CHAPTER 41: WILFUL BROTHER

"Yes, Father," Jian Rui said, voice clipped but respectful.

"That’s all," the Imperial Lord replied, already turning away.

Jian Rui bowed low, then pivoted on his heel and strode from the ancestral hall, his boots echoing against the marble. Each step was a battle against the fury simmering beneath his skin. The words ’chosen partner’ still rang in his ears. As if Jian Rui were a pawn to be placed, not a man with a will of his own.

He turned a corner, jaw clenched, when suddenly a hand shot out and yanked him into a side room.

Jian Rui’s reflexes flared. He twisted, ready to strike, but stopped short when he saw the face before him.

"Get off me," he snapped, shoving the man back.

Stannis, Marshal of the Iron Howl Vanguard, barely budged. He was taller, broader, and infuriatingly calm. He pressed Jian Rui against the wall, palms braced on either side, caging him in.

"Rui," Stannis murmured, voice low and rough. "I missed you."

Jian Rui shoved again. "Get lost."

But Stannis didn’t move. He leaned in, his breath hot against Jian Rui’s cheek, lips brushing dangerously close. He pinched Jian Rui’s chin, forcing him to meet his gaze.

"You are so heartless," Stannis whispered. "You have been avoiding me ever since that night."

"I told you to never talk about it," Jian Rui hissed, slapping his hand away.

"How could I not?" Stannis breathed. "You and I... we are fated."

Footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Jian Rui shoved him hard and stormed out, his coat flaring behind him.

Stannis watched him go, jaw tight. That one night had ruined him. They were both espers. It shouldn’t have happened.

But he wasn’t going to let this go. He rushed after him determined to talk this out.

***

Jian Ci and Yu Xi strolled down the hallway, the sterile hum of Jian Wei’s lab surrounding them. Yu Xi peered through the reinforced glass. Inside, Jian Wei was hunched over a console, encased in a full hazmat suit, his expression locked in scientific severity. Jian Ci knocked on the glass.

Jian Wei didn’t even look up. "You better be dying for you to disturb me."

Jian Ci grinned, blew a puff of hot air onto the glass, and drew a crude angry cat in the mist.

Jian Wei finally turned, his eyes narrowing. "You brat. Wipe that off. Your germs are contaminating my glass."

"That’s you," Jian Ci said cheerfully. "You look like an angry cat."

Jian Wei’s face twisted in fury. He yanked at his hazmat suit, storming toward the door.

"Shit, run," Jian Ci hissed, grabbing Yu Xi’s sleeve.

Yu Xi blinked, still processing, but instinct kicked in. He bolted after Jian Ci, the sound of Jian Wei’s furious shouting trailing behind them, an impressive string of curses that spanned several dialects.

Outside the lab, Yu Xi finally caught his breath. "Why do you provoke him so much?"

Jian Ci shrugged. "It’s a sibling thing. How else can I remind him I exist?"

Yu Xi frowned. "You remind him by tormenting him?"

Jian Ci chuckled, as he tapped the panel unlocking the garage door. "It’s my duty and pride as a sibling to make sure he gets angry at least once a day. It’s good for his health."

Yu Xi stared. "I don’t get it."

Jian Ci tapped open the door of the sleek black and green hover car, its surface gleaming under the light. "Get in," he said, flashing a grin.

Yu Xi slid into the passenger seat, the interior cool and quiet. Jian Ci circled around and climbed in, settling behind the controls. As the doors sealed with a soft hiss, he glanced over. "You and your brother, you aren’t like that, are you?"

Yu Xi looked out the window. "No. He doesn’t like making trouble for me. He tries to reduce himself... because he’s afraid I will abandon him."

Jian Ci frowned. "That’s sad. Maybe it’s because of where you were raised. But when you two finally meet, I bet he will be on your ass all the time."

Yu Xi smiled faintly. "I wouldn’t want a wilful brother like you."

Jian Ci leaned over, reaching for Yu Xi’s seat belt. His hair brushed against Yu Xi’s neck, soft and fragrant. Yu Xi stiffened, the scent of amber and vanilla curling into his senses, warm and disarming.

"You would be bored without a brother like me," Jian Ci said, pulling away and buckling his own belt.

Yu Xi watched him start the hover car, the console lighting up with soft green pulses. The engine hummed to life, lifting them gently off the ground.

"Where are we going?" Yu Xi asked.

Jian Ci tapped the console, setting the hover car to autopilot. The vehicle hummed in response, gliding forward with effortless grace. He leaned back, casting Yu Xi a sideways glance and a charming smirk. "You will see."

As the hover car pulled out onto the elevated transit lane, Yu Xi’s breath caught. Velithar Prime unfolded before him like a dream... no, like a revelation. Towering skyscrapers of glass and metal shimmered in the morning light, their forms elegant and soaring, like crystalline spires reaching for the heavens.

Golden domes crowned key structures, glinting like celestial ornaments, while sleek bridges arched between buildings, threading the city together in a web of motion and design.

But it wasn’t just the architecture, it was the harmony. Verdant gardens spilled from terraces, vines curled around steel beams, and trees lined the walkways with deliberate grace. Nature wasn’t pushed aside here. It was embraced, woven into the very bones of the city.

Yu Xi looked at the scenery with curiosity. Compared to the sterile, shadowed compound where he had been held, this was something else entirely. This was what heaven might look like if it were built by visionaries.

Jian Ci watched him quietly, the smirk fading into something softer. He began to introduce the city to him.

He was fully in his element, narrating the city’s wonders with the flair of a seasoned guide and the mischief of someone who knew exactly which stories to embellish. As the hover car glided through the sky, he gestured toward a gleaming spire that pierced the clouds.

"That’s the royal palace," he said, voice casual but laced with warning. "I would stay away from there. It’s a den of beasts and monsters."

Yu Xi nodded solemnly, absorbing every word as if it were gospel. Jian Ci’s tone might have been playful, but Yu Xi sensed the truth beneath it.

The hover car began to descend, slipping into a vibrant district pulsing with life.

The car eased into a private docking bay beside a grand foyer where crowds queued in snaking lines.