Tao Hua took another moment of staring at the ceiling, contemplating his life, and he would do this until Shan Si barked another order.
Finally, he decided to sit up, glancing around the room he'd potentially see for the last time.
And it hit him when staring at each section. The darkened corners, the newly built walls, and the bed that stood too perfectly. From each perfectly draped curtain, the door with far too many patterns—at least it looked more unique without a handle.
He hated every part of it.
Yet, it was still familiar to him. Whether that was a good thing or not, Tao Hua didn't know, and he didn't want to either.
The poor princess was completely exhausted.
With a soft inhale, he breathed in the last bit of incense that assaulted his senses before pressing his hands to his legs, pushing himself off the ground. At this height, he could finally see the mess of robes and the books thrown around.
His bottom lip quivered, but he didn't give into it.
Not yet, at least.
Reorienting himself, he turned to the glowering man who now stood by the window, impatiently waiting for Tao Hua to pull his shit together. He stood behind the chair, with his hand pressed against it.
How kind of him not to bark any more orders, despite his eyes saying otherwise. So, Tao Hua sharply breathed once more, his black hair jittering to the rapid shake of his head—as if convulsing.
But this was just Tao Hua gripping at any bit of life. That breakdown, however, was better suited for a more intimate and less crucial time, and moved forward.
Tao Hua stopped before the chair and stared down at the seat, and then the hand that held it. What a familiar scene this was, one Tao Hua had only ever experienced once in his life.
That "once" was only this afternoon, back in The Bookstore.
"This again?" asked Shan Si, nudging the chair forward, looking like the worst prince to ever exist in any fairytale. "Get on—no, don't sit. Stand on it."
Even more irritating for Tao Hua—this wasn't at all the same thing as before.
Chairs weren't made for standing on, so Tao Hua's miscalculation was completely warranted and Shan Si's comment was wholly unnecessary. He knew this.
Plus, neither would have to go through this had Shan Si not kicked the door handle off. They'd be able to leave the estate like two normal fucking people.
Nothing this man did made any sense.
Of course, the chair. Tao Hua had to focus on the chair.
Reaching his hand over to the chair, Tao Hua gingerly pushed it against the back. Luckily, the chair was so stubbornly held in place that it hadn't rocked an inch. Which was reassuring, to say the least.
So, in the worst and most pitiful way, he tried to climb atop it.
It was met with a loud sigh of discontent. The type of sigh that makes a person break out into sweats when trying to please someone who couldn't be pleased.
"No…no—" Shan Si let the chair go, and for only a moment did it wobble. This was saved by the sudden grasp around Tao Hua's waist. With his back warmly pressed against Shan Si, Tao Hua's face nearly created a new shade of red.
"S-Sorry…" Tao Hua muttered, clamping onto the chest rail and giving it half as much effort as before. This was better than his previous effort, which was, at most, sitting a quarter.
"Say sorry all you want, it won't change the outcome if you can't keep up," said Shan Si, as if he hadn't JUST threatened him with death. A walking contradiction. "You need to learn to keep up."
Yet, as he said this, he kept his hand firmly placed, following Tao Hua's legs as Tao Hua fumbled onto that chair; yet, each time he nearly fell forward, the grip around him would tighten, and the issue wasn't trying to get atop that seat.
That was easy—children could do it, and Tao Hua wasn't a child.
He was a goddamn twenty-year-old!
What really got to him was how rapidly Tao Hua's thoughts were racing, and then how abruptly they would stop. Which he clocked as unfair—the entire thing was unfair.
His hands, nearly dripping with sweat, trailed over the glossy wood until it slipped and unbalanced Tao Hua in that hold. To his dismay, his knee rammed right into the seat, sending a shudder of instant pain through his leg.
Worst place to hit! -9218392138/10!
Letting out a weak cry, he stared down at it with sheer frustration. Without thinking, he muttered another "Sorry."
Tao Hua assumed this was the most pathetic he had looked all evening to this man. Trying to attempt a basic fucking thing wasn't anything compared to genuinely bleeding on the ground and breaking down.
Shan Si grabbed Tao Hua's hand and placed it back onto the chest rail of the chair, firmly locking it in place under his. Annoyed, he said, "Do you really need this much help when doing basic things?"
BUT THIS WAS NOT A BASIC THING. BEING KIDNAPPED AND FORCED TO CLIMB OUT OF A WINDOW WAS NOT A BASIC FUCKING THING.
