It was morning. Zhao Hui didn't even need to open his eyes to know. The Sun was blinding his eyes as a piercing golden ray bled into his room through a circular window. The same damn window he thought to close last night, but in the middle of nearly falling asleep, he had forgotten. Zhao Hui groans as he slowly seats himself on his bed, looking over at his shoulder which felt sore, but at that moment, anything would feel better than how it felt last night. He stretches his neck, side to side, smiling pleasantly as he hears the crack from his stiff neck, and proceeds to get up to stretch his entire body. Scratching his stomach Zhao Hui looks around and laughs, remembering the dumb dream he had yesterday about being in the comic book he had gotten from his uncle, and then he freezes, realizing something. He looks down at his stomach, noticing how skinny he was and how small his waist had become. But that was not what made his blood boil.
"So you're telling me I lost my abs by moving into this body?" He says in a tired and whiny voice which turns into yelling soon after, "I worked so hard to get them! I even got smacked a million times just so I could get money for the fitness center! What the hell?! Why?! Don't the characters usually GAIN abs when moving into a different body?! The fuck is wrong with you author?!?!?!"
"Please refrain from using curse words, they are beginning to hurt my head." A female robotic voice calls out from nowhere and Zhao Hui looks around in confusion.
"The fuck are you? The system or something?" He says saltily, resting his weight on a beam in the middle of his room.
"Yes I am, my name is Penelope, I am the system for this comic book."
"Well damn, about time you showed up! I nearly had my ASS handed back to me yesterday, do you KNOW how that feels?! A fucking CORPSE nearly killed me! I am now suffering, take me out, I don't want to follow Min Guiying anymore!" Zhao Hui waves off the voice, talking arrogantly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. You can't leave this book until I allow you to and I can only talk to you when there is an important event or you fuck up the story. I'm talking to you because I have to inform you that a new important event is going to happen today, but I'll leave it up to you to find out about yourself. I have to go now, I'm getting my chips done at the salon." The voice suddenly stops speaking and Zhao Hui looks around wildly, calling out for the voice again.
"Penelope. Penelope?! PENELOPE YOU LITTLE BITCH, I WILL NOT GO THROUGH WITH THIS, YOU WILL BE SPEAKING TO MY LAWYE-"
At that moment, Zhao Hui's door squeaks open and he jumps at least a foot in the air, yelling and dropping to the floor in surprise. Looking up, he eagerly watches as Min Boquin enters the room, his face buried behind a tray full of food. As Min Boquin sets down the food on the table, Zhao Hui rushes to get his Hanfu from under his pillow, wrapping it swiftly around his body and standing in silence as fear resides in his heart. What if Min Boquin heard him talking to Penelo-bitch? What would happen if someone found out that their universe was actually a comic book? How would they react? Would they be mad? He sits down on his bed, his eyes wide with fear and brain blank as the worst-case scenarios run through his mind. It was Min Boquin's voice that brought him out of his head.
"Did you have a nice rest? Here's some breakfast for you, my father sent me to give it to you since I'm the youngest of course." Min Boquin smiles softly, and when Zhao Hui doesn't get up, he lets out a small laugh, "Stop looking at me like I'm going to poison you, frankly, I don't have enough time to do that."
"If I thought you were going to poison me bitch, I wouldn't hesitate to attack you so, no. I am not thinking that you'll poison me, I'm just surprised at the AUDACITY of you entering the room without knocking." Zhao Hui rolls his eyes and sits down at the table, looking at the colorful food resting inside enchanting wooden bowls, his mouth beginning to water.
"Wow, I don't think anyone would have the guts to talk like that to me, I'm beginning to like you already. You seem like someone doesn't give two flying shits about anything." Min Boquin looks in awe at Zhao Hui, then notices something different about his appearance, "Zhao Hui, what's that on your forehead?" Min Boquin says pointing at Zhao Hui's forehead, which was covered by his tangled hair. Zhao Hui had just taken the first bite of his food.
"On my forehead? What's there?" Zhao Hui says swallowing his food. He reaches up to feel his forehead and feels a ribbon on there, "A forehead ribbon?"
"Here, let me get it off for you…" Min Boquin reaches for the ribbon and tries to tug it off, but it remains on Zhao Hui's forehead as if it was glued on. Peering closer at it, he senses some familiarity with it, "Wait a second, this looks familiar…"
"What is this for, cause last time I recall, this ribbon was not on my forehead last night! And now it won't come off!" Zhao Hui says abandoning his food and attempting to rip the ribbon off.
"Don't be so worried. Someone just laid a fidelity spell on you, it's not that bad, trust me, nothing to be worried about." Min Boquin says calmly, grabbing Zhao Hui's hand to stop him from pulling the ribbon.
"What's a fidelity spell? How does it even relate to this ribbon?!" Zhao Hui says, stopping his attempt to rip off the ribbon, and lets his hands fall to his side, In the book this fidelity spell wasn't even introduced! I've never heard of it!
