"Luan Xin! I —"
"Stop!" Luan Xin raised a hand and waved in a dismissive manner. "You don’t have to say anything. I already know. You did some awkward sword dance to confess your feelings, that scholar was inexplicably impressed and the two of you left the matchmaker’s to confess your feelings to each other in some hidden bamboo grove before you returned home late at night."
Yu Huang Rong couldn’t help and gape at his friend. This … How come he already knew everything?! Didn’t this mean that the joke he had made yesterday about being able to notice if somebody came close had suddenly become serious?
He turned to look at the person that was sitting next to Luan Xin, peeling a tangerine. He didn’t need to ask twice what had happened. Obviously, She Ning or one of his people had followed them and reported everything that happened back to Luan Xin.
It seemed he’d have to be more careful in the future. After all, even though Luan Xin and he were on the same side, that didn’t mean that there weren’t other people around that might also be able to sneak up on him. He had been too complacent yesterday.
While Yu Huang Rong pondered his shortcomings, Luan Xin went on to complain. "It’s nice that you found your true love and all and were actually right with your crazy story about him liking you even though he’s afraid of you but I really don’t want you to rub it in my face. So there’s no need to tell me any details. The rundown Ah Ning gave me was enough. More than enough."
Luan Xin turned to the captain of the secret guards and gave a bright smile. "Ah Ning, just how long does it take to peel one tangerine? I’m starving here."
She Ning glanced at him but refused to answer or hurry up. It was as if he was silently protesting to his treatment.
Yu Huang Rong felt that he could understand him. This guy was the captain of the secret guards and obviously a rather good one if he was able to sneak up on him and even stay around for long enough to find out what happened in the grove. Why was that type of person subjected to this treatment? Well, anyway, that wasn’t his problem. He went over and plopped down next to Luan Xin. "That’s not it at all. I don’t know what I should do and I need your advice."
Luan Xin raised his brows and turned back to his friend, ignoring the person that had finally managed to completely peel the tangerine. "My advice? Again? Even after you managed to have the guy confess? Who would’ve thought! Well, then, in my endless graciousness I might be willing to lend you my ear for a few minutes and utter a wise word or two."
Yu Huang Rong’s lips twitched. This guy! Did he have to be so pretentious? "Yesterday, we promised each other —"
"Ah! Didn’t I say that I didn’t want any details?"
Yu Huang Rong clicked his tongue. "Could you at least let me finish the sentence? I was going to say that we promised each other to meet up today. But Zhang Shi Lan never contacted me. What do you think went wrong?"
Luan Xin raised his brows and turned to the captain of the secret guards.
She Ning handed over the tangerine before he took out another one from a bowl next to him and started peeling that one. "You didn’t."
Yu Huang Rong once again shuddered at the hoarse voice. It was probably a good thing that the secret guards never talked much. "What do you mean? I didn’t?"
She Ning glanced at him before he focused on the tangerine again. "You didn’t say today. You promised to meet up but you didn’t say anything about today. And the person you wanted to meet up with is Qian Mu Qing. Today, he was at the matchmaker’s event together with Ming Ru Shui. So even if he had wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to invite him to go out with you."
Luan Xin looked from one person to the other and raised his brows. "Wait. I thought your sweetheart was that Scholar Zhang. How come some Qian Mu Qing is related to that now?"
Yu Huang Rong sighed. Well, that explained a lot. At the very least, he didn’t have to be worried anymore. "Well, we figured it might be too obvious if we only went out together so we thought it might be better to invite that person along since he already knows."
"What? Another person knows? Honestly, who is that even? That guy’s best friend?"
Yu Huang Rong shook his head. "Some merchant. Nothing special. He somehow figured it out at the matchmaker’s the other day. Well, I guess there are people who are paying a lot more attention than your cousin."
Luan Xin harrumphed. "Don’t drag my cousin into this. This is about you, your sweetheart, and some other man. Aren’t you worried at all?" He spread his hands in confusion and a tangerine was put onto one of them. Luan Xin’s eyes widened and he looked at it before glancing at the captain of his secret guards. "How come you were this fast this time?"
