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Jin Zixuan follows his father’s gaze to the weary-looking boy at the steps of Koi Tower, and then back to his father. Jin Guangshan’s forehead is creased, a bored look in his eyes, and he stares at his illegitimate son— Meng Yao, the boy had called himself— as if he was simply observing a bug crawling on the hem of his robes— not particularly alarming, but still a pest he would regard with disgust; no doubt he would flick it off and wash the fabric as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Meng Yao has a strange light in his eyes that reminds Zixuan of how the Jiang siblings look at their own father. He wants to reach out, wants— and he hesitates. What does he want to do?
“Father,” Meng Yao begins brightly, and Jin Guangshan's face pinches, like he's just bitten into something extremely sour.
Meng Yao’s smile wavers.
“Sir," he corrects, "if I could—”
Jin Guangshan sighs, and Zixuan recognizes that sigh— one he uses when something is too trivial for him to deal with. “Guards,” his father summons. Several step in front of him at once, effectively blocking his (and Zixuan’s) view of Meng Yao.
Meng Yao's expression twists and his arms— bruised and twiglike, Zixuan notes, are held up in front of him in defense. "Wait," he pleads, "please wait, I—"
Zixuan's stomach lurches.
“Wait!” he calls out, much louder and clearer, and he’s somehow stepped in between Meng Yao and the guards before he realizes it, one arm thrown out and effectively barring them from making any movement towards Meng Yao without hurting Zixuan in the process. “Father,” he says, meeting Jin Guangshan’s surprised gaze steadily, “may I interfere here, please?”
His father blinks, and a strained smile finds its way to his face. “Zixuan, that boy is of a class even lower than peasants; you will understand when you are older that you are not to affiliate—”
“He is my brother,” Zixuan counters, a wave of unexpected protectiveness surging up for Meng Yao. Perhaps it is because there are others present, or because the look on his face says he will not change his mind about this, but Jin Guangshan relents, waving a hand at the guards. “I'll allow you to have a minute."
When the guards return to their respective positions and Jin Guangshan has walked out of sight, Zixuan grabs Meng Yao by the arm and tugs him away to somewhere more private.
“Meng Yao, is that correct?” he asks once he’s found a shadowed place behind one of Koi Tower's many pillars. The boy nods at him, slightly ruffled from being pulled around, and he picks at a loose strand of hair. “Young Master Jin, you don’t need to do this.” That same smile finds its way back onto his face again, practiced and polite. “I am used to being treated roughly; there is no need to inconvenience yourself for my sake.”
“Inconvenience?” Zixuan stares at him for a moment, baffled. “Who said this was an inconvenience?” He lowers his voice. “My father is not the best person, and he makes many terrible decisions. If not for my mother and the Jin Clan’s abundance of wealth from previous generations, we would be in shambles by now. I don’t know what you’ve been told about my— our father,” he corrects himself, “but it’s best to not take what he says to heart.”
Meng Yao blinks his large, pretty eyes, mouth open in a small ‘o’ shape. If he and Zixuan were to stand side by side, they could most certainly look related, their face shapes and golden eyes inherited from their shared father, but the dimples that appear on both sides of Meng Yao’s cheeks when he smiles are definitely from his own mother.
“Thank you, Young Master Jin.” He fidgets slightly, brows creasing. “I...I should leave now so Young Master Jin does not get in trouble for talking to me.”
Meng Yao steps away quickly, but Zixuan grabs his sleeve again, and the fabric feels rough and rather uncomfortable under his fingertips. “Do you have a place to stay?” he inquires, several more unspoken questions floating underneath.
That smile turns a tad bit sour, a little rueful. “Back to the brothel, I suppose, but I don’t think they’re expecting me to return.” His smile drops. “Especially...especially after my mother passed away recently.” When he realizes what he's just revealed, he immediately freezes. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, that was unnecessary information for me to give—" he waves his hands, "—please do not be concerned, I apologize for the slip."
There’s something about Meng Yao that makes him seem incredibly small, used to being stepped on and thrown insults at, used to being someone irrelevant and unwanted and disgraceful. His smiles do not reach his eyes and his words are tinted with sadness, yet he is already more well-spoken than many of the adults Zixuan himself has been around.
His mother was a prostitute, a small, ugly part of Zixuan's mind speaks up. Father is right. He is a bastard child, a mistake. He will bring shame to your family.
But Meng Yao is his brother. He is family.
And Zixuan—
Zixuan makes up his mind then and there.
“There is an inn near the west border of Lanling called the Baiyuehu Inn. Stay there for as long as you like; it's one of our best and I’m sure you'll find it very comfortable. I will come by tomorrow to talk to you and see what we can do about... this,” he gestures towards the general direction of the Koi Tower entrance, “because you must have come here for a reason.”
“I— Young Master Jin,” Meng Yao flails, looking overwhelmed, “it’s all right, really— you don’t need to do all this—”
“We’re getting you new clothes first,” Zixuan decides, “or they’ll never believe you otherwise. All expenses are covered by the Jin family— I will personally write something for you to give to the staff there,” he adds, and Meng Yao snaps his mouth shut, effectively silencing all protests of affordability.
“Now come with me, we must get those rags replaced.” He takes Meng Yao by the wrist this time, gentler, but the other boy pulls back, wide gaze seeming to search his face for something. “What is it?”
“Why are you doing this?”
Zixuan blinks.
Why is he doing this? Why go to such lengths for a boy he’s only just met, living proof that his father is a dishonest and cheating man; why do this when he would certainly be punished if either of his parents are to know what he’s planning?
But he thinks of the way all the hope and what little brightness was in Meng Yao’s expression had crumbled under a single word spoken by their father, thinks of how Jin Guangshan had been ready to throw his own son off the steps of Koi Tower solely because Meng Yao was the result of his own irresponsibility, of his own faults.
He did not want his brother to look up to such a person, father or not. He would not allow Meng Yao to be hurt like that again.
“Because you deserve better,” is what he says. “You deserve better than what our father did to you and your mother. And everything I’ve been given... You deserve that too, as my brother. I may not have known of your existence until today, but I want to help you. It’s the least I can do.”
Meng Yao is silent for a long time, too long. Zixuan starts to worry that he’s said the wrong thing, somehow.
“Meng Yao—?”
“A-Yao.”
“Huh?”
“If you wish, please call me A-Yao.” Meng Yao swipes a sleeve across his face quickly and raises his head, eyes a little red-rimmed, but the smile on his face completely overtakes it in its brilliance.
Ah, Zixuan thinks, so that’s what he looks like when he’s happy.
“A-Yao then,” he agrees, and tugs on his brother’s sleeve lightly, grinning. “Let’s get you some better clothes, A-Yao.”