“Nonsense, get out quickly.” Liu Zhenqing finally spoke, but his voice was hoarse and listless from the kiss.

The expression in Huo Fenglie’s eyes changed even more, and he suddenly reached out to grab Liu Zhenqing’s hand and press it to a certain place.

Liu Zhenqing’s brain immediately crashed. His palm felt as if it had been scalded. He simply couldn’t understand how such a well-behaved puppy could act so roguishly. Was he still Erg-ou?

Could it be that the boy had held it in for so long that it damaged his brain?

Huo Fenglie let out a low groan at the pressure.

That sound made Liu Zhenqing wish he could die on the spot.

“See, I’m not talking nonsense.” Huo Fenglie’s eyes shone with a terrifying light, but his tone was aggrieved: “Qing-ge always doubts me.”

Liu Zhenqing had no words left. He was so alarmed that he couldn’t retract his hand.

Huo Fenglie gritted his teeth. Maintaining his last shred of rationality, he lowered his head to whisper in Liu Zhenqing’s ear. He didn’t do anything excessive with his hands, but murmured: “Qing-ge, it’s too late this time, so never mind.”

Liu Zhenqing: So you know this too!!!

“Next time…..”

What! He wanted a next time? Get out of here!

“Next time we meet, I won’t hold back. I’ll do everything to Qing-ge.”

Liu Zhenqing: Wait! Laozi can’t possibly like you, but you still want to continue doing this? You dummy! Sure enough, young people who were blinded by lust were mentally abnormal! You must be delusional!

No matter how Liu Zhenqing roared in his mind, he couldn’t say a word, because Huo Fenglie was too close to him, and his lingering scent made him instinctively afraid. This had happened several times now, after all, and he feared that he would be kissed again as soon as he opened his mouth.

Huo Fenglie really didn’t have time to do anything else. When he was finished speaking, he left a gentle bite on Liu Zhenqing’s earlobe.

“Qing-ge, wait for me!”

When Liu Zhenqing was called out of the carriage by Li Xingruo, he was rubbing his earlobe numbly.

Huo Fenglie had already been scolded by his brother and urged to return to the contingent. When traveling with the troops, he couldn’t be too unruly.

Faced with Li Xingruo’s teasing eyes, Liu Zhenqing was endlessly depressed. That bastard had run away after giving in to his impulses, as if he had reached the point of no return. He had turned bad at such speed that Liu Zhenqing almost couldn’t recognize him.

Liu Zhenqing could only sulk and say goodbye to Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo with a gloomy expression.

“This is a farewell gift from Er-gou,” Liu Zhenqing said dryly. “I won’t delay you, have a safe trip.”

The two exchanged glances, then hugged him one by one, telling him to take good care of himself and avoid getting into trouble.

The army set off and gradually moved out of view. No matter which angle Liu Zhenqing looked from, he couldn’t see Er-gou among the tens of thousands of people. He wanted to scold someone, but had no one to blame, and was incredibly frustrated.

He heard a whimpering sound beside him, and when he turned to look, he found that it was Uncle Tian.

Liu Zhenqing moved to comfort him. Uncle Tian was about to say something, but when he glanced down at the jade Rubik’s Cube, he descended into a violent coughing fit.

Liu Zhenqing quickly helped him calm down: “What’s wrong?”

“You….you have…..”

Liu Zhenqing looked toward the jade cube he was pointing at and said: “Fenglie gave it to me.”

“Of course I know that. This is a Huo family tradition. The Second Young Master has had that jade since he was a child. It’s supposed to be given to…..” Uncle Tian was momentarily speechless. He stared at Liu Zhenqing, lips trembling as if in a drug-induced seizure.

Liu Zhenqing was completely dumbfounded. He naturally understood Uncle Tian’s meaning. So what Er-gou had given him was…..

Uncle Tian slapped his thigh and trembled for a long time before finally accepting the facts. “It turns out…..it turns out…..ai! Young Master, you must wait for the Second Young Master to return. You can’t…..you can’t provoke him anymore. After all, you accepted his proposal gift.”

After saying this, Uncle Tian left with a sigh.

Liu Zhenqing stood there with a blank face, unable to utter a word.

Er-gou hadn’t left himself any way out, ah. What if he fell in love with someone else in the future? Would he ask for it back? But the jade had already been carved into a Rubik’s Cube!

Liu Zhenqing picked up the jade Rubik’s Cube and stared at it. Thinking about what had just happened, he could only purse his lips and sigh through gritted teeth.

