Amidst the houses lined up in front of the palace road, Qin Yu pushed He Lan away fiercely and fixed him with a cold glare, wiping the corners of his mouth in disgust.

He Lan used his thumb to wipe away the blood from his bitten lip. His eyes were also somewhat fierce as he sneered, saying: “What? You don’t like it anymore? Didn’t you still like it a lot two months ago?”

Qin Yu turned to fly away with a cold expression, but was caught by He Lan, who persistently pursued his love. For a moment, Qin Yu really couldn’t break free.

Suddenly, a book flew out of He Lan’s sleeve and fell open on the ground.

A shameful scene immediately came into view. Qin Yu’s face darkened, and he twisted in He Lan’s grip to glare at him.

He Lan smiled roguishly and caged him against a wall from behind, rubbing against him suggestively.

His mouth nearly touched Qin Yu’s earlobe as he said: “You saw that right. I’m currently studying how to use it on a certain heartless bastard who leaves without saying goodbye, throws a person away after using them, and turns hostile for no reason.”

Qin Yu’s pupils constricted, but he didn’t speak.

He Lan seemed to be provoked by the expression on his face. He grabbed his chin and tried to kiss him, but Qin Yu turned his head to avoid it.

He Lan’s tone became harsh: “What do you mean by avoiding me for so long? Do you want to get rid of me? Or are you afraid that others will find out about our relationship? Qin Zichuan, who am I in your eyes?”

“If someone is ignoring you, you should be more self-aware. Let go, I still have business to attend to!” Qin Yu said.

“I took on the mission first and you took it last. When you took it, did you know we were on the same mission and could handle it together? So you’re still seeking out Zhanyuan alone, but not me?”

As He Lan spoke angrily, Qin Yu found an opening and escaped in an instant.

Qin Yu: “When have the Dongchang and Jinyiwei been able to work together?”

He Lan’s breathing froze when these words were spoken. Yes, the Dongchang and Jinyiwei were tit for tat, but the two of them weren’t, ah. They were good brothers before, but now they were…..

He Lan made no further attempts to capture Qin Yu, and only glared at him, clearly angry. Qin Yu’s attitude was like everything in the past was just a passing cloud. Was he really the only one who cared?

Qin Yu: “You came after me because you want that information. We at the Dongchang don’t intend to monopolize it. After my adoptive father’s review is complete, you can just send someone to the Dongchang to ask for it.”

He Lan stamped his foot, watching as Qin Yu flew away without hesitation.

He Lan furiously punched the nearby wall. “Who the hell wants information!”

At the Dongchang, Qin Yu set all of the compiled information on Zheng Wei’s desk. Ink, paper, and a grindstone were very common items on the desk. The only thing that stood out was an old plum blossom hair pin tranquilly placed in a brocade box next to the inkstone.

“Yifu, it’s all here.”

Zheng Wei was the director of the Dongchang and Qin Yu’s adoptive father, but he was actually only in his thirties and a martial arts practitioner. The years had left almost no traces on his face, except for a pair of falcon-like eyes that reflected the vicissitudes of experience.

“What is your analysis?” Zheng Wei asked.

“He has done too many things and left a lot of clues. He wants to salvage the situation, but is unable to,” Qin Yu said straightforwardly.

Zheng Wei rubbed his brow and said: “Sure enough, the emperor cannot be underestimated. After all, that person was the one who taught him. He suddenly attacked Jiang Wang at this juncture and ordered Huo Fenglie to return in the event of a counterattack. This has really…..thrown everyone’s plans into chaos.”

“Has the emperor already made a conjecture?” Qin Yu asked.

Zheng Wei: “Whether or not the emperor has suspicions, he will act with caution. He has suffered too much, and will not be willing to take risks. It’s just a pity…..what did Huo Fenglie have to say?”

“Even if Zhanyuan treats someone as a brother, he will still be cautious about that person for the sake of the Zhou Dynasty’s peace.”

Zheng Wei nodded and said: “Good, that’s just how he should be. By the way, is he really getting married? To Young Master Liu?”

The heaviness on Qin Yu’s face lessened somewhat: “En, they’re a good match.”

Zheng Wei seemed to have thought of something. The corners of his mouth rose slightly and he asked: “I saw that you were in a bad mood when you came back. Did something happen?”

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed slightly: “No.”

Zhang Wei looked up at Qin Yu and said with a sigh: “Fenglie is about to marry. I don’t know when you will find a sweetheart.”

Qin Yu’s expression shifted: “I don’t need one. Yifu, I’ll go down and do some work.”

“Go.” Zheng Wei gestured for him to leave.

At the same time, He Cong, commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei, looked at the person in front of him with a slight frown. “Why are you so angry?”

“It’s nothing, just a conflict with the Dongchang. They took away the thing Zhanyuan was holding onto.”

“The Dongchang?” The smile on He Cong’s face remained unchanged, but there was a trace of coldness in his eyes. “Don’t you have a weapon? With your skills, not many in the Dongchang can do anything to you.”

He Lan was taken aback. “Uncle, what do you mean by this? To fight them directly?”

He Cong stepped forward and patted He Lan on the shoulder. He said: “Remember, our honor and favor is tied to the emperor. Do you know why the emperor ordered us to investigate this time?”

He Lan looked at him in puzzlement: “So that it can be investigated from different sides, the same as before…..”

He Cong smiled and shook his head: “The person being currently being investigated is the Prime Minister, and he’s not a simple person. Jiang Wang has been in the court for so many years, and there are deeply entwined relationships involved. How can the emperor believe that we and the Dongchang aren’t colluding with him?”

He Lan’s expression changed: “This is a test given to us by the emperor?”

“In all of the recent cases, the key figures have died at the end. Jiang Wang is not Liu Zhenqing. No matter how powerful he is, he can’t grasp the sky with one hand. Since he could successfully silence people each time, the emperor will naturally suspect the people closest to him. General Huo’s sudden return is the most favorable proof. All of the guards in the capital have been substituted before the Longevity Festival. He wants to catch the enemy by surprise while they make secret preparations and force them to make mistakes while they’re busy. We must not make any mistakes at this time. If we do, we may be put on the emperor’s list of suspects.”

He Cong analyzed things slowly, and He Lan felt a full-body chill.

“So from this moment on, we have a real competitive relationship with the Dongchang. Whoever finds useful information the fastest will be able to gain more of the emperor’s trust. We must prove that our sole purpose is for the emperor’s use, understand?”

He Lan’s pupils shrank. He felt nauseous. Not because the emperor’s trust was like walking on thin ice in the company of a tiger, but…..did Qin Yu have these thoughts too? Did he think they were both already standing on opposite sides of the scale, to see who would reach the halfway point first and be the safest?

“He Lan, I don’t know whether or not the Dongchang is loyal to the emperor, but our Jinyiwei are absolutely loyal. I know you’re free and open-minded, but you must not hold the Jinyiwei back at this critical moment, so do not get too close to the people of the Dongchang.”

He Lan looked up at his uncle. Seeing the look of warning in his eyes, he knew that his active attempts to seek out Qin Yu these days had made He Cong dissatisfied.

He Lan lowered his head and cupped his hands: “This nephew understands.”

. . . . . . .

In the Imperial Palace, the sound of rapid coughing spread throughout the hall.

“You’re all a bunch of trash, is this how you serve the Taifei? The weather is getting colder, don’t you know how to pay attention?” Empress Dowager Yao Hua scolded the palace attendants in a frigid voice. When she saw that everyone was kneeling down and trembling, Yao Hua calmed down. “Why aren’t you hurrying to invite all the Imperial physicians?”

As soon as Yao Hua finished speaking, she heard the fragile voice of Taifei Jian Shuang sound from the inner hall.

“Jiejie.”

Yao Hua quickly walked to the inner chamber and came to the bed. When she saw that Jian Shuang was about to get up, she reached out to help her. “Meimei, just lie down.”

“Jiejie, I’m fine. I just stayed up late reading a book last night and didn’t pay attention to resting.” Although Jian Shuang was sickly, she was as delicate and beautiful as an orchid. Even with her sickly appearance and absence of cosmetics, her beauty was like that of a fairy. It was likely that even speaking loudly would trouble her.

“You, ah, you said yesterday that you would go with me to the Imperial Academy to see the girls from aristocratic families and see if there is anyone suitable to be Princess Jing. How can you go there now?” Yao Hua’s helpless voice was also doting. 

“I’m only thinking of King Jing’s future. After all, he’s the child the two of us raised, so we naturally want the best for him,” Jiang Shuang said aggrievedly, a hint of displeasure in her eyes, “It’s a pity that things haven’t been peaceful lately.”

“You’ve sensed it too. You’re as clever as any man, how could you not be aware of changes in the court? But I can’t understand what the emperor is trying to do. Even the palace guards have been switched out.”

Jiang Shuang leaned into Yao Hua’s arms, saying softly: “Of course we cannot understand the emperor’s intentions. Jiejie, don’t worry, and don’t ask too many questions. In the past, interference in political affairs by the harem was a last resort. Now that the emperor is older, he will be unhappy.”

Yao Hua stared at her for a moment, then gave a nod and said: “Meimei is right.”

“Jiejie, wait for me to accompany you. Let’s go together to the opening ceremony of the Imperial Academy to meet the young girls and recall the friendship between us as classmates in the past,” Jian Shuang said softly, taking Yao Hua’s hand.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Yao Hua seemed to recall the events of the past and couldn’t help but smile. “By the way, I heard that the emperor will grant General Huo a marriage in the near future, and his spouse will be the young master of the Liu family.”

Jian Shuang nodded: “If this news gets out, it’s bound to cause some controversy. But it’s fine as long as the juniors are happy.”

Yao Hua said: “It hasn’t been easy for him either. Being able to find someone he likes now can be regarded as compensation from heaven. We should take this opportunity to find a consort for the Eighth Princess as well. Let’s go to the Imperial Academy to see them all.”

Jian Shuang had no objection to this. The Eighth Princess had her own mother concubine and hadn’t been raised by them. It was only that her mother concubine had passed away, so the Empress Dowager alone had the final say in the Eighth Princess’s marriage. The Eighth Princess had been pestering Huo Fenglie before and wouldn’t let him go. They could only turn a blind eye, but now that General Huo was getting married, they had to give up.

“By the way, Jiejie, heard the empress came to cry to you again?” Jian Shuang asked.

Yao Hua smiled helplessly and said: “You heard? Ai, I had no choice. The emperor is really too busy, and even if he doesn’t enter the harem very often, his work can be considered diligent. I can’t say much, and can only help the emperor comfort her a little more.”

Jian Shuang smiled softly: “It’s not surprising that the empress is anxious. Although there are not many concubines in the palace, the prince and princess also have children. She has none, so she is naturally a little worried.”

Yao Hua nodded and said: “Yes, ah, she is the daughter of the Prime Minister and the mother of the country. If it continues like this, it won’t be easy for her. Why haven’t the Imperial physicians pinpointed the reason? Should we invite Huo-furen to the palace and also ask her to nurse you back to health?”

Jiang Shuang said: “Jiejie, have you forgotten that person’s temper? How could she be willing to enter the palace?”

Yao Hua gave it some thought. When they were classmates in the past, Yao Hua once thought she was her love rival. Not that she thought about it, she had been young and knew no true worries. They hadn’t seen each other in many years. Yao Hua only knew that she was raising a pair of children extremely well, which was enviable.

“I wonder if we will meet Li Xingruo at the Imperial Academy,” Yao Hua murmured. Family elders usually attended the Imperial Examination opening ceremony.

“With her temperament, how could she do such a conventional thing?” Jian Shuang said with a smile.

Yao Hua also laughed at the thought.

. . . . . . 

At this time, in a carriage returning to Liu Manor, Liu Zhenqing met the gazes of the twins and raised an eyebrow. “Tell me, what is the purpose of sending me off so graciously?”

Huo Yunqian glanced at his sister shyly.

Huo Yunci coughed and said: “Classes start at the Imperial Academy in two days.”

According to Liu Zhenqing’s previous suggestion, the two young ones would indeed learn whatever they wanted at the Imperial Academy without telling the family elders. The academicians and educators at the academy had no objections. In any case, they had already received Li Xingruo’s approval, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

But when Li Xingruo gave permission, she said: “If you want to study, then study hard and don’t cause trouble for me at the Imperial Academy.”

Liu Zhenqing really wanted to complain when he heard this. When the three of them got together in the past, they had caused a lot of ruckus. He still remembered how the gentlemen of the Imperial Academy had scowled whenever they saw them. In this way, Li Xingruo had the good intention of keeping her children out of trouble.

Looking at the faces of the two children, Liu Zhenqing was enlightened. “So, have you stirred up trouble?”

Huo Yunci instantly became anxious: “It’s their fault. They laughed at me for being a woman carrying a weapon, and said that me and Didi got it backwards. How could I not beat them up!”

“So there was a fight, ah. Did you win?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

Huo Yunqian and Huo Yunci had thought they would be scolded, and were stunned upon hearing this.

“I…..I won,” Huo Yunci said.

“But Jiejie was still injured,” Huo Yunqian said. “They were all punished, but Jiejie was punished the most since she made the first move.”

Huo Yunci said with dissatisfaction: “Why are you just talking about me? Weren’t you punished too?”

Huo Yunqian blushed. It turned out that he had been upset with his sister’s punishment and deliberately put laxatives in the meals of those who had started the fight. Although Huo Yunqian was very clever about dishing out those drugs, he was still investigated and punished.

And as a result, the two were instructed to bring their elders to school during the opening ceremony for the next semester to discuss their education issues.

Liu Zhenqing really wanted to complain after hearing this. The two children were really not that astute.

Thinking back to when the three of them dealt with others, Liu Zhenqing would force the opponent to take action first, and then let Huo Feihan jump in. If they were to plant drugs, Li Xingruo certainly wouldn’t have let the instructors catch on. At that time, even though Huo Feihan was unable to hide what was on his face, and the academicians and instructors all knew it was the three of them stirring up trouble, there was nothing they could do other than reprimand them bitterly.

Even when they were actually punished, except for Huo Feihan, Liu Zhenqing and Li Xingruo fled when they could.

But of course, this inheritance couldn’t be passed to the children. Liu Zhenqing could only pretend to be stern and say: “You didn’t dare tell your mother, so you came to find me…..”

“Aren’t you our future Second Aunt? So…..” Huo Yunci said politely.

“If I go, your teachers will also need to accept me, ah. We haven’t gotten married yet,” Liu Zhenqing said.

“You just need to say that you’re here on behalf of Second Uncle, who’s busy. Just ask Second Uncle to give you a certificate. We dare not tell him, but he’ll definitely listen to you,” Huo Yunqian said.

In the past few days, they had observed that their Second Uncle obeyed Uncle Liu in all things. Although they didn’t know how things had developed this way, they liked Uncle Liu very much, and their mother also got along with him. Thus, they naturally recognized him as their Second Aunt. Since he was destined for that title in the future, they should make use of it first.

Liu Zhenqing was amused by their words. “That’s rather clever. Okay, I agree.”

The two immediately clasped their hands in delight.

“However…..” Liu Zhenqing spoke again.

The two looked at him nervously.

Liu Zhenqing smiled. Making a show of sounding like an elder, he said: “You also need to learn a lesson, don’t you?”

Huo Yunci raised her little fist. “Of course! I have to practice my skills well. If anyone dares to bully us again, I’ll beat them until they’re unable to complain!”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched. No wonder she clung so tightly to Liu Qiao lately. This wasn’t the kind of lesson he was talking about, ah. Rather, it was to save some reputation for their parents in the eyes of the Imperial Academy academicians!

Liu Zhenqing coughed and said: “You are people with identities and status. How can you start fights at every turn? If you have sense, just speak the truth. If you mess around casually, your teachers will still punish you when they find out.”

Huo Yunci frowned in thought for a moment, then said: “Reason with knowledge, and if that doesn’t work, reason with action.”

Liu Zhenqing: You really get it from your mother.

“I’m telling you not to be so violent. Yunquian, please give your sister more advice in the future,” Liu Zhenqing said helplessly.

Huo Yunci didn’t take it seriously.

Huo Yunqian nodded. By nature, he preferred not to have conflicts with others, but when his sister was bullied, he would certainly not sit idly by and ignore it.

Liu Zhenqing presently asked: “By the way, who are the people you had a fight with?”

“The eldest grandson of a noble family, the grandson of a minister, as well as…..” Huo Yunci listed them carefully.

The more she spoke, the brighter Liu Zhenqing’s smile became.

When Huo Yunci finished, Liu Zhenqing said slowly to the person outside the carriage: “Will you remember those, Liu Qiao?”

“I’ll remember, Master.”

The two children looked at Liu Zhenqing in confusion.

Liu Zhenqing said: “It’s nothing, I just want to send them some gifts. I hope everyone can get along well after the opening ceremony.”

Although the two were not happy with this sort of adult behavior, they had no way to stop it and could only accept it. 

But a cold light gleamed in Liu Zhenqing’s eyes.

The nephew and niece of the general who guards the country, whose statuses were second only to a prince’s grandson, were still being treated like this at the Imperial Academy. The reason was very simple. Those people took advantage of their lack of a father to bully them. The two children were too strong to go crying to their mother, and their Second Uncle had a high position that kept him busy all day long, rendering him unable to take care of the childrens’ conflicts.

What else could be done? Only this idle second aunt could take care of it.

That night, the hair of several unaware children was cut short. Since there was something wrong with their appearances, they couldn’t go to school and were only able to wait until their hair grew out. Such an extreme coincidence would of course remind them of the conflict between the children. Everything pointed directly toward the Huo family, but who would dare to go to the General’s Manor to file a complaint? After all, their children were at fault first, and getting their hair cut off was just a small punishment.

Naturally, they could only reprimand their children this time and educate them on some rules. They were all students in the Imperial Academy and must have a clear understanding of their identities. Not just anyone could be bullied.

However, the two children only came to know this after going to the Imperial Academy and being questioned by other curious students.

At this time, they had just sent Liu Zhenqing back to Liu Manor.

It was inconvenient for them to go inside, so they could only take a separate carriage.

Because Liu Zhenqing had come back so suddenly, there was no one in front of Liu Manor to greet him.

But when Liu Qiao opened the door, a doorman came to open it. 

Seeing a strange half-masked man standing near the door, he was just about to raise his guard when he saw Liu Xiaozhu standing not far away and was given a sudden shock: “Young Master!”

There was immediately a great disturbance in Liu Manor.

Because everyone had returned safely from prison, they had learned that it was Liu Zhenqing who had gone south with General Huo to investigate and was able to clear up the family’s grievances.

So this time, even the people in the second and third courtyards greeted Liu Zhenqing with tears in their eyes. Liu Zhenqing’s former servant boy, Jin Li, hugged Liu Zhenqing’s thigh and cried nonstop, having been very worried about him.

Coming out last, the old man stepped forward with reddened eyes to grip Liu Zhenqing’s hands: “It’s so good that you’re back, so good. Thank you for your hard work, child.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t let their tragic emotions flourish for too long. He heard that the old man was disheartened and was preparing to move his family back south, with the intention of passing the title of Family Head to him.

Liu Zhenqing said directly: “You can go south, but I can’t be the head of the family, nor can I leave.”

Everyone immediately questioned him, thinking that Liu Zhenqing had acquired some constraints due to the investigation.

But Liu Zhenqing smiled leisurely and said: “Because I’m engaged to General Huo.”

It was a thunderous blow. Everyone had originally thought Liu Zhenqing was crazy for pursuing Huo Fenglie. The two families were the least likely in the world to intermarry. When they heard the news, the entire family was stunned and the old man almost fainted. But once Liu Zhenqing was taken back to the study and carefully interrogated, they finally had to face the facts.

It wasn’t until nighttime that Liu Zhenqing was able to retire.

Jin Li had already prepared hot water for Liu Zhenqing to bathe.

Liu Zhenqing had also introduced Jin Li and Lui Qiao, so that Jin Li would listen to Liu Qiao in the future. At first, Jin Li wasn’t happy and felt that his position had been taken away from him, but when he saw Liu Qiao chopping big rocks with his bare hands, he instantly went quiet.

After Liu Zhenqing soaked in the hot water and relaxed for a while, he heard the sound of a window opening outside.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t open his eyes. He just smiled and said: “Where did this flower picker come from?”

“Qing-ge…..”

