lycheepearlmilktea

Son of prominent government officials in the Zhong Federation, Souren Lee has virtually lived most of his life alone, his only companion being the android An. But when a diplomatic mission calls for Kosei Tao to come to the province of the royal capital, Souren’s solitary lifestyle is suddenly disrupted as their paths intertwine. All the while, unrest is rising in the nation, in what the people are calling "The Clockwork Rebellion," and the events that transpire will reveal Souren’s and Kosei's own hidden secrets.

Clockwork and Androids

After breakfast comes one of the many outings Souren has had to plan. He finds it mildly ironic that he will be showing Kosei all of these places as host, when he hasn't even been to the large majority of them himself. But this is expected of his position, and he won't — can't — shirk his duties.


Today is a trip to the Huaqing Water Lily Ponds, famed throughout the country for the finest quality of the exquisite flowers. It also happens to be one of the only semi-tourist-y destinations that Souren has visited before, when he was younger.


Souren has vague memories of this place from childhood, proudly presenting their reserved tickets at the booth and, once the worker approved them with a smile, marching into piers that ran across the lakes.


He shakes the recollection off, approaching the ticket booth with Kosei trailing behind him. The bot manning the booth nods and stamps them off. "You may go in."


"Thank you." Souren waits for Kosei to catch up, and they step through the gates onto the bridge that criss-crosses many others to cover the expanse of the lake, where the water lilies grow. They will be walking on these bridges rather than solid ground.


There are few other visitors sprinkled around other areas of the walks. That much hasn't changed. To preserve the tranquility of the environment, only a limited number of people are allowed in at a time. 


"Pretty." Even though Kosei isn't quite dismissive of the flowers, he doesn't sound significantly admiring or impressed. Without realizing it, Souren deflates ever so slightly and shifts his gaze to the closest section of pond. Should he have picked somewhere else after all for the first sightseeing location?


Kosei narrows his eyes, watching Souren. 


When Souren looks back at him, Kosei glances around, taking in the sights around him. "Wow, there are so many water lilies everywhere. That's more than I've seen in Lianxiu. And it seems like there are lots more varieties here, too."


"Yes, I think there are over thirty types of water lilies here, if I recall correctly. The signs by the ponds give information of the lily variety within it."


"Wow, I didn't even know that there were that many types of water lilies?" 


Souren hums in agreement. Then, "Well, I suppose we can walk around now. Is there any particular direction you find most interesting?" he asks awkwardly.


"Alright. Um, let's take this path then."


Water Liles