When Chu Yun woke up that morning, he never expected that he would end his day carrying a drunk Xiao Zai to a private room in Lanzhou’s most notorious brothel — after spending most of the day searching for him all over the city.

He was aware of the looks the two of them were getting from the other patrons and courtesans as Chu Yun held Xiao Zai under the arms and helped him up the stairs.

One alpha taking another up into the private rooms wasn’t the kind of thing they saw everyday.

At the moment, Chu Yun’s biggest concern was getting Xiao Zai in bed as soon as possible, and avoid thinking about what he had said to him downstairs within earshot of at least five other patrons.

The key to his private room was easy enough to locate in the inner pockets of his trim, dark robes, and it was usefully numbered. The problem for Chu Yun then, was manoeuvring Xiao Zai inside through the doorway.

“Come on, just walk past the door,” he grumbled, when Xiao held onto the lintel refusing to budge.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, narrowing his hazy eyes in an attempt to focus them on Chu Yun.

“To the room you decided to book in Lanzhou’s most famous brothel, remember?”

Xiao Zai gave him a look from below his long lashes, even though he had a height advantage on Chu Yun. “You just want to get me in bed.” He smiled victoriously. “But I’m already married so you should give up.”

“I know…I’m the idiot who married you,” Chu Yun said, finally pushing Xiao Zai into the room.

He closed the door between them with a relived sigh, but now he was faced with a staggering Xiao Zai who was looking at the lavish room in utter confusion.

“This doesn’t look like my room,” he said, pointing at the damasque wood and silk curtains hanging from the canopy. “My house is a dump.”

Chu Yun groaned and sat down at the low table, serving himself a cup of wine. He needed to be a lot drunker to handle a drunk Xiao Zai.

As soon as Xiao Zai heard the sound of wine trickling into the cup he turned towards Chu Yun. “I want some too.”

Chu Yun pulled the wine jar away from him. “Oh no you don’t, don’t even think about it. You’ve had enough.”

Xiao Zai let himself drop to the floor awkwardly, in a way that elicited a wince of sympathy from Chu Yun’s own knees.

“You’re not the boss of me, you’re not Chu Yun.”

Chu Yun was about to complain about Xiao Zai’s nonsensical talk when he noticed what he’d said. His red lips split into a smug grin, he held the clay wine jar above Xiao Zai’s head, just out of reach.

“So does that mean that Chu Yun is your boss?”

Xiao Zai scoffed. “Of course not, but he thinks so.”

Chu Yun’s grin dimmed. “Maybe he is and you just haven’t noticed.”

Xiao Zai tried to reach for the wine but Chu Yun pulled it away from him with a laugh. Xiao Zai glared at his antics.

His glare might have been threatening if he weren’t drunk off his ass. “Chu Yun married into my family, so if anything I’m the boss of him.”

Chu Yun lowered the wine jar back on the table with a dull thunk, making the wine slosh inside it. “Ok, that’s enough, stop this.”

“Or what? Are you going to tattle to Chu Yun.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Xiao Zai shrugged. “Do it, he looks pretty when he’s mad.”

He pointed at whatever Chu Yun’s face was doing. “Hey, kind of like that.”

Chu Yun got up to his feet with a groan. Xiao Zai could drink the entire jar for all he cared.

“You’re impossible.”

He tried to walk away but Xiao Zai grasped the hem of his robe, keeping him in place. Chu Yun tried to wrench it free from his fingers but Xiao Zai’s grin only grew.

“You really look a lot like Chu Yun, maybe you’re him and are just trying to trick me.”

Chu Yun rolled his eyes, still struggling to get his skirts free from Xiao Zai’s fingers. “I am him! You’re the one who convinced yourself I wasn’t in the first place.”

Xiao Zai narrowed his phoenix eyes at him, and then wound the skirts of Xiao Zai’s robe around his forearm, reeling a startled Chu Yun closer to him by making him hobble unsteadily. “I don’t believe you, but there’s an easy way to find out.”

He tugged violently on the bottom of Chu Yun’s robes making him topple into his lap with a startled yelp.

Xiao Zai caught Chu Yun in his arms settling him across his lap and keeping him in place with a steady grip on his waist.

“What are you doing?” Xiao Zai hissed, trying to pry Chu Yun’s fingers away from his waist one-by-one.

“I’m making sure you’re not Chu Yun,” Xiao Zai said, and then buried his nose into Chu Yun’s neck, breathing in deeply.

Chu Yun went still in his arms, all the fight draining out of him by the shock of Xiao Zai’s actions. Xiao Zai kept scenting him, taking big lungfuls of his pheromones. The humidity of his breath tickled Chu Yun’s skin. Xiao Zai’s grip grew tighter and he started making low, keening sounds from the back of his throat.

“Stop, what-…” Chu Yun tried to free himself again, but there was an unbearable heat climbing up his throat. He had never been in this position before, and it was doing things to his head.

“You are Chu Yun,” Xiao Zai said, his voice deep and rumbling.. “I’d recognise your scent anywhere, it’s the only thing I like about you.”