[ After waking up alone and scared of his new reality, Xie Lian stripped out of the bunnysuit and threw it in the trash, pulling a dressing-gown on to rush out of the heinously innocent-looking wedding suite in a b-line for the baths. His bare feet carry him to a free grotto with no one else around and there he wades into the water, splashing it over his skin as tears track down his face in angry tears. Not at He Xuan, who was equally (if not more so) wronged, but at the situation that rendered him drugged on aphrodisiac which he hates at the best of times and fully immersed in a world, however brief, where Hua Cheng didn't exist. His memories are clear now and there's no mistaking, however little comfort Xie Lian derives from remembering that all he knew or wanted was Black Water: nobody else was part of Xie Lian's life after he stepped foot in that suite, drugged by its nature and the outfit that poisoned him for hours.
He scrubs his skin, crying hot, silent tears with the occasional sob breaking free as he starts cleansing lower, knowing it won't be enough. Of course he will tell Hua Cheng what has happened, his husband has a right to know, but Xie Lian doesn't want to do it while He Xuan's spiritual essence is still inside him. That would be a slap in the face on top of everything else.
So, he washes. And washes. And washes. Gods, it's hours, and he switches to a different pool in case whatever he gets rid of is still in the first. It takes a whole night where he has to text Hua Cheng to let him know he will see him in the morning, hating the vagueness of that message too because it will leave all sorts of possibilities open to the imagination and none of them are kind, but it can't be helped. Bathing thoroughly is the one thing Xie Lian can do as a kindness. He buys new clothing before returning to their room, a long white skirt and long-sleeved top with a staple cardigan, chunky and wrapped tightly around himself as he opens the door of their bedroom. Hoping, against all hope, that he has rid himself of any evidence ... but having spent hours around it while physically exhausted, he could very well have missed some. Still, he can't stand putting off seeing Hua Cheng any longer even if it means his husband is disgusted and upset with him.
Stressed, with reddened eyes and bitten lips, he clears his throat as he enters and his voice wavers. ]
( action; post hx encounter )
He scrubs his skin, crying hot, silent tears with the occasional sob breaking free as he starts cleansing lower, knowing it won't be enough. Of course he will tell Hua Cheng what has happened, his husband has a right to know, but Xie Lian doesn't want to do it while He Xuan's spiritual essence is still inside him. That would be a slap in the face on top of everything else.
So, he washes. And washes. And washes. Gods, it's hours, and he switches to a different pool in case whatever he gets rid of is still in the first. It takes a whole night where he has to text Hua Cheng to let him know he will see him in the morning, hating the vagueness of that message too because it will leave all sorts of possibilities open to the imagination and none of them are kind, but it can't be helped. Bathing thoroughly is the one thing Xie Lian can do as a kindness. He buys new clothing before returning to their room, a long white skirt and long-sleeved top with a staple cardigan, chunky and wrapped tightly around himself as he opens the door of their bedroom. Hoping, against all hope, that he has rid himself of any evidence ... but having spent hours around it while physically exhausted, he could very well have missed some. Still, he can't stand putting off seeing Hua Cheng any longer even if it means his husband is disgusted and upset with him.
Stressed, with reddened eyes and bitten lips, he clears his throat as he enters and his voice wavers. ]
San Lang?