Note!
This story is going to be pretty fast-pacing, since the festival is only a week, but this is NOT a relationship manual! You should NOT follow Wang Junkai and Wang Yuan's way in your relationship! Not unless your want your relationship to fall to pieces... I sound so depressing... but this is true!!! Do not follow the main characters, no matter how enchanting they become!!!

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The very next day (also known as Day No.2 of the festival), Wang Yuan was inside with his grandmother watching her favourite cooking show while it stormed outside. She was knitting when the show finished, and Wang Yuan lazily flicked through the channels on the television, although he wasn't paying attention to the shows. His heart was pounding wildly. The festival was still going on, but how was he going to go there? Walk in the rain?
Six o'clock drew near and Wang Yuan felt himself grow tenser than before. Why couldn't he just shrug this off like normal? 
His grandmother noticed. "Little Yuan, are you excited for the ball?"
More anxious than excited, Wang Yuan thought, but replied, "A little, Grandmother."
She smiled and ruffled his hair. "I remember when I was your age I was also very excited for my first ball!"
Wang Yuan listened to her story while he thought of a boy in a black mask. 

The very next day (also known as Day No.2 of the festival), Wang Junkai was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling while the sky stormed outside. He felt as if the world was screaming at him, for paying so much attention to a commoner.
Junkai rolled over and glared at his suit and tie hanging on his wardrobe. "Why do I have to go for this ball?" He grumbled.
"Because you are the prince, and you must be present, or it is rude." He answered himself.The lighting flashed outside, as if agreeing with his answer. Wang Junkai scowled at the sky. Raining on the second day of the festival was not a good sign, and his father was tearing his hair out about it. His mother was downstairs, frantically making his favourite blueberry pie in order to cease his incessant pacing about and worried murmuring.

Wang Junkai rolled about on his bed. The boy in the white mask appeared in his mind's eye, and he smiled shyly at him, the way he did that made Wang Junkai want to scream.
Or kiss him.
Junkai rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. This was one of the days you just wanted to bury yourself inside your blanket and hide from the whole world.
Maybe for an hour or two, and then you emerge and go back to being the child everyone wants. The perfect prince.
Was this called love?
Wang Junkai raised his eyebrows sceptically at the thought. No, he didn't like the boy like that. He just wanted a kiss. Was that liking him like that?
Was that called loving him?
"Junkai! Kaikai, it's time to get ready for the ball!" His mother knocked gently on his door.
Junkai stared at the brown mahogany. "We're having a ball while it's raining?"
"All the people will come in carriages or at least taxis. And we're holding the ball inside the ballroom, silly, not outside in the garden," his mother's voice replied. "Chop chop, time to change."
Wang Junkai rolled off his bed and onto his feet. "I don't think the commoners will come in a cab."
"Then they'll walk." His mother said firmly, coming into the room and grabbing his suit. "And you need to change."
Junkai sighed and wondered if the boy in the white mask was coming or not.

It was 6.30 and the ball formally started at 7, but you could arrive any time after and a few minutes before it. Wang Yuan had loads of time, but he also felt rather worried.
He the white mask in his hands. Could sense its magic, could fear its magic. 
Could control its magic.
Wang Yuan turned it over and slipped it on. He laughed at his grandmother. "Hi Grandma! Can I have a chocolate cookie?"
On most days she would tell him no and to watch his weight but for some reason today she looked at him and went, "Okay then, Little Yuan."
Wang Yuan went to the stash of food he brought and quickly took off the mask. This was white leftover cloth from the Mad Hatter's Workshop... maybe the Mad Hatter really was running it!
But then the man behind the counter was the boss, and he didn't look too old. Maybe in his late thirties. 
People still flocked to his shop. It was forever crowded until midnight, when the Mad Hatter (or so he was called) closed up the shop. His mother managed to squeeze into the shop when she was out buying groceries at about seven in the evening, when the people at the market would only be selling the old vegetables, and at a lower price than in the day and and he gave her some of his leftover cloth to make his mask. 
White colour.
No sequins, no glitter, no feathers.
Just a normal, white mask.
Wang Yuan took out a cookie packet and bit into the chocolate cookie.
No sequins, no glitter, no feathers.
The phrase was stuck in his head now, for no particular reason. He was just bored.
(Finally!) At 6.30, the rain stopped, and Wang Yuan started walking to the ball, hidden with the commoners.
Wang Yuan tried to keep the prince off his mind by thinking of something else.
He missed his mother.

