The morning sun painted golden hues through the windows of the small room at the inn. Its rays filtered in softly, casting a serene glow on everything it touched — the wooden furniture, the pale blue linens, and the two figures at the center of the room.
Wei Zhan lay unconscious on the bed, his expression still tense but his breathing calmer than the night before. Beside him, Xie Lian sat slumped forward, one hand gently clutching Wei Zhan's. His head rested lightly on the mattress, strands of his hair falling into his eyes, exhaustion etched deeply into every inch of his face.
When the others entered the room quietly that morning, the sight before them drew a shared silence.
Devran was the first to step in, slowing his pace when he saw Xie Lian asleep, his grip on Wei Zhan's hand unrelenting even in slumber.
"He didn't move all night," Riku whispered, a rare softness in his voice.
Vihaan smiled faintly, folding his arms. "Even in sleep, he refuses to let go. He's more stubborn than I thought."
Tianlan, who had been unusually quiet, gave a small smile. "It's not stubbornness. It's care… real care."
No one dared to disturb the moment. They simply took places in the room — some sitting on the chairs, others leaning against the wall — and waited.
After a while, Xie Lian stirred.
He blinked, raising his head slightly, and immediately became aware of the eyes on him.
"What?" he asked groggily. "Why're you all staring like that?"
Vihaan opened his mouth with a teasing glint in his eye, but before a word could escape, a whirlwind rushed past him — Saanvi.
"Saanvi!" Riku stepped back to give her space as she went directly to the bed.
She knelt beside Xie Lian, brushing her hand over Wei Zhan's forehead. Everyone watched her reaction, holding their breath.
A breath escaped her lips — relief.
"His fever's gone," she whispered. "It's stabilizing."
Cheers didn't erupt, but the room breathed again. Shoulders slumped in relief. Silent smiles were exchanged.
But Saanvi wasn't done. She turned to Xie Lian.
"What about you?" she asked, her voice suddenly sharper.
"I'm fine," Xie Lian replied, waving her off. "I'll just stay here until he wakes up."
"Fine?" she repeated, her brow twitching.
The others instinctively backed away. Devran, ever the strategist, stepped out quietly and locked the door from outside.
"Uh oh," Vihaan muttered, watching her aura shift.
"You call this fine?!" Saanvi snapped, grabbing Xie Lian's face gently but firmly. "Your skin's pale, your lips are dry, your energy's weak, and your stomach's probably empty since yesterday. You haven't eaten or rested properly — are you trying to collapse too?!"
Xie Lian shrank a little but tried to smile it off. "I was just worried. I couldn't leave him."
"You think worrying means forgetting about yourself?" she scolded. "How are you supposed to take care of someone else when you're running on nothing?!"
Vihaan leaned toward Devran and whispered, "She's doing the ear pull. Classic big sister mode. He's doomed."
Tianlan nodded sympathetically.
Saanvi didn't wait for further excuses. She grabbed Xie Lian by the ear and stood up, tugging him along.
"W-Wait! At least let me say—"
"No!" Saanvi interrupted. "You're going to eat first. Then rest. You want to be here when he wakes up? Good. Stay healthy until then."
"Ow ow ow, okay, okay! I get it!" Xie Lian yelped.
Riku chuckled. "Now that's discipline."
Devran opened the door, and the rest of the group followed her out like ducklings avoiding her wrath.
---
[A little while later, in the dining hall…]
Xie Lian sat sulking as he ate, chewing slowly while everyone else gave him knowing glances.
"You're the only person I know who gets forced to eat because he cares too much," Vihaan teased, sipping tea.
"I wasn't forced. I… agreed, under pressure," Xie Lian mumbled.
Saanvi rolled her eyes and slid another bowl his way. "Eat more."
"Am I feeding a phoenix or becoming one?" he muttered.
"You will become ashes if you keep this up," Saanvi snapped.
Everyone laughed.
---
[Back in the room, later that day…]
Xie Lian sat again beside Wei Zhan. This time, he looked healthier, calmer. He wiped Wei Zhan's forehead gently with a cool cloth, watching his face.
Wei Zhan was still unconscious, but his expression had softened.
"I don't know if you can hear me," Xie Lian whispered. "But… I was scared."
He glanced at the door, made sure no one was around, and leaned in slightly.
"I know I annoy you. Tease you. Get on your nerves. But… it's only because I don't know how else to talk to you. You're so closed off. So… stubborn. Like a mountain that refuses to move even when the storm begs it to."
His voice shook slightly.
"You always looked at me like I was a joke. A fool who didn't know when to shut up. Maybe I am. But even a fool can love, can't he?"
He chuckled bitterly.
"You didn't even notice… or maybe you did and chose not to care. I chased after you like an idiot, thinking maybe one day… you'd look back. Just once."
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from Wei Zhan's forehead.
"When you fell… when you screamed in pain… I thought I'd lose you. And that terrified me more than anything."
His eyes welled up.
"I don't want your pity. I don't need you to love me back. But I wish you knew… I never joked when it came to you. Every word, every glance… it was always real."
He leaned closer, placing a soft kiss on Wei Zhan's knuckles.
"So come back soon, Your Highness. I still have a hundred ways to annoy you."
