Li Yan crossed his arms, standing well clear of the bed. "What do you want with me? Why do you refuse to leave me alone?"
Hu Bai settled onto the edge of the bed as though he owned it, which he likely did, and patted the space beside him with an expectant tilt of his head.
"I want you to be my bride." He said it plainly, as though remarking on the weather. "I know you are a Ger. As you can see, I am a rather handsome man. We would have the most beautiful children together. I want five daughters, perhaps a son as well."
Li Yan’s lips twitched. A laugh escaped before he could stop it, sharp and disbelieving.
"And why would I want children? I detest them, and I detest marriage even more." He shook his head slowly. "Listen to yourself. Who plans for six children in times like these? Now if you will excuse me, I intend to be on my way. Please do not disturb me any further."
He turned toward the door, already dismissing the entire conversation as beneath his patience.
"State your wish." Hu Bai’s voice followed him, unhurried, entirely unbothered by the rejection. "Whatever it is your heart desires, I will grant it. As long as you will it, I will make it happen. All I ask in return is that you agree to be my bride."
Li Yan stopped at that, turning back with something cold and testing entering his gaze. A man who offered anything so readily either had nothing to lose or considerably more than he was letting on.
"If I told you to exterminate my family, would you do it?"
"Certainly." Hu Bai answered without a flicker of hesitation, as though the request were no different from asking for a cup of tea. "If you will it, I will do it."
"How?" Li Yan’s voice sharpened, arms tightening across his chest. "What power do you hold that lets you promise such a thing so easily?"
"A small family such as yours would not prove difficult to erase." Hu Bai’s smile widened, unbothered by the sharp edge in Li Yan’s tone. "I am a man of considerable power, you see. If you do not believe I am capable of exterminating your family, I would be glad to prove it to you."
He rose from the bed, closing some of the distance between them, though he stopped well short of crowding Li Yan entirely, as though some instinct told him not to push further than the moment allowed.
"I am also a wealthy man. You need never worry over food or a comfortable place to sleep again." He spread his hands, gesturing vaguely at the room around them, the fine furnishings, the silk drapes catching what little light slipped through the shutters. "I own multiple manors, scattered across the province. Whatever you require, I can provide it a hundred times over, without a single coin ever troubling you."
Li Yan said nothing for a long moment, weighing the offer, weighing the man, weighing exactly how much of it might be true and how much was simply the boasting of a spoiled young master who had never once been told no in his life.
Li Yan smiled, thin and unbothered. "I am only fifteen. Far too young for marriage, let alone children."
"I do not mind being betrothed for now." Hu Bai answered as though the objection barely registered. "We could have children later in life. I am only three years your senior, after all. There is no need to rush toward anything you are not ready for."
Li Yan stroked his chin, studying the man in front of him with a new calculation.
Powerful, certainly, given the way he had slipped through a window unseen. But power and wealth were two different things, and any young master could dress well while owing every last coin to a moneylender.
"If your wealth is truly what you claim it to be," Li Yan said, "then give it all to me, and I will give you my hand in marriage."
Hu Bai’s face lit with genuine delight, as though Li Yan had offered him a gift rather than an ultimatum. He turned toward the door and called out for his attendant.
A man appeared within moments, dressed plainly compared to Hu Bai but carrying the same unhurried confidence. This sort came from long familiarity with a household’s inner workings rather than any wealth of his own.
"Draft a contract," Hu Bai said, "transferring my wealth to." He paused, glancing toward Li Yan, waiting on a name before he could finish the sentence.
Li Yan considered withholding it a moment longer, then decided there was little harm in a name alone. "Li Yan."
"Transferring my wealth to Li Yan," Hu Bai finished, entirely pleased with himself.
The man’s brows drew together, the first crack of hesitation in an otherwise composed face. "My lord, are you certain this is wise?"
"Yes." Hu Bai did not hesitate for even a breath. "If my bride wants my wealth, then I will happily give it to him."
The man said nothing further, only bowed and withdrew, murmuring that he would return once the contract was ready.
Hu Bai turned back to Li Yan the moment the door clicked shut, and a ring appeared in his palm as though summoned from nowhere, pale metal set with a single dark stone.
"Wear this." He held it out, expectant.
Li Yan eyed the ring, then Hu Bai, entirely unmoved. "We sign the contract first."
"There is no need to worry over that." Hu Bai turned the ring slightly, letting it catch what light there was. "The ring will come loose on its own, should I ever lie to you."
Li Yan did not believe him for a moment. Silently, he asked Xiaoxiao to confirm it, and a beat later came the answer: true, the ring did carry such a property, and would slip free the instant its wearer’s intent broke faith.
Only then did Li Yan accept it, letting Hu Bai slide it onto his middle finger.
Hu Bai held his hand a moment longer than necessary, turning it gently in the light. "Oh, that looks beautiful on you. Do you like it?"
Li Yan gave an absent nod, his attention already elsewhere, caught somewhere between the manors Hu Bai had mentioned and the exact sum of coins he was soon to own.