Tang Rou breathed a long sigh of relief after speaking. It seemed she had finally found closure after telling the truth.

But then her expression changed.

“I just didn’t expect to have such a mother. She never thought that I could continue pretending and never agreed with my approach. She wanted me to step down and make way for my uncle, and she always thought I would marry. She felt that if I could marry General Huo, then my crime of impersonating the city lord would be lifted.”

Tang Rou wasn’t shy at all as she spoke of this matter. She was completely cold. She obviously had no designs upon Huo Fenglie, and scoffed at her mother’s crazy ideas.

“She wanted me to obediently marry, and then use General Huo’s name to boost my uncle’s name for city lord. She also felt that Nanfeng City would naturally be protected as long as I became the general’s wife, which was better than me working hard as the city lord.” Tang Rou smiled bitterly and shook her head as she said this: “I ignored her at first, but when she saw the general return victorious, she still had wicked thoughts that led to the farce last night.”

Liu Zhenqing could only shake his head and say: “I thought I’d made it obvious enough. Am I so lacking in your mother’s eyes?” After some thought, his current face seemed to be no match for Tang Rou’s. Moreover, Tang Rou was a woman. In the eyes of a female elder, a woman must be considered better than a man.

Tang Rou smiled softly. “It’s just that my mother is obsessed. General Huo must have encountered many such things over the years. If it was so easy to succeed, it would have succeeded already, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s right, just like Qiao An last night. Not only did he fail to throw himself into his arms, he almost lost his life.” Liu Zhenqing looked at Er-gou with a smile, satisfied.

Huo Fenglie drank his tea calmly as he was discussed by the two.

Tang Rou looked at the two of them and said: “Don’t worry, I really do have someone else in my heart. I have no plans to marry in this life, so no matter what my mother does or says, there is no need for you to pay attention to it. I apologize to you in advance.”

Tang Rou said this to reassure the two of them. After all, they were a couple. But Tang Rou, who was so honest about her feelings, still embarrassed them.

“As for my identity…..” Tang Rou’s eyes flickered.

Liu Zhenqing intended to say that he would hide it for her, if that was what she wanted.

But Tang Rou immediately looked at Huo Fenglie, saying firmly: “General Huo, I have little ability and cannot accomplish it. If you are willing to clear Prime Minister Liu’s name, I will voluntarily go to the capital with you to testify. Now that Commander Dai is in Nanfeng City, I can be at ease. No matter what happens to me and the Tang family, this is what should be done. I want to inform His Holy Majesty and the civil and military officials of what really happened back then. I want to let all of them know what kind of person Prime Minister Liu was!”

Stunned, Liu Zhenqing looked at Tang Rou with some…..complexity.

There seemed to be tears in Tang Rou’s eyes: “I heard that his name is still on the column of sinners on the Twining Dragon Jade Pillar. It shouldn’t be there.”

Liu Zhenqing was dumbfounded. He never expected that in a city far to the south, after many years, there was still someone who…..would do this for him. He was truly moved.

Huo Fenglie glanced at Liu Zhenqing, then looked at Tang Rou and said: “Of course. I hope you will do this.”

Startled, Liu Zhenqing was about to kick Huo Fenglie. But then Huo Fenglie said: “But I know he wouldn’t want to see something like this happen. Your brother sacrificed himself, and you have both repaid his kindness.”

Tang Rou at once said anxiously: “How can this be? We…..”

“Didn’t he tell you at the end? He would rather bear the infamy in exchange for one request: that you would safeguard the honor of the Tang family and Nanfeng City. You did it, and that’s enough.” Huo Fenglie said steadily: “Don’t worry about your identity. You will be fine.”

Tang Rou was stumped for words.

Liu Zhenqing coughed and said: “Do you think that a person who risked such infamy would care about their posthumous reputation?”

Tang Rou was slightly taken aback, and stared at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I’m his relative. He has no descendants, so I will make the decision for him. You don’t need to do anything. Just carry on with what you’re doing now. If you want to unburden yourself, then do so. Just do what you want to do.”

Liu Zhenqing was originally a person from a different time, and deep down, cared less than the ancients about his posthumous name. What he said was naturally true, not to mention that Tang Rou’s risky approach was even more inappropriate. Fortunately, Huo Fenglie understood and helped to dissuade her.

Speaking of this, Liu Zhenqing glanced at the jade pendant in Tang Rou’s hand and said awkwardly: “A man dies the way a lamp goes out. Don’t be too attached to the past.”

Tang Rou looked at Liu Zhenqing for a long moment, and at last heaved a sigh: “Thank you both very much for the clarification. I understand.”

Just as she spoke, there was a burst of noise outside.

Tang Rou’s expression changed slightly, and she said: “Perhaps…..”

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: “Perhaps a good show is about to happen.”

Dai Tingyu came in with urgent news. He had faith in Tang-chengzhu, so he came straight to Tang Rou, but didn’t expect that she wasn’t in her courtyard. He had no choice but to go to Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing first. This matter could not be concealed.

As a result, as soon as he arrived at the courtyard, he found many people who seemed to be planning to go inside. The leader among them was Tang-furen.

Dai Tingyu naturally drew attention as soon as he appeared. Stepping forward to greet her, he was about to speak when Tang-furen slew her eyes and pulled at Dai Tingyu, crying: “What should be done? Tang Mu went into General Huo’s residence last night and hasn’t come out.”

Dai Tingyu was a straight man, so he had no other thoughts and said directly: “Could it be that they stayed up all night discussing the war? Tang-furen, do you have something to speak to the City Lord about?”

Tang-furen’s face stiffened, and she said: “No…..it’s my child’s…..innocence…..”

Dai Tingyu’s head was filled with questions.

Tang-furen only looked anxious, and took people with her to break in.

Dai Tingyu sensed that something wasn’t right and wanted to stop them, but he couldn’t figure it out and really couldn’t stop the turbulent crowd.

As a result, these people ran halfway there before coming to a sudden stop. Under the pergola in the courtyard, they saw Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing sitting there having breakfast.

Seeing this situation, the two people turned to look at everyone in confusion.

Tang-furen was also a bit muddle-headed, feeling that the situation before her was different from what she expected.

“What are you all doing?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

“My son…..” Tang-furen was about to put on a performance.

Dai Tingyu said: “They came to see the City Lord. They said he was here last night.”

Huo Fenglie said coldly: “He’s not here.”

Tang-furen erupted at once: “How is that possible? General Huo, a real man has the courage to take responsibility. You must…..”

Huo Fenglie’s disgusted eyes swept over her coldly. Tang-furen instantly felt as if her neck were being strangled by invisible hands, and couldn’t speak a word.

Liu Zhenqing donned a puzzled look and said to Dai Tingyu: “Didn’t we separate after our discussion at the Office of Government Affairs last night? Fenglie returned after finishing up matters with you, and we went to bed without ever seeing the City Lord.”

Dai Tingyu nodded. That seemed to have been the case.

But Tang-furen was endlessly agitated. Just as she was about to open her mouth to argue, movement was heard outside the courtyard.

“Mother, what are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you not to come here at will?” Tang Rou’s voice sounded outside, causing everyone to immediately turn around.

Dai Tingyu said hurriedly: “Chengzhu, you’re here. I happened to come to you with something urgent.”

Tang-furen stared at Tang Rou and said: “You…..where were you last night? What did you do? Think well and make it clear. No matter what, Mother calls the shots for you! Otherwise…..”

Tang-furen’s eyes seemed to hold a warning. Many things were hard to say without making a scene. 

“Could it be that Mother is dreaming? It’s better to go back and rest to avoid being confused all the time. The person in front of you is the general who guards the country. If you get in trouble…..” Tang Rou’s tone became a bit dark. “I recall that General Huo has the power to kill anyone who plots against him at will. Would Mother like to give it a try?”

Tang-furen’s face instantly paled. She stared at Tang Rou in disbelief.

Tang Rou stopped looking at her, and announced to the servants in a cold voice: “All of you withdraw. Anyone who dares to disobey orders and come near this place will be killed without mercy!”

Although Tang Rou was considered a civil servant, such a dire warning still made everyone weak with fear. Disregarding Tang-furen, they retreated one after another.

Tang-furen was unable to vent her rage, and was so frightened that she could only give Tang Rou a fierce look, as if scolding her daughter for not living up to expectations. In the end, she could only leave in a fury. She said before departing: “Later, you will come to the ancestral hall and kneel for me!”

It was until they left that Tang Rou breathed out an exhausted sigh of relief.

Dai Tingyu looked right and left: “What’s going on, ah? I feel like…..” Dai Tingyu wasn’t stupid. At this moment, he finally understood Tang-furen’s meaning.

It was quite a shock. Did Tang-furen want to bring Tang-chengzhu and Brother Huo together? But Brother Huo was with Young Master Liu now, ah. Was Tang-furen unconvinced? Tang-chengzhu was indeed…..rather good-looking.