She Ning didn’t answer and just picked up another one, continuing to peel.
Yu Huang Rong furrowed his brows. He really felt that he should say something to this but this person wasn’t just his best friend anymore. Questioning the Emperor on what he was doing probably wasn’t a good idea. "Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with his idea. How are we supposed to meet up otherwise?"
Luan Xin harrumphed again. "How? At night, by moonshine. Isn’t that how clandestine love affairs are supposed to be? Honestly, I have no idea why you think it’s a good idea to invite another person to your tryst."
"That …" Yu Huang Rong shook his head. Ah, whatever. There was no use arguing with this guy. "Well, anyway, I already know now. So I guess I should leave then."
Luan Xin scoffed. "You’re really just coming here to get some advice for your love life, aren’t you? Didn’t you miss your friend at all? We haven’t seen each other in so long and all you have in your head now is the beauty you fell for." Luan Xin turned to the captain of the secret guards and propped his elbows up on the table, putting his chin into his hands and slowly inching closer. "Say, Ah Ning, that Scholar Zhang … is he really as beautiful as Yu Huang Rong said?"
She Ning’s hands stopped and he honestly looked at the Emperor. "Not that much."
Luan Xin’s face lit up. "Isn’t that right? I’m definitely much better looking than him."
She Ning had already turned his attention back to the tangerine though.
Luan Xin sighed and turned back to his friend. "Anyway, don’t you feel even a little bad? How about drinking a bit with me?"
Yu Huang Rong couldn’t help but shake his head. "Drink with you?" Never mind that they had already drunk a cup when he came here the last time, he wouldn’t want to drink with Luan Xin anyway. "If I remember correctly, you always were a lightweight when it got to drinking. Don’t tell me you can hold your liquor better now." He snorted, obviously not taking it seriously. "Ah, don’t think too much Xiao Xin. I’m just a little preoccupied right now. After I’ve settled everything with Zhang Shi Lan, I’ll spend lots of time with you." He nodded at the two people at the desk and then hurried out of the study, leaving the palace again.
He could understand where Luan Xin was coming from but right now, he couldn’t think about anything else but Zhang Shi Lan. Ah, he should really make it up to his friend in the future but sometimes other things just had to have priority.
Back in the study She Ning paused with the tangerine in his hand and glanced up at the person next to him. "Makes me wonder how you fell in love with him."
Luan Xin absent-mindedly gazed at the door where Yu Huang Rong had just vanished and his lips curled into a smile. "I sometimes wonder too but I guess he was good-looking back then."
She Ning stared at him silently.
Luan Xin glanced over, his eyes forming small crescents. He reached over with one hand and pinched She Ning’s cheek. "You wouldn’t be jealous, would you? Don’t worry about it. That’s long past. It’s just that …" He sighed and shook his head, lowering his hand and leaning back. "I can’t help but feel a little envious. I never told him because I knew it was impossible. We were both men and I was the crown prince, destined to someday sit on the throne.
"Now, I actually have to find out that he was in love with another man all along. Well, I guess it doesn’t change anything. There are some things you can’t do as the Emperor. There are some other things you can’t do if you’re a General. That’s just how life is."
"There’s no need to get married. Whether there is a ceremony or not, the only thing that counts is that the heart is true and that you can stay together."
Luan Xin nodded. "I guess it’s good enough. Well, if I ever have to leave on some official business, let’s run away and get married in secret. How about it?"
She Ning scoffed and grabbed Luan Xin’s hand, putting the fruit into it. "Eat your tangerine." He let go of that hand and silently picked up another fruit, continuing to peel it for the emperor.
Luan Xian!!!, don't look so far, you have a better man beside you!, ..She Ning being a little stoic is ,?
Haha, I really love She Ning as well. A pity he has so few lines
@yansusustories You could change that with a click of your keyboard ?.
@SmAll_MuShroom I could ... maybe I will whenever I get around to volume 2
*_* oh, how... OH *_*
I love this to bits! You are giving me pointers for writing cutesy-stirring scenes like that for some unseen future, by the way! Don't worry -- I won't steal anything (I usually just try to analyse the general mood and what makes the scene so charming it fills me with flutter), but it's just so adorable and at the same time casual, I can't help but feel inspired!