What sins have I committed, ah!

At this point, Huo Fenglie’s face had cooled down a little. He was also shocked by his own actions. He had acted on impulse as if possessed. As the contingent proceeded, he secretly tied the lock of hair with a red string and tucked it into the innermost part of his robes, directly over his heart.

Gazing at the distant sky, he murmured: “Qing-ge, you must wait for me.”

. . . . .

Two Years later. At Liu Manor.

Liu Zhenqing was listening to his master’s lecture. Next to him was a fair-faced boy, who was the disciple he had been forced to accept. He had just dozed off when he was awakened by Han Ye’s voice.

“Shizu, Shifu is sleeping again!”

Liu Zhenqing awoke with a start and grabbed the medical text his master had thrown at him.

He turned his head speechlessly and glared at Han Ye, who rolled his eyes in disdain. Liu Zhenqing was depressed. Instead of attending court, he had to take classes at home. Had he known earlier, he would have asked the Crown Prince for an official position.

Just as he was stewing in resentment, he heard that Bai Yu and Liu Qiao had returned. He was instantly excited, and said: “Master, please teach Ye’er first. I have official business to attend to.” Having said this, he ran away, the jade Rubik’s Cube at his waist swaying with his movements. But not before pinching Han Ye’s chubby face in revenge.

When he arrived in the back courtyard, he heard Bai Yu and Liu Qiao conversing from afar. The rare thing was that they were having an argument.

“Y-you really angered me to death. You stupid fool, ah, why did you do that in such a situation? Don’t you know that it’s a crime to assault an official? And can he withstand a punch from you? You really are…..”

Liu Qiao didn’t seem to understand why Bai Yu was angry: “You were struggling, and I helped you. Shouldn’t you be happy?”

“I…..I…..” Bai Yu choked.

Although the two had very different identities and were at opposite extremes, being a scholar and a warrior, they had a good relationship.

Two years ago, Bai Yu had served in the Imperial court for a period of time. But he really didn’t enjoy court affairs, and eventually resigned from the position. During that time, Liu Zhenqing was going to accompany his grandfather to visit his aunt and cousin, Yuan Jin, in the south, so Bai Yu went with them, thinking about painting along the way. They were naturally guarded by Liu Qiao on the journey, so the two formed a good relationship.

One was reticent, and the other was gentle, so it wasn’t easy for them to argue with each other. This situation piqued Liu Zhenqing’s curiosity.

“Didn’t you go to the government office to deliver the evidence? Did you finish your work?” Liu Zhenqing walked out to see an unusually anxious Bai Yu, and a Liu Qiao who still looked out-of-sorts.

Bai Yu immediately calmed down when he saw Liu Zhenqing, saying: “It’s finished.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled: “Then why are you arguing? What happened?”

The two spoke simultaneously, but their answers were completely different.

Bai Yu said in a panic: “Nothing!”

Liu Qiao said directly: “Ji-daren bullied him.”

Liu Qiao would never lie or hide anything from Liu Zhenqing, so he immediately looked in surprise at Bai Yu, whose face reddened.

Ji Qinglin was actually somewhat familiar with them. When they were traveling that year, he happened to have just joined the six ministries. The Crown Prince wanted to investigate the tax money case, and sent him to take a look first. He also asked Liu Zhenqing, who happened to be passing by, to keep an eye on the situation. In fact, he just wanted Liu Zhenqing to give the young man some guidance. 

Thus, Ji Qinglin also accompanied them on the first leg of their journey. Ji Qinglin was intelligent, insightful, and had a meticulous mind. He performed brilliantly in the tax money case and quickly solved the problem. And when Liu Zhenqing led his team to visit Song Xingmu at his place, they parted ways. Liu Zhenqing had praised him in his letter to the Crown Prince, and after returning to the capital, Ji Qinglin had taken up the important role of Chief Magistrate.

Along the way, Liu Zhenqing had seen how Ji Qinglin and Bai Yu’s relationship had gradually changed from acquaintances, to friends, and then to something more subtle. He remembered that one time when Bai Yu was helping Ji Qinglin with the tax money case, he met a scholar who was a skilled painter. They had similar interests, and became friends. The busy Ji Qinglin found out about it when he happened upon them painting together, and Liu Qiao said that at that time, there was murderous intent in his eyes.

