The Jade Emperor dictated that the order of the zodiac and calendar be dictated by a single grandiose race. The first twelve animals to finish would earn a year named after them, in the order they arrived. The first to win had been the Rat whom had hitched a ride upon the fastest of the animals, the ox. To place first, the Rat pushed off its best friend, the Cat - earning first place. The Cat had unfortunately drowned in the waters and the Ox had placed second. Speeding behind the Ox had been the Tiger, earning its place as the third zodiac. The Rabbit had followed soon after, hopping its way into fourth place. Fifth had been the loyal but powerful Dragon, stopping to help the slower animals but not to be denied its place at the top. The sixth, however... the sixth was not particularly fast nor had it been overtly powerful.
The Snake had startled the Horse right near the finish, stealing the place of sixth from right beneath it.
It hadn't necessarily been that the snake had been stronger than the horse, the horse could survive the venom of the snake. It had not been that the snake was faster than those that had placed behind it either. No, the real reason that it had placed sixth had nothing to do with innate talent. So what was it that was the Snake's true weapon...?
FEAR
The strongest beast in the room was not the one that could move the most weight, not the one that could blaze by the fastest, it had not been the one with the most potent venom, nor had it been the one with the largest size. No... the true motivator in life was intimidation. The perception of power, the idea that, when engaging with someone or something, YOU would come out in a far worse shape than THEY ever would. That? That was true power. That fear would keep the Rat from its treachery. That fear would make even the sturdiest Ox feel stiffness in its joints. That fear would make the Tiger from treading into deeper waters. That fear would stop the Dragon from descending for just one more second...
Zhao Qingshe, better known as Vincent Zhao in the West.
To the unsuspecting eye he was just the same well-bred and polite young man that would fit perfectly in the upper echelon of wealth and reputation. Summer party on the world's largest yacht on Friday just to be having dinner on New York City's highest sky rise by Saturday evening. Nepo-babies were common in his circle, young men and women with so much power and influence they had no clue what to even do with it... and he stood out in particular. Soft spoken, gentle mannerisms - through and through a complete gentleman. The type of smile that could make any woman swoon and seemingly vivid empathy for even the most basic of his attendants. No one had a problem with Vincent.
At least... not on paper.
Anyone that went digging even slightly would start to unravel more and more about the young man. The fact that most of his company's assets were not directly public companies. The fact the majority of the LLCs had been marketed under private security or the fact that his father seemed to not only rub elbows with other businessmen but also politicians, public figures, and anyone who had any sort of relevance in society whatsoever. One might have correctly deduced that the soft-spoken Vincent was perhaps not exactly what he had lead others to believe he was...
...but people who dug like that oftentimes ended up in a three foot ditch in the ground, decomposing and rotting off the bone.
Vincent Zhao, better known as Zhao Qingshe in the East, heir to the world's most powerful Triad, the Hidden Serpent Syndicate-- Yǐn Shé.
"Hello? A little busy right now, Mr. - if you could call me back a little bit later, I would appreciate it. Thank you and gooby-" Phone pushed up to his ear with a press of his bulkier shoulder, a voice would buzz on the other side. Faint, metallic smell clinging to the air that could make anyone's nose wrinkle up in disdain. The source of it had been a busted, broken puddle on the ground that was vaguely human-shaped. The exact lead up to that scenario was a rather pointless once. Someone had made the mistake of trying to infringe on peddling a certain product that his Triad was known for. Unfortunately while other men his age and status would be partying on Friday, having dinner on Saturday, he was in the process of fulfilling his father's orders on Sunday.
In the old man's words -
"Pull out all of his fucking teeth even if he profusely apologizes."
Perhaps more disturbing than that was the call that he had received from one of his men. To make Vincent so much as crack a single emotion was... impressive. Even throughout that torturous hours of manhandling the poor goon that fell into his possession he had never once broken a single expression past that cold gaze. No disgust at how the tooth cracked out its root. Not the slightest guilt when the begging screams poured out past a hoarse tone. Not even low, sadistic joy at the fact that he was dismantling a grown man in real time. There was... nothing.
That was why the sight of his expression warping into concern was the true concern in that moment. On the other side, the man had spoken words he had not expected for at least three more years.
"You have to meet your fiancée tomorrow."
...What?
Since when was he fucking engaged?
"Tell me again how this happened?" Fresh, white dress shirt tucked into a tapered waist. Belt clinging around dress pants that were equally as plain but the styling around them was down to the exact inch. Every single seam of fabric perfectly tailored to his body to the point that someone could easily trace the contours of his body. Broad, eye-catching shoulders leading down to a narrowed waist. The occasional shift of his arm naturally flexed against the white of his dress shirt in the same capacity that his pants seemed to, just enough, cover him while leaving no doubt about the firmness of his build.
