6 Uninvited Guests
"We have red bean buns today, do you like them? There are also meat buns and vegetable buns. Come on, eat. We don't have much good food, so these are all we can offer you." I handed him a pile of buns, big and small.
He didn't say thank you, he just kept eating.
"You'll leave once you're healed, right?"
“…”
"Don't run around while you're still injured. Anyway, I can still sneak you some food."
“…”
"But at this time, there are many guests at home, so you'd better not wander around. If you get caught, not only will you be punished, but my father will also punish me."
"How should I be punished?" he asked, looking at me.
“He usually won’t hang me up and beat me, but I’ll probably be locked up and go three days without food. Kneeling in the back room is also very difficult.”
"Tell me if you need anything." I patted my chest.
He looked up and said, "My name is Binghong."
"Yes. Nice to meet you," I said.
"You don't know this name?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
"How should I know? I never leave my house. Besides, no one has ever told me about the martial arts world."
"You are lonely." A very insightful statement.
“Even if that’s the case, to repay me for saving my life, you have to tell me stories and talk to me,” I said.
“I can only stay for half a month,” he said, looking at me.
“No problem. You can have my bed.” I said generously.
Where do you sleep?
“The roof, since it’s summer, isn’t cold.” I pointed to the roof.
"No need, we'll go together. Two men, it's nothing."
Besides telling me how he got injured, Binghong told me many stories. He was probably a very introverted person, not very talkative, and often disappeared. When he came back, he would bring back strange insects and plants. Sometimes, he would also give me a few books. My intuition told me that he was a grateful person, so I trusted him completely. I even told him about Han Beiming and asked him to tell me about my feelings.
“You like him.” Binghong looked at me coldly and said calmly.
"I like him. He's a friend."
"It's not that kind of liking, it's different."
"Um?"
"I like him so much I want to kiss him, hug him, even..."
"Stop talking." I felt nauseous. "We're all men."
"So what? There are plenty of men who marry men these days."
"But if he wants to continue the family line, he will marry and have children."
"So, being a male concubine is a very difficult fate. If you're young, you can be favored for a few years because of your looks, but ultimately you can't have children." Binghong laughed.
"I would never do that, Dad would beat me to death!" I hurriedly protested.
"I didn't say it was you. Look how excited you are. But don't trust Han Beiming too easily, remember that."
"ah?"
"He sounds like he's very deep."
"How could that be? He's my friend, please don't speak ill of him."
"Friend? More like a future brother-in-law?"
"What did you say?"
"He went to such lengths to get close to you, it seems, for Fei Yu. Your target isn't you, Fei'er."
"Nonsense. What does getting close to Fei Yu have to do with me? Only someone like Han Yitian would get close to Fei Yu."
"Fei'er, I have to go. I must tell you something."
"What?" I asked, somewhat dejected.
“Your face is dark; you’re in danger of bloodshed soon. Try to keep your distance from them. I’ll come to see you next year; hold on until then no matter what.” Binghong packed her things. “If I can’t come, my disciple will.”
"What? Don't scare me." I looked at him, puzzled.
“It’s a pity I’m too old. If I were 40 years younger, I wouldn’t let you go,” Binghong said.
"40 years old? You look no more than 40."
"Hehe, I'm 80 years old."
Spring passed and autumn came, and in the blink of an eye, it was harvest season. There was nothing much to see in the city anymore. The guests at home gradually departed, some returning north, others heading south for the winter. Han Beiming and I spent less and less time together. He always said he had something to do, so he went out with his second brother or with our father. Sometimes he would go to the back hill, sit under a tree, and quietly listen to me play the flute. He wouldn't say a word. Other times, I would wake up to find him asleep beside me, his hand still around my neck. I didn't understand what they were so busy with. But when they were busy, I would look for Feiyu; when they weren't busy, I would look for my second brother. Because those people still seemed to prefer spending time with Feiyu.
"Brother, why do you seem so down lately? Your eyebrows are all furrowed." I chuckled and reached out to touch his brow.
"Han Yitian has proposed marriage to our family."
"What? They're talking about proposing marriage?" There are only men in our family.
"Not rain."
"...Father won't agree." I was a little confused.
"He didn't agree, but he said he would never give up."
"That's troublesome. Should we tell him?"
"Forget it, don't worry so much. No matter what, he and Feiyu are destined to be apart. Father would never send Feiyu to be a concubine." My brother patted my head. "Speaking of which, Fei'er is not young anymore. In a few years, he will be getting married."
“It’s not my turn. If we’re going to get married, it should be my eldest brother first, and then it’ll be your turn.” I looked at my second brother’s increasingly mature face.
"Eldest brother?" The second brother smiled bitterly. "Eldest brother probably won't get married, so I'll have to sacrifice my looks."
"Look at what you're saying, brother. With your looks and qualities, you have a ton of suitors. Yet none of them are the girl you've chosen. Sigh, it's all your fault that so many men in this city are still unmarried at 30," I said deliberately.
"Why?" the second brother asked, puzzled.
“Other girls are trying their best to marry into our family, so why would we accept those undesirable girls?” I patted my brother’s shoulder. “Brother has grown a lot taller. Although I’m growing too, I’m still not tall enough.”
“He’s at least taller than Fei Yu. There’s no way he can catch up to me, since I’m your older brother. Even the eldest brother is much taller than me,” the second brother said. “Why haven’t you been practicing at the martial arts field lately? Have you gotten rusty?”
"No, I've been following your instructions, brother. However, I can't get up in the morning, so I usually practice in the evening." Actually, I'm currently studying the book Binghong left me; it looks like a medicine manual, for treating illnesses. I really enjoy interacting with flowers and plants; it's not as tiring as interacting with people, so I'm studying it with great enthusiasm. Whenever I have free time, I go to the back mountain to observe plants and concoct medicines. However, I don't have time to use my medicines, so no one comes to experiment on them.
“Recently, Han Beiming and Han Yitian have been at odds with each other at every turn, giving me a real headache,” the older brother continued. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They came here as brothers, but now they’re like enemies. But Father thinks highly of both of them.”
"Yeah. It's normal for young people to be hot-blooded and like fighting."
"Judging from your tone, it's as if you're older than all of us. You're the least worrisome one, but you're also the one I worry about the most. Fei'er, promise me, be a little selfish and take good care of yourself."
"Okay." I happily tugged at my brother's sleeve.
"Han Yitian has moved to the neighbor's house next to Fei Yu's."
"But men and women shouldn't touch each other." I was somewhat surprised.
"I've heard that a notorious womanizer has appeared in the martial arts world. Father might be Dan Feiyu."
“But Fei Yu is a…” I said hurriedly.
“That womanizer eats both men and women.” My brother looked at me with some difficulty. “He specifically targets underage girls.”
"Me?" I laughed. "I'm not worried at all, he definitely wouldn't be interested in me."
"It's best to be careful, Fei'er. I've already asked Father to let Han Beiming live next door to you."
"What? How can that be?"
“I need to keep an eye on those young female customers. Father has a lot of things to take care of. I can only ask him for help. Besides, he seems quite close to you, doesn't he?”
“We’re friends. But I still don’t think it’s necessary. Just keep an eye on Fei Yu.”
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