Wait. Could it be that Tang-chengzhu also liked men? So that was why Tang-furen hatched this plan? 

Dai Tingyu’s thick eyebrows practically danced as he stared at Tang Rou in shock.

But no one cared what he thought. Tang Rou rubbed her brow and said to Dai Tingyu: “You just said you came to us for something?”

Dai Tingyu removed his gaze from Tang Rou’s handsome features and said quickly: “Right, it’s something very serious!”

Dai Tingyu was also quite embarrassed. After all, it was a Tang family secret, but this matter had been instigated by the King of Western Shu and it was impossible not to report it.

Thus, when Dai Tingyu finished telling them, the three people present became quiet.

Dai Tingyu laughed awkwardly and said: “That person actually has no evidence, so…..”

“Everything he said is true,” Tang Rou said.

Dai Tingyu saw the bad expression on Tang Rou’s face and said at once: “Don’t worry, Chengzhu, I’ve blocked the news. The mistakes your father made have nothing to do with you. You’ve done so much for Nanfeng City over the years. I’ve witnessed it all. Who could be a better City Lord? I believe in you and will follow you.”

Tang Rou was taken aback, and smiled at Dai Tingyu: “Many thanks, Commander Dai.”

Dai Tingyu didn’t know if he had been disturbed by the situation just now, but his heart was a bit confused by that smile and he swiftly lowered his head to avoid seeing it.

At this time, Liu Zhenqing touched his chin and said: “This isn’t good, ah. It seems we must find a way to prevent news from Western Shu from infiltrating.”

“They want to tell people what happened back then to shake the credibility of our Tang family and disturb the stability of Nanfeng City. But I think it’s a bit childish. Even if I am defeated, now that General Huo and Commander Dai are here, it doesn’t make much sense for them to do this. Is this just to get revenge on me?” Tang Rou really couldn’t figure it out.

“Upsetting the relationship between the Tang Family and Nanfeng City is part of it, but upsetting the relationship between you and Huo Fenglie is the key point,” Liu Zhenqing analyzed. “According to the rumors, Fenglie hates Prime Minister Liu…..”

Huo Fenglie glanced at Liu Zhenqing, who smiled at him and continued: “That the Tang family was favored by Prime Minister Liu to secure the position of City Lord would definitely make Fenglei fearful. In Western Shu’s eyes, their willingness to cooperate with him would create a rift, and it would be easy to take advantage of this instigation.”

“Is that so?” Tang Rou frowned.

Okay, it was actually a bit far-fetched, but it was the only thing Liu Zhenqing could think of. Perhaps when it came to war, people’s hearts were the most difficult thing to control. It turned out they actually had this handle on them. If they could make use of it, they would.

In any case, they would take precautions first.

But many matters were all-pervasive. In less than three days, the news gradually leaked out into the city. Even with rigorous arrests and regulations, the news could not be controlled. Gradually, the people of Nanfeng City became restless.

Even Tang-furen, who had been residing in the City Lord’s manor, heard of this. She became furious and rushed to Tang Rou.

“Cut out the tongues of those who are talking nonsense! Our Tang family has done so much for Nanfeng City. How can they just listen to rumors, slander their master, and defend that traitor!” Tang-furen was unaware of the truth, so she only felt that this was a huge injustice.

Tang Rou was already very hard-pressed by these matters. After all, the story was indeed true. Although everything she was doing now had been jointly decided upon by everyone, she still felt somewhat that she was betraying her conscience. Tang-furen was still yelling at her, and she really wanted to tell the truth. But in the end, she could only endure and send Tang-furen away.

In the face of this, Tang-furen could only say: “If you had known earlier, you would have listened to me, isn’t that right? If you were the general’s wife, who would dare do such things, ah! Would they dare slander the Tang family along with the general who guards the country?”

This instant this matter was brought up, Tang Rou stood up and sent Tang-furen a fierce look.

Tang-furen also knew that her daughter was repulsed by this idea, but how could she watch her daughter fail to take the brighter path in order to take the single-plank bridge? She said: “I won’t talk your ear off, but let me ask you, are General Huo and that young master just having fun or are they to be engaged? Who is he, and how did he seduce General Huo?”

Tang Rou couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to her. She sent someone to drive Tang-furen away, but Tang-furen refused to give up and planned to investigate privately.

On the other side, the rumors within the city finally grew out of control. When Tang Rou was conducting routine inspections and giving public speeches to appease the common people, she was surrounded by people urging her to give an explanation.

They seemed to think that if the person they had been grateful to for so many years was a wicked person, that would be the ultimate insult against them, so they could not tolerate deception.

“The City Lord should explain clearly. Are the Tang family loyal or traitors? What actually happened back then?”

“I remember that the woman at the Old City Lord’s side was indeed very seductive. She didn’t look like a good person.”

“City Lord, please explain. My father died in that war. He shouldn’t have died without knowing who his enemy was.”

This statement carried a lot of weight, and in an instant, many people began to speak similarly.

Tang Rou’s expression was already somewhat unsightly.

“Everyone, don’t listen to those baseless things. The enemy is maliciously trying to divide us!”

But before Tang Rou could finish her words, something suddenly flew at her from below.

Dai Tingyu immediately stepped forward to grab it, and when he looked, it turned out to be a rock. Someone had thrown a rock at Tang-chengzhu?!

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Chapter One Hundred Twelve << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

He Chuzhou responded to all requests. Dinner was too plentiful for just the two of them, and included spicy broiled beef and sweet and sour fish.

So could this also be considered a tradition?

Pei Xi wasn’t clear on this issue, and He Chuzhou immediately threw him another one.

In the study after dinner, Pei Xi logged into his WeChat account on the computer and received a message. The content was two strings of numbers mixed with letters. The upper string was an email address, and the lower one looked like garbled characters.

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

He raised his head to look in confusion at the person sitting behind the computer across from him: “What is this?”

He Chuzhou: “My email account password.”

After speaking, he felt that his description wasn’t thorough enough and added another sentence: “My work email.”

Pei Xi was even more confused after hearing this: “What are you giving me this for?”

He Chuzhou beamed: “It’s an exchange. I’ll definitely need your email address to help you with your work later. Now you know mine too, so you won’t suffer a loss.”

A fair exchange of information did not result in losses.

But was suffering a loss or not the key point?

Pei Xi: “Haven’t I already moved in?”

Now that Plan B had been adopted, why should Plan A continue to be implemented?

He Chuzhou seemed to see through his thoughts, and said seriously: “Plans don’t necessarily have to be separate. They can occasionally be used to progressively increase implementation. For details, please refer to the pig-killing scam.”^[1]

Pei Xi: “……”

When He Chuzhou was done playing at being a scoundrel, he continued on to move his heart with emotion again: “Actually, I’m too idle and can’t find other legitimate things to do. I have to waste a lot of time doing university entrance exam problems that are long outdated for me.”

Pei Xi: “ ? ”

Pei Xi: “Why do you need to do actual university entrance exam questions? Do you want…..to take the adult entrance exam? Did your school overseas not issue you a diploma?”

He Chuzhou sent him a screenshot of his chat.

Pei Xi clicked on it. The ID above the chat box screenshot was He Chuzhou’s sister, and the content was a compressed file with five years’ worth of test questions.

He Chuzhou: “It’s not me taking the exam, but my sister. But their school focuses too hard on learning and assigns too much of a workload, so students’ free time is severely compressed.”

He Chuzhou: “Aiyue’s grades are average, and it’s normal for her not to finish her homework. And every time she finishes her homework, she scans it into an electronic file and throws it at me.”

The screenshot was taken live as He Aiyue was bombarding him with messages.

[Brother, Brother, help Qiuqiu!]

[I won’t make you do it for me this time, you won’t agree to it anyway. Just help me figure out which ones are more difficult and worth doing. Mark them for me and I’ll ask someone in the head office?]

[Mom found me a tutor again. I know you’re the one secretly stirring up trouble in the background.]

[But I’m past worrying about it, it doesn’t matter to me. You have to make up for it and help point out the key points.]

[Don’t tell me to ask my tutor. That teacher has a terrible accent.]

[123 is always pronounced as ya e san instead of yi er san. My Mandarin is almost going astray!]

[Reply, reply]

[Don’t hide silently behind the computer. I know you’re home.]

[If you don’t help me, I’ll tell Mom that you’ll never get married or have children in your life! It’s up to you, Boss He!]

He Chuzhou replied with a “scared to tears” emoticon. He manually deleted He Aiyue’s messages until only the first and last three sentences were left, then took another screenshot and forwarded it to Pei Xi.

“Look.” He spread his hands helplessly. “She threatened me.”

Pei Xi scanned the screenshot full of unreasonable bullying and was silent for a long while. He sent his work email and the password.

“Generally, what needs to be processed are some reports and plan revisions. You can take a look if you have time.”

The words of a scoundrel could not be believed.

He Chuzhou happily right-clicked to collect it, then replied to He Aiyue with the extremely ruthless sentence, “I don’t have time, go to your teacher.” He fiddled with the computer for a while and sent a pop-up request to the person opposite.

