Chapter 4
I see.
Their research took longer than assumed, at least by Lord No-Name's standards. In fact, it hadn't even started. It would have, had his time not been procrastinated carelessly.
But alas, Tao Hua was anything but aware. He spoke more than he had in, well, too long, pointing to various books and describing what he loved most about each. Lord No-Name patiently observed, occasionally interjecting with a comment or two, but mostly reminding Tao Hua of why the two were chatting in the first place. There would be an apology only for him to U-turn, discussing whatever subject Tao Hua's finger landed on next.
Thus, Lord No-Name had no other choice; he had to accept this hurdle, and why he lingered was open to speculation. It could have been for any reason, really. Pity, patience, or even genuine intrigue.
To his relief, the end would always come. The two finally turned and faced the empty bookstore, where the only inkling of life was through the snores of the shopkeeper. He had his cheek squashed against the desk, surrounded by a pool of his own saliva. That wasn't anything new, however. It was just another Tuesday in "The Bookstore" of Siyue Town.
Tao Hua's eyes fled the slumbering man and proceeded to the books shifting awkwardly in his hands, trying to balance them. It was like juggling, except with giant squares instead of tiny circles, all while Lord No-Name handled his with ease. In fact, he was just about to take a step forward when Tao Hua readily walked past him.
But not towards a table.
This was all by instinct, and that instinct disorientated his companion. He blinked a few times before taking one last glance at the table and accompanying Tao Hua instead. As soon as they arrived at the questionable location, his face writhed.
He watched as Tao Hua was bent forward, preparing to place his books down on another tall pile of books, but this would soon be cut short. Tao Hua paused, a heavy weight hanging on his shoulder. When he looked over it, he saw Lord No-Name's hand and a pair of brows pinched together.
"What is this?" he asked, his eyes darting from Tao Hua to the quilt. Tao Hua mimicked him, but in reverse.
And to think he was the village idiot. Silly Mysterious Man.
Tao Hua stammered in confused noises. His eyes darted from the man to the quilt, repeatedly, enough to nearly make him dizzy. It was a quilt! What else?
"A blanket?" he answered, wondering if it was the correct answer or not. Maybe it wasn't a blanket? The entire exchange was lost to him, and he had his social isolation to thank for it. Tao Hua was truly inept to the judgement of others, so much so that when presented with a potentially genuine situation, he didn't know how to decipher it.
But operation "don't let this rich guy leave" was already in motion.
"I see that." His eyes pointed down at the blanket once more. "But why here?"
"…to read? What else are you supposed to do on a blanket filled with books?"
The man removed his hand from Tao Hua's shoulders and straightened himself tall. But he didn't say anything, he just stared down at that dirty, torn-up quilt with a questionable expression bordering disbelief.
Now, in Tao Hua's defence, the dirt was merely dust. Though that left much to be desired for those with severe allergies.
Tao Hua's eyes traced the seams of each floorboard as he stood up, cracking a clumsy smile and holding the books close to his chest. "I think it's nice. It would be perfect for us to do our research…I think. I haven't really done resear—"
But he clamped his mouth shut.
Shit! The operation was already falling apart, and he hadn't properly started it yet. Tao Hua jerked his head in Lord No-Name's direction, but to his shock, he wasn't paying attention. He just stared down at the quilt with an apprehensive smile.
"Here?" he asked.
Tao Hua glanced from the quilt and then up to Lord No-Name—to do this, he had to crank his neck just to grab a glimpse of the man's quivering lip. That's when it hit Tao Hua.
Of course! He had to crank his neck up! Tao Hua's head whipped to the little corner. It was a perfect place for Tao Hua, but Tao Hua wasn't this man, and this man wasn't Tao Hua. He was nearly double the size of him with his build and height.
If he had a hand to spare, he would be slapping his forehead, but alas, he didn't; therefore, he could only slap it mentally.
The words lingered on his tongue a moment longer before he finally decided to say, "Maybe a table would be better."
"You don't say."
As soon as he ended his sentence, Lord No-Name's doubtful expression relaxed. He lifted his hand to his mouth, and during that time, the sound of chopsticks and the muffled clacking of distant steps were louder than ever before.
