RBNR Ch23: Betrothal

Only after getting dressed and tidying himself up thoroughly did Qin Bao return home, his mood fraught with anxiety. Because he was clutching Feng Chengyu’s overcoat, he walked into the house walking on tiptoe, feeling far more guilty than when he used to sneak back after fooling around outside.

For the birthday boy to suddenly vanish from his own birthday banquet wasn’t a reasonable thing to do, let alone vanishing together with another eye-catching individual.

Qin Bao fished out his phone, only to find that aside from two missed calls each from Mr. Qin and Ms. Rong, no one else had looked for him.

One of the call logs showed a talk time of several tens of seconds. He suddenly recalled that Feng Chengyu had answered it once for him last night—at that time, drenched in sweat, he had been resting limply against the man’s chest while the other retrieved the phone from his suit pocket.

He had vaguely heard the sound of speaking, but he hadn’t possessed an ounce of energy to pay attention to the call’s contents.

How exactly did Feng Chengyu brush them off?

Qin Bao was somewhat curious.

“Halt.”

The old master’s voice rang out without warning.

Qin Bao petrified, turning around slowly.

The old master was already seated in the living room drinking tea early in the morning, his gaze sharp as a torch. Qin Bao bit the bullet and greeted him: “Grandpa… you’re savoring tea so early? Why didn’t you go walk the myna bird?”

That myna bird was a habitual flatterer; whenever it saw Qin Bao, it would shout “Bao Bao”, showing no respect for elders or juniors.

The old master sized him up from head to toe, letting his gaze linger for a few seconds on the coat in his arms, before saying with a beaming smile: “When we called you to cut the cake last night, no one could find you anywhere, so your father ended up cutting it in your place. Chengyu was the same, disappearing without a word. Grandpa asks you—were the two of you together last night?”

Qin Bao understood his grandfather’s underlying meaning.

A solitary Alpha and a lone Omega vanishing at the same time, combined with his current disheveled appearance—even an idiot could guess what they had gone off to do, not to mention that he was still holding the incriminating evidence in his arms.

If I had known, I would have tossed it in the room. Why did I have to bring it back…

Qin Bao couldn’t resist curling his toes in embarrassment: “…En.”

Hearing this scandalous answer, the old master didn’t serve him with a cane, nor did he scold him. His smile grew even more benevolent: “Then was it Chengyu who brought you back?”

Qin Bao felt a little floaty all over: “No, he had an urgent matter and left first. I came back by myself.”

“Good, good, good. He has things to take care of, and you are sensible,” the old master said. “Hurry upstairs, wash up, and get some sleep. I’ll have Mama Tao make you something delicious.”

The sun had risen from the west. Moving his arms and legs in stiff unison, Qin Bao went upstairs, suspecting he had walked into the wrong house, or perhaps woken up in some parallel universe. Everything felt completely off.

No, things had been strange since Feng Chengyu arrived last night.

He was bewildered, yet couldn’t put his finger on the reason.

Whatever. A more open-minded family was a good thing; it beat being forced to kneel as punishment and having his ears pulled.

Back in his room, Qin Bao headed straight for the bathroom, filling the tub with water before sinking into it.

Feng Chengyu had only cleaned him up last night, but his body still felt slightly uncomfortable, aching everywhere as if he had been in a brawl. His waist had even been bruised green from Feng Chengyu’s tight grip.

Those hands were far too strong. Who knew if he had held back for too long, but it was an entirely different beast compared to the master’s composed, elegant exterior. At the time, Qin Bao had harbored the illusion that he would break apart, practically getting done to death.

Which went to show that Alphas shouldn’t fool around with watches that had anesthetic functions for no reason. Letting loose like that was downright reckless; it would be a wonder if he didn’t go completely insane when a real heat cycle came along in the future.

Then again, he had also opened his mouth and bit down hard on Feng Chengyu’s shoulder—purely an involuntary vent of spite, leaving behind clear teeth marks. That man was durable enough to take a bite without so much as an eyelid twitching.

