EM 47. Fantasy

The moment Song Feng heard the news, his first instinct was to bolt for the door. But he stopped short. He had no idea where his brother was even being held. Charging out blindly would be pointless.

Xiao Mingxuan used the moment to pin him down and quickly finished what he had to say. As it turned out, Song Zhe had delivered himself to the enemy. And over the past two months, he had been living rather comfortably. His meals and accommodations were top-notch. He read the newspaper, drank tea, and occasionally made phone calls to handle business matters from a distance. By all appearances, he was doing just fine.

Song Feng opened his mouth. Then again. And again. He could hardly believe it.
“He’s actually being held captive?”

“It’s true.” Xiao Mingxuan pressed him back into the chair, picked up the fallen teacup, and set it back on the table.

“What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know the exact details,” Xiao Mingxuan said. “According to your grandfather, Song Zhe discovered the man’s whereabouts. He also found out the guy has a grudge against your family. So he used that as an excuse to pose as a pharmaceutical business partner and infiltrate the man’s stronghold, then leaked the location to us so we could eliminate him and serve the greater good.”

Xiao Mingxuan looked at him. “Do you buy that?”

Song Feng’s mouth twitched. “Hell no. If my brother had a conscience, he’d have joined the system years ago. He only cares about profit. I’m sure he wanted something from that guy, which is why he walked into the trap himself. Otherwise, why sit on the news for two months?”

“Because he was poisoned,” Xiao Mingxuan replied evenly. “But the antidote’s been administered.”

He paused. “Still, I agree with you. Your brother definitely had his reasons. My guess is he has something on that man. Otherwise, why would a prisoner be treated like a guest? I just don’t understand why he decided to leak the info now.”

Song Feng froze. From the time his grandfather tried to capture that man, more than twenty years had passed. If the mission had remained active all this time, how could they not have found him sooner? The higher-ups’ attitude about it seemed… off.

“Maybe he’s trying to cover his ass?” Song Feng muttered. “Better to come clean before it blows up. What did the brass say when my grandfather explained?”

“Nothing much. They just told me to send someone over tomorrow,” Xiao Mingxuan said, laying the folder open on the table. “Only the top and I are aware of this. But I’m tied up tomorrow, and Team One’s captain is still out on assignment. So right now, we’re missing a field commander.”

Song Feng immediately caught the real point behind all this. He shot to his feet.
“I’ll go!”

“I already called. They approved it.”

Song Feng scanned the file quickly, then headed for the door. “Where’s the chopper? I’m going to Myanmar now.”

Xiao Mingxuan yanked him back and pulled him into his arms. “Calm down. You’re leaving tomorrow.”

“No!”

“Your brother set the time himself. He’s on their turf, remember? He probably needs time to prep things on his end.”

Only then did Song Feng settle down. But suddenly, a thought struck him. He tore himself from Xiao Mingxuan’s arms and scrambled to rummage through their things like a man possessed.

Xiao Mingxuan blinked. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Looking for clothes,” Song Feng tossed back casually as he kept digging. Soon, he unearthed his usual gear and pulled out several jackets, holding them up one by one. “Help me choose. Which one makes me look the coolest, sharpest, most badass?”

Xiao Mingxuan rinsed his teacup and poured himself a fresh cup of hot tea. He glanced sideways. “They all work.”

“What do you mean all work? Pick the best one. Hurry up!”

“You’re not going on a date.”

“Of course not. This is more important than a damn date,” Song Feng snapped. “I’ve been alive over twenty years, and this is the first time my big brother actually needs me to rescue him. Just think about it. He’s been locked up for so long, and the person who comes to save him turns out to be me. He’s gonna be so moved, my value in his eyes is going to skyrocket!”

He started picturing the whole scene and immediately got choked up. “He’s tormented me for so long, but finally, finally, this is my moment to shine! I need to make an entrance so epic, he’ll think a god descended from the heavens. And if I can squeeze a few tears out of him, even better.”