Unsure how to react, Tao Hua just watched as the man slowly came to a conclusion. His finger tapped against his lower lip until it curled back into that once knowing smile of his.
That fucking smile.
"Actually, I'll let you choose," he said while leaning towards Tao Hua. He shifted the books in his hand effortlessly. "If you want to stay, then we can stay."
The closer he got to Tao Hua, the less Tao Hua could speak. But his heart could! It wouldn't fucking shut up. In an attempt to gain even a bit of control over his emotions, he tightened his arms around the books. Each minuscule step away was another step closer to Lord No-Name.
He was persistent.
"How's that sound?" he asked. He reached his hand to Tao Hua's, forcing Tao Hua's breath to hitch; however, to his surprise, Lord No-Name picked up each book from his hands, one at a time.
And still, Tao Hua couldn't seem to find the right words. He wasn't taught how to handle these types of situations; the type that involved a weird foreign man who just so happened to love invading the personal space of someone he had just met. Despite this, Tao Hua still couldn't seem to push him away, and it had nothing to do with his clear inability. That was another topic entirely.
What prevented him from pushing Lord No-Name away was his failure to command his own arm; it just wouldn't listen.
Tao Hua deflected instead, avoiding the man's coy smile and redirecting his attention to the floor once again. With another step back, and in a voice so small it could compete with a mouse, he said, "Table is fine."
That did it.
The man moved past Tao Hua, causing him to tense. It was short-lived, however, as his brows knitted at the ruffling of his hair. When he looked up, he saw a hand gradually leave his, dragging along a few black strands on its way to the table.
"Good," said Lord No-Name.
A few slaps to the face and a shake of his head, and Tao Hua would be ready to move forward! At least he was at the moment his breath finally caught up with the inner turmoil. Before leaving the corner, he grabbed his "book" from the pile and promptly followed behind Lord No-name—not in front. This was intentional on Tao Hua's part.
Why? The look on his face was far too revealing. While he hugged the book in his hand, that once goofy grin of his returned. It was paired nicely with a light flush that extended to his ears.
Once the short trek ended, Lord No-Name pulled out a chair, but the way he handled it had Tao Hua perplexed. He just stood behind it, doing the opposite of what chairs were meant to be used for. To make matters more peculiar and to add to this ever-growing list of oddities, he had his eyes on Tao Hua the entire time; he didn't even sit in that chair.
No matter what conclusion Tao Hua arrived at, he couldn't quite understand it. So, he just shrugged it off instead. All foreign people had their customs; who was he to judge?
So! Tao Hua reached for his own chair, but just as he was about to do that, something gently landed on his arm. To no one's surprise, it was Lord No-Name's hand. Again.
This man really enjoyed placing his hands on him. But, this time, it was met with an expression that was more bewildered than before. Then it finally hit Tao Hua, like all other things on that fateful day.
Of course!x2
He flashed Lord No-Name an apologetic smile before he promptly took a seat in the other's chair. In the most awkward way possible, Tao Hua discreetly repositioned the hem of his robe as it tangled with his feet. This was partly due to jumping in the seat instead of acting like a normal person. In doing so, he placed the book on his desk and began fiddling with the sash of his robe.
This caught Lord No-Name's attention—the book, unfortunately.
"The book," he said, all while pulling out his own chair and actually sitting in it normally. "I've never seen it before."
"This one? I hope so." Tao Hua dropped his sash and pressed his hand against the title. "There's only one copy."
"I see. So, you wrote it?" asked Lord No-Name, his eyes cast strictly on Tao Hua's hand. "Hm. Makes sense. Most authors are a tad odd."
"No—I'm not that skilled." Tao Hua paused. Odd? Semantics; it was best to ignore. Instead, he offered him a weak smile, and in doing so, he slowly pushed the book aside and out of sight. "Um, what did you want to talk about?"
Lord No-Name followed the book until it was tucked away, hidden by Tao Hua's arm. His expression was unreadable; however, that was quick to change the moment he readjusted.
"We'll get to that. Oh, before we start—here." Holding up his hand, he dug through his sleeve, pulling out something. Tao Hua couldn't make it out, but when it fell into his hands, his brows furrowed.
