Something Beautiful And Wicked

Yuan Shun was the first to throw a punch, but Fang Qi dodged it. That's why Shi Yen predicted it'd be a long one. Though Yuan Shun was athletic, muscled, and well trained, so was Fang Qi. 

"Yen do something!" Yuan Xinyi said desperately. "Shun will kill him!"

Shi Yen inspected her nails and said, "It seems you've already decided the fate of your boyfriend." 

"Don't give me that!" She countered. "You know it as well as I!" 

"True," Shi Yen replied. 

"So, will you help him?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Shi Yen sighed. "Because he's seduced you." 

"No! I was the one who seduced him!" 

"Still," Shi Yen responded, trying to look past her—at the men who has now tumbled on the ground while Yuan Shun was on top, punching Fang Qi—"He has a history with women, and it was disrespectful of him to treat one's best friend's sister as a conquest." 

"But he loves me!" 

"Let him prove it then," Shi Yen retorted. "If he doesn't cower; if he owns up against my husband, then you two can be together." 

Yuan Shun paused when he heard Shi Yen refer to him as 'my husband.' He wasn't used to it, and he got excited every time he heard it. 

"Oh, no. I distracted him—" she said, "Shun! Pull yourself together!" 

Yuan Shun only went back in, fierce and furious. 

Defeated, Yuan Xinyi could only watch, biting down on her fingernails. 

Rolling on the ground, Fang Qi attempted to find an opening, but there was no helping it. Yuan Shun was faster and unfathomably strong. 

At this moment, Shi Yen wished she had a snack and a glass of lemonade.

"Sister-in-law," Yuan Ning called her. 

"Mhm?" She questioned. 

"I've been wondering…" He paused, wondering how to carry the conversation. "Why don't you hate me?" 

Shi Yen shot him a curious glance, and he continued. "I can tell Shun's only here because of you." 

Shi Yen kept watching the fight as she smiled warmly. "Because I tried to kill you too. Twice. Without holding back. If I had been successful, I would never have forgiven myself. You and I are on the same boat—searching for redemption, acceptance. We can't right all our wrongs, but we can try to do better. Give Shun some time. He's blowing off some steam, and it will do us all some good."

Yuan Ning looked at her, registering how his brother managed to entangle himself with a woman like Shi Yen, and he understood. Shi Yen's personality perfectly aligned with Yuan Shun's. They were stubborn and proud, fiercely passionate and protective. 

He was beginning to feel better, and now he understood his brother more. Indeed. They needed a long and serious chat. 

Fang Qi kicked at Yuan Shun, and he staggered back, rising to his feet. 

"I can't see the reason why you're so furious with me—"Fang Qi questioned through gritted teeth, standing. 

Yuan Shun went to grab him by a chokehold. "Because you are a sly hound!" he said. 

"Are you s.l.u.t-shaming me?" Fang Qi asked breathlessly, pushing Yuan Shun away as he gasped for air. 

"No. I don't give a f.u.c.k about how many women you've been with," Yuan Shun said. "I just don't want one of them to be my sister!" He then propelled himself into a fast sprint straight ahead, wrestling with Fang Qi on the ground again. 

Fang Qi hit the grass with a loud thud. He grunted. "I am a monogamous man. And I'm also wholly and deeply serious about her. I want her, and no one else." 

Yuan Shun had him by the collar, with a raised fist. Clenching his jaw, he stopped another punch to Fang Qi's already swollen face. 

"Do you love her?" Yuan Shun asked. 

"I love her," Fang Qi admitted. "My past is not who I am today. Other women—to me—are dull in comparison to Xinyi." 

Yuan Shun widened his eyes. Never in his life did he imagine Fang Qi, the cynic himself, would fall in love. And yet, he was being pummelled pitifully to prove it. 

"Then, you must treat her well because I won't spare you just because we are best friends." 

Fang Qi sighed in relief. He was afraid that Yuan Shun would revoke their best friend's card, and that's something he didn't want. But he said, 'we are best friends.'

"I will," Fang Qi whispered, and Yuan Shun finally let go. 

Yuan Xinyi then immediately ran up to him, tossing him against her. She brushed his golden hair, and she c.a.r.e.s.sed his battered face. "Are you okay?"

Fang Qi grabbed her chin, and he pressed a kiss, hard on her lips, surprising her. 

He might have lost the fight, but he still had the girl, and that's all that mattered. 

Eyes wide, she said breathlessly, "You really do love me!" 

Fang Qi flushed. "I've told it to you many times, in private," he said. 

Yuan Xinyi smiled, bright and pure. "Yes. I remember!" she said happily.

Fang Qi then stood, draping an arm over Yuan Xinyi, and they strode back inside the house, together. 

…

Yuan Xinyi made it her responsibility to tend to Fang Qi's mild injuries. She told Yuan Shun to take care of himself, but he argued that he didn't need any medicines or creams. He, instead, sat back down next to his wife, and she comforted him with her right arm wrapped around him, even though all he had were light but stinging scratches. 

Sun Xiaolan entered the living room with a tray of tea to serve each of them, and she presented Shizi with a bone, and Yuan Ning had come in after his mother, holding a bottle of ointment. 

He then offered it to Yuan Shun, who took it from his hand. "Thanks," he said. 

Yuan Ning half-smiled. "Anytime," he responded and paused. 

With his head slightly lowered, Yuan Shun said, "Sorry about saying you left us. I was angry."

Shi Yen went to play with Shizi, and the others found something else to do as the brothers spoke. 

"You have every right," Yuan Ning said. "I've failed you as an older brother." 

Yuan Shun scoffed. "No, I get it." He glanced at Shi Yen, who was holding a toy that Shizi bit down on it, playing a mild tug-of-war game. "I wouldn't know what I'd do without Yenni…I think I would have behaved the same way as you," he said and knew his brother's time with his fiancée was short. 

Yuan Ning smiled briefly. "I still have failed you, mother, Xinyi, and sister-in-law, and perhaps many others, too. So, I want to do anything to atone. I should have realized sooner that I had a family, but I was so blinded by pain and anger." 

Yuan Shun looked at him, and he understood what he meant. "I'm just glad to have you back, and I am not mad at you…after all," he looked at Shi Yen again, "I understood that my wife would have killed you if she saw there was no hope."

Yuan Ning laughed, and Yuan Shun joined. "She's a ruthless one," Yuan Ning said. 

"Very," Yuan Shun replied with gentle fondness.