YouRan panicked. He didn't know what to do. He instinctively retracted the limbs that had been weighing down on the other man, which then woke up Yan.
Yan's brows furrowed together in a soft frown, then his eyes slowly opened. YouRan couldn't help but hold his breath. He didn't know what he should say or how he should explain this scene.
Yan opened his eyes to find YouRan staring at him with wide eyes. "You're up, YouRan?" Yan asked in a raspy voice.
YouRan stiffly nodded.
Yan lifted an arm, covered in bite marks, to lay over his forehead. "How did I fall asleep?" he whispered.
Yan then saw the teeth marks covering his arm. He was reminded of the state of his body. Embarrassed, Yan shot up. The only piece of fabric on him, the towel, was also gone! Did he have to flash his idol? Oh, Lord! This will absolutely not do! Were the gods trying to kill him?
As discreetly as possible, Yan searched around the bed. Finally, he found the towel hiding in a corner of the bed. It was only then that he let out the breath he'd been holding in. He wrapped the towel on his waist and stood up from the bed. How could he have fallen asleep? Yan was very frustrated. Look at what he'd done. He'd slept in Nan Shan's bed, naked. What would his idol think of him now? Would YouRan think he was a pervert?
When Yan was searching around for his towel, YouRan spotted a bruise on Yan's back (it came from bumping into the hook). YouRan couldn't resist covering his face with his hands. He was quite heavy-handed last night. Not only did he bit Yan, he even bruised the other man.
Upon spotting YouRan dropping his face into his hands, Yan thought it was due to his lack of clothing. He was so ashamed that he wished he could bury himself in the ground.
"Last night, you were drunk," Yan tried explaining. "I drove you home. Then, you puked. Our clothes were both dirtied. I helped you in the shower and I…I also took a quick shower. I don't have any clothes here. I was thinking of going back to my apartment but then…" In order to save his idol's face, he left out the fact that, when drunk, his idol acted like a dog who loved biting other people.
"Enough. I understand," YouRan muttered, face still in his hands.
Yan let out a sigh of relief. It's a good thing his idol was understanding. Please don't ever think of him as a stinking, perverted nudist.
Even if they were both men, it's quite a weird and uncomfortable situation to be naked in the same room as another person. For some strange reason, when faced with YouRan, the awkwardness was multiplied by several times. Now that YouRan understood the situation at hand (he didn't), Yan hastily stood up to leave. He should head home and get dressed. However, he had strained a muscle last night and he didn't notice it when he woke up just now. The moment he took a step, tragedy struck. A sharp agonising pain shot up his leg. Caught off guard, Yan dropped to one knee with a loud bang.
YouRan: "…" I really was a beast last night!
Yan: "…" Crap. I've utterly humiliated myself in front of my idol!
YouRan hastily clambered to get out of bed. It didn't matter what the entire story was. This was his fault.
Yan's face was as red as can be. Before YouRan even had a foot on the floor, Yan was already on his feet. "It's fine," he repeatedly said with a wave of his hand as he limped out of the apartment.
Sitting on the side of the bed, YouRan was petrified. He didn't think he'd be so sexual when he's drunk. He actually had sex with the second young master of the Yan family. Would he be sentenced to death by dismemberment? He would be, right?
Even after Yan had gotten dressed, thrown out the trash and bought some breakfast on the way back, YouRan was still out of it. When YouRan heard a knock on the door, he hurriedly slipped into a robe and ran out to answer the door.
It was Yan, breakfast in hand. YouRan was stunned. The other man was still willing to see him? This wasn't logical. He blankly watched as Yan limped over to the dining table and laid out the breakfast he'd brought.
"There's nothing nice nearby," said Yan with a slight smile. "Still, please have some. You had a lot to drink last night. You must not be feeling well right now. Don't bother with making breakfast. Eat some of this and go take a nap."
Yan spoke so naturally and casually but he was still blushing. (He'd just humiliated himself before his idol. How embarrassing.) YouRan really felt like he was a cruel, inhumane bastard. Yan was the bottom and yet he's so calm. It's clear the man didn't want to talk about it but here he was, still acting like an awkward fool and not a man at all. However, just what should happen now? Pretend as if nothing happened? That's just savage. Take responsibility? How? Yan is the second young master of the Yan family. Even if YouRan wanted to take responsibility, he wasn't worthy of the honour. What should he do then?
Yan thought YouRan was blanking out because he was still suffering from his drinking last night. "NanShan? YouRan?" Yan gently called out. "What is it? Do you feel sick? It's always like that the day after you get drunk. Come eat some warm food before you take a nap. I have to go to work."
YouRan's mouth gaped open. His eyes glanced at the other man's bottom half before he drily asked, "Can you…go to work like that?"
The mention of his humiliating accident made Yan wish he could hide in a hole. His fair face swiftly returned to its blushing state as he awkwardly smiled. "Ah, that. It's fine," he awkwardly said. "Haha, I'm fine. I absolutely can. I'm off."
Yan then waved in farewell before he walked off as if he was escaping from something.
Watching Yan limped away, YouRan felt a painful tugging at his heart. Yan had suffered something over-the-line by his hands, but the man didn't resent him at all. He still cared about YouRan; was he sick? Did he have breakfast? Ever since YouRan's mother passed away, no one else had ever treated him with such honest and sincere concern.
