Past
"I choose his life." YiJun finally says, falling to his knees.
"No... " Xiao Xian whispers under his breath.
The princess smiles, feeling satisfied. She had expected as much.
"Guards, confine him to this room. See that he doesn't try to escape." The princess orders, pointing at Xiao Xian.
YiJun's head snaps up at that.
"Why does he have to stay? I have already agreed to end our relationship. What will you achieve by confining him here?"
"Darling, he needs to stay here as a collateral for your obedience." The princess walks over to Xiao Xian.
"Guards, take the Prince away and get him ready for the ceremony."
"Jun, you shouldn't have agreed." Xiao Xian whispers, as tears make their way down his face.
The guards pull YiJun away.
When only the two of them and the guards restraining Xian are left, the princess walks closer to Xian and slaps him hard.
She draws blood.
For a woman, she is unusually strong.
Xian winces.
The princess licks her lips at the sight of blood that drips down from the side of Xian's mouth.
"I have to admit, YiJun has good taste...Mmmm." She hums, moving closer to Xian's exposed neck and breathing him in.
"You disgust me!" Xian bites out, turning his face away.
"Maybe when I am bored with your lover, I will make you fuck me. Hm?" She smirks.
"He will never touch you," Xian says confidently.
"We will know in a few hours, wouldn't we?" the princess challenges, turning away.
"Guards, make sure he doesn't leave."
With that, the princess walks out of the room.
Somewhere a few floors lower, in an almost dark room, YiJun is left bound to a chair.
'The grainary.' YiJun realizes, as a familiar scent of raw grains and pulses hits him.
The princess enters, and YiJun slowly lifts his head to look at her.
"Do you know how old I am, Prince?" she asks, walking closer.
YiJun doesn't answer.
"Awww. Don't be like that. We have to spend an eternity together. You sulking like that will not do." She teases.
YiJun had planned to kill himself when he had thought that agreeing to the princess's wishes would make her let Xian go, but he had not anticipated her wickedness. And now, he knew that his one wrong move could cost Xian his life. So he remains still and quiet.
"I am well over a hundred, Prince. But I don't look a day over eighteen. Do I?" She says, caressing YiJun's cheek.
YiJun flinches at the cold touch.
'Over a hundred? That's impossible. Maybe she uses witchcraft, or maybe, the woman has gone mad because of jealousy, and has lost her mind.' YiJun thinks, continuing to remain quiet.
"Oh, I see. You don't believe me." She sighs.
"Guard, bring him in." She orders a uniformed man standing guard at the door.
The guard walks away only to return within a minute, wheeling an animal cage inside the grainary.
It's dark; the shape inside the cage moves a little. YiJun's eyes get drawn to it, but he misses the movement.
"Are you planning to cage me like a dog if I fail to live up to my words?" YiJun asks sarcastically, on hearing a whine from the cage.
"You are smart, YiJun. But you got one thing wrong. The animal in the cage is not a dog. It's actually- " She trails off and smiles wickedly, before lighting a candle and bringing it over to the cage. Shin crouches next to the cage, and the flame illuminates the figure inside: YiJun's eyes widen, and he shakes his eyes in disbelief, "No. No. It can't be...."
Present
*Jiang Residence 'Two days Ago'*
It was a Sunday morning, fifteen years after Wei Xian's adoption; the kids had said there last goodbyes to their parents. A truck had rammed into their parent's car on their way back from work.
It was unexpected; no one was prepared, least of all, the kids.
Yanli had cried and had felt lost. But after a while, being the eldest, she had decided to hide her pain. "A Cheng, A Xian, we three have to stick together no matter what." She had said with resolve.
It was at this moment that Wei Xian had decided that he would do anything and everything in his power, to help his sister and brother. No matter what it costs.
*The Emperor's Smile - Present day*
Three men stand with their heads hung low inside a dimly lit room. The room has no windows. The only source of light is the candle that is sitting on the elegant looking desk.
"Hong, I told you not to go overboard. Do you have no self-control?" A middle-aged man says in a low voice.
"I told you that is is just a temporary gig for me, dad. Even if Shen fires me, I have nothing to lose." The young man, in his late twenties, replies.
"Will you both shut the hell up!? He will be here any minute." The third says side-eyeing the other two.
No sooner had he said it that the door swings open, and Wangji enters.
All three men draw in a quick breath.
'What the fuck is this weirdo doing here? Isn't Shen in charge of the staff?' The young man, Hong, thinks, cursing his unlucky stars.
Wangji walks closer to Hong. "Leave." He gestures to the other two men.
The two scurry off, keeping their heads low.
"Li Hong, that is your name, right?"
Hong nods. He doesn't look at Wangji.
"You are Senior Li's only son, right?"
Hong nods again. He continues to look at the floor.
Over the months that he had worked in the Emperor's Smile as a bouncer, he had heard many rumors about Wangji. The most popular and scary was the one that mentioned that no good comes to those who look into Wangji's eyes.
And Hong being a mildly smart man, had decided to take that particular rumor seriously.
"Hong, it has come to my knowledge that the live show violinist left because you misbehaved with her. What do you have to say about that?" Wangji pauses before sighing softly and continuing, "I am waiting, Hong."
"She was arriving late every other day, and that caused problems. So, I thought I should teach her... "
"Are you the stage coordinator?" Wangji interrupts.
"No, Mr. Lan."
"It was not your place to teach her anything. If there is a problem, let the concerned department deal with it. Hong, I respect Senior Li. He has served this club all his life, so, for his sake, I will give you one more chance. If I hear anything against you even one more time, I won't be so generous. Have I made myself clear?"
Wangji says, turning his back towards Hong.
"Yes, Mr. Lan."
"Leave," Wangji says, sounding disappointed.
Hong leaves, and Shen enters.
"Is Jun finally becoming kinder after all these centuries?" Shen smiles affectionately at Wangji.
"Uncle, I told you not to call me that. It's... "
"It's what Xian called you before... " Shen doesn't finish.
Where there was a smile just moments ago, now there is sadness. "YiJun, you need to live a little, spend some time away," Shen suggests, putting a hand on Wangji's shoulder.
"You might as well ask me to kill myself, Uncle. You know that he is the only reason for my existence."
"It's been four hundred years, YiJun."
"I know that uncle. I will let him go once he tells me himself."
"YiJun, you know he can't do that," Shen says, taking a seat opposite to Wangji.
"He promised that he would return to me. I will wait for him till he does." Wangji's voice is confident.
"How many times now?" Shen asks.
"Seven."
"Doesn't it hurt more when it's not him?"
"Yes, it does. It feels like I have lost him all over again."
"YiJun, don't think you...."
"No, I won't. Xian promised that he would return. I.. I know he will come back to me." Wangji says, removing a locket from his coat pocket.
He looks at it affectionately before placing it back inside.
Shen knows that Wangji would not say anything about that topic anymore, so he changes the subject.
"We need a violinist and a lead singer."
"Mn."
"Do you have anyone in mind, YiJun?"
"I was thinking of giving new singers a chance, and as for violinist, I will talk to Hua and persuade her." Wangji pauses before continuing, "Ask Senior Li to hold auditions for singers at various colleges. Let's see what the young blood has to offer."
Wangji looks at the time.
"It's going to be dawn in an hour. I need to go back now."
With that, he walks out of the room and heads home to where Xian is waiting for him.
{Note:- Word Count 1488
'Lan Wangji' is what YiJun calls himself in the present arc.
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