Song Yuzhang: Chapter 118 - Make a Blood Oath
Chapter 118: Make a Blood Oath
Meng Tingjing had returned from his voyage.
The weather was cold, yet the pier was bustling with activity. The person who came to pick him up reported in great detail everything that had happened in Haizhou during his month away. Naturally, he mentioned that there had been another explosion at the Nie family’s mine.
“Was it serious?”
“Seems quite serious. A few workers died, and quite a number were injured. Work was suspended for several days.”
Meng Tingjing pulled off his leather gloves and flicked them in his hand like a whip. “Drive. To the Song residence.”
By the time he arrived at the Song residence, it was already six in the evening. It was winter, and by this hour it was already dark. As he got out of the car and entered the Song household, he was told that Song Yuzhang was not home.
“Not home? Still at the bank?”
“Fifth Young Master should have gone to the hospital.”
“The hospital?” Meng Tingjing frowned. “He’s sick?”
“It isn’t Fifth Young Master who’s sick—it’s the Nie family’s young master. Fifth Young Master went to visit him.”
Nie Bonian had been frail since birth. According to the doctors, his health should gradually improve after the age of ten. But the younger he was, the more easily he fell ill—especially in cold weather, when he was particularly prone to catching colds and fevers.
This time, with his fever, he had already been in the hospital for three days, running a persistent low fever. Each day, as soon as the bank closed, Song Yuzhang would come to see him.
“One more bite?” Song Yuzhang asked softly.
Nie Bonian shook his head. “I’m full.”
Song Yuzhang set down the bowl of porridge, then picked up a small bowl of water. “Then drink a little water?”
Nie Bonian obediently agreed. After three spoonfuls of water, he said that was enough.
On the table were food, books, toys—everything a child could want. But none of it seemed to help with his illness.
Holding his soft, fever-warmed little hand, Song Yuzhang asked, “Want to hear a story?”
“Yes, I still want to hear about Wu Song slaying the tiger.”
“Alright.”
Half embracing him, Song Yuzhang gently recounted the thrilling tale. As Nie Bonian listened, his rosy little face gradually showed signs of weariness. His lashes fluttered a few times, and he drifted off to sleep.
Watching him closely, Song Yuzhang waited until he was sound asleep before gently laying him down, tucking the blanket around him, and sitting by the bedside in quiet contemplation for a while. Only then did he set down the comic book, rising and tiptoeing out.
He lowered his head as he pushed open the ward door. But when he turned, his eyes fell on a pair of black cloth shoes beneath a dark robe. Looking up, he saw it was indeed Meng Tingjing.
More than a month had passed, and Meng Tingjing was just the same—handsome, refined, and coldly aloof.
Meng Tingjing cast him a faint, indifferent glance. “Acting like a thief, looking so guilty?”
Song Yuzhang smiled. “You’re back.”
Meng Tingjing didn’t want to be angry, yet he couldn’t help it. His mouth spoke harsh words before he could stop himself: “It’s not like the boy doesn’t have uncles and aunts to care for him. Do you really need to come running every day like this?”
Hearing these unpleasant words, Song Yuzhang showed no anger whatsoever.
He understood better now. He knew Meng Tingjing’s feelings toward him were good, and that was enough. As for the harsh words, he filtered them out, treating them as nothing more than foul air.
“Have you eaten?” Song Yuzhang asked directly.
Hearing him so bluntly change the subject, Meng Tingjing’s face darkened. Like a sulky cat, he let out a breath: “No!”
Indeed, he hadn’t eaten. After disembarking, he had come straight here to see him. But then again, what could he say? He was no better than Song Yuzhang. Both were hopeless—perhaps he was even worse. At least Nie Xueping had risked everything to earn Song Yuzhang’s devotion to the Nie family. But when he thought carefully, Song Yuzhang had never given him much of anything. It was all his own delusion, his own obsession.
“Then let’s go eat together,” Song Yuzhang said. “The cook at your house is truly excellent. Where did you find him?”
Meng Tingjing gave a cold laugh. “So you mean to freeload at my house again?”
“Yes.”
“Thick-skinned, aren’t you?”
“Thick skin, empty stomach. Brother Meng, please—hurry up, I’m hungry.”
Meng Tingjing turned away, his mouth still unrelenting. “Serves you right to starve, running here without eating!”
He spoke with no guilt, since he wasn’t hungry himself.
Song Yuzhang had come in the Song family’s car, but Meng Tingjing clearly didn’t want him to return to it. The drive from the hospital to the Meng residence took nearly half an hour. Having missed him so much, Meng Tingjing wasn’t willing to waste another half hour apart, so he pulled Song Yuzhang by the arm and opened his own car door.