Climbing onto chairs was, though. He had a point there.
Okay, calm breaths.
When Tao Hua looked at both their hands, he couldn't quite understand what it was he was feeling. But there was something, and he couldn't deny how intense that something was.
So, rather than address whatever that feeling was, or remotely try to study how defined a kidnapper's hands looked—all slender and shit—he whipped his head away in protest.
Tao Hua, in doing this, tripped even more than before, his actions and his breathing erratic. He could feel the tenseness of Shan Si, and with each fumble or dip forward, the muscles would stiffen, and his grasp would tighten.
"Work with me here!" said Shan Si, but Tao Hua seemed to be off in another world.
So, he removed his hand, and in one swift action, he wrapped both around Tao Hua's waist, hoisting him up and placing him upon the windowsill.
Tao Hua didn't have enough time to react; he subconsciously placed his hands on Shan Si's arms, as if trying to pry them off. It was like a kitten competing with a tiger. But as soon as he thought he had a bit of leverage, the arms retracted.
"Can you get down, or do you need help with that too?" asked Shan Si, taking a step back. "I guarantee it's not that far down."
But Tao Hua wasn't listening—not entirely, at least. His eyes were narrowed on the bricked walkway below, and he was a stricken mess of emotions. Emotions he didn't even have words for, or ever got to experience in his life.
In fact, most of his words were inaudible, and squeaked more than they sounded human.
H-How…can one person…that… His head dipped to the side just as his arms flopped. In all that was his dumbfounded demeanour, Tao Hua's lips thinly parted. All in a lift. One perso—
Before Tao Hua could finish his thoughts, a hand pressed against his back. He was about to turn and take a look, but was instead shoved off the edge.
In his panic, Tao Hua prepared his hands forward, but to his luck, he was caught! The labels of his robe stretched and nearly caught at his neck. When he looked back, he saw the stare of an unenthusiastic man staring straight at him.
Then, and ever-so-carefully, his feet gradually flattened onto the ground. Shan Si had lowered him enough not to snag any of his robe. With the tips of his fingers, he lightly pushed Tao Hua's upper back and sent him stumbling forward.
"Do me a favour, Tao Hua," started Shan Si. His statement wasn't posed as an option; rather, it sounded more like an order. "Listen to me from here on out."
What confused Tao Hua was that Shan Si just took a step back, not forward, remaining in his room. Furrowing his brows, he watched as Shan Si glanced sideways, holding up his hand.
"I don't know what death wish you have, but I don't want to be dragged into it. So, watch your step."
"…" Tao Hua looked down, like a child guilty of a crime. He stared down at his fluffed-up robe, and each spot that throbbed awkwardly.
Not with pain, luckily! With something worse and harder to define. Reaching his hand to each spot, and with a frown, he quietly replied, "Understood."
"Good."
Tao Hua roughly adjusted his sash while patting down his robe. But the more patting he did, the worse his robe got. He just couldn't quite focus on the attention it needed.
Why go through all this effort? he thought, his lips pursing as he grabbed the labels and jerked them close. I don't get him…it's not fair.
Just as Tao Hua's midnight crankiness was settling in, replacing what was left of his anxiety, he heard loud movement from inside his room.
Didn't he say not to make a so—
But his eyes widened the moment he heard a smash and then a flash. Darting his head around, the terrace overhead, pillars, and Tao Hua all glowed a bright orange.
This orange emanated from his room.
And ahead of that bright, heated light was Shan Si's silhouette. He still had his hand up this time; however, his index finger and thumb were now pressed together.
Tao Hua completely froze amid that radiating, unfathomable heat. He didn't know how to react, and his body refused to let him. His hands hovered slowly, trembling.
All that he owned—his entire life—was within those four walls. Though none of it was nearly as important as the book Shan Si held, it was still twenty years of Tao Hua's upbringing.
Without thinking, he rushed to the window, slapped his hand on the sill, and screamed, "What are you doing?!"
But Shan Si didn't answer, nor did he react to the sound of the estate waking up. He just remained in front of that ever-growing fire.
And from the wavering reflection in Tao Hua's eyes, he didn't see a man stepping away from the fire nor one sweltering against it.
He saw a man capable of commanding every wisp that fluttered from the burning wood.
Chapter end.