“……”

Worked up by his own fantasy, Song Feng’s hands were shaking as he clutched the hanger. “Come on, which one looks best?”

Xiao Mingxuan sighed and pointed. “The trench coat.”

“Perfect!”

The moment Song Feng started pulling off his shirt, clearly intending to get dressed and wait all night, Xiao Mingxuan immediately stepped in. He hoisted him up, slung him over his shoulder, and dumped him on the bed. “So your plan is to get dressed now and just sit around until dawn?”

“Yup!”

Xiao Mingxuan rubbed his head and muttered to himself, this guy’s completely lost it. “Lie down and be good. You’re going to sleep soon.”

“What if I oversleep?”

“You’ve trained your body clock. And even if you do, I’ll wake you up,” Xiao Mingxuan said patiently, wrapping his arms around him from behind. Using logic that Song Feng might actually listen to, he added, “Staying up all night is bad for your skin. You’ll get dark circles and ruin your whole image.”

Song Feng froze. “You’re right.” He stripped off the coat, got under the covers, and lay down. A few seconds later, he sat up again. “No good. I can’t sleep.”

“…It’s barely past eight.”

“Can time not move faster?” Song Feng rolled around wrapped in the blanket, then crawled over and pawed at him. “Give me your phone tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“In case my brother gets too emotional and wants to take me out to dinner, I won’t be back right away. I’ll call you,” Song Feng said, then thought for a moment. “And if he ends up crying too much, I’ll have to stay and comfort him, right?”

“…” Xiao Mingxuan patted his face. “Do you honestly think a man like Song Zhe is capable of crying?”

“Probably not…” Song Feng’s eyes still sparkled with excitement. He stared at Xiao Mingxuan, hopeful and pure. “But what if he does? What if! Right? Right?!”

A man long abused finally saw a chance to turn the tables. Even if the scene he fantasized about was completely unrealistic, he couldn’t help clinging to hope. Xiao Mingxuan reached out and ruffled his hair. “Right.”

Song Feng lit up. “Give me your phone.”

Xiao Mingxuan gave a soft hum. Deep down, he was uneasy. If this man really did not return tomorrow, would he lose control? He looked down at him and said, “Song Feng, there’s something I want to talk about.”

Song Feng propped up his head. “Talk about what?”

“We’re in a relationship now. So until it ends, there are some things that are off-limits. You get that?”

Song Feng raised a brow. “Like what?”

“Like messing around with someone else behind my back. Or flirting around,” Xiao Mingxuan said carefully. “You know what I mean?”

“You mean no cheating, right? Don’t worry,” Song Feng looked him straight in the eye, dead serious. “I’m a decent guy.”

“…”

“Next topic. What else do you want to talk about?”

Xiao Mingxuan paused. “Your pick.”

“Alright, let’s talk about my brother. You think he’ll cry and hug me tomorrow?”

Xiao Mingxuan pulled him into a better sleeping position so his head was on the pillow. “Close your eyes and stop thinking. You’ll fall asleep in no time. Sleep early, wake up early. Good for your health. Maybe you’ll even dream about it.”

Song Feng didn’t fall asleep until the middle of the night. He tossed and turned so much that Xiao Mingxuan nearly lost it and considered just knocking him out with sex, but remembering the mission ahead, he forced himself to be patient and stayed up with him. The next morning, he personally escorted him to the helicopter.

After returning to the office, he finished compiling a report on the recruits’ recent fieldwork and attached it to the year-end summary. He brought the documents to Zheng Qiyong.

The commander was on the phone, his eyes dark and heavy with an uncharacteristic seriousness. The weight in his gaze was subtle, but someone as seasoned as Xiao Mingxuan knew immediately that something was wrong.

Zheng Qiyong looked up and gestured for him to put the papers down and wait. Into the receiver, he said, “Tell the hospital to do everything they can. Keep this under wraps for now. Hide it as long as you can. Don’t let him find out. That’s all.” He hung up, his expression instantly returning to normal. Picking up the reports, he flipped through them and asked casually, “Why didn’t you go on the mission?”

