Light Years Away

Story of best friends, Kang Sola and Xue Guangxi, as they traverse their journey through adulthood, amidst conflicting choices and internal issues within themselves and from their past. Will they be able to resolve their personal struggles and find a common ground towards happiness? Will they have to compromise to achieve it? Will they end up together and overcome the threshold of their friendship into lovers or remain as platonic friends and each other's family? ---- She balled her fists, getting ready to punch the man in the face if the situation requires. They are, after all, alone in the room. Sometimes she forgets that Xue Guangxi was of the opposite gender – a man more than capable of beguiling innocent women when he sets his mind to the task. ‘Perhaps he had been gone for too long that I had forgotten how his charms work. That fact never left my head, but experiencing it firsthand… Well, Nah!!!’ She tried to shake whatever silliness her mind entertains despite her prudence. But what her neutral poker face could hide, her berserkly widened eyes could not conceal. Nevertheless, even if he noticed, the young man did not point it out. He was more concerned and occupied by other matters. Matters of far greater importance… …For example, her safety. She blinked several times, trying to disrupt the connection their locked gazes somehow managed to forge. She bowed her head, still blinking, and darted her lowered gaze to the floor. She straightened up her sitting position and swatted both of the man’s hands on her shoulders without force. But Xue Guangxi held her in place. “Look at me.” “What is it now, Guangxi?” She whispered. Her voice, thin and fragile and barely audible. Perhaps more from the earlier adrenaline pushed a blush on her face. Perhaps, it wasn’t the adrenaline to be blamed. She tried to swat his hands for the second time, but his grip only tightened, making his point more pronounced. Either he obeys or she does. Most of the time, Xue Guangxi always gave in to Kang Sola’s whims. Even when his temper wasn’t too great to be proud of, at the end of every argument, he lets the girl win. But in this instance, he wanted to be more assertive. “You always make me worry, Sola.” He breathed with all solemnity, like a prayer. The clasp of his hands on her shoulders tightened. She could feel it. She winced. Then, without further ceremony or introduction, he pressed her into a tight embrace, full of concern. Any person would be able to discern if a form of skinship was of sincere nature or not. Kang Sola could tell his was of genuine care and concern for her. “You are far more delicate than you think. God, Sola!” He cradled her head with his right hand placed just above her nape. Some of her balayage locks laced his manly fingers. ---- Other Info: Light story about friendship, family, love, and adulting. No offensive, dark themes (just the backstory, hehe), **Can be considered the second book after Milady's Fine Gentleman, but the story is stand-alone. Reference to the first novel is minimal if not only shown in the backstory. BUT THERE WILL BE SPOILER FOR MILADY'S FINE GENTLEMAN (It's inevitable, sorry)** "You are my sun, my moon, and all of my stars" -E.E. Cummings "Just like the moon, I go through phases." -Angie Weiland Crosby "Only in the darkness can you see the stars." -Martin Luther King Jr. ----- The author has a discord server and Instagram! Follow, connect, and share your thoughts. IG : author_midnight_bloom email : authormidnightbloom@gmail.com For kind appreciation efforts to the aspiring writer, please go to the following sites: https://www.patreon.com/midnight_bloom Ko-fi.com/midnight_bloom Disclaimer : Cover credits to Pinterest

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233 Chs

UNDER THE VAST SKY (4)

"Hey Sola, I have this crazy idea. Tell me what you think of it." Xue Guangxi's voice turned towards more animation and added a somewhat overly feigned touch of enthusiasm to it. "What if, you know, we just try to become a couple for real, get married then raise the twins like our own? Haha."

At the corner of his eyes, he saw her freeze.

"I agree?" She said each of the two words in great staccato and with such reluctance.

"You do?" He couldn't believe his ears. He was just trying his luck by passing it as a joke.

"Yeah. That the idea is crazy, but I think, the person behind it is crazier. Pft. Haha. Hahahahaha!!! If I don't know you yet, I'll think that you are hitting on me." She turned her upper body clockwise from the waist up and faced him and inched forward in a confrontation stance. "Are you? Because if you are, that's absurd."

She questioned him without giving him the right amount of pause to answer. Right then and there, she killed whatever hopes he had. "We're like the third pair of twins, aren't we? The first ones are your Jie-Jie and Ge-ge, the second ones are Xiao Lihua and Xiao Lingtian, and the third? Us. We even share the same birthdate, the fifth of March. If it is only coincidental, I wouldn't buy it."

She continued with her blabbering. "If you tell me that you have a thing for me, then that would be illegal. We're literally like siblings! We fight like one! We're better off as best friends, exactly how and what we are now – everything platonic and cleanly sorted out. Beyond that would be considered illogical."

Xue Guangxi felt like walking on thin ice. He secretly wished for the ground beneath him to swallow him whole right at that instant. "Haha!! Hitting on you, huh? I'm just spitting out nonsense! Ha. Ha. Ha." He felt his heart sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

"But it's not right. We're not biological siblings. We're not exactly twins. We're not even blood-related." Xue Guangxi's voice came out weak, without confidence. Now, he could hear his heart shatter into millions of pieces like glass that had been dropped from a building fifty meters high.

'Is he really pushing it?' The lady thought.

After the long explanation she had given, Xue Guangxi still tried to press further. 'Is he really hitting on me? Omo. It cannot be. Never.' She looked unperturbed on the exterior, but her heart raced as if her life depended on it. She could hear its every beat, and it was disturbing her peace of mind and solid resolve.

'No.'

She bit her lower lip.

"Didn't you say we're family? The only way we can remain as each other's family forever is by being best friends, and siblings. Nothing more." She beamed at him, then reached for another can of sparkly juice.

'How did the conversation end up that way?' She shook her head in bewilderment.

Meanwhile, Xue Guangxi fell silent, as he nursed his wounded heart, soul, and manly ego. 'Geez. I tried to make it pass as a joke, but it ended up more seriously as I hoped. And it hurt like hell, too. This is the last time.'

'The last damn time.' He laid his can on the ground right beside him.

'Stop, now, Sola. Stop rubbing salt to my wounds. Stop, just stop.' He begged in his mind. His jaw clenched, as were his balled fists. He was thankful for the darkness surrounding them. She would not be able to see his scrunched face.

"Of course. Of course!!! Geez!!! I'm just joking!!! Why are you so serious!!! Hahahaha!!!" He sprawled on his back, his limbs outstretched at the maximum circumference. He looked like a Vitruvian man on top view, with the clothes on, of course.

Then he added, "Does the sparky juice make you tipsy?"

"No."

For some reason, she felt embarrassed. 'It was just a joke! Hehehehehe. Silly me.'

'But why do I feel bad?' Disappointment flickered in her eyes for a tad second.

"Come here." Xue Guangxi urged her to lie down beside him. He tapped his outstretched arm for her to lie on as a make-shift pillow.

She obliged. That's the only thing she could do to console him. She felt like a villain who sent him into misery.

"Does this closeness between us bother you?" He whispered through her hair.

"No." She answered. "I'm comfortable with you." She slightly smiled and closed her eyes. 'I'm sorry, Guangxi.'

Indeed, she was comfortable with him. Too comfortable, in fact, that she succumbed into slumber in his arms.

'Oh, Sola. You're so elusive. You're here in my arms yet you're untouchable.' He wrapped both arms around the sleeping beauty.

Then, unbeknownst to the lady, he brushed his soft lips against the pale skin on her forehead. 'I'll be what you want me to be.'

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