DIFFERENT WORLD

Chapter 14: BREATHLESS

Audio titled: LOVER

Advice: Listen to the song at the end of the story.

Chapter
XIV
Breathless

***

In retrospect, which was all Zhang Qi Ling had nowadays, he realized that he had loved Wu Xie's soul from the moment he saw him. He had collected a million babies in his stint as a God of Death, but never had he wanted to touch one the way he had wanted to touch Wu Xie. He remembered the soft wisps of dark brown hair on his small head and the clear brown color of his eyes. He remembered the way his heart had skipped a beat when Wu Xie fought off his touch and the way his breath caught when Wu Xie watched him, a small, pink hand reaching out to him...

And Wu Xie had never stopped reaching out to him. Even when Zhang Qi Ling's touch hurt him, Wu Xie continued to try, over and over again, because for Wu Xie, it was simple. He wanted Zhang Qi Ling... to hold him, play with him, protect him, stay with him, and later, love him. He wanted Zhang Qi Ling and in his soul, Wu Xie didn't care about the obstacle. He didn't realize that it was impossible, only that it was right.

Zhang Qi Ling still didn't know what he should have done. No matter how many times he replayed their every interaction in his mind, he always made the same decisions. He wasn't human. He couldn't be with Wu Xie. It didn't matter if they were connected... because they couldn't be together.

And there he went lying to himself again. He could have tried and there was one instance he would have done different, given the chance. After Wu Xie pressed him up against the window and kissed him, as Wu Xie was pulling away, there was a moment, however brief, that Zhang Qi Ling should have spun Wu Xie around, cupped his face in his hands, and kissed him until Wu Xie's breathlessness was the furthest thing from either of their minds.

But, hindsight sucked like that, and he couldn't change anything.

In the year since, Zhang Qi Ling had turned himself into the first 'god of stalker', and in the process, he realized that although he knew Wu Xie's soul, he had no idea of the personality that came with it. He knew the baby Wu Xie, with his chubby cheeks and contagious giggle. He knew Wu Xie as a young child, ready with a huge smile as he tackled anything in his path. But after that, he didn't know who Wu Xie had become since his father died. He got a brief glimpse when Wu Xie was sixteen, but nothing could have prepared him for the man Wu Xie had become.

Like the sun in the center of the universe, Wu Xie surrounded himself with a group of friends that were eclectic at best, mindboggling at worst. There was no reason that his loud-mouth best friend should be anywhere near the prissy, pony tailed princess. His well-behaved roommate looked like he would prefer to be alone over socializing with Wu Xie's other friends. But, all Wu Xie had to do was chuckle and rub the back of his head before saying with mock exasperation, "Come on, you guys," and they would all willing follow Wu Xie into hell.

Zhang Qi Ling knew that Wu Xie's friends stayed close to him because the man was lively, kindhearted, and loyal friend. Nearly to a fault. If he found a person worthy, Wu Xie would move mountains to make sure that person became his friend.

Zhang Qi Ling had seen this when Wu Xie met his new roommate. The eye glassed young man Huo Dao Fu, was a withdrawn young man. When he deigned to speak, his words were soft and deadly, attacking his victim with what almost seemed like a will of their own. He spent all his class time ignoring everyone and his time in the dorm room studiously ignoring Wu Xie. A week into their cohabitation, Hou Dao Fu made Hou Xiu Xiu cry. As she dug her face into Wu Xie's shoulder, Wu Xie gave Hou Dao Fu a verbal smackdown that made Zhang Qi Ling smiled mildly at the firecracker Wu Xie had become. Wu Xie spoke vehemently about friendship and support. He talked about his childhood and the rumors buzzing through campus about Hou Dao Fu's, and finally, Wu Xie said, despite Hou Dao Fu's treatment of Wu Xie's friends, that he still thought Hou Dao Fu was a good person.