7 1.7: Under the cherry blossom rain

"So it is your highness Xiang Wang! Please forgive me for my rudeness earlier for not being able to recognise you(formal)." Chu Ming Lan, who stood the nearest to Bai Yu and saw their interactions clearly, quickly gave a proper greeting to the two princes. With him as the first, other noble men and women also bowed respectfully.

Although the two princes before them didn't hold any power, they were still members of the imperial clan and were higher in status than anyone else present at the moment. They didn't dare to be careless when faced with the imperial family in case they were given the crime of being disrespectful towards the royalties.

Just having their titles stripped was the lowest possible outcome, what they feared was the implication of their family and losing their lives.

"You don't have to be so courteous. We are here to enjoy the outing so you may relieve yourselves from these unnecessary formalities. I have been recuperating in my fu and rarely came out so it's normal for you to not recognise me. It's not your fault." Bai Yu maintained a slight smile on his face throughout his short speech.

'He is really as kind and gentle as his appearance!'

This thought flashed through everyone's mind after hearing his words. People liked beautiful creatures so they had an even better impression of this sickly yet beautiful and kind seventh prince. Some of the young ladies at the side couldn't help but blush while glancing at him secretly through their hand fans.

The atmosphere around them became quite harmonious after that as some proposed to climb up the steps together with the two princes, to which no one rejected as their destination was the same and could also get to make acquaintance with the two princes.

Bai Yu also acted out his role as a sickly prince perfectly. He let Xiao Mo support him while climbing the stairs which made his tall and straight back look frail yet strong to the spectators. Every time he coughed, he would cover his mouth with his handkerchief then smile calmly as if nothing happened.

This sight of him gave others an even better image of a kind and gentle yet strong willed sickly beauty which made them feel sympathy and good will towards him.

Actually, Bai Yu was only trying to act like he was really suffering from a serious illness and not let others feel suspicious of his current condition. He just didn't want others to find out that he was actually healthy and energetic enough to even break a boulder into pieces with a punch. He just never thought that others would have a completely different thought about his 'perfect' acting.

"It must be your highness' first time coming here? What does your highness think about this place?" A young man in a green robe asked from the side as his eyes shifted from the lightly swaying cherry blossom trees to Bai Yu.

Turning to the young man, Bai Yu calmly praised. "It's worthy of its fame as the best viewing spot. Just a single glance is able to relax one's mind."

The young man smiled at his praise and another man said from the side. "Your highness is right. But even this beautiful scenery cannot compare to your highness. I hadn't believed in the rumour about your highness' beauty but now that I have seen it for myself, just mere words aren't enough!"

Everyone nodded in agreement to his words. 'Indeed, incomparable!'

Bai Yu just smiled at his words and didn't say anything.

What 'beautiful than the scenery of flowers'?? Did he think he was a woman to praise him in such a way?

Inside, he couldn't help but complain. His appearance really wasn't so feminine enough to call him 'beautiful' instead of 'handsome'. He also had sharp facial features and his body was tall and had muscles but only looked slender on the surface. Where in the world did they see him as 'beautiful'?!

No man liked to be called beautiful. He didn't like it even more.

Long Ji Rui looked at his seventh brother worriedly. He knew a bit about his personality and also knew that he didn't like anyone commenting about his beauty in front of him. Plus, his beauty was something that went beyond the barrier of men and women which made others unable to differentiate his gender. Other than 'otherworldly beauty', there was no other word that could fully describe his appearance.

Everyone with their own thoughts continued climbing up the stairs and reached the top in no time.

What came in their sight was an even better view of the cherry blossom trees densely scattered around the place. A simple and elegant courtyard rested in the very centre which complimented the beautiful scenery surrounding it from all sides.

There were pavilions and stone tables for the visitors to rest and enjoy the sceneries.

The priests of the temple could be seen busying themselves with sweeping, praying and guiding the visitors inside the temple to light incense. It didn't feel crowded even with so many people wandering around while appreciating the scenery.

Today, the Fushen temple was only open for the few invited people so it wasn't as crowded as usual and only some beautifully dressed young girls and boys could be seen sitting on the pavilions and chatting with their companions.