Pei Xi looked at the words ‘Apply for Online Connection’ and stared blankly: “What is this?”

He Chuzhou was leisurely and carefree: “With the configuration of new computers, you can apply online connections to up to ten computers and share content to improve work efficiency.”

Pei Xi didn’t understand at all, but nodded in agreement.

A small new window instantly appeared on the screen, also looking like a computer desktop.

An unfinished transaction contract was displayed on it. It wasn’t locked, which meant that he could zoom in or out and make comments.

He understood that his current screen could be shared with He Chuzhou in the same way.

Pei Xi’s assistant, Dong Han, had a girlfriend. He had been together with her since high school, and they had a deep relationship, but it still couldn’t be avoided that she asked to exchange phones and check each other’s social media accounts now and then. 

Don Han was loyal to his girlfriend, but this unreservedly frank approach still made him feel uncomfortable, so he couldn’t help complaining in front of Pei Xi.

He didn’t understand, and couldn’t offer him any comfort. He just felt that since Dong Han felt bad about it, it should be a bad thing.

But now, his perception had changed.

The distance between cold electronic machines could also create a sense of closeness and change a person’s mood.

He couldn’t specifically describe how he felt, but he was sure that there was no sense of rejection. This feeling of sharing was more like a silent, comforting companionship that he had never felt before.

Especially when he saw the words “Look to the right” typed at the bottom of a file that was set aside. A secret method of communication between them was silently born at this moment.

It was a very fresh and novel feeling, as if a small flower could bloom in the gap of the keyboard.

Pursing his lips, Pei Xi looked to the right.

In just the blink of an eye, his wallpaper was changed from the default to a group of stick figure ducks walking around a pool.

Right away, one of the ducks spotted him in front of the computer and turned around to walk over, wagging its tail. It took out its wings, pulled a bouquet of roses out of nowhere, and handed it to him.

He Chuzhou: “It’s so cute. You can drag this one with the mouse and place it wherever you want.”

Pei Xi: “…..”

He Chuzhou lamented: “You can click out of it if you don’t like it.”

Pei Xi: “He Chuzhou, you’re so childish.”

He said this with an expressionless face as he dragged the little duck with a bouquet to the most conspicuous place above the window, letting it twist about and take out limitless flowers.

They didn’t stay in the study for very long. Pei Xi’s physical strength and energy had not yet recovered. He needed to avoid overexertion and get adequate rest.

Pei Xi left the study first. He went straight to the master bedroom, opened the closet, and took out a set of large pajamas that didn’t fit his body shape, then put them on.

When he turned around, he looked directly into a pair of eyes.

He Chuzhou stood at the door, not coming in. He seemed stunned. His expression was one of shock, but also contained a secret surge of pleasant surprise and amazement.

“You want to sleep with me?” He asked with raised lips.

Pei Xi: “…..”

He’d forgotten again that he wasn’t brain-addled.

“No.”

The hands hanging by his side clenched helplessly, but his expression didn’t change: “I forgot my pajamas, so I’m borrowing yours.”

Having said this, he didn’t stay any longer, quickly bypassing He Chuzhou to return to the guest room.

It turned out he was just borrowing clothes, ah.

He Chuzhou shrugged, somewhat disappointed. It was fine.

But when he looked back, he saw that the closet door was still open. Thinking of the just-woken-up Pei Xi standing there and changing his clothes with his long legs and slender waist stretched out, he felt happy again.

Pei Xi had no muscles, but could he have muscle memory?

It was possible. He liked this kind of muscle memory, and it would be okay if it happened again.

Pei Xi returned to his room. As soon as the door closed, he couldn’t help but cover his face with his hands, filled with annoyance.

Was it so difficult to distinguish? Why was he always forgetting nowadays?

Rubbing his temples in vexation, he walked to the closet to change his pajamas again.

But when the clothes were in his hands, he paused again and lowered his head to look at the pajamas he was wearing.

The garments with a low collar and long sleeves hung loosely on him.

The dark fabric was soft, carrying the scent of sunshine and laundry detergent. The fragrance wasn’t strong, but fresh and clean. Very comfortable-smelling.

This outfit was not unfamiliar to him. He had worn it many times already and was already very familiar with the length of the cuffs and trouser legs. He even knew how many times the fabric had to be folded when rolling it up to fit him.

And every time he put it on, he slept well.

The closet door closed again, and Pei Xi turned off the lights before lying down in bed. The pajamas that fit him had been left intact and put neatly back in their place.

*

*

He Chuzhou answered the phone before going to bed, rejecting Wu Qing’s request to have a small party at his house that weekend.

Wu Qing: “The hell? Your feelings have faded after not seeing each other for a few days, right? Didn’t you used to agree right away?”

He Chuzhou: “It was fine for an empty-nester to join in the fun occasionally back then. That’s not possible now. Your brother isn’t living alone anymore.”

The pornographic waste in Wu Qing’s head was selectively ineffective when it came to the innocent old boy He Chuzhou: “What not living alone? Can you say you don’t live alone just because you got a cat? You have no shame.”

He Chuzhou: “En, I don’t. My cat is afraid of other animals, so don’t come over. Shoo.”

Wu Qing simply refused to face reality and still wanted to wear him down.

He Chuzhou didn’t give him a chance. He hung up the phone, wrapped up in the quilt, and rolled over to the space where Pei Xi often slept. He buried his face in the pillow and took a deep breath, feeling sleepy and refreshed.

The exhaustion caused by lack of sleep the previous night arrived at his door today.

Before falling into dreamland, he was still thinking about changing the color of the white curtains in the guest room.

The curtains in Pei Xinxin’s room were blue, so he would just change these to blue. People slept better in a familiar environment and were less likely to feel homesick.

His sleep was heavy and deep, and his dreams were profound. So much so that when he was awoken in the morning by someone who crawled into his bed and pinched his nose, he thought his respiratory tract had been blocked by a jellyfish while exploring the deep sea.

When he dizzily opened his eyes, Pei Xi was lying next to him, bored and playing with the stray hair across his forehead. Seeing that he was awake, he pinched He Chuzhou’s face in displeasure: “Why did you drive me away to sleep in the guest room?”

“When did I drive you away?”

He Chuzhou wore a look of confusion. When he came to his senses, he grabbed the other’s hand helplessly: “I didn’t drive you away. It was you yourself who said you had a cold and were afraid of passing it to me, so you went to sleep in the guest room. I couldn’t hold you back.”

Oh. So that was it.

Very reasonable. Pei Xi accepted this explanation, but then he had another problem: “Why did I bring my toothbrush and bath towel over?”

He Chuzhou was very drowsy. He took this person into his arms and rubbed him gently, then buried his head and slowly thought up an excuse: “Since we haven’t been apart in a long time, you were afraid that I would miss you and be too sad after seeing your things, so you moved them all away.”

Pei Xi obediently let himself be held. He wondered: “Not sleeping together for just one night would make you miss me and be sad?”

He Chuzhou: “Ah, those of us who are deeply romantic are like this.”

Pei Xi thought he was talking nonsense.

At least, that last sentence was nonsense.

Compared to this, he was more willing to believe that it was his own deep concern that caused the situation.

Thus, the person who had just halfway warmed up He Chuzhou ran away again.

Uncomprehending, he cracked open his eyes and sat up in bed, watching Pei Xi run in and out as he moved everything back into the master bedroom. Then he returned to the bed and threw himself onto He Chuzhou, arching into his arms.

“I’m all better now, you don’t have to act out deep romantic scenes.”

Pei Xi yawned and pressed his forehead against He Chuzhou’s neck: “I’m sleepy. Let’s sleep a little longer.”

“But not too long. Remember to wake me up when you get back from dreamland.”

---

[1] The “pig-killing scam” is a kind of fraud where the fraudster creates a virtual image on social media to gain the victim’s (pig’s) trust and establish a romantic relationship with them before defrauding them of property. ⮐

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Chapter 31 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 33

Bang bang bang—

There was a continuous knocking on the door.

“Let me out, I know it was wrong…..I’ll never do it again…..wuwu…..mama…..I know it was wrong…..”

Indistinct sounds came from behind the door, a child’s pleas for mercy mixed with terrified sobs.

This villa was different from what Li Xiu remembered.

The floors were clean and bright, all of the furniture had been wiped spotless, and the walls were covered in pale pink rose vine wallpaper in a nostalgic classic style. There were also antique vases filled with imported roses and jasmine that were delivered every morning.

An elegant fragrance lingered in the air.

Uniformed servants walked to and fro on the second floor, silently maintaining the luxury and elegance of the house.

Yet that crying still remained in the villa.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…..I won’t do it again…..”

The cries grew gradually weaker.

Li Xiu’s brow furrowed. He didn’t understand how he had appeared in this inexplicable place. Even moreso, he didn’t understand why nobody was paying attention to the crying coming from the door.