Liu Zhenqing’s lips curved. He knew who it was as soon as he heard that voice. “Boring. You shouldn’t have said anything. You should have blown out the candles first and dove into the tub. When I was frightened, you could cover my mouth and have a mandarin duck bath together with me. To be a flower picker, you must have the qualities of a flower picker. Start over.”

The room was silent for a moment. Just as Jin Li was about to enter, he suddenly saw the candles in the cleanroom extinguish. Then there was a clear cry, followed by the sound of rushing water. Jin Li thought something had happened to the young master, and was about to reach out and open the door when suddenly, a dark figure descended in front of his eyes. It was Liu Qiao.

Just as Jin Li was about to speak, Liu Qiao took him by the collar and flew away.

“The young master…..”

“Master is fine. He’s just playing, don’t disturb him.”

---

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Chapter 127 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 129

The bedroom door was not tightly closed.

When He Xingxing ran in with his little cartoon bowl clattering in his mouth, Pei Xi was sitting in bed, scrolling through his phone.

He Chuzhou had sent him his return flight number very early, and specifically told him that if he wanted to pick him up at the airport, to contact the driver in advance instead of getting a taxi alone.

The newly-built airport was too big. If one wasn’t familiar with it, it was easy to get lost and be unable to distinguish the entrance.

He was supposed to arrive at four in the afternoon, but it was currently before ten in the morning. There were still more than six hours left, so there was no rush.

Therefore, he sent He Chuzhou a reply, as well as a message to the number stored in his phone, asking the driver to pick him up to go to the airport.

Afterwards, he simply tidied up for a while, changed He Xingxing’s food and water, and went to the kitchen in his house clothes.

After several previous trials and errors, he was able to make presentable-looking cookies. They had tasted good when he tried them last time, and their appearance was just barely acceptable.

The point was that he’d made them with his own hands. He knew that no matter what, He Chuzhou would like them.

In a good mood, he stirred the butter in according to the steps he knew by heart, sifted in the egg yolk powder, mixed it with low-gluten flour and kneaded it into dough, then divided them into small pieces and put them in the oven. He set the time and waited for the timer to sound—

Why didn’t it work?

He looked at the broken, shapeless cookies that exuded a faint burnt smell, wondering which step had gone wrong.

But it wasn’t a big problem. He quickly felt relieved.

He would just do it again.

He Chuzhou’s plane didn’t arrive until four o’clock, so he had plenty of time.

At the same time in a different country, He Chuzhou was counting the gifts and preparing them to be shipped.

He had bought so many that all kinds of bags and packages were piled up in the living room, leaving Yu Ji with almost nowhere to go when he came through the door.

“You prepared so much for someone?”

Yun Ji was dumbfounded: “Did the partners’ staff not think you were troublesome?”

He Chuzhou didn’t lift his head: “Before I left, they said they would be happy to continue offering their services to me next time.”

Yun Ji: “Did you pay them for their hard work?”

He Chuzhou: “En.”

Yun Ji: “How much?”

He Chuzhou thought for a couple of seconds, then said casually: “Around half your monthly salary.”

Yun Ji: “ ? ”

Yun Ji: “ ? ? ? ”

Yun Ji: “ ? ? ? ? ? ”

Yun Ji: “Hello? May I ask how cheap I am as a person?”

“These, these, and these.”

He Chuzhou briefly gestured with the hand holding a pen: “Help me pack these in the white suitcase, and the others in the black and blue ones.”

Yun Ji rolled his eyes: “You help yourself.”

He Chuzhou: “I’ll give you twice the year-end bonus. It’ll come out of my own pocket, not the finance department.”

Yun Ji perked up and said: “You got it, brother! How should I pack them? In different categories according to size?”

Money makes the world go round, and could also make a cousin work hard without complaint.

After transporting the several cases of gifts to the airport and checking them in, Yun Ji clapped his hands and turned to He Chuzhou: “My auntie didn’t make a two-meter-long list for you this time, did she? This is so much.”

He Chuzhou: “It’s not all for your auntie.”

Yun Ji: “Some is for Aiyue?”

He Chuzhou: “En, maybe one or two things.”

Yun Ji: “Just one or two? Then who did you get those one or two cases for? Are you a purchasing agent?”

“Children shouldn’t talk so much about adult matters.”

He Chuzhou had his head lowered to reply to a message. It was unknown who he was chatting with, but his eyebrows were raised and his face was filled with delight.

Yun Ji’s face twisted up in disgust, but he couldn’t help but move closer in curiosity: “So you really have someone, Cousin? Who is it? Is it Pei Xi? Do my auntie and the others know about it too?”

“I told you, kid, don’t ask any more questions.”

He Chuzhou placed his hand on the other’s forehead and ruthlessly pushed him away. He said with a proud air of complacency: “Don’t talk nonsense in front of your auntie, or you won’t get your year-end double hush money.”

There was a question mark above Yun Ji’s head: “Isn’t that my labor fee? How did it become hush money???”

“Same thing.” In a good mood, He Chuzhou put away his phone. “We capitalists simply have the virtue of vampires. Get used to it.”

After nearly six hours of flight time, the moment He Chuzhou took out his luggage, he immediately caught sight of the figure he had longed for so much among the people passing by.

Pei-calico had dressed like a university student today.

Wearing a white sweatshirt, jeans, sneakers, complementing his handsome little face, he stood there like the very best attractive green onion. Anyone passing by would take a second look.

But he was different.

Not only could he look, but he could also take this person home and sleep with him at night.

He felt proud as hell just thinking about it.

He couldn’t wait to go over and give him a comforting hug after such a long separation. Before his brisk steps had covered two meters, he was interrupted by an inopportune sound next to his ear.

“Pei Xi? President Pei? I was right?”

Yun Ji covered his mouth and lowered his voice, a look of gossiping and watching the fun plastered to his face: “He’s here to pick you up, Cousin! You still haven’t admitted it, but you’re having a love affair!”

Yun Ji: “This is great, ah, you’ve actually gotten to this point. Can this be considered an ordinary  guy catching a beauty? It’s so inspirational, even though I don’t understand it. The world joins in jubilation, men silent and women weeping.”

“Tsk, how did I forget you were here?”

He Chuzhou took Yun Ji’s hand and thrust the cart full of luggage into it: “Go load the suitcases into the car with the driver, and tell him to wait for me at the door. You can leave first since you have nothing to do.”

Yun Ji: “ ? ”

Yun Ji: “I just…..”

He Chuzhou: “I’ll triple the amount.”

“……”

“Damn it! I give in, I give in! Why can’t I resist the temptation of money!”

Yun Ji walking out, cursing. As he went, he looked back to sneak a peek—

The hell? Where did they go???

In a corner near a side passage were the missing people. Pei Xi had pulled He Chuzhou over here and hugged him hard.

After a brief separation, the hollowness temporarily filled by longing was made solid and whole. The corners of He Chuzhou’s mouth practically lifted up to the sun.

“Did you miss me, ah?”

He smiled, grasping the back of Pei Xi’s neck. Men sometimes liked to ask questions they already knew the answer to.

Pei Xi answered honestly in his ear: “I missed you. I baked cookies for you. You can eat them when we go back.”

Speaking of baking cookies, a certain person had a small score to settle.

He Chuzhou pulled Pei Xi’s head away from his shoulder and raised his eyebrows: “Aren’t you going to tell me that I disturbed you while you were baking?”

Pei Xi said: “I don’t mind being disturbed.”

He Chuzhou felt sour: “You didn’t like me talking so much and told me not to disturb you.”

Pei Xi said seriously: “But if I didn’t find something to do, I would miss you all the time.”

He Chuzhou’s eyes glimmered.

Pei Xi added: “I didn’t want you to be distracted and worried about me while on your business trip. Always thinking about hurrying back would delay your work.”

Classmate Xiao Pei was so considerate and sensible, so sweet and coaxing. What else could he say?

He couldn’t say that even though he’d ignored him, he was still eager to return home, right?

However, there was one thing that needed correction: “In your eyes, am I someone so obsessed with love that I don’t even care about work?”

“Of course not.”

Pei Xi pursed his lips in a smile. He held He Chuzhou’s face and made him lower his head, nuzzling very slightly against his forehead and the tip of his nose: “You are the most amazing person.”

“Welcome home, Gege.”

It was no exaggeration to say that at this moment, He Chuzhou felt as if ten thousand pop rocks were spinning and jumping on the tip of his heart. They crackled and popped, and even the powdered sugar glowed with all the colors of the rainbow.

He no longer thought about how good it sounded, nor did he think about how to trick this person into calling him that again. He only wanted to bring him home, throw him on the bed, and lick him from top to bottom.

Gift boxes big and small were poured out and piled on the living room carpet, each one with a different colored delicate, romantic ribbon tied in a bow.

Two people sat cross-legged on the floor, knees touching. One was carefully opening gifts, while one was happily eating cookies from a plate.

They were a bit hard.

And a little salty.

But it didn’t matter. They were still delicious.

Every time Pei-calico opened a gift, he would turn his head and give him a kiss on the face. It made him a little, ahem, a little overwhelmed.

It was just that, when he brought these gifts back, he hadn’t expected this kind of thank-you.

Pei-calico’s mouth is so soft…..(chew, chew, chew)

Pei-calico smells so good….. (chew, chew, chew)

His kisses are going to get him hot…..(chew, chew, chew)

Tsk, keep it together, He Chuzhou (chew, chew, chew)

You have to go step by step (chew, chew, chew)

If you can’t keep it together, don’t take advantage, just get out of here (chew, chew, chew)

No way, too tired from the business trip. Must sit down for a little longer (chew, chew, chew)

…..Pei-calico’s mouth is so soft (chew, chew, chew)

He looked at the small pile of unopened gifts in front of Pei Xi and sighed with regret. Setting down the cookies, he took his cell phone and went to the study.

“Mom, did you receive the gift?” The video screen popped up. He opened the study door ajar, walked behind the computer desk, and pulled out the chair.

Mrs. Chu was sitting in a dignified manner on a sofa, wearing a green cheongsam and a white fur shawl as she elegantly unboxed a light-hued, palm-sized gift box. “En.”

He Chuzhou sat down: “How is it?”

From this angle, he could just see the slim figure sitting alone on the living room floor, concentrating on opening gifts.

Such was Pei-calico. Even his back was cute.

Mrs. Chu took out a string of white pearls, round and translucent, from the gift box, looking at them over and over with satisfaction: “Not bad.”

He Chuzhou: “As long as you like it. There should also be a bracelet in a black box.”

Chu Yuelan raised her eyebrows: “There should be? Did you not pick them out yourself?”

He Chuzhou spread his hands helplessly: “When your son heads off, he needs to be led around by someone, and he certainly doesn’t know any local specialties. How can he rely on the local people?”

Chu Yuelan gave it some thought. This was true. She then took a bracelet made of green jade and sandalwood and showed it to the camera: “Your dad bought this for me on our anniversary. What do you think?”

He Chuzhou praised: “Beautiful, ah. The old man is still such a romantic even at this age.”

Chu Yuelan set the bracelet down and commented pertinently: “En, it’s a good thing you didn’t pick things out yourself. Remember to ask the locals next time, okay?”

He Chuzhou: “……”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

The rich laughter of a middle-aged man echoed outside the screen, coming from the old man who’d given her the beaded bracelet.

Soon after, He Aiyue’s head popped over and she blew him a fierce kiss: “Ge, I like the gift you got me so much! Love you, love you, muah, muah muah! I’ve decided that I won’t bad-mouth you to Mom for the next month!”

The corners of He Chuzhou’s mouth twitched speechlessly: “Thank you so much.”

“Aiya, you’re welcome, you’re welcome~”

The young girl happily withdrew and resumed tinkering with her gift.

Chu Yuelan slowly opened the bracelet box, and suddenly remembered something: “By the way, Chuzhou, your dad wants you to send him a couple of books when you have time.”

He Chuzhou: “Books? Aren’t there a lot at home?”

Chu Yuelan glanced fleetingly to the side: “You have a mouth, come say it yourself.”

In the next second, there was another face on the screen.

He Jiangchuan’s temples had gone grey, but he still had a spry temperament, and the brilliance of his youth could be vaguely seen. When such a good-natured person smiled, every wrinkle on his face seemed to be filled with joy.

“I’ve read almost all of the ones we have at home. Last time I went to your place, I saw some interesting books. I don’t remember the titles, but the covers were red and the characters were gilded.”

“I was polite. I saw something interesting and didn’t just take it away.”

He Chuzhou stood up and immediately glanced at the red-covered books on the bookshelf. He took two books and raised them toward the camera: “These ones?”

He Jiangchuan took stock and shook his head: “No, they were thicker than those.”

He Chuzhou stuffed the books back into their original spots and continued to search.

Suddenly, he heard the door click. As soon as he turned around, a figure rushed toward him and hugged his neck. 

Pei Xi wasn’t as tall as him, so he had to stand on his tiptoes as he kissed him loudly on the forehead. In a rare show of emotion, a smile spread across his features.

“I’m done.”

“I like everything very much. Thank you, Gege.”

He Chuzhou’s mind went blank for half a second. He sucked in a deep breath.

Then, not daring to breathe, he turned his head and looked at the cell phone propped up on his desk.

Three faces were squeezed into the small screen, all with varying expressions.

There was a rare crack in Mrs. Chu’s unshakable elegance. Old Man He was profoundly shocked.

He Aiyue’s reaction was the biggest. Her eyes widened like copper bells, her mouth gaping wide enough to hold an egg.

---

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Chapter 39 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 41

Liu Zhenqing’s cheeks reddened at Li Xingruo’s words, making her smile.

“Look at you today. You never worried about flirting with others in the past, but now you’re shy and blushing?”

Liu Zhening coughed, saying: “What about the jade Rubik’s Cube?”

Li Xingruo paused, and a chill flashed through her eyes: “I always thought it would be buried with your previous body.”

“It wasn’t in the coffin?” Liu Zhenqing asked in surprise.

It stood to reason that it should be buried with him. Not to mention funerary items, that was something he carried with him. He had a special status, and nobody in the palace would dare to steal his property.

“You should have heard about Fenglie opening the coffin.”

Liu Zhenqing said with a nod: “En, Bai Su told me in detail.”

Li Xingruo said: “Back then, Fenglie returned with serious injuries to pry open the coffin and take your bones away. Seeing him like that, I just let him do what he wanted. But I looked at the coffin and found nothing in it, nor on your body.”

“It’s actually lost.” Liu Zhenqing’s face darkened slightly. He didn’t care about his belongings after his death, but that was a jade token given to him by Huo Fenglie.

Li Xingruo looked at him and said: “Let it pass. Now that you’re together, everything else isn’t that important. On the contrary, the matter of cremation…..”

Liu Zhenqing said: “I told you all that was my wish.”

Li Xingruo nodded: “You are the only one with such a unique request. I didn’t stop him, because I heard you say it before. Did you know he used your ashes for a tattoo?”

Liu Zhenqing gave an awkward nod, a little embarrassed to say it.

Smiling, Li Xingruo said: “He didn’t tell anyone else. I discovered it by accident while treating him. Fenglie likes you to the core.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth rose slightly.

“Many thanks to you as well,” Li Xingruo said abruptly.

Liu Zhenqing looked at her in confusion.

She said: “His heart died after you passed, but he had to be strong and hold on. It seemed like his life was more painful than death.”

Liu Zhenqing’s face went blank. He said dumbly: “I…..heard Master say wouldn’t actively cooperate with treatment.”

Shaking her head, Li Xingruo said: “It wasn’t just that he didn’t cooperate, but he also didn’t take his life seriously at all. No matter how badly he was injured, he never asked the doctor whether he would heal or how long it would take to recover, like he didn’t care at all. Both Uncle Tian and I could see that if it weren’t for the fact that there were young ones in the family who needed to be taken care of, that the border would become unstable without the Huo family in charge, and that he had to fulfill your and Feihan’s last wishes, he might have left to follow you long ago.”

Liu Zhenqing shivered as he felt a full-body chill.

Li Xingruo gazed at the twins playing with Liu Qiao not far away: “If you’d come back a few years later, when the two littles ones are grown and mature enough to take over the Huo family, the mechanism box still wouldn’t have been opened and he certainly wouldn’t have waited.”

This last sentence rendered Liu Zhenqing unable to sit still. Waves of fear swelled in his heart, and his back was actually covered in sweat.

He had always intended to stay away from the capital and not disturb or be disturbed. Little did he know that there was another person whose life was tied to his. If they hadn’t met, if Er-gou hadn’t recognized him, then we would have gone away anonymously and at ease, but would perhaps soon hear about the death of the general who guards the country.

Perhaps he would have just been sad for a while and secretly express his condolences, lamenting the fate of the Huo family to die in battle and that Er-gou hadn’t left any heirs. And then…..that would be it.

Liu Zhenqing’s heart broke at the thought of this possibility. He wanted to see Er-gou immediately, to hug him tightly and coax him.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t sit still, wanting to find the original designs Huo Fenglie used so that he could feel better mentally.

Li Xingruo wanted to continue talking to him about the remaining ashes, but thought Huo Fenglie should have mentioned it to Liu Zhenqing. As a result, Liu Zhenqing had already hurried away without giving Li Xingruo a chance to speak.

Liu Zhenqing went to Huo Fenglie’s study and found the original designs for the jade Rubik’s Cube. Looking at the detailed draft, he had scrapped several pieces. He had really put a lot of thought into them.

That year, after the Imperial Academy Peach Blossom Banquet, Huo Fenglie had suddenly said he wanted to go to the battlefield at the age of fifteen. He’d given him a gift before departing – a hollow mini Rubik’s Cube carved from rare warm jade. It could be hung at the waist instead of a jade pendant, and also had a gradient green hue for decoration.

When he was thinking over problems in the past, he always played with this small object. It wasn’t heavy hanging at his waist and could be picked up and played with at any time.

But because of this, strange rumors circulated that he would kill a person each time he turned a Rubik’s Cube.

Liu Zhenqing, however, really liked it. At first, he occasionally wore it as a normal decoration. Then he basically wouldn’t change it out for any other jewelry, and wore it until he died in the Dragon Court.

Feeling a little depressed, Liu Zhenqing sat in the study and thought about the scene where he’d said goodbye to Er-gou. That fool never told him the jade was important. If he had…..at that time, he probably wouldn’t have had the heart to refuse a young man who was about to go to the battlefield. Even if he was shocked and had no thoughts in that regard for the time being, he would respectfully accept it and say they would talk about it in the future.

But Er-gou just left without saying anything.

“Master?” Seeing Liu Zhenqing at a loss, Liu Qiao came down and said: “I’ll help you find it.”

Liu Zhenqing let out a breath and said: “Fenglie and I have known each other for so long, and now we’re engaged. He hasn’t mentioned it again, likely because he already searched for it and couldn’t find it in the end.”

Liu Zhenqing felt some guilt for not putting away that jade stone of great significance.

Huo Fenglie had a lot of matters to handle, and it was already very late when he returned. He would normally stay the night in the military camp under such circumstances, but now he had a reason to come back.

He returned to the house on light feet and looked around. The bed curtain had been lowered and Liu Zhenqing was already asleep. A single lit candle emitted a faint light, as if waiting for someone to return home.

Huo Fenglie’s cold eyes gradually gentled under such weak illumination.

He quietly finished washing up and removed his outer layer. Just as he was about to lift the bed curtain, someone suddenly rushed out and hugged Huo Fenglie.

“Er-gou.”

Huo Fenglie was a little happy to still be able to talk to his lover. “Qing-ge, I’m back. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Liu Zhenqing released Huo Fenglie wordlessly, then grabbed his collar and led him to bed with an amorous look on his face.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes darkened. He cooperatively embraced Liu Zhenqing and kissed him.

Huo Fenglie had missed him dearly after not seeing him for a day, as if it was only Liu Zhenqing’s presence that could make him happy.

As soon as he reached down with his hand, Liu Zhenqing grabbed his hands and pinned them above his head.

“Don’t move.”

Huo Fenglie looked blankly at Liu Zhenqing above him. The light was weak, but a pair of eyes could be seen, like those of an exceptionally clever fox hunting prey.

But in the next second, Huo Fenglie couldn’t see anything – because Liu Zhenqing had directly covered his eyes with a handkerchief.

He thought Liu Zhenqing still hadn’t given up and was about to try again, so he could only call out, “Qing-ge…..”

“Don’t worry, I won’t push tonight.” Liu Zhenqing’s smiling voice slowly approached.

A while later, Liu Qiao was about to close the door to rest in another room in the courtyard, when he was suddenly alerted by a noise, and then a call of “Qing-ge!”