Wang Junkai stood smiling at everyone from the dance floor, a "good afternoon" and a "isn't the weather wonderful now" and a lie: "I just moved here, how is life like in this kingdom?"
His people loved talking about the kingdom, so Wang Junkai let them and instead stared off into space.
This wasn't a formal ball or anything, and they couldn't just say "Mr and Mrs So-and-So of the Commoners", so everyone came in silently and quietly.
Wang Junkai yawned slightly, covering his mouth. He walked over to the side of the dance floor, watching everyone mill about and make small talk.
His father suddenly clapped a hand on his shoulder. "How is everything, son?"
"Going very well." Wang Junkai murmured, his eyes scanning the crowd. Was he coming today? 
"Looking for someone?"
"Not really." Wang Junkai looked away to the staircase where the invited walked down. No boy in a white mask.
His father said suddenly, "Do you see anyone that catches your eye?"
"In what sense?" Wang Junkai said absently, adjusting his mask when someone glanced over. He didn't feel particularly happy about being down here suddenly.
His father cleared his throat. "In a marriageable sense."
Wang Junkai raised his head quickly. "What do you mean? No I didn't."
That sounded slightly guilty and a bit too fast.
His father raised an eyebrow at him, or Wang Junkai thought that anyway. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Junkai eased his shoulder out of his father's grasp. "Excuse me."
Wang Junkai walked through the crowd so his father wouldn't see him, then escaped to the table laid with desserts and even proper food like roast potato or something.
Wang Junkai felt his lips curve into a smile when he saw the boy in the white mask enter the ballroom, looking rather shy and quiet. At that exact moment it was 7 o'clock.
The dances started and someone else whisked him off onto the dance floor.

Wang Yuan knew he arrived right on time when the dances started immediately after he stepped foot into the ballroom. 
He made his way over to the side of the ballroom, watching in light interest as the masked people danced about with the others. He couldn't recognise anyone, however, so he just stood quietly by himself, at the side of the dance floor.
Someone tapped him on his shoulder.
Wang Yuan turned his head immediately, his heart beating quickly but slowing when he realised it wasn't the prince.
What was he thinking, anyway? He wondered to himself. The black-masked boy wouldn't really remember him, anyway. Right?
"We meet again, mysterious boy." The girl laughed softly.
"Good evening... my lady." Wang Yuan said smoothly. 
"More like 'hi'." She said laughingly. Wang Yuan smiled. "Did you purposely come to find me or did we meet by accident?"
"By accident," she said, blushing. "I was actually looking for my lemon tarts but wound up on the other side of the ballroom. Dance me there?"
"As you wish, my lady." Wang Yuan bowed, and she giggled.
He twirled her over to the other side, and she said breathlessly as they separated hands, "You are a very good dancer."
Wang Yuan nodded. "Yes I am."
"And very fast."
He was not going to tell her that he wanted the dance over quickly.
"Ah -- I see your lemon tarts," Wang Yuan said, pointing over right to the end of the table. She rushed over to the place he pointed and Wang Yuan breathed out a sigh of relief.
Yet again someone tapped him on his shoulder.
"Hi..."
Wang Yuan turned and felt his face break into a smile. "Oh, hello."
Wang Junkai smiled back at him. "Can I try to guess your name again?"
"Sure, but I'm not very sure if you'll get it correct." Wang Yuan smirked, his hand reaching out to grab a small frosted cupcake.
"Where are you from?"
Wang Yuan thought for a while."Around here."
He finished the cupcake and Wang Junkai still hadn't come up with a reply to his answer. He looked... stumped.
"I told you my name is hard to guess." Wang Yuan said, at the icing around his lips.
He felt his face turn red when Wang Junkai stared for a moment too long, and he turned for a napkin.
"Is your name two words or one?" Wang Junkai asked.
"Uh... with the surname included?" 
"No."
"Yah, then no. Only one word. And it starts with Y."
"Yadon?"
"Nope."
"Raymond."
"It starts with a Y, silly."
"Yeesh, this is hard?"
Wang Yuan laughed and Junkai laughed. "Why can't you tell me?"
"Because the whole point of this ball is not to let anyone know who you are." Wang Yuan started to move again, just to see if he would follow --
He did. 
"But you know who I am!" Junkai protested, and Wang Yuan had to admit, he sounded cute.
"That's because you told me. Voluntarily." Wang Yuan replied, weaving his way through the mass of people. When he looked back, he could only see glimpses of Junkai.
"Hey, I can't see you." Someone reached out and grasped his wrist, only to slip away again when someone accidentally pushed between them and their linked hands fell.
Wang Yuan laughed to himself before letting himself fade away again from Junkai's eyes. This was fun, although it felt too much like the cat-and-mouse game.