The child’s voice was completely hoarse, his breathing even weaker…..wasn’t he about to collapse?

As an ordinary high school student, Li Xiu had never liked children. But as a human being, his body would feel an instinctive alarm when he heard such wailing. No one other than a sadist could endure a child suffering such abuse so close at hand.

Li Xiu automatically began to move. However, his body was surprisingly heavy at this time, and his feet seemed to be stuck in a wintery swamp. Every step he took required a lifetime of energy. But the desperate cries echoing in Li Xiu’s ears were like whips continuously lashing him, urging him to open the door quickly and rescue the poor little thing.

Finally, with great difficulty, Li Xiu came to the door.

He placed his hand on the doorknob.

But for some reason, when Li Xiu went to open the door, he felt his hair stand on end.

Some kind of unexplainable instinct streaked down his spine and caused the dazed young man to freeze in place, unable to move.

[“What are you doing? Do you intend to release that bastard before his time is up?]

At this moment, an unfamiliar sharp voice sounded. Li Xiu turned around and his eyes widened in horror. 

He saw a woman whose entire body was bloated.

The woman had walked out of the master bedroom and was currently standing at the door, staring at Li Xiu with her completely clouded eyes.

She was already long dead.

The rot blurred her facial features. A few strands of hair remained on her scalp, and a piece of scalp easily fell from the bone with her movements, hanging loosely at the back of her neck.

But the woman was completely unaware of this. As she spoke, densely packed pale yellow maggots crawled around her exposed chest and distended abdominal cavity.

Li Xiu shrieked.

He backed away in a panic, but there was only the closed door behind him.

And at this moment, he suddenly heard a very strange voice whispering cautiously beside him.

[“But, Madam, this is already the third day. If the confinement continues like this, the child may not be able to endure…..”]

Li Xiu turned his head with a gasp, trying to see who was speaking, but there was nothing to see.

[“Before he was imprisoned, did he not steal food from the kitchens? A bastard brought back from outside is just like this. He has the same temperament as that lowly person, only knowing how to steal other people’s things.”]

The woman who already had the lofty viewpoint of a giant didn’t seem to notice Li Xiu at all. She was talking to herself, every word squeezed out of her rotten throat with incomparable malice.

[“Truly, if they aren’t disciplined well, things born of such a lowly person will only bring shame to the family.”]

As she spoke, the woman staggered toward Li Xiu…..no, it should be that she was heading toward the door.

Li Xiu gasped for breath, frightened to the extreme as he tried to escape from the door.

He couldn’t, however, because there was a pair of hands stuck firmly to his shoulders.

[“Shh…..”]

A dark, creeping voice spoke in Li Xiu’s ear.

Li Xiu began to tremble all over.

The scene in front of him seemed to have happened in the past, Li Xiu thought.

He froze on the spot, transfixed. His heartbeat grew rapid, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up one by one.

Don’t look.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look…..

Don’t look back.

The voice in his head got louder and faster.

However, no matter how he tried to avoid it, Li Xiu still caught a glimpse of that “thing” that was right next to his face from the corner of his eye.

The eyes on the inhuman thing’s blue-gray face were bloodshot. The corners of his mouth grinned from one side to the other in a terrifying, satisfied smile.

Scarlet lips formed a stark contrast against the corpse’s bloodless face.

It smiled as it stared at Li Xiu, its neck stretched out so that it could put its face right in front of him. Now, Li Xiu could no longer escape its gaze.

That morbid gaze was as real as ever, licking Li Xiu’s skin.

Cold arms wrapped around Li Xiu’s body like a python constricting its prey, and the youth fell backward uncontrollably. At this time, Li Xiu discovered that the originally closed door had been opened. 

Countless pale, emaciated figures poked their heads out of the room. Their nailless fingers were as soft as the tentacles of a sea anemone, but each touch imbued the aura of death deep into his bones.

All of Li Xiu’s screaming and struggling was trapped in the sticky, cold, foul darkness behind the door.

[“A-Xiu…..so good…..”]

A familiar murmur dripped from the monster’s wet tongue.

Li Xiu only felt like there was a rope tugging fiercely at his body.

You shouldn’t have opened this locked door—

In the darkness, a shrill, hoarse voice screamed to Li Xiu deep in his heart.

*

“…..You little students, ah, your brains are really mixed up, aren’t they? We usually have to pay people to come here, but no one is willing. Yet look at you guys, still trying to kill yourselves by running over here.”

“I know I was wrong, Teacher. I’ll accept the punishment alone when the time comes. My classmate fainted and I need to take him to the infirmary now.”

“Now that your classmate is unconscious, you understand how dangerous this place is? What’s the use of such urgency now? This house has been in disrepair for so many years, and there’s no telling what could go wrong. You two ran in and bumped into something. Who is responsible for this? The school has given you instructions and countless warnings more than once, right? You were told not to come to this place, and you turned a deaf ear, didn’t you?”

“Apologies, I—”

“Wait a minute, don’t go anywhere. Teacher Xu has already checked on your classmate, and there’s nothing wrong with him. Don’t always use him to get out of things. Right now the most important thing is, why are you two here?! Do you think this is an ordinary violation of school rules and discipline? Let me tell you, strictly speaking, you are trespassing on private property, which is simply illegal!”

When Li Xiu awoke from his nightmare with a splitting headache, the first thing he heard was the continuous scolding from several people.

And Fang Qian’an’s voice would respond to those people from time to time, sounding extremely strange.

In his impression, Li Xiu had never heard Fang Qian’an spoken to in such a forbearing and almost condescending voice.

Of course, after spending the last few days with Fang Qian’an, even though he was feeling dizzy, Li Xiu could sense that beneath Fang Qian’an’s calm voice, there was a gradually uncontrollable anger.

“If there’s nothing wrong, then why is he still unconscious?”

“Don’t worry, if Teacher Xu says he’s fine, then he must be. Besides…..how could it be possible for him to wake up so soon…..”

The spirited voices of middle aged men made Li Xiu even dizzier.

He still vaguely recalled the terrifying scene from before he fainted.

“Fang Qian’an……”

Before his reasoning was in place, Li Xiu had already instinctively stretched out his hand in an attempt to find the tall boy.

At this time, Li Xiu didn’t notice the other people looking at him in surprise the moment he made a sound.

“A-Xiu! Thank god, you woke up!”

An elated cry exploded in his ears. Immediately after, Li Xiu felt like he had been hit by something — before he could recover, he was being hugged into someone’s arms.

Just now, some memories from the nightmare suddenly came to his mind. Li Xiu shuddered, his body tensing uncontrollably.

It was fortunate that in the next second, the youth’s hot body temperature and the near-deadly stranglehold woke Li Xiu up completely.

“Cough, l-let go of me.”

Li Xiu smacked Fang Qian’an on the back several times before the other let him go.

After taking a deep breath with difficulty, Li Xiu realized that he was lying on the lawn in front of the Xiao family villa. Fang Qian’an was hugging him with Li Xiu’s head resting on his knees. Seeing Li Xiu wake up, Fang Qian’an was just short of being moved to tears.

And not far from them were several middle-aged men.

Li Xiu stared at them nervously and found that all of these people looked unfamiliar. Oh, they weren’t all complete strangers. Li Xiu knew the chubby man standing in the back. He seemed to be the vice principal of Qiming Secondary School.

Li Xiu had only met the vice principal once before. The way the other party appeared as if he was an emperor on tour had made a deep impression on him. Only then did he remember that round, rosy face.

However, the vice principal who appeared before them now didn’t look as majestic as before. His back was hunched as he cautiously took up a position behind the others that could almost be called groveling.

And those few people who could humble the vice principal like that didn’t seem to be anything special.

At least, they didn’t possess the style of “leadership” that Li Xiu was familiar with. In fact, they looked like ordinary men who could be found on the street. Some of them were very young and appeared to be only in their twenties, while others were in their late fifties and full of vigor. And among this group of people was a man in his thirties, who vaguely appeared to be the leader.

The man was very thin, his appearance a very delicate and ordinary sort that could disappear instantly among a crowd. There was a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, a slightly antiquated dark blue suit on his body, and a pair of nondescript sneakers on his feet. 

This person had a temperament similar to a Chinese language teacher or politics teacher. Moreover, as Li Xiu was half awake, he seemed to hear the others call this man “Teacher Xu.”

…..Was this a teacher from Qiming? 

Li Xiu was a bit uncertain.

After experiencing the previous fright, Li Xiu’s mind still felt a little dull. And as he was in a daze, Fang Qian’an had already grabbed his hand and pushed him toward Teacher Xu.

“Teacher Xu, w-will you take another look at him?”

“Hiss, Fang Qian’an, be more gentle.” Li Xiu couldn’t help but kick Fang Qian’an with a frown.

Once Fang Qian’an calmed down a bit, Li Xiu subconsciously pulled the other party behind him. Then he raised his head as he stood in front of the man and revealed a skillfully obedient smile. 

“Hello, teachers. Hello, Vice Principal.”

