crimson_carnation

Enjoy the last chapter! (๑^ ᴗ ^๑)

Two weeks later, Bai Anjing succeeded in wrapping up all business in the Qifeng organization, stepped down as the leader, and left for the capital.

As his replacement, he appointed Zhang Shuang, the man who had once opposed him and tried to convince Xie Rong to escape the hideout. With as devoted and smart as he was, Bai Anjing figured that Zhang Shuang would do well as the next leader. He certainly wouldn’t feel like an outsider the way Bai Anjing had.

From then on, the Qifeng organization turned well-behaved. After all, they had now caught the eyes of both the Herald and the captain of the imperial secret guards, who also happened to be their former leader. It was akin to have gotten the attention of the emperor himself. For now, lying low was the best.

When Bai Anjing left Qifeng’s hideout, Wan Yingyue, Yu Jun, and a few others who were unquestionably loyal to him beseeched him to take them with him. They did not care if they would first have to be tried for whatever crimes they committed earlier in the organization before Bai Anjing could even consider accepting them as his subordinates again. Faced with their devotion, Bai Anjing had agreed and gave them over to his lieutenant’s care temporarily.

And after all that came the reunion.

Bai Anjing returned to the Xie residence, the entire place so strange yet familiar to him. Forgotten memories and emotions scratched at the outer walls of his mind, but stayed elusive for now. Disregarding it for the time being, Bai Anjing instead focused on Xie Rong and reveled in his beloved’s unsuppressed joy and relief at his return even as he was being tightly squeezed in Xie Rong’s arms. He was only released when Xie Rong realized that he’d cut off his husband’s breath and almost caused him to faint. But Bai Anjing didn’t complain one bit in the face of his Ah-Rong’s enthusiasm.

Bai Anjing had barely spent a few hours in the Xie residence before an imperial summons came for him. Xie Rong and Xie Cheng accompanied Bai Anjing as he went to face the emperor. When they arrived in the palace, the trio was quickly taken to the emperor’s private audience chamber where they bowed respectfully in front of their ruler.

Emperor Ning Shu sat on an ornate throne at the end of the chamber, with his close advisor Ning Ge, who also happened to be his elder brother, standing beside him. The room was empty except for these five, and despite this being a reunion between friends, an air of heavy solemnity filled the space.

Bai Anjing’s memory loss hung between them. Without his memories, could he even be considered the same person? Would he treat his friends from before in the same way or would there be a sense of alienation? These as of yet unanswered questions thickened the atmosphere with their graveness.

“Captain Li, Lord Xie, Second Young Master Xie, you may rise,” the emperor said in his measured voice, breaking the quiet.

The three people straightened.

The emperor’s posture as he sat was straight and faultless, exuding the majesty and distant benevolence that was expected from one of his station. His eyes gave up nothing of what went on in his mind, but the way his gaze remained fixed on Bai Anjing spoke much of the worry he felt for his friend.

His elder brother and advisor, Ning Ge, stood primly beside him with his chin tilted up slightly as he appraised Bai Anjing. His eyes glinted over his hawkish nose while an air of no-nonsense severity was wrapped around him. Yet the way he stood by emperor’s side, his body positioned so that he could shield him at a moment’s notice, betrayed the protectiveness he felt for his younger brother.

After having a good look at the two people at the head of the room, the first thing Bai Anjing did was turn to the emperor’s elder brother and comment, “Oh, so you are that mermaid-boy.”

The air froze.

Xie Cheng covered his face with a hand and sighed deeply while Xie Rong hid his smile behind a sleeve, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Ning Ge turned his head to the emperor and exploded, “Imperial Younger Brother, do you see? Do you see what you’ve done?! This is the legacy you have made me leave behind! Swatting your backside once or twice that time was definitely kind of me in comparison to the damage you’ve wrought on my name!”

Emperor Ning Shu tried to maintain his dignity even as he slowly leaned away from his irate older brother while pinning Bai Anjing with a glare. Seeing him blink back at him with utmost innocence, his teeth itched. This bastard hadn’t changed at all! Actually, no, he had gotten even worse!

