The morning light came through the window like a slap.
Wenhao opened his eyes and his face was sticky with dried tears and his head was pounding and his throat was raw and for one beautiful second he forgot where he was.
Then he remembered.
He sat up and his whole body ached and his eyes felt like they had been rubbed with sandpaper. He was still in the same clothes he had been wearing for two days. His shirt was wrinkled and stained and he smelled like fear and sweat and despair.
A knock came at the door.
Wenhao didn't answer. He just stared at the wall and waited for whoever it was to go away.
The door opened anyway and a servant walked in carrying a tray. Steam rose from a bowl of congee and there was juice and some fruit cut into perfect little pieces.
The servant set the tray on the table and bowed.
Wenhao's jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists. "Take it away. I don't want to eat."
The servant hesitated. "But—"
"Can't you hear me?" Wenhao's voice came out sharp and loud and his eyes were wild. "I said I don't want to eat. Get out. Get out now."
The servant flinched and backed away and hurried out of the room. The door clicked shut and Wenhao was alone again.
He lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling and tried to remember how to breathe.
The door opened again.
"I already said I don't want to eat why can't you under—"
Wenhao didn't finish his sentence because Hua Cheng grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him off the bed. Wenhao stumbled and almost fell but Hua Cheng's grip was iron and he dragged him out of the room and down the hallway.
"Let go of me," Wenhao snarled and he tried to pull away but Hua Cheng was too strong. "What are you doing. Let go. Let go of me."
Hua Cheng didn't say a word. He just dragged Wenhao through the house and into the dining hall where Zhenlong was already sitting at the head of the table eating his breakfast like he didn't have a care in the world.
Hua Cheng shoved Wenhao into the chair across from Zhenlong and Wenhao's knees hit the table and he grunted in pain.
"Sit," Hua Cheng said. "Eat."
Wenhao was breathing heavily and his face was red with anger and his hands were shaking. He looked at the food on the table. The perfectly arranged plates. The steaming tea. The fresh fruit. The soft bread.
And he lost it.
His arm swept across the table and everything went flying. Plates shattered against the wall. Tea spilled across the floor. Fruit rolled in every direction. The sound of breaking china filled the room like gunfire.
"I don't want your food," Wenhao screamed. "I want to go home. I want to see my father. I want to talk to my sister. I want to know if Shen Wei is okay. I want to know if my father is alive. You can't just keep me here like a prisoner and expect me to eat your food and smile like everything is fine."
Hua Cheng's jaw tightened and he stepped forward and his hand came up and he was about to strike Wenhao across the face but Zhenlong's voice stopped him.
"Leave."
Hua Cheng froze. "But Zhenlong—"
"I said leave."
Hua Cheng's fists clenched and unclenched and for a moment Wenhao thought he might hit him anyway. But then Hua Cheng bowed and walked out of the room and the door closed behind him.
Zhenlong gestured to the servants who were standing in the corners of the room with their heads bowed. "Clean this up. Bring more food."
The servants moved quickly and quietly and within minutes the table was set again with fresh plates and fresh tea and fresh fruit and fresh bread.
Wenhao sat in his chair with his arms crossed and his jaw tight and his eyes burning.
Zhenlong picked up his frok and took a bite of his food like nothing had happened. "Eat."
"No."
"You will eat."
"No."
Zhenlong put down his chopsticks and looked at Wenhao with those black eyes that saw everything. "You're not at your grandmother's house. You're kidnapped. Remember that. You're lucky that I'm not treating you like other captives or you would have died by now."
Wenhao's face went pale but his anger was still burning hot.
"At least let me talk to my sister," Wenhao said and his voice was smaller now. "Just one call. Just to hear her voice. Just to know if my father is alive. Please."
Zhenlong's expression didn't change. "No."
Wenhao's hands curled into fists on the table. "You're a monster."
"you're not wrong" Zhenlong said calmly
Wenhao stood up so fast his chair almost fell over. "I'm not eating. I'm not doing anything you say. You can't make me."
Zhenlong didn't move. He just looked at Wenhao with those black eyes and Wenhao felt something cold crawl down his spine.
"Sit down," Zhenlong said. And his voice was quiet but it was heavy. It was the voice of someone who had never been disobeyed.
Wenhao's legs moved before his brain could stop them. He sat back down in the chair and his hands were shaking and his heart was pounding and he hated himself for being so weak.
"Eat," Zhenlong said.
Wenhao picked up his fork and took a bite. It tasted like ash in his mouth but he chewed and swallowed and his eyes were wet but he didn't let the tears fall.
Zhenlong watched him eat for a moment and then a small smirk crossed his face. He stood up and pushed his chair in.
"You're not allowed to leave before you finish everything," he said. And then he walked out of the dining hall and left Wenhao alone with the servants and the food and his broken pride.
Zhenlong walked into his office where Hua Cheng was already seated at the desk working on some documents.
Hua Cheng didn't look up from his papers. "I really want to beat that kid so bad. Once the deal is done I'll make sure he remembers his place."
Zhenlong chuckled and walked to the balcony and lit a cigarette. "Why so worked up over a small thing?"
Hua Cheng looked at him with disbelief. "Are you really the real Zhenlong?"
Zhenlong smirked. "Yes I am. You know how I love keeping wild animals as pets. He's the same."
Hua Cheng sighed and shook his head. "Zhenlong you're really weird."
He went back to his work and Zhenlong stared out at the garden and the trees and the gray sky and he thought about the boy with the fire in his eyes and the fight in his heart.
He smiled.
It had been a long time since he had something interesting to play with.
Minutes later in the hallway outside the dining hall, Wenhao was causing chaos again.
He had finished the food because he didn't have a choice but now he was standing in the middle of the hallway with his arms crossed and his face twisted in disgust.
"I haven't showered in two days," he said to the guard who was following him. "I stink. I feel disgusting. And you're telling me to take a shower with that weird body wash? What is that smell? It's like flowers and dead things mixed together. I want my body wash. My shampoo. My conditioner. Everything."
The guard's face was hard and his voice was flat. "You're a captive. Not a guest. We're not going to get you whatever you want."
Wenhao's face turned red and he was about to walk away when he bumped into someone.
He looked up and it was Zhenlong who came downstairs after hearing the noice.
"Now what?" Zhenlong asked and his voice was tired but there was a hint of amusement underneath.
Wenhao launched into his complaint without any hesitation. "This is ridiculous. I've been here for two days. Two days. And no one has let me take a proper shower. The body wash they gave me smells like a funeral home. I want my own things. My own shampoo. My own conditioner. My own body wash. I don't ask for much. I just want to feel like a human being again. Is that too much to ask?"
Zhenlong looked down at Wenhao's angry face and his messy hair and his wild eyes and his puffed up cheeks and he saw a tiger cub roaring for its toy.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Wenhao's face went even redder. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm being serious. This is a serious complaint. I'm a hostage with standards."
Zhenlong chuckled. A real chuckle that came from somewhere deep in his chest. "I'll have someone bring you proper toiletries. Anything else your highness wants? A heated towel? A bathrobe? A massage?"
Wenhao's jaw dropped. "Are you mocking me?"
"Yes," Zhenlong said simply. "Now go take your shower and stop causing trouble."
He walked away and Wenhao stood in the hallway with his mouth open and his face red and his heart pounding.