Dyed in Your Color

Did You Do Something?

Opening and closing his mouth but unable to find words to say, Xian couldn’t help but consider the question seriously. What if Lance was following him? What did that mean? Should he be creeped out or suspicious? He should be, right? He should be… but…

Damn it, was he always this weak to beauty?! He couldn’t summon any bad feelings about the possibility at all! In fact, a part of him wanted that to be the truth!

And why was that?! Huh?! Why?!?!

Very much confused and overwhelmed, Xian swallowed. “Lan… Lance…?”

Seeing that Xian seemed to be in a difficult spot, Lance kept smiling, but he was done teasing. “I stay somewhere around there,” he said.

When the meaning of the words sank in, Xian felt his mind begin to clear, but that rebellious part of his heart still refused to settle down.

“Ah-ah, I see…” Xian replied weakly. “Was there a dorm around there? I didn’t know.”

Lance shook his head. “Not a dorm. That path leads to the legacy houses.”

“Oh…” Xian drew blank for a moment, then: “Oh! That’s right, I remember now.”

Being one of the oldest and most distinguished lineages in the nation, the Rivers family also had a legacy house in this university, as well as in a few other top universities that generations upon generations of elite children had attended.

Before Xian and Chase entered this university, Laurel had been staying in the Rivers legacy house. But since that was also where children from the branch families stayed, Xian had requested that he stay at an apartment outside of campus instead.

Even though Xian Moon did not have a drop of Rivers blood in him, he’d have been allowed to stay in the legacy house because of who his foster-father was.

But that didn’t mean that that fact would sit well with the members of the branch families. They’d have raised a fuss and made trouble for him at every opportunity, and Xian did not want to waste time dealing with any of that.

His foster-father understood and had agreed to his request, but his siblings had had no intention of letting him live on his own. Thus, the trio from Riverine Valley moved to this luxurious apartment that their family was paying for, and Xian never needed to set foot in the Rivers Legacy House at all.

“Wait,” Xian said, realizing something right after his previous exclamation. “If you’re staying in a legacy house… doesn’t that mean you come from a distinguished family?”

By way of answer, Lance said, “Our family hails from the White Mountains.”

Hearing that was explanation enough for Xian. But while he didn’t find this as big of a deal as others might have, it once again raised the question: how could the women within a ten-mile radius leave a catch like him alone?

Suspicious, Xian muttered, “Did you do something…?”

Not realizing that he was being suspected, Lance frowned and repeated, “Something?”

“Never mind,” Xian answered, smiling craftily as he shook his head.

'I’ll just ask Will tomorrow,' he thought. 'That bastard may be ignorant about many things, but when it comes to gossip, he’s strangely knowledgeable.'

Lance looked at Xian in curiosity for a moment but seemed to let it go right after. After nodding once, he stood up.

“I should head back.”

“Oh…” Xian said in obvious disappointment as he looked up at him. “Right. You probably still have class.” He scooted off of his bed, stood beside Lance, and held out his hand. “Here.”

Lance looked down and saw that Xian was trying to give him the money for the meal they had.

Xian saw Lance hesitate. He almost thought that Lance would refuse to take it altogether, but in the end, he did.

Smiling, Xian clapped him in the back and said, “Come. I’ll see you out.”

He went ahead and exited his room while Lance quietly followed. He had intended to see Lance all the way out of the building, but right as Xian was about to put on his shoes, Lance spoke.

“Here is fine.” Not looking at Xian, he silently put on his shoes. Xian observed him from the corner of his eye and noticed that he seemed to be dissatisfied about something. Before Xian could ask, Lance finished putting on his shoes and met his inquiring gaze. “Next time…” Lance began.

Xian raised his brows and looked expectantly at him.

“Next time, I’ll be the one to treat you.”

With that, Lance pulled open the door and left, leaving Xian flabbergasted in the best way possible.

“Yeah,” he said to empty air, looking wide-eyed at the door that had long since closed. “Yeah. Next time.”

As he forced his feet to move so he could return to his room, he thought, 'Why wait until tomorrow to bother Will? We have phones, don’t we?'

Xian was about to put that thought into action when he met his elder sister in the living room.

“Xian…” called Laurel hesitantly. “Are you free now to talk?”

Xian caught his elder sister’s hesitation and was instantly alert. “What’s the matter, Big Sis?”

The siblings sat opposite each other on the pair of teal couches with a glass coffee table in between.

Not wanting to beat around the bush, Laurel went straight to the point. “The thing is,” she began, “my club is having a problem with casting a role for our current project.”

Xian knew that his sister was a member of the film club, and he also knew something about how they usually operated. Which was why he couldn’t help but ask, “Why would you have a problem when you’re partners with the theater club? Did they back out or something?”

“Um… no, not quite,” Laurel answered. “All the other roles are either filled or up for auditions, but as for the main character… I’m afraid fewer than a handful are willing to play it, and none of them quite fit the image of that character. Even if we settle for one of them, the end result may not be satisfactory.”

Xian nodded along in understanding as he listened intently. At this point, he still hadn’t made a connection as to why his sister was talking to him about all this. Oblivious, he said, “For the theater folks to actually reject it, that character must be pretty challenging or something. Is it a psycho, by any chance?”

Laurel looked Xian straight in the eye and shook her head slowly. Very serious now and no longer hesitant, she explained, “Part of the story is set in ancient times, but the bulk of it takes place in the present. The main character is a ghost, and that ghost is… homosexual.”

“Oh?” Xian responded, looking blank. Then, a moment later, full understanding dawned. “Oh…”