---
Scene: Hidden Hearts and Shattered Truths
Inside the quiet inn room, Wei Zhan lay on the bed, unconscious but far from peaceful. His breathing was heavy, his brow drenched in sweat, and his lips moved slightly as though whispering to someone not present.
Outside, the rest of the group was still gathered near the food hall. Saanvi had just dragged a very reluctant Xie Lian for food, scolding him like a stern elder sister. They sat together, finally sharing a rare moment of calm after a long night of fear and exhaustion.
But just as they were finishing, a sudden, desperate scream echoed from Wei Zhan's room.
"Don't leave me! Please... please don't go! I love you... I love you so much... please don't leave me...!"
Everyone stood up at once.
"That was Wei Zhan!" Tianlan gasped.
Devran was already sprinting toward the room, with the others on his heels. Xie Lian's heart dropped, his chest tightening in a sudden burst of fear. The sound of Wei Zhan's voice—so raw, so broken—pierced into him.
They burst into the room.
Wei Zhan's body trembled on the bed. He was still unconscious, but his lips were moving as though he were trapped in a dream. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.
"Please... please... don't go... I need you... I love you so much... Don't leave me again..."
Everyone stood frozen, staring at him.
Vihaan blinked. "Wait... he's dreaming about someone..."
"Ooohhh~" Riku chimed in teasingly. "Looks like someone's in loooove, even while unconscious."
Xie Lian blinked rapidly. "W-what..."
Devran smirked, nudging Tianlan. "Guess our prince has a hidden romantic side."
Tianlan chuckled, trying to lighten the moment. "About time we saw something more than scowls and sarcasm from him."
Wei Zhan's voice rose again.
"I love you! I won't let you die... not this time... not again... I'll protect you, always... T-Tianlan...!"
Silence.
The room went completely still.
Xie Lian froze, as if struck by lightning.
Wei Zhan's face was tense, pain etched into every line. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his voice was heartbreakingly sincere.
"Tianlan... please... don't leave me..."
Every eye slowly turned toward Xie Lian.
Riku's face twisted in surprise. "Wait... did he just say... Tianlan?"
Xie Lian's breath caught in his throat.
Vihaan quickly stepped on Riku's foot. "Shut up, idiot."
But it was too late. The words had pierced through Xie Lian's heart like a blade.
Everyone could see the change in him. His hands trembled, his eyes turned glassy. The realization slammed into him like a tidal wave.
"He... he doesn't love me..." Xie Lian whispered. "He was dreaming about Tianlan... not me...
Xie Lian stood frozen.
The world around him seemed to blur, voices becoming muffled, like they were underwater. His heart thudded loudly in his ears — once, twice, and then it stopped. Or at least, it felt like it had.
Tianlan.
One word.
One name.
One breath from Wei Zhan's trembling lips had changed everything.
His knees felt weak, and he didn't even realize he was holding his own breath.
Wei Zhan's voice was so soft, but it struck like thunder in Xie Lian's chest. A name he could never be. A name he could never compete with.
He had hoped. God, how he had hoped. All the stolen glances, all the moments he had stood by Wei Zhan's side — every time he wiped his sweat during battle, every time he stayed up nursing him through injuries, every silent moment of yearning he never voiced — it had all been for him.
But it wasn't him.
It was never him.
It was someone else.
Tianlan.
His vision blurred with unshed tears, but he refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. Not in front of everyone.
The laughter around him — the teasing, the jokes — they didn't register. He wasn't angry at them. How could they know? They didn't understand what that one name did to him.
He had given everything.
He stayed by Wei Zhan's side, never asking for anything in return. His love had been quiet, devoted, patient — a flame he kept hidden, thinking one day, maybe Wei Zhan would feel it too.
But now?
He was just a shadow standing in someone else's story.
Just a stand-in.
A placeholder.
Not the one.
He turned to leave. He didn't say anything — didn't trust himself to speak.
His chest burned like someone had carved into it with a blade made of truth. Not the sharp, clean pain of anger — no, this was deeper. Duller. The aching kind of pain that settled in your bones and refused to leave. The kind that made it hard to breathe.
Someone called his name. Maybe Riku. Maybe Devran. He didn't care. He walked faster.
The corridor outside felt endless.
He said Tianlan.
The thought echoed in his skull like a curse.
Not Xie Lian, not you, not the man who spent the entire night holding his hand, whispering words of comfort into the darkness, not the one who stayed even when everyone else had turned away.
He found a small, unused room at the far end of the inn. He stumbled inside, shut the door, and finally let the tears fall.
Silent. Violent. Raw.
He slid down against the wall, hands gripping his robes like they could somehow hold his heart together.
"Why... why wasn't it me?" he whispered to no one.
The ache was unbearable. It wasn't the idea that Wei Zhan loved someone else — it was that, even now, even in his dreams, even when his heart was laid bare... Xie Lian wasn't there. He wasn't in those memories. He wasn't in that dream.
He wasn't loved.
His throat ached with all the words he never said, the feelings he swallowed for years. The way he convinced himself that just being close was enough. That he didn't need to be loved, only needed to love.
But that wasn't true.
He wanted to be chosen.
He wanted to be enough.
And he wasn't.
A soft knock came at the door. Devran's voice, gentle. "Xie Lian... please, come out. Let's talk."
He didn't respond. He couldn't.
Because if he opened his mouth, all that would come out was a sob that had been buried for far too long.
...
To be continued....