Liu Qiao was so alarmed that he rushed in the direction of the sound in the main room.

“Master? General Huo?”

Liu Qiao heard the sound of wood breaking, as if shattered by internal force.

Just as Liu Qiao was about to anxiously break in, he heard an indistinct voice: “It’s fine, go back and rest…..no need to come over if you hear noises.”

Although he was somewhat unsure, since nothing had happened, Liu Qiao went back to rest.

Inside the room, the head of the bed frame had broken and fallen to the floor. It would definitely have to be replaced the next day, but neither of them cared.

Then Huo Fenglie hurriedly shouted: “Qing-ge!”

Although Liu Zhenqing wanted to learn what Huo Fenglie had done to him before, Huo Fenglie moved too fast and pushed him away firmly.

But in the next moment, Huo Fenglie froze.

Liu Zhenqing was also stunned.

Huo Fenglie took a sharp breath and said: “I’m sorry, Qing-ge!” Then he instantly came over and wiped Liu Zhenqing’s face with the handkerchief that had just been covering his eyes.

“Qing-ge, it’s okay, I’ll get some water for you to wash with.” Huo Fenglie was a little flustered, and his voice fluctuated. 

Liu Zhenqing’s voice was hoarse when he opened his mouth, but his nature was still inherently naughty. “Er-gou is very good at playing, ah. Did you take a peek at a picture book? I didn’t expect it to be like this. Was it satisfying?”

Huo Fenglie nearly forgot how to breathe, his entire face flushed red. Where was the maturity and poise when arranging tasks for his subordinates during the day? In front of Liu Zhenqing, he would always be a fool.

He ignored Liu Zhenqing’s teasing and hurried off to get water. Halfway there, he recalled the critical moment just now…..and quickly got some tea.

When the tea was handed to Liu Zhenqing, he raised an eyebrow and gave Huo Fenglie a wicked smile, saying: “It tastes good.”

When Liu Zhenqing saw Huo Fenglie lower his eyes in vexation and shyness, he was perfectly satisfied. 

He pulled this person back into bed and found that the other was still a little unhappy.

Liu Zhenqing could only coax the puppy: “What is it? Do you feel uncomfortable? The heat tattoo on your body is showing. I could see you felt so good that you were about to lose control.”

Huo Fenglie’s punch had smashed the head of the bed.

He pursed his thin lips slightly, but in the end, Huo Fenglie could only say non threateningly: “Next time…..don’t do this. I really will lose control.”

“Er-gou really has double standards. You can always do it, but I can’t.” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I just like it when you lose control. The more out of control, the better.”

Huo Fenglie was truly aggrieved and distressed. He wished he could hold Liu Zhenqing in his heart, hold him at the top of the clouds. Being intimate was already the happiest thing, so how could it be like this…..

But facing Liu Zhenqing, what could he do? He could only act like a large dog, rubbing against Liu Zhenqing’s neck and begging unskillfully for mercy. “Qing-ge, please.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth curled up.

“Then tell me honestly whether you liked it or not. If you tell the truth, I’ll listen to you.” Liu Zhenqing teased this little friend, but his eyes were staring so intently at Huo Fenglie that he couldn’t help but hold his breath. In the end, he could only nod honestly.

How could he not like it? Even though he took off the blindfold when he was alarmed, the feeling of being unable to see anything and only being able to let Qing-ge do what he wanted was truly unendurable. Especially for a martial arts master like Huo Fenglie, who was already sensitive. Once one sense was missing, the others were inevitably magnified. Seeing the scene afterward, he liked it so much that he almost went crazy.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and raised his eyebrows: “Since you liked it, I’ll definitely do it more in the future.”

Huo Fenglie’s expression changed at once. He’d been tricked again.

Liu Zhenqing really liked to bully Er-gou in bed. In a good mood, he kissed the corner of his mouth and coaxed in a low voice: “Qing-ge hasn’t come yet. Help Qing-ge.”

Huo Fenglie’s body stiffened, but he still couldn’t help but embrace that warm body.

The night was neither long nor short, just long enough for the two of them to cuddle up against each other.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t willing to make Huo Fenglie stay up late. After all, he could sleep during the day, but Huo Fenglie was busy.

“Okay, go to sleep,” Liu Zhenqing said, stroking Huo Fenglie’s cheek.

Huo Fenglie hugged Liu Zhenqing in silence. Finally, he said: “Did something happen today? Qing-ge seemed to be in a low mood.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Huo Fenglie to be aware of it. He didn’t seem to have revealed anything, ah.

Not hiding anything from Huo Fenglie, Liu Zhenqing said: “I asked Junior Sister today why you didn’t give me a jade pendant token from your Huo family when we’re already engaged.”

Huo Fenglie stared blankly for a moment, then looked intently at Liu Zhenqing. Liu Zhenqing nuzzled Huo Fenglie’s nose, the light in his eyes like gently flowing water.

“You blockhead, why didn’t you tell me when you gave it to me? If I knew, I would have cherished it even more.”

Huo Fenglie was silent. After a moment, he said: “I was too young back then. I knew you would be shocked. Sorry, Qing-ge, I looked for it but couldn’t find it.”

Liu Zhenqing: “I should be the one apologizing. I accidentally lost it.”

“It’s not Qing-ge’s fault.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled against his forehead: “Fortunately, we didn’t lose each other. That’s enough.”

Those guilt-ridden matters would slowly be made up to Er-gou in the future.

But it seemed Er-gou wouldn’t give him the chance.

Those days in the General’s Manor were basically spent doing whatever he wanted, playing around with Junior Sister and chatting and laughing with the two little ones. It was very comfortable.

But Huo Fenglie must have been given a fright that night. Although it was unknown if he was guarding against him, he was a little evasive.

This afternoon, the twins were taken to the Huo family for exams. Liu Zhenqing was bored and reading some unspeakable books in the courtyard while Liu Qiao caught fish in the stream, when he saw someone leaping in.

Liu Zhenqing looked up to see He Lan, and greeted him.

He Lan approached the pavilion and was about to speak, when his eyes instantly lit up.

“What a great thing, this painter is amazing! How did you find it?”

“A cut-sleeve shop. You don’t even know this?” Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows.

“How can that be? When I went to buy some, they were all poorly painted.”

“That’s because you don’t have the right connections. I’ll sell this copy to you for fifty taels.” When Liu Qiao bought it, he’d looked at the cover rather than the inside and ended up getting cheated twenty taels. He Lan immediately paid for it. This type of painting was worth it! He happily thanked Liu Zhenqing after the transaction and put it in his sleeve. Then he said seriously: “By the way, where’s Zhanyuan? I came to find him.”

“Probably in the military camp.”

“I was just there and didn’t see him.”

Liu Zhenqing gave a snort and saw Liu Qiao suddenly pause in the distance, then go back to fishing with a natural expression. He Lan seemed to realize someone had come, and started to look behind Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and feigned ignorance: “Ai, how would I know where he is? He’s been so cold to me recently and won’t pay attention to me.”

Sure enough, He Lan’s expression went strange.

Liu Zhenqing deliberately opened a book and pointed to one of the erotic pages, saying: “Do you think that if I do this, he’ll give me a second glance?”

In the next second, a gust of wind blew as a hand went over Liu Zhenqing’s shoulder and abruptly closed the book on the table.

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyes toward the person above him. Seeing the embarrassment on his face, he suppressed a smile and directed a look of resentment at him.

He Lan coughed when he saw this. He patted the book in his sleeve and said very reasonably: “Zhanyuan, ah, now that you’re engaged, no matter how busy you get, you can’t neglect Brother Liu, ah.”

Liu Zhenqing nodded aggrievedly, and Huo Fenglie’s expression shifted.

He could only say helplessly: “Yundu, what do you want from me?”

As he spoke, he turned all the books on the table over. Out of sight, out of mind.

Only then did He Lan remember proper business. He glanced at Liu Zhenqing and said without further comments on the subject: “The emperor has ordered a secret investigation of Prime Minister Jiang. I remember him being involved in something regarding military pay, and I need relevant information. You prepared two copies back then for future emergencies, so give me one of them.”

Huo Fenglie was taken aback, saying: “One copy was given to the emperor, and the other one…..I gave it to Zichuan just now because the Dongchang was also ordered to investigate.”

He Lan was stunned, and instantly said in shock: “Lao Qin! He came to find you? Didn’t I say for you to…..”

Huo Fenglie cut him off: “He said he didn’t want to see you.”

He Lan’s expression turned ugly at once.

Huo Fenglie added: “But since you’re here, you should meet him by chance on your way back.”

He Lan’s eyes lit up, and he flew away while shouting: “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

When He Lan left, Huo Fenglie looked down to find Liu Zhenqing looking at him with a smile in his eyes.

Huo Fenglie was a little ill-at-ease. He pushed the books farther down the table and took a seat, saying: “Qing-ge, let me tell you about Zichuan.”

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and picked up a book, flipping through it: “Tell me.”

Huo Fenglie drew in a sharp breath and could only stare directly at Liu Zhenqing’s face without looking elsewhere.

“Zichuan didn’t tell me specifically what he and his adoptive father have talked about. He just said that his adoptive father would never cease to be faithful and would never harm the Huo family.”

Liu Zhenqing frowned slightly.

Huo Fenglie said in a heavy voice: “He said that if I don’t believe him, I can guard against him and the Dongchang. He won’t stay close to us for the time being, but will follow his adoptive father.”

“What do they intend to do?”

“He didn’t say.”

“He’s your brother. What do you think?”

“Zichuan is suspicious by nature. The reason he’s listening to his adoptive father now must not be because he’s been persuaded, but that his adoptive father must have demonstrated enough sincerity and evidence to make him think there is nothing wrong with following him. Aside from my suspicions…..”

“You suspect that the one leaving us messages to avoid danger was from the Dongchang?”

Huo Fenglie nodded. “They were able to follow us all over, and in addition to being more capable than the enemy, they acted on their own initiative to either save or kill.”

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment and didn’t refute it.

“Qing-ge, don’t worry. I won’t take this lightly because of my personal relationships.” Huo Fenglie said: “The first priority now is Prime Minister Jiang. He’s a key figure in all of this, and once he’s taken down, many things may become clear.”

Liu Zhenqing nodded in agreement.

Huo Fenglie smiled and said: “Qing-ge, today Yuan Jue gave orders to make it look like we’ve just come back, so you can leave the house tomorrow instead of staying inside all the time.”

Huo Fenglie knew Liu Zhenqing’s lively nature the best. It was impossible for him to stay inside all time without going out.

Liu Zhenqing looked at him with a half-smile.

“What’s wrong?” Huo Fenglie asked.

“Blockhead, if I return in an upright manner, then…..won’t I have to go back to Liu Manor?” Liu Zhenqing donned a sad expression. Pushing Huo Fenglie’s chest, he said: “So heartless, are you really tired of me?”

Huo Fenglie was dumbfounded. He quickly took Liu Zhenqing’s hand and stared, wide-eyed. He really hadn’t expected this.

“Qing-ge, this matter…..”

Knowing that Huo Fenglie was asking if there was any room to maneuver, Liu Zhenqing shook his head. Living in the General’s Manor before marriage couldn’t be justified. Although he didn’t care about reputation or anything like that, they couldn’t be so careless. He must go back to Liu Manor.

There was no need to worry about his safety when leaving the General’s Manor. After all, Liu Qiao would be following him. He just couldn’t bear to leave all the Huo family members, especially his Er-gou.

Er-gou lowered his eyelashes. Sure enough, he was upset.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes gleamed: “Ai, I must return tomorrow. Fenglie, satisfy a small request of mine today.”

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing, who pointed to the book on the table, where the page was open to certain scenery under a pavilion.

Huo Fenglie’s ears instantly turned red.

“The sunset is so beautiful and the scenery is so nice, but it won’t be possible when it gets cold in a few days.”

“I’ll have Liu Qiao leave. No one would break into this place other than He Lan and Qin Yu, right?”

He sat on Huo Fenglie’s lap and hugged his neck with a smile on his face, saying: “I’m leaving soon.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flashed and he embraced Liu Zhenqing tightly. Unfortunately, looking out from the pavilion, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t see much of the beautiful scenery of the setting sun and sky full of stars. He could only see Huo Fenglie’s burning gaze.

Later, Huo Fenglie carried Liu Zhenqing into the manor to clean up.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said to Huo Fenglie: “Remember to tell Uncle Tian.”

“Tell him what?”

“That starting tomorrow, Second Master Huo will be staying out all night.”

Huo Fenglie was washing Liu Zhenqing’s hair. He froze upon hearing this and almost stuttered when he looked at Liu Zhenqing. “Qing-ge…..what do you mean?”

Liu Zhenqing turned around in the tub, leaning against the edge as he said with a smile: “Naturally, you’ll have to climb my wall every night, break into my room, and sleep in my bed.”

Huo Fenglie took a few deep breaths. He could only look at Liu Zhenqing helplessly.

“Do you really want to be apart from me? I don’t want to leave you for a single moment. I’ll miss you and my heart will ache.”

Liu Zhenqing’s sweet words instantly defeated Huo Fenglie. He bent down and kissed Liu Zhenqing on the forehead: “En, I’ll come find you.”

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Chapter 126 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 128

Two days later, Huo Fenglie received a secret order to bring Liu Zhenqing with him to the palace.

Neither of them seemed surprised about being faced with such an imperial edict. Having hinted at so much before, rumors outside were gradually beginning to spread. Regardless of his purpose, Yuan Jue must be concerned about Huo Fenglie’s big lifetime event.

Only…..

Looking at Liu Zhenqing’s dull expression, with a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Huo Fenglie’s eyes flashed. He lowered his eyes to hide them, saying: “If you don’t want to go, don’t go.”

Liu Zhenqing was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh: “And dare to resist an imperial edict?”

Huo Fenglie’s expression remained unchanged, fixed on Liu Zhenqing with a firm look.

Liu Zhenqing knew that Huo Fenglie was serious. Even if it upset Yuan Jue, Huo Fenglie didn’t want to make Liu Zhenqing unhappy at all.

Liu Zhenqing could only reach out and pinch the other’s upright nose: “How can the future wife of the general who guards the country not meet with the emperor? I said I wanted to tell the world about our marriage, but it won’t be suitable for me to reveal too much to Yuan Jue, so I’ll pretend to be more timid later. You must remember to ask Yuan Jue for a marriage decree.”

Huo Fenglie was slightly startled: “Ask for a marriage decree?”

Liu Zhenqing said in surprise: “You don’t think it’s enough for us to get engaged privately, do you? You’re currently the general who guards the country. If you don’t let the emperor participate in the marriage, it will be unreasonable, and when the time comes, people outside will make arrangements again.”

Liu Zhenqing felt that there was something wrong with the way Huo Fenglie was looking at him. Just as he was about to inquire, Huo Fenglie had already stood up and said: “Understood. Let’s go.”

The people who came to pick them up that night were of the Jinyiwei, the six of them wearing flying fish uniforms. The leader among them happened to be He Lan, whom they hadn’t seen in a long while.

He Lan only knew that they were back temporarily after receiving a secret order. He looked quite excited upon seeing the two of them and came up to them, saying: “I thought you weren’t coming back. How is Zhanyuan’s health?”

Huo Fenglie was in a good mood after meeting He Lan. “I’m completely fine,” he said.

He Lan was a big talker, but couldn’t say much while carrying out a mission. All they could do was give their greetings and set off together.

Watching as Huo Fenglie lifted Liu Zhenqing and followed them on the road using qinggong, He Lan raised a gossiping eyebrow.

But He Lan vaguely felt like something was wrong behind him, so he approached the two as they leapt and said: “Did you bring anyone else with you?”

He Lan’s perception in this area was still very keen. Liu Qiao was naturally following behind them.

“A shadow guard. He won’t follow us into the palace.”

He Lan was a little surprised. “When did you take on a shadow guard?” he asked.

“He’s mine,” Liu Zhenqing said.

He Lan feigned sudden enlightenment, saying with a smile: “Oh, I understand. Your status isn’t ordinary anymore. Being the future wife of the general is a very precarious position.”

The Jinyiwei were very well-informed, so they had naturally heard some things.

Liu Zhenqing smiled when he heard this and said: “Indeed.”

He Lan raised his eyebrows. This meant that the news was true and they were really engaged. Even when they were traveling together, he could tell that they had a different relationship. But when he actually heard about the engagement, He Lan’s fragile heart still received a shock. And to think, they had made a bet that Huo Fenglie would be a bachelor for the rest of his life.

Thinking of his own situation, he felt pure envy and jealousy.

They arrived at the palace in secret. The moment they landed, Liu Zhenqing didn’t know if it was just in his head, but he felt a biting chill come over him. 

Under the palace wall, down the corridors, and through the arches, familiar scenes came into view. After all, from the age of twenty-four when the new emperor ascended, he had spent most of his time each day in the palace with Yuan Jue.

It was no exaggeration to say that in the last two years, the palace was the place where he spent the most time and went through the most changes.

Liu Zhenqing’s brow furrowed almost noticeably. The hand hanging by his side was grabbed by someone, and it wasn’t until he felt the contrast between hot and cold that he felt the chill of his own palm.

Liu Zhenqing cast a sideways glance at Huo Fenglie, smiling slightly at his worried expression.

“The palace is so big, ah,” Liu Zhenqing lamented.

He Lan thought it was his first time here, and said with a smile: “This is just the start. If you have the opportunity to go to the highest building and look down, you’ll know just how big the palace is.”

Liu Zhenqing echoed him with an expression of wonder.

Under the escort of the Jinyiwei, they finally arrived at the government hall.

When a eunuch came out to meet them, Liu Zhenqing tried to let go of Huo Fenglie’s hand. After all, it wouldn’t be good if the emperor saw them engaging in PDA like this.

Huo Fenglie didn’t let go, but held on tightly as he pulled Liu Zhenqing into the hall.

The majestic hall was quiet and empty. Liu Zhenqing lowered his head. Wherever he looked, only the bright yellow hue of the steps could be seen. And as Huo Fenglie knelt down and saluted, he couldn’t see anything.

After waiting a while, they heard a clear voice with a slight smile tell them to get up.

Liu Zhenqing kept his head lowered after standing up, behaving himself. He didn’t look directly at the holy face, but could still feel those eyes on him. 

Yuan Jue was indeed looking at Liu Zhenqing, watching him follow Huo Fenglie obediently and inconspicuously.

But just now as Huo Fenglie led him inside, he watched over every move the other made.

Yuan Jue had known Huo Fenglie for so many years, and had never seen him take such care of anyone.

Even when it was “Liu Zhenqing,” Huo Fenglie would only follow him in silence and look up to him.

Thus, Yuan Jue became even more curious about the Young Master Liu before him.

“Eldest Young Master of the Liu family, raise your head.”

Liu Zhenqing had already expected this. Without thinking too much, he feigned uneasiness and slowly raised his head to look at Yuan Jue. He averted his eyes as much as possible, as if afraid of beholding the emperor.

Liu Zhenqing’s acting skills were naturally top-notch. Yuan Jue took a few glances and felt like this person was different than he’d imagined. He was a little disappointed.

And Liu Zhenqing exerted himself to suppress his roiling, chaotic emotions. Different from the shock he felt when meeting Huo Fenglie, Yuan Jue was now like a stranger to Liu Zhenqing.

Yuan Jue had truly grown up. He looked more and more like Crown Prince Jing Yang, like a benevolent emperor. But there was still a vicious aura to his features that would be difficult for others to detect. Liu Zhenqing knew this was all because of his harsh experiences during childhood.

“I’ve heard that Young Master Liu was involved in the war with the Western Shu Kingdom. Was he injured?”

“A…..answering Your Majesty, the general rescued us in time, and the civilians are safe,” Liu Zhenqing said with fear and trepidation.

“Following the general on his southern tour, Young Master Liu must have helped a lot. This can be regarded as working on my behalf. I will certainly reward you based on your merits.”

Liu Zhenqing immediately knelt down and said: “Your Majesty, this common one is guilty. He left the capital privately just to prove the innocence of the Liu family. I dare not expect credit. Now that the Liu family is fine, this one is even more grateful. What’s more, it is already good that this one didn’t cause any trouble for General Huo. I didn’t help at all, only gave advice when there were occasional financial problems, and was useless everywhere else.”

Yuan Jue’s eyes narrowed slightly. He twisted the jade ring on his hand. This kind of performance was the most common type he had seen, but he kept feeling that something wasn’t right. Perhaps because such an ordinary, common person shouldn’t have been favored by Huo Fenglie, or because he didn’t look like ‘that’ person. Why made Huo Fenglie change? He’d heard that this person had harassed Huo Fenglie before, and Huo Fenglie hadn’t given him the time of day.

