Always by your side

Ch 24. You raise me up

Warning content.

There is a bit of smut. Not much since some readers are minors.

Xichen POV

Past

After we bow in front of the portraits of our ancestors, we turn towards the crowd. I read.

"Everyone under heaven says that my Tao is great and beyond compare. Because it is great, it seems different. If it were not different, it would have vanished long ago."

Xingchen comes and says

"I have three treasures which I hold and keep.
The first is mercy; the second is economy;
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity;
From humility comes leadership."

and then Cheng follows

"Nowadays men shun mercy, but try to be brave;
They abandon the economy but try to be generous;
They do not believe in humility but always try to be first.
This is certain death.

Mercy brings victory in battle and strength in defence.
It is how heaven saves and guards."

Then uncle Qiren approaches, hands me an old guqin and says, "A good soldier is not violent."

I answer, "A good fighter is not angry."

I bow and retreat. Then Madam Yu comes forward, hands his son a flute and says, "A good winner is not vengeful."

Jian Cheng smiles and answers, "A good employer is humble."

Madam Sanren goes to her son and hands him another flute saying, "This is known as the Virtue of not striving", and Xingchen replies, "This is known as the ability to deal with others."

The three of us says in unison, "This since ancient times has been known as the ultimate unity with heaven."

He bows and retreats. We kneel again as a priest recites sutras and incense burns to bless us. Finally, my uncle has decided to let me become the head of the family, and Jiang Cheng has done the same. It means more responsibilities, but starting our lives together is a step forward. The crowd cheers when the ceremony ends. My friends and brothers come to greet and congratulate me. Wei Ying smiles but goes to Cheng first, which allows me to see how Cheng reacts when Mingjue hugs me, saying "Congratulations". Why is Cheng angry?

We go to celebrate in our resort, but as the night comes to an end, I still haven't found a moment alone with Cheng. Then he goes home, and we have barely talked. I was expected in the office the next day after classes ended, so I missed his phone call. I tried to call him the next day, but he didn't pick up the calls. The same goes for the whole week. Finally, I decided to drop at his school. He gave me his schedule long ago, so I headed directly to the run tracks. He didn't see me, so I enjoyed the show.

He is gorgeous and swift. His whole body is vibrant and slender yet firm. He describes sprinting as something that continuously challenges him to command himself. This time he finished third. Yet, something seems odd with him. He looks tense.

I wait for him at the exit of the locker room. While he is there, I can recollect all our time together and before. Being the brother of a person that doesn't speak much makes me read much into micro-expressions. It doesn't mean that I understand them well, though. After more than a year of giving us a chance to be together, I still know this man.

He loves his family and tries to impress them all the time, making them feel proud. However, he is constantly testing himself as if trying to beat someone. It doesn't matter if I, his sister or even Wei Ying tells him he is doing great. He still disregards it. I laugh when he is like that, but still.