Unlike other students, Li Xiu had never been timid when going through the motions in front of teachers.

Sure enough, when Li Xiu spoke, the incredibly tense atmosphere between the teachers and Fang Qian’an relaxed at once.

“You are…..Li Xiu, correct?”

The vice principal was originally just listening to these “teachers” as they unceremoniously scolded Fang Qian’an, his whole person as restless as an ant in a hot pot. He knew how powerful they were and didn’t dare to refute them, but the student being scolded…..that student wasn’t ordinary either, ah!

When he heard Li Xiu speak, he felt instantly relieved. While taking out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, he quickly changed the topic.

“How are you now, ah? Does anything hurt?” Having said this, the vice principal said condemningly, “Why are you here instead of attending class obediently, ah? You were warned before, a demerit will be given if you come to the Xiao family villa—”

Before the vice principal could finish speaking, Fang Qian’an interrupted him: “It had nothing to do with him.”

Ignoring Li Xiu’s gaze, Fang Qian’an stepped forward to shield the boy with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

“I dragged him here by force. If you want to write a demerit, you’ll remember me too, right? Anyway, I don’t want to go to this shitty school anymore.”

“Fang…..”

The vice principal’s face turned colors when he was criticized by Fang Qian’an, and he was momentarily speechless.

“Oh. What did you plan to do when you dragged him here?”

Teacher Xu fortunately spoke up at this time and questioned Fang Qian’an mildly. 

“……”

This time, the person who fell into silence with a complicated expression was Fang Qian’an.

Li Xiu reflexively turned his head to look at the boy beside him. His mind was in a state of disorder, and he was a little unsure whether to speak up about what they had encountered.

Before Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an could communicate with their eyes, Teacher Xu spoke again with a sigh.

“You young students, ah, you really don’t know what’s going on. Clearly, as long as you study hard and well, you will be immune from all evils. But no, you came to a place like this and scared yourselves silly. When your heart and soul are unstable, it’s easy to be bewitched and possessed by evil spirits…..”

Li Xiu raised his head in astonishment to meet Teacher Xu’s clear, gentle eyes behind his lenses.

---

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Chapter 31 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 33

It was a rare occasion that He Chuzhou woke up earlier than Pei Xi.

When he opened his eyes, he was very relieved to find that the person beside him was sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed.

The cell phone placed on the bedside table lit up with notifications one after another, and there were several missed calls.

He turned it to the lowest vibration mode. It wasn’t very loud, but he was still afraid of waking Pei Xi. Gently lifting the quilt, he got out of bed and picked up the phone, walking out barefoot to answer a call.

The tall figure walked away toward the balcony outside the open door, and didn’t see the eyelashes of the person who was supposed to be sleeping soundly in bed flutter as if they were about to take off.

After confirming that He Chuzhou had left the room, Pei Xi slowly shrank back into the bed, trying to hide his overheated earlobes.

His eyes rolled around twice under his eyelids, which were so thin that the capillaries were clearly visible. When he opened his eyes, they were clear and bright, not at all like he had just now woken up.

He had tossed from side to side most of last night, and it was currently close to 12 o’clock. The curtains were only half-open. There was no sunshine today, and the sky outside was foggy. It seemed windy, and the light wasn’t very harsh.

Great for sleeping.

Very suitable for sleeping under the quilt where the heat had not yet dissipated.

Very suitable for a weak patient who had just recovered from illness to continue sleeping.

He turned his gaze away from the window to look at the empty side of the bed.

His focused eyes gradually became distracted. He didn’t know what to think.

When he heard subtle footsteps heading toward the room, he subconsciously gripped the quilt and closed his eyes again.

The steps halted at the bedside, and he felt the dim light envelop him. He slowed his breathing and felt an unknown sense of tension sweep through him.

Very soon, a warm touch covered his forehead.

He Chuzhou bent down to feel the temperature of his forehead with his palm, but didn’t linger long.

After confirming that his temperature was normal, he swiftly retracted it and helped tuck in the corners of the quilt. He turned and left for a while, and there was the sound of running water in the bathroom.

Almost half of Pi Xi’s face was buried in the quilt, leaving a pair of closed eyes exposed. The hot breaths he exhaled steamed his face.

He didn’t adjust his slightly childish sleeping position. Smelling the warm scent of laundry detergent, he finally gave up struggling and allowed himself to fall asleep again.

An hour later, he was woken up.

However, when he was woken up due to external influences, the side effects didn’t come into play. He wasn’t confused. His mind was clear.

He Chuzhou didn’t understand the confusion that flashed through his eyes, and just asked him: “What, did you not sleep well?”

Pei Xi closed his eyes and calmed himself. Suppressing his slight disappointment, he shook his head and prepared to get up.

He Chuzhou called for him when lunch was ready. The dishes were still on the cooking counter, as there wasn’t time to bring them out.

Pei Xi came in to help, and their eyes inadvertently met. He Chuzhou asked casually: “Is President Pei going to the company this afternoon? You could just take a day off and rest.”

Pei Xi was the first to look away. He spoke a light “No need,” then picked up the two plates of food and left the kitchen.

He Chuzhou sprinkled chopped green onions over the soup and seemed to catch a glimpse of red on Pei Xi’s ears. Just when he was about to confirm it, that person was already gone.

He didn’t take it to heart. Filling up two bowls, he took the soup out.

Pei Xi was already sitting at the table.

He raised his eyes when he saw him approaching, lowering them again when their eyes met.

But this time, he was sure he had seen correctly. After a brief exchange of glances, Pei Xi’s face remained expressionless, but the roots of his ears were a solid red, and seemed to be even redder than before.

“Why are your ears so red?”

He wasn’t narcissistic enough to think that Pei Xi would blush every time he saw him. All he could think of was the high fever that had been so hard to get rid of the night before. “Did the fever come back?”

He frowned and put a hand to Pei Xi’s forehead to test it. His movements were very natural and familiar.

But Pei Xi couldn’t act as natural as him. Under the mask of feigned calm was a stiff body. He was very ill at ease, but remained seated obediently in his position and didn’t move away.

“No more fever, ah.”

He Chuzhou was puzzled, and touched his own forehead to compare them: “Your body temperature is lower than mine. Or is it that the virus has evolved to make you cold now?”

Pei Xi: “…..”

Pei Xi gave a light cough: “I’m fine.”

Just as a drunk person would never admit they were drunk, such words didn’t sound credible to He Chuzhou. Didn’t he just cough?

He recalled the doctor’s instructions from the previous night and quickly found the cause. He tapped his fingers twice on the table: “President Pei, let’s discuss this.”

Pei Xi silently raised his eyes.

He Chuzhou: “Dealing with work one day and taking one day off isn’t working for you, so how about giving me some of it?”

Pei Xi stared blankly. He spent more than ten seconds attempting to digest his words, but still couldn’t understand: “…..What?”

He Chuzhou switched to a more straightforward statement: “Just leave the work you can’t finish and I’ll help you handle it.”

“If you’re worried about me stealing your family secrets, just don’t give me any important information. Aren’t there a lot of superficial tasks that are cumbersome and time-consuming to deal with? Just leave those to me.”

“Of course, if you’re still worried, I can sign a confidentiality agreement. If there’s any problem later, I’ll give you half of my shares. How about it?”

Pei Xi: “…..?”

Of course he wasn’t worried that He Chuzhou would steal any secrets. Firstly because a person with intent to steal wouldn’t be so brazen, and secondly because he knew very well that He Chuzhou would never bother to do such a thing.

But could half the shares of President He’s company be used as a guarantee at will?

Wasn’t he afraid that he would be deliberately wronged for half his shares?

Half-stunned, he could only ask one simple question: “Why?”

He Chuzhou asked back: “Do you know why I’m here?”

Pei Xi nodded subconsciously, but then shook his head in denial: “I don’t.”

He Chuzhou: “Because you had a high fever in the middle of the night last night. Thirty-nine degrees. You just barely left the hospital after taking an IV.”

“The doctor said that the main cause of your illness was excessive fatigue. If you keep squeezing yourself like this, you might be able to burn yourself to forty degrees next time.”

“Don’t worry, I’m actually rather kind and honest, and won’t take advantage of you.”

Kind and honest?

Won’t take advantage of him?

Pei Xi was speechless. Who was the person who kept coaxing him to call him gege last night?

Because he wouldn’t remember when he woke up, he kept making him call him that again, saying that he liked hearing it and that he wished he could shrink him down and put him on his shoulder to call him gege every day.

He also said…..

He also said that he had done his best and was good enough.

That the other people were the ones who should reflect on themselves.

That no one stipulated that an elder brother must love his younger brother.

That anyone who didn’t love him didn’t know his true value.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he looked into He Chuzhou’s eyes. They were broad and level, with hidden depths. It was like the sun was always shining in them, hot and clear, without a trace of haze.

His thoughts were even more confused by his leaping heartbeat, and he couldn’t say anything for a moment.

But in the next second, He Chuzhou’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly waking him up.