“Your leaving the capital has my tacit approval, but since I’ve said this, I’ll just assume you’ve made up for past faults with good deeds.” Yuan Jue wasn’t interested in testing Liu Zhenqing further. He looked at Huo Fenglie and said: “But there are currently many rumors about you in the outside world…..”

Huo Fenglie knelt down and said: “Your Majesty, if you’re speaking of the engagement between Young Master Liu and I, it is indeed true. Young Master Liu and I will procure a wedding contract tomorrow.”

Yuan Jue was taken aback. His eyes darkened, and he said: “Zhanyuan, do you mean what you just said?”

“How can marriage be a trivial matter? How could it be but a trifle? It’s naturally impossible for a humble subject to speak nonsense in front of Your Majesty. The marriage certificate has been handed off to Sister-in-law at home. When the time is right, she will go to the Liu family to propose marriage.”

Yuan Jue’s expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he waved his hand to let Liu Zhenqing go down first.

Liu Zhenqing glanced at Huo Fenglie, who gave him a firm nod.

Then, Liu Zhenqing left with the eunuch.

It wasn’t until there were only the two people left in the palace that Yuan Jue got to the point: “Zhanyuan, I thought I heard wrong at first. Do you really intend to marry him?”

“Your Majesty, please bestow this marriage on me as a reward,” Huo Fenglie said.

Yuan Jue stiffened, knowing that Huo Fenglie was serious.

“Why? It’s not him you like.”

Huo Fenglie raised his head to look at Yuan Jue, then said: “When I marry him, I will naturally be happy with him.”

Yuan Jue choked for a moment. Right, ah, in the whole world, who could force Huo Fenglie to marry? If Huo Fenglie wanted to marry, he would naturally be willing.

Yuan Jue still seemed a little unconvinced. It was clear that Huo Fenglie liked Liu Zhenqing, ah. He’d been in love with him for so many years, to the point that he didn’t care about life or death, and would not marry for the rest of his life. How could he actually marry someone else in the blink of an eye and announce it to the world?

He’d thought it fantastical when he first heard the rumors, but now that Huo Fenglie had admitted it in person, Yuan Jue still thought it was unbelievable.

But looking into Huo Fenglie’s resolute eyes, Yuan Jue didn’t voice his doubts. He only said: “He is of the Liu family. Do you know what that means?”

“Your Majesty has said that this Liu family is not that Liu family.”

Yuan Jue wore a cynical smile: “That is for everyone in the country to hear, but you understand clearly. How many of your Huo family and Huo Family Army can accept a descendant of the Liu family as your wife?”

They had discussed these issues when they first got together. Even those in the army stationed in Nanfeng city who knew Liu Zhenqing’s identity were quite critical of it. However, the Huo Family Army was disciplined. At most, they would express resentment when it came up in conversation, but they would not reveal their anger. Moreover, the generational replacement had been rapid in the past ten years and there were already very few veterans who had passed through Huo Feihan’s hands. There weren’t that many people who truly had a grudge against the descendants of the Liu family.

Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie. One who was used to seeing all kinds of things out in the world, and one who had never seen such things at all. They naturally didn’t care about these external matters as long as they received the blessings of those they cared about. After all, under absolute authority, those who would scold them could only say words.

Huo Fenglie said: “This subject only wishes to marry one person in this life.”

Yuan Jue took in Huo Fenglie’s stubborn expression and laughed angrily: “Even if everyone in the world stabs you in the back, you’re not afraid.”

Huo Fenglie shook his head.

Yuan Jue’s turbulent breathing gradually settled in his chest. He could see that Huo Fenglie was determined to marry Liu Zhenqing. And when Huo Fenglie was certain of something, how could he so easily compromise with the outside world? 

“Alright. If you wish for a marriage decree, how can I refuse? I hope my brother will be happy, but I didn’t expect that after all this time, he would choose the Liu family again. Can this be considered an ill-fated relationship?” Yuan Jue lowered his eyes and said, “When something happened to Huo-dage, that man was still in power and no one dared to question Huo-dage’s death. But the verdict was later overturned. According to military reports, everything pointed to that person harming Huo-dage and his 100,000-strong army, so everyone hated and cursed him. I also asked if you hated him, but you never answered.”

Yuan Jue regarded the expressionless Huo Fenglie and said: “I know now that you don’t hate him.”

That was why he could calmly accept a person from the Liu bloodline.

Huo Fenglie looked at Yuan Jue and asked the same thing: “And does Your Majesty hate him?”

He didn’t need to detail what he saw and heard in the south — because the emperor before him was more intelligent than him. He didn’t know what Yuan Jue was thinking when he didn’t help Liu Zhenqing clear his name, and he couldn’t guess. Perhaps not clearing his name was beneficial to the emperor, or as Liu Zhenqing himself said, clearing his name was futile and would only create conflict with the common people. But since Yuan Jue was indifferent, it had already caused a rift between the monarch and his minister.

What Yuan Jue wanted to see the most was the Huo Fenglie who loved and hated Liu Zhenqing. Not this one.

Both of them were unwilling to discuss matters regarding Liu Zhenqing, and quickly got down to business.

Liu Zhenqing, on the other hand, was waiting outside the hall in the company of He Lan.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t keep his silence inside the palace, and could only talk to He Lan.

After hearing that they had returned, it was truly surprising that He Lan had hardly met Qin Yu in private.

“Why? Have you been so busy since coming back? Is it because of interrogating the rebel prisoners?”

They had returned with the rebel prisoners, after all. Although they had come back one after another, how could they have not seen each other for so long when they were both in the capital?

He Lan rubbed his nose, saying: “I am busy, but the main thing is that Lao Qin is avoiding me! No matter how I look for him and leave messages to meet him, I haven’t seen him at all. I try to say hello every time we meet in the palace, but he just acts like he doesn’t know me! Ruthlessly changing his face and running away after playing with me, it’s really…..”

He Lan spoke through gritted teeth and curses.

Liu Zhenqing was rather surprised. He naturally knew better than He Lan what Qin Yu would do after coming back. But going by this reaction, had he remained with the Dongchang to work for his adoptive father?

“Hmph, but now there’s a way. Isn’t Zhanyuan back? I’ll see if Qin Yu is willing to go see Zhanyuan!”

Seeing how He Lan’s expression became so distorted when mentioning Qin Yu, he must have suppressed a lot of anger.

And this fellow seemed to still mistakenly think Qin Yu liked Huo Fenglie.

He Lan complained about Qin Yu for a long while in front of Liu Zhenqing, until Huo Fenglie came back.

When they returned to the General’s Manor, He Lan especially emphasized that if Qin Yu came without him noticing, he was to be informed. If he didn’t inform him, he wouldn’t be a good brother.

Huo Fenglie regarded He Lan with some befuddlement. He Lan had to stay on duty all night, so he had no choice but to leave first.

“What’s going on?” Huo Fenglie asked.

Liu Zhenqing suppressed a smile and said: “He Lan probably feels he’s been let down.”

At this time, Liu Qiao also flew down: “Aren’t they a couple?”

“You know?” Liu Zhenqing said. “Right, it was you who saved them from the island.”

“En, I saw them embracing each other on the island. Clearly, they were kissing,” Liu Qiao said directly.

Liu Zhenqing nearly laughed out loud. “Were they carrying out a mission or falling in love, ah? But speaking of this, thank you so much for saving them on the island.”

Thinking of this matter, Huo Fenglie also thanked Liu Qiao. After all, He Lan and Qin Yu didn’t know who had saved them, so as good brothers, they could only express gratitude on their behalf. Moreover, Liu Qiao had taken action because he knew they were Huo Fenglie’s brothers.

However, Huo Fenglie recalled one other thing.

“The Yue Family Villa? I’ve never been there. During that time, I was just traveling back and forth between the island and Western Shu,” Liu Qiao replied doubtfully.

When Huo Fenglie brought this up, Liu Zhenqing also remembered that between the Yue family and Song Xingmu, there used to be killers constantly trying to assassinate them, but they always received some helpful information. Liu Zhenqing had also thought it was Liu Qiao.

After all, Qiao Jin and the others were under the influence of the people in the capital. Knowing that assassination was possible, since Liu Qiao had helped He Lan and Qin you, how could he have not been the one to help the others too?

Yet Liu Qiao had just denied their conjecture.

That was to say, there was indeed another force obstructing them in order to protect them. None of them could figure it out for the moment, so they could only leave it like this for the time being.

When they returned to their rooms, Liu Zhenqing asked what had happened after he left. He’d expected Yuan Jue to have some objections to their marriage, but Liu Zhenqing was relieved to hear that Yuan Jue had agreed to them getting married after the Longevity Festival.

Liu Zhening said: “Did Yuan Jue talk to you about the Longevity Festival? What are his plans?”

Huo Fenglie said: “It will be announced in a few days that I’ve returned for the Longevity Festival, so preparations will be changed at the last moment.”

“Oh, to catch the opponents off guard? If the enemy made arrangements long ago, their actions will inevitably be disrupted and there will be clues to follow.”

Liu Zhenqing had felt before that Yuan Jue would be putting himself in danger, but it seemed that even now, he didn’t understand him well enough. After all, Yuan Jue still had caution engraved into his bones and wouldn’t risk his own life. Perhaps in the end, if he really couldn’t find who it was, he would find ways to break the wings of everyone he suspected in order to avoid harm.

Huo Fenglie said with a nod: “So I’m afraid I’ll have to go to the military camp in secret to arrange things for Mo Yu and Mo Qi these days. Qing-ge will stay at home.”

Liu Zhenqing expressed his understanding: “What about the group of rebels who were caught?”

Huo Fenglie shook his head, saying: “Those who knew the crux of it are dead, and the rest are unimportant people.”

“Dead?” Liu Zhenqing said in surprise. “The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple seem to be influenced by the people in the capital. Where are Jiang Wang and King Jing?”

Huo Fenglie said: “Yuan Jue already suspects Prime Minister Jiang Wang after the Imperial Examination fraud, but there seems to be no suspicion placed on King Jing’s head, so I didn’t ask further questions.”

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but play with the Rubik’s Cube Huo Fenglie had placed on the bed for him as he sank into thought.

Huo Fenglie watched the Rubik’s Cube in Liu Zhenqing’s hand. His eyes flickered momentarily and he suddenly asked: “How did you feel about entering the palace today?”

Liu Zhenqing paused, then said with a smile: “I was just dragged off by He Lan to listen to his complaints, so I didn’t have any other thoughts, ah. By the way, about Qin Yu.”

“If he doesn’t come to me, I won’t make conjectures about his behavior for the time being,” Huo Fenglie said solemnly.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Er-gou is truly loyal.”

Huo Fenglie carefully parsed Liu Zhenqing’s expression and seemed to be unable to detect any other extraneous emotions.

As he was being stared at, Liu Zhenqing took the Rubik’s Cube and tapped the tip of Huo Fenglie’s nose. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes immediately darkened. He directly pulled him into his arms, hugging and kissing him.

Liu Zhenqing was confused by Huo Fenglie’s sudden enthusiasm. It was him who took the initiative in the past, after all.

But this time, without waiting for Liu Zhenqing’s reaction, Huo Fenglie had already lifted him and dumped him into the bed tent.

When Liu Zhenqing’s red-marked hands dropped from the bed frame, he could already hear the crow of a rooster.

Liu Zhenqing sleepily squinted his eyes, looking at the fully-dressed Huo Fenglie who was about to leave for the military camp. He couldn’t help the resentment emanating from his body.

He was so proactive last night, but the result was that he didn’t take the final step. Whose patience was he trying to test, ah? Was the one on top more patient than the one below? Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but dwell on this issue. After all, it would be his first time in this regard.

When Liu Zhenqing woke up once more, he heard twittering and chirping from outside. It was clear that the twins had come to visit him again.

“Liu Qiao?” Liu Zhenqing called.

Liu Qiao quickly appeared: “Master, are you getting up?”

“En, what are you doing outside?”

“Practicing martial arts with Miss Huo.”

Liu Zhenqing laughed, saying: “She must be pestering you.” Looking up, he saw that Liu Qiao’s collar was stretched wide due to the heat and the fighting.

A jade pendant was exposed at the skirt of his clothes. Liu Zhenqing noticed something strange at first glance — it seemed this was not the one Liu Qiao carried with him, so he asked: “This jade pendant of yours…..”

“Oh, this isn’t the original piece.” Liu Qiao took it out and said, “This is what Qiao Jin gave me.”

Liu Zhenqing was shocked the moment Liu Qiao took it out, and quickly beckoned for Liu Qiao to come closer and show him.

The corners of his lips twitched at his first glance. He said: “Qiao Jin gave it to you?”

Liu Qiao shook his head, saying: “Back then, we were fleeing pursuit and had no money. I pawned my piece, and a few years later, Qiao Jin redeemed it again. But instead of giving it to me, he gave me his own. I think they’re pretty much the same, so it doesn’t matter, and we can continue to pawn them when we have no money.”

Liu Zhenqing’s face was about to convulse. Well, Liu Qiao’s bad habit of exchanging jade pendants for money had followed him. However…..

“You can’t exchange this jade pendant if you don’t have money. If you do, Qiao Jin will go crazy. Do you understand the meaning behind this jade pendant?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

Liu Qiao shook his head.

“This is an heirloom from his mother, a member of the Liu family. According to the circumstances at the time, this is likely the only heirloom he was able to take away.” Liu Qiao’s expression became a little strange at this explanation, and Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s a cost-effective deal. Even though you don’t care about the jade pendant, it’s also your only certification from him.”

Liu Qiao said with a slightly uncomfortable look: “Then since it’s important…..does this count as an exchange of tokens, ah?”

“Eh, forget it.” Such an important thing was more like a love token. Qiao Jin knew Liu Qiao wouldn’t understand, so he just did this first. Unexpectedly, Liu Zhenqing exposed it at this moment.

Liu Qiao frowned in distress but didn’t say anything more, simply adjusting his clothes.

But Liu Zhenqing had a flash of inspiration and recalled something related to the Huo family.

So when the twins went to play with Li Xingruo in a lively manner, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but look at the red string around her neck.

“What are you looking at! Looking so foolish, did you suddenly find that my appearance is the same as before?” Li Xingruo said, putting down her medical text.

Liu Zhenqing just said: “I remembered a tradition of the Huo family. The elders will choose a piece of jade for the younger generation, so that they can make an ornament to give as a love token in the future. I remember when Boss gave you a jade token and begged you for a kiss. Doesn’t it stand to reason that Er-gou also has a piece of jade?”

Li Xingruo was amazed, and gave Liu Zhenqing a strange look.

“What? Does a male wife not deserve one?” Liu Zhenqing instantly became unhappy, saying, “The marriage certificate is already written, so I shouldn’t deserve any less!”

Li Xingruo rolled her eyes and said: “Since you know he’s liked you for so many years, can’t you guess for yourself?”

“Ah?”

“For example, are there any unique pieces of jade among the things he’s given you?”

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly: “Yes, a jade Rubik’s Cube. I used to…..”

Liu Zhenqing’s words stuck in his throat. He instantly turned wide, disbelieving eyes toward Li Xingruo.

Li Xingruo nodded.

“Wasn’t he just fifteen years old back then? He didn’t confess his feelings to me, so why would he give me such an important thing?”

Li Xingruo smiled: “You said it yourself. He met the right person and decided that you must be the one. It didn’t matter whether it was given earlier or later, because it would never be given to anyone else.”

“You two just let him mess around?” That had been given in front of Huo Feihan. The Huo family’s traditional jade pendant couldn’t be given away lightly.

“He was very serious, and carved it himself. How could it be considered messing around?” Li Xingruo smiled cheerfully. “In fact, you two have been a couple for a long time.”

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Chapter 125 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 127

Due to the business trip being short, the corresponding schedule was very compact.

He Chuzhou didn’t go to the hotel first, but instead went straight to the partner company. The luggage would be transported to the hotel by a driver arranged by the other party.

His feet barely touched the ground the entire day.

There was also no news from Pei-calico the entire day.

He was really something. Whether baking cookies or taking the post-graduate exit exam, did one need to be so focused? He didn’t even have time to talk to his husband when he was away from home.

He casually took a photo of the scene outside the window and sent it over. After waiting for more than ten seconds without receiving a reply, he put the phone back in his pocket.

When he raised his head, he met Yun Ji’s complicated gaze.

“Cousin, do you know what you looked like just now?” Yun Ji asked.

He Chuzhou picked up the contract on the table and responded without thought: “Like what?”

Yun Ji: “Like the kind of resentful husband who knows his wife is out fooling around, but can’t get through on the phone and his text messages aren’t replied to, so he can only sit in an empty room while he waits.”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

He Chuzhou: “That’s some good imagery. What score did you get on your high school essays?”

Yun Ji, proudly: “Nomally 57, but if my performance was extraordinary, 59. The teacher said he wouldn’t give me full marks because he was afraid I’d become conceited.”

He Chuzhou: “You write the planning proposal for the Guangxing Shopping Mall next quarter. One week’s salary will be deducted for each week it isn’t done.”

Yun Ji: “? ? ?”

Yun Ji: “Hello, is something wrong?”

Yun Ji: “You’ve not only baffled Confucious, but also laozi.”

Yun Ji: “And now you’re being like a hateful capitalist who’s angry after being exposed! Your face exposes your evil! ! !”

Since a certain little white-eyed wolf wasn’t subject to his distractions, he had no choice but to focus all of his attention on work.

It was almost 11 o’clock when He Chuzhou finished with his inspection of the technology factory. After returning to the hotel and putting on slippers, he felt heavy fatigue in his shoulders and back as he walked on the soft soles.

He had also asked Pei-calico to call him after 9 o’clock. It seemed he had still overestimated himself.

However, it didn’t seem to have had a large effect. Pei Xi must not have noticed his broken promise, because when he turned on his phone, he didn’t see any missed calls at all.

There was one message, sent over an hour ago: [I’m going to bed. Good night, Chuzhou.]

Chuzhou was restless.

Chuzhou was about to laugh out of anger.

That’s great, ah, little bastard.

Here he was unable to focus on important or trivial matters, filled with uneasiness, but the one over there was just fine. He was usually so sticky that he wanted to hang from He Chuzhou’s waist, but when they were actually separated, he was reluctant to even give him a call.

He ground his back molars, wanting to go over and teach him a good lesson. However, after floundering with his fingertips several times, he clicked away.

Forget it. He’d probably already had several dreams at this point, so he wouldn’t bother him anymore.

The interface jumped from the address book to the standby page. The person on the wallpaper wore a cute expression, using his unskilled techniques to make a “yay” sign.

He stared at it for a while, his anger subsiding as the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.

After tonight, there was still a day and a half.

Ai, why had the time suddenly become so long?

It should go by a little faster.

*

*

After he finished handling He Xingxing the next morning, Pei Xi spent ten minutes in the overly quiet living room with his computer in his arms. Then he got up, changed his clothes, and went to the company.

It had been a while since he’d shown up to the company. As soon as he appeared out of nowhere, he received salutes from the front desk to the stairs.

The most surprised person was undoubtedly Xiao Gu, because as an assistant, he hadn’t received any news in advance that the president was coming to the company today.

“How is the construction progress of the northern residential area? Have you visited the site to check on it?”

“I went there with Assistant Zhang yesterday and everything is running smoothly. The materials used have also been tested and meet all standards, and the speed is very fast. It is conservatively estimated that the project will be completed one month ahead of schedule.”

Xiao Gu finished his careful reply, then asked Pei Xi: “President Pei, did you come here today to inspect the other projects? Or have you made an appointment with a visitor? Do you need me to make meeting room arrangements for you in advance?”

Pei Xi: “No need. I just came over to have a look. You can continue your work.”

Xiao Gu nodded, closed the door, and left.

Pei Xi remained at the company until the afternoon. There wasn’t much work, so he could deal with it slowly without rushing.

That was why he got distracted and looked at his phone three times every ten minutes, on average.

No phone calls, no messages, not even a random photo to share.

Yesterday he was twittering like an old sparrow, but today there wasn’t a peep at all.

Or was this sort of daily chatting limited to Pei-calico?

He put down his phone with a cold expression and focused on his work. But it was as if a handful of dandelions had been stuffed into his chest. When the wind blew, they fluttered away and left it empty.

