Cao Wei/Jiang Ren
Since the night had been so magical so far, it was too early for Zhuo Yixuan's unit to go to sleep, or perhaps they were too drunk and wanted to keep it going or at least those who were still conscious, since Jiang Ren was unconscious on the floor of the cultivation room. They didn't want to disturb the others, so they snuck into the larger room to 'play' with their new weapons like little kids, but Jiang Ren tripped over one of the floor cushions and stumbled onto another. Finding it comfortable in his drunken state, he stayed there, falling asleep.
"Do something about him... he can't sleep here. Zhu Yan will use this room tomorrow..." Mei Lin hiccuped as she staggered too, but remained standing.
"Yes, yes... get up buddy... Jiang Ren..." Cao Wei tried to shake him a little.
"Leave me... I'm tired." He muttered, trying to shake off whatever was bothering him.
"If you stay, Xiao Xuan will be in trouble tomorrow..." Cao Wei then evoked on his strong sense of responsibility, and the man opened his eyes and tried to stand up, but failed.
"Dude, you're so drunk... why do I always end up taking care of you? This is like... you know, I lost count already. Why do you insist on drinking if you can't handle it? When did you become my wife, Ren? Get up now." Cao Wei complained as he picked him up, putting one arm around his shoulders and the other around his waist.
"Why would a man be a wife? More like a husband..." Ren whispered as he tried to contain everything he'd drunk in and not vomit it all over his friend.
"Yeah, yeah, a very heavy husband, okay? Are you satisfied now and why are you so damn tall?" Cao Wei asked as he carried most of Jiang Ren's weight and walked away from Yiming and Mei Lin, leaving them alone for a while while he led his friend to his room.
It was a good thing Zhu Yan had given them the first floor, otherwise, it would have been harder to support Jiang Ren up those long stairs. Luckily, he didn't have to, and his room was right next to Jiang Ren's, so he escorted them first to Ren's room, which was the last one on the first floor. He opened the sliding door for them to enter and crossed the room directly to the large bed.
The room was dark, well, as dark as it could be with bright blue flowers glowing everywhere, just like in any of his rooms. This was because Zhu Yan insisted that they help the human body relax so they get better rest, so there was enough light to see where he was going. Once at the edge of the bed, he gently pushed Jiang Ren towards it, but instead of seeing him fall onto the bed, the tall man grabbed his arms, and they both fell on top of each other, bumping heads and accidentally kissing.
"Damn it... why does this keep happening? Ren, what the hell? Do you enjoy pulling me around so much, or do you just like kissing me?" Cao Wei asked indifferently as he tried to wriggle away, but the man himself pulled him back into his strong chest.
"Stay... Cao Wei..." Jiang Ren whispered in his ear, and Cao Wei's heart skipped a beat as he felt Ren's firm body beneath him, sturdy yet warm and welcoming, making Cao Wei desire something he had buried deep within himself long ago.
"For heavens sake, you're drunker than I thought. Let me go or I'll kiss you for real this time, do you understand? Do you want that? You're always pushing me away, but when you're light-headed, you pull me closer and refuse to let me go. Make up your mind, Ren, do you like me or not? We can't play this game forever, our world can end at any moment, nothing is absolute, and we certainly don't have much time to wa..."
"You talk too much, just kiss me..." Jiang Ren interrupted him as he stared into his caramel-colored eyes, surprising Cao Wei. What the hell was that man demanding? Had he gone crazy drinking? What was wrong with him?
"What? I have no idea what you're fantasizing about, but it's just me, Cao Wei..."
"I know, kiss me..." Jiang Ren insisted.
"Are you serious? No way! I... I think I've lost my mind instead of you and I'm imagining things." Cao Wei tried to get up again, but he was already firmly restrained.
"You said you were going to kiss me for real..."
"I was trying to make you release me, you idiot. I know how serious you are. Do you think I'd dare to play with you just for fun?"
"I'm not playing... Wei... Cao Wei... it's been so long..."
"So long, what?"
"I've been keeping you away for so long... I'm tired."
"What did you say?" Cao Wei asked incredulously.
"I've always liked you..."
"How come? You never say anything. The more I try to get close to you, the more you hate it." He said, trying to understand the man, who had always been a great mystery to him, a mystery he could never unravel.
