Runaway Flounderers

4. And They Fell At Once

Rather spending time on the gender dilemma, Wen Kexing chose violence. He thought he'd punch that person and escape by the time they recover their stability, but who'd have expected that person to actually dodge it and come back with more force? Within seconds, they had exchanged more than twenty moves. What the problem here was that, both had similar moves. Therefore it was like playing a one person chess. Wen Kexing guessed that it'd be someone from his army. Ofcourse it'd be a whole different fight if Wen kexing used his hand fan and that person used a weapon but they were just throwing fists. Wen kexing was trying to escape but he couldn't help but be drawn into the fight and without realizing it, he was quite enjoying the combat. 

That person finally lost their patience and shouted, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Wen Kexing, "........."

To hear the same kind of words in the same tone and in the same voice again, Wen Kexing was truly baffled. His innards wanted to give a perfect come back with "I'm the crown prince and this is my land" but he still had some sanity to hold back because that person wouldn't believe it anyway. So he had to go with "Mister, you grabbed me out of the blue and ask me who I am? I am going to my home. Do I owe you an explanation?" and he used male voice, slightly different from his original one.

"WHO GOES TO THEIR HOME IN A STEALTHY WAY LIKE YOU? THAT'S NOT YOUR HOME. I clearly saw a young lady walking out of it this evening." 

Wen kexing, "...!!!!!!!". This guy had noticed a-qing! In a bout of nervousness, Wen Kexing thought if he should just smack him hard enough on his head to make him forget things but then remembered that this guy had good reflexes and hence it would just result in another endless combat.

"Oh? a young lady lives there? Why haven't I ever seen one though I pass by frequently? Mister, now aren't you the shady one here? Why are you waiting for a young woman this late at night? Who is she to you? Aren't you pretending to be protective but have bad intentions?"

"Don't you see my army badge? By all means, I have the right to protect this kingdom's people. It is my duty and I have sworn to do so. Do I need to explain more?"

Wen Kexing squinted his eyes to see the badge. Troop leaders' badge looked like a tiny shield with a prominent snake in the middle with its mouth viciously open as if it was ready to attack. Its red eyes were even more stark in the darkness. Wen Kexing was quite impressed on seeing someone being diligent in their ambition. Though his incurable paranoia still wondered if this man secretly found out that he is the crown prince and was putting on an act. But, in the end he denied that thought himself considering this man's ruthless moves against him. 

Knowing that staying there would just result in another fight, Wen kexing started running. Zhou Zishu tried catching up but since he didn't have any evidence against him, he stopped midway and went back. Wen Kexing thought he'd mislead Zhou Zishu away and sneak inside that house to his chamber, but seeing him go back to guard that house uselessly, he had no choice but to turn back into a-qing. 

After getting quite far away from zhou Zishu's sight, Wen kexing quickly removed his outer cloak and adjusted his clothes. He wiped away his sweat and cleared his throat to adjust to a female voice. he found a wooden twig lying around and lit it up to use it as a torch.

This time he walked that path carelessly, almost stomping his feet around and his hip chain clanged violently as if it's announcing his arrival. He neared that house and Zhou Zishu was standing about twenty feet away from it. He was leaning against a tree with his hands folded and looked up when the fire light fell on him as if he had just only noticed it. He had sharp features, thin lips and nose and the fire light gleamed in his eyes.

Wen Kexing put on a surprised expression and said "You- aren't you that Zhou guy with a bad temper? What are you doing here?"

Zhou Zishu did the usual greeting gesture of joining his hands out and bending down his back and said "Miss Qing, incidentally I saw you going out from here this evening while I was passing by. I had some work to do and since there are many suspicious people going around here these days, I wanted to make sure you reach home safely before I leave."  

To hear him talk in such a courteous tone just a few moments after having heard him yell vulgarly, Wen Kexing was almost creeped out. They were about five feet apart and Wen Kexing just said "oh" with a nod and proceeded to walk towards that house. He was thinking with a bit of annoyance about what to say if Zhou Zishu insisted on coming inside but before he could come up with an idea he tripped on some stone and instantly went on a frenzy to find his balance. 

Fortunately, Zhou Zishu moved quickly and caught him by his waist but unfortunately, he also tripped on the same stone and they both went crashing down in a thud. Due to the sudden movements, the wooden torch in wen kexing's hand, which was already dimming, completely went off. His eyes couldn't adjust to the sudden darkness, so he reflexively started tapping his hands on ground to find that twig. His hands touched something way more thicker and longer than that twig. Wen Kexing squinted his eyes and tried to move it. 

"Ah...OW! Miss Qing..."

Wen Kexing's movements faltered on hearing Zishu. His eyesight finally adjusted and he discovered what he had been groping was actually Zhou Zishu's leg. He also realized with a pang of embarrassment that he had actually landed on Zhou Zishu's lap and that they were in an awkward position. Wen kexing hastily replied with "oh! I'm sorry!" and sprang up to his feet.

Zhou Zishu had fallen flat on the ground under his weight and slowly propped himself up. Wen kexing reached out his hands with guilt to help him up. Zhou Zishu looked hesitant to take his hands and Wen Kexing instantly regretted it because he had put out his hands without thinking  to help him up like a guy would help another guy but right now he was a-qing and women wouldn't usually be so casual about skinship with unfamilar men. He was about to withdraw his hands but Zishu caught it finally. His hands were cold but Wen Kexing felt the air get warmer and Zishu got up by slightly pulling his hand. 

Once Zhou Zishu was steady on his feet, Wen kexing quickly took back his hand and feigned a cough. He couldn't stand the awkward silence and asked "Are you alright?". Zhou Zishu was dusting off the dry grass from his clothes and replied with a "Yes". Then they were back to more awkward silence. Wen Kexing lost his patience and started blabbering, "uh...you were saying there are many suspicious people these days?"

Probably Zhou Zishu was also relieved to have the silence broken and replied "yes, I see many unfamiliar faces on the road these days and there are frequent quarrels happening in the bazaar which are rarely ending without a long brawl. It wasn't usually this much restless before."

Wen Kexing was quite surprised to hear that. He had expected him to talk about their encounter a few moments ago. So this guy also had noticed something off, thought Wen Kexing and he couldn't complete his line of thought without thinking "hmm.. impressive". He changed his plan of trying to shoo him away and asked "Would mister Zhou like to come in for some tea?", with an intention to gain more information.

Zhou Zishu politely declined with "Thanks, Miss, but its way too late and I have to get back home". Of course, only people with unsaid intentions would go into someone's home for tea at an inappropriate hour. Wen Kexing realized it with a delay and wondered if he had sounded like he was trying to be seductive. But he had done enough shameful things that day and seemed to have to have grown numb to it. He nodded his head and said "Can you do me a favour and not tell anyone about me staying here? I do not live here but only use this place when I have some work around here. If people find out, they'll turn this place into a clinic by coming at their will for treatment."

Zhou Zishu nodded immediately and said "Sure, you have my promise." Wen Kexing let out a breath of relief.

They bid farewells in front of the house and parted ways.

One took the path of a long secret corridor while the other walked in the opposite direction under the open darkness. As they recalled the events of the day, both their faces had... the same expressions?