"Is this Dr. Hua's class?"

All eyes were on the newcomer but his eyes were on me. My non-existent heart couldn't believe that this young man; after all these centuries possessed the same face of my beloved; or rather is my husband in mortal form.

"Sir?"

"Yes. It is."

"Great. Thanks!"

He was about to take a seat when unable to control myself I enquire, "What's your name?"

Giving me a broad smile and raking his hair with his lithe fingers the boy answered; "Xie Lian, sir."

Xie Lian.

"Alright. Take your seat and be on time from next class."

"Yes sir!"

Control yourself for now Hua.

"Alright everyone! I am Dr. Hua Cheng, your Art Professor for the year. For some of you Arts is a medium to earn grades while for some it's going to be your livelihood. For me, all that matters is for you all to come, sit quietly, pay attention to what I teach and leave without much trouble. Remember if you trouble me, I'll lower your scores and won't hesitate to fail you."

Watching them visibly pale I could imagine He Xuan shaking his head at my threat.

"For those of you who don't know to draw, don't waste your time and leave this class. For those who know to draw, can also leave this class if you don't have passion. If you think this class is easy to pass, think again, your life is going to be miserable and I can vouch for that."

Glancing around I ask, "Any questions?"

No one bothered raising their hand. Good.

"This is a good start. Ask questions only if you can dare to ask them. For today draw the first thing that comes to your mind. Please keep it PG rated. I do not wish to see anything untoward in the name of Art."

Taking my usual seat next to the window; I continue consuming coffee while my peripheral vision was all on that man who seemed intently looking at his blank canvas.
As minutes passed by; I was getting more curious because he kept glancing at my direction and then averting his gaze.

The bell rang and I took deep breath because like always this was stifling me.

"Leave your work on your boards and I will evaluate them later. I hope not to see these many faces next class. Remember, I will fail you all if found bad."

They were shocked for a moment, few even giggled thinking I was lying. Well I am not. They leave one by one and soon I make rounds to look at their works.

Some are downright horrible, some are bearable, but there was one that stood out and literally took my breath away. It was a painting of me, sitting and drinking coffee and though it was just a rough sketch; the one that shined out most was the red ruby earring hanging in my ear.

"Did you like it?"

Turning around I was surprised to see it was Dianxia.

"Dian-" clearing my throat I commented, "This is great. You've potential."

So awkward. Why do I feel like my old self as a ten year old boy, salivating over Dianxia who was seventeen at that time?

"You're an amazing model by the way."

I had to grin at his observation. Never in my lifetime have I ever been referred to as a model. Ghost Supreme, yes. Model, no.

"You think?"

"Yeah. You've got these amazing cheekbones and hair and-"

"Be careful kid. Someone might think you're flirting with a professor." Not that I mind, but...

"I am not a kid."

You definitely aren't.

He was stalling. I could sense the man in front of me wanted to say something more; when He Xuan entered my class and saw me talking to a student. Having never before seen me talking to another entity; he was excited and quickly made his way over to join us. It was when he saw the face of this student, did he quickly give me once over and several questions were etched on his face.

Nudging me He Xuan asked, "Won't you introduce me?"

Rolling my eyes I shook my head, "What's there to introduce about you? He's just a student and you're a professor."

'Student your ass. Is it just me or does he look like Crown Prince of Xianle, His Highness Xie Lian?'

He Xuan tapped me via our private channel for conversation. This medium was used only by Dianxia and me, but after he left; I once blurted out to He Xuan the password for my private channel and ever since he's been using it to communicate with me.

On a happier note I was glad it wasn't me hallucinating Dianxia.

Choosing to ignore He Xuan, he on the other hand was not offended by my lack of words.

"Nevermind him. Hi, I am Lyric. Professor of music and drama."

Raising his hand to shake He Xuan's, Dianxia introduced himself, "I am Xie Lian. Majoring in Arts and my minor is Music."

'Not only face but their names are similar too.'

Hm.

"So you're my student too. Well great. If this guy is hard on you; come to me and we'll sort it out."

'What the fuck are you saying?' This time it was me who tapped into his private channel and he coolly chose to ignore me.

"Thank you for the offer but I feel Dr. Hua would not be too hard on me. Can't say for other students through." He grinned at that and my breathing faltered.

How much I have missed seeing your smile Dianxia.

Watching them interact made me feel like an outsider. Clearing my throat I called out, "Don't you have another class. Leave before they close doors."

With a salute he sprinted out while He Xuan tapped my shoulder, "He's back. This time just for you."

Glancing at the drawing on the canvas, I felt the red earring on my ear. The same that belonged to my husband lifetimes ago.

You're back. Just for me.

Given a chance I usually prefer to spend lunch time on my own, but having He Xuan next to me, one could simply dream. This guy is just opposite to my personality. Where I loved being on my own, he loved being around people and more so; food.

One would think he would have paid off all his debts to me at Ghost Town, but that's far from truth. Over the years, even though he has accumulated his own wealth, he still prefered taking money from me to fill his gluttony.

Trudging our way over to the teachers lounge, without making any eye contact I sit in a lone corner to read my book while He Xuan as usual started talking to other professors. They were used to seeing me quiet.

"What are you reading?"

Raising my gaze to meet a pair of blue eyes, I wasn't surprised by Ms. Oh enquiry. I wasn't obtuse towards the fact that she was trying to flirt with me. This wasn't new but rather cumbersome. Usually I would politely answer but today was not the day. Thus, without another word I chose to leave the cafeteria. There were other things running in my mind that needed attention and it was Dianxia.

Running my eyes through throes of students around; I caught hold of him amongst group who were all laughing and playing around. This was not new. He was always the heart of every event. People liked him.

Back all those centuries ago, when Dianxia was not mine yet, I used to often look at him from afar. For 800 years, he wasn't aware of my existence, but for me; my every breath was in his name.

Right at this very moment, I felt like that kid who watched his beloved from sidelines and was more than content with it.

Finding a bench under the cherry blossom tree, I picked up my book and continued reading when abruptly I felt someone taking a seat next to me. Glancing up from my book I was taken aback at the sight of pale eyes looking back at me.

"Hi there again!"

Dianxia.

"What can I do for you student?"

He didn't know me and I didn't wish to scare him. Hua, put up a pretense of indifference.

"Wow! So formal."

He was quiet for a moment but then placed a plain white flower in front of me, "Here."

I couldn't show him how touched I was. This is his first gift to me in quite some lifetime. I was about to speak when he hastily asked me, "Can we meet for a cup of coffee?"

What?

(A/n: Do let me know if you liked this chapter. Their love is precious and I am sure like me you're all waiting on how this story is going to unfold.)