Youth of a Tiger Kid

4. Into the Lion Forest

On Monday morning at eight o'clock, the capital's sky was overcast. It was pretty cold: the thermometer read a scant fifty degrees. At the airport, on the runway reserved for private traffic, Mr. Yuwang welcomed his guest and helped him board his luxurious plane.

Haowen showed up in a traditional Centralian suit. It had been made with modern fabric by a very skilled tailor, but it was designed in the style of the ancient dignitaries of the imperial court. The top was black, fitted to his lean, skinny body, but with two sleeves as wide as those of a kimono; it covered his entire body to the waist. Further below, he wore a long burgundy skirt, matching the rest perfectly and opening a little below the knee. On his shoulders, he had a white jacket, very elegantly cut: it was designed to cover only the sides, leaving the center of the chest uncovered, and was fastened by a horizontal chain of round, shiny objects, which drew an arc at the level of the heart. Yuwang looked at it more closely and concluded that it was made of natural pearls, hooked on the two sides with two large golden clasps in the shape of a butterfly, with a gemstone in the center.

Overall, dressed like that, Haowen was elegant and undoubtedly beautiful. Certainly, however, he was not masculine at all.

The flight was uneventful, and the plane crossed the entire empire of Centralia in about three hours. However, when Haowen first stepped onto the runway at Shilin, he was shocked by the conditions. It had just stopped raining, and the air was hot and humid; even with bad weather and gray skies, it was almost eighty degrees.

"Don't worry, the rainy season is almost over," said Yuwang. "Can you feel how much warmer it is here?"

Haowen agreed; he was already starting to sweat. However, he did not want to spoil his appearance, so he did not even remove his jacket.

A little later, after driving down a road among magnolias and shoreas, a golf car unloaded Yuwang, Haowen, and his suitcase under the canopy at the entrance of a modern building, surrounded on two sides by the trees of the evergreen forest that encompassed the entire village, and on the other two by well-manicured lawns.

"The warriors sleep on the other side of the resort in a military-style hostel," Yuwang explained. "This, on the other hand, is the hotel for our guests."

"It looks nice," Haowen replied.

Indeed, the village was only five years old and perfectly maintained. That four-story hotel had been designed to match the surrounding nature, with extensive use of wood and glass.

"We reserved for you one of the suites on the top floor, the one with the best view. It has a big, bright living room and a small kitchen, should you need it. There's also a nice terrace with a brick gazebo to stay outside in any weather and a heated pool that can be used year-round."

"The apartment will be all for me, won't it? At least at night, since my protector sleeps in the hostel."

"No," Yuwang replied. "For him, I made an exception. The suite has a second bedroom right next to the entrance. From today on, he will live there."

Haowen worried, "Will we have to share a bathroom? I value—"

"No, each bedroom has a private bathroom. Yours also has a large area with a desk for your studies, so you will only share the living room and terrace. I hope you will get along well."

Haowen seemed far from pleased, but he had no alternative. He followed Yuwang into the building and into an elevator, which quickly ascended and opened onto a landing with only two doors.

"At the moment, the other suite is empty. There's a third one for outside guests, but it has a separate entrance and is empty right now anyway. Basically, this floor is all yours."

Yuwang used a magnetic card to open the door, and the two entered a cool, air-conditioned apartment. They walked down the hallway, passing the door to the first bedroom on their right, and came to a large, bright living room. One side was entirely made of sliding glass doors, giving access to the terrace; then, there was a door to a small kitchen and another to the master bedroom. It was fitted with Western-style furniture, including a dining table for at least six people, a large sofa, several armchairs, and a giant screen.

There, sprawled on the sofa, a kid was waiting for them.

«He is Weichao,» said Yuwang. The kid stood up.

"Welcome," Weichao said to Haowen, placing himself right before him. Haowen was thin, sleek, and petite; Weichao, on the other hand, was tall, big, and muscular. He exuded strength and virility from every pore.

Haowen was simultaneously intimidated, frightened, and attracted by him. The hand of some helpful village assistant had tried to tidy up that young warrior so that he would be presentable to a son of high society. That kind hand had washed, combed, and perfumed Weichao, then given him a pair of beige pants and a white, fashionable shirt, all stretched taut over those powerful, broad shoulders. However, the young warrior had already opened the first couple of buttons: maybe he had started to sweat, or maybe that shirt was too small for his athletic physique, or maybe he simply wanted to show off in front of the newcomer his massive, solid pecs, which peeked out from that cleavage.

Haowen looked up into his face and became even more frightened. Weichao returned the look, and his welcome no longer seemed so sincere. His eyes were mean. They were those of a young male who is communicating to you that he can beat you to a pulp whenever and however he wishes; therefore, you had better neither disobey nor irritate him. Still, Haowen instinctively wondered what it would be like to feel all those muscles on him, busy pinning him to a wall, and found he was somehow curious about it.

Yuwang turned to Weichao. "So, did you get what I told you? He must not run away or do anything strange. You must ensure that no one bothers him and help him if he needs you. You must not twist a hair on his head unless he is trying to flee. Don't let me down. If anything happens to him, you will be punished, not by Huzi, but personally by me. All clear?"

Hearing those words, another curiosity sprung up inside Haowen: he wondered how it was possible that a forty-year-old gentleman who was rich and powerful but far from robust, a person who had probably never thrown a punch at anyone in his entire life, could give orders, threaten and be obeyed to the letter by a bunch of young warriors who could have slaughtered him with one finger, or taken him hostage and then demanded a few million dollars for not beating him up.

"All clear, boss," Weichao replied.

"Good boy. I told you a hundred times not to feel bad because of Huzi. He is superhuman, but you are the king of any fight. You will have the world at your feet."

Weichao looked annoyed. "I could have slaughtered that wimp of Yun's student, too. I would have left him lying on the ground, no problem."

"I know," Yuwang replied. "Consider it as if you had."

That answer put Weichao in a good mood. "Fine. I'll try to treat this sissy with kid gloves."

Yuwang laughed. "Yes, he is a sissy, but don't offend him. Maybe, by being with an alpha male like you, he will become less gay."

Haowen became nervous. "I didn't tell you about my orientation at all, but even if—"

Yuwang didn't even listen to him. "Excuse me, young man, don't be offended. This is a village of young lions. Sorry, you will have to cope with their roar."

つづく (continues...)