“Do you know how clingy you are when you’re sick? Whether your eyes were open or closed, I didn’t dare take a step away…..” 

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Pei Xi suddenly interrupted him.

It was like he had made a mistake and was eager to make amends, using this to stop the other person from saying what he didn’t want to hear: “If you find it troublesome, you can ignore me when that happens. As long as you make your attitude clear, I shouldn’t disturb you too much.”

He Chuzhou’s expression froze slightly.

There was a faint fear of abandonment in Pei Xi’s words, not very obvious under the thin ice. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the other person sounded very uneasy.

“Pei Xi, have you misunderstood me?”

He deliberated over his words: “I didn’t say that because I think you’re troublesome. It’s really nothing. I just feel that it’s easy for accidents to happen in such a situation.”

“You urgently need my care in emergencies, but I’m not always by your side. What would I do if you get sick again and my phone happens to be out of battery, or I sleep too hard and don’t answer your call?”

“Maybe it’s like you said, and you can handle yourself if I treat you coldly and don’t care for you. But if that’s the case, what do you expect me to do? Do you think I could rest assured?”

Having said this, he couldn’t help but sigh: “I’m not helping you just to solve problems for myself. I just want to minimize the possibility of such emergencies. You’re already working so hard during your recovery from the side effects of your injury, so don’t suffer any more hardships.”

His tone was very soft, with helplessness and obvious coaxing at the end.

Pei Xi looked at him and curled up the hand holding his chopsticks, suddenly feeling at a loss.

To him, their deal itself was unfair. He couldn’t keep enjoying He Chuzhou’s efforts with peace of mind, and couldn’t give anything in return.

But if he didn’t agree and the current situation continued, it would cause trouble for He Chuzhou.

He was in a dilemma, unable to shake his head, let alone nod.

Little did he know that at the same time, the person sitting opposite him suddenly came up with a more ambitious plan B.

“Actually, it’s rather difficult for me to get up earlier every other day to walk the dog and then rush to your house.”

A certain person changed the subject, catching him off-guard.

The topic jumped so much that Pei Xi didn’t even have time to feel guiltier before He Chuzhou continued: “How about you move in with me?”

“If we’re under the same roof, I won’t need to worry about you not finding me in the middle of the night, or having to get up early to pick you up the next day.”

“Of course, I can move in here if you don’t mind, but I still have a dog who likes to tear up the house when he eats too much. As long as that doesn’t bother you.”

*

*

Neither of them went to the company. One afternoon was enough to move all the things Pei Xi needed for daily life and work to the villa.

The reason Pei Xi decided to move here was of course not only because it was difficult for a high-ranking person to raise a dog, but also because Pei Xi was more accustomed to living in He Chuzhou’s home when he was in a brain-addled state of mind.

Likewise, Pei Xi agreed to move here not just because it would save He Chuzhou a lot of trouble. There were other reasons.

Other reasons…..

They were somewhat difficult to describe. He couldn’t think about or explain them clearly, so he put them out of mind.

His room was on the second floor of the villa, a guest room opposite He Chuzhou’s room.

It was said to be a guest room, but it actually wasn’t much different than the master bedroom. It was also spacious and bright, with a comfortable style, and included a small balcony and separate bathroom.

Just after putting everything away, he stood in the middle of the room and took in everything around him. It felt unreal.

— He was living with He Chuzhou.

This knowledge caused some unfamiliar emotions to crawl across his heart like dense vines.

He felt it cautiously for a while in silence, then turned and left the room.

“What do you want for dinner?”

He Chuzhou was leaning against the cooking table, selecting ingredients in a leisurely manner. When he saw him coming down from upstairs, he took a small handful of celery and waved it at him: “How about spicy broiled beef?”

The man’s eyebrows were raised, the corners of his lips curved in a loose and handsome arc. His entire being seemed to be in a relaxed and happy mood, but Pei Xi didn’t know why.

Obviously, his arrival meant that he had to work harder to cook for one more person every meal.

…..Perhaps he needed to find an opportunity to talk to He Chuzhou about not putting too much thought into food.

Otherwise, when he left in the future, it might take him a long time to eat his own cooking again.

With this thought, he moved his gaze from the handful of celery to He Chuzhou’s dazzling, brilliant face and said in a cool voice: “Can you add a serving of sweet and sour fish? Thank you.”

---

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Chapter 30 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 32

Tang Rou woke abruptly. As soon as she sat up and found herself in an unfamiliar bed, her fragmented memory gradually recovered. All of the blood in her face receded in an instant, leaving only tears glimmering in her eyes. 

Her mother’s persuading from the previous night still echoed in her ears. After drinking tea, her whole body became hot, her consciousness blurred. Then she was delivered here by her mother herself and stripped of her clothes, a lamb to the slaughter. She was abandoned here without concern for her dignity or reputation. 

She had lived as Tang Mu for over a decade. One moment she was working conscientiously for Nangfeng City, and the next, she received such deplorable treatment by her mother. That contrast tormented her more than any humiliation. 

Just when Tang Mu was breaking down, there was a knock on the door. Then Liu Zhenqing’s voice sounded: “Brother Tang, are you awake? It’s me and General Huo.”

Tang Rou’s head was muddled. She remembered that Liu Zhenqing was here the night before. She knew she hadn’t been bullied and that Liu Zhenqing gave her medicine, which made her feel much better…..so……she’d been found out.

Reason and despair yanked her back and forth.

But now that she was Tang Mu, ah, she had to grit her teeth and endure all the humiliation, forcing herself to deal with it calmly.

“Please wait…..” Tang Mu said with feigned serenity. In the blink of an eye, she saw a set of neat and tidy men’s clothes beside the bed. Her heart seemed to catch a sense of warmth, and she felt slightly reassured.

Once Tang Rou tidied up, she called them in.

Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie entered.

Liu Zhenqing looked over and found that although Tang Rou’s eyes were distinctly lifeless, she was putting on a brave face. He couldn’t help but feel some sympathy. Just as he was about to say a few words of concern, Huo Fenglie suddenly took half a step forward to block his line of sight.

“Tang-chengzhu, please take a seat,” Huo Fenglie said coolly, still treating Tang Rou with the same attitude as before. 

Liu Zhenqing was drawn by Huo Fenglie to sit down. Tang Rou, however, did not sit. Rather, she saluted the two of them: “Apologies for causing the two of you trouble last night.”

“Please get up, I have something to say,” Liu Zhenqing said hurriedly.

Tang Rou straightened and sat down, her expression still endlessly ugly.

Liu Zhenqing smiled dryly and dove right in: “You’re Tang Rou?”

Tang Rou trembled all over. Although she knew she had to face it, she still panicked when the moment came. 

Liu Zhenqing absolutely couldn’t bear to see this, and immediately said: “You…..don’t need to worry so much. The only ones who know are me and Fenglie, and we won’t tell anyone. Do you remember what happened last night?”

Tang Rou said: “I don’t remember too much.”

Liu Zhenqing gave a simple overview of the previous night’s events.

He also particularly emphasized, “I discovered your secret when I heard your higher voice. It was the same with Fenglie later.”

He had also convinced Huo Fenglie of this last night. Although Huo Fenglie didn’t really believe him, Liu Zhenqing had many ways to deal with a disobedient Er-gou who dared to question him. He’d kissed him until his mouth softened, his heart fluttered, and his imposing manner deflated. In the end, Huo Fenglie could only say that he believed him, and didn’t dare to provoke Liu Zhenqing again.

The two of them didn’t do anything at all about the unconscious Tang Rou. After all, she was only wearing her undergarments and it wasn’t safe to send her back. It was too late at night, and Huo Fenglie had spent the day fighting, so the two of them went back to Liu Zhenqing’s room to rest.

Hearing the special emphasis Liu Zhenqing placed on his words, Huo Fenglie glanced at him noncommittally. 

Liu Zhenqing smiled at him and winked, his eyes full of ambiguity. This made Huo Fenglie feel the lingering fear of the past, when he’d become increasingly unable to resist Qing-ge’s kisses. 

In fact, Tang Rou remembered that she had lost control and embraced Liu Zhenqing, but seeing Liu Zhenqing avoid it like this, whether it was out of respect for her or because he feared the person next to him would be jealous, Tang Mu went along with it. 

“Both of you are…..good people! I’m so fortunate. Otherwise, I’d be…..” As Tang Rou spoke, she took out the willow leaf jade pendant. 

Tang Rou did this to comfort herself, but it caused the two people opposite her to fall into a strange, awkward atmosphere.

It turned out that the person who admired Liu Zhenqing back then was not Tang Mu, but Tang Rou. This was reasonable. Liu Zhenqing touched his chin in discomfort. So he had gifted the jade pendant to Tang Rou? 

Huo Fenglie looked at such a Liu Zhenqing and knew that he must have unintentionally flirted with the young girl. After all, she’d even called him Xiting. His eyes darkened and he said directly: “Why did you pretend?”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s lips twitched and he gave Huo Fenglie a glance. So straightforward? 

