First World: Forehead Kiss

The morning of his departure, Qie Ranzhe had the entire shelter send him off quickly saying their goodbyes before disappearing so to give the two some space. They had already cried their eyes out the previous night at a farewell dinner hosted by the Lin family. Everyone seemed gloomy saying they would miss him but there was a certain someone who was secretly rejoicing and such a person could only be Lin Mingxu. He hoped the two spending time apart would make Qie Ranzhe lose interest in his brother. l guess he had never heard the statement 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'.

With just the two of them left, Qie Ranzhe suddenly had cold feet. He didn't want to separate from Lin Jingxie and separation anxiety only got worse as they drew closer to departure time. "I don't want to go anymore," he said sulky but Lin Jingxie heartlessly shut that idea down with a rocket launcher.

"How are you going to get enough power to protect the boys if you don't go? Besides them will you be able to marry into a noble family if you stay here?" asked Wen Qinxi ultimately dissuading Qie Ranzhe. Of course, he wanted to marry into the Lin family. To do that he had to make a name for himself.

"Mn," he replied gazing at him as though looking at a priceless jewel in a museum display that he couldn't take with him.

Wen Qinxi suddenly took out that wooden case that had been haunting Qie Ranzhe for days. Like a poltergeist it would show up everywhere he went with Lin Jingxie urging him to take it with him. He wasn't willing to take Hei An Zhi with him thus he deliberately hid it under the bed but of course, Lin Jingxie found it and brought it along.

"You really don't want it? No one is more deserving of this sword than you," said Wen Qinxi making a final attempt to convince him but Qie Ranzhe remained resolute in his decision. There was absolutely no way he was taking that sword with him. Despite the fact that it was given to him by Zhao Huangzhi there was something eerie about that sword. He couldn't shake the feeling that it came with bad karma.

Just as he shook his head to refuse, he suddenly heard a shaky voice asking, "Are you Qie Ranzhe?" They simultaneously looked behind them only to find an elderly woman steading herself with a walking cane. Her wrinkled face instantly turned ashen as soon as she laid her eyes on Qie Ranzhe. The boy before her was the spitting image of the emperor. If it weren't for his fresh face, she would have easily mistaken him for the emperor himself.

Wen Qinxi was puzzled at first but soon realised why she had this much of a big reaction when she saw Qie Ranzhe. He immediately moved in front of him blocking her view of Qie Ranzhe while asking politely, "Sorry Ma'am how can l help you?" Watching Lin Jingxie behave in such a protective manner Qie Ranzhe couldn't help but look down concealing a smile thinking, 'Lin Jingxie is jealous even towards an elderly woman.'

His smile soon dissipated when he remembered Lin Jingxie was the one who preferred elder women or maybe it was just an excuse to reject one of the girls Madam Lin wanted him to marry. Whatever the reason he still couldn't take chances so he pulled a puzzled Lin Jingxie behind him blocking his view while whispering, "Exercise some restraint you are in public,"

Wen Qinxi, "..."

Her eyebrows creased in confusion opting to introduce herself instead. "l am Madam Zhao, Zhao Huangzhi's grandmother. My granddaughter wouldn't shut up about the person named Qie Ranzhe so l came to apologise for her forward behaviour," she said lying through her teeth. Firstly, her granddaughter didn't mention his name to her not even once. Madam Zhao heard of this name from Madam Lin. Secondly, she hadn't come to apologize but get their family heirloom back.

She was so livid when she heard the sword had disappeared from the vault angrily storming all the way here to threat Qie Ranzhe and claim back her family treasure but when she saw that face her anger was suddenly replaced with astonishment instantly turning her brain to mush. Fully aware of his identity, she was more than willing to steal the moon as long as it made him happy.

They politely exchanged pleasantries but was soon iced out by Qie Ranzhe's cold nature. Seeing him like this, she didn't get angry but chose to give the prince his space. From his reaction, she could tell the boy was oblivious of his birthright and chose to keep it that way. It was not her place to speak such things. Just as she was about to bid him farewell, Qie Ranzhe suddenly said, "Wait" before handing over the sword, "This belongs to your family. I am sorry l can't accept it."

It wasn't only Madam Zhao's smile that froze even Wen Qinxi's smile stiffened as well. 'What the fuck is he doing?' thought Wen Qinxi wishing he could knock some sense into him. Madam Zhao hesitated but eventually took it back with a sullen look on her face. Only now did she regret sending her granddaughter away. If only she had known of this boy's status she would have let them bond a little more.

As soon as Madam Zhao disappeared from their sight, Qie Ranzhe suddenly placed both his hands on either side of Lin Jingxie's shoulders. Wen Qinxi had his back to him lost in thought pondering over the sword's effects on the plot. Qie Ranzhe leaned close to his ear asking, "Were you jealous just now? Don't worry l only got eyes for you."

Wen Qinxi who wasn't even paying attention to Qie Ranzhe replied, "Mn," without thinking.

Seeing how distracted he was, Qie Ranzhe took advantage of the situation asking him, "Will you miss me?"

Wen Qinxi, "Mn,"

Elated yet unsatisfied he asked another question, "Do you love me?"

"Mn...huh? Wait what?" he asked turning to face him but couldn't ask any further when a jade pendant was suddenly hung around his neck. Qie Ranzhe didn't give him a chance to ask about it when he said,

"Words said can't be taken back so wait for me to come back," he said before casually kissing his forehead like it was the most natural thing. Wen Qinxi had been taken by surprise with his response time lagging behind like campus WiFi on a Friday night. By the time he reacted Qie Ranzhe was hopping into the carriage with a beaming smile on his face while waving goodbye to him.

'What the fuck!' he yelled as his blood drained from his face leaving behind sickly pale skin.

The medic Jolie showed up at the scene attempting to smooth out the situation, 'Don't overthink it, boss. It's a french thing. You know our CEO as travelled to a lot of countries so he must have picked it up there,'

'The french kiss on the cheeks,' said a wild-eyed Wen Qinxi silently watching the disappearing convoy.

'Then an Arabic thing. Seriously, don't overthink it. May-,' said the nervous system before it was cut off by Wen Qinxi.

'Initiate log-off sequence,'