Dyed in Your Color

Encounter at the Boundary

Too preoccupied with this thought, Xian stumbled. He nearly fell to the ground but managed to raise a hand and somehow catch himself on a tree trunk that just so happened to be behind him. Woken from his daze, he looked up, once again not recognizing where he was.

“I should first ask myself where on earth this is,” he mumbled.

And anyway, was the campus always this big?

He was about to straighten himself up and continue walking when he noticed some strange things about the “tree trunk” he was using as support.

First of all, while it did feel firm, it was not as hard nor as rough as you’d expect when touching a tree bark. There was a certain suppleness when he pressed down, and what’s more, if he really paid attention to the sensation, it would seem that… the tree was breathing?

'But trees DO breathe, right?' he thought desperately to himself even as he turned his head creakily to look behind him. 'We learned that in elemen…'

All thoughts froze in Xian’s head when his eyes saw his hand pressing NOT on the trunk of a tree but instead on the trunk of a man.

And not just any man, it seemed, but one so tall that Xian’s eyes only reached up to the man’s chin. Xian had to tilt his head back before his gaze could land on the man’s face.

Ever so subtly, Xian’s eyes widened at what he saw—because heavens, what a face it was!

It was long yet proportionately broad, with a high nose bridge and a narrow forehead. His rose-colored lips were full and well-defined, and his small, slanted eyes, though seemingly dull and lifeless at first, also appeared to be capable of great expression.

With his hair combed neatly back, the straight and clean lines of his face could clearly be seen. They evoked masculinity, and yet strangely, when all the elements were taken together, that face could only be described as “beautiful.”

“You…” Xian breathed out, unable to stop himself from staring at the man’s face even though he knew how rudely he was behaving. “I know you.”

The man’s eyelids lowered slightly. When he lifted them up again a moment later, he answered, “You should.”

Confused by the man’s answer, Xian frowned while blinking rapidly. The man blinked as well, only once and very slowly, and in his heretofore expressionless face, there now appeared a faint but unmistakable smile.

“We share four classes this semester,” the man continued, clarifying himself. “We shared almost all in the previous one.”

When he heard that, all Xian could feel was a deep embarrassment.

“Ah-ah, haha, that’s right—I knew that! You are… your name is… Lu… Li… La… Lan! I mean Lance!”

As if he was interacting with a child, Lance Hill nodded once in approval over Xian actually getting his name right.

Nearly dying from how ashamed he was feeling, Xian averted his eyes and laughed awkwardly once more. “A-ha… ha…”

But the real death blow was yet to arrive.

Because all this time, while they were talking, Xian had forgotten all about how his hand was still pressed against Lance’s chest.

And he probably would not have realized it at all if not for…

“Hand.”

From trying to avoid meeting his eyes, Xian was forced to look up once again. “Hm?”

In answer, Lance lowered his gaze so that it would land directly at the limb in question. Xian obediently followed where he was looking, then Lance repeated, “Hand.”

Finally realizing the full extent of his rudeness thus far, Xian formed an “O” with his mouth but did not make a single sound. He quickly retrieved and hid his hand away, then took two steps back, for good measure.

“I’m… Sorry, dude, I haven’t been myself since yesterday, I…” Xian retreated several steps more. Before long, it became quite clear that he’d given up on explaining and was just trying to make a run for it. “Sorry for bothering you, Lance! Thanks for catching me! Gotta go!”

But he had not even made it three yards when he heard Lance call, “Xian.”

Hearing him say his name was like a magic spell, forcing Xian to stop even though he had no idea why this should affect him so. Before this day, they’d never even spoken a word to each other.

Despite himself, he turned around. He was obviously full of reluctance, but he made himself look at Lance again and even presented a friendly expression. “Hm?”

Lance said, “Come back.”

Xian was instantly confused, momentarily forgetting about his embarrassment. “Um… huh?”

'What the hell does this guy want?' he thought. ‘"Come back"? "Come back"? Am I a boomerang?'

Seeing this, and perhaps even guessing what Xian might be thinking, Lance explained simply, “You’re going the wrong way.”

Xian felt his cheeks grow hot. “Oh. Well, couldn’t you have said that first?”

Unable to hide his disgruntlement, he walked back the way he’d come and soon reached Lance’s side once more.

Nodding sideways to indicate that Xian should follow, Lance turned around and started walking. As he did so, he answered, “You’re right.”

This easy capitulation surprised Xian, who unquestioningly followed Lance’s lead.

His first impression of his classmate—aside from how he found him beautiful despite them both being guys—was that he was cold and proud.

With Lance’s looks, the girls on campus shouldn’t have been able to leave him alone, so how come Xian had never heard a squeak from them about him before?

He guessed that the too-forbidding air around Lance was the culprit. The man obviously didn’t like to mingle with other people and left no opening for them to try to get close. If that were not the case, even Xian wouldn’t have been so unaware of his existence all this time.

And yet… for someone who gave the unmistakable impression that he was unfriendly, Lance had been quite accommodating of Xian’s rude behavior since earlier. Other guys would have instantly told him off the moment his hand landed on their chest, but for some reason, Lance stood there quietly and just took it.

Then he took the next insult, and the one after that.

Thinking about all this and knowing he really needed to apologize and say his thanks more sincerely, Xian took a side glance at the man walking by his side and made a snap decision.

It was just then that they reached the end of the path that led to a backstreet outside of campus. They both stopped.

Showing an open smile, Xian turned to face Lance.

“What are you doing after this?” he asked.

Lance looked at him in silence, seemingly surprised even though it didn’t really show on his face. Eventually, he answered, “Nothing.”

Xian brightened up. “Have you had lunch yet, then?”

Lance once again didn’t answer at once, as if carefully considering something. In the end, he shook his head.

Xian’s smile grew wider, to the point that it was blinding. “Me neither,” he said.

Reaching out, Xian wrapped his fingers around Lance’s wrist. He saw how Lance’s eyes widened minutely in shock. From staring at where they were once again connected, Lance then raised his eyes and met Xian’s.

Something within Xian’s chest tingled. With difficulty, he suppressed the strange feeling and displayed nothing but friendliness in his expression and demeanor as he said while tugging at him, “Come eat lunch with me, Lance. I’ll treat you!”