Quite a bit of time passed since the dream confession. The Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner, and before Tao Hua knew it, they were only a few weeks away.
Despite his excitement, there was a problem still rearing its ugly head.
Tao Hua's dreams. It seemed as though they were worsening bit by bit. The scenes hadn't changed much, but they had become more and more gruesome with each sleep; distorted and just downright diabolical.
None of which Tao Hua had any experience handling. It was as if the dreams were engineered to twist, become more abstract, and targeted to Tao Hua entirely. It was exhausting, and he knew eventually he'd have to say something—no, he wanted to say something, and terribly so.
But there was an issue to this, and he couldn't quite understand why. Anytime Tao Hua tried to mention it, he froze. He was consumed with the irrationality that if he did mention something, Shan Si would be the one to pay the consequences of said admission.
Tao Hua didn't want that, and he rued the idea of bothering Shan Si or making his already gruelling life worse. He especially didn't want Shan Si to somehow feel responsible for the dreams, given they related to what he'd done in the past.
Shan Si was a difficult one to read, so Tao Hua could only surmise as much.
But! Tao Hua wasn't, therefore, desperate times called for desperate measures!
Shan Si knew that if Tao Hua couldn't figure out what was going on—supposedly—then Shan Si decided that in order to mitigate the dreams, he'd use a simple tactic that sent Tao Hua into a daze each time enacted.
He called it tactic number one.
It usually started with Shan Si calming Tao Hua down, talking to him about anything and everything possible. Given that the two spent most of their time together, it wasn't hard to find something to discuss.
When Shan was certain Tao Hua was calmer than before, he'd then take advantage of the situation—as always—and lowered him to the bed, pressing his lips against Tao Hua's forehead.
Each and every time Tao Hua would become flustered, and it seemed to make any dream feel irrelevant. All he could think of was Shan Si, and why he did what he did, the motives behind it.
It was even more difficult knowing his own feelings. So, instead of hyperventilating about the dreams, he was overcome with the truth in knowing that he didn't just want to be Shan Si's friend.
He wanted more than just forehead kisses, hugs, and dancing around his feelings. But, like he had his entire life, Tao Hua resorted to daydreaming away the desire, until it finally knocked him out.
The next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake by Shan Si, just as morning set both people aglow in a deep orange. But the moment he saw Shan Si's face, after his nightly thoughts, the quicker Tao Hua was to fling his quilt over his face, confusing Shan Si.
So, in order to get him out of bed, Shan Si ripped off the blanket and dragged him out, even if he had to wrap his hands around Tao Hua's ankles! There was too much to do!
Because of his worsening dreams, Tao Hua was originally exempt from morning chores, and instead, he'd join Shan Si around the palace. In the early morning, he'd study, and when he did, he'd pass Tao Hua a few books to read in the meantime.
However, there was no studying nor reading, but a pair of passionate people engaged in whatever topic under the sun. It was apparent to anyone around them that the two couldn't seem to be without the other, which was quite a shock to anyone who knew Shan Si.
It had made the rumours about Tao Hua being Shan Si's male-wife even more prominent, so much so that both Suo Han and Qian Jue struggled to deny it.
Leaving Suo Han nearly dizzy with what to do.
Once the study session was over, Shan Si would take Tao Hua out with him, just before lunch. This gave Tao Hua an inside look at what Shan Si's daily life was like outside of the chamber, and it was boring. Palace checks, servant checks, maintenance, and money.
A job he didn't yearn to take, but to say that Shan Si didn't look good when serious, well, then call Tao Hua a liar. This just made his feelings evermore complex.
After lunch, they'd be in the training grounds as per usual.
It was their daily routine until Shan Si noticed improvement in Tao Hua, and he couldn't help but think of his methods as successful. So, he reinstated Tao Hua to morning chores, even though Tao Hua clearly seemed dissatisfied with his decision.
But Shan Si's smile was enough to tell Tao Hua that he enjoyed every second of Tao Hua's sulky attitude, for whatever reason. Enough to try and crawl away each time Shan Si teased him.
And as always, he failed, completely and utterly succumbing to Shan Si's hugging. It was then he was slowly starting to understand the princesses in those fairytales and how easily it was for them to fall for Prince Charming.
In all truth, sitting like a doll in Shan Si's hands, Tao Hua found himself wanting more, and saddened that he couldn't. It was almost becoming too unbearable, and when unbearable, well, the mysterious pain started up always.
And then the days would rinse and repeat, with the dreams seemingly unchanging.
Therefore, in order to motivate Tao Hua, even by a little, Shan Si had to introduce a third condition, and what he liked to call: Tactic Number Two.
One he had been trying to avoid for weeks.
Tactic Number Two went like this: If Tao Hua wanted to join him for the Mid-Autumn Festival, then it was imperative he got his dreams under control.
The thing was, Tao Hua wanted to go to the capital with Shan Si so badly that he acted irrationally, pretending as though Shan Si's first method was finally doing the trick. Each night they occurred, Tao Hua would wake up, cover his mouth, and avoid alerting Shan Si.
Even if he wanted him in that moment and craved the forehead kisses, none of it was more important than Shan Si potentially leaving without him. He'd just have to be honest after their trip.
Clearly, a bad idea.
Then all of his stress finally toppled one early morning, just a few days prior to leaving.
Chapter end.