"...Well." Sitting besides him had been a man with a shaved bald head, tattoos running down one side of his face. Similarly dressed in a suit and tie, sunglasses indoors to hide the scar running down one of his eyes. Around them, ornate tapestries hung along the walls in the fusion of Chinese and Western architecture - even the seats had their own red silk cushions that ceremoniously graced the ass of both men who did not want to be there in the slightest. "Do you know about the Bugatti incident?" His companion asked, cautiously.
"Refresh my memory on this 'Bugatti' incident. Keep it brief though, preferably skipping to the part where it landed me a potential wife." Vincent asked, crossing one leg over his knee. Resting his jaw against his gloved palm, he kept his dark eyes staring dead ahead at the dark oak double doors. The golden dragon head mounted atop it seemed to practically be laughing at his misfortune in that moment.
"You see... there was this guy trying to one-up your father. Came driving through his Summer home over and over again flaunting their one of a kind car. Practically going - 'look at this, you broke fucks.' - so he put a hit on the dumb son of a bitch. Unfortunately for us, that one of a kind Bugatti was actually a two of a kind Bugatti. So we, uh... may have had our men break into the wrong one... and temporarily kidnapped the only daughter of a really powerful man." No more. Immediately after getting the gist of it, Vincent would raise his hand up in front of his companion's face to tell him to stop fucking talking. No one thought to check the goddamn license plate? Where was the quality control in these freaks of nature? Some serious disciplining would happen after this damn meeting, that was for sure.
"Understandably the guy's pretty pissed... so as a good will gesture, your father hooked his daughter up with the best husband he could provide. You. Sorry about that, young master." Just his damn luck... he went from leaning against one hand to cupping both cheeks with one palm, deep sigh leaving his lips. So be it. Most women would end up pretty much bored with him once they got fooled into thinking his mask was all that was about him. The polite, boring son of some ultra-wealthy and ultra-powerful businessman. No one got to the Triad part much less knew anything much about Vincent aside from the fact that he was polite. Boring, lukewarm, completely and utterly lacking any sort of personality.
The girl would run for the hills because he was too safe of a pick, he would make sure of that.
"Hopefully she is pretty. I can have a nice face to look at while I bore her to death. Do you have a picture of her?" Sitting straight, he glanced at the grunt besides him just to be met with a shaking head. No picture. Just his luck. There was high chance she was some obscenely hideous troglodyte that her father was quick to pawn off, why else would they jump at the chance of an arranged marriage like this?
Then, a knock at the door came. An announcement that their visitors had arrived. Vincent would hastily stand, straightening out his tie and the lapel of his jacket before making his way forward to greet them by the door... just for his assumption to be horribly wrong. She was beautiful. Two steps beyond it, in fact. Parts of her looked like they were carved out of jade, the type of woman that any man would have been happy with... but he wasn't just any man. She would be better off with someone else anyways. "Leave us." Vincent called over his shoulder to the guard that still remained in the room, shuffling out... just to be left with her and her guard. Did the man not hear her? "My apologies, dear. Can you give me one moment?" Polite, practiced smile that had Vincent tucking his palm under the woman's own to press a kiss to her knuckles before offering a hand to the man behind her.
Glove off first, turning up a paper note that was cradled in his hand just for the man to see.
Fuck off before I pull your head off.
The message was far more polite than that but it was heard loud and clear, a faint cold sweat spilling off the side of the man's head as he shakily exchanged a handshake with Vincent before leaving the room hastily after a fake greeting. That left only the two of them. Only then after ensuring that they were completely alone did he turn back to the woman, about up to his chest in her height and once more returned to that practiced grin of his. "You are stunningly beautiful. To be entire honest, I did not expect it. However... I do want to know two things if you would please be inclined to answer me?" Escorting her to the table, he would pull the chair out for her and tucked it in after she was seated. Sitting besides her, one hand quickly went to pouring her some tea. Thicker, clay teapot effortlessly held up by just one of his hands.
"First... is there a particular reason you agreed to this arrangement or was it perhaps forced on you?" Hopefully the latter, they would have a similar idea to weasel their way out of the engagement. Setting the teapot down, he brought the cup up to his lips and took a slow, leisurely sip. Momentarily, his eyes narrowed and side-eyed her, tongue slipping over the glisten of his lips to savor the taste a little more.
"Second, I do not believe in arranged marriages regardless of what my father says or yours does. If we enter into this, I would like to date you for a little while first. Would that be okay with you?" That part was critical, it would very quickly point out to the beautiful young woman that she was ill-matched for him and they she would run off to the next sporadically exciting individual that caught her eye as these nepo-babies usually did.
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