There were some delicacies and freshly brewed teas and refreshments served on the stone tables for the nobles to enjoy.

It was an outing with no specific rules as one could do anything that didn't go against the necessary etiquette. After greeting the host of the event and toasting a drink, they could do anything they wanted after that which also let one relax themselves for once.

It was still early and only a few guests had arrived. Even the host himself wasn't here yet which was usually seen as being irresponsible but no one dared to complain about it.

Who told him to be a favoured imperial prince? Since it was just a small trifle, they could only turn a blind eye and pretend to not notice anything.

"It looks like we are here quite early. Since everyone's yet to come, why don't we make use of this time to go and light incense in the temple?" someone proposed.

The guests who had come before them also joined their group after exchanging a few pleasantries and readily agreed when someone proposed this. It will be quite some time till everyone arrived and they didn't have any other ideas in mind either.

Bai Yu and others walked inside the temple with the guidance of a priest. The simple pagoda in the middle of the courtyard was supported with four pillars. The stone paved path was swept clean with cherry blossom trees and fake mountains decorated at both sides.

They quickly entered the pagoda and a huge golden statue of Buddha towered at the front. Various fruits, incense burner and offerings were placed near the Buddha's feet. There were cushions laid on the floor for visitors to kneel down and worship. A relaxing scent of incense wafted in the air, making one let go of their tiredness.

Bai Yu and Long Ji Rui went forward to light the incense first as everyone tacitly agreed to this decision. Xiao Mo handed over an incense stick to him and lit it with a lighter. Taking the incense stick, he went forward and put it in the incense burner then stepped back.

Long Ji Rui also followed suit and put his incense stick in the burner then they knelt down on the cushions and kowtowed three times.

Xiao Mo quickly supported Bai Yu to stand up and stepped aside to let others take his spot.

To be honest, he didn't really believe in gods. If one could really fulfil one's wishes just by praying to an inanimate statue then why were there still hundreds and thousands of people starving to death every minute in many corners of the world?

It wasn't worth the effort and was a waste of time.

But today, he didn't shy away from lighting an incense for the same inanimate statue of a god because he really did need a mental support to help him continue on his search for that person.

Even if it wasn't possible for the gods to fulfil his wishes, he will still sincerely pray to no matter they be a god or a demon, it didn't matter. He just wanted to see him...anywhere is fine. As long as he is there, he will go to any corner of the world to find him.

Bai Yu lowered his head slowly.

But what he feared the most was him not being able to recognise that person and missing him without knowing.

'Will he still remember me?'

'Will I ever be able to find him...?'

"Qi Ge, let's go out to wander around. It's still quite early so we can go and enjoy the scenery in the mean time." Long Ji Rui's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Without thinking, he nodded. "En. Sounds good."

"It's really been so long since we last came out to have fun. After your illness worsened, we couldn't even spend time together as much as we used to." Strolling around the backside mountain, Long Ji Rui couldn't help but reminisce about their past.

Bai Yu didn't say anything and just stared ahead, mindlessly walking around.

Long Ji Rui didn't mind his lack of response as he was already used to it so he cheerfully spoke about many things and shared the latest gossips with him.

"You know, Qi Ge. When fu huang sent me to QingZhou province to investigate about a case of officials accepting bribes, we were intercepted by a group of bandits. We thought we were done for as we didn't have enough guards but who would've thought that a wandering martial artist would help us deal with them!

If not for him, we wouldn't have been able to safely finish our trip and complete our task. Unfortunately, the great master was wearing a black veiled bamboo hat and left right after he dealt with the bandits or else I would've asked for his name and did everything I could to repay him."

Bai Yu absentmindedly 'hmed' as a reply and only heard half of his words about being saved by a wandering martial artist but he didn't think much about it and just continued strolling under the cherry blossoms.

After walking deeper into the cherry blossom forest, Long Ji Rui suddenly stopped and hesitated before calling out to him. "Q-qi Ge...I suddenly have to deal with nature's call. Can you wait for me here?"

His face was a bit red from embarrassment as it was really an awkward timing.