"I never hate it. It's just that you never take it seriously... At first, you didn't seem interested, and that was fine. We had so much work to do that it didn't matter. But then you went out with that female hunter from another unit, and I thought... that you just didn't like people of your own sex..." Hearing that, Cao Wei sighed.
"Idiot, why didn't you tell me before? I tried my best to get you, but you rejected all my efforts, telling me I was joking when I meant it. I've never cared about gender and why should I care about that? We demon hunters don't have that luxury when there are so few female hunters around. As long as I have feelings for that person, I don't care about gender, and my relationship with Yun Ni was like the few other demon hunter relationships have, mutually beneficial and nothing more that didn't last long." Cao Wei confessed, and Jiang Ren hold him tighter.
"Kiss me already. I'm sick of stealing kisses, of getting drunk enough to have the nerve to be like this with you. Tonight, I couldn't hold back anymore..."
"So... is this for real? Do you want us to have a romantic relationship? I just want to make sure I got that right..."
"Will you kiss me or not?" Jiang Ren asked impatiently. This was the man who could master any weapon put in front of him: bows, daggers, swords, throwing weapons, needles, you name it; there was nothing Jiang Ren couldn't master, but he was so... so bad at mastering love that it was laughable.
"Fine! Do whatever you want, but don't reject me when you wake up, because tonight there's no going back."
"I've been waiting for eight years for you to say that." Cao Wei coughed.
"That... that long?"
"Mmm... perhaps longer."
"You're a complete idiot, let's fix that... Ever since I first saw you, so serious, so talented and dedicated, I've had a soft spot for you. I guess opposites attract..." Cao Wei said just before closing the distance between them and kissing him long and passionately.
Soon, clothes started falling to the floor as the sound of a flute drifted in through the still-open door. Since Cao Wei never had a chance to close it, with only his pants on, he got out of bed to the hall and looked up. The sound was probably coming from Wen Xiao's room, but as soon as he closed the door, the sound disappeared, perhaps because once the rooms were completely closed, they were soundproofed, once again courtesy of the great demon. That pervert probably had something like what they were about to do in mind when he made them like that... Lucky them! He thought as he returned to bed and slipped into Jiang Ren welcoming arms, his old flame, who now burned more intensely than ever.
Huang Yiming/Mei Lin
"I swear, those two are idiots." Mei Lin said, sitting on a floor cushion, dizzy for a moment as she watched the two struggle to get out of the cultivation room.
"Actually, we're all... Why are we here again? To play with new weapons? What's wrong with us? We should be resting..." Yiming said, lying on his back on the cold wooden floor near her. He was tired, and both the day and night had been so wonderful that he wanted to remember it as a dream, because chances were when he woke up in the morning, the enchantment would be broken, and he would return to his cruel reality.
"I love the fan you buy for me, Yiming... Did you like my dance?" She asked, looking at him, who had already closed his eyes.
"It was enchantingly beautiful." He said confidently, making Mei Lin smile.
"Do you think Xiao Xuan liked it too?" She asked, and Yiming sighed. And there went his hope that reality would catch up with him in the morning, because reality had crushed him at that very moment.
"I'm sure he did." He replied gently.
"His sword dance was so beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes off him."
"We know Mei Lin, we all know it, just as you know he doesn't like you that way."
"Maybe not now, but someday..."
"Didn't you see his spell? Didn't you feel it? His fate is already tied to that of the great demon Li Lun, and we all saw it right there. It pains me to say it, but you don't stand a chance."
"Who says I don't stand a chance? I know him better, I'm part of his unit, I can take care of him better than a grumpy tree."
"Ah, enough already! You can deceive yourself all you want, but it won't change anything, no matter how much you wish it would. I've known Yixuan almost my entire life, and I always knew he wasn't interested in women, Mei Lin. Not at all! And that's not all, his fate is tied to Bing Yi's, and you know what? Bing Yi was in love with the demon god Ying Long, who was Zhu Yan's father, who is now madly in love with Zhuo Yichen, and his best friend, Li Lun was chosen to be Zhuo Yixuan's partner. The will of the gods cannot be denied, because I don't believe even Li Lun can escape it, let alone a bunch of humans like us!"
"You jerk!" Mei Lin shouted as she stood up, but Yiming did too.
