Today is the beginning of a new lunar year, and so comes the 7-day spring festival as well. But instead of the festivities, Mo Aini and Hu Chuntian had to spend it at an underground arena developed by the Shengxiao Brotherhood.
There are so many people and the arena smelled of sweat and beer. Which Mo Aini was familiar with, but in a more domesticated and introverted way so he was still slightly uncomfortable. He has spent many days cooped up in his own room without taking a bath, and passed out drunk after playing some games or beating his airplane*.
But when that muskiness is from everyone else, and those pheremones mixes..... It makes him want to puke.
The saving grace was Hu Chuntian's hair that always smell like 10,000 yuan shampoo and conditioner, so he always stayed behind the Tiger Emperor as they entered and sat on the bleachers.
"Are you alright, Da Ge?" Hu Chuntian said. "You look pretty nervous. Aren't you excited to see your old friends at Shengxiao?"
"Yeah, yeah, I am. I'm just trying to take them by surprise." He saw a man with a large nametag, possibly a coach for one of the brawlers. "Waddup, Old Feng!"
Old Feng knitted his bushy eyebrows. He is a big guy, probably six foot three, and his red Spandex tank top can barely contain his muscles that could easily push a whole truck. "Who called me?"
Mo Aini gulped. [Now's the time to increase people's Friendliness stat and decrease their Alertness so it won't be awkward, system.]
(Is the User asking favors from us now?)
[Goddammit, just do it before I embarrass myself.... or worse, get myself thrown off a cliff!)
[Once a scaredy-cat, always a scaredy-cat.]
The system still did him a favor and altered Old Feng's stats. Mo Aini introduced himself while scratching his head. "Hey, it's me, Black Cat! Old Feng, you really are a forgetful sort! How had you been doin' with your boys? I bet you trained them to push Mt. Tai itself!"
Old Feng blinked for a moment before he smiled, his bushy eyebrows giving way to two beady eyes as they widened in surprise. "Ah, Black Cat! Yes, yes, we've all been well! What about you, you training any disciple yet?"
"You could say that. I just took this little tiger under my wing. He'll be the champion of this competition in no time, I tell ya!" Mo Aini wrapped his shoulder around Hu Chuntian and presented him to all the veterans like a proud father. "I trained him real hard for this day and—"
Hu Chuntian interrupted with a sly grin. "Da Ge, aren't you the one who ended up training under me? You were so out of shape that I had to teach you all the basics from scratch."
(Why, this brat! Can't I have the spotlight of a dignified brawling coach here!?)
"Hey, hey, so thick-faced of you to claim you've been training this Da Ge!" Mo Aini ruffled Hu Chuntian's hair roughly with his fist. "I just needed a spotter so I won't get any accidents before I get my final fight with the Brotherhood."
"You're fighting, Black Cat? I sure look forward to that! Right, guys?" Old Feng elbowed his fellow bulky friends who took a moment to 'recognize' Mo Aini.
"Good luck to you and your boy!"
"We'll sure be ready to give you some nice stitches!"
"I hope you kitties are ready for some beating with the big dogs!"
"Oh, we'll see about that, you old goofs!" Mo Aini is now drained from interacting and pretending to be familiar with these people and just wants to take his seat in peace.
"Here's the pamphlet of the match orders, Da Ge." Hu Chuntian gave him the paper.
"Our matches are still later in the afternoon. " Mo Aini checked his watch. " It's 12:34 now. So we still have time to eat. "
They decided to try out cooking for the first time today and switch lunchboxes to test each other's cooking. Mo Aini took out his from the bag and set it to Hu Chuntian's lap, and the delinquent did the same.
"What's this, Da Ge?"
"Open it and guess. If it tastes bad, don't blame me. I tried."
Hu Chuntian opened and saw a beautifully arranged sweet and sour fish. The carrots were cut like 5 petal flowers and it looked incredibly tasty. "Wow! Is this really Da Ge's first time cooking? Why is it so good?"
"It's so-so, it's so-so. " Mo Aini waved his hand yet his nostrils flared from his swollen ego. "Now let's see yours—"
"A-Tian... what is this?"
"It's spicy shrimp. I noticed Da Ge liked seafood." Hu Chuntian munched on the delicious sweet and sour fish.
(Where's the shrimp!? It looked like an artistic representation of bloody murder put in a lunchbox!)
Mo Aini still took a sniff, thinking it might not be so bad, and cautiously took a bite.
He was wrong.
"Urrkkk!!!" Mo Aini gagged and his face turned red. (How much salt and chili powder did he put in this thing!? This should be considered poisonous!!!)
"Da Ge, are you okay!? Does it really taste that terrible?" Hu Chuntian asked worriedly. "I'm so sorry. We can swap lunchbox if you want... I tried my best and practiced so many times last night but it's still a failure after all."
Hu Chuntian's baby blue eyes looked like they were going to tear up any second yet he kept it in like a big boy. But the disappointment is very evident that it completely pulled out all of Mo Aini's heartstrings.
"No....Cough! Cough!" Mo Aini tried his best to give a thumbs up. "It tastes.... great..... good job, kid....."
"Eh? Thanks, Da Ge! I'll learn to cook more for you from now on!" Hu Chuntian said. He took one of the blobs that were supposed to be 'shrimp' with his chopsticks and offered it to Mo Aini. "Here, have some more!"
(If I die from this..... I'll be resurrected right?) Mo Aini asked the system.
[No.]
He grumbled. (Ugggghhhhh.... Fuck it! Why does this kid have to have such large cute baby blue eyes!????) And bit the poisonous shrimp.