He was, however, quite ticklish. When Qin Bao kissed his pectoral muscles, he had teased him to the point that his composure almost cracked.

Recalling last night, Qin Bao couldn’t help but smile.

He soaked foolishly in the bathtub for a while. Having exercised for most of the night and then lain on the rug until dawn, he nearly fell asleep in the water.

He climbed into bed and slept comfortably. When he woke up, the sky was already dark, and the soreness throughout his body had intensified. Lazily reaching for his phone, he checked to see if there were any unfamiliar calls that might be from Feng Chengyu.

That man was truly busy; aside from birthday greeting texts, there were no other incoming calls.

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he replied to his friends’ messages one by one.

First, he messaged Xu Tangzhou: [Gift received, haven’t unwrapped it yet. But your brother ran off so fast I didn’t even get to see what he looks like.]

Xu Tangzhou’s chat bubble was still stuck on the wall of “Happy Birthday” texts from the day before without a reply; he was probably in class.

Unable to contain his inner excitement, Qin Bao sent another: [I also have a huge piece of news to tell you. Do you have time off this weekend? I’ll come find you in Qinan.]

Then he texted Shan Yiming: [Ticket received, see you then.]

Finally, he opened the messages from other people. Most were well-wishes, which he didn’t really reply to.

The photo he had used for Flow yesterday had also been posted to his Dingxun Moments, showing a notification of 99+ interactions. He clicked in, scrolling through comments from relatives and friends until he saw one from Feng Chu.

Feng Chu commented: [Please seat me at the main table at the wedding, thank you!]

Qin Bao: “…”

Your condition has worsened. How about you take the groom’s seat instead.

He tapped on Feng Chu’s profile avatar, intending to ask about Feng Chengyu’s situation. While hesitating, he noticed that Feng Chu’s Moments album had been updated.

The most recent picture was taken at Qin Bao’s birthday banquet, showing Feng Chengyu’s back.

Under the brilliant lights, Feng Chengyu had just arrived, so the silhouette was somewhat blurry.

Feng Chu’s caption read: “Who says love can’t be predestined by fate, or arranged by matchmakers? I declare the CP I’ve shipped since childhood has come true!!”

Qin Bao was utterly confused.

Their circle was very small. Aside from Tu Yisen, others among his childhood friends knew Feng Chu too; he had seen familiar faces in each other’s friend circles before.

Just then, someone commented under Feng Chu’s post: [Holy crap? Your brother actually gave in? Save me, I don’t want a childhood betrothal!]

Qin Bao’s heart sank abruptly, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

That sense of wrongness was connected to the empty seat reserved for Feng Chengyu, and to his grandfather’s reaction regarding their disappearance together for the night.

Certain scenes deep in his memory began to resurface.

It seemed that at some point in time, children’s voices were laughing and chanting:

“Qin Bao is a child bride!”

“Qin Bao has an arranged marriage!”

…

The person who commented on Feng Chu’s post was Huang Youqi. His family’s older generation belonged to the Ministry of Education, and he had been a smooth talker since childhood; Qin Bao, Tu Yisen, and the rest didn’t really like hanging out with him.

Qin Bao poked him: [What do you mean by your comment under Feng Chu’s post?]

The two hadn’t spoken in a long time, and Huang Youqi replied quickly.

[!!! Big supermodel!]

[Sorry, I’m abroad and couldn’t come back for your coming-of-age ceremony yesterday. Belated happy birthday to you here!]

It was all superficial courtesy. Qin Bao had no time to beat around the bush and dialed the number directly.

“B-Brother Bao?” Huang Youqi answered, a little surprised. “What are your orders?”

Qin Bao asked, “I’m asking what you meant by that comment. What childhood betrothal?”

Huang Youqi caught on: “Ah, don’t be shy, it’s not like I’d laugh at you. Even though it’s an arranged marriage between you and Feng Chengyu, becoming a real couple is actually pretty great, you two are very well-matched. If you mind it, I’ll go delete the comment right now.”