Tang Rou was no ordinary woman. When faced with this question, she took a deep breath and said, still using Tang Mu’s voice: “The original City Lord was my elder brother, until something happened to Prime Minister Liu.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. How was this related to him?

Tang Rou said: “When something happened to Prime Minister Liu, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty was collecting evidence of his crimes, and his deeds in Nanfeng City became a top priority. But the truth isn’t what they said. Prime Minister Liu was actually……benevolent to our Tang family.

“……Benevolent?” Huo Fenglie looked sideways at Liu Zhenqing.

“One of you knew Prime Minister Liu for many years, and the other is his kin. Would you like to hear the truth behind those rumors?”

“Please do.”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Tang Rou with a sigh. Back then, he’d said to never mention the truth to anyone. This was their due.

But no matter how complicated Liu Zhenqing’s mood was, Tang Rou opposite them seemed to have been waiting for this day, waiting to tell others the truth.

At the same time, in the military camp, a person was seized and dragged to Dai Tingyu.

Dai Tingyu regarded the captured man with puzzlement.

“This man was smuggled in from the Western Shu Kingdom. Some subordinates saw him sneaking around, and he seemed to be hiding something.”

Dai Tingyu was happy to directly give him a beating, but the man spoke tremulously. Someone had bribed him to tell the people of Nanfeng City the truth of Nanfeng City’s fall over a decade ago.

“Does he intend to orchestrate internal chaos within our ranks?” Dai Tingyu mocked, “Can’t your King of Western Shu do something more impressive?”

The newcomer no longer dared to lie. He could only certify that it was true he was bribed, but that the truth he spread was also the genuine truth.

Because the truth of back then was known most clearly by the Western Shu Kingdom, which had been deceived.

Everyone back then knew that there were external and internal troubles within the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they all wanted to step on it and get a piece of the pie. Thus, the King of Western Shu invaded Nanfeng City. It was said that Tang-chengzhu  and the city’s defenders were struggling to hold their own while waiting for rescue. As a result, Prime Minister Liu killed the old City Lord not long after he arrived and offered his head to appease Western Shu, intending to negotiate peace talks that involved ceding Nanfeng City. In the end, the new City Lord Tang Mu led a counterattack and saved the day. Therefore, the people of Nanfeng City were grateful to the Tang family and resented Prime Minister Liu.

Most of Dai Tingyu’s subordinates were locals from Nanfeng City, and naturally knew all about this. Because of their veiled attitudes toward Liu Zhenqing, Dai Tingu had always thought that Huo Fenglie and Tang Mu must know the inside story. When he heard the other party’s words, and it was the King of Western Shu who sent him to spread the news, he sensed something fishy and had his trusted aides remain while he questioned the man personally.

“Let’s see how your story goes!” Dai Tingyu’s subordinates were naturally skeptical, and spat out this sentence.

The prisoner trembled, saying: “In fact, our king bribed the Old City Lord back then, and the reason your city’s defenders constantly lost battles was because the old city lord kept funneling information to us in order to help us besiege Nanfeng City. The beautiful concubine at his side at the time was a spy sent by our Western Shu Kingdom. The old city lord agreed to flee Nanfeng City for Western Shu, and also provided us with a map of the city defenses.” 

As soon as he spoke these words, he was punched and kicked by the others. That the hero in their hearts could be slandered with such empty words was simply ridiculous and insulting to their intelligence! How could they possibly endure it?

The prisoner was beaten until he shouted: “I’m really not lying! Think about it, wasn’t there suddenly a beautiful woman at the Old City Lord’s side back then whom he loved and cherished very much? Do any of you know that beauty’s origin? In order to make the Old City Lord prove his resoluteness, our king also told him to kill his wife and children to prove that he truly intended to leave. Wasn’t there a fire in your City Lord’s manor? The Old City Lord’s wife and children were nearly burned to death, and even accused us of sending people to do it when in fact, it was your own Old City Lord demonstrating his loyalty to our king.”

A few people were moved. They were still young back then and naturally wouldn’t have much knowledge. But there had indeed been a beauty at the Old City Lord’s side, and the man and his wife had quarreled over it for days. This gossip had reached their ears, and as for the fire, it had been witnessed by everyone in the city.

Burn his wife and children to death? Then Tang Mu also…..no wonder Tang Mu never missed having his father there. Even when others praised his father, he always scoffed. Dai Tingyu gradually became inclined to believe this confession, and his expression turned ugly.

“It was just that…..he didn’t expect Tang Mu to escape and meet Prime Minister Liu, who had arrived with reinforcements. After working together to rescue everyone in the Tang family from the fire, they discovered something strange about the blaze and realized that the Old City Lord had colluded with our Western Shu. So they killed the Old City Lord, then used the trick of offering his head to deceive the military officials of Western Shu and fought them together. Only then did the crisis in Nanfeng City end.”

The others could no longer listen when the prisoner said this. “You’re talking nonsense, how could it be possible for Prime Minister Liu to…..the lies you speak are unreasonable. Since the person your people bribed was killed, how could you still be fooled into coming to Nanfeng City?!”

He must be lying. The Old City Lord was good, and the treacherous Prime Minister Liu was bad. This was just a lie to confuse them. Some of them were already so agitated that they wanted to take out their swords and kill this prisoner.

They heard the prisoner hastily shout out an explanation: “Because at that time, didn’t you all hear that he was a traitor? Our Western Shu Kingdom also believed it to be true. A treacherous official is easy to bribe, and would be more effective than the Old City Lord. Our kingdom thought that he wanted to replace the Old City Lord when it came to making a deal with us, and we were naturally happy to do so. But we didn’t expect that everything was fabricated. It was our king who was deceived by Prime Minister Liu and set himself up as an easy target. At that time, the Western Shu Kingdom suffered heavy losses. It was rumored that our king said that as long as Prime Minister Liu was still in power, there could be no thoughts of taking advantage of Great Zhou, so we gave up attacking it.”

When the prisoner said this, he saw everyone regarding him with dark expressions and said quickly: “I’m telling the truth. I’m not lying to you. How else could the few remaining brats of the Tang family lead people to kill our general, ah? In fact, it was all due to Prime Minister Liu.”

Other than Dai Tingyu, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically. What they had just heard…..how could they believe it?

How could it be possible that the person they had criticized for over a decade and the person they had been grateful to for over a decade could be wrong?

“No evidence…..you have no evidence!”

Although much of the logic was correct, they couldn’t believe anything without evidence.

“It’s definitely not true, ah. How is it possible that the Old City Lord could be like this? He was a person of the Great Zhou Dynasty and our beloved City Lord,” one person argued.

“Right, the Tang family has guarded Nanfeng City for generations. Not only the Old City Lord, but even previous generations, firm and unyielding…..”

The prisoner could only explain: “Our king originally promised the Old City Lord that if he came to the Western Shu Kingdom, he would be a nobleman. A noble in our kingdom was assigned many manor lands and thousands of slaves, which was much better than being a city lord who may be attacked by us at any time. How much is the salary of your city lords?”

This sentence angered everyone, but…..they couldn’t refute for a moment. Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, but the Old City Lord did love the beautiful concubine at that time. Perhaps some people really could abandon everything for wealth and glory. 

They dared not think it. But someone had another thought.

“It’s still not right. If the Old City Lord really betrayed Nanfeng City, it would be a serious crime. The treacherous minister…..why would a person as lofty and powerful as Prime Minister Liu allow rumors to slander him, then support the current city lord’s ascent to power…..”

This time, Dai Tingyu spoke before the prisoner could: “Because the Great Zhou Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles at that time. Nanfeng City is a border fortress, and the morale of the army and the common people could not be disturbed, nor their resentment aroused. As long as ‘Tang-chengzhu performed a meritorious service and the Old City Lord died with honor and glory,’ the reputation of the Tang family would be ironclad. Like this, the stability of Nanfeng City would continue, and the enemy would not be given the chance to wantonly harass Great Zhou.”

It was just a bad reputation. Didn’t Prime Minister Liu already have a bad reputation? He wouldn’t have cared at all.

As long as Prime Minister Liu took on this notoriety, the people of Nanfeng City would band together with weapons pointing outward to build the strongest city wall.

This was the result Prime Minister Liu wanted. It was also his benevolence to the Tang family.

What Dai Tingyu heard was that Tang Mu’s involvement in the arrest of the Old City Lord should be due to his righteousness in holding a family member accountable. Faced with a father who wanted to personally exterminate them and commit treason, as a loyal official of the Tang family, he would not be merciful. Thus, Prime Minister Liu chose to support him in his rise to power.

. . . . . . .

