"Ahh.... It is so refreshing. A bottle of wine after long journey is a bliss." A young man held the small bottle of white wine, then drank it all in a gulp. Not yet satisfied, he grabbed another one. However, another man who sat beside him snatched that bottle.
"Hey, A Li. What are you doing? That's mine." That man puffed put his cheek as a protest.
The one called A Li shook his head, "A Sen, You should have your stomach fill first before drinking such strong wine," He took some vegetables with his chopsticks and put it on A Seng's plate. "or you will upset your stomach."
"Oh, A Li -- I know you are the kindess one to me..." A Sen said with cute voice, hugging on ALi's right hand that made him frowned. He tried to get rid of it, in spite of that, it was tightening. Soon, he gave up and let A Sen clung on his arm.
"Ehmmm...." A sound of someone cleared his throat. It came from a man who sat ahead them. His face was sulky annoyed looking at lovey-dovey scene before him.
He banged his sword loudly on the table so that two guys before him did remember he was there with them.
"Aia, A nin, I almost forget that you are here. why don't you say some -- phhh..." Not yet finishing his words, A Li covered A Shen's mouth with his left hand. "I am sorry, Nin. Please, don't mind him. You know most of the time he says something nonsensical --" A Li fill A Nin's bowl with some meat and vegetables, "here... Eat more..."
With pouting face, A Nin dove to his plate. He was annoyed not because of the two guys flirting with each other, but merely due to being left with them.
Finally being released, A Shen sighed deeply, "If you really want to go along with 老大 (lăodà /boss), you should have clung to him, holding on his feet, not letting go. Or --"
"Just eat your meal. Don't give him any weird idea. He is not you..." A Li added.
A Shen responded with a scoff, "Of course he is not. If I were him, I would have embraced lăodà like this." He hugged A Li so sudden, accidentally drew his neck that nearly made that man spat up his food. A nin shook his head, pitying A Li had to endured A Shen's antics all the time.
"So he won't escape without me again..."
"Yeah, surely someone want to choke me to death..."
"If you have that thought of leaving me by myself, I will be happy to do it as many times as I want." A Shen's finger traced A Li's facial bone, then stopped at his chin. He tilted it up a slight, then faced A Nin. He smirked naughtily, "A Nin, look at me... This brother will teach you a way of seduction. If you do this to him, you will secure a place in his heart."
After saying that, he fetched A Li's face orientating him. Their eyes met as he got closer and closer, their noses practically touched each other. A Nin watched attentively, his eyes grew bigger in anticipation. And yet, in the moment, A Li grabbed A Shen's shoulders and pushed him away.
A Li's face was as red as boiled crab. He quickly stuffed A Shen's mouth with a bun. "A -- Nin, do you know where lăodà go? It is unlikely him not to bring you next to him." He asked awkwardly, trying to divert conversation.
A Nin just leered at him, moderately hiding his mischievous smile. He shook his head.
"Ah, I know. He must be in brothel." A Shen exclamated while chewing the bun.
"Brothel?! In this daylight?"
"Just think for a second. We has been riding the horse for 3 days in row. All we saw on journey were grass, rock, and trees," A Shen continued to chew his bun, and the two companions listen to his bullshit, "Our lăodà adores beauty so much, he must not be able to resist the urge of lust. So he goes to brothel to have fun without us. I heard that the red districts in capital city were top notch in the world."
"Nonsense!" A Li knocked A Shen's head lightly. "Lăodà is not you. If it's you, I will believe right away."
"Aia... I don't even know if you are either blind or just innocent. Lăodà is much worse than me. He will flirt to anyone, no matter male or female, as long as they have the distinctive beautiful face with spesific figure. You don't have any idea what a player he is!"
Suddenly, A Nin bangged the table with his bare hand -- so hard that the table was splat into half, though it was made of hardwood. All the dishes and food were spilled on the floor.
Both of A Shen and A Li were startled. Realising his fault, A Shen pleaded in apologetic tone, "Ah... I am sorry, Nin (哥gē/brother). It's just a rumour. None of my words are true. You are the one spending more time with lăodà. Of course, you will understand him more."
A Nin did not speak anything. He glared viciously at A Shen. A Shen felt like lightning had strucked his bone into pieces.
"A Nin, don't take it to heart. He is just spurting nonsense." A Li tried to calm A Nin down. A Nin sighed in dejection, making sign language with his hands, "He is not like that. You misunderstand him..."
A Nin did not care what others think of lăodà. But these two men along himself had been with him for years. He even saved their lives, giving them shelter, food, and reason to live again. How come they believed baseless rumour rather than the person himself?
***
A figure of a young man was walking on the red district area. He waved his fan while humming unknown song. His feet seemed to know where to go. Each step he took forward felt so heavy. He forced himself to keep going on. With a deep sighed, he put on a fake smile, puffing out his chest, he walked in one of the brothels confidently.
The red district was the busiest districts in capital city Luhan -- only at night. In the daylight, not many would visit brothels. Even not many people stopped by the street vendors.
An appealing young man in twentieth wandering around, was surely an eye catching. The man wore black robe with golden red ornament attached to it. His hair was tied with simple red ribbon. Neither too gaundy nor shabby, it was simply elegant. A paper fan was in his right hand and a black sword with golden ornament was hanging on his waist.
His sharp eyes gaze contrasted to mellow facial expression. His black onyx eyes were glowing under the sunlight. His jawline was firm and sharp. The slighly fair brownish skin stated his masculinity. His appearance could not be express by words. It was not something easily forgotten.
As he stepped in one brothel -- named '(鯉魚大樓 Lǐyúdàlóu / Carp Building)', all the eyes were on him. It was rare indeed to see a young gentleman in such place at that time. Some of courtesans competed to see him. They whispered to each other, "A new face."
A middle age woman flirtatiously welcomed him, "(公子 gōngzî / young master), welcome... it's such a nice day to have such good looking gentleman coming here. What do you want? We have a lot of talented courtesans here." She waved her hands, calling the courtesans to come out.
One by one, the beautiful women occured, they lined up in unison. They threw enticing smiles and winks to the man, hoping him to choose them. It was a scarce occasion to be with such a beautiful man. The man smiled faintly, waving his paper fan, "I want Xiao Qiao."