Meanwhile, Bai Anjing thought that it was only proper of him to greet his friends, even though he had forgotten them, with his usual level of playful friendliness. How else would they know his intentions to maintain his bonds with them?

The atmosphere in the audience chamber inevitably lightened after that. And rather than ruler and subjects, the air was that of a group of friends teasing, laughing, finally reuniting with each other, and reestablishing their connection.

Once that was done, the emperor gave free use of his hall of learned imperial physicians to Bai Anjing so that his memory loss issue could be resolved as soon as possible. Treatment began and the recovery of Bai Anjing’s memories was quickly underway. Due to Xie Rong’s presence by his side, whatever defenses had held strong in Bai Anjing’s mind against the returning memories had already begun lowering, aiding his smooth recovery.

Within half a year, he was able to take up his previous job again with minimal incidents as Xie Cheng slowly transferred the responsibilities of the captain back to him. Within a few years, his memories had completely returned.

Spending all that time with his beloved husband and the people he cared about, Bai Anjing, now going by Li Nianzhen again, felt that his life was more blissful than ever.

∘━✧━∘

Xie Rong and Li Nianzhen lay together in bed, the gentle yellow of the oil lamp enfolding them in warmth. Their shared quilt was bunched at their hips and their unbound hair spread out over the bed like streams of dark silk. As they lay facing each other, tenderness and affection filled their gazes.

This night, like many before, had been filled with passion.

After the intense heat, the burst of ecstasy, the peaceful afterglow, and the cleaning up was over, the couple now simply basked in each other’s presence while lying together naked. Pink and red marks lay scattered over their bodies, left over from before. As Xie Rong lazily drew circles on his husband’s skin while Li Nianzhen looked at him with a sated and loving gaze, calm serenity filled the space between them.

On a table on the other side of the room rested a large birdcage, its door always left open and facing the dragon boat flower bushes outside the window. If Bai-er, Xie Rong’s white crow, felt sullen enough, he would purposefully close the door to his little home by himself to show that he was displeased and needed coaxing. Currently, a cloth was draped over the side of the birdcage facing the bed, since Li Nianzhen felt too self-conscious engaging in intimacy under the crow’s beady gaze. Inside his cage, Bai-er was happily munching on some late night snacks, ignoring his masters for the duration of his meal. The occasional scratches of his claws against the metal base, the sound of his eating, and the dry rustle of his feathers were all that filled the silence in the room.

On the bed, Xie Rong shifted languidly and looked into his husband’s eyes. “Nianzhen, do you remember that time when we planted the bushes of dragon boat flowers in the garden outside my window here?”

Li Nianzhen didn’t even pause when he heard his name now. He lazily traced a finger over his Ah-Rong’s nose bridge and nodded. “I remember it vaguely.”

Xie Rong wrinkled his nose at the ticklish sensation but pressed on, “At that time, you joked that you wanted to run away from home because of how much care and delicacy you were being forced to spend on those bushes.”

Li Nianzhen chuckled, his voice low and husky. He moved his hand to slowly sweep up and down Xie Rong’s bare waist as he leaned forward to nudge his beloved’s cheek with his nose. “Yes, I remember that. I also remember saying that I’d rather spend all that delicacy and care on you.”

Xie Rong murmured in comfort. “Hmm, yes. And after that, I told you that if you ever planned to run away from home, you better use the knowledge you gained that day and plant some dragon boat flowers to tell me where you were so that I could come and drag you back. Do you remember that?”

“Yes,” Li Nianzhen breathed into his ear.

Xie Rong lifted an arm to wrap around his husband and asked, “Nianzhen, tell me. Could it be that…that was why you planted those bushes at the base of the path leading to Qifeng’s hideout?”

