Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 84

The scene on the screen shifted to the decisive actions of Jiang Rui, Zhao Jinyan, and An Le. They had subdued the three criminals with clean, efficient movements, followed immediately by the tactical police swarming in to secure the suspects.

When the footage showed Jiang Rui and Wei Ruize exchanging a look of seemingly perfect understanding, Rong Jingtang’s eyes narrowed slightly. The smile at the corner of his mouth took on an unreadable quality. He picked up a cup of steaming tea from the mahogany table and brought it to his nose, inhaling the scent without taking a sip.

The screen gradually dimmed as the subjects moved indoors, but the recording continued. The camera lens was tiny—so small that it could only capture fragments of Jiang Rui’s body as he was partially obscured by Wei Ruize. The two appeared to be speaking, but the audio wasn’t clear. However, their physical proximity was intimate enough to make Rong Jingtang’s smile grow even stranger.

Then, the camera captured a gunshot. Jiang Rui lunged in front of Wei Ruize, the momentum of the impact forcing him forward two staggering steps before he stabilized. They spoke a few more words before Jiang Rui eventually left the room.

The look on Wei Ruize’s face as he stood alone in the room could be described as more than just “ambiguous heartbreak.”

At that moment, the teacup in Rong Jingtang’s hand met its end. Scalding tea from the midsummer brew spilled over his hand. Transparent blisters began to form on his skin, yet Rong Jingtang simply stared at them. After a long silence, a mocking curve pulled at his lips, and he let out a cold snort. He flicked the tea from his hand, brushed away the stray tea leaves from his clothes, and headed to his room to change into something clean.

Jiang Rui felt as if something was embedded in his back, making him extremely uncomfortable. It felt like a massive pine tree suddenly appearing in the middle of a pristine snowy field—an intrusive, unsettling sensation.

Frowning, he directed his path toward the Rong residence. Using a few minor spells, he bypassed the commute and appeared directly outside the main gates. He took a few deep breaths and reached behind his back, but he couldn’t feel anything specific with his hand. Pursing his lips, he opened the door and walked in.

Inside, Uncle Cheng was waiting for him outside the main hall as if he’d known Jiang Rui was coming. Seeing Jiang Rui enter, the old man let out a couple of meaningful coughs and winked. Then, with a respectful bow, he gestured toward the hall. “Master Jiang, please.”

Jiang Rui blinked, a beat behind. He smiled. “Uncle Cheng, what kind of act are we putting on today?”

Uncle Cheng’s relationship with Rong Jingtang was special; he had watched the man grow up. In terms of seniority and affection, he was practically a grandfather to him. However, in a great clan, such a relationship was often frowned upon by “masters.” Though it was the modern era, some feudal remnants still lingered in Uncle Cheng’s mind.

Uncle Cheng smiled warmly, his wrinkles deepening with a sense of joy. “Rui-rui, go in and see for yourself. The Young Master has been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Jiang Rui nodded and stepped into the cool hall.

Rong Jingtang was sitting upright in the primary seat, motionless. A table full of food sat before him, untouched. Jiang Rui sighed and took the seat beside him. “Why didn’t you start eating first?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jiang Rui felt a bit strange. Since when had the clear distinction between “master and subordinate” disappeared between them? He no longer felt that the man before him was an unreachable “emperor.” Instead, he was speaking to him with the casual familiarity of a family member—like a son asking a mother why she waited up for him with dinner.

It was truly odd.

Jiang Rui pursed his lips. Rong Jingtang’s hand rested on the table, his index finger tapping rhythmically against the surface. As Jiang Rui wondered what he was thinking, he noticed Rong Jingtang’s other hand—it was wrapped in layers of white gauze like a cocoon.

“What happened to your hand?” Jiang Rui frowned. He stood up, moved to Rong Jingtang’s side, and gently took the bandaged hand to examine it. “You’re too careless.”

Sensing it was a burn, Jiang Rui summoned a bit of water from the Secret Realm into his palm and gently patted it over the gauze. Once it was soaked through, he smiled. “You can take the bandages off in a moment…”

“Take off your clothes,” Rong Jingtang said softly, ignoring his hand and looking directly into Jiang Rui’s eyes with an indifferent gaze.

“…” Jiang Rui froze. “Why?”

Rong Jingtang arched an eyebrow and stood up. Being a full head taller than Jiang Rui, his presence immediately exerted a sense of pressure. Jiang Rui’s intuition told him that today… Rong Jingtang was not happy.

