Chapter Text
The first thing that he noticed was the darkness.
He didn’t know where was this, what happened here, and who—
Who was he again?
Everything was just blank, like the pitch-black place where he was right now. No, that didn’t feel right. He couldn’t even feel his body. Yes, that must be it. He’s not in the dark place, he just couldn’t open his eyes.
The next thing he noticed was the vague voices around him.
At first, it was hard for him to catch the words, everything just sound muffled. Like something was inside his ears, preventing him to understand anything. Well, that’s not good. He needed to know what was going on with him. He didn’t want to be stuck in this condition forever. Time keep on passing, he didn’t even know how long. He was in the state of emerging toward consciousness, only to drown in darkness once again. Everything made him feel like he was in the middle of the ocean, floating and drowning all over again without knowing the end of it.
When he started to stop trying, slowly he finally caught a few words muttered around him like no progress, how long he’s sleeping, don’t know what to do, and A-Fa.
A-Fa… is that a name? It’s definitely a name, at least a nickname.
Then, he finally feel it. The warm touch in his hands, the soft caress on his cheek, the slow pat on his head. Sometimes, the touch felt soft, other times it felt gentle. But his favorite was the warm, firm yet gentle hands that hold his hands. This person was not here most of the time, yet it was his favorite. It felt comforting and reassuring like his presence alone can make him calm and content.
He was definitely not ready for the day when he finally opened up his eyes.
A wooden ceiling was the first thing that greeted his sight. He felt nauseous, and his whole body felt too heavy and hard for him to move. Where was this place? He’s tucked in a bed, blanket wrapped around his body. The room is not big, just enough for a person to live in. There’s a stool and a small table full of trinkets beside the bed. Besides that, the room was technically empty. From the other side of the door, he could hear the mix of people’s voices. Is this an inn?
Suddenly, the door slid open. His sight was greeted by a woman around twenty with a basin of water and a towel. Noticing his gaze, the woman gasped, almost dropping the basin in her hands.
“Oh my god, A-Yuan! You’re finally waking up! Oh no, oh my. I need to tell Madam about this! A-Fa will surely feel delighted with this news!” before he could even open his mouth, the woman immediately ran out of the room. He just deflated and sighed.
A-Yuan? Is that what he was called here? Shen Yuan was his name, yes. He knows that, but he never told anyone to call him that—
“You’re awake. Good, I already sent an urgent message to your brother. I’m convinced he will speed up here as soon as he received the message” another woman walked into the room. She looked gorgeous with the way she dressed up. She looked older than the previous woman based on her wrinkled face, though it didn’t affect her charm. In fact, her sharp appearance gives off an elegant aura.
“A-Fa loves his older brother dearly, Madam. Everyone can see that.” Said the woman from before. She went near to his bed, placing the basin beside his bed. So, this sharp-looking woman is the madam of this place?
“Yes, everyone except his foolish martial siblings. Rin, go fetch some congee. A-Yuan must be famished” the madam ordered the woman called Rin before sitting on the stool near his bed. She handed a glass of water toward his lips, which he graciously accepted.
“You must be confused with everything, A-Yuan. Forgive me for the late introduction. You may call me Madam Ling. You are in the Warm Red Pavilion and I am the owner of this place” she explained in a slow and soothing voice. Shen Yuan frowned.
Warm Red Pavilion…? Wait, isn’t that a—
“Yes, this is a brothel. Don’t worry, no one will disturb you here as your brother specifically requested us to take care of you here” he didn’t know what kind of face he made but somehow the madam could read what was in his mind when she replied that.
“Time to eat! You must be hungry after all the sleep you took” said Rin in a teasing way before putting the bowl of congee on the small table. The madam squeezed his hand for a moment before helping him to sit up. Her big hand brought a sense of comfort in his heart before he halted suddenly.
Big hand? He was already sixteen, the hellish puberty shouldn’t make his hand smaller than a woman’s hand. He frowned before seeing his own hand.
It’s small. Like not just small, but the size of a child. What the fuck?! This is not happening again! He’s already sixteen the last time he saw A-Jiu and somehow he was stuck in a child’s body what the fuck—
“-Yuan, Calm down! Breathe, please!” he immediately took a deep breath before letting it go. Huh, somehow he forgot how to breathe.
“A-Yuan, I know this is hard to take. But, please calm down. We need to wait for A-Fa to come here so that he can explain everything to you. We want to but A-Fa is the one who understands your condition the most” Madam Ling explained slowly, her hands squeezing his now tiny hands as a way of comfort.
“You hear me, A-Yuan? How about you fill up your stomach first before taking a bath? Is that sound good to you?” the madam suggested, her face showing wrinkles when she cracked a smile. Shen Yuan’s face felt a bit warm, not only he’s in the body of a child, he also straight up embarrassing himself by panicking, and now the madam was comforting him like a child. Unbelievable, Shen Yuan! Deciding to cover up his dignity, he just nodded.
He slowly eat the congee and took a bath. His body feels refreshed after lying down for a long time. Just when he started to dive back into his world, the door slid open.
“Gege! You finally woke up!” a pair of thin yet strong arms immediately embraced his tiny body. Shen Yuan couldn’t believe his eyes after seeing him again.
“…A-Jiu? Why… you’ve grown up bigger than me” he stated, his eyes met with Shen Jiu, his dear didi.