“I cleared it with the higher-ups. I sent Song Feng instead.”

Zheng Qiyong’s hand paused mid-turn for the briefest moment, just enough for Xiao Mingxuan to catch it. Then came the question, low and edged with rare surprise. “What?”

Xiao Mingxuan blinked. He had never heard the commander speak with a tone like that. He repeated, “I sent Song Feng. It’s his brother, after all.”

Zheng Qiyong fell silent for a moment. Then he lowered the report and, recalling what he had read the night before, asked, “The site’s in Myanmar?”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. He was beginning to feel something was off. It seemed like the commander didn’t want Song Feng going on this mission. “Is there a problem?”

Zheng Qiyong’s face remained blank. “No. You’re dismissed.”

He had been in the field since his youth, and even now remained on the front line. If he wanted to hide something, not even the sharpest eyes could detect it from his face.

Xiao Mingxuan glanced at him and had no choice but to leave. He returned to his office to continue working on the report, then carved out time to drive to the military district. The regimental commander had called yesterday, insisting he come by today to discuss something important. When he arrived, he learned that over the past two months, someone had been sending time bombs to the base. Each one came labeled with three names: Xiao Mingxuan, Xiao Cheng, and Song Feng. No serial numbers, no identifiers.

“The delivery guys were idle villagers from the nearby countryside. Said they were paid to drop off packages and had no clue what was inside. With the new year approaching, do you think he might send something bigger next time? And who the hell is Xiao Cheng? No one in the entire district has that name.”

Xiao Mingxuan was speechless. He figured it had to be Fu Shanming, probably having caught on to Shao Xiujie’s monthly mailings. That man never needed to show his face, didn’t even have to use his own people. Hiring some mercenary off the street was more than enough to get the job done. He thought it over. If that man knew Song Feng was heading home for the holidays, any “gift” would be sent elsewhere. He made a suggestion.

“If another bomb shows up, just let it go off. Maybe then he’ll stop.”

That errand delayed him a bit, and by the time he got back to the base, Song Feng had already returned. Xiao Mingxuan pushed open the dorm room door and saw that the same man who had left full of swagger that morning was now curled up in bed with a blanket wrapped around him, cigarette in hand, looking utterly dejected.

He sighed and walked over. “How’s your brother? Is he alright?”

Song Feng spoke with a heavy heart. “Same as always…”

By “same as always,” he meant that his brother had shown up in a traditional silk robe, all refined and elegant, wearing a gentle smile that had probably deceived countless people. Xiao Mingxuan patted his head. “And what did he say?”

“Not much.” Song Feng took a drag from his cigarette. “I tried to be modest and said I was late to the rescue. He said, with a sigh, that I was indeed late. If I’d arrived earlier, he could’ve used me to kill someone.”

“And then?”

“He turned around, got on his private helicopter, and just flew off.” Song Feng sounded crushed. “By the time I got there, he had already settled everything. That guy was long gone. The mission instructions said the top priority was retrieving medical data, so we were stuck picking through the debris in that blown-up lab. It was underground. The explosion had just happened. We nearly got buried alive.”

Xiao Mingxuan gave him a look of sympathy and thought to himself that after all these years of getting played, Song Feng still hadn’t learned his lesson. He had work to do, so after offering a few words of comfort, he left.

Song Feng had originally planned to throw his phone back to him, but remembered that he had received a few texts when he turned it on earlier. At the time, he had been focused on rescuing his brother, too overwhelmed to look. Now he opened the inbox. As usual, Shao Xiujie had sent his monthly message, but this time, there were two. The second was dated just a few days ago. It read, “Chinese New Year’s coming. Don’t play too hard. Stay safe.”

He closed the chat and moved on to the other messages. Fu Shanming hadn’t sent anything since his last bizarre streak, but this month there was one line: Baby, the gates of hell weren’t shut tight.

Song Feng frowned, not sure what that man was on about this time. He hesitated for a moment and decided to call, only to find that his service had been suspended due to unpaid balance. He grumbled softly.