Wang Junkai huffed to himself when the boy disappeared again. Next time he saw him he was going to follow him the whole time the ball lasted, Junkai thought to himself as he squeezed through the crowd.
Thanks for leaving me here.
Junkai frowned, trying to guess his name. He was so mysterious, always running away whenever he liked it. 
It was getting annoying, but also on a daily basis he had to disappear at least once before reappearing again.
Wang Junkai continued searching...

... while Wang Yuan continued hiding.
He laughed and quickly walked away whenever he saw Wang Junkai's black mask or his mop of hair. 
Suddenly the clock bonged twelve midnight and Wang Yuan held his breath as Wang Junkai didn't go on stage again, but his father did. He wished them all a good night, and that the ball had officially ended, but they were still welcome to stay for a few hours, and more stuff.
Wang Yuan saw Junkai's eyes latch on him and he waved goodbye teasingly before running out of the castle.
He walked among the commoners again, occasionally looking behind his back to see if the prince was following him.
Of course he wasn't...
Wang Yuan opened the door to his suite and found his grandmother sleeping on the twin bed. The papers were on her lap, and a warm cup of coffee was slowly simmering beside her on the bedside table.
Wang Yuan switched off the light beside her and folded the newspapers before replacing it back on her lap.
He showered, and he was about to call his mother when someone else called instead.
这风铃 跟心动很接近
这封信 还在怀念旅行
路过的 爱情都太年轻
你是我想要 再回去的风景
Wang Yuan waited until the third lone before accepting the call.
Yeah, he had different songs for each contact on his phone.
"Hi Dad!"
His father was actually abroad now, working. Wang Yuan didn't know he had time to call him, but it was a good surprise.
"Hi, son." His father's voice replied him. "How was the ball? I'm sorry I didn't manage to call yesterday."
Wang Yuan felt something murmur contentedly in his chest. "It's okay, Dad. The masquerade was quite fun, actually. I met a few people."
"Did you meet the prince?"
Wang Yuan swallowed. He didn't want to disappoint his father too, not after he heard his mother. "Yes, I did, but I didn't talk a lot to him."
"You didn't? Are you sure?" His father sounded worried, now, like his mother.
"Yes, but what's wrong with the prince? He sounds perfectly sane to me." Wang Yuan said, quietly, defensively.
"Just... don't try to stay close to him, and if he sticks to you, tell us." Wang Yuan's father said. Wang Yuan could imagine him pacing about his hotel room, his face frowning.
"Okay." Wang Yuan said, finally.
"Okay. Have a good night's sleep, Little Yuan."
"Night, Dad."
The call ended.
Wang Yuan changed into his sleepwear and crawled into bed, too tired to think of anything... 
Except the prince.
Wang Yuan shifted when he thought of the cat-and-mouse game. Maybe it wasn't very polite to play that.
But it was so fun!
Wang Yuan blinked.
And he smiled to himself before falling asleep.
Maybe... maybe he liked the prince more than he let on.

Wang Junkai wasn't very excited about anything that night.
He wasn't hungry, so he didn't eat anything.
Wang Junkai took a shower, and in the middle he received a call.
这风铃 跟心动很接近
"Hello?"
"Kaikai!"
Wang Junkai banged his head gently against the wall, but responded nonetheless. "Hello..."
His aunt laughed from the phone. "Hi, my little prince. It's been so long since we last called each other!"
"Yeah..." Wang Junkai pretended to do the Math, although he already knew the answer. "Last week, right?"
"Yes! So long," she gushed. "How was your first ball? I'm so sorry I didn't get to call you yesterday... I had a lot of stuff on my plate."
"It's okay." Wang Junkai resisted the urge of saying You can call later next time too. How about next year?
And then he felt rather mean.
"The ball was quite interesting, actually. I met a few people." 
"That sounds wonderful, darling." His aunt's voice became preoccupied. "Sorry, little prince, but Auntie has to go now. Talk to you later!"
She hung up and Wang Junkai changed into his sleepwear and crawled into bed, too tired to think of anything... 
Except the mysterious white masked boy.
Wang Junkai shifted uncomfortably when he remembered him with the icing around his mouth. He looked cute... and also made Wang Junkai want to kiss him.
The prince groaned. What was all this stuff going into his head?! This was wrong this was wrong this was wrong...
Wang Junkai fell asleep with the boy in his mind, and a smile on his face.

They had a good day today, and now it was time to wonder if he liked him.

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The song is Handwritten Past by Jay Chou (周杰伦的“手写的从前”)

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