Chapter Nineteen: Paired Together

Chapter Nineteen: Paired Together

Yun Zi'an felt as if his blood was ignited by the hot alcoholic breath Rong Shao exhaled, the alcohol stimulating his brain to accelerate the blood flow, raising his body temperature with the constant heat emanating from Rong Shao, whose chest seemed like a furnace baking Yun Zi'an.

"When did I ever upset you?" And, "Yes, I'm indeed trying to upset you," contradictory yet compatible answers rolled on his tongue, but before Yun Zi'an could speak—

The drunken Rong Shao, like a collapsing mountain, crashed down upon him.

Yun Zi'an hastily embraced him, but Rong Shao's towering height of six feet three inches and muscular build were no cotton dolls, their solid weight causing Yun Zi'an's arms to ache and tremble.

"Rong Shao..." Yun Zi'an, exerting himself, spoke through gritted teeth, "You son of a..."

Sadly, Rong Shao was incapable of responding, his brain numbed by alcohol, nearly unconscious.

Overwhelmed, Yun Zi'an cursed, "Damn it..."

Why did he get Rong Shao drunk?

Was he just asking for trouble?

Pepper door.

Yun Zi'an glanced around, cursing the Rong family's excessive wealth and the hotel designer's layout. The top floor, despite its vastness, had only one bed, dozens of meters away from the bar.

Carrying Rong Shao to bed was an impossible task for him alone.

Yun Zi'an felt an unusual headache, looking down at Rong Shao in his arms. He realized he had never observed Rong Shao's face so closely - the nose and brow bones resembling a mountain ridge, scarred brows hinting at weathered hardship, his features sharp and angular. Yet, his lips were unexpectedly soft, now moist and shiny with liquor, chaotically exhaling hot, alcoholic breath.

"You really trust me, huh?" Yun Zi'an looked at the unconscious Rong Shao, a chuckle resonating in his chest, "You passing out just makes it easier for me to cheat, doesn’t it?"

The answer was clear and obvious, yet Rong Xiao drank an entire bucket of strong liquor right in front of Yun Zi'an.

And then, unsurprisingly, he passed out.

All of this seemed like his silent answer—

"I entrust you with my complete trust."

"Rong Xiao..." Yun Zi'an couldn't help but bite his lower lip so hard that blood oozed out, almost grinding his teeth in frustration, "I hate you so much..."

.

It took all of Yun Zi'an's strength to half-drag, half-carry Rong Xiao onto the bed. Crushed under his heavy body, sinking into the soft mattress, Yun Zi'an thought if it weren't for his own husband, he would have thrown him aside long ago, unwilling to spare him another glance.

After catching his breath for a long while, Yun Zi'an still felt exhausted, his arms and shoulders so sore he couldn't lift them, which reminded him of his childhood training sessions with Rong Xiao.

Back then, Yun Zi'an was only seven years old, and Rong Xiao was ten.

Rong Xiao had shown exceptional military qualities from a young age, which delighted his grandfather, a lifelong soldier. The grandfather and grandson turned the hill next to the Rong family mansion into a training ground, with a racetrack, shooting range, and obstacle course.

Yun Zi'an, born with health issues, could only envy from a distance. While young Rong Xiao trained hard, Yun Zi'an sat under a tree, reading his books, occasionally looking up at Rong Xiao developing muscles and resenting his own skinny legs.

Grandfather Rong showed no leniency to his grandson, making ten-year-old Rong Xiao carry weights for thirty kilometers cross-country.

Young Yun Zi'an, hearing that they would go into the forest to hear birds and see streams, felt so envious he almost cried, but his health didn’t permit him to join.

Young Rong Xiao silently looked at him, then asked, "How much weight?"

Grandfather Rong considered, "Forty kilograms."

Young Rong Xiao pointed at Yun Zi'an, "He weighs forty-four kilograms. I'll carry him as my weight."

Before Grandpa Rong could give his nod, Rong Shao had already knelt down, offering his back to Yun Zi'an with a call, "Yuan Yuan, come on."

Little Yun Zi'an, thrilled, almost tore the book in his hands, running and jumping onto Rong Shao's back, exclaiming, "Wow—!"

Young Rong Shao, with his sun-tanned face, wore a brotherly smile as he ran with little Yun Zi'an on his back, calling out, "Let's go—!"

.

That day was one of the few happy moments in Yun Zi'an's childhood. He followed Rong Shao through the dense forest, tracking rabbits, stepping barefoot into the icy streams. Rong Shao even climbed a tree to fetch him a bird's egg.

The egg was small, its shell smooth and dotted with light brown spots, making little Yun Zi'an's eyes widen in fear of accidentally breaking it.

"This is a shrike's egg," Rong Shao told him. "Shrikes are small but fierce, willing to attack beasts much larger than themselves to protect their mate and eggs, not caring even if it means death."

"The nest was made of eggshells and feathers, probably attacked by a wild cat, leaving only this one egg."

Young Rong Shao covered little Yun Zi'an's hand with his own, holding the tiny egg together, and looked at him earnestly, "I will always protect you like a shrike."

.

Pulled from these distant, faded memories, the now grown-up Yun Zi'an turned to look at Rong Shao lying beside him and couldn't help but smile. My brave shrike, do you still remember your vow from our childhood...

After that day, little Yun Zi'an encased the tiny shrike egg under a glass dome, placing it on his desk. He pored over countless books about shrikes, from "Shrikes fly at dusk, wind blows the lacquer trees" to "Shrikes fly east and swallows west, hard to meet from Jade Pass to Witch Gorge." The shrike existed in ancient poetry for thousands of years, yet its symbolism hardly seemed beautiful.

Perhaps that's why his relationship with Rong Shao evolved into what it is now.

Yun Zi'an chuckled bitterly, shaking his head, preparing to undress for bed. He always slept naked; Rong Shao would likely be out until tomorrow afternoon. He only needed to dress in the morning and wasn't worried about anything.

He quickly stripped off his damp clothes, walked barefoot to the washbasin to clean his face of any remaining makeup. Not in the mood for skincare, he simply wiped his face and returned to the bed, pulling back the covers to sleep.

Just as he kneeled on the bed, leaning over Rong Shao to reach for the blackout eye mask at the bedside, the supposedly unconscious Rong Shao suddenly propped himself up, lifting his head and opening his eyes—

They found themselves in a face-to-face standoff, the silence between them almost deafening.

.

Rong Xiao, on the verge of vomiting from the alcohol, nearly lost his senses as he stumbled to the bathroom, pausing to gaze at the half-naked Yun Zi'an sprawled over him.

Yun Zi'an, who had simply planned to get some beauty sleep, was left speechless.