He had initially planned to go back directly after his work shift, but thinking of the empty living room he left before, he simply found a random restaurant outside and had dinner.

Xie Ling sent him a message and asked what he had been busy with recently. They hadn’t been able to meet up in so long. Was it because he was working on some big project?

Pei Xi avoided giving an answer and told him they could meet up later. When he backed out of the chat, he saw that the top chat bar hadn’t seen movement all day. He moved his finger and clicked.

The content of the chat was still stuck on the “good night” he had sent the night before. He hadn’t received a reply in more than ten hours. It looked lonely and pitiful.

He clicked on the dialogue box and typed half a line of words. 

In the second half, he didn’t know what kind of tone to end it with.

Should he ask him if he was busy?

If He Chuzhou said he wasn’t, or asked him what he needed, how should he answer next?

Should he ask him when he was coming back?

He Chuzhou had just left the previous morning. Asking this today would make it seem like he couldn’t live without him.

Should he ask him if he’d eaten?

It seemed their current relationship wasn’t close enough for him to care about him like this…..if he asked this, would He Chuzhou think he was weird?

After a thousand strands of thought twisted and turned through his head, he ultimately deleted that half line of words and turned to look out the car window.

He Chuzhou was right. It was indeed a beautiful sunny day these two days.

*

*

“This company’s factory is pretty good. The machine technology is all independently developed and might be among the world’s most advanced. I think we can cooperate.”

While Yun Ji was looking around and taking photos and recordings, he spoke with He Chuzhou in Chinese. The foreigners around them couldn’t understand, and non-essential content didn’t require translation.

“Indeed.” He Chuzhou used the data he had seen along the way as a reference and didn’t make an immediate decision: “Then give them a notice of intent. I won’t sign it for now. We’ll wait until we compare the data between the two companies tomorrow.”

Yun Ji thought the same: “Okay. Although this company’s technology is good, there are so many competitors when it comes to price per volume. If we delay a bit, we may be able to lower the price a little. After all, they’re very willing to cooperate with us.”

The host held a dinner reception in the evening. He Chuzhou and Yun Ji weren’t accustomed to eating much of the food on the table, and since they didn’t want to cause offense, they could only slow down their eating speed again and again, treating it as a break from a busy day.

Yun Ji didn’t want to listen to a group of white people chattering in English with different accents. When no one was paying attention, he leaned over toward He Chuzhou: “Is this indulging in pleasure and forgetting home and duty?”

Bored, He Chuzhou pierced a piece of broccoli with his fork and raised it in front of him: “This?”

He stuffed it in his mouth and chewed expressionlessly: “I feel like a rabbit.”

“Of course it’s not that. Why don’t you look like a wife-gazing stone today? You don’t want to send a message? Don’t want to make a call?”

He Chuzhou gave him a smile that wasn’t a smile, the corners of his lips twitching. He scoffed coldly: “How do you know I don’t want to call?”

Of course he did. 

Of course he was worried.

But there was no way. Even Pei-calico thought he was annoying, and Pei Xi definitely hated being disturbed even more.

What’s more, he had been too busy these days to find time to help Pei Xi with his work. He must be busy today while he was in his right mind. How could he dare interrupt?

He hadn’t asked about any hobbies, but he’d already bought a lot of gifts and specialties. He wanted to bring everything he saw to him, regardless of if he was buying the right thing.

As expected of people, ah. Sometimes being too thoughtful led to too many troubles and burdens.

He was just too thoughtful.

Yun Ji looked at him sighing and said giddily: “If you want to call, then call. Otherwise, can you tell me who’s on the other end and what their relationship is with you, so as to relieve the pain of lovesickness?

He Chuzhou: “Don’t bother me.”

Yun Ji: “Just tell me, is it Pei Xi?”

He Chuzhou, in English: “Mr. White, my assistant would like to…..”

Yun Ji: “Damn it, you’re sick in the head! Fine, fine, I get it, I won’t ask, okay? Don’t make this foreigner talk to me!”

He Chuzhou stopped talking with a faint smile. When Mr. White looked over uncertainly, he speared another piece of broccoli and gestured gracefully to him before stuffing it into his mouth.

After the dinner, a few fun-loving white people also arranged a night party. He Chuzhou wasn’t interested. He was too tired and needed to rest, so he declined. After getting in the car, he told the driver to go directly back to the hotel.

One day.

It was already nighttime.

It wouldn’t be too much to send a message saying hello, would it? 

It wouldn’t be a bother, would it?

Along the way, he thought of thousands of different ways to greet the other person politely and without being annoying. And in the process of constantly flipping his phone, he eliminated nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine options.

In the end, he chose the one with the lowest error rate and the most roundabout method — using He Xingxing as a buffer.

A single father missed his son while he was away from home and wanted to know how he was doing, or ask for a photo or something. Wasn’t that reasonable?

Having finalized his excuse, he returned to the hotel and took a shower while considering his words. When he went out and picked up his phone, he unexpectedly found an additional message on it: 

Pei-calico: [/picture]

Pei-calico: [He Xingxing was beaten by a cat again.]

When Pei Xi finished sending the picture and text, he continued to stare at the chat box without moving.

Very soon, he saw that He Chuzhou was typing.

Chuzhou: [It’s fine, he has thick skin. He just needed to be taught a lesson.]

Chuzhou: [I just got back to the hotel and was about to ask if you were walking the dog. If He Xingxing runs too fast, smack him on the head a couple of times, otherwise he’ll walk you all over.]

Just got back to the hotel.

Was just going to ask you.

This combination of words oddly implied the notion of explaining himself and reporting his activities.

In fact, it was nothing special. It just made Pei Xi feel as if a blocked ditch had been cleaned out and smoothed over.

Pei Xi: [It’s fine.]

Pei Xi: [How was your inspection there? Is the contract signed?]

He Chuzhou: [It’s pretty good. We prefer the inclination toward technology research and development here, but their quote is too high, so we’ll press them again.]

He Chuzhou: [What about you? Are you done with work for the day?]

Pei Xi: [En, I went to the company during the day.]

He Chuzhou: [That’s good. You can have a good rest tomorrow.]

He Chuzhou: [Did you have dinner?]

Pei Xi: [En, I ate outside.]

He Chuzhou: [Me too. The taste of white peoples’ food is truly indescribable. It seems I’ll have to bring some food for myself the next time I come here.]

He Chuzhou: [I’m heading home tomorrow afternoon. If you need anything, I’ll bring it to you.]

Pei replied: [I don’t need anything.] Looking at the few casual conversation topics, He Chuzhou had unknowingly asked all of the questions he had wanted to ask during the day but didn’t. 

But it was a pity that polite chats over a distance didn’t have a long lifespan.

Just when their exchange tonight was about to end, He Chuzhou suddenly asked him on a whim if he was free after walking the dog.

Pei Xi: [I have nothing to do. What is it?]

He Chuzhou: [I suddenly remembered that Aiyue had a few unwritten papers lying around. She said they’re due at the beginning of the month.]

Pei Xi was unsure: [Do you want me to help write them?]

He Chuzhou: [No need. Those examination papers take a lot of brain work. You take pictures and send them to me. I’ll figure out the answers and you copy them down for me.]

Ten minutes later.

Pei Xi sat in the brightly-lit study. Seeing that He Chuzhou was writing down the answers and sending them to him in pictures, the nerves in his brain began to knot up.

Pei Xi: [You…..]

He Chuzhou: [Huh? What is it?]

[When you write the numbers, must you write them without lifting your pen from the paper?]

They couldn’t be read.

He couldn’t understand them at all.

If he were asked to identify them in another situation, he would have thought they were prescriptions written by a doctor.

He Chuzhou: [Sorry, I tried my best to be neat, but it’s still hard to read, isn’t it?]

He Chuzhou: [/Sad and tearful cat head]

Pei Xi: “……”

He hesitated over what to say, so as not to hurt the young and fragile soul of this little cat head. The other party soon showed as ‘typing.’ 

He Chuzhou: [Make a voice call.]

He Chuzhou: [I’ll read it to you, and you can compare them. You should be able to understand it.]

The chat interface was immediately replaced by a voice chat invitation.

Pei Xi’s hand clenched slightly around his pen. He didn’t know where this inexplicable nervousness and almost overlooked excitement had come from.

He clicked ‘answer.’ He Chuzhou’s lazy “Good evening” was like a faint electric current injected into his sensitive ear, spreading throughout his body.

Since there was no one in front of him, he dared to let his eyes drift uneasily for a moment before returning to the center of the screen. He replied in a low voice: “Good evening.”

Just as the person on the other side couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see the other subconsciously narrow his eyes as he spoke.

Pei Xi’s voice had a unique cold and obedient tone, and He Chuzhou naturally imagined his expression as he spoke. His mood, which had been tense all day, was at once smoothly run over by high-temperature iron, smoothing out the twists and wrinkles.

It was much like playing an entire basketball game under the scorching summer sun, and there happened to be a bottle of iced Coke at hand.

Unscrew the moisture-dotted bottlecap, and the cold, fizzy liquid flowed smoothly down the throat.

He savored the subtle satisfaction that filled his chest and scrawled the answers with deliberate slowness.

He Chuzhou: “Do you understand it now?”

Pei Xi nodded. Then he remembered that the other couldn’t see, and said: “I just wrote them down.” 

He Chuzhou: “Did you nod just now?”

Taken aback, Pei Xi asked subconsciously: “How did you know?”

He Chuzhou said breezily: “Because you obviously paused before answering.”

Pei Xi went silent.

He didn’t know what to say for a moment.

He Chuzhou’s understanding of him was beyond expectations, and it was also beyond expectations that it didn’t feel bad.

It was only that he didn’t know what reaction to give that was consistent with their current relationship. He wasn’t good at this, and could only awkwardly change the subject: “You’re very smart. You still remember the steps for the final high school math questions.”

“It can’t be helped. I used to be a naughty trouble-maker in high school and was punished by the teacher to copy many test papers.”

He chuckled, and after a moment, he whispered the next sentence: “Compared to Pei Xi, I’m not smart.”

He was said to be smart, but only when they were separated by thousands of miles were his indescribable affection and yearning actualized.

If he was smart, he wouldn’t spend an entire day unable to think of a reason to send a message, just immersing himself in buying gifts and expecting the recipient to embrace him warmly.

If he was smart, he wouldn’t have realized that his liking of him had accumulated to the point that his body was almost at maximum capacity.

Pei Xi, Pei Xinxin, Pei-calico…..

He liked them all very much.

---

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Chapter 38 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 40

T/N: Thank you so much to Chakri for the Kofi donation! I rise from the depths of Covid hell to bring you this double update!

---

Pei Xi wiped the wet spots off the kitchen counter, deciding between going out and waiting or finding something to do in the kitchen. He suddenly heard He Chuzhou call to him in a soft voice: “Pei Xi.”

He Chuzhou rarely called him by his full name like this, just as Pei Xi rarely called He Chuzhou by his full name.

It wasn’t a polite, superficial business tone, but more relaxed and casual, more like addressing an old friend.

It was very pleasant to the ear.

But still not as pleasant as being called ‘Xinxin.’ 

Perhaps it was because he’d heard it so many times.

He turned his head and curled his fingers: “Huh?”

He Chuzhou leaned to the side of him and said: “Didn’t you say you want to learn how to cook? I happen to be free now. May I teach you a couple of things?”

Pei Xi: “……”

He Chuzhou failed to notice Pei Xi’s dark expression, which wasn’t immediately evident.

But in the long period of instruction that followed, he could easily sense that Pei Xi wasn’t very interested, and that his mood was low.

“Don’t you want to know how to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes?” he speculated.

Considering that Pei Xi’s cooking skills were a flat zero, he’d started with the simplest instructions. But it seemed that now, the skills of successful people were displayed in all aspects, but those who were simple may not be able to comprehend them.

Therefore, he took an overview of the ingredients prepared next to him and changed his strategy: “Then I’ll teach you how to make sweet and sour fish.”

Pei Xi didn’t express an opinion.

Although, perhaps it was an illusion, but he kept feeling that Pei Xi’s expression was darker.

Pei Xi really didn’t have any skill when it came to cooking.

And the cognizant Pei Xi was very self-aware. After experiencing those few times when the “right amount” of salt wasn’t actually the right amount, and where the “small amount” of cooking wine wasn’t enough, he took the initiative to put down the spatula and say: “I can’t learn.”

His natural tone left He Chuzhou both helpless and amused: “I can see that.”

Pei Xi stared at him in silence.

He Chuzhou placated him: “It’s okay, I’m just teaching you for fun. If you can’t learn it, you can’t learn it. I’ll be just fine.”

Pei Xi’s eyes shifted slightly: “You’ll be just fine?”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

Whoops, Pei-calico needed to be coaxed.

He coughed covertly: “What I mean is that in the future, you can always come to me when you’re hungry. Or I can make it and send it to you.”

He thought Pei Xi would just say no, but unexpectedly, Pei Xi said in lieu of refusal: “Wouldn’t it be too much trouble for you?”

He Chuzhou: “Of course not, it’s a convenient thing. Besides, it’s a smooth ride to your house.”

Pei Xi nodded and said no more on the matter, simply leaving the kitchen with an “I’m going to take care of work.”

Was this a tacit understanding that even when he recovered and moved back, he would continue associating with him?

Was it?

Had he understood correctly?

He Chuzhou turned around happily, ready to save Pei Xi’s failed sweet and sour fish.

It actually wasn’t bad, ah, rather pleasing to the eye.

When he had a taste, it was just a little too salty, but not inedible.

The cell phone placed to the side lit up.

He changed the chopsticks to his left hand and used the other to click on the message: 

Wu Qing: [Why are you making eyes at each other over the food? Do you have to cook hand in hand?]

Wu Qing: [Is it rice or dog food I’m eating? I’ve lost my appetite! ! !]

Wu Qing typed out two angry messages, and when he looked up, Pei Xi was back with a computer in his hands.

Although his eyes were lowered and there wasn’t much of an expression on his face, there was a faintly discernible smile on his lips.

Wu Qing: “……”

Wu Qing took a deep breath: [Old Dog He, I don’t care about your seafood dinner anymore! ! !]

Wu Qing: [Changing the ticket! It must be changed!]

Wu QIng: [I’ll change the ticket and take five, six, seven, or eight boyfriends along!]

Of course, Wu Qing didn’t have five, six, seven, or eight boyfriends, nor did he change his ticket. Even though he absolutely didn’t want to eat bulk dry dog food with He Xingxing, there was no other way. When a man stood under the eaves, he must bow his head.

But he could keep it out of sight and out of mind.

In order to not see the sticky couple washing dishes like mandarin ducks playing in the kitchen, he chose to take the initiative to be the person walking He Xingxing. He put on the dog leash, and one person and one dog bounded out of the house.

But although he was obviously overly worried about them washing dishes like two mandarin ducks playing in the water, He Chuzhou had never planned to let Pei Xi wash dishes.

He just put the bowls in the dishwasher.

Before the third wheel who’d taken the opportunity to live a better life came back, he discussed with Pei Xi rationally and objectively: “Will you sleep with me tonight? Wu Qing has a flight in the morning and needs to stay overnight.”

Pei Xi expressed his understanding and agreed to perform an entire act.

Anyway, they had fallen asleep together many times.

This was what both of them thought before nightfall.

But when it came time to actually go to bed, only then did they discover that under a different premise, the situation was completely different from what they’d thought.

When Pei Xi was out of his mind before, he’d slept with him simply because he regarded him as his closest person, and He Chuzhou was simply indulging him. All in all, pureness ran throughout.

As a result, the two of them now had clear ideas and could have a business strategy exchange on the spot. Lying together was not so innocent anymore.

He Chuzhou had long been accustomed to sleeping with Pei-calico in his arms. It was fine when he was alone, but now that this person was in front of him, he could look at him but not hug him.

He lay on his side facing Pei Xi, staring at the silhouette of the man’s head on the pillow next to him in the dimness. Melancholy welled up in his heart. He didn’t dare sigh, anxious and uncomfortable. His back molars were sore.

Little did he know that the person in front of him, who seemed to have fallen peacefully asleep, was still staring at the window in a daze with his eyes wide open.

He wasn’t used to this.

The distance between them at his back made him feel unsteady and empty.

But he couldn’t say it out loud.

Unsure if He Chuzhou was asleep or not, he was incredibly stiff and didn’t dare turn over. He felt that if it was revealed that he wasn’t asleep, the scene would become even more embarrassing than it was now.

Why was there no thunder or rain outside now?

Why did he have to be in his right mind today?

If he said he couldn’t sleep right now, would He Chuzhou open his eyes and get up to watch a movie with him?

His imagination was running wild. He thought he might have difficulty falling asleep tonight, but in fact, he quickly began to sink into unconsciousness amidst the familiar scent surrounding him.

In a half-asleep, half awake state, his body wasn’t controlled by his brain, but driven by instinct. Turning over, he moved closer to the heat source behind him.

When he hazily noticed his behavior, he didn’t have time to break away from the pull of sleep and correct it. A hand hooked around his waist, pulling him into a hug with great familiarity.

The comfortable environment wore down his consciousness too much. He wasn’t able to resist as he sank deeper and deeper into the warmth constantly passing over to him.

The hustle and bustle outside the window was ruthlessly cut off by the glass pane. Only the neon colors of the city penetrated through, making it possible to just barely see within the otherwise dark room.

Two figures embraced each other intimately in bed. Under the guidance of their subconscious minds, they at last found the most comfortable position to get close and fell peacefully asleep.

*

*

Habits were always formed subconsciously.

As time went by, the two became increasingly accustomed to each other’s presence in their lives.

After Wu Qing left that day, neither of them brought up sleeping separately, and settled naturally in the master bedroom.

They took separate sides when awake, but sleeping in each others arms at night became the norm.

It seemed nobody was going to try to rectify this.

During the time Pei Xi was taking a break from work, He Chuzhou would almost always stay home whether Pei Xi was in his right mind or confused.

And Pei Xi also began walking the dog with He Chuzhou, mostly after dinner.

The weather was growing increasingly cold, and it was really hard to get up in the morning.

He met He Xingxing’s three free-range friends in the neighborhood, all of them cats. There was a tabby, an orange cat, and a little cow-spotted cat.

The tabby was very fierce, the lives of countless mice always contained within its eyes. And the orange cat was so stupid that it had been fed into a fat ball by the community residents.

The little cow cat was the smartest and livliest one, and was He Xingxing’s favorite.

He Xingxing always chased the cow cat and licked its tail, then got beaten. Then he caught up with it and got beaten again, never tiring of it.

He Chuzhou came up with several new dishes. First, he cooked them for him when he was confused and received Pei-calico’s compliments.

Then he cooked them for him when he was in his right mind. There was a faint expectation of praise in his eyes, and Pei Xi, who was well aware of his propensity for showing off, saw this clearly. He could only praise him again due to the pressure, avoiding the words Pei-calico had used in order to avoid suspicion.

How can there be such a childish man? He thought speechlessly. Then he finished the small plate of fried fish He Chuzhou had just made.

There was still one left for the chef to eat.

Eating for free all the time was a something that tested one’s ideological and moral character. Pei Xi considered himself to be a decent person, so his embarrassment piled up day by day. Finally, after dinner, he very firmly offered to do the dishes.

As expected, He Chuzhou disagreed and refused to show him how to operate the dishwasher.

Then he changed his strategy after discovering that Pei Xi had already watched him do it, and assigned him a job that was presumably more responsible and difficult than washing dishes — going with him to the supermarket to buy groceries.

Pei Xi: “……”

Okay, as long as you’re happy.

The auntie who previously came to clean and restock the refrigerator lost her job, and they also became familiar with the enthusiastic supermarket auntie during their frequent shopping.

Pei Xi was very considerate and went outside when He Chuzhou checked out so as not to expose him. When meeting the auntie alone, he would calmly reply: “En, I’m with my husband.”

Of course, living such a calm and peaceful life for so long would cause the gods dissatisfaction and lead to misfortune.

He Chuzhou had a three-day business trip. He would leave the next morning and return two days later in the afternoon.

How could this work?

Could he leave Pei Xi alone at home?

Uneasy, he turned to ask Pei Xi if he wanted to go with him.

It was getting late, and it was dark outside. Pei Xi was sitting on the side of the bed, holding a tablet and reading project evaluation materials.

Hearing He Chuzhou’s words, he adjusted his glasses and looked up: “If I go with you, can you spend the whole day with me on your business trip and bring my addled self to meet clients?”

He Chuzhou was speechless.