Bai Yu paused on his steps, only then realising that he had been walking alone. Turning around, he nodded and said,"You can take your time. I will wander around for a bit then go back to the front. Others will have also arrived till then."

Long Ji Rui also thought it was reasonable so he quickly walked back to deal with his problem.

Bai Yu also continued walking absentmindedly as his mood was quite low right now. He had been trying not to think about that person and his forgotten past to focus on his mission but he couldn't stop himself from feeling anxious about it.

He really wanted to quickly find out about his true identity, get back his lost memories and settle down the curiosity inside his heart. He wanted to know what happened to him. He wanted to know who that person really is and where he is currently.

This feeling of yearning for yet not knowing exactly for what, made him feel very uncomfortable and lost. At first, he was fine and was able to encourage himself to keep searching but after one failure, two failures and more...he was close to breaking down.

He could hide his emotions deep inside and not let it affect his rationality but that didn't mean he was completely unaffected. He was like a headless chicken with no destination in sight as he blindly walked forward without any knowledge about what he really wanted to find.

Deep inside, he was really scared. He was scared that when he finally got there, that person would be long gone. He was scared that his endless search will come to an end with no result. He was scared...but he had decided to take this path so he will walk to the end. He will not regret his decision no matter what.

Standing under a slightly bigger cherry blossom tree, Bai Yu lifted his head up to gaze at the gently swaying branches as the petals rained down slowly. Reaching out his right hand, a single petal gently rested on his palm which was quickly blown away by the wind.

Like the petal swept away by the wind, his silent whisper was also blown away quietly.

"Just where might you be...? I miss you."

Suddenly, a cracking sound of a branch being stepped on came from the side. Startled, Bai Yu shifted his eyes towards the direction the sound came from and felt his heart leap in his chest.

Under a tree quite far from his place, a lone silhouette of a very handsome young man with cold and sharp features stood with both his hands held behind his back. He was dressed in a red and black robe with a chestplate and arm plates worn over it. His waist-length black hair was unadorned with any accessories and was freely flowing down his back with a few casually resting on his shoulder, giving him a languid and unrestrained feeling.

His sharp phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed and his thin red lips were pursed. There was no visible expression on his face other than calm even after getting caught like this by the person before him.

At the sight of this strange man, Bai Yu's stagnant eyes finally showed a ripple after so long which he himself was unaware of. His eyes stared directly at the others' seemingly calm ones as a strange feeling crept inside his heart. He couldn't tell what it was nor did he notice as it felt as if the time around the two of them had stopped with only the rustling of the surrounding trees and the wind present as the background music.

The two men stared at each other as their hearts seemed to have become one at the moment and beat together in their own unique rhythm. Just a glance was enough for their hearts to connect as one but both of them were only aware of the dazzling presence of each other.

Under the cherry blossom rain, the two met for the first time in so long. Both still ignorant of each other's identity. But the fate was really good at playing jokes with them as the future ahead of them were only filled with uncertainties.

When they looked back at this moment in the future, everything would've changed with only the place and the beautiful scenery still the same.

***

(It's quite long so I put it here instead of author notes)

A/N: Advance happy new year my little cuties~ and it's finally the day our two protagonists meet at last! Let us celebrate this new year with an interview with our two leads! ฅ(＾・ω・＾ฅ) *applause*

First question: It's new year now. What will you two wish for this new year?

Bai Yu: I wish to find my lost man quickly.

Qin Feng: But I'm right here-

Second question: I heard that you mistreat our Little Star and not give him food after extorting forced labour, is it true?

Bai Yu: Have you ever heard of a system eating food that he can't even touch?

Qin Feng: If Bai Yu wants it, he can mistreat anyone, even myself-

Last question: What would you like to say to your dear readers for this new year?

Bai Yu: I would like to thank them for their support and wish them a happy new year! I hope they will reunite with their beloveds soon.

Qin Feng: But Ah Yu, what about me? I'm right next to you yet you ignore me. QAQ

Bai Yu: *smiles and ignores him*

So that concludes the short interview! Look forward to further updates~ Happy new year everyone~ฅ(＾・ω・＾ฅ)