Yan said nothing that morning. He did his best to act natural despite the embarrassment and shame he must be feeling. (What a misunderstanding.) Yan must be afraid of putting YouRan in a tough spot, right? He wanted this matter to be forgotten about and left in the past, right? However, was YouRan really going to act as if nothing happened? What's the difference between him and that trash He Yao, no, He Yuan then?
Sitting at the dining table with a steaming breakfast before his eyes, YouRan felt a relieving stream of warmth flow into his heart. His heart throbbed at the memory of how Yan limped away just now, the memory of his body covered in bite marks and hickeys (they weren't that). Perhaps it's because all men have some sort of territorial instinct. Now that he has realised Yan became his last night, he felt satisfaction blooming in him. It was a little cringey, a little overwhelming but there was a tinge of…happiness.
This sensation was a stranger to him. YouRan had never experienced it before but it was good. It felt really, extremely good.
***
Hand in hand, JingYuan and YiHan walked out of the marriage registration office. In one hand, JingYuan had two red document books. In the other, he had YiHan's hand. His grip was rather tight around YiHan's hand. It was so tight that it was a little painful for YiHan. YiHan smiled at the man and held back as tight as JingYuan's grip was.
"Alright," YiHan softly said. "Put the marriage certificates away."
JingYuan held the documents higher and glanced at them before his shimmering eyes looked back at YiHan. No words were spoken.
YiHan chuckled and hugged the man. "We're almost a free circus show for the public now. Let's go home first."
JingYuan's bright eyes stared into YiHan's and he raised the hand he held to his lips for a passionate kiss. "Okay," he said in that signature deep voice of his. "Let's go home."
In the car, JingYuan encountered a dilemma. He needed to drive but he didn't want to let go of the certificates.
"Let me hold it, okay? You can look at it when we're home," YiHan said, taking the marriage certificates from JingYuan. He really didn't know if he should cry or laugh.
JingYuan glanced once more at the marriage certificates, which were laid out on YiHan's lap, and started the car.
Back at the Mu family home, JingYuan once more had the certificates in his hand. His other hand held onto YiHan's hand. The two men didn't say a word. They silently walked up to their bedroom.
Door closed, JingYuan pulled YiHan down on the sofa and opened up the documents in his hands. Staring back at him were two photos of him and YiHan. JingYuan's fingers stroked over where their names were written. There was a long moment of silence.
"HanHan," JingYuan eventually spoke up, "we're married now. We're in the same family. Look. This here states both of our name, embossed by steel. We're recognised and protected. No one has the right to separate us now."
YiHan covered JingYuan's hand with his and said, "I, Bai YiHan, willingly take you, Mu JingYuan, to be my husband forever. Our hearts will forever be united, in good times and in bad, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. I will never leave you. I will love and cherish you, 'til death do us part."
JingYuan's hand turned to clasp back. "Not even death can tear us apart. We will live in the same home and be buried in the same grave."
YiHan nodded hard and wrapped his other arm around JingYuan's neck.
JingYuan turned around to embrace YiHan and held him with all his might. His eyes were tinted red. In the red marriage certificates squashed between the couple's bodies, there were two identical photos of JingYuan and YiHan. They were equally nervous but the smiles on their faces were bright and warm.
***
Mu Group Office.
Sitting on his personal couch, YiHan's fingers tapped away as he chatted with Yan and Pei.
[Mu-Mu's HanHan: Well? Nan Shan should be through with He Yuan now, right? When I visited him last time, he looked okay.]
[Pei the Third: Mn, I think so too. Nan Shan must've forgotten about him now. After all, he personally saw He Yuan and Auntie appear before him as a couple. It'd be hard for him to not give up. Knowing about it is different to seeing it for yourself. While this cure is rather harsh, it's very effective.]
[Yan Yan: Of course, YouRan no longer feels anything for He Yuan. He's recovered a lot lately. He was even thinking about the plot of a new novel yesterday. I think we'll have a new story soon.]
[Mu-Mu's HanHan: Really? That's amazing! Looks like the trauma is slowly being left behind. This is just a failed love to him. After all, humans live for a long time. Who can be sure they'll never encounter a scumbag or two?]
[Pei the Third: Nan Shan's writing a new novel! Congratulations! Hallelujah!]
[Pei the Third: YiHan's right. Nan Shan only met a slimeball. Now that he's successfully thrown him aside, his future life would be much better!]
[Mu-Mu's HanHan: All we need to do now is to utterly be rid of He Yuan so he'll never try and harass Nan Shan again. Yan living nearby isn't a good plan for the long term. He'll have to move out eventually. Once he leaves, wouldn't Nan Shan be left without any protection?]
[Yan Yan: I'm fine staying here. I never thought of leaving.]
[Pei the Third: Brother, are you really planning on moving there permanently?]
Translator's Notes
Utterly humiliated: the actual text reads, "My face has been thrown (lost) all the way to the Pacific Ocean!"
Marriage Certificates: China's marriage certificates are issued in red passport-sized books. If MTL mentions "small red books", they're usually referring to marriage certificates.
Pei the Third: It's actually "Pei, the third master/elder" in reference to her being the third "young master" of the Yan family. The character 爷 can be used to refer to rich and powerful young men, particularly heirs.