Rong Jingtang simply turned Jiang Rui around. When he saw the small, inconspicuous hole in the back of the dark uniform jacket, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Getting quite capable, aren’t we?” Rong Jingtang murmured. He lifted the hem of Jiang Rui’s jacket, reached around his waist to undo the front buttons, and stripped the outer layer away, leaving Jiang Rui in his white dress shirt.

Without the jacket, the hole in the white shirt was glaringly obvious. And beneath the fabric, the sight of a copper bullet seemingly embedded in the flesh caused the temperature around Rong Jingtang to drop to freezing.

Jiang Rui frowned and tried to turn back, but he felt his clothes tighten. Then, with a loud riiiip, his shirt was torn in half down the back.

Jiang Rui gasped and spun around. With only the front of his shirt remaining, he looked bizarre with tattered strips of fabric hanging off him. “Rong Jingtang, what are you doing?”

Rong Jingtang himself didn’t know what had come over him. His usual restraint had vanished. With a mocking curl of his lip, he tilted his head. “Taking a bullet for someone else, yet you forgot the bullet was still in your own body?”

Jiang Rui blinked. His hand reached back to the uncomfortable spot. His fingers brushed against a cold, hard object. He winced. As he flexed his back muscles, the sound of metal hitting the floor echoed in the silent room. Both men looked down to see a yellow, blood-stained bullet wobbling on the floor.

Jiang Rui’s mouth hung open. Looking at Rong Jingtang’s expressionless face, a ridiculous thought flashed through his mind: Wait… is he angry because of this?

“You’ve misunderstood…” Jiang Rui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but his anger vanished. The current Rong Jingtang, stubbornly dwelling on this point, seemed ten thousand times more endearing than usual. “When I stepped in front of him, I couldn’t even control myself. By the time I regained my senses, it had already happened.”

He would have to find time to ask Miao Xuan in the Secret Realm why his body had reacted that way.

Rong Jingtang’s expression remained unchanged as he began to unwrap the gauze from his own hand. Jiang Rui sighed, stepped forward, and took the man’s hand to help him.

Rong Jingtang sat back, propping his head on one hand, watching Jiang Rui’s gentle features. Suddenly, he felt that this moment was so warm he wanted time to stop forever. As this thought took hold, his expression softened. The sharp, mocking edge of his smile dissolved into something tender.

Jiang Rui sensed the change and looked up. In that one glance, he found he couldn’t look away.

Rong Jingtang’s eyes—usually deep, bottomless, and cold like an ancient frozen pond—looked, in this moment, simple. He looked like… a silly, smitten boy in the middle of his first love.

Jiang Rui felt the description was odd, yet it had appeared in his mind unbidden.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

While Jiang Rui was dazed, these words suddenly rang in his ear. His brain seemed to crash; he didn’t react until he felt a cool, soft sensation pressed against his lips. His eyes widened, and he stopped breathing.

Rong Jingtang’s face was inches away. He didn’t close his eyes either, staring straight at Jiang Rui. With their lips still pressed together, he spoke again: “I already told you. I’m going to kiss you.”

As his lips moved, a wisp of warmth escaped his mouth. Jiang Rui instinctively flicked his tongue to lick the lips pressed against his own. Unexpectedly, Rong Jingtang’s eyelids fluttered, and he pulled back slightly.

Before Jiang Rui could even catch his breath, Rong Jingtang lunged forward again, pressing his mouth firmly against Jiang Rui’s. He locked one hand behind the youth’s head, holding him in place.

“Since you want me to kiss you so badly…” Rong Jingtang murmured against his lips, his hot breath threatening to incinerate Jiang Rui entirely. “I’ll satisfy you.”

Jiang Rui’s mind was a mess, yet he still found the capacity to wonder: When did I say I wanted him to kiss me? When did I hope for this? I didn’t… right?

In a daze, Jiang Rui closed his eyes. He parted his lips slightly, tentatively sucking on Rong Jingtang’s lip, only to find… that Rong Jingtang just kept his mouth pressed there without moving or changing the angle.

Jiang Rui’s eyelashes trembled. A nearly impossible thought occurred to him.

Outside the door, Uncle Cheng, who was about to bring in the final soup, saw the two in the hall. He froze, then quietly set the soup on the floor and softly closed the door.

In the backyard, the pale pink peach blossom tree suddenly seemed to absorb a massive amount of nutrients. The blossoms turned a vibrant, healthy pink and their fragrance spread far and wide. Everyone who passed by couldn’t help but feel a sudden surge of happiness.

Today was indeed a brilliant day.