"Yes, you have the right to call me that, but I'm the one who loves you, you idiot! The only one who will carry you in his heart, who will put you first, who will take care of you and pick up the pieces when you break, along with mine! I love you, damn it! Why won't you give me a chance? You don't even have to love me back, just give me the chance to try to win your heart, and if I fail, go ahead and keep suffering!" Yiming staggers as he takes a few steps back and falls on his ass.
The impact hurt, but his heart hurt the most, and he couldn't stop the tears that threatened to fall against his will, because the last thing he wanted was to break down in front of her. It was too painful, too humiliating, so he covered his face with his hands and sank to the floor, crying. He expected Mei Lin to storm out of the room, but he was surprised when she sat down beside him and gently covered his hands with hers.
"I'm sorry, Yiming... please don't cry..." She whispered as she tried to move his hands away, but he resisted, holding them still, trying to control his emotions, but to no avail. He was already tipsy and unable to stop his pain from showing, his bitterness from exploding on their faces.
"Yiming... if you can't forgive me, I'll do this..." She said as she lay down beside him and hugged him, which made him cry harder. Yet she remained still, her head on his chest, constantly repeating in a low voice how sorry she was, until he calmed down enough to stop crying and finally took his hands away. He was already a mess, so why hide it?
"I'm sorry too, Mei Lin... I... I didn't mean to hurt you. Forgive me..." He said, but she shook her head.
"You don't need to apologize. I went too far... you've never said it outright, but I knew you had feelings for me, and all this time I've been inconsiderate to you. I just wanted to pretend everything was my way, to delude myself into thinking that one day, with no one else to compete with, he'd change his mind and see me as his future wife. As the head of the family, he definitely needed an heir, so I deluded myself into thinking he will turn to look at me in time..." She sobbed, and Yiming hugged her tightly this time.
"I try so hard, but even so, the opportunity never comes no matter how much I long for it... I... I guess I blinded myself so as not to lose hope, because the fate of the Zhuo family has always been beyond my control; their divinity alone should have kept me away... it's impossible for two gods not to interfere in the fate of their descendants, and when Zhu Yan offered us a truce, I should have known... he would slip through my fingers like water..." She cried harder as her body shook with sobs, clutching Yiming's robes.
"It hurts so much, Mei Lin. We both know how deep a wound like that can be... but we can also heal..." Yiming whispered as he hugged her, patting her back.
"You're a good man, Yiming... why didn't I put my eyes on you?" She sobbed and Yiming chuckle.
"He's too special, too perfect, he had no real competition, to be honest, and I pale in comparison."
"That's not true... you have your own qualities."
"Of course it's true, we're talking about Yixuan, a divine man from every angle you look at him and who deserves it. He's the best there is, without flaws... but I never pretend to be better than him, nor do I want to be. I'm just asking for a chance, Mei Lin... I know that love takes a long time to forget and that sometimes it never goes away, but maybe... maybe, someday I can become your choice..." He whispered as he caressed her back and continued to do so until she calmed down too. Then, as they both felt a little sleepy, he lifted her off the floor and carried her to her room while the sound of a flute filled the hallway. It was a beautiful sound that calmed him as he laid her on the bed and was about to leave, when she grabbed his hand.
"Stay, Yiming, please, stay..."
"I don't think it's a good idea. We're both emotionally exhausted, but..."
"I'm not asking you to have sex with me, Yiming. I know how caring you are, even if we end up arguing most of the time. I do care about you too, and to be honest, I don't want to be alone tonight, and it should be the same for you. You're right, we're both emotionally exhausted, so let's get some rest, just rest..."
"I..."
"Please, I don't think either of us should be alone tonight. We're too hurt..." She pleaded and seeing her so vulnerable, with her beautiful light colored eyes, puffy and red from crying, he closed the door and got into bed beside her. She came close and hugged him under the covers, and he did the same. He expected to have trouble falling asleep, but perhaps, by some heavenly mercy, he soon fell into a deep sleep.
There was still a long way to go before they could become more than just friends and companions, but at least, at least this time, he could be the chosen one in the end.
AN: Ahhh, 😭😭😭 I'm sorry Yiming, I didn't want to write something so depressing for you, but it was about time you told her how you felt and how hurt you were too, so you can turn that page and start anew. As for Cao Wei and Jiang Ren... well, you guys are the first in going all out in that mansion. 😉👌😂 Things will escalate in the next one and I mean really escalate. Thanks for reading and until next time, take care.