Li Nianzhen hugged him and smiled. “Maybe. At that time, my inexplicable need to plant those bushes there and regularly take care of them had confused me and my subordinates alike. But I felt restless unless I did it. It seems that my dear husband’s words were engraved that deeply into my mind. Aren’t I such a wonderful and loving husband?”

Xie Rong laughed and indulgently ruffled Li Nianzhen’s hair. “Yes, you definitely are.”

Li Nianzhen rubbed his face into Xie Rong’s shoulder and murmured, “What about you, Ah-Rong? Did you let that idiot Yu Jun bring you up just because you had a hunch that I had planted those bushes there as an indication to you?”

Xie Rong stroked the back of his husband’s head, feeling the smooth hair sliding under his fingertips. “Yes, I had hoped that it would be the case. If not, I would have simply gathered more information on Qifeng and waited for Brother to come get me before divulging everything I learned to him.”

Li Nianzhen leaned back and widened his eyes with pretend shock and accusation. “Aha, I knew it! You only wanted to use and betray me!”

Xie Rong laughed at his husband’s silliness and pulled him close again so that he could continue brushing his head. Li Nianzhen obediently snuggled his head into the crook of his beloved’s shoulder again. His Ah-Rong’s familiar scent enveloped him, eliciting a comfortable feeling. He felt the vibration of Xie Rong’s voice as the young man continued from where he’d left off, “As I was saying, I would have certainly acted the spy if it wasn’t you. But once I determined that you miraculously indeed were the leader and that you truly didn’t seem to remember anything as I and Brother hypothesized, I instead decided to spend time with you, get closer to you, and gain your trust. After that, I would have told you the whole truth.”

Li Nianzhen smiled quietly. “I see. How dependable of you.”

Xie Rong chuckled and continued stroking his head affectionately. Silence stretched, soft and comfortable.

“Nianzhen,” Xie Rong broke the quiet. “I’m glad that you are like this now. I’m glad that you didn’t go back to being like before.”

Li Nianzhen lifted a brow and playfully asked, “Did my Ah-Rong not like me the way I was before?”

Xie Rong rolled his eyes. “Don’t be silly. I will love you either way. I meant that I’m glad for your sake. You are much happier now. I can see it. Even though you losing your memory and getting stuck in that place was not a pleasant thing for either of us, it gave us a boon. It helped my workaholic husband learn to enjoy life and laugh more freely. At least for that, I am thankful.”

Li Nianzhen nuzzled his husband. “My Ah-Rong is so concerned over my happiness. That in itself makes me happy. What a lucky man I am.”

Warmth seeped into Xie Rong’s cheeks. He silently buried his burning face into Li Nianzhen’s embrace to hide his expression. Feeling the heat on his skin and guessing that his beloved was blushing again, Li Nianzhen chuckled cheerfully.

Just as a quiet hush began to settle over them, Xie Rong lifted his head and said, “You know, Nianzhen, I don’t know about past lives, but maybe I’m starting to believe in fate as well. Because, despite everything, I still managed to find you. We still somehow came together again.”

Li Nianzhen cupped his Ah-Rong’s warm cheek in his palm and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I believe in fate too, because for me, you are my fate.”

Xie Rong sputtered, both flustered and pleased, lending no small amount of amusement to Li Nianzhen. Shooting his smug husband a glare without heat, Xie Rong chided, “You’ve grown into such a smooth-talker!” Without waiting for a response, he pulled Li Nianzhen towards him for a kiss.

His smile widening, Li Nianzhen let himself get swept away.

In a way, he thought it was ironic how he’d once considered Xie Rong his unexpected find in the beginning. But it turned out that he was the one who had truly been his beloved’s unexpected find. However, what truly mattered in the end was that they’d both found one another. And now, they had no intention of letting each other go.

crimson_carnation

With this, An Unexpected Find is complete. I hope you enjoyed the ride! (ෆ⁀꒳⁀ෆ)

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Thank you for joining Xie Rong and Bai Anjing/Li Nianzhen on their journey back together! I hope you'll look forward to my next story as well~ *hugs* (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*)♡