CHAPTER 47: ...WE KISSED."

Jian Ci sat up slowly, his hair tousled and eyes glazed with the remnants of alcohol. Yu Xi knelt beside him, helping guide his arms through the sleeves of the soft cotton pajamas. It was a clumsy process.

That’s because Jian Ci kept swaying, his limbs uncooperative, but eventually, the shirt was on. Yu Xi was quietly relieved that Jian Ci had at least wiped himself down after the bath and didn’t wash his hair. If he had washed his hair, the bed would have been soaked.

As Yu Xi reached for the pajama pants, Jian Ci suddenly wrapped his arms around him, pressing his cheek against Yu Xi’s shoulder.

"Don’t make trouble," Yu Xi muttered, trying to pry him off.

Once dressed, Yu Xi twisted the cap off the hangover drink and handed it over. Jian Ci took a sip and immediately scrunched his face in dramatic disgust.

"What’s wrong?" Yu Xi asked.

"It’s not sweet," Jian Ci whined.

Yu Xi sighed. "Drink it or I will divorce you."

Jian Ci looked like he’d been struck by Thor’s hammer. With a wounded expression, he downed the drink in one go, then flopped onto the bed, pouting like a betrayed prince.

Yu Xi: "..."

He went to change into his own clothes, expecting Jian Ci to be asleep when he returned. Fifteen minutes later, he came back, reached to pull the covers over Jian Ci, only for his wrist to be grabbed.

Yu Xi was yanked down onto the bed.

Yu Xi: "..."

Jian Ci clung to Yu Xi like a body pillow, limbs wrapped around him with drunken devotion. His breath was warm against Yu Xi’s collarbone as he murmured, "Baby, don’t threaten me with divorce ever again."

Yu Xi: "..."

His mind short-circuited. Who am I? Where am I? His heart thudded in his chest like it was trying to escape. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think. He could only feel the heat of Jian Ci’s skin pressed against his own.

"Is that why you are pouting?" Yu Xi asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Mm," Jian Ci hummed, burying his face deeper into Yu Xi’s neck.

Yu Xi tried to shift away. "Where are you going?" Jian Ci asked, tightening his grip.

"To sleep. This bed’s too small for both of us."

"No it’s not," Jian Ci said, tugging him closer. "See?" As if sticking together solved the problem. Their bodies were flush, their breaths mingling and their hearts nearly synchronized.

Yu Xi sighed, praying he wouldn’t expose himself or worse, that Jian Ci wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning.

Then Jian Ci nuzzled his neck again and whispered, "Wife, when I die, you can’t marry someone else, okay?"

Yu Xi blinked and said jokingly, "You will be dead. I can’t be single forever."

Jian Ci pulled back just enough to glare. "I will come back as a ghost and haunt you and your lover."

Yu Xi: "..."

The heavens were truly testing him.

"You aren’t going to die," Yu Xi said, voice firm but gentle.

Jian Ci turned toward him, eyes glassy and red. "I am going to die, baby. I’m sick."

Yu Xi shifted, meeting those eyes head-on. The pain in them was raw, unfiltered. He reached out, caressing Jian Ci’s cheek with the back of his hand. "Hey, don’t... don’t cry. You are not going to die. Your brother is working day and night to find a solution. He won’t let you die."

But Jian Ci cried anyway.

It wasn’t loud or dramatic, just quiet tears that slipped down his cheeks, the kind that came from holding it in too long. Yu Xi realized then how much effort Jian Ci put into smiling every day, how much he hid behind laughter and teasing. He probably didn’t want his brothers to see him like this. But here, in the dark, he let it all fall apart.

"I will give you every part of my body if I have to," Yu Xi whispered. "And if you die... I will die with you."

He wanted to say more. Wanted to confess everything. But the blood oath sealed his lips. This was all he could offer.

His hand was wet with Jian Ci’s tears, and it shattered him.

Jian Ci sniffled, then said softly, "I don’t want you to die with me. You have to live... and take care of our children."

Yu Xi: "..."

Children? What children?

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In the end, he had to coax Jian Ci to sleep with soft reassurances and gentle touches. Once he said what Jian Ci wanted to hear—"I won’t leave you," "I will be with you," "I will take care of the children, "—the man melted into obedience, curling up beside him like a contented child. Jian Ci slept soundly, his breathing even, his body relaxed.

Yu Xi, however, couldn’t sleep at all. His mind was a whirlwind of everything that had happened today.

His heart was still racing, and his body felt too warm, too aware. He tried to shift, reaching for the half-drunk glass of water on the bedside table, but the moment he moved, Jian Ci’s arms tightened around him like a vice.

Yu Xi: "..."

He sighed and gently stroked Jian Ci’s back, resigned to staying put.

When morning came, Jian Ci was the picture of peace. He stretched out like a cat, his limbs loose and his face looking refreshed. Meanwhile, Yu Xi stood by the mirror, fixing his hair, looking like a raccoon with dark circles under his eyes.

"You are awake," Yu Xi said.

"Yeah," Jian Ci replied, yawning. He didn’t seem surprised to be in Yu Xi’s room. It wasn’t the first time he had slept over.

Scratching his head, making his hair even messier, Jian Ci asked, "What happened last night?"

Yu Xi tied up his hair, eyes calm. "What do you remember?"

Jian Ci tsked, brow furrowed, trying to piece it together.

He suddenly sat up, the flicker in his eyes sharp and searching. He reached out and grabbed Yu Xi’s shoulders, turning him over with surprising strength for someone who had been so languid moments before.

Yu Xi blinked, confused. "What?"

On the surface, he looked calm his expression unreadable and his voice steady, but inside, his thoughts raced. Did Jian Ci remember everything?

"You and that girl," Jian Ci said slowly, "what’s her name again..."

"Cindy," Yu Xi replied, tone clipped.

"Yes, her. Did anything happen last night?"

Yu Xi felt a flicker of irritation. He hadn’t even looked at Cindy properly, hadn’t cared for her presence, and yet Jian Ci was assuming something had happened. "Anything like what?"

Jian Ci hesitated, lips parting, then closing again. "You know... anything."

Yu Xi narrowed his eyes, then said, voice dry, "Yeah. When we went out, she asked me to help her dry her clothes. I undressed her."

Jian Ci’s eyes widened, and his fingers curled tighter around Yu Xi’s shoulders. It was subtle, possessive and imperceptible.

Yu Xi continued, "One thing led to another... and we kissed."