“If I have to stay in the hotel room morning and night, it’s no different from me being at home.”

He wasn’t as worried as He Chuzhou, and lowered his head to continue reading his materials: “Just tell ‘me’ before you leave tomorrow morning. Even if I’m confused, I’m still an adult man with normal thinking and logic, so being alone for two days won’t be a problem.”

Time moved forward very quickly when asleep. He Chuzhou got up early the next day. While he was packing up, he received a call from Yun Ji, saying that he and the driver were waiting outside the community.

He Chuzhou looked at the time and crouched beside the bed, half asleep and waiting for Pei Xi to wake up as he turned on his phone.

“I’m going on a business trip, and I’ll be home the day after tomorrow.”

“I’ve saved my driver’s phone number on your phone, and you can tell him to pick you up and drop you off wherever you want, okay?”

“You don’t have to think about me when you’re home alone. En, you can think about me a little bit, but not too much.”

“If you need anything, please send me a message at any time. I’ll reply the moment I see it. If you can’t sleep after 9 pm, call me.”

“Tell me what gifts you want, including food. I’ll bring them back for you after the business trip.”

Pei Xi, who wasn’t sleepy at all, was stunned by this nagging: “Can’t you bring me there?”

Why did He Chuzhou sometimes feel that Pei-calico’s brain circuits were synchronized with his own?

“I can’t.”

Out of nowhere, he felt like he was being coaxed. He said in a pretty good frame of mind: “I can’t accompany you during the day there, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone in a strange environment.”

Pei Xi wasn’t too disappointed: “You’ve been nagging me for so long, can you still catch your plane?”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

He Chuzhou laughed angrily and gritted his teeth, pinching the other’s face: “Who can I worry about, you white-eyed wolf!”

“Never mind.”

He gave a sigh, standing up to set off: “Remember to send a message right away if anything happens. If it’s important, call me. You don’t have to worry about delaying my work. Those foreigners aren’t particular about such things.”

“I’m off.” He rubbed Pei Xi’s head one last time and turned to leave.

Once He Chuzhou left, the house fell silent.

Pei Xi sat on the bed and felt the emptiness of the room. Looking at He Xingxing lying on the carpet with his chin on the floor, he couldn’t adapt.

It seemed that for a long while, he hadn’t been separated from He Chuzhou.

He got up, walked the dog, hadn breakfast, and was in a daze for a while. Suddenly alone, he didn’t know what to do. He took out his phone and played with it for a while, then got up and went to the kitchen.

The steps for baking cookies looked simple. Heat the butter to soften it, add powdered sugar, then beat it with a whisk—

Ding.

The phone rang. He unlocked it with his relatively clean ring finger and clicked on the message:

Chuzhou: [I’m at the airport. Have you had breakfast? The milk may be cold, please heat it up again.]

Pei Xi typed back at an inconvenient time: “I’m eating,” and then continued to whip the butter.

The egg yolks needed to be cooked first.

He boiled water and put two eggs in. It felt a little short, so he added another five, six, seven, or eight, and closed the lid to cook it regularly.

Ding.

The phone rang again.

He Chuzhou: [The plane has taken off, and it’s switched to autopilot mode. The altitude now is 10,000 meters]

Pei Xi: “…..”

Why was he telling him this?

He didn’t quite understand, so he replied: [So high.]

Finally, he divided the large dough ball into small pieces about 10 grams each and pressed them one by one with his thumb, then put them in the oven. The baking time was…..was……

Ding.

He Chuzhou: [/picture]

He Chuzhou: [The clouds are quite thin. I just checked the weather forecast. It’ll be sunny for the next two days, without rain.]

Pei Xi’s hands were covered in flour, and he really couldn’t type.

After a moment’s thought, he used a slightly clean finger to click on the voice input, submitted a message, and pushed send.

On the other side, aboard a plane at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

Yun Ji glanced at the person next to him and finally couldn’t help it anymore: “What are you doing? Someone who doesn’t know might think you’re reporting your itinerary to your wife!”

He Chuzhou glanced at him, his lips rising carelessly: “Managing your boss’s cell phone usage?”

Yun Ji scoffed: “Who wants to manage you? I just want to remind you that we’re on a two-day business trip and we’ll be back the day after tomorrow. There’s no need to be so eager to go back home. You’re in a hurry to meet your lover, ah.”

“How did you know my heart is speeding home?”

A voice message popped up on He Chuzhou’s phone after he finished speaking. The tips of his eyebrows rose slightly, and a delighted smile crept into his eyes.

He turned down the volume and pressed the phone against his ear, gazing contentedly at the thin clouds outside the window and the unobstructed view of the bustling city below.

Then he heard a cold, gentle, and somewhat helpless voice come through the receiver, and the smile on his lips gradually froze.

“Chuzhou, I’m busy learning how to bake cookies. If you have nothing to do, don’t keep sending me messages. You’re disturbing me.”

---

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Chapter 37 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 39

When visiting hours ended, Qiao Yang held Li Xiu back to talk for a long time at the small flower beds downstairs.

Qiao Yang wasn’t very old, but he was extremely verbose when it came to caring about Li Xiu’s life.

“It’ll be really expensive to go to the capital, won’t it? Prices are high there, and so are tuition and living expenses. The money I transferred you before was just a red envelope. Why did you return it to me? Really, you’re being too polite—”

Wearing a helpless look, Li Xiu desperately rejected the transfer again: “I’m not being polite. Jingbei University gave me free tuition for four years, and also provided me with other scholarships. It’s enough to cover my expenses for those four years, and I have money saved up from before. I really do have enough money.”

“That’s not the point. You’ll be alone in the capital and unfamiliar with the place. How can I feel at ease if I don’t give you more money…..”

Li Xiu softly scratched the tip of his nose and murmured: “I won’t be alone there.”

“Ah?”

“His university is right next to mine, so we can look out for each other.”

Qiao Yang gave a long “Ohhh,” and an interested smile emerged on his face.

“I understand. En, if Fang Qian’an is there, you really don’t have anything to worry about.”

When he met Qiao Yang’s gaze, Li Xiu felt a little inexplicably hot.

“It took a lot of effort to get that guy’s grades up. It wouldn’t be too much for him to act as a cow or horse to repay me. Having him help me familiarize myself with the capital’s environment and so on…..is already going easy on him.”

Qiao Yang nodded repeatedly: “Right, right, right.”

The young man glanced at Li Xiu’s face and gave a sigh, suddenly unhappy. “…..That wild boar is indeed too cheap,” Qiao Yang complained softly.

Li Xiu didn’t hear Qiao Yang’s words clearly, and was about to ask again when his phone rang.

When he saw the call screen, Li Xiu’s expression naturally softened.

Li Xiu’s voice was very casual when he answered the phone: “What is it?”

“How long has that guy been nagging you?” Came the boy’s hard voice. 

“Ah? How did you know I’m with Qiao-shixiong…..” Li Xiu was at a loss. In a flash of inspiration, he turned around with his cell phone in hand and happened to see a tall figure on the other side of the flower beds.

Fang Qian’an stood there, gazing at Li Xiu through the shade of the dense trees.

“Why are you here? Didn’t we say we’d meet at the station later?” 

Fang Qian’an put away his phone and strode toward Li Xiu.

“Hello, Qiao-shixiong,” he greeted Qiao Yang. Intentionally or otherwise, he stood between the two of them and then turned to face Li Xiu. “I finished everything in advance so that I could come and meet you early, but you’re focused on talking to others. I was standing here all alone, and you didn’t even see me.” The boy muttered as if in dissatisfaction, with a hint of grievance in his tone.

“I even brought you hot cocoa.”

Li Xiu scoffed and replied unceremoniously: “Clearly, you were standing in the wrong place. You happened to be blocked by a tree.” Then he took the cup of hot cocoa Fang Qian’an handed him and took a big sip.

“Wa, so tasty!” The youth’s eyes squinted happily. 

“Hiss, I can’t understand how you can drink something so sweet.” Fang Qian’an continued to watch Li Xiu. Although he kept complaining, his expression was extremely soft.

“Cough, cough.” Qiao Yang looked at the two adolescent boys who were unconsciously clinging to each other, and the indescribable lovey-dovey energy made his teeth ache. “…..Okay, since Fang Qian’an is here to pick you up, I’ll leave first,” Qiao Yang said with great self-awareness.

Before parting, he asked casually: “Where are you going to have fun later?”

Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an’s expressions were a little stiff for a moment.

After a few seconds’ pause, Fang Qian’an said calmly with a complicated expression: “I’m taking A-Xiu…..to see my mom.”

*

*

Mrs. Fang was in the final stage of her life. Years of life in a mental institution had completely drained the last bit of vitality from her body.

It seemed she was aware that she was about to leave this world, and the woman used various methods to beg Fang Qian’an to see her. But since he was aware of what she’d done in the past, it was difficult for Fang Qian’an to meet her.

The personal doctor who had been taking care of Mrs. Fang also called Fang Qian’an, and when he said that these two days might be Mrs. Fang’s last ones, Fang Qian’an finally made up his mind.

And Li Xiu also decided to go with him. He wanted to ask Mrs. Fang what she was thinking when she took the life of another innocent child for her own. Hadn’t she felt a trace of regret over the years?

Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an saw Mrs. Fang in the deepest ward of a luxurious private nursing home. She was completely different from the beautiful pampered woman in his imagination, and when he saw her, Li Xiu was a little scared — he almost thought he was looking at a ghost again.

How could a human look like this?

Like a living skeleton, the woman had sunken eyes. Her whole body was thin and frail, looking like a large handful of dry firewood wrapped in yellow skin where she was tied to the hospital bed.

She was indeed on her deathbed.

She had obviously been begging for her only child to see her one last time, but as Fang Qian’an stood in front of her now, there was only chaos in her eyes.

As she stared at Fang Qian’an blankly, a drop of gleaming saliva overflowed from her dry lips.

Her jagged chest heaved up and down, and it took a long time for her to squeeze out a few insensible murmurs from her dark throat.

“Sorry…..”

She looked past Fang Qian’an, as if gazing into an infinite void.

Even now, that voice was still full of fear.

“Spare me, Xuelin…..I’m sorry…..I was wrong…..I’m so sorry…..I was wrong…..”

Fang Qian’an lowered his head to look at the living skeleton on the hospital bed. He called hoarsely: “Mom.”

“Wuwuwu…..I was wrong…..it’s been so many years, please let me go…..it hurts so much…..I was wrong…..”

Li Xiu could feel Fang Qian’an’s slight trembling.

He turned his head to glance at the boy beside him and couldn’t help but gently stroke the back of the latter’s hand with his fingertips. In the next moment, his hand was grabbed tightly by Fang Qian’an.

“I’m grateful to you for giving me life, and I…..I hate you too.”

He heard Fang Qian’an say word by word to the woman on the bed: “You made me a sinner.”

Tears flowed from Mrs. Fang’s eyes.

Fang Qian’an took a deep breath, then reached out to help wipe the tears and saliva off of Mrs. Fang — but in the next second, Fang Qian’an abruptly retracted his hand and covered his face.

“I’m sorry, A-Xiu, I-I don’t feel very well.”

Fang Qian’an’s expression was extremely ugly, the muscles in his face jumping slightly as if spasming.

Before Li Xiu could respond, the other boy had hunched his back and rushed out of the ward.

Li Xiu instinctively went to chase after him, but after taking a few steps, he inexplicably stopped.

He turned his head to look at Mrs. Fang.

“If you hadn’t been tormented so much…..” Li Xiu returned step by step to Mrs. Fang’s hospital bed. Looking down at the woman, he murmured, “…..Do you still regret it?”

“Wuwuwu…..wuwu…..”

Mrs. Fang just opened her blank eyes and continued to sob.

She already looked miserable, but the perpetually soft-hearted Li Xiu looked at her with only indifference in his heart.

No, this woman didn’t regret it.

Although Mrs. Fang could no longer give him a response, Li Xiu already had the answer to his question.

“Heh…..”

He couldn’t help but sneer at the woman.

“I actually hope you live longer,” he said.

“It would be better to live a long life and continue to be tortured like this.”

When his words fell, Li Xiu turned around in preparation to go find Fang Qian’an. But at this moment, there was a sudden tight grip on his wrist — the woman who was senseless and haggard just seconds ago currently had a forceful grip on him.

“?!”

Li Xiu turned his head and met Mrs. Fang’s eyes in surprise.

The woman’s sunken eyes were glistening now, the blankness from before completely absent.

“D-Don’t be fooled.”

She stared at Li Xiu as she spoke.

“That’s not, not Xiao An.”

There was no longer madness on the woman’s features, only fear.

“I regretted it long ago. I regret it so much.”

With tears streaming down her face, the woman wildly repeated to Li Xiu:

“I killed my son. Do you know? I turned my son into a monster with my own hands.”

“That thing…..isn’t my son at all!”

*

*

In the nursing home bathroom.

Fang Qian’an splashed his face with cold water, but when he wiped his face, a stinging pain in the depths of his eyes made him gasp involuntarily.

“Hiss…..”

“Ouch,” the boy muttered with a grimace.

He moved closer to the mirror and peered closely at his throbbing eyes.

They were a little red, but there didn’t seem to be anything else…..

Just at this moment, Fang Qian’an abruptly realized that there was something wrong with his eyes.

He pressed his fingertips to his eyelids and opened them a bit to observe.

Then he saw the other pupils hidden behind his eyelids.

“Fuck me—”

The boy let out a scream and staggered back. The bathroom floor was slippery and he was about to fall, but his body stabilized in a bizarre way.

[“Be careful.”]

He heard a nightmarish sound.

And that voice…..came from deep within his own body.

[“A-Xiu likes this body very much.”]

[“Don’t break it, ah.”]

In that voice was an eerie gentleness.

*

*

In the ward—

He looked directly at Mrs. Fang.

“I know.”

The boy’s voice was eerily tranquil.

Mrs. Fang stared at Li Xiu with wide eyes. After a moment, her expression twisted.

The clarity in her eyes faded little by little.

Her lips rose and he said anxiously to Li Xiu: “You’ll be eaten.”

“It’ll eat you…..wuwu…..you’ll be eaten….”

Li Xiu ignored the woman’s whimpering.

Sunlight fell into the room through the window, casting light and deep shadows on the face of the handsome young man.

“Being alone on this earth with no help is so terrible.”

Li Xiu simply looked at Mrs. Fang. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips.

“So what if it’s a monster…..”

*

*

[It doesn’t matter if it’s a ghost.]

[It’s still his only family.]

[Gege.]

The End

---

T/N: That’s it for this short story! There are two more to go, but I’m going to catch up on my other translations before tackling them.

---

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Chapter 58 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 60

“A-Xiu…..”

Surrounded by ghosts, Lord Hong pressed his forehead to Li Xiu’s. At this moment, he looked almost like a genuine human being.

“Li Yu is not me, but I am Li Yu,” he said to Li Xiu word by word.

“I remember everything. I am here because of you.”

As he spoke, he smiled at Li Xiu. 

“I’ve always really, really wanted to be with you—”

Before Lord Hong finished speaking, he stopped abruptly because of a small fire rising in his chest.

He opened his eyes in confusion, first looking at Li Xiu, and then lowering his head to look at his own body. A bit of fire was spreading from the ghost’s heart, starting from a small cluster of bean-like flames that burned vigorously.

It seemed like only a second passed before Lord Hong’s body was enveloped in dazzling, scorching firelight.

“A…..Xiu…..”

It happened so fast that he couldn’t react.

Lord Hong reached his hands out to Li Xiu, but the flames rapidly engulfed his arms. A stream of hot air spurted out from the burning monster, almost scalding Li Xiu’s cheek.

In that moment, Li Xiu could only stand there blankly and watch everything happening in front of him, unable to make any response.

It was so strange, he thought.

How had the terrifying, powerful, monstrous Lord Hong suddenly burst into flames.

Then he saw the figure behind Lord Hong: There was almost no good piece of flesh left on Fang Qian’an’s body. Looking like a bloody gourd, the boy stood shakily behind Lord Hong, still holding a candle in his hand.

That was the candle Teacher Xu had given Li Xiu before. And right now, it had been lit.

Not long ago, when Li Xiu had reached out and tried to pull Fang Qian’an out of the blood, Li Xiu took the opportunity to secretly hand the candle hidden in his sleeve to the boy, who was about to be swallowed by monsters.

That was the last resort left by Li Xiu to Fang Qian’an.

If his gege was set on killing Fang Qian’an, perhaps Fang Qian’an could give Teacher Xu’s candle a try.

But Li Xiu never expected that Fang Qian’an would desperately return to the ghost world even after escaping. He had even found an opportunity to light the candle and poke it into Lord Hong’s body.

It was just obviously such a weak flame, ah…..

The flames quickly spread from Lord Hong’s body to the floor. The monster that had brought them endless pain was like cardboard soaked in oil, and was instantly engulfed in the hot, manic flames.

Amid the scorching, unnaturally bright firelight, Fang Qian’an shouted at Li Xiu: “Such a monster — don’t believe it, ah!”

Lord Hong’s body gradually became indistinct as it burned.

“Ge…..Gege?”

Li Xiu had to admit that he was scared. He subconsciously started to rush forward to slap the flames on Lord Hong away, but in the next second, an unseen force suddenly struck and pushed Li Xiu away.

Immediately after, Fang Qian’an also flew up and fell heavily near Li Xiu. His body rolled several times before it stopped.

“Fang Qian’an!” Li Xiu screamed, crawling over on his hands and knees.

He turned Fang Qian’an over and checked his breathing in terror…..although it was weak, the boy was still alive.

Li Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.

“You still like him more, ah.”

A hoarse sigh sounded. Li Xiu turned around with tears in his eyes, at a loss as he looked at the monster that was engulfed in flames — Lord Hong was like a burning human figure now. Behind him, countless twisted shadows roiled wildly, screaming as they were swallowed by merciless tongues of fire and dispersed.

“Ge…..n-no…..listen to me…..I…..”

Li Xiu shuffled a few steps toward Lord Hong on his knees. However, a scorching blaze suddenly erupted between him and Lord Hong, forming a long wall of fire. Another wave of heat hit, and Li Xiu fell backward uncontrollably.

The air began to grow extremely hot, and the pungent smell unique to burning wood and fabric billowed out, rushing toward Li Xiu.

“Forget it.”

Li Xiu suddenly heard a nearly inaudible sigh from Lord Hong.

He was gradually engulfed by the incredibly bright flames. At that last second before his figure completely disappeared, Lord Hong smiled.

Whoosh—

Then, the illusion before Li Xiu’s eyes abruptly dissipated.

Accompanied by harsh shattering sounds and the explosion of some unknown objects, innumerable flames sprung up around Li Xiu, emitting dazzling light. Thick smoke rose up, and everything around him was distorted by the heat. Li Xiu coughed and choked, just then realizing that he was standing in the Xiao family villa.

He’d actually returned to reality? Why?! Was the other party unable to confine Li Xiu in the other world because of the flames? Or…..revenge?

Countless thoughts passed through Li Xiu’s mind, but he had no time to think, because at that moment, the villa had become a complete inferno. The thick smoke and high temperature made it extremely difficult for Li Xiu to breathe. With every breath he took, his nose and lungs burned. Innumerable flying sparks landed on him, but Li Xiu couldn’t even feel the sting.

In the thick smoke, he touched Fang Qian’an’s body beside him, then pulled off his sleeve and tied it around the boy’s mouth and nose.

Li Xiu used all of his strength to walk Fang Qian’an toward where he remembered the door should be.

He muttered faintly: “Fang Qian’an…..you’d better……wake up quickly.”

Although he tried his best, his vision still grew uncontrollably blurry.

The fire and smoke was everywhere. Caught off guard by the fire, Li Xiu had inhaled so much smoke that he was losing his sight.

Was he really about to die now? Li Xiu thought desperately.

The overwhelming fear of death made him subconsciously hug Fang Qian’an. There was another roar as a wall of fire struck directly toward Li Xiu.

Li Xiu closed his eyes. He was unable to hold on any longer. Consciousness left his body.

But at the last moment before he fell unconscious, he vaguely felt something covering him.

It was wet and cold.

There was a strong smell of blood.

Was this an illusion?

Why was he seeing Fang Qian’an’s unconscious body split down the middle and then…..wrap around him……

Finally, darkness swallowed Li Xiu whole.

*

*

One year later — 

City A’s First People’s Hospital, in a special ward.

“Teacher Xu, I got the admission notice.” Li Xiu sat upright at the bedside, saying seriously to the man in the bed, “Qinghua and Jingbei. I finally chose Jingbei.”