"A fidelity spell is a spell one puts on another person which leads to a forehead ribbon that stops both people from lying to each other. The ribbon is different from the ones other clan members wear, especially since it is made up from different materials that stand for the future relationship the magic senses will happen," Min Boquin looks keenly at the ribbon as he touches it softly, smirking at the discovery that the ribbon was made of satin.
"If either people who have been attached by the fidelity spell lie to each other, depending on how bad the lie is, the forehead ribbon will burn your skin. You also can only be within 10 feet of the person who set the spell, or a forcefield will stop you from walking any farther. The only way to get rid of the ribbon, which ultimately gets rid of the spell, will be to gain each other's trust. When that happens, the ribbon will fall off of your forehead and usually is kept as a permanent token of trust. In the middle of the ribbon is a metal outline with a gem that matches the person who set it on you, so spotting a fidelity ribbon in the public is very easy, however, it has gotten out of practice and was used in the past when couples didn't trust each other." Min Boquin explains, smirking by the end of his explanation as he said the word couple.
"Who did this to me?"
"Who? Oh well… It's my brother who did it. He's the only one, other than my father, who can accurately set the spell." Min Boquin says nonchalantly.
"Mi- I mean Young Master Min did it?! Why?! Isn't this for couples?!" Zhao Hui begins to grieve all over again. What had he done to piss him off?
"That you'll have to ask him yourself." Min Boquin says before getting up and fleeing the room, sealing the door behind him, giggling excitedly.
OH MY GOSH. Guiying gege is already using the fidelity spell to get trust from Hui gege?! And out of all the material, SILK! The ribbon is made of SILK! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Min Boquin bounces away, a wide smile covering his face as he runs back to train the disciplines as it was his day to train them.
"Why did he have to put this spell on me?! Does he hate me already?!" Zhao Hui cries as he eats his breakfast slowly, not wanting to face Min Guiying and question him about the fidelity ribbon. As he slowly eats the treats, Zhao Hui takes deep breaths, silently talking to himself and slowly building up the courage to get out of his room. As he reaches the level of courage that satisfies him, Zhao Hui stands up with a huge sigh and leaves his bedroom, walking next door.
Before proceeding to open the door, he hesitates, biting his lip in fear. If he were to burst into Min Guiying's room without permission, he would surely die. If he knocked and disturbed Min Guiying and he got mad, he would also die. So what could he do that wouldn't kill him? He wanted to go back to his dimension in one piece, he didn't think his mother would be happy to see pieces of Zhao Hui being shipped to her front door. However, before he could come up with an official executive decision, a young woman comes up to the door and knocks on it. Startled, he turns around to see who has knocked on the door and meets face to face with Liu Jia! In her hands was a tray and a bowl of soup which was most likely cooked by her as she was someone who loved cooking for others.
"Hello there, good morning!" He waves energetically and Liu Jia looks at Zhao Hui, surprised at seeing Zhao Hui at the front of the door.
"Oh! By chance were you going to enter? I didn't know, you can give this to Min Guiying then..." Liu Jia says handing him the tray, talking politely.
"Oh, no! You can go ahead!" Zhao Hui protests, however, the door suddenly opens and Min Guiying comes out.
"What are you two doing outside my room?" He says, making Liu Jia jump and turn to face him.
"Oh, I just wanted to give you some Wonton soup I made this morning! Here, you have to eat it!" She says thrusting the tray towards Min Guiying. After Min Guiying grabs the tray confused, Liu Jia runs away happily.
"And you?" He turns back to Zhao Hui with a hard stare which gets him embarrassed.
How would someone ask how he got a random ribbon on their head that is meant for couples?
"I just wanted to ask… uh… why did you… how do I say it… uh… can we talk inside?" Zhao Hui says as he fumbles with his words. Min Guiying pulls Zhao Hui into his room and closes the door softly.
"There, we're inside now. What is it?" He says in an oddly calm voice, setting down the tray on his table. Why does he always talk like this? Plus his poker face, he can't be taken seriously by Zhao Hui at all.
"Well," He points at the ribbon on his head, "I want to ask you why you did this to me."
Min Guiying's eyes widen slightly for a fraction of a second until he begins to walk towards Zhao Hui, "So?"
"Why did you do this?" Zhao Hui says, taking a big step back, but Min Guiying follows.
"Maybe… cause I don't trust you? You were following me last night and I know it," He says in a soft voice and Zhao Hui keeps backing up with Min Guiying still following him.
"Wha- Ah!" Zhao Hui's back slams on the wall hard because he was backing up so quickly and suddenly, it reignites the pain from the burn he got last night. Zhao Hui's hand grasps on the burn, while Min Guiying's hands slither next to Zhao Hui's head on both sides.
"I'm telling you, I don't trust you, someone had you follow me, and I'm going to find out who." Min Guiying says in a serious voice and his face is still straight, making this situation a little bit funny to Zhao Hui. He lets out a snort.
"Well-" Zhao Hui suddenly hits the elbow part of Min Guiying's hand, releasing him from being trapped, and violently turns Min Guiying around, switching roles, "Look, I'm sorry, but I wasn't following you, and I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I don't work for anybody, it was all a coincedance. Now, I really need you to take this off, please?"
