First Kiss

"Woah, A-Chen if you keep looking at him like that you're going to start drooling"

Ye Hua annoyed his friend who didn't take his eyes off the young boy called Shuoyue.

"S-shut up" The young prince looked at his friend with a frown on his eyebrows.

Xichen was somewhat flushed but he felt strangely excited like he wasn't in a long time.

"hahahaha… seriously… it's just like him, isn't it?"

Xichen clenched his hands in a fist thanks to his friend's words, he affirmatively move his head but then relaxed his hands and sighed.

"I know… but he's not him…"

"It's already been two years, hasn't it?" Ye Hua put his hand on his friend's shoulder to pat him.

"mm"

Shuoyue finished that song without realizing that a tear ran down his cheek, when he finished he felt the water on his face, and he discreetly wiped himself before getting up from his place.

He bowed to the prince, who applauded him fervently, and everyone was doing the same, when the applause stopped Shuoyue bent down intending to take the guqin and retreat when the voice of a certain leader stopped him.

"An incredible beauty with an inexplicably angelic voice"

Shuoyue looked at that man, the leader Wei Qiáng who was looking at him with some lust, Shuoyue hated that kind of look but even though he feels disgusted he has to be polite so he only answers the compliment with courtesy.

"I appreciate the kindness of your majesty"

"Beautiful and elegant, the perfect combination... Come here cutie, why don't you keep me company?"

Shuoyue looked at the opposite seriously, but then he showed a soft and gentle smile that made the hearts of many pause because of how beautiful the young man was.

"I would love to accompany you Leader Wei but…"

The Wei leader was fascinated by that smile and the fact that he was trying to refuse made him want the boy even more, after all, he worked to please men or that's what everyone believed.

Shuoyue, despite having worked as a courtesan since he was young in that brothel and being known as the best "prostitute" the reality is that nobody had ever touched him in his life, Madam Li saw him as a son since he arrived and for that reason, she was in charge of giving him that fame only to protect him.

Before the brothel became under madam Li's total control, she had to obey a rather nefarious boss and he wanted to receive very juicy profits thanks to the fact that some sick men had a certain taste for children, but she made sure that no one could touch him.

She, being from the earth clan, could manipulate other people's dreams with a bit of ancient magic, but her power didn't limit her only to dreams, she also could modify the memories of people, and like that she makes the clients believe that they had been intimate with Shuoyue but they had only “dreamed” that. She made the brothel obtain unimaginable profits and preserved the chastity of the minor.

"What's wrong? I'm not good enough for the divine moon?"

Shuoyue sighed resignedly, he couldn't ruin the work Madam Li had done to save him all those years, if someone found out that he was a virgin he could still bring problems to the brothel; he began to walk towards the opposite; however, Xichen was not going to sit idly by seeing the boy accepting that invitation.

The young prince approached Shuoyue as fast as lightning, and he took the boy's hand to pull him to his body, ending up hugging him, surrounding his hip with one of his arms.

"I'm so sorry Leader Wei, but Shuoyue will be my escort tonight, it's my birthday after all. I hope you would be against it"

The leader frowned his eyebrows at him upon hearing the boy's words. The king knew he was just a brat but he couldn't disrespect a prince.

"Who could oppose the prince on his day?"

Xichen just smiled a little, thanking the king for understanding him, and took Shuoyue to his table, placing him on his lap.

"Y-your highness…what are you doing?"

"Call me Xichen" The prince approached him to whisper that in his ear

The albino in disguise instead of being happy felt that his hands would be cut off for touching the prince. He covered his pale face with his hands.

Everyone looked at the prince feeling a slight deja vu, he was the living image of the king who did the same thing a few seconds ago.

Ye Hua looked at his friend in amazement, he understood why he was so interested in the young man but he never thought that he would act like this.

The King and Zhao looked at each other still with latent concern but they smiled a little, they couldn't say anything at that moment, the important thing was their son's happiness and at that moment Xichen was recovering that sincere smile that was in two years he hadn't shown up.

...

When Madam Li came out to present the next act she was shocked to see Shuoyue in the prince's arms but she didn't comment on it.

After a while Xichen finally let him sit next to him which Shuoyue was very grateful for.

