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idraax
Before Sun Xiang knew it, winter had melted away into spring. He had settled into somewhat of a routine, practicing with Excellent Era during the week and fighting Ye Xiu on the weekends. He always made dumplings too, every Friday. After four months, the grocery store cashier knew him by name.
"What are you making this time?" The cashier scanned in the usual order of dough sheets, vegetables, meat and shrimp flavored chips.
"Pork," Sun Xiang replied. He could feel his hat sliding off and grabbed it frantically to push it back up. The cashier put the groceries into a bag.
"231 yuan"
Sun Xiang nodded and paid. As he grabbed his groceries and headed out, he thought he saw the flash of a falling flower palm. He blinked rapidly. There were no signs of destruction in the area; he must have imagined it. While they were getting closer to the bleed with every month, there hadn't been any signs of it.
I'm here
, One Autumn Leaf reminded him as they made their way back to Excellent Era.
You seem to be the only one.
They stopped at a light. Sun Xiang's fingers tightened on the bag. The bleed had started off quite dramatically with The Midnight Phantom Cat appearing in the streets. It had eaten several people before the authorities had managed to trap it. But not before it-
Don't think about it,
Sun Xiang snapped, pushing open the club door. One Autumn Leaf's grief seared sharply through him and the door swung back and nearly hit his nose.
We'll protect him.
"Hey," someone said, "did you hear? Luo Ji thought he saw a giant bat in the sky?"
"
Really?
Man, he's been playing too much Glory."
“Yeah, he put it up on Weibo and it got like 500,000,000 retweets.”
Ye Xiu frowned as the group passed the reception desk. While it was true that the aforementioned Luo Ji
had
probably been playing too much Glory if he was starting to hallucinate… Ye Xiu frowned. He thought he had heard his own voice last night, an acknowledgment of a dungeon plan.
Yes, boss.
Ever since Sun Xiang had taken over One Autumn Leaf's account, life had been strange.
A thud made him look up and there was Sun Xiang placing another box of dumplings on the counter. Ye Xiu checked the computer. There were no customer requests; he was free for a game.
"3B"
"Thanks"
Sun Xiang stuck his hands in his pockets and ambled off towards section 3. His hat was slipping off again, a few strands of blond hair falling behind his ears. Not for the first time, Ye Xiu wondered if it was dyed.
"Ah, your friend's here again."
Chen Guo poked her head over the counter. Ye Xiu sighed as he saved his paperwork. Chen Guo picked up the box and he glared at her. She frowned but put the box down.
"You've been getting these for months and you won't even share with your boss?! I should lower your salary for this!"
Ye Xiu ignored her, grabbing the box and opening it. A delicious smell filled the air and Chen Guo pouted. Ye Xiu smiled at her before picking up a dumpling and popping it in his mouth.
"It's good."
Chen Guo scowled and smacked him on the shoulder.
“Fine, keep them to yourself. It’s good that you’re eating something other than fries anyway.”
Ye Xiu laughed a little. Sun Xiang had said the same thing when he had handed him the third container of dumplings. Chen Guo looked at him for a few moments longer before smiling.
“Have fun with your
friend
,” she said cheerfully as she walked away.
That was odd. He chewed on another dumpling while walking over to Section 3.
Meanwhile, across the country, Qiao Yifan and his friend Gao Yingjie were staring at a large horned wolf. It was blocking the entrance to the alley and coincidentally, their favorite hotpot place.
“Yingjie,” Qiao Yifan whispered, grabbing his arm, “
do you see it too?
”
Gao Yingjie nodded, taking a tiny step backward. The wolf in front of them growled and they froze. The wolf took a step forward and growled again. Qiao Yifan could see its teeth, sharp and somewhat pointy.
“I think,” he whispered as he looked around, “we’ve been playing too much Glory like that Luo Ji.”
There was no traffic on the street behind them. At this time of night, there should have been the occasional car passing by but Qiao Yifan didn’t think he had seen one for the past fifteen minutes. Next to him, Gao Yingjie was muttering under his breath. It was something about messing up their captain’s drink order.
Really, at a time like this?,
Qiao Yifan thought,
This is what he regrets?
There were only two ways out of the alley and the wolf was blocking one of them. They could try and walk back the way they came, but they probably wouldn’t get far. There was a stack of crates against the wall a few steps away. Qiao Yifan nudged his friend and pointed at the stack.
“Horned wolves can’t jump really high right?”
“I don’t think so,” Gao Yingjie replied. “I don’t remember them jumping in the game.”
Qiao Yifan nodded and scrutinized the stack. Would it support both their weight? There was only one way to find out.
He took a deep breath, tightened his grip on Gao Yingjie’s arm and charged forward. The wolf leaped. Qiao Yifan’s fingers grabbed the crate. Gao Yingjie yelped. Then, they were scrambling up onto the stack of crates and watching as the horned wolf sailed straight through the brick wall below then.
There was silence for a long time as both of them stared at the space the wolf had been.
"Yifan," Gao Yingjie said eventually, voice getting progressively louder with each word, "what
the fuck
was that?"
Qiao Yifan took a deep breath, then carefully checked the area around them. The alley
looked
like an ordinary alley, but he couldn't be sure.
"I think we've been eating too much Tanghulu," Qiao Yifan said as he helped Gao Yingjie climb down the stack of crates. Gao Yingjie nodded in agreement.
"Let's go back," he said. "I don't feel like hotpot anymore."
Carefully, they stepped backward while keeping their eyes on the empty space before them. Qiao Yifan was still clutching his friend’s arm and so could feel Gao Yingjie’s arm trembling beneath his fingers.