"I can't, it's like that until we trust each other." He says, his face still straight, even when Zhao Hui is cornering him into a wall.
"Damn it! Fine, I won't lie to you, but please don't hate me for lying yesterday! Really! I know I was following you and it was wrong, but I don't wanna die! I want to see my parents again someday too!" Zhao Hui says with a hurt expression on his face. It causes a wave of emotion to pass Min Guiying's face. Did he just frown?
"I didn't kno-" Suddenly, the door bursts open, and a woman with a fancy dress and a rose pink crown takes one step in, but stops after seeing Zhao Hui cornering Min Guiying into a wall. Both faces look at the woman in surprise and Min Guiying is the first to talk, "It's not what it looks like!" He says in his normal voice, actually making Zhao Hui laugh regardless of being in such a situation.
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry for disturbing you, children, I'll be on my way! I just wanted to check if you were up." She says flustered to enter such a scene, "Don't forget, don't be too loud, everyone else is sleeping…" She adds quietly, putting her finger to her lip and winking quickly before closing the door and walking away from the scene.
"Is that your-" Zhao Hui says in the middle of his laughter.
"Mother." Min Guiying says blush forming on his cheeks.
"Hahahaha… and she caught us in a situation like this!"
"Sigh What did I do to deserve this?"
Zhao Hui points at the ribbon on his head, "This. Anyways, I should go now, you know, before your brother catches us along with your mother."
"Catch you doing what?" Says a familiar voice of Min Boquin, making Zhao Hui paralyzed with fear. Out of all the people to catch them, it just had to be Min Guiying's brother! Shoving Zhao Hui to the side, Min Guiying quickly makes it so it looks as if they were having a conversation at the side of the room.
"We were only discussing the plans on Zhao Hui being my bodyguard. We were about to go and visit the village to buy some food. I feel like cooking today." Min Guiying says smoothly, but Min Boquin looks like he doesn't believe it.
"Oh, really? I didn't know you could cook." Min Boquin says lifting an eyebrow, smirking as if he knew what they were doing before.
"Neither did I," Zhao Hui mutters under his breath.
"I'm just going to make some Wonton Soup." Min Guiying says elbowing Zhao Hui as a signal to shut him up.
"That sounds delicious, are you going to go to the village right now? With Zhao Hui?"
"Stop asking so many questions Boquin, yes, we are leaving now. If Father asks where I am, just tell him I'm in the village." Min Guiying says before grabbing Zhao Hui, walking out of the room.
"Goodbye Second Childe Boquin," Zhao Hui says while bowing and runs behind Min Guiying, "Do you even know how to cook?"
"There's a first time for anything, plus, aren't you going to thank me for saving you?"
"Thank you so much, Young Master Min, but I don't think your brother believed us. He seemed a bit suspicious, I mean, what we were doing was a bit suspicious, don't you think? Two men in a room alone, cornering each other at the wall-"
"Zhao Hui! ENOUGH!" Min Guiying turns his head violently, facing Zhao Hui, his ears red.
Is he embarrassed?! Oh my goodness! I thought he was one of those with a resting bitch face, but turns out that I broke it on day one! Usually, only his brother can tell what is going on in his head! That has got to be a personal record of breaking people! Zhao Hui cackles quietly as he thinks this.
"Wait! Wait!" Liu Jia comes running with a basket rocking dangerously from her hands, "Let me come along too! I need to buy some vegetables!"
"Why not? Young Master Min and I were about to go out." Zhao Hui sighs with relief. At least he wasn't going to be stuck with just Min Guiying.
"Min Guiying, I want to hear from you too. Can I come along?" Liu Jia says with a huge smile on her face.
"Whatever he said." Min Guiying says pointing at Zhao Hui and resumes walking towards the village.
"Hello, my name is Liu Jia, princess of the Liu Clan. I am Min Guiying's fiance," Liu Jia introduces herself bowing down, "And you are?"
"Hello Young Mistress, my name is Zhao Hui, I am just a mere bodyguard of Young Master Min." Zhao Hui says bowing down as well.
"So you are the famous Zhao Hui? Min Boquin was talking about you yesterday, he seems to like you a lot already! And a mere bodyguard? Min Guiying doesn't have bodyguards, you're a first! But please call me Liu Jia, I wouldn't want to act like you're my servant!"
"I'd feel too embarrassed to call you that, you deserve some respect from me. How about Shijie, does that sound good?"
"Shijie, Shijie, Shijie… sounds good!" Liu Jia exclaims.
"Are you two done? Let's go." Min Guiying calls.
"Yes! Do you know the ingredients for Wonton Soup?" Zhao Hui already knows the ingredients needed, but still wants to tease Min Guiying.
"Wait, he's making Wonton Soup? I didn't know he cooked!" Liu Jia exclaims, but in a quiet voice so that only Zhao Hui hears it.
"Neither did I," Zhao Hui whispers back.
"Are you two going to stop whispering?" Min Guiying says turning around with a stern expression.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop whispering to Shijie here and talk out loud so you can hear it as well." Wei Zixin says skipping over to Min Guiying.
"Hm." Min Guiying grunts in return.