That night, Liu Zhenqing drank too much wine and had to get up to relieve himself, and saw Ji Qingling holding Bai Yu’s hand tightly in the courtyard, refusing to let go. The two of them were at a stalemate. Liu Zhenqing couldn’t interrupt them, so he could only wait for them to finish talking. In the end, neither of them said anything. Bai Yu blushed and pulled his hand away somewhat angrily, preventing Liu Zhenqing from suffocating to death. After that, their relationship became more ambiguous until they separated.

Presently, when they had just returned to the capital, Liu Zhenqing came across an interesting case and assisted in solving it. He then handed the evidence over to them and asked them to deliver it to Ji Qinlin.

When he saw Bai Yu’s reaction, Liu Zhenqing narrowed his eyes slightly and asked with interest: “How did he bully you?”

“He didn’t. D-don’t say anything…..” Bai Yu anxiously tried to stop Liu Qiao.

But Liu Qiao had also developed a bit of a bad temperament under Liu Zhenqing’s teaching. He felt that he had done nothing wrong, and wanted to tell Liu Zhenqing so that he could make a judgement.

“They started arguing, and then Ji-daren held him tightly and wouldn’t let him leave. He even bit his mouth! He was very fierce!” Liu Qiao said with righteousness on his side: “So I punched him.”

When he heard this, Liu Zhenqing really had to use a lot of effort not to laugh out loud. How should he conduct a sexual education class for Liu Qiao?

Bai Yu lost his temper. His face turned even redder, and he immediately reached out to smack Liu Qiao: “You…..you…..”

Liu Qiao regarded him with even more dissatisfaction: “What did I do wrong?”

Liu Zhenqing tried so hard to hold back his laughter that he almost started coughing: “Qiaoqiao is right.”

Bai Yu was taken aback, and looked at Liu Zhenqing with shame, suspicion, and helplessness: “Xiting-ge, how can you…..that’s not…..that’s…..”

“What’s wrong? Qiaoqiao fought well. Anyone who dares bully one of us must be beaten!” Liu Zhenqing said at once.

Liu Qiao raised his head proudly at the praise.

Bai Yu wanted to cry but had no tears. He didn’t know how to explain. “It wasn’t…..bullying. Xiting-ge, how can you…..”

“No matter what he was doing, if you resisted, that means you didn’t want it. Qiaoqiao, don’t let Ji Qinglin get close to Wangshu next time. If he dares to, then beat him up.”

Liu Qiao immediately nodded.

Bai Yu was anxious. How could he be Liu Zhenqing’s opponent? When Liu Zhenqing said that and Liu Qiao agreed, he was truly helpless. He could only bow his head and say: “But…..it wasn’t bullying…..I…..I was willing, Xiting-ge. Please don’t let Liu Qiao mess around. He can’t take it. Qinglin’s nose was bleeding just now. You don’t know how strong Liu Qiao is, it’s too dangerous.”

Liu Zhenqing laughed when Bai Yu admitted defeat, while Liu Qiao just looked confused and said: “Then should I beat him or not?”

Liu Zhenqing patted Liu Qiao on the shoulder: “Don’t beat him. They’re just little lovers flirting. Even if he cries when he’s bullied, they’re happy tears. Don’t get involved in this matter, lest you be blamed by both parties.”

“What…..lovers….we’re not…..yet.” Bai Yu was speechless. He really wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. This wasn’t what he meant, ah. It wasn’t the case at all. But facing the straightforward Liu Qiao, he had no way to explain it, and could only swallow down his bitterness. If they blamed Ji Qinglin, then…..

It was just that the friend he’d met during the tax money case had sent him a letter, saying that he was coming to take the Imperial Examinations and hoped to meet up to reminisce about the past. He’d just mentioned casually that he would provide hospitality for this talented scholar, and Ji Qinglin suddenly began to act strange. He turned his head away and said that he would ask His Highness to arrange unified accommodations for examinees from other places. Bai Ye felt that his additional hospitality wouldn’t conflict with anything, so he pushed back slightly, and the other party actually just…..just…..

The more Bai Yu thought about it, the redder his cheeks became. His heart pounded wildly, and he couldn’t calm down at all. Seeing the teasing look on Liu Zhenqing’s face, he couldn’t stay here any longer, and quickly left in a sulking mood.

Liu Qiao took note of Liu Zhenqing’s instructions and regarded them as an Imperial decree, so later on…..when he saw Liu Zhenqing being bullied in certain situations, Liu Qiao heeded his master and didn’t get involved!

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(Alt Universe) Extra 21 << Table of Contents >> (Alt Universe) Extra 23