Draw Me Like One of Your French Fries

A hospital bed. Wilted flowers. Carefully prepared food boxes but the food had rotted and spoiled.

A hand. A face. A knife.

A tree bark, pink petals falling down windswept hair. Words etched along with lines that seem to be infinite.

"You told me to forget you, but I won't. I will wait for you...."

"Mo Aini."

------------

Mo Aini woke up in cold sweat, panting on his bed.

[Are you alright, User Mo Aini?]

"I'm fine..." Mo Aini huffed and clutched his heaving chest.

(What was that dream?)

Gou Manchu's noisy alarm clock came in time to break him from these thoughts. The puppy-eyed jock yawned and stretched his arms. He greeted Mo Aini with lazy eyes. "Good morning, Mo-gongzi...."

"Morning." Mo Aini nodded, and started to prepare for school.

(It's probably nothing.)

When Mo Aini went to the classroom and sat on his desk, he stumbled a bit and banged his foot on a chair leg. "Ow!"

"Watch where you're going, wimp. Don't you know how to be careful?" Hu Chuntian raised an eyebrow at him, cinnamon stick on his mouth.

"Yeah...." Mo Aini weakly nodded and slumped on his chair, not caring about the stubbed toe anymore.

Hu Chuntian noticed that he was dreary than usual. "You stayed up late at night?"

"No. Woke up with a bad start." Mo Aini said.

Hu Chuntian bit his cinnamon stick thoughtfully and said nothing else. Mo Aini thought the delinquent didn't care and would just leave him be. But eventually, Hu Chuntian took another cinnamon stick from his pocket and handed it to him. "Here."

"What is this for, Da Ge?" Mo Aini hesitatingly took the cinnamon stick.

"When I'm in a bad mood, I just bite it." Hu Chuntian said.

So he wanted to help him lessen his morning moodiness? Mo Aini quietly nibbled on the stick. "Thank you."

The teacher finally came, and class has started. Mo Aini didn't feel like talking and Hu Chuntian did not bother his space. They were just two boys sitting in the back row, nibbling on cinnamon sticks. It's technically breaking the rules but the teachers never dare to question Hu Chuntian and never cared for a side character like Mo Aini.

"For this week, your next project is a nude painting. You can find many references online if you find it uncomfortable. But a real-life subject would be much better, I promise you. It doesn't have to be full nudity, I just want to be able to see how well you present human anatomy but also give it emotion. The theme would be 'Hidden Pain: The Things We Hide with Our Clothing'."

The class whispered in a buzz because this is their first time to make a nude portrait. Mo Aini was unperturbed, he did this in college before. Hu Chuntian knows he won't be able to do well so he won't bother trying.

Class was dismissed, and the two went directly to the cherry blossom tree. However, before they get there, Hu Chuntian stopped him.

"Where will you get your model?" Hu Chuntian asked.

"I'll search online." Mo Aini said. (Besides, this will be easy because this is the 2D world and they're in anime style.)

"Didn't you hear what the old hag said?" Hu Chuntian frowned. "A real-life model is much better."

"I don't think I would be able to find someone who will agree to be my reference. And I want to save money instead of paying one." Mo Aini shrugged. "You shouldn't worry about me, Da Ge. Worry about yourself. How will you be able to present a portrait with your.... uh..... beginner skills?"

"That's where I'm getting at." Hu Chuntian said. "I told you that if you make an artwork good enough for the teacher's standards, you will automatically go to Class A. This is our chance. You draw my portrait for me, then I'll provide the reference."

(Ah, so you just wanted to exploit me again.) Mo Aini sighed. "So Da Ge would pay for our model, huh? Ok, it's twice the work for me, but I think I could handle it. "

"I'm not paying for any model." Hu Chuntian frowned. "Why should I when the best model in the world is already here?"

"Where?" Mo Aini yawned and looked around the hallway, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes.

Hu Chuntian growled and grabbed his chin, squishing his face. "It's me, you idiot."

"W-What?" Mo Aini stammered. "Da Ge would let me.... draw him..... nude?"

(WHAAAAAATTTTT???? I WANT AN ACTUAL PROFESSIONAL MODEL, NOT YOU ARROGANT, NARCISSISTIC PRICK!)

"Won't a freak like you like that? It will be like that scene in Titanic." Hu Chuntian smirked. "We can do it at my house later this evening."

(I don't want to go to your rich ass house that will just make me die of envy! You just wanted to show off, don't you!?)

"I'm not sure about this, Da Ge. I don't want to.....I mean, I don't feel like I deserve this kind of reward!" Mo Aini tried to play his disgusting simp card as he can. "If I see your gorgeous body, I might not be able to help myself! I'm like a savage beast, I tell you! I bite really hard!"

Hu Chuntian grabbed his collar. "You try anything funny and I'll put you into a meat grinder and feed you to stray cats."

He said this in a really intimidating way that caused Mo Aini to swallow his spit. "I'm just joking, hehe....."

Mo Aini had no choice but to go to Hu Chuntian's house again.

---------------

"You better make sure this portrait will get me to Class A." Hu Chuntian opened the door of the big, familiar mansion. "Nobody had ever gotten inside my home, you should repay me for even stepping foot in here."

Mo Aini was greeted by many maids and butlers that reach to the end of the luxuriously designed hallway. The mansion seemed to be even bigger and grander than before. (Did Hu Chuntian's house get even fancier?)

Even so, he couldn't care any less and was more annoyed than amazed.

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?" Hu Chuntian's ego was hurt since he was expecting a bigger reaction.