Song Yuzhang didn’t argue. Once seated inside, before Meng Tingjing could get in, he said first: “Don’t touch me, and don’t bite me.”
Meng Tingjing’s hand, lifting his long robe, froze. If not for those words, his hand would naturally have landed on Song Yuzhang’s thigh.
“Do you take me for some kind of scoundrel?”
With a cold snort, he sat properly, deliberately keeping a hand’s breadth of space between them to prove his innocence.
Crossing one leg casually, Song Yuzhang said softly, “Then take it as my own petty-mindedness.”
Whether or not Song Yuzhang was petty was uncertain, but Meng Tingjing had never considered himself a gentleman. In business, gentlemen didn’t survive—they were wiped out.
Not five minutes into the drive, Meng Tingjing couldn’t resist leaning over, pulling Song Yuzhang into his arms. At the same time, he muttered his excuse: “I didn’t touch you, and I didn’t bite you.”
His palm squeezed firmly around Song Yuzhang’s arm. Feeling the springy strength of his muscles, Meng Tingjing finally felt as though he had truly disembarked.
Song Yuzhang gave a bitter smile, but didn’t struggle. “My fault. Next time, I’ll be clearer.”
Holding him close, Meng Tingjing’s irritation slowly faded. With a teasing tone, he asked, “Next time? And when exactly will that be?”
Not wishing to flirt, Song Yuzhang simply closed his mouth and said nothing.
Meng Tingjing thought he was being shy and secretly laughed to himself. He figured that with Nie Xueping dead, this bastard’s temper had actually softened a little—Nie Xueping’s death hadn’t been in vain after all.
Holding Song Yuzhang close all the way, Meng Tingjing naturally couldn’t resist touching him here and there. When Song Yuzhang struggled a little, Meng Tingjing said righteously, “I’m just checking if you’ve lost weight.”
As if Song Yuzhang were his own child, he seemed to feel responsible for even his weight.
Song Yuzhang didn’t want to fight in the car, afraid of flipping it over, so he just let him be.
Besides, Meng Tingjing was the kind of man who always did whatever he pleased—whether he refused harshly or not, Meng Tingjing would still do whatever he wanted.
Let him touch, it wasn’t like he hadn’t touched before anyway.
At first, Meng Tingjing acted on impulse, unable to resist running his hands along Song Yuzhang’s waist. But then he genuinely began to worry. “Why does it feel like you’ve gotten thinner?”
“I haven’t. I’ve gained weight.”
Not believing him, Meng Tingjing gripped his waist to measure.
Song Yuzhang’s waist wasn’t only slim, but also slender in build, giving his masculinity a refined, rakish air.
When Meng Tingjing’s palms slid upward toward his ribs, he finally admitted Song Yuzhang had indeed put on some weight compared to before.
Feeling pleased, he gave Song Yuzhang a kiss on the cheek. Song Yuzhang gave a helpless smile, and Meng Tingjing said, “That doesn’t count as biting you, right?”
Still smiling, Song Yuzhang shook his head. “You…”
His voice was so soft, so tender, it scratched at Meng Tingjing’s heart. He couldn’t resist anymore and pulled Song Yuzhang fully into his arms, kissing his lips.
Song Yuzhang only resisted in his heart for a moment, then chose to yield.
Let him kiss, it wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed before anyway.
In the car, Meng Tingjing hugged him, touched him, kissed him until his lips were red and wet, and his heart was utterly satisfied. When they got out, he was all gentle smiles, holding Song Yuzhang’s hand. “Have you come around?”
“I have.”
Meng Tingjing smiled broadly. “I knew you’d come around.”
Song Yuzhang only smiled without answering. Inwardly, he thought: he had indeed figured it out. Meng Tingjing’s temperament was like a storm at sea—it didn’t matter whether you provoked him or not, the storm would blow where it pleased. Whatever you did made no difference.
Hand in hand, Meng Tingjing led him back into the main hall. He wasn’t afraid of being seen. In the Meng family, no one dared object to whatever he did. Before, he’d only held back to save Song Yuzhang some face. But since Song Yuzhang had “come around,” there was nothing left to worry about.
Besides, being with Meng Tingjing was by no means a shameful thing, no matter how you looked at it.
He ordered the kitchen to prepare dinner and, unusually, even asked Song Yuzhang if there was anything he wanted to eat. Song Yuzhang didn’t stand on ceremony and rattled off five or six dishes at once.
After the servant left, Meng Tingjing took his hand again, smiling with his eyes and brows. “You really aren’t acting like an outsider.”
Song Yuzhang laughed. “I know, Brother Meng, you treat me as one of your own.”
