"
Hua Cheng nodded to indicate he accepted this, but there was a look in his eye that made Xie Lian think he knew there was more to Xie Lian's plans than that. Or, maybe, the glint of mischief was just because he'd seen an opportunity to fluster Xie Lian further: "Then perhaps, once he's finished his sightseeing... Gege might agree to join me for dinner?"
"Ah..." Xie Lian floundered. They hadn't accomplished their task yet, and he didn't know how long it'd take. Additionally, their task involved snooping around, trying to illicitly find things out about Hua Cheng specifically! Could it really be alright, to accept a dinner invitation under those circumstances?
...but Hua Cheng really had been very, um, kind, to so blatantly rig the game in Xie Lian's favour just now.
Besides - Xie Lian really, really wanted to.
Calamity or not, lord of the city or not, strange games with stranger prizes or just an ordinary dinner - Xie Lian just... really wanted to spend more time with San Lang.
"Of course," he replied. "I'd love to."
"Then I'll see you tonight, gege," Hua Cheng smiled. He familiarly tucked a strand of loose hair behind Xie Lian's ear - a sweetly intimate gesture that somehow had Xie Lian almost as affected as the other... things they had done.
Only when the whispers from the crowd picked back up in volume and excitement did Xie Lian realise that moving his hair like that had bared his neck to the whole room.
"Yes!" he said, barely keeping his wits about him. "I- see you then!"
With that, he turned on his heel, grabbed both of his companions and began marching towards the door.
“I had no idea you were so close with Crimson Rain Sought Flower!” Shi Qingxuan hissed, more excited than reproachful.
Xie Lian cast a glance back towards the dais where Hua Cheng still stood, gaze following Xie Lian’s path towards the door.
“I… suppose we are quite close,” he said, physical distance between them growing with each step. That part of his neck didn’t actually hurt, as such, but Xie Lian was acutely aware of it nonetheless, every unexpected gust of air or the slightest touch of his own hair sending shivers down his spine.
Gege might agree to join me for dinner?
I'm sure gege can think of a way for me to repay him.
A strange feeling was spreading like warm honey through his entire body. Dinner seemed so very far away, despite everything he needed to have figured out before then.
San Lang, he thought, San Lang, San Lang - you really didn't go easy on me at all, did you?
Frustrated, flustered, and hopelessly fond, Xie Lian left the Gambler's Den behind and set out to explore the rest of Hua Cheng's domain.