"I'm just thinking about how there's too many people in your house. I can't have fun with you even if I want to....." Mo Aini made a greasy smile. " But if Da Ge likes exhibitionism too, then let's try it out---"

"Shut up, you freak!" Hu Chuntian grabbed his arm and drag him inside. "If you say another word, I'll cut your tongue off!"

"With your teeth? That's hot." Mo Aini sneered. (My face is thicker than the entire universe because of my experience, I could do this all night until you're forced to kick me out!)

Hu Chuntian didn't say anything and growled. Mo Aini is really bothered by that growl. Sure, he's named the Tiger Emperor, but does he really have to growl loudly like a wild animal?

Mo Aini noticed that they went past where the guest room should be. "Wait, shouldn't we be going to the guest room?"

"How did you know the guest room is there?"

"I just guessed..." Mo Aini was about to excuse himself, but figured it's better to raise this perverted freakiness a few notches more. "No, actually, I feel guilty for not saying it sooner. I've been here before."

"What?" Hu Chuntian stopped in his tracks, eyes widening.

"I've been.... following you home, Da Ge. I sometimes manage to get inside and...." Mo Aini internalized all the yandere stalkers he have watched, giving a creepy giggle. "I've watched you in your sleep."

Hu Chuntian looked horrified, face red, but gritted his teeth. "Liar! You can't possibly get past the security!"

"Oh, but I can do anything when it comes to you, Da Ge~" Mo Aini tilted his head to the side. "Are you scared?"

Hu Chuntian narrowed his eyes, and finally, let go of his hand. He whistled to one of the butlers to hand him his metal bat. "Fine, let's say you really have done that before. I don't care. I'm the Tiger Emperor, why should I be scared? You're just a wimp who's my one-way ticket to Class A, if you do something I don't like, I just bash your head with this!"

Mo Aini gulped. "O-Okay. I'll zip my mouth, Da Ge."

He did the mouth zipping and throwing the key motion with a queasy smile.

[Update to User Mo Aini's Bio.....

PERSONALITY: Irrelevant, scaredy-cat]

( Shut the fuck up! I may be shameless, but I do value my life! Hu Chuntian looks dead serious when holding that bat, anyone else would pee their pants!)

"Good. We'll be going to my room." Hu Chuntian walked upstairs with the metal bat still in his hand, and Mo Aini followed him.

The room was of course, what you would expect from a rich heir's room. Velvet sheets, king's size bed, curtains taller than you. What's out of place was a small tiger plushie resting at the pillows.

Mo Aini resisted the urge to snicker. (He still sleeps with his toys?)

Hu Chuntian noticed. "Why are you staring at Hu-Hu?"

"Hu-Hu? Da Ge names his toys?" Mo Aini said. (And it's fucking lazy too, naming a tiger Hu-Hu. It's like Americans naming their dog 'Doggy'.)

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I actually find it cute." Mo Aini sat on the side of the bed and picked up the plushie. "Hello, Hu-Hu. Let's draw your owner today!"

Hu Chuntian bit his lip because he doesn't know if this annoys him or he finds it endearing. This feeling is becoming more and more frequent the longer he gets to know this Mo Aini.

"Just start drawing, don't touch my stuff." Hu Chuntian picked up the canvas he asked the butler to buy earlier and tossed it to Mo Aini. "10 minutes would be enough, right? Here's the paint too---"

"Er... Da Ge, it's only possible to finish the sketch in that 10 minutes." Mo Aini said. (Not even 10 minutes, I need a whole hour to make sure it's good.) "I only need a pencil for now."

"Okay, just..... do whatever." Hu Chuntian grumbled while taking off his shirt. "I'm only posing for you in 10 minutes, and then you get out of my house."

Mo Aini sighed. This guy really knows nothing about the pain of being an artist. At least this makes his time spent with this annoying delinquent much shorter than he expected.

Hu Chuntian begins to take off his shirt. Mo Aini stared at those ripped muscles intently, both from jealousy and fascination. He really was a good subject reference. Seeing that this is the fictional world, he probably magically developed those muscles or got them from his constant fighting instead of going to the gym. But there's something that he paid more attention to than Hu Chuntian's sculpted abs....

Hu Chuntian has very large and deep scars, all over his perfect figure.

Hu Chuntian felt uneasy from the intensity of Mo Aini's gaze and said, "Don't get any wild thoughts, focus on observing them for drawing, not for your own satisfaction."

"Oh, I wasn't having wild thoughts. I'm just wondering how Da Ge got these scars."

"Probably from a fight."

"Probably?"

Hu Chuntian threw his shirt to the ground. "I woke up in a hospital bed with no memory of how I got it. Some four or five gangsters probably wanted revenge on me and jumped me. Anyway, it's nothing."

Mo Aini remembered the scattered images in his dream.

(A hospital bed. Wilted flowers. Carefully prepared food boxes but the food had rotted and spoiled.)

"If it was me, it's not nothing. " Mo Aini went over to examine the scars. "They look like they were made by a knife. Why didn't you fight back?"

(A hand. A face. A knife.)

"Like, I said. I don't know. It's been too long ago anyway so they all healed."

(A tree bark, pink petals falling down windswept hair. Words etched along with lines that seem to be infinite.)

Mo Aini frowned, reaching out to trace one of those scars. "So you're just going to forget about it?"

("You told me to forget you, but I won't. I will wait for you....")

Mo Aini felt his heart race as he run his fingers down the delicately healed scars. His throat became dry, as he felt like he was nearing a realization.

That's right.... His dream.... The person in that dream was---

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