"My…" He uncurled his hands and found a piece of fabric with a flower pressed into it. "How'd you get this?"
Lord No-Name's elbow propped onto the table and his fist against his chin. Amused, he answered, "You're pretty odd. That's how."
"I…what…huh?" Tao Hua couldn't quite comprehend how this all happened. He just stared at that little bookmark as if it were written exactly like a metaphor made for decoration and nothing more.
A finger reached over to the bookmark and flicked the red string. When Tao Hua glanced up, he found Lord No-Name smiling at him. "You really don't remember?"
No! He couldn't remember, not even if his life depended on it, and that answer was written all over his face. He was in such a fuss to make it to "The Bookstore" that everything before was nothing more than an obstacle to his resolution. And if there was one thing Tao Hua had learnt, those obstacles were far worse than the ones in the books—they were best left unread and tucked away on a shelf somewhere.
But that still left one intriguing revelation. Everything other than this man's appearance was forgotten to Tao Hua.
What a curious thing to be tangled in, but curiosity didn't stop the embarrassment from surfacing. To remedy this, Tao Hua looked away and answered, "I might have forgotten. I think…"
"'Land Lost in Time!'" Lord No-Name twirled his finger in the air whimsically. "What's that about?"
And back to Lord No-Name Tao Hua's hair nearly flung into his own face. It was safe to say Lord No-Name was becoming less and less of a suitable nickname.
Maybe Lord Asshat would have suited that grin more.
"Is that…" The embarrassment oozed, causing Tao Hua to melt into his own shoulders shamefully. Through this, his grip on the bookmark tightened, causing it to crumple with each lowering word, spiced with a quivering tone. "Did I really say that?"
"Yup. Word-for-word." Lord No-Name, twice removed from the Asshat family, was clearly having a great time, as opposed to his counterpart. In fact, it was much safer to say he was enjoying himself because of Tao Hua. "I'd reenact it for you, but I'm no poet."
How unpleasant! His inner thoughts were screaming in voices pitched higher than the lies he spewed. For all that Tao Hua had experienced in his life, this was where he'd collapse? Blasphemy.
Blasphemy against all that was his pre-established coping mechanism.
To his surprise, however, what Lord No-Name said next wasn't said in his typical jester's tone. This time, it was paired with a voice rather soft and pleasant to the ear.
"But it's yours, and I can tell you made it with heart," he said. The chair behind him creaked, and when Tao Hua glanced up at him, he observed as Lord No-Name sat back and erased all that was coy. "You shouldn't be giving it to just anyone. Protect it."
Despite claiming he wasn't a poet, Lord No-Name truly knew what to say; well, he knew what to say to someone like Tao Hua. He practically stared at him, drenched in awe, yet riled up all the same.
"It's fine…" Tao Hua said, his words laced with a bashful tone, hiding away his prodding elation. "There's many—well, I made a lot. I made these. Uh, there's a lot in general. Too many, maybe…"
Tao Hua hesitated before finishing his sentence. "It's okay if you keep it. I really don't mind."
"Hm. Trusting for a man who so readily hid behind a scroll."
Tao Hua immediately looked away, nearly receding behind his hand once more; had he not froze. Something brushed against his fingers, and when his curiosity led his eyes to the culprit, he found the man prying the bookmark from him.
Hypocrite! Maybe. He wasn't entirely sure if this served the very definition of "hypocrite". Perhaps "Oxymoron" was a better way of putting it.
And oh, how this poor fool struggled with oxymorons.
"If you're insisting, then who am I to say no?" said Lord No-Name. As if the bookmark had an invisible string attached, it pulled Tao Hua out of that hole designed by "Overthinking"—the world's worst architect.
Instead, it was replaced with an overwhelming sensation. The type of sensation that banged at one's chest, but could never be defined. It was best displayed, rather, through eyes that widened as round as the planets, reflecting the light of a man who didn't seem moved at all. He just tied that very bookmark to the pommel of his sword and returned to his regular position of "not giving a fuck".
But to Tao Hua? It was the first time anyone had ever actually kept one of his little "bookmarks".
Chapter end.
Art
Lord No-Name (who will get a name soon) . Sketch next to it since I'm not sure if I like my colouring.