Haven Online

Ding!

Immersed in the music he was listening to via his interface, Xinya was utterly startled by the sudden sound. Realizing that it was just the dinging of his cooking timer, he hastily turned off his fishing playlist and grabbed a nearby oven mitt.

As he opened the oven's door, the scent of freshly baked buns hit him square in the face. It was a clean, slightly sweet, yeasty aroma that somehow smelled warm. 

The smell reminded him of comfort; it was like inhaling a warm blanket on a cold winter's day.

After placing the tray of Sweet Orange Butter Cream Buns on the counter, Xinya went to grab the Chill-o-Matic or cooling lid as he likes to call it from the cabinet.

The Chill-o-Matic was one of the items he bought while he was on that spending spree in Beginner town. It did exactly as the name suggests, i.e., chills down hot food to a warm temperature. 

It was an unnecessary purchase, and he knows it. He has a mouth, and he certainly knew how to use it to blow. But why must he have to when he doesn't need to?

A minute passed. With a smile on his face, Xinya lifted the lid of the Chill-o-Matic and saw that the buns were no longer hot to the touch.

Picking up the tray, he walked over to the table that was near the fire pit and set it down. Feeling that it was odd that Melting Snow wasn't running over and trying to snag one of his baked goods, Xinya turned to look at him.

Peering at the boy, he became shocked at how pensive the child appeared to be. Gone was his happy go lucky puppy, and in his place was this serious-looking cinnamon roll.

Walking over to him, Xinya knelt by his side. Not once did the boy notice his presence, not with how deeply he was absorbed in his thoughts.

With a concerned expression, Xinya tapped the furry-eared boy on his shoulders and said, "Are you alright, Melting Snow?"

~

At first, after cutting the call with his brother, Melting Snow felt glee that he would be able to spend more time with his cousin. But once he thought about the situation more, he realized something was up.

Why did his brother want him to spy on Zixuan? Did he have something planned for his cousin? Those questions invaded his mind making him feel very anxious. 

Even though Kyung was his brother, he would never let him do anything to hurt Zixuan and what he worked to build. He loathed to say it out loud, but at this point in time, he cared about his cousin more than his brother.

'I guess it's good that Rose Lily is coming, I can find out from her what is my brother's plan,' Although the mere thought of joining hands with that woman disgusted him, he would do it for the greater good.

He would also need to inform his cousin about this situation and get his opinion about this matter. 'I will make sure to do just that while I'm in town with Drifting Cloud later.'

As he thought of Drifting Cloud, he was reminded of that pause his brother gave when he told him about how the man bought a farm.

Knowing his brother as he did, Melting Snow knew he had to keep the man away from his friend while also trying to be on the lookout for any kind of dastardly scheme his brother was concocting for his cousin. 

'Why must my life be a soap opera,' Pondered Melting Snow as he thought about the mess he was in. 

So engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't even notice as Drifting Cloud came towards him. Which was why he was so startled that he fell off his chair when the green-eyed man tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ahhhh!"

THUMP!

As he laid on the charred soil in embarrassment, he could hear a concerned Drifting Cloud asking if he was alright. 

"Yeah, the only thing that was hurt was my pride," Melting Snow forced a laugh as he hopped up off the ground.

He didn't want Drifting Cloud to worry or get mixed up in his problems with his brother. It would be best if the man didn't know anything about his family drama.

It was bad enough that his brother was interested in the green-eyed man.

~

"I'm sorry that I scared you," Xinya said as he got up from his position kneeling on the ground.

"I wasn't scared!" Melting Snow began, feeling insulted at the assumption. "I was just too lost in my head that I became startled, that's all."

"Oh? What were you thinking about?"

Giving a small shrug, Melting Snow reseated himself in his chair. "It was nothing really, I was just thinking about something that I spoke about with my brother while I was waiting for you to get done cooking."

As Xinya stared at Melting Snow, he could tell that the boy was speaking the truth. But he still had a feeling that he was hiding something from him as well. 

"Well, don't think so hard that you're not aware of your surrounding; that's how Player killer's get you," Xinya joked while patting the boy on his head.

"There's no way anyone would PK someone inside of a town," Melting Snow said, finally breaking out into a real smile. "So, that means I can think all I want."

"You never know," Xinya smiled mischievously before starting a tickle war with the boy.

Shrieking loudly, Melting Snow ran around to the other side of the fire, laughing. "You'll never be able to get me!"

As the two of them playfully chased each other, Xinya was just glad that his adorable puppy was feeling better. For now, he wouldn't push the boy to tell him what was wrong if he didn't want to talk about it. 

He had a feeling that it was a personal family problem, and he had no right to get involved. Well, not yet anyway. 

If whatever dilemma the boy was facing became too much for him to handle, he would find a way to help the child without him knowing. He could always get in contact with that cousin of his; after all, they were friends now.