Part 1 of the  series

Summary:

Who knew that one chance encounter could change everything?

Sun Xiang pulls a klutz moment and runs into a rather handsome stranger, causing him to stumble and nearly fall to the floor—except the stranger catches him in his arms. The man is not the most handsome, that t.i.tle remains reserved for Zhou Zekai in all honesty, but he"s the type of person to become more desirable the more one stares at him. Sun Xiang is about to apologize, because he is the one at fault for running through the halls, when the stranger speaks and stuns him into silence.

"Are you falling for me?" The stranger smirks bewitchingly, amber eyes crinkling with mischievousness and alight with an indescribable brightness.

Sun Xiang blanks out.

Seeing Sun Xiang at a loss for words, the stranger"s smirk widens, if possible, and brings Sun Xiang closer so that he"s leaning against the stranger"s shoulder. The stranger uses one hand to brush aside a stray strand of dirty blond hair behind Sun Xiang"s left ear. "No, actually," the man"s voice softens then, the dulcet tone casting a spell on Sun Xiang, "I think I may have fallen for you."

Sun Xiang breaks out into a run, skidding around the corner. He cannot believe he is late, or well, nearly late. Just as he turns the corner, he finds himself colliding into something solid, make that a someone actually.

The sudden collision has him stumbling back, but Sun Xiang can"t really catch himself like this and braces himself for impact—except there is none. He"s caught in a warm embrace. Slowly, he opens his eyes and finds himself lost in a sea of amber obscured only by stray strands of black hair.

He can feel the strength in the sole arm catching his back, straining to do so yet actually succeeding, which stuns him because he knows he is not light and that the momentum of the collision should have sent him crashing to the floor. He blinks and focuses back on the situation at hand.

Sun Xiang opens his mouth to apologize, as it really is his fault for running through the halls so haphazardly, when the stranger speaks up.

A smooth, velvety voice wraps around him and steals his spirit away for a moment, though a distant corner of his mind does register what is being said.

"Are you falling for me?" The stranger smirks bewitchingly, amber eyes crinkling with mischievousness and alight with an indescribable brightness.

Sun Xiang blanks out.

Seeing Sun Xiang at a loss for words, the stranger"s smirk widens, if possible, and brings Sun Xiang closer so that he"s leaning against the stranger"s shoulder. The stranger uses one hand to brush aside a stray strand of dirty blond hair behind Sun Xiang"s left ear. "No, actually," the man"s voice softens then, the dulcet tone casting a spell on Sun Xiang, "I think I may have fallen for you."

For an awkward moment, silence reigns absolute. Sun Xiang can only blink owlishly, his clear blue eyes never straying from those amber ones above.

The dark-haired man laughs gently, the sound causing Sun Xiang"s ears to turn slightly red at the tips. "My apologies, my breath was just taken away by the most beautiful thing I"ve ever seen." A faint smile blossoms on the stranger"s pale face.

"Uh…umm…" The remark has Sun Xiang blushing heavily and stammering, as he has no idea what to do. This guy is flirting with him in such a bold yet suave manner; usually Sun Xiang is the one picking girls up! Take note, girls! He rarely ever goes for the same s.e.x, yet why is he reacting so strongly to this man?!

"Oh no, did your voice get spelled away?" The stranger adjusts his hold on Sun Xiang, settling the blond back on his feet but not unwrapping the arm around Sun Xiang"s waist.  "Well, I"ve heard true love"s kiss can break any curse."

"K-k-kiss…?" Sun Xiang repeats, stuttering at first.

The dark-haired man sees the blond"s deer in headlights look and wants to push this a little farther. "Ah, nevermind. It"s thoughtless of me to dare touch a lovely creature such as yourself. Heaven must have lost an angel."

"Ah—" Sun Xiang starts. Angel? Is this guy for real? Yet, his cheeks suffuse with color nonetheless.

"Ah, but I think I should get myself acquainted with the idea of h.e.l.l being my final destination. I don"t think the heavens will appreciate me stealing its finest angel, because now that I"ve met you, I"m not letting you go." The stranger brings his free hand up to tilt Sun Xiang"s chin up.

I"m taller than him, Sun Xiang absentmindedly notes, though his presence makes it seem otherwise. Sun Xiang is still slightly cradled in the stranger"s arm, which lowers him slightly toward the ground and allows the shorter brunet to tower over him a bit.

Then, as if struck by a lightning bolt, Sun Xiang wrenches himself out of the stranger"s grasp. "Look, I"m sorry about that, but thank you for catching me," Sun Xiang says rapidly, the words leaving his mouth just as he thinks them.

"No problem." He sweeps his gaze over Sun Xiang and remarks, "I swear I"ve seen your face before…"

"I, I am somewhat famous," Sun Xiang mumbles, casting his gaze to the ground to look away from those piercing amber eyes.

"Hmm…yes, I can see why, but no, I"m pretty sure you are the one who has been starring in my dreams recently. Is this meeting an encounter of fate?"

Sun Xiang stares blankly at him, silent again.

The brunet sees this and abandons this avenue for another, asking with a faint smile, "Then may I have a name? I can"t keep calling you Handsome in my head…unless you want me to?" That faint smile grows into a wide smirk, smugness practically dripping off of it.

"S-Sun Xiang, and yours?" Sun Xiang trips over his own name, his eyes locked onto those pale pink lips.

"Sun?" The foreign English word, slightly accented, catches Sun Xiang unaware—especially since it is a tone off from his own last name.