He lowered his eyes and placed the admission notice in the man’s motionless hand.

Teacher Xu lay silently in bed, as if asleep. A life support machine beeped regularly beside his bed.

Qiao Yang stood behind Li Xiu, sniffling.

His eyes were a bit red.

“If Teacher could wake up, he would be extremely happy to know that you were admitted to Jingbei University,” Qiao Yang said to Li Xiu.

“En.” Li Xiu nodded.

In fact, his nose was also a little sore, but he didn’t want to cry again now. In order to conceal his emotions, Li Xiu turned his attention back to Teacher Xu.

The man had been in a vegetative state for a year. Each time he came to visit Teacher Xu, he would be unconscious like this. But Li Xiu had an inexplicable intuition. When he showed the admission notice to him today, the man’s face seemed more at peace and relaxed than ever before.

A year before, a fire broke out in the Xiao family villa and it was razed to the ground.

And Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu were found unconscious next to the inferno. Judging from the traces left behind, the two had just barely escaped while supporting each other. Considering the severity of the fire, it was a miracle that they were able to leave the villa alive.

It wasn’t that no one ever wondered why Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an had appeared next to the villa, and some also suspected them of starting the fire. However, after an investigation by the fire department, it was determined that the aging circuits of the long-uninhabited villa had caused the fire naturally.

Considering Fang Qian’an’s unique status and Qiao Yang’s appearance later on, no one investigated why Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an had appeared in the villa. The incident was brushed off.

Moreover, people’s attention at that time was indeed not allocated to an insignificant fire in an abandoned house. After all, the biggest news of the day was that, due to faulty construction methods, the tallest skyscraper in City A experienced a chemical reaction that occurred between the waterproof coating and fireproof material, which resulted in a serious chemical poisoning incident that resulted in a large number of innocent people being injured and hospitalized.

Yes, Teacher Xu’s disciple used this method to reasonably explain the zombie incident that night.

Later, Li Xiu learned from Qiao Yang that the living corpses in the building that night had all returned to normal.

“Teacher used talismans to seal their life veins…..so when the poison was detoxified at dawn, most of them were still able to turn back into humans. But it was precisely because of this that Teacher Xu was so weak that night.”

Qiao Yang wiped away tears as he explained this to Li Xiu.

After the Xiao family villa fire, all of the evil spirits that had originally occupied the haunted house were dispersed.

Xu Qinghe fell into a coma due to his life candle being lit, but luckily, perhaps because the candle didn’t burn out completely, or perhaps for some reason they didn’t know, Teacher Xu didn’t die, but fell into a deep coma.

However, it would take a long time to bring his lost soul back, so Teacher Xu was still in a vegetative state at this point.

Teacher Xu’s coma became a large stone weighing on everyone’s hearts.

But aside from that, everything seemed to be going in a good direction.

After the fire, Li Xiu never saw a ghost again. According to the news from spiritual practitioners, all the evil spirits sealed there had dissipated without a trace. The nightmare named Lord Hong seemed to have finally met his demise in the Xiao family villa.

---

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Chapter 57 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 59

Half a month later, the three returned to the capital in secret.

The simple carriage arrived at the back door of the General’s Manor late at night without alerting anyone else. Liu Qiao slipped in quietly by himself to tell Uncle Tian.

Uncle Tian received a shock upon seeing Liu Qiao. After all, Liu Zhenqing had often taken him in and out of the general’s residence. Even though Liu Qiao hid in the dark and had little sense of presence, as the manor’s elder, he had naturally met Liu Qiao many times and recognized him. “Y-y-you…..”

Liu Qiao handed over a token and said: “General Huo and Master are back.”

“What! Master!” Uncle Tian nearly shouted, but his throat felt like it was being strangled due to his shock, and he couldn’t utter a clear sound.

It felt like a lifetime ago, like he was dreaming, dreaming of Liu Qiao delivering a message on behalf of Liu Zhenqing and Huo Feihan. But looking at Liu Qiao, who had obviously grown up and matured, Uncle Tian still rubbed his eyes.

Seeing Uncle Tian like this, Liu Qiao remembered his master’s instructions: “He is the younger relative of my previous Master. The one I’m following now is Young Master Liu Xiaozhu.”

Uncle Tian’s shock was endless. After all, in the past, Liu Qiao and Bai Yu were synonymous with Liu Zhenqing, ah. But he quickly realized that Huo Fenglie was back, and was quick to open the door himself.

Huo Fenglie disembarked the carriage and nodded toward Uncle Tian as he approached. Before Uncle Tian could ask any questions, he turned and raised his hands to lift Liu Zhenqing down.

Huo Fenglie had been brought up by Uncle Tian, who naturally knew his second young master well. So when he saw the tender look on Huo Fenglie’s face, he understood in his heart. He had initially thought the two of them had that kind of relationship, but were hiding it. Sure enough, they went out and didn’t cover it up even once. Was this an honest and upright relationship?

Uncle Tian was a bit agitated, but at the same time felt that this was fate. Looking at Liu Qiao next to him, he felt even more so.

But noticing that Liu Zhenqing looked somewhat groggy, he asked in confusion: “What is going on with Young Master Liu?”

“He drank too much,” said Huo Fenglie.

“Ah? Uncle Tian was a little surprised, having thought he was sick or tired. But he didn’t say anything more when he saw Huo Fenglie start to carry him inside. He quickly followed, saying: “The Snow Catkin Courtyard hasn’t been cleaned up yet…..”

“He’s staying with me,” Huo Fenglie said directly.

Uncle Tian was stimulated again and swallowed the rest of his words.

“Is Sister-in-law here?” Huo Fenglie asked.

“She is back at Li Manor and will return tomorrow. Eldest Young Lady and the Young Master also went with her.”

Huo Fenglie’s serious face relaxed a little. “Understood.”

“Second Master, this time…..”

“I was ordered to return to the capital in secret and participate in the Longevity Festival,” Huo Fenglie said. “Continue to not allow anyone in or out of my courtyard. If you have any questions, contact Liu Qiao.”

Uncle Tian looked back at Liu Qiao, who nodded.

He was about to ask something else when he saw Liu Zhenqing move in Huo Fenglie’s arms. He placed his arms around Huo Fenglie’s neck and kissed his cheek: “Er-gou, drink again, drink again!”

Uncle Tian was shocked. The address ‘Er-gou’ was…..

He looked at Huo Fenglie with some worry. After all, there was only one person who had addressed Huo Fenglie that way. Now, even the Eldest Young Lady didn’t call him that anymore. The remaining person was a taboo in Huo Fenglie’s heart.

But Huo Fenglie allowed Liu Zhenqing to nuzzle his cheek, and continued his explanation as if this was nothing out of the ordinary. The feelings between the two seemed natural.

Uncle Tian was no longer shocked. He seemed to understand that Young Master Liu had not only caught the eye of the Second Master, but had also entered his heart, erasing the taboos and wounds therein. Uncle Tian was relieved.

When they got to the rooms, Huo Fenglie placed Liu Zhenqing on the bed. Uncle Tian procured hot water, and Huo Fenglie helped scrub Liu Zhenqing.

Seeing that Liu Zhenqing’s brow was furrowed due to excessive drinking, he asked Uncle Tian for hangover soup.

Liu Zhenqing was not cooperative when being fed soup. Huo Fenglie could only feed him by mouth, but the frivolous Liu Zhenqing was even more unscrupulous when drunk, and gradually turned feeding soup into kissing. But this time, Huo Fenglie didn’t go along with him, and pushed Liu Zhenqing away.

Looking at Liu Zhenqing’s drunken appearance, he couldn’t help but frown.

In fact, Liu Zhenqing’s new body got drunk as soon as he started drinking, which he clearly understood. But as soon as they entered the capital and headed toward the General’s Manor, he still found an excuse to drink and subsequently got drunk.

Huo Fenglie naturally knew Liu Zhenqing was afraid. This was the fear of returning home after a long time and not knowing what awaited him there.

They were together now and would be married in the future, so it was inevitable that he must recognize his sister-in-law.

How could Liu Zhenqing face Li Xingruo calmly? It could be said that the two people closest to Liu Zhenqing in this world were Huo Fenglie and Li Xingruo.

He tried to gain artificial courage by numbing himself with wine, but his guilty conscience got him drunk, and Sister-in-law wasn’t even home.

Huo Fenglie lay down with Liu Zhenqing and embraced him, knowing in his heart that if it wasn’t for himself, Liu Zhenqing really would have walked away. He wanted so desperately to escape everything in the capital. There were too many bad memories here.

“I’m sorry, Qing-ge,” Huo Fenglie murmured as he held him.

Liu Zhenqing had a very restless sleep. His dreams were filled with scenes of the three of them spending time together until he awoke in the morning.

He heard Uncle Tian’s voice outside the door.

“Second Master, the Eldest Lady has returned.”

Liu Zhenqing sat up slowly. Just like clockwork, he got up, washed, and changed clothes. When Huo Fenglie came in, Liu Zhenqing had already cleaned up like a gust of wind.

Huo Fenglie stared blankly, saying: “Uncle Tian went to tell Sister-in-law I’m back. We’ll meet with her later…..”

“Okay!” Liu Zhenqing’s tone was a bit rapid. He tried to relax his face and smile, but it remained tense.

Huo Fenglie stepped forward and hugged him. “Don’t be anxious,” he said.

Liu Zhenqing nodded stiffly and followed Huo Fenglie out.

But when they stepped out of the small courtyard and into the large one, just before passing through the peach grove, they saw a figure in red walking at a rapid pace.

“Master!” Liu Zhenqing was playing in a tree nearby, and shouted a warning as soon as he saw her. 

Liu Zhenqing also saw the red-clothed figure rushing through the peach grove like a ball of flames, approaching rapidly, and he could only stop.

The moment he saw Li Xingruo, his legs went weak. Because at this moment, Li Xingruo’s eyebrows were raised in anger, her eyes glaring. She generated wind where her feet passed, and the hairpin was about to fall out of her hair. This was just how she used to be when in a rage. The lady in her thirties was now like a twenty-eight-year-old girl, her anger and emotions all expressed on her face. Just like ten years ago.

The moment she and Liu Zhenqing met eyes, her fierce gaze mellowed. Her steps paused slightly, but in the next second, she approached even faster.

With such an expression, she had probably…..guessed something.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flashed, and before Li Xingruo got to them, he stepped forward to speak.

But Li Xingruo had already taken the lead to punch him.

The blow turned Liu Zhenqing’s face to the side, and he fell down. Behind him, Huo Fenglie instinctively started to move, but chose to stay where he was.

And faced with an angry Li Xingruo, Liu Qiao could only crouch in the tree and gulp, sending up a silent prayer for his master.

Liu Zhenqing was stunned by the blow, his head buzzing. It was as if he had returned to the past in an instant. He covered his face and automatically shouted: “Why did you hit me?”

“Shouldn’t you be beaten?” The furious Li Xingruo glared fiercely at Liu Zhenqing, her whole person like a firecracker. She stepped forward and grabbed his collar, raising a hand to hit him.

Neither of them knew martial arts, so Liu Zhenqing naturally blocked it with his hands. “You…..are still so violent, Tigress.”

“Say that again! Not only will I hit you, but I’ll poison you too!” Li Xingruo became even more enraged and raised her fist again.

Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, Liu Zhenqing immediately gave in and said: “I was wrong, don’t hit my face.”

Liu Zhenqing raised his hands to block her, but after a long moment, her fist still hadn’t fallen. He looked up to find Li Xingruo paused mid-swing, looking at him with reddened eyes.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flickered. “Junior Sister…..”

Li Xingruo seemed to be called back from somewhere by his voice. Her eyes went soft and she abruptly hugged Liu Zhenqing, uncontrollable tears falling down at last.

“Idiot! Why didn’t you say anything when you came back! Are you a fool?” Li Xingruo cursed, choking with anger. She gritted her teeth, hating him to death.

Liu Zhenqing sat on the ground as he was embraced by a weeping Li Xingruo. His eyes were also sore. He raised a hand and gently patted her.

“I’m sorry. Junior Sister…..I’m back.”

. . . . . .

The two siblings, Huo Yunci and Huo Yunqian, originally lived with their mother. When they heard that their Second Uncle and Liu Xiaozhu were back, they were so elated that they wanted to rush to find them. But their mother stopped them with a strange expression and said she would go alone first. They were not allowed to follow.

Although the two had rather different opinions, they still obeyed in the face of their mother’s absolute authority.

While they awaited news in the courtyard, they saw their mother bring them in directly. Before they could come forward to greet them, they watched in horror as their mother took Uncle Liu into the small Buddhist chamber.

The two couldn’t believe it. They never entered that place casually. Only Second Uncle and their mother could…..bewildered, they tried to follow after them but were blocked by their Second Uncle.

Neither of them bothered to say hello, but pointed toward the Buddhist chamber and chirped out questions.

“They’re offering incense to your father.” Huo Fenglie answered calmly. But he still turned to look anxiously at the small Buddhist chamber.

At this time, the door to the chamber was closed.

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly at the familiar tablet on the table. He used to come here often to talk to Huo Feihan.

It wasn’t only Li Xingruo who often did things like burn incense and wipe the memorial tablets. Liu Zhenqing did it too. It seemed like a way to communicate with Huo Feihan.

Liu Zhenqing touched the name on the tablet and said: “Boss, I’m back.”

“Don’t blame me for coming late to say hello, ah. You know me. I’m a coward.”

Li Xingruo scoffed when she heard this.

Liu Zhenqing looked over helplessly. Suddenly, his eyes glanced over the tablet covered with a cloth next to him, and he looked at Li Xingruo with some surprise. The rumors back then were a mix of truth and falsehood, and until now, Liu Zhenqing dared not speculate on what Li Xingruo thought about past events. Did she hate him like everyone else? And even if she didn’t hate him, there must be doubts in her heart. After all, he didn’t speak to Li Xingruo back then and just returned with Huo Feihan’s body.

But seeing this, he knew the answer.

Liu Zhenqing closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I broke my promise.”

Li Xingruo scoffed coldly. She knew that what Liu Zhenqing spoke of was his original promise to not sacrifice himself lightly and to take good care of his body and live a long life.

“I didn’t malign you. This was prepared after your death.” Li Xingruo lifted the cloth to show Liu Zhenqing. “You aren’t called by this name anymore, so how do you plan to deal with it?”

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment. Then he gave an easy smile and said: “Keep it.”

“Ah?”

“In the future, it will be enshrined with the Huo family.”

“What did you say?!”

Liu Zhenqing looked seriously at the tablet, then turned to Li Xingruo and said: “Boss, Junior Sister, I have something to tell you. Something very important.”

Li Xingruo saw Liu Zhenqing’s serious expression and thought there was some major event in the dynasty. After all, in the past, he would only wear such an expression when it came to important matters involving life and death. She stopped pursuing the issue of enshrinement for the time being and asked, “What is it?”

Liu Zhenqing took an exquisite box out of his sleeve. Inside were two bright red pieces of paper.

Li Xingruo’s expression went abruptly blank. That was the paper usually used for marriage letters.

Liu Zhenqing placed one in front of the tablet and handed one to Li Xingruo.

“Apologies, ah, Er-gou and I have decided to be together. Boss, Junior Sister, leave Er-gou to me.”

Liu Zhenqing had no intention of letting Huo Fenglie bring it up first. He felt like he should be the one to gain the permission of Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo, so he took responsibility. If they had any dissatisfaction or resentment, they could put it all on him.

Presently, Li Xingruo’s eyes widened and she read over the marriage document seven or eight times.

“You…..you two…..”

“I won’t try to defend myself, but I really like Er-gou. So I plan to marry him and grow old together,” Liu Zhenqing said somewhat uneasily.

Li Xingruo wore a complicated look for a long moment. And then she burst into laughter.

She pointed a finger at Liu Zhenqing and said: “You…..you were actually caught by Er-gou, hahaha! Just as I said.”

She unexpectedly addressed Huo Feihan’s tablet: “Huo Feihan, what did I say? I won this bet. As expected, I’m still the best.”

“Ah?” Liu Zhenqing watched Li Xingruo’s reaction in astonishment. It was a bit unexpected. Although Huo Fenglie’s various reactions after Liu Zhenqing’s death had not escaped Li Xingruo’s eyes, this reaction was still wrong, ah. His eyes darted. “Could it be that you already knew…..”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Li Xingruo in disbelief. After all, he hadn’t known anything at all.

Li Xingruo wiped the tears from her eyes. He didn’t know if she was smiling or…..

“Yes, ah, I already knew.”

“How?”

Li Xingruo blinked. As if recalling a pleasant memory, she said: “On the drink Huo Feihan and I married, weren’t you having drinks together with a group of people?”

“Right, ah, they wanted to get Boss drunk. For the sake of your wedding night, I tried my best to intercept drinks for him. That was the first time I drank to the limit and fell unconscious,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Li Xingruo gave an angry snort: “You weren’t any use. Huo Feihan still got drunk and fell asleep. I had no other choice but to go and make sobering soup for you, and I found you sleeping on the rockery in the courtyard.”

Liu Zhenqing was momentarily speechless. “All those people, ah, and not one cared about me?”

Li Xingruo smiled and said: “There was someone there, ah. Wasn’t it Er-gou who took care of you?”

Liu Zhenqing stared at her vacantly.

“I saw Er-gou secretly kiss you. That’s when I knew.”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes abruptly widened. He said in disbelief: “How old was he then, ah.”

Wait, could it be that he was Er-gou’s first kiss?

And his own first kiss had been stolen by Er-gou a long time ago?

Li Xingruo said with a smile: “The brat did such a bad thing. As his sister-in-law, I naturally had to file a complaint.”

Mouth twitching, Liu Zhenqing said: “So if Boss knew too, why did you hide it from me, ah?”

Li Xingruo averted her eyes, saying: “You were involved with so many women back then and had constant affairs. Although there were men who admired you, you weren’t that type at all. We just let the brat have a crush on you.”

Liu Zhenqing was speechless: “How could there have been any romance, ah?”

Li Xingrup clicked her tongue in disdain, and Liu Zhenqing immediately gave up fighting back. If there was anyone else in the world who could control him, it was Li Xingruo, his Junior Sister and Sister-in-law.

“Er-gou was still young at the time, so we didn’t take it seriously. We didn’t tell you so as not to ruin your relationship. It was just his first awakening of love, and he didn’t understand anything. Plus, your face really was indistinguishable between male and female. We thought Er-gou would get over it when he matured. We just treated it as a bet for fun. I bet that the two of you would get together. I watched Er-gou clinging to you since childhood, but Feihan said you were determined to marry the most beautiful woman in the world, so you definitely wouldn’t consider Er-gou.”

Liu Zhenqing hadn’t expected such a thing to have happened in the past. He was dumbfounded.

“Then…..you and Boss don’t mind…..”

Li Xingruo said with a contemptuous smile: “You fool, ah, actually asking us this. Besides, would you be able to let him go if we did mind?”

Liu Zhenqing choked. Naturally, that was impossible. He couldn’t let Huo Fenglie go no matter what. This was the first time he had wanted someone so strongly.

Li Xingruo smiled and said: “Although you weren’t very good at it, him being targeted by you proves that his life was destined for calamity, though there’s no need to worry about you hurting him.”

Liu Zhenqing was instantly displeased. What kind of words were these? 

But Liu Zhenqing was really relieved. He looked toward Huo Feihan’s memorial tablet and gave thanks.

He turned to Li Xingruo and found that she seemed to be regarding him with great satisfaction. Liu Zhenqing felt uncomfortable under that gaze.

“What is it?”

“You’re Liu Xiaozhu now. You’re still younger than me and you’re going to marry Er-gou soon, so from now on, you can only call me Sister-in-law, not Junior Sister.”

After so many years, Li Xingruo still wanted to argue about this. She had always resented the title ‘Junior Sister.’ 

Liu Zhenqing narrowed his eyes: “But Master still recognizes me.”

Li Xingruo’s eyes widened: “You two recognized each other?”

“Yes, ah, when we went south.”

“How many people know of your identity?”

Liu Zhenqing counted carefully. When he finished counting, he saw that Li Xingruo was already rolling up her sleeves for battle.

“W-what? Isn’t it just a name? In any case, nobody is going around calling me that casually, ah.”

Li Xingruo narrowed her eyes, saying: “Hmph, very good. You didn’t recognize me and Feihan when you came back the first time, but instead recognized a circle of people. We must be at the back of the queue.” After saying this, she addressed the tablet behind them and said: “How should I teach him a lesson?”

