Wuxian, Cheng and Rong

Hua Cheng enters the apartment and is greeted by silence. Not the ringing, alarming silence of absence, but a kind of… tense silence. He feels it on his skin. Usually, there is always some kind of chaos in the apartment: be it Qi Rong’s screams over a lost game, He Xuan’s peaceful conversations with Bai, or his own caustic comments. Now, it’s as if the air has thickened, as if before a thunderstorm.

In the living room, he sees Bai and He Xuan. Bai is sitting on the sofa, hunched over a bowl of thin porridge. He Xuan is looking away, as if this is the most disgusting sight in the world. His face is pale, there are dark circles under his eyes. He looks exhausted.

“He needs to eat,” Bai says, looking up at Hua Cheng. There’s softness in his voice, but steel in his eyes. “But he doesn’t want to.”

Hua Cheng nods, sitting down next to He Xuan. He can feel the tremors coming from him.

“What happened?” Hua Cheng asks, taking his hand.

He Xuan turns away, avoiding his gaze.

“Everything is fine,” he answers quietly.

“Don’t lie to me,” Hua Cheng says, squeezing his hand. “I can see that you’re not feeling well.”

At this moment, Qi Rong bursts into the room. He looks disheveled and angry.

"He's just showing off!" Qi Rong shouts. "I fed him, but he still whines!"

Bai slowly turns to face Qi Rong, his face becoming expressionless.

“Qi Rong,” Bai says quietly. “Shut up.”

But Qi Rong doesn't listen.

• Why are you looking at him like that? - he shouts, turning to Bay. - By the way, I tried too! I didn't know he was such a softie!

Hua Cheng stands up, advancing towards Qi Rong.

“What did you do to him?” Hua Cheng growls.

“I didn’t do anything to him!” Qi Rong snaps back. “I just fed him!”

"You were shoving food at him like a turkey at Christmas," Bai says calmly. "Without giving him a break. Without asking how he was feeling. Did you ever consider that he had an eating disorder?"

Qi Rong remains silent, head down. He knows he screwed up. He always screws up when it comes to delicate things.