he knocks rolled-up paper on nie huaisang's forehead. though the blow is just above feather-light, the smack echoes throughout the room, hopefully waking him up from whatever it is he's been thinking about instead of listening to jin zixuan explaining this lesson for the fifth time. dryly, he asks, "care to repeat what i just said?"
He dreams of beautiful things , inked words flowing like rain against parchment , and cranes that break through the deep blue of the sky into a world of stars. He wants to follow them , out into that world with no obligations , but hard as he tries a pressure keeps him grounded. The gentle slap against his forehead does nothing , but the resounding echo is enough to force him from his slumber. He remains still , hoping whoever it is will determine he’s a lost cause and simply leave him alone.
Only when he hears Jin Zixuan’s voice does he remember he’s in the middle of a lesson , a favor to him in reality. Nie Huaisang makes an effort to get up slowly like he was only resting his eyes ,and not off to the world of the unconscious. “ Hah , uh — ” but he can only give a sheepish smile , eyes scanning around to latch on to whatever his generous tutor might have been talking about.
He finds nothing .
“ I know , I know you said ,” he says more confidently far more than he feels. He smiles back at Jin Ziuxan the perfect look of innocence as he fiddles with his sleeve . “ You said —care to repeat what i just said?“