Liu Zhenqing instantly had a bad feeling and turned around to leave.

The curious twins outside the door watched as their mother chased Liu Zhenqing with her fist raised.

“Calm down, calm down, it just happened that way!”

“It just happened that way. Don’t worry, I won’t hit you too many times, just as many times as the number you ranked me. With Feihan’s share, it will be doubled!”

“Er-gou, save me!”

“Yunci and Yunqian, successfully stop your Second Uncle and I’ll give you three days off!”

When Uncle Tian came over, he found the courtyard bustling with activity. He watched it for a moment in a daze.

It was like they had gone back to the old days. When Liu Zhenqing made Li Xingruo angry, she would chase him around and beat him. And when Huo Fenglie went to help him without any principles, Huo Feihan was the one who had to step in and keep Huo Fenglie from Li Xingruo. Everything seemed to have stayed the same, but also changed.

. . . . . . 

In the palace, someone came to deliver a report. “Your Majesty, Huo Fenglie sent a message from the General’s Manor. He has arrived and is ready to be summoned at any time.”

Yuan Jue nodded, saying: “Let him rest for two days first. He’s worked hard running back and forth.”

“Your Majesty, there are also…..”

“What else is there?”

“There are some rumors about General Huo.”

“What rumors?” A little absent-minded, Yuan Jue raised his teacup to take a drink.

“General Huo is…..is engaged to Liu Xiaozhu, the young master of Liu Manor.”

Yuan Jue’s gaze froze, and the teacup in his hand became unstable for a moment. It swayed slightly before finally stabilizing.

Yuan Jue raised his eyes and said in a low voice: “Engaged?”

“That is what the rumors say.”

Yuan Jue set down his teacup and waved his hand. After everyone left, he slowly closed his eyes and leaned back in the Dragon Chair, slowly rubbing his jade thumb ring.

“Engaged? To someone other than Liu Zhenqing? Is it a substitute? Or is he sincere? How could he be sincere? How could he forget Liu Zhenqing?”

. . . . . .

At this time, the slightly drunk Liu Zhenqing hugged Huo Fenglie on the bed and rubbed against him. The person being rubbed against was growing hot, and the smell of wine was intoxicating. Huo Fenglie could only hold Liu Zhenqing down and make him rest well.

“Aiya, how annoying. This body can’t handle alcohol at all. I can’t even outdrink Sister-in-law now.”

Huo Fenglie heard this and wanted to laugh. Li Xingruo had taken advantage of the fact that the twins and Uncle Tian were around to first bring up the marriage contract and then force Liu Zhenqing to serve tea and call her ‘Sister-in-law.’ She also found continuous excuses to make him call her that, like a sister-in-law laying down the rules of the house.

As a result, Liu Zhenqing didn’t know how to react for a moment, so he just called her ‘Sister-in-law.’

“Sister-in-law also got drunk. She never drinks at home,” Huo Fenglie comforted him.

Liu Zhenqing turned around and held Huo Fenglie’s face with a malicious smile.

“What is it?” Huo Fenglie asked.

“Er-gou, who was your first kiss, ah?” Liu Zhenqing asked knowingly.

An unnatural look flashed across Huo Fenglie’s face.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Other than me, have you ever kissed anyone else? Let me start by saying you’re the only one I’ve kissed.”

Huo Fenglie’s cheeks were slightly red. At last, he said uncomfortably: “Qing-ge, there is only you. It’s always been you.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and pecked Huo Fenglie on the lips: “Very good.”

They had a wonderful night, their spirits were relaxed, and Liu Zhenqing didn’t cause too much of a disturbance.

Huo Fenglie breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stroked Liu Zhenqing to help him sleep.

Because they had returned in secret, it was therefore inconvenient for Liu Zhenqing to return to the Liu family. Naturally, only insiders could know about the engagement first.

But Huo Fenglie knew that soon, the entire capital would know about their involvement.

He still felt uneasy at the thought.

Gazing at Liu Zhenqing’s face, he murmured: “Now that you’re back, if you get close to that person…..will you have regrets?”

Liu Zhenqing was already asleep and naturally made no response.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes just darkened slightly. In the end, he hugged Liu Zhenqing and slowly fell asleep.

---

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Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Six

“Ge…..let him go,” Li Xiu pleaded in a soft voice to the monster before him.

Something seemed to flicker slightly in Lord Hong’s empty eyes, and he leaned toward Li Xiu.

Cold and wet, soft flesh and blood surged around Li Xiu, then slid into his mouth, nose, and ears like a mollusk…..also swallowing up Li Xiu’s desperate pleas.

A sticky sea of crimson blood thoroughly drowned Li Xiu’s consciousness. 

*

*

Dizziness.

When he woke up again, Li Xiu staggered. He subconsciously held onto the wall beside him and waited for a while as his eyes gradually focused.

What he saw put him at somewhat of a loss.

He found himself in a relatively antiquated hospital.

The long, narrow corridor was filled with the strong scent of disinfectant. The sky seemed dark, and the ceiling lights were old. Logically, it should be bright with so many lights, but the surroundings seemed dim to Li Xiu. Two doors faced each other every short distance down the corridor. The ward doors were tightly shut, and there were the faint, steady sounds of medical instruments running behind them.

Li Xiu was not alone.

People passed through the corridor occasionally, but if he looked closely, they all looked like illusions. The faces of the doctors, nurses, and patients were all blurry, and their clothing also looked slightly outdated.

“Where…..is this?”

Li Xiu stared blankly at everything before him. His body was still feeling of exhaustion from when he was completely enveloped by his “gege.” Nobody looked at the youth staggering in the corridor, and some people walked right through him.

Had he become a ghost?

This idea naturally occurred to him.

As Liu Xiu wandered about, he suddenly felt a cold sensation on his wrist. He lowered his head and encountered a face drenched in blood and swollen beyond recognition.

A thin child was standing next to him, wearing a bloodied T-shirt. A pair of red eyes were exposed between swollen eyelids as he stared at Li Xiu without blinking. There was a very serious injury on the child’s forehead, and a bit of white bone could be vaguely seen through the purple-red scalp.

He had stretched out his hand and taken Li Xiu’s wrist.

Terror pierced Li Xiu’s heart like a steel nail. Overwhelmed by fear, he froze in place like a wild animal illuminated by the high beams of a car — Li Xiu had no idea when this child had appeared next to him.

And during the time his brain was shut down, Li Xiu found that the child had done nothing but look at him silently from beginning to end.

Li Xiu suddenly remembered the past events told to him by Teacher Xu.

Li Xuelin, who was deceived and betrayed. The child with a miserable past, whom he should have called “gege.”

Li Xiu compressed his fear. Looking back at the child, he called his name.

“Li Yu…..Gege?”

His heart was still beating fast, but for some reason, after realizing that this child was most likely Li Yu, his panic gradually faded.

Li Xiu adjusted his breathing, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said to the child:

“I came.”

“I’ll stay with you from now on. Will you please let the others go?”

Although he didn’t know why he had inexplicably appeared in a hospital, since from previous experience, he would appear in the Xiao Family Haunted House, Li Xiu wasn’t too bothered. He seized this opportunity and pleaded with his “gege,” whose image had changed drastically.

But after hearing his words, Li Yu continued to stare at him expressionlessly.

“Quick, the patient is in urgent need of rescue—”

“This is bad, the patient’s heart has stopped—”

Just then, a rush of footsteps sounded in the corridor.

The wheels of a transport bed made a harsh scratching sound on the smooth floor. A group of people came in a hurry, rushing past Li Xiu and Li Xiu while pushing the transport bed.

Although it was only for a moment, Li Xiu clearly glimpsed the patient on the bed.

An emaciated child, his body a mass of bruises. His face was concealed by an oxygen mask, but it was clearly Li Yu, who was currently standing next to him.

Li Xiu stared at those retreating figures in shock, then turned his gaze back to Li Yu. 

Li Yu still didn’t speak.

The child, beaten so black and blue that he didn’t look human, noticed Li Xiu’s gaze. Slowly, he raised an extremely  thin hand and pointed at the emergency room at the end of the corridor.

Li Xiu followed the direction of his finger, thinking that he would come upon the scene of Li Yu’s death. But when he got to the emergency room, he found that the grievously injured child had miraculously recovered a stable heartbeat under the doctor’s emergency rescue.

It was a miracle. Even Li Xiu, who knew nothing about medicine, could see that. Li Yu was horribly injured. And everyone around Li Yu, including the doctor who resuscitated him, had pretty much the same idea as Li Xiu. They looked extremely confounded upon seeing that the child’s vital signs had stabilized again.

“God, he came back? With these injuries?! Damn, Dr. Liu, you’re amazing!”

“This kid is truly blessed.”

“So lucky.”

Everyone involved in the rescue breathed sighs of relief.

But as Li Xiu looked at the scene in front of him, his heart palpitated. He remembered very clearly Teacher Xu saying that Li Yu had died after being sent to the hospital due to long-term abuse. But now, Li Yu had obviously been saved…..

“Wuwu…..Director Song, I really have no choice but to beg of you.”

Li Xiu suddenly heard the sound of crying.

Following the sound, he instinctively walked toward the waiting room. Very soon, he saw a young woman outside the operating room, along with a vaguely familiar man.

From Li Xiu’s perspective, he could only see the word “Song” written on the man’s nameplate.

At this time, he had his head lowered to look anxiously at the woman crying in his arms.

“It’s not that I won’t help you with this matter.” The man’s voice was very low, but Li Xiu could hear it clearly. “…..It would be fine if the child had died, but now he’s been saved. What’s more, asking for a double kidney transplant, d-do you want me to kill someone? It’s impossible for me to do such a thing.”

The woman’s back trembled slightly.

“I know, I’m aware of everything. But Xiao An is my child. I don’t want anything, just for his life to be saved and for him to grow up healthy and happy. That child is the illegitimate son of my brother. Li Xuelin died a long time ago. Don’t worry, no one will investigate, and I’ll handle the rest of the matter. And if something so big happens, the Ou family will definitely help — you saw the condition of that child when he was delivered. No one would believe that he survived. Even if he was temporarily saved, isn’t it natural for something to happen again later?”

“…..”

Seeing that the man wasn’t speaking, the woman immediately lowered her voice.

“Director Song, you know that I’ll do whatever it takes for Xiao An’s future. It doesn’t matter how much money you want, as long as you’re able to do this…..”

Director Song’s eyes flickered.

“Mrs. Song, this isn’t a matter of money. Li Xuelin was also my student. Asking me to do such a thing, how will I be able to sleep in the future—”

Mrs. Fang suddenly leaned toward the man’s ear and whispered a number.

Li Xiu saw clearly how after hearing the number, the hesitant man’s eyes lit up.

Intuition surged toward Li Xiu in a wintery wave. The truth that was about to be revealed made his stomach turn. Something cracked in his heart, causing every breath and every heartbeat to carry with it a sharp pang.

Soon, he watched helplessly as the child, who had finally crawled back from the brink of death, was secretly pushed into the operating room for the second time.

When the child was pushed out again, his emaciated body was wrapped in a body bag.

“No…..”

Li Xiu subconsciously went to stop in front of the corpse gurney, but at this moment, there was a weight on his wrist. He lowered his head and saw that the child was holding his hand again.

The scene in front of him changed abruptly. The blood-covered child and Li Xiu suddenly appeared in a sunny hospital ward with high-end equipment.

Li Xiu couldn’t look away. He saw Li Yu raise his hand — there were horrific unhealed wounds and corpse spots on that arm, and his blue fingertip pointed directly at the lively, cheerful pampered child on the hospital bed.

The other child had similar facial features but a completely different destiny.

Although the child was still very young, Li Xiu recognized him at a glance.

That child was Fang Qian’an.

“Mama!”

Fang Qian’an nestled in his mother’s arms.

“I still want to go out and play tomorrow!”

“You kid, didn’t you play outside for a while today? I’ve told you many times that you must take care of your health. When you fully recover, you can naturally play outside.”

“But I’ve been getting better for so long. You say that every time.”

The boy was still a little unreconciled.

The woman gave him a tender look, an uncontrollable smile spreading across her face.

“This time is different from before. You can really get better this time…..”

“Really?”

“Really, Mama promises. You’ll be fine in no time.”

“Wa, that’s great!”

Li Xiu’s body felt so heavy that it didn’t seem like his own.

Tears filled the youth’s vision, and the warm, harmonious scene in the ward was gradually submerged in blood. 

He understood everything.

“I’m sorry—”

He lowered his head to look at Li Yu.

The child’s appearance was still miserable, but when Li Xiu looked at him, he no longer felt afraid.

“I’m sorry, Ge…..I didn’t know anything…..”

“You’re so heartbreaking…..”

A bone-chilling coldness spread to Li Xiu from where their skin was touching. That cold was like an invisible quagmire that wanted to swallow Li Xiu whole, but even so, Li Xiu hugged the child tightly in his arms.

Tears fell from his eyes.

“Ge…..”

‘Li Yu’ raised his head in surprise to look at Li Xiu.

Thin, blood-stained fingers slowly touched Li Xiu’s face.

A tear fell on his hand, and he abruptly retracted it as if he’d been burned.

“A-Xiu.”

The scary child, who had been silent all this while, opened his mouth for the first time.

“A-Xiu-didi,” he repeated.

The child huddled in Li Xiu’s arms began to grow larger by increments. Soon, the thin, battered child transformed into a tall, terrifying monster.

Lord Hong raised his twisted arms and looked at Li Xiu. After a moment’s hesitation, the monster, a bit clumsily, hugged Li Xiu back gently.

“Don’t cry,” it said to Li Xiu softly.

“It…..doesn’t hurt anymore…..”

The monster wearing a paper mask carefully wiped away the tears in the corners of Li Xiu’s eyes.

Unconsciously, the posture between the two changed from Li Xiu holding Lord Hong to Lord Hong holding Li Xiu.

The weak boy simply fell obediently into the monster’s arms, as if he had finally become the property of this horrific, inhuman thing.

“A-Xiu—”

Within the flesh and blood-covered ghost, a hoarse roar suddenly sounded.

“Wake up!”

“Please wake the fuck up, ah!”

A figure struggled out, tearing apart pieces of stinking scarlet flesh to reveal a small section of their body.

Li Xiu trembled. Turning his head, he met Fang Qian’an’s bloodshot eyes.

The over 1.9 meter tall boy looked extremely thin and weak under the restraint of Lord Hong. Li Xiu could barely see any intact flesh on his body. He was covered in blood, with horrific wounds everywhere.

When he shouted at Li Xiu, he could even see raised veins on his forehead.

“That guy is a fraud – he’s not Li Yu at all!”

“Li Yu was swallowed up by it a long time ago! It’s just a ghost that stole Li Yu’s identity and memories!”

Perhaps because his injuries were so serious, or because he was so scared, Li Xiu saw that Fang Qian’an was crying as he shouted.

“Fang Qian’an…..”

Li Xiu automatically stretched a hand out toward him.

He grabbed hold of the other boy and tried to pull him up.

But in the next second, Lord Hong reached out from behind him and put his cold fingertips on his wrist, forcing him to let go.

The monster’s eye sockets were cavernous, its odor strong.

Its move to surround Li Xiu’s body revealed a desire for exclusivity that was visible to the naked eye.

The scene in front of him obviously collapsed Fang Qian’an’s remaining sanity even more, and the boy’s face twisted into a ferocious look.

“You fucking let A-Xiu go, ah! I was the one who stole Li Yu’s kidneys! I’ll give them back to you, just take them!” Fang Qian’an roared like a dying beast. “But A-Xiu doesn’t owe you!”

As he shouted, he fell to the floor and struggled desperately to crawl to Li Xiu.

“A-Xiu doesn’t owe you, he’s always treated you as his brother! How can you leave him in such a hellish place! How could you be willing to make him stay with a thing as disgusting as you—”

How weak Fang Qian’an looked struggling in this world controlled by ghosts, ah.

Li Xiu saw Lord Hong lift his fingertips slightly.

Innumerable rotting, deformed ghosts that had been wandering in the darkness for an unknown length of time suddenly appeared around Fang Qian’an. Their cold bones seized the boy and were about to drag him into the darkness again…..

“I don’t want this!” Li Xiu screamed.

He clamped his hands in a death grip on Lord Hong, cold, slender, nailless fingers.

“Please don’t hurt him, okay? Ge, I’m begging you…..” Li Xiu whimpered.

“I’ll go with you. I’ll go voluntarily. I’ll go to that world and be with you forever.”

Lord Hong stared deeply at Li Xiu.

Li Xiu had cried until his vision was blurry.

“You let Fang Qian’an go.” The smell of blood filled the boy’s throat as he spoke.

“You let him…..he…..he’s my only…..friend.”

“Ge, don’t make me sad, okay?”

There was a long silence that seemed to last forever.

Then a sigh came from the depths of Lord Hong’s throat.

Fang Qian’an found that his surroundings were becoming a little hazy.

“Li Xiu, don’t be crazy—”

The former school bully let out a broken scream.

“I don’t care about you saving me. Who the hell do you think you are? I don’t care—”

The boy’s rough, strangled cries finally vanished into the darkness.

Li Xiu stiffened. Breathing heavily, he looked in the direction Fang Qian’an had disappeared.

He looked at that spot for a long, long time, until there was a spot of coldness on his face. Li Xiu shuddered when he realized that Lord Hong’s fingertips were touching it.

Lord Hong wiped the tears from his face.

“Is A-Xiu happy?” Lord Hong asked softly.

Li Xiu looked back at him. After a long silence, he raised a shaking hand and lifted the paper mask off Lord Hong’s face little by little.

…..There was no sight of indescribable rotting teeth or erratic red eyes.

Under the perpetually blood-soaked mask was the face of a young man. Pale cheeks, very dark eyes, and thin, sharp lips.

There was something familiar in those facial features, because he actually looked somewhat similar to Fang Qian’an.

If Li Yu had survived, this was what he would look like.

Lord Hong met Li Xiu’s gaze, then lowered his eyes and whispered:

“This is the first time you’ve seen me, but I’ve seen you since a long time ago. A-Xiu-didi.”

“At that time, Mama wanted to take me back to Grandmother’s house. I saw you downstairs.”

Li Xiu’s pupils narrowed slightly.

“Grandmother took you to learn to walk, but you were always unsteady, falling all the time. You looked really pitiful.”

Lord Hong caressed Li Xiu’s cheek. The distance between the two grew closer and closer.

“Mama hid in the corner with me and watched for a long time. Then, she took my hand and left.”

*

*

Many years ago, in the old alleyway.

The haggard young woman had a pallid appearance. Clutching the child in her arms tightly, she turned with difficulty and walked toward the outside world step by step.

“Mama?”

The young boy looked at his mother in confusion.

“I want to play with my didi. Mama, you said I would have a new didi when I meet Grandmother.”

As he thought pretty child just now, the boy’s eyes filled with anticipation.

“He’s so pretty, but so stupid. He can’t even walk well. Mama, when the time comes, I’ll teach my didi how to walk! That way he won’t cry all the time…..Mama? Why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry, Xiao Yu.” The woman suddenly leaned down, saying word by word, “We’re not going back.”

“Ah? Why? Why, ah? Mama, but I want my didi—”

Seeing that the child was about to make a fuss, the woman hugged him tightly.

“Shhh, don’t make trouble. Xiao Yu, listen to Mama. Did you see your didi? It’s hard for your didi to walk, right? So he needs a lot of care.” As she spoke, the woman’s initial hesitation turned to firmness. She explained seriously, “Mama will be very busy in the future, so busy that she won’t be able to stay by Xiao Yu’s side. But Grandmother is getting older. If you’re sent back to your grandmother’s house, she will only be able to take care of you, and not your didi. If you go back, your didi might be sent away.”

The woman stroked the tender child in her arms and took a deep breath.

“That would be too pitiful for him, wouldn’t it, Xiao Yu?”

“Even if Xiao Yu loses his Mama, he still has his daddy…..but your didi has no relatives except for Grandmother. So Xiao Yu should go live with his daddy, okay?”

The boy pursed his lips, tears glistening in his eyes.

“I don’t want to go to my daddy, I want to play with my didi—”

The woman smiled.

She said soothingly: “It’s alright, when Xiao Yu grows up, he can come and play with his didi!”

“Really?”

“Really. If Xiao Yu likes his little didi so much, his didi will also like Xiao Yu very, very much.”

---

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Chapter 56 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 58