Title: Beseiged
Fandom: The Double (mods: you can use the Cdrama tag)
Warnings: it's a revenge drama with all the associated awfulness; vague spoilers for a minor plot event
Length: 100 words

Summary: Shen Yurong has been tasked by the emperor to find a scholar to perform with Jiang Li. It isn't his worst nightmare... but only, he thinks, because she's determined to take her time.



"We have a history," Zhao Qi says, demurring. "I'm sure you understand."

Shen Yurong understands too well. As one man after another makes his excuses, his field of possibilities narrows. Jiang Li comes, once again, to remind him that the force of the emperor is behind her. He must place a stone on the board; it is his turn.

He has no real defense. Even in restless dreams, he cannot conjure the strength of will to simply refuse.

In the end, he takes the only path she has left for him: next to her, playing the flute he had buried in her hands.