Those pale lips, which still held his gaze captivated, then parts. "Well in my opinion, you"re an even brighter existence."

Sun Xiang chokes at this. How…how is he supposed to respond?

"You looked like you were in a rush…a rush to meet me?"

The moment Sun Xiang registers this line, his mind is instantly torn between yes and no. What is going on?

"Ah, I guess this will remain unanswered?" The brunet shrugs and comments, "That"s alright; I like a little mystery. You can just call me yours then."

Sun Xiang freezes. This…this is too much. He"s flattered; honestly, he is, but…

"Anyway," the older man, for he does look older and more fatigued, shoves his right hand into his jeans" pocket as he says, "are you free later today? I know you"re in a rush, and I do hope to see you around here in the future, but that"s too far away. Even just seeing you in my dreams isn"t enough to satisfy me. So, tonight—at seven? I would love to spend some more time with you."

"I, I don"t even know your name," Sun Xiang blurts out, his face entirely red by this point. Mentally though, he"s screaming at himself. No!!! Sun Xiang, what are you doing? Reject his a.s.s! Why did I say that? Why would I care about his name?!

"That will be a game changer, wouldn"t it." He sighs, as if he can"t help this result. "Call me Xiu then—that"s what I hope you"ll be screaming one day." He laughs, ruffling his dark hair as he repeats his question. "So, are you free today?"

"Ah, er… Yes, but…" Sun Xiang replies automatically.

Xiu casually pulls a pen out of nowhere and grabs Sun Xiang"s hand.

The sudden warmth wrapping around his hand makes Sun Xiang"s knees weaken. The slight pressure of the pen against his skin does not help.

Xiu scrawls his number down and then pauses, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of Sun Xiang"s hand. "Huh, just like I thought." Xiu smirks. "These are the kind of hands I"ll let explore my body any day."

Sun Xiang stares at the wall in front of him, his jaw tensing.

"I"ll be waiting, Handsome." Tucking the pen back into his jacket, Xiu goes to walks past Sun Xiang.

"Wait!" Sun Xiang turns on the spot to face him. Xiu turns his head back and raises a brow. "You, you don"t have—"

"Your number?" That d.a.m.nable smirk reappears on Xiu"s face. He saunters over and whispers into Sun Xiang"s ears, "I"ll let the ball be in your court, sweetheart. Such cute reactions…" He trails off for a moment before continuing, "I"m afraid that once you"re mine, I"m never letting go. So take this time to decide if my forwardness and blatant interest has not scared you away; though, you don"t seem the type to be scared so easily."

Sun Xiang bites down on his lower lip, because he can hear the challenge in that last line loud and clear. Despite his better judgement, he already knows his answer.

"So, I"ll be waiting for your response, Xiang Xiang."

T-that—

Sun Xiang"s knees collapse on him. He luckily braces a hand against the wall beside him and slows his slide down to the floor, but that split second of distraction makes him miss the glint in the other man"s eyes. By the time he looks up, the brunet is already disappearing around the corner.

"What…did that just…gah," Sun Xiang can"t even put together a sentence with how rattled he is. That man dares to call me— Sun Xiang shoves the rest of the thought down into a box and throws it into the incinerator. He doesn"t want to think about it, not at all.

Something niggles in the back of Sun Xiang"s mind then, but he"s too dazed and fl.u.s.tered to figure out what it is. Taking a deep breath, he does his best to ignore how much heat his face is radiating and looks down at the number he"s been given. Correction, at the number and comment——

"…" At this point, Sun Xiang is absolutely done. This guy…

Is he playing a joke? Or is he actually… Does he actually mean what he says? All those lines, they"re like something straight from a drama or novel, but even worse.

"Why me," Sun Xiang asks himself. What is so special about him when compared to all the others the man probably knows? This place is the clubhouse of Excellent Era, which means the man must know all sorts of people—perhaps even Ye Qiu himself.

Yet despite his hesitance, a spark of hope flares within him. He makes himself as comfortable as he can be with his back against the wall and takes his phone out of his jacket. His fingers tremble slightly as he unlocks his phone and opens up his messaging app. Carefully, he inputs in the series of numbers——and freezes.

That guy"s name…Xiu what?

Sun Xiang bites down on his lip and reconsiders doing this. What if the man is…is…

Then, that piercing amber gaze and bewitching smirk flash through his mind"s eye, and he caves. What is life without a bit of risk-taking? He names the contact 「 」—f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, what do I name him that won"t get my a.s.s raked over the coals if one of the guys steals my phone?

It can"t be in Chinese, obviously, nor English since it"s so widely spoken. That meant…

, and saves the contact. He remembers some of what his mother used to teach him about her native language, mainly because it"s so often referred to as the language of love…which is G.o.dd.a.m.n useless if no one can understand it, Sun Xiang gripes as he creates a new conversation.

Sun Xiang stares at the phone screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. What does he write? He racks his brain but can"t really think of anything. At a loss, he types in a basic greeting and presses send.

『Hey, it"s Sun Xiang』  

He tilts his head back and looks up at the ceiling, suddenly wanting to throw himself out the window. I can"t believe I sent that. Why? I could have sent anything else, so why did I send such a simple, generic message?!? What if he suddenly changes his mind? What—

Ding

《  》

Happy April Fool"s Day!

Did you enjoy the cute little BL fanfiction I wrote for The King"s Avatar?

The actual links to the novel chapters are somewhere in the story above, so go back and open them up if you didn"t! ♥