Past 

"Xian... " YiJun, the crown prince of Wang Kingdom, whispers breathlessly, gently caressing the lotus-shaped mark on his lover's chest. 

"Mn?"

"You have never told me the significance of this mark. Why is that?" The crown prince urges. 

"It's not of any significance." The man in YiJun's arms says, intertwining his fingers with his lover. 

"You have been gone for ten days. I have missed you, and all you want to talk about is this silly mark" Xiao Xian, the prince's lover, pouts before continuing, "Ammm.. or is it that you think it spoils the look of my otherwise spotless body."

{A/N for content}

"I love everything about you. Everything." YiJun kisses the Lotus mark before taking Xian's nipple in his mouth and sucking on it.

"Jun!... Eh! Slow down!... Ah! We have the whole day." the younger man's words contradict his actions as he pulls the older man closer, encouraging him to suck harder.

Pulling the younger man on top of him, YiJun's hands move between their bodies. He wraps his fingers around both of them and starts stroking.

"Jun, wait." Xian pants.

YiJun looks at Xian's face. 

"Mn?"

"Do you have to get married tomorrow?"

"Mn." YiJun looks away from Xian.

"Is there no other way?"

"No. Not if I am to protect my people and my family." He pauses and pulls Xian closer, "Not if I want to protect you." YiJun hugs Xian tight.

"What if she comes to know about us?"

"She won't," YiJun says resolutely before reversing their positions and claiming Xian's mouth. 

They kiss for a long time before YiJun once again wraps his fingers around both of them and starts stroking.

YiJun marks Xian's neck and shoulders, and his hands start moving faster. 

The only sounds heard in the small cottage are soft muffed moans and heavy breaths. 

"Jun!... " Xian moans loudly, and then there is silence.

{A/N end of mature content}

Xian is the first to leave the bed in favor of cleaning them up. 

YiJun protests, and Xian smiles, continuing to clean his lover with practiced hands. By now, it's second nature to him. He loves taking care of YiJun.

"Jun, you know I am yours, so why do you insist on biting me every chance you get?" Xian asks, getting dressed.

YiJun frowns. 

"Why are you getting dressed? You said we have the whole day!"

Xiao Xian looks out the window. The dawn is setting in. He smiles, and it's as beautiful as the dawn he has just witnessed. 

"Jun, look how beautiful the sky looks right now." Xian gushes, bending down to kiss YiJun's lips, before turning his face towards the window.

"Jun, I want us to enjoy the sun today. From tomorrow we can only meet behind closed doors. Today you are still a free man. Today let's stay out the whole day, from dawn till dusk." Xian says, pulling the other up and handing him his clothes.

The men spend the whole day enjoying the sun. They visit the market and leave only as the sun begins to set.

"Let's go to the beach," YiJun urges, pulling his lover with him.

By the time they reach the beach, the sun has almost set.

"Xian, look how beautiful the sky is at dusk. It's my favorite time." YiJun says, looking affectionately at Xian.

Xian returns the smile. He looks around before pulling YiJun closer and kissing him. "Let's go back, Jun. I want to feel you in me one last time before you become someone else's husband." There are tears in Xian's eyes when YiJun turns to face him. 

YiJun holds his lover once more, and they let go of each other only after the sun has set.

The Present

The sun disappears under the horizon. In Beijing, however, the night has just started to come alive with streetlights illuminating the dark roads and narrow alleys. 

'The Emperor's Smile' stands tall and proud at one of the hippest streets in Beijing. 

In the past few years, it's popularity had grown by leaps and bounds among both local youth and foreign tourists. 

The cocktails are excellent, and the ambiance is pristine. The place screams 'High-Class.'

In all the other respects, The Emperor's Smile is like any other night club in this high-class locality, except for two things. 

First, where other night clubs have loud music all the time, 'The Emperor's Smile' has live music and dance, going as far as holding small celebrity concerts on the stage. The stage is sacred. 

Second is the usually empty high Seat directly in the line of sight from the stage. Calling this Seat a throne would be better. For it gave out royal aura. Carved out of pure jade, it had an ancient design, yet, it looked timeless. 

Many come close, wanting to touch it, but no one dares; it is forbidden.

 Just like the throne, its owner, Lan Wangji, was a marvel. He was cold, distant, and untouchable. 

Lan Wangji is many things, but being tolerant is not one of them. 

He is the owner of 'The Emperor's Smile' and the only occupant of the Jade Throne. 

He seldom visits the night club but knows everything that happens openly and behind closed doors. 

No one has ever seen the cold man smile. He is literally like the frost. 

No one knows anything other than the fact that he was the owner of this club as well as a majority shareholder in Lan Corporation, which was one of China's leading pharmacy brands. 

The Lan Pharmaceuticals had the largest R & D department in the world, but that was a secret known only to Lan Wangji and his secretary, who also happened to be his only relative. 

However, the truth was that no one knew Lan Wangji. 

The tabloids seldom printed articles about him. And in case, someone printed something, they never did so again. 

All that anyone knew about him was that he was a loner, an orphan, who owned a giant empire. He had no friends outside of his secretary. He was neither married nor had any love interest. 

No one was allowed close to him, let alone touch him. 

Lan Wangji had everything.

At least, it looked like he had everything. But the truth was far from it. 

What no one knew was that there were only two things that Lan Wangji had been looking for and wanted. 

Lan Wangji was sure he would never find what he was looking for, yet his search went on.

It was also because of this reason that he continued to exist like he was supposed to. Unchanging.

With his tragic past haunting him every day, he had no reason to smile. 

The only time he smiled was when he went to his bedroom at dusk and gazed upon his lover's sleeping form.

'You are beautiful and perfect, like always. I love you, Xian.' Wangji would say to the man in his bed. They had been together for a little over four hundred years now. And Lan Wangji was as much in love with the man in his bed now, as he was, four hundred years ago.

Every day, the otherwise cold man would place a soft kiss on his lover's lips before changing and leaving the house, only to return at dawn, to keep the promise he had made all those centuries ago. 

No, except his name, nothing had changed for Lan Wangji. Not his love, not his pain, not his hate, and least of all, his appearance. 

But the world around him had changed. The world around him had grown.

{Note:- Word Count 1260

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