The tangerines, the scoffing, the sweet little confession of old dreams in the end...
*chef's kiss*
Don't worry, I don't worry To be honest, I especially liked this chapter as well. They're just that kind of cute couple and this scene just shows the way their relationships work really well. I'm glad it could help you a bit!
@yansusustories Oooh, I wonder if the author's pleasure in writing a chapter shows when people read it. It sometimes happens to me that I love writing certain chapters (slice-of-life ones, mostly) and my RL friends say it definitely comes across during reading because it's so breezy to read. Then again, I feel like I get more comments on chapters I don't necessarily like to write so it's all weird to me about how that works...
(Do you have a particular chapter type you dislike writing? I feel like my worst ones is getting all the needed characters to converge somewhere for the plot quickly enough and, obviously, action when it's coupled with heavy plot reveals. That just... destroys me every time >_<).
Still -- adore chapters that the authors adore, too *_*.
@Queenfisher At least that's what people always say But honestly, I think it often has to do with the content of the chapter. Like, I think we often like to write what people would also like to read (like, I definitely love reading about adorable couples so writing them is just as fun) so they'll like it just as much as we do. On the other hand, what I don't always like writing are tragic chapters but they're super important content-wise and very emotional so the impact is still there and people might comment a lot.
*cough, cough* I hate writing s*x scenes I always take forever for those and even when I've done my best and think it came out decently, I still feel so fake since I personally don't get it
@yansusustories O_O
I hate writing s*x scenes, too, but my defense is that I haven't written many of them! I am kind of busy writing one right now, and I keep postponing it and postponing until I'll just have to do it because deadline! >_<
I wonder if most people feel fake writing them. I heard many BL authors say this exact thing.
Even apart from the Ace thing -- it's hard to understand the appeal when writing because you are literally squeezing the words out of your brain. No perception of flow or excitement that comes later only during reading. But when I write one -- I have no idea if it's even good or passable. Completely feel like I'm just shifting random sentences hoping they will stick... >_<.
@Queenfisher Well, I think being women (which most of us are, I think?) writing BL doesn't help much Truth be told, I had the very same problem back when I was writing het romances though It's one of these times were being ace really sucks because I already have trouble relating to sexual attraction. Like, with romantic attraction, I can at least infer some since there's still other types of love around so it doesn't feel as awkward but for sexual attraction or s*x scenes I just have no frame of reference at all further than 'I've read this in X novel and seen this in Y movie or read this article on website Z'.
On the bright side though: I do feel like doing more of it makes it slightly easier. It still feels awkward writing them now and I very often do some sort of fade to black or summarizing for those parts in standalone novels but I did manage to put some in the longer series and even in some short stories and nobody complained yet so trying must have worked
So, I'm sure you'll manage to do the scene! Just keep trying and slowly work through it and then it'll get finished some time down the road ~ And totally reward yourself after you're done. You deserve that! Those scenes are hella hard!
@yansusustories you wrote het romances? Are they online somewhere?
And thanks for the advice and support! The way you described the whole --
'I've read this in X novel and seen this in Y movie or read this article on website Z'.
-- is incredibly relatable! Not only for s*x scenes but for overdramatic romance as well!
@Queenfisher I did. But save for one that I'm currently translating, they're all in German only so I guess that won't help (Also, looking at them now, my writing back then was kind of embarrassing. Six years is a damn long time as an author and as a young-ish human being ... )
Oh, yes, romance My perception of romance has been shaped by Disney and Hollywood and cheesy romance novels But I guess that might be true for lots of people so it's probably alright that my novels don't treat it much differently So in short: We shouldn't worry about that
@yansusustories
/wonders if we'll ever see your het stories on SH or not ^^.
@Queenfisher If you do, it won't be on this account My gay romance and het romance will be separated very, very clearly. That's already decided on ~
@yansusustories interesting...
What if you are already publishing them here... we all just don't know that it's you... .
@Queenfisher I'll keep quiet on that. But if you do manage to find it one day, I might admit to it