Nocturnal Reveries: A DiYue One Shot Collection

Pinky Promise

It was already nighttime and as the day neared its end, so was it starting to dawn on him that this was it — the conclusion to their prized times together in Arxan.

'Prized' was subjective though, because to Didi, all the time they spent together will definitely be stacked under the 'moments to treasure' bin, but he can't speak for her.

He sat down on the sofa. They had just finished cleaning up the inn and almost everyone was starting to get ready for bed. The place suddenly had a gloomy, if not a subdued aura, as if they were all trying to ignore the fact there will be no 'after' when their filming ends this time.

He was deep into his thoughts when Shen Yue propped herself down the floor holding the biting-shark toy that she brought upon her arrival during their second recording. He looked at her and reminisced about that night when they played that game for the first time, and his chest hurt.

"Do you want to play?" she asked him, donning her ever-so-inviting smile.

"At this hour?"

She nodded while smiling.

"Alright but don't think for a second that I'm gonna let you win," he said, also sitting down on the floor.

They played a couple rounds and almost every time Didi lost. She kept poking fun at how unlucky he seemed to be when it's just the two of them against each other. He masked his delight by fronting his competitive self as the reason why he still wanted to play another round, when in truth he just didn't want this precious moment to end.

But she started yawning so he knew they had to finish it up. He finally managed to score another win at their last game, much to the dismay of his already-sluggish opponent. He put the toy inside the box, they stood up then made their way to the staffs' quarters.

The tranquility outside matched their own serene selves. It was a short walk to her room and his strides were long so he adjusted them so that they could walk at the same pace. Finally, she broke the silence and spoke.

"So you're doing a historical drama after this, right?"

"Yup. Wish me luck, I guess," he let out a faint laugh.

"Ah, you'll do well. No need for luck," she smiled upon looking at him.

"What? Shouldn't you be joking around or picking a fight or telling me I'll mess up?"

She stopped, raised one of her brows and motioned for him to halt too by catching his right arm.

"Wang He Di. You are going to do well."

He was taken aback by her words but he didn't let her notice. He was used to their unusual exchange of quips but it seemed that this was no time for jest. She continued walking and after a few minutes, they finally reached the stairs that led to her room.

She briefly looked behind at him then said, "Good night."

That was the hardest fifteen seconds of his life. In that short span of time before she finally enters her room, he had to decide whether to bestow her his parting gift or forever hold his peace. He envied the door that led to the inside of her room, because that was the destination she was headed to, while he had to stand there completely unresolved about whether or not he should call her name still.

"Shen Yue."

In the end, his mouth managed to spit out her name albeit delicately. She looked back at him, suddenly wearing a sanguine expression on her face.

"What is it?"

"Let's be friends forever," was the stupid thing that he uttered.

She couldn't help but crack up. "What a way to put somebody in the friend zone, Wang He Di."