73 Hugs

Arms wrapped all around him, caging Ming Cheng to a warm chest that he found that he couldn't escape from, forced, timed out breathing was the only method to cope in that one situation.

The ghost behind him counted out the numbers, urging Ming Cheng to do as she said, her words loud and ringing in his ears as she talked him through the process of calming down.

For a moment, for a single, tiny moment, Ming Cheng was no longer of this world: everything around him a black, hazy mess of nonsensical shapes and colours; loud crashing and banging sounds of limbs flailing about, metal slicing itself against metal, accompanied by mad, rabid screaming; and the thundering, pulsing of Ming Cheng's own heartbeat, rising out of the surface of madness and becoming everything he knew and could possibly focus on.

"Breathe with me, Ming Cheng! One! Two! Three! Four! Five!"

And just like that, the world was then clear.

Qi Tao held his arms around Ming Cheng's middle, burrowing his head into Ming Cheng's chest, as Wang Yuan gripped Ming Cheng's arms from behind, and Qi Qing had attached herself to his side.

It was a strange feeling to suddenly realise that he was the tallest individual person in this group hug.

Qi Tao, as Ming Cheng looked down on him, looked to only come up to somewhere around the middle of his head in height, Qi Qing arriving at Ming Cheng's shoulders, while Wang Yuan, the youngest and shortest, stopped only at Ming Cheng's chest.

Their hands were warm and heat radiated from their bodies as they engulfed him into one, gigantic embrace.

It was hard for Ming Cheng to supress the trembles of his body as they only clung tighter to him.

He felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, tiny pinpricks of feelings that he couldn't remember last feeling, the sensation acting as if it were a long lost friend that had not been seen a lifetime ago, a childhood essential and frequent companion that had abruptly left years upon years ago, and had not returned since.

"You're only a child, Ming Cheng" the ghost, from behind him, called out, her voice sounding and clogged, almost sounding guilty as she made that statement.

Still, a hug was no reason to begin bawling and bursting into tears. He wasn't Qi Tao.

If he was like any of the people here currently giving him this hug, then he would most certainly resemble Qi Qing the most.

She had already begun dislodging herself from the massive hug, and was awkwardly looking from side to side, noticing how her brother and Wang Yuan had essentially plastered themselves to Ming Cheng's front and back.

Her face almost immediately formed an almost picture perfect textbook scowl, as she reached out an arm to bat at Wang Yuan, pulling at his clothing in an effort to make him let go.

It was then that she looked up and saw Ming Cheng's presumably awkward expression.

A sinister and almost sadistic smile stretched across her face.

Enthusiastically - one would say too enthusiastically, in Ming Cheng's opinion - she threw herself back into the hug and encouraged Wang Yuan to do the same with a smile.

Which the boy then followed through.