He somehow managed to finish Hu Chuntian's cooking without dying from food poisoning, and doused that shit with water.
The things you do for 'friendship'.
---------------
Hu Chuntian's match began first before Mo Aini's. His Da Ge didn't cheer him like the female audience in the crowd did. But before he went, Mo Aini give him a big bro hug and patted his back.
"Give 'em hell, kid." Mo Aini whispered to him.
It was enough to fuel him for an endless duel with 50,000 men. Hu Chuntian was so pumped up that he really may have turned into a tiger, because he completely obliterated his first five opponents! He was a beast, pouncing on everyone just right after the referee blew its whistle for the fight to begin, and he easily knocked out and brought almost fatal injuries to his poor rivals.
He had to be given a time-out before the next one. The competition works in 8 simultaneous fights happening all at once, and a screen showing the winners for each match and the highlight scene of the winner. Hu Chuntian was still full of adrenaline and bloodlust to beat some ass, but he was glad to have a break so he can watch his Da Ge's fights.
Drinking from his tumbler, feeling invigorated with the sweat pouring all over his body, he watched Mo Aini take swings against a man twice his size. His Da Ge is very strong, the true definition of appearance doesn't matter. But it is not just that he is strong. Mo Aini has a very keen eye, and is very judgemental.
People might say that is a negative thing, but when it comes to evaluating your enemies and knowing their weak points, it becomes a vital advantage.
"Go, Da Ge—I mean, Black Cat! Rip him to pieces and spill his guts!" Hu Chuntian felt like he is in one of the scenes from the BL novel he read, where the MC cheers his boyfriend.
The more Hu Chuntian reads BL, the more he sees his Da Ge in a different light. Hu Chuntian is the opposite of Mo Aini when it comes to sexuality. He doesn't overthink it.
In every world, this is what happens: The moment he realizes he likes Mo Aini, he doesn't try hard to deny or resist it. He completely succumbs to it, and finds ways to fall even deeper for him.
First, he noticed his Da Ge's eyes. His Da Ge have sanpaku eyes, and the tips of his eyelids were narrow. He doesn't know why, but he finds some unique charm in them. Whenever Mo Aini is truly angry, those eyes feel like they could pierce through metal itself.
Then, his personality. His Da Ge is really brash, just like him. Quite impulsive, yet not at the same time. He's very irritable and curses a lot, but that gives a layer of authenticity to him. It's like he doesn't care if someone would judge him for it. If he does worry about his reputation, it is because of an even deeper reason like caring for someone else's feelings or to gain a certain benefit.
And finally..... His Da Ge just makes him feel things he cannot explain. Something that just feels.... right. Maybe Hu Chuntian just couldn't fully understand it because he had never been the philosophical type.
As Mo Aini pushed away the sweat from his forehead with a flick of the wrist, he waved to Hu Chuntian. Hu Chuntian waved back, smiling like a lovesick teen. Which he was.
He was so lovesick that he didn't realize what his Da Ge was shouting.
"Get down here, it's time for us to fight!!!" Mo Aini yelled amongst the crowd going wild.
"Huh??? I can't hear you, Da Ge!"
"The screen!" Mo Aini pointed. "Look at the screen, we're the finalists! You and I will fight for the champion title!!!"
The people whispered excitedly amongst themselves.
"Did he just say Da Ge? Are they close?"
"They're teacher and student, I think! That guy downstairs is his coach!"
"Oh my god, we're seeing the master and disciple fight! Isn't this like biting the hand that feeds you?"
An event coordinator of Shengxiao finally approached Hu Chuntian and explained the situation.
Hu Chuntian opened his eyes wide. "Eh??? I don't want to fight Da Ge!"
Mo Aini came running to the bleachers and pulled him down. "Come here!!! If you don't take me seriously and fight honestly..... I'll never talk to you again!"
Hu Chuntian's face reddened slightly at the touch, but he still shook his head. "Da Ge doesn't mean that! Let me just forfeit, I'm the one who brought you here to make a comeback!"
"A-Tian, I mean it. It hurts my pride as a man to win something just because someone gave up." Mo Aini's tone became serious, that deadly sanpaku eyes showing. "Forget that we are friends anymore if you won't fight."
Because of this, Hu Chuntian put away his reluctance and joined Da Ge in the ring. "I don't want to hurt you, Da Ge."
Mo Aini grinned. "Neither do I. But everyone's watching, so let's give them a good show!"
---------------
As they got out of the underground arena, Hu Chuntian lit a cigarette. The streets were only lit up by neon lights and very dim lamps. This was obviously the slum part of the city.
He was smoking..... to calm his nerves.
His resolve was firm now. This is the perfect moment to—
"A-Tian, this belt is heavy." Mo Aini came from behind him. "You take it. Let's get a taxi and go home."
"Wait.... Da Ge." Hu Chuntian took hold of his hand. "I.... Well, congratulations."
"Pfft, you just took it easy on me. I know you did." Mo Aini pretended to be mad, but his lips quirking up slightly betrayed him. "So it's a tie unless we get a rematch."
"I don't want a rematch Da Ge." Hu Chuntian said with sincerity.
He put down his cigarette, and stomped on it.
"I want you."
------------------------------------------
Read The Mafia Boys' Contract Marriage which is joining WPC right now XD
I know it's shameless of me to advertise like this but I'm desperate :)))) Plus it'll be a pretty fun book, I guarantee you.
If you're a fan of mafia, criminal investigations and detective stories, please check it out and support it.
PS: It will also be a whole lot more spicier than any of my books so far cough cough How much spice? You'll see.