Chapter 160: Why the peacock cries

"WAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

[Ya know, your cousin has amazing lung capacity. A must-have for any singer,] Hurricroak commented as Zhen Liu continued to grimace. [See if he has any interest in that after he’s doing crying his heart out.]

At this point in time, Zhen Guo had broken the thirty minute barrier and was closely approaching forty-five. It was right about now that Zhen Hai was done with this shit.

"Alright, that’s it," Zhen Hai grumbled as he removed his fingers from his ears and walked over to the crying Zhen Guo.

"Zhen Hai? What are you-"

*SMACK!* "Calm the hell down!"

"Ah!"

"Zhen Hai!"

[Wow,] Nepherage chimed in, [he’s about as subtle as an ox.]

Zhen Guo had stopped screaming, as a result of Zhen Hai smacking him, but tears were still streaming down the former’s face.

"Seriously? Ya couldn’t be more gentle?," Zhen Liu sighed. Zhen Hai for his part, just ignored the comment.

"Now then, can you tell us why you’re currently screaming and crying like a bat with a broken wing?"

"I-! She-’! We-!"

"We..."

"We...WAAAAHHHHHH!"

"And now he’s even louder."

"Zhen Hai! Why did you have to stress him out more like that!," Zhen Yue reprimanded.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"What I did? I said that he wouldn’t be able to handle her, but he didn’t listen!," Zhen Hai fired back. "I’m just trying to get him to man up!"

"You-!"

Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai were all set to go at each other’s throats at this point, probably worsening the situation as opposed to helping, but it was also at this point that Zhen Liu decided to make a move instead.

"WAAAAAAAHHH-huh?"

"Zhen Liu?"

Without saying a word to anybody, Zhen Liu calmly walked over to the screaming Zhen Guo and quickly, yet carefully, placed his hands upon the latter’s cheeks and held them there. Zhen Liu’s eyes were now firmly locked with Zhen Guo’s, as was the intended effect.

"What are you-?"

"Breathe."

"What?"

Leading by example, Zhen Liu proceeded to take a deep breath, breathing in for five, breathing out for ten. Zhen Guo wasn’t sure why, but felt compelled to follow.

"Breathe in..."

The two inhaled.

"Breathe out..."

The two exhaled.

Zhen Guo’s breathing was initially a bit ragged, but after doing this exercise for a full minute, it started to become a lot more solid. As Zhen Guo’s breathing became more and more steady, his mood began to lighten as well.

Eventually, Zhen Guo had stopped sobbing altogether and Zhen Liu had released his hands from the former’s face.

"Feeling better?," Zhen Liu asked.

"Yes...actually. I-I do. Huh," Zhen Guo answered.

"Good," Zhen Liu nodded, "now can you tell us what happened?"

"Well..."

Zhen Yue and Zhen Hai looked shocked as Zhen Liu had managed to calm their cousin with such ease and were about to exclaim as much, but they decided to keep shut so they could hear Zhen Guo’s story.

________________________________________________

Earlier that afternoon...

After spending what was essentially all morning getting ready for his date, Zhen Guo promptly met with Bellona in front of the inn that she and her father had been staying in.

"Good afternoon, madam."

"Hmmm."

It was then that things went...not so great.

Zhen Guo had attempted to impress the young miss with anything and everything he could, from martial prowess to sense of style to displays of knowledge, but it seemed like nothing he did worked. If anything, it looked as if Bellona was becoming less and less cordial, and more and more bored and annoyed by the second.

This all eventually came to ahead, when he was told the following:

"Ok, that’s it. Zhen Guo, I’m sorry, but I find you a pompous, pedantic, vainglorious blowhard that is beyond boring and more full of hot air than a lantern."

Waitaminute

________________________________________________

"Being told something like that would normally just piss you off, even if your ’gentleman’ senses would stop you" Zhen Hai interrupted, "how would-?"

"Zhen Hai. He’s not done yet," Zhen Liu reprimanded, "please let him finish his story."

"Oh...my bad."

"Zhen Guo?"

"As I was saying..."

________________________________________________

The things she had said up to that point had indeed riled up Zhen Guo to the point of steaming mad, but then she capped it off with a single sentence that emotionally destroyed him.

"Also, your clothes suck, your makeup sucks and yellow is definitely not your color."

And with those words, Zhen Guo went from emotionally angry to emotionally damaged.

Bellona left after saying those words, leaving a stunned Zhen Guo standing there with his mouth agape. He wasn’t sure when and how he returned to the clan estate, but he spent a few moments just sitting in a random courtyard in dejected silence before crying and screaming.

That’s the point when Zhen Yue came along to try and comfort him, followed by Zhen Hai and Zhen Liu.

________________________________________________

"The lady is like a venomous rose! She’s pretty but she ain’t worth the sting!," Zhen Guo cried, "I’m not sure if any of us could impress her."

"Hmmm."

[Wait...that’s why he was crying? His sense of style was insulted?,] Nepherage asked.

[Style is important, Nepherage,] Hurricroak fired back.

As soon as Zhen Guo had said those words, Zhen Liu briefly turned his head about to look for Zhen Xing. Technically this would have been the best moment for a coincidental boasting for dramatic effect, but it appeared his cousin wasn’t anywhere near them. Granted, that didn’t stop Zhen Liu from assuming the worst.

’He’s either busy training elsewhere or he’s just...not here. Then again, irony dictates that he is actually hiding around a corner somewhere and had listen to both Zhen Hai and Zhen Guo’s woes with this woman, and is now planning a way to avoid going on a date with her,’ Zhen Liu thought to himself, while physically moving to comfort Zhen Guo and verbally saying comforting words.

’Then again, Zhen Xing has too much pride in himself to actually do something underhanded like that...right?’

________________________________________________

Literally the next morning (again)

"Xiao Liu! Xiao Xing has suddenly come down with a crazy high fever and has been sent to bedrest until the end of this week at latest. You’ll be meeting with Bellona today in his stead."

"Of course, mother" Zhen Liu cordially nodded.

That being said, mentally he was cursing his cousin like there was no tomorrow.

’You better actually be sick or I swear to God...’