When the three of them were together at the table, Xichen introduced Shuoyue to his best friend Ye Hua, Shuoyue greeted the opposite in a very peculiar way, one that only Lan Yue knew, which surprised both princes. Ye Hua looked at Xichen with some confusion, they were both thinking the same thing but they had to make sure.

They had asked him some questions but some of them he answered were as if he was Lan Yue but others… he didn't know how to answer at all.

The rest of the night progressed naturally, everyone dined and drank having fun with Madam Li's brothel amazing act, Ye Hua and Xichen had a lot of fun talking to Shuoyue who was a very interesting boy, and Xichen's birthday had certainly been the best of all in those years of sadness.

To end that night's event as a farewell, the artists had launched some fireworks but when that last show started, Shuoyue knew that he should have to go with the other members to pick up his things and leave; however, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth at having to say goodbye to the prince.

Shuoyue could not understand why his heart feel a lot of pain if they have just met but even with that pain, he put a hand on Xichen's shoulder to get his attention.

"Xichen…" Shuoyue whispered to him sweetly

"What's wrong A-Yue?" he answers without noticing the way he calls him.

"... well... I- I have to go now"

The way he called him gives Shuoyue a chill on his body, he knew that he had heard someone calling him like that before, a small memory of the prince calling him like that with that tenderness was placed in his head but where was that place? and why does he remember just some blurry moments? Shuoyue didn't want to say goodbye to him, he wanted to continue talking with Xichen and maybe he could remember more but he realized how different were their worlds so he couldn't just ask the prince to spend more time with him, although he didn't want to leave he had to.

"So soon?" Xichen's sweet voice changed to a worried one and that didn't help much to Shuoyue's feelings.

"Unfortunately we can only be here on your birthday... The next days are only for royal families"

Shuoyue took the initiative to get up first, with a bow he said goodbye to Ye Hua in the same way he had introduced himself and began to walk away from the table although Xichen immediately stopped him by taking one of his hands.

"Can't you stay here... with me?"

"Xichen…" the young boy sighed taking his hand with some force.

"Shuoyue…" The young prince still wasn't ready to let go and Shuoyue knew it.

"I heard that your garden it's very pretty, can you show it to me before I leave?”

As a last chance to spend more time together, Shuoyue had proposed that walk, Xichen immediately agreed and took his hand better

uniting his fingers with Shuoyue's fingers, Xichen led him to the back of the royal palace where the largest garden of all was without paying attention to Ye Hua.

The night was silent, but for Xichen it was like listening to a carnival inside him because every time he looked at the opposite he looked more and more like his dead partner.

Shuoyue tripped over his clothes along the path they were walking in because it was very dark, Xichen immediately grabbed him with one of his hands stopping a big fall and bringing him close to his body.

"Watch out"

"Hahaha thanks... it seems that today you haven't stopped saving me"

Shuoyue let out a soft laugh holding on to his arms, while joking with the prince he kept his eyes lowered but Xichen took his chin to make Shuoyue look at him, when their eyes looked at each other again Shuoyue felt a little pain in his heart, the image of the crying prince came to his mind and wanted to ask him what had happened to him? Why in his dreams did he look so sad?

He brought his hands to the opponent's face caressing his cheeks with his fingers, he was about to say something when he saw Xichen approaching him.

Shuoyue didn't know what happened or how, but in a blink, Xichen's lips touched his, it was a slow, affectionate kiss... full of delicacy, and it felt very good... so cute... and so familiar.

Shuoyue was shocked at first but he slowly caressed the hair of the opposite without realizing that he had hugged Xichen and began to reciprocate that kiss forgetting the world around them.

Xichen felt so complete with the boy in his arms that he didn't notice when Shuoyue's hair began to turn white again since the effect of the spell was already ending.

Shuoyue didn't know why it felt so good to kiss another person, especially him, no one had ever touched him like that before but he felt so familiar with those lips that he didn't want to stop now.

However, his world had to end when the sound of terrified screams began to be heard in the main courtyard. When they leave the other lips the surprise is placed on their faces when the change of temperature was dropping drastically and the ground which was freezing in front of them.

"What the hell?"

To be continue