Qi Tiezui is Zhang Qishan's person, who can deny?
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Fo-ye needs to give birth to thirty or more little Zhang in the future, or the Zhang Family really will be wiped out...
- Qi Tiezui, the abandoned LJM novel
Zhang Qishan is struck speechless.
This fortune-teller really had the audacity to hold his hand??
During office hours??
With that innocent, guiltless smile???
A warm-up short work, preparing for #DMBJweek2020! :D
Qi Tiezui lay sprawled on the sofa in the Zhang Dafo-ye’s study, fiddling with his compass. “Fo-ye, forgive me for springing this on you, but you really need to have lots and lots of children, ah!” He grinned carelessly, too focused on the complex numbers and runes on the tool in his hands to realize how the military commander of Changsha froze behind his desk.
“Fortune-teller, what are you trying to say?” Zhang Qishan’s stern voice was uncharacteristically soft, as he looked up from the mess of documents and papers on his desk. “Fo-ye, let me tell you, I’ve just finished calculating for you.” The esteemed Eighth Lord of the Jiumen sat up straight, eyes twinkling, obviously very happy. “You’ll be married soon!”
Qishan, who was just taking a swig of tea, unceremoniously spurted it all out. Eyes narrowed, strong eyebrows set in a dissatisfied line, he clenched his teeth and forced out a “... Really?”
Qi Ba-ye hopped up and began walking around the room, waving his hands excitedly. “See, Fo-ye, your wife shall be a noblewoman from the North, your meeting a story of legends, and your marriage will pave your way for the future. The relationship with the lady will also save you many troubles, and protect you from disaster. Oh, oh, how beautiful, how fitting for our heroic Zhang Dafo-ye!” He stopped right in front of Qishan’s desk, who was positively growling with discontent, and slapped down a copper coin. Qi Tiezui winked. “I, for one, am impatient to play with your children, Fo-ye!”
“Why not give them to me yourself?” Zhang Qishan angrily blurted those words out, and regretted them immediately. He refused to look at the bespectacled man, his eyes trained upon the reports he was skimming through a while ago. The Japanese have set up camp in the surrounding cities also in the Hunan area… Wu Laogou’s dogs had brought down several gangsters in town… Liu-ye had killed a wealthy man from Beiping for trashing the brothel where Madam Erbai lived… His hands trembled slightly as he scribbled his comments on them. A poignant silence permeated the room.
Zhang Qishan kept on looking down, until a white, soft hand gently plucked the fountain-pen out of his fingers. He raised his head, only to find the fortune-teller beaming brightly. “Fo-ye.” Qi Tiezui then laced their fingers together. As if struck by lightning, Zhang Dafo-ye could only stare, dumbfounded, alternating between their connected hands and Qi Tiezui’s affectionate face.
“I’m not sure if you’re being silly on purpose, Zhang Qishan, but I, unfortunately, am a man and cannot give birth even if I want to.” Listening to Qi Ba-ye’s words, the military official could not focus. It wasn’t their first time holding hands, but Zhang Qishan felt his heart thump faster, harder, the longer it continued. It didn’t help the other man was lightly rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand; just like a besotted lover would do, tender and loving!!!!
Aftera few moments being in a trance-like state – it felt like decades – Zhang Qishan finally pulled himself together. Coughing, he addressed the still grinning Qi Tiezui, although doing so somewhat bemusedly now. “Ba-ye, if I were to marry, what would happen to you? You won’t be able to come so freely to the Zhang Mansion like you do now. What about your favourite sweet sour pork stew?”
Ah. It seemed he had struck a nerve. The thumb was quiet now. To be honest, he missed the feeling of the soft skin gliding over his calloused skin- No. Absent-mindedly Zhang Qishan also wondered, didn’t the fortune-teller feel uncomfortable standing and holding his hand for so long? Not that he was against it in any way. Maybe the man should perch on his seat’s armrests like usual. Much nearer, much more intimate- No.
“Fo-ye, the world is wide, and I’m afraid to admit-“ The latter part of the sentence was mumbled, intentionally, so that Fo-ye would not hear. Zhang Qishan tensed, the man was hiding something from him. But deep in his heart, he had always trusted the fortune-teller. Even as he spouted nonsense, it was all with Fo-ye’s best interests at heart. It’s just Zhang Qishan himself who didn’t believe in destiny and fate. What he wanted, he will chase.
He relaxed again. If Qi Ba-ye decides to hide something from him, so be it. Whatever it is, he will still have faith in the gentle, kind fortune-teller of Changsha.
“- but Fo-ye, I will always, always be your most devoted follower. I like following you, saves me a lot of trouble! Well, unless you count the adjutant; that boy is whipped, I tell you.” With a chuckle, Qi Tiezui slowly unlocked his fingers, preparing to let go of Zhang Dafo-ye’s hand. To his surprise, the other man refused to let go. He gazed at the military official confusedly. The man himself had a complex look on his face, as he returned the gaze with an unprecedented intensity.
“Ba-ye. Until the day you say will happen comes, do not talk about this matter ever again. If you do, I have no choice but shoot you to death.” Zhang Qishan laughed internally at the horror washing over the fortune-teller’s face, but he stoically kept a straight face. “If I were to have a wife, what about you?” He then stood up and walked over to the sofa, pulling Qi Tiezui along. Patting the velvet cushions with his left hand, he forced him to sit.
For this question, Ba-ye already had an answer. “Fo-ye, I am destined to be alone, single for life. No wife, no child, I am the end of the Qi Family in Changsha. Retribution for my family’s past crimes, you understand, but I’ve long accepted it.” Outside, the sun was slowly setting. It’s almost time for the Zhang soldiers’ daily evening assembly.
Fo-ye smiled contentedly. “Good. Stay by my side forever.”
“Ah????”