Meng Tingjing said, “Why suddenly call me that? You don’t look that old—how come you’re acting senile, forgetting my name already?”
Song Yuzhang pulled back his hand and sat down. “Let’s eat first.”
Meng Tingjing immediately sensed something wasn’t quite right.
But the mood between them today felt unusually good, and he was reluctant to ruin it. So he just smiled. “Alright, let’s eat first.”
The Meng family chef’s cooking was as good as ever. Song Yuzhang ate heartily, fully focused on the meal. Watching him, Meng Tingjing—though troubled by his own thoughts—suddenly felt an odd unease, as if this might be his last meal here.
After finishing, Song Yuzhang wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. “Thank you, Brother Meng, for the meal.”
Meng Tingjing put down his chopsticks. “Why eat so fast? Nobody’s fighting you for it.”
Song Yuzhang smiled faintly. “I was hungry.”
Meng Tingjing also smiled, though his heart was uneasy. “You should eat at regular times. Going hungry isn’t good for your health.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Brother Meng.”
Meng Tingjing lowered his gaze, stealing a glance at him. He was a man full of schemes, but with Song Yuzhang, he always wanted to be direct, to bare his heart without twisting words. So he asked bluntly, “What’s wrong with you today?”
“There are a few things I want to say to you.”
Song Yuzhang set his hands on his lap and faced Meng Tingjing, who looked faintly puzzled.
“Tingjing, do you like me?”
The question made Meng Tingjing flush. He was silent for a while, then forced out through gritted teeth, “Of course.”
Song Yuzhang smiled, thinking: as expected of Meng Tingjing, what a unique response.
Then he spoke sincerely: “Then please don’t like me anymore.”
For a moment, Meng Tingjing’s mind went blank. Then his gaze sharpened. “What did you say?”
“Brother Meng, I’d like to ask you not to like me.”
Fury erupted instantly. Meng Tingjing slammed the table with one hand, rattling the bowls and chopsticks. “Song Yuzhang, speak clearly! What the hell do you mean?!”
Song Yuzhang sighed softly.
“I’ve thought it through,” he said slowly. “Someone like me shouldn’t be with anyone. Living for the moment—that’s the life I ought to have. In public life, I’ll work hard to build something. But in matters of emotion, I don’t want to be tied down by anyone—whether they’re dead or alive. That’s too exhausting for me.”
“Tingjing, what you want, I can’t give you. Not because I won’t, but because I don’t have it to give. I told you before—we’re not suitable, we can’t be together. So I advise you to let go of that idea as soon as possible.”
Calmly, he went on: “I said similar words to Nie Xueping too. Honestly, I don’t regret saying them. What I do regret is letting him misunderstand that we could last forever. I don’t want you to have the same misunderstanding. Tingjing, I treasure your affection—but you’ve given it to the wrong person.”
Meng Tingjing forced down his anger. “So you’re scared?”
“I was scared before. Now it isn’t fear—it’s clarity.”
“This is your so-called clarity?”
Unable to contain himself, Meng Tingjing slapped the table again—this time rising to his feet. “Song Yuzhang, what do you take me for?!”
Song Yuzhang lifted his gaze to meet him. “I take you as one of my own.”
Meng Tingjing stared at him, chest blazing with fire. This ungrateful bastard—his heart was harder than stone!
Trying to warm a stone was impossible. The only way was to swallow it whole, wrapping it in one’s burning flesh and blood, to give it warmth for eternity.
“I understand,” Meng Tingjing said, his fury making him suddenly cold. “You think you’re no good, and you’re warning me not to get too invested, in case it all ends up in vain.”
Seeing that he could still be sarcastic, Song Yuzhang smiled and nodded. “That’s not wrong either.”
Meng Tingjing grabbed his collar, gnashing his teeth. “Song Yuzhang, I fished you up from the sea! You think I don’t know what kind of man you are? Whoever I want to like, that’s my own damn business. You have no say in it!”
“Fine—” He snatched up a bowl from the table and smashed it. Grabbing a shard of porcelain, he cut Song Yuzhang’s hand and pressed it toward the teacup. “Others swear brotherhood in blood, sharing life and death. Let’s follow the custom—swear in blood, and from now on, live and die apart.”
The shard sliced their fingers open. Blood dripped into the teacup. Song Yuzhang sat motionless, numbness spreading from his finger to his chest. Meng Tingjing held the cup of their mingled blood to his lips, forcing some between them, before downing the rest himself.
The taste was strange, but Meng Tingjing drank with relish. He hadn’t even lowered his head when suddenly an arm hooked around his neck.
Song Yuzhang pulled him down and kissed him.
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