A blue vein popped on Qin Bao’s temple: “Me and Feng Chengyu? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”

Huang Youqi couldn’t tell whether Qin Bao was just being stubborn or trying to save face, so he had to say: “I get it, I get it, you don’t like people bringing it up. You even had a fight with Tu Yisen over this when you were little. But rest assured, only us acquaintances know about the engagement between you two, no one will blab. Besides, so what if people talk? It doesn’t stop you two from being together.”

Qin Bao’s breathing turned ragged, the burning fury making it hard to hear what Huang Youqi was saying.

“To tell you the truth, Brother Bao, my family arranged one for me too. But that person can’t compare to Feng Chengyu at all, really too ugly. I’m afraid that now that you two worked out, my parents will turn around and arrange mine…”

Qin Bao hung up the phone.

He ran downstairs, but the living room was empty without a soul in sight. He ran out to the garden, only seeing Mama Tao watering the boxwood bushes there.

“Oh my, why aren’t you wearing shoes?”

Mama Tao dropped the hose, distressed as she pulled him onto smooth ground that wouldn’t hurt his bare feet.

Qin Bao’s face was deathly pale: “Mama Tao, do I have an arranged marriage with someone?”

“Why bring this up all of a sudden?” Mama Tao was completely in the dark about what had happened yesterday. “Did someone say something to you again?”

Qin Bao: “Just tell me if it’s true or not!”

Mama Tao had no choice but to say: “There is such a thing, though I’ve only heard about it. It seems to be with that Feng family.”

The Feng family could only refer to Feng Chengyu’s Feng family.

Qin Bao heard his own voice ask, “How was it arranged? Is it with someone named Feng Chengyu?”

Mama Tao nodded: “It was probably when you were still in your mother’s belly, agreed upon by the Old Master and Old Master Feng. When I came to look after you, you had just turned a month old, and that young master from the Feng family even came to see you.”

Qin Bao was struck by a wave of daze: “…”

Mama Tao said: “Xiao Bao, don’t be anxious. As long as you don’t like it, your father and mother will definitely stand on your side. What era is this to still have arranged marriages? Look, you are the Old Master’s darling, he spoils you to the heavens. As long as you truly don’t want it, the Old Master definitely wouldn’t have the heart to truly force you.”

Qin Bao’s memory gradually cleared.

He remembered—there truly was such an incident. Because Tu Yisen called him a child bride, he had mounted Tu Yisen and forcefully punched out one of his teeth.

Everyone had been scared out of their wits. Tu Yisen’s mouth was full of blood, and Qin Bao had to be pulled off by the adults who rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

Through blurred, teary eyes, Ms. Rong had crouched on the ground to soothe him: “Bao Bao, deep breath, deep breath. The children are just joking. You are Mommy and Daddy’s treasure, how could there be an arranged marriage? You’ll be Mommy and Daddy’s baby for your whole life!”

Qin Bao turned and walked away.

Barefoot, he returned to his room. Along the way, every scene replayed automatically in his mind.

Feng Chu’s assists, Mr. Qin’s furrowed brow as he criticized him, saying “Living here, what does this look like”, his grandfather chewing toffee with a chuckle, the flowers Feng Chengyu sent…

As well as that specially reserved empty seat beside him, and the person who arrived late…

“You’re an adult now.”

Feng Chengyu touching his face.

“I’ll take responsibility.”

…

Qin Bao entered his room and opened the birthday gift Feng Chengyu had given him yesterday. Lying inside that small silver box was a brooch shaped like a narcissus flower, encrusted with diamonds.

Bulbous flowers didn’t just include lilies, tulips, and freesias… Narcissus was one of them.

No wonder he was constantly stringing him along; no wonder he was always so sure of victory.

What gift?

Rushing thousands of miles from so far away, the man had clearly come to unwrap his gift.

It was as if a resounding slap had landed ruthlessly across Qin Bao’s face.

He grabbed that damned brooch and hurled it violently against the wall.

__

Author’s note:

The kid is throwing a tantrum, but with Brother Feng around it won’t be angsty~ Just a sweet, chaotic soup of marriage-first-love-later.