The walk back to the club was much faster than their casual stroll towards the hotpot place. Both of them were practically running, but there was no one around to give them strange looks. Then, Guo Yingjie’s phone rang with that cheerfully obnoxious ringtone that Qiao Yifan had set when they had first gotten their phones.
On cue, Qiao Yifan groaned and opened his mouth but before he could start his lecture on why Guo Yingjie should change his ringtone, Guo Yingjie spoke.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” Wang Jiexi asked.
“It’s the captain” Guo Yingjie whispered, pulling the phone away from his ear.
Qiao Yifan waved his hands.
“Don’t tell him,” he mouthed. Gao Yingjie scowled back with a look that said “are you mad? I don’t want us to become like Luo Ji.” Qiao Yifan was impressed.
“Yingjie,” Wang Jiexi said, sounding impatient.
“Still training,” Guo Yingjie replied.
“With Yifan.”
It wasn’t a question. Everyone in Tiny Herb knew that Qiao Yifan needed the help, but it seemed like only Guo Yingjie made somewhat of an effort to be that help.
“Yeah,” Guo Yingjie said. He felt a little guilty at the lie, but they were almost at the club and would be playing Glory anyway so it was okay.
Wang Jiexi sighed.
“Fine”
“See you later captain,” Guo Yingjie said before hanging up. He turned to Qiao Yifan. “Let’s go.”
"I spent
years
coming up with that," Sun Xiang said as One Autumn Leaf dodged one of Lord Grim's attacks.
Ye Xiu blinked.
"We've only been friends for four months."
There was a pause. Then, Sun Xiang's fingers slipped on the keyboard and One Autumn Leaf spasmed wildly. Though surprised, Ye Xiu quickly directed Lord Grim to attack. One Autumn Leaf rolled out of the way as Lord Grim swung his lance downwards.
“I’m focusing,” Sun Xiang mumbled. Ye Xiu ignored it. Sun Xiang had an interesting habit of talking to his account card as if he was holding a conversation. While he was used to it, it would certainly unnerve anyone else.
He directed Lord Grim into another attack and they continued their dance. Then, someone’s phone rang.
“Ah, sorry,” Sun Xiang said, taking out his phone. “It’s my dad. I need to take this.”
There was something shaky in his voice. Ye Xiu frowned a little but waved him off. It wasn't his business. What a good kid, always making time for his parents.
"Sorry," Sun Xiang mouthed before hurrying out.
What a good kid
, Ye Xiu thought. Unlike him, Sun Xiang kept in contact with his family.
Indeed,
a voice said in agreement. It was the same voice he’d heard last night.
I need more sleep.
The voice laughed and as Ye Xiu listened to it, he realized it was deeper than his own.
I’m not you, boss
, the voice said.
It’s nice to finally hear you properly.
It sounded a little like Su Muqiu, Ye Xiu realized and for a moment the grief welled up again.
He’d be proud of you, of us,
the voice said.
You sound like you know him.
He didn't know
why
he was talking to the voice, but it had sounded reverent when talking about Su Muqiu.
In a way,
the voice replied,
he made my umbrella.
Ye Xiu stilled, becoming aware of each breath he took. There were only two people who knew the creator of the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella. There was no way this voice could know who it was, unless….
Lord Grim
Hello, boss,
Lord Grim replied.
Ye Xiu looked up. There was still no sign of Sun Xiang, but that was to be expected. Sun Xiang had mentioned once that his dad worked overseas, so they must have a lot to catch up on. He checked the cafe system too, but none of the customers needed him.
How are you real?
He asked Lord Grim.
There was a distinct feeling of uncertainty and then a long pause before Lord Grim replied.
My brother said that Glory was bleeding over into your world.
Ye Xiu blinked, focusing on the most important part of that sentence.
Your brother?
Ye Xiu had the feeling he knew who it was, didn’t know if he wanted to actually know, but was going to find out anyway.
One Autumn Leaf,
Lord Grim confirmed.
Sun Xiang stepped out into the slightly chilly air and leaned against the cafe wall. He held his phone up in front of his face and smiled slightly.
“Hey, dad.”
His dad smiled at him through the screen. He was dressed for work, in his usual suit and what looked like one of the novelty bow ties Sun Xiang had gotten him for his birthday. It had little planets on it.
“Hey, firework.”
Sun Xiang groaned, thumping his head against the wall. According to his parents, he had been an absolute hellion as a child and his older cousins had nicknamed him firework. His father’s side of the family still used it even after all these years.
“Dad,” he groaned. “I told you to stop calling me that.”
His father laughed and Sun Xiang scowled.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
His dad frowned at him and held up a sandwich.
“I’m on my lunch break. Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”
Sun Xiang felt the tips of his ears burn and shifted against the wall.
“It’s not
that
late,” he said petulantly. It really wasn’t. There were still people on the streets and the McDonalds hadn’t closed yet.
His father gave him a look.
"It's 2 am there, Xavier."
Why did you call then?
Sun Xiang thought. He wasn't upset. He had missed talking to his father. Even before the bleed, he had always been terrible about talking to his family. He'd missed numerous family birthdays and other important life events.
"Go to sleep, Xavier," his father said.
He'd missed being called that - his parents always had the habit of calling him by the opposite name of what most people called him.
So that you don't forget,
his mother would tell him.
“I will in a bit. We don’t have training tomorrow since it’s a weekend. How’s work?”
As his father started to describe a story about one of his coworkers pranking another, Sun Xiang yawned. He listened intently, focused on trying to memorize his father’s voice. He’d have to set reminders in his calendar for regular calls. He wouldn’t let that distance grow again.