“My brother was very clever. He had long discovered that something was wrong with our father, and was killed before he had time to dissuade him. If he hadn’t run into Prime Minister Liu, the entire family would have died in that fire. Father was so vicious. He was tired of being a city lord. He wanted to take his beauty to Western Shu and live happily as a slave owner. I don’t know when he became such a person, forgetting the honor of the Tang family and Grandfather’s teachings. In the end, my elder brother and Prime Minister Liu jointly garroted father and devised a strategy to completely resolve future problems with Western Shu. In order to stabilize Nanfeng City, Prime Minister Liu did not disclose the truth to the public. Instead of pursuing charges against our Tang family, he supported my brother to ascend to the position of City Lord and left with infamy on his shoulders.”

Tang Rou paused for a long moment after speaking, holding the jade willow leaf pendant tightly in her hand as if only then she could bear the pain of hiding the truth all this time and enjoying honor by sucking the blood of the one she adored.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he did. After all, he was already a traitor at the time, and glad to be one, so he naturally wanted to make good use of his reputation. Otherwise, the Western Shu Kingdom wouldn’t have been so easily deceived. What was wrong with additional infamy in the name of protecting the remaining loyal and patriotic Tang family members? In any case, Liu Zhenqing didn’t like entire families being punished for the crimes of one person. 

Just as he was musing, he felt someone suddenly hold his hand tightly under the table. Liu Zhenqing was taken aback for a moment, somewhat amused at the knowledge that Er-gou was feeling sorry for him in his own way. Since he took the initiative, Liu Zhenqing naturally wanted to tease him. So he simply clasped hands with Er-gou, then gently stroked the back of his hand with his index finger. Sure enough, Huo Fenglie was provoked and tried to extricate his hand after a moment. How could Liu Zhenqing let him off so easily?

Huo Fenglie coughed. “What happened after that?”

Tang Rou returned to her senses and said: “Before he left, Prime Minister Liu vowed to treat this matter as the rumors said and never reveal the truth. Only in this way would our family be stable. We…..were also greedy for life and afraid of death, and cared about the reputation of the Tang family, so we dared not speak up. After all, deceiving the emperor is a crime. But our benefactor…..died.”

Tang Rou took a deep breath and said: “After his death, he was scorned and slandered by everyone in the country. We didn’t know anything else about him, but we couldn’t let our benefactor bear the blame for Nanfeng City, even if…..the crimes of our Tang family were made public. So my brother discussed it with me and asked me to pretend to be the city lord while he went to the capital to clear Prime Minister Liu’s name.

Liu Zhenqing was slightly stunned to hear this, and had no intention of teasing Huo Fenglie anymore. He said helplessly: “You two…..why did you do that?”

Tang Rou shook her head and said: “If we didn’t, how could our consciences be at ease? But we didn’t accomplish anything. Not long after, I found my brother’s body on the mountain road not far from Nanfeng City. There was no telling if it was an accident or murder.

The expressions of Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing shifted slightly.

Back then, anyone who wanted to clear Liu Zhenqing’s name had encountered an accident.

Tang Mu had become one of them.

Liu Zhenqing lamented inwardly. Such a good man had died for such a thing. In Liu Zhenqing’s opinion, it wasn’t worth the cost, nor was it what an intelligent person would do.

But he was still grateful.

“Anyway, that’s how my brother left. Prime Minister Liu had just passed away at that time, and other countries were beginning to take action once again. We had no choice. Because there were very few people in the know, and few who could be trusted, I could only continue to pretend to be my elder brother, stabilize people’s hearts, and assume the position of City Lord…..when things were stable later, I didn’t want to retire. Firstly, I feel that I should handle my brother’s job now that he is gone. Secondly, I have no desire at all to marry. It’s great to be able to dedicate my life to Nanfeng City like this. After all, this is the city that my elder brother and Prime Minister Liu protected together.”

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Chapter One Hundred Eleven << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

Li Xiu froze.

Something seeped into his nerves, isolating his mind from his body. Li Xiu felt as if he had turned into some kind of animal, such as a frog in the grass or a cat accidentally running into the road. Once illuminated by a flashlight or the headlights of a car, he was completely frozen in place and unable to move. There was something lodged in his throat, a scream stuck in his vocal cords, but in reality, Li Xiu couldn’t even whimper.

His eyes were open wide as he stared helplessly at the “thing” next to him in the mirror.

It was definitely not the face of a living person.

This was evident at just a glance.

Fortunately, it wasn’t bloated and nauseating like the ghosts that had appeared in Li Xiu’s nightmare. The dead face belonged to a young man.

That cold, sinister, gloomy temperament seemed a little familiar.

Li Xiu stared at the mirror, his thoughts in utmost chaos.

His mind was a complete mess. The thing was practically plastered to him, and Li Xiu could even smell the scent emanating from it. It was a cold and gloomy scent, the odor of earth, dust, and corpses mixed together.

Beads of sweat rolled down his temples. The cheeks of the immobilized youth were wet from either the sweat or his tears of fright.

“Fang…..Fang…..”

Time seemed to stretch infinitely.

Li Xiu’s deathly pale lips were closed, and it exhausted nearly all of his strength to push a breathy sound from his throat.

Fang Qian’an, save me…..

However, before the cry for help could come out, the “thing” in the mirror suddenly raised its hand to press the index finger to Li Xiu’s lips in a silencing gesture.

There were no fingernails on its hand.

Then it reached its fingers downward inch by inch, climbing from Li Xiu’s arm to his palm. In absolute terror, Li Xiu felt a slight chill in his palm, as if something had fallen into his hand.

Whoosh—

At this moment, a breeze suddenly gusted up and the airflow slammed into the haunted house room like an invisible giant. The window screens opened with a bang, blown hard against the walls.

Slam! The door behind Li Xiu also blew shut with a loud bang.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh—”

As if suddenly waking up from a nightmare, Li Xiu suddenly had strength.

The moment he finally screamed, the feeling like sleep paralysis dissipated at once. Li Xiu reflexively shook his hand and threw away the extra thing in his palm. He backpedaled as he screamed, falling heavily to the floor.

The thing he threw caught on the mirror of the dressing table, and fell to the floor again after smashing a crack into the mirror.

Li Xiu braced his hands against the floor, panting heavily as he stared blankly at that thing.

It was a very ordinary key.

It had dropped not far from Li Xiu, but he didn’t have the courage to go forward and investigate.

“F-Fang Qian’an, did you see that?”

The youth suppressed the sob in his tone and called out shakily to his companion.

But Fang Qian’an’s response didn’t come.

“Fang Qian’an?”

Li Xiu turned around and looked behind him.

He saw the salt and glutinous rice that Fang Qian’an had scattered everywhere before. There was a cell phone lying crookedly on the floor, still playing the Rebirth Mantra that was pulled from an unknown website.

However, apart from Li Xiu, there was nobody to be seen in the bedroom haunted by that repeating mantra.

“Fang Qian’an! Where are you?!”

Li Xiu raised his arm and wiped his face with it. It felt like something was stuck in his throat, and his voice was hoarse as he shouted.

The blood drained from his face as he stood up from the floor, his entire body trembling. Looking around, Li Xiu pinched his thigh hard. The stinging pain in his flesh made him realize in desperation that this time, he wasn’t having a nightmare.

For a moment, he even wished he was.

Because Fang Qian’an, who was behind him just now, had indeed vanished.

The scenes from horror movies and novels he had encountered before came to his mind one after another. A chill continued to seep from Li Xiu’s bone marrow, making him weaker and more afraid than ever before.

Li Xiu even felt that something was still watching right behind him.

His hair was standing on end and he was sweating, but he didn’t dare look back at the dressing table.

Li Xiu picked up the phone on the ground and turned the sound off. 

In a split second, silence engulfed the room.

No matter what, Li Xiu didn’t dare stay in the bedroom. With Fang Qian’an’s cell phone in hand, he staggered out helplessly.

The second floor of the Xiao family villa remained cold and quiet. Every step Li Xiu took, he could hear the creaking sound of his weight on the old flooring.

“Prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony……”

The pale-faced Li Xiu tried very hard to calm down.

After reciting the core values of socialism once, Li Xiu balanced himself to stand more firmly, then mustered up the courage to shout again from the second floor: “Fang Qian’an, where are you?”

Thump thump thump—

There was suddenly a fierce knock on a door.

Immediately afterward, Fang Qian’an’s tragic cry for help sounded from the deepest part of the second floor corridor.

“A-Xiu! Save me! A-Xiu, ahhhhh, wuwuwuwu—s-save me—I’m in here! I’m in here, ah, let me out! Let me out, ahhhhhh, A-Xiu—!”

“Fang Qian’an?!”

Li Xiu sucked in a deep breath and limped in the direction of the sound. Fang Qian’an’s voice was coming from the room at the end of the corridor. When Li Xiu got closer, he could hear Fang Qian’an crying.

“Let me out! A-Xiu! Let me out wuwuwuwu……”

Li Xiu didn’t know why Fang Qian’an was in this room. He pressed his hand to the door handle without thinking, but no matter how he twisted it, the door wouldn’t budge.

“Fang Qian’an, the door is locked! Just wait, I’m right outside the door, I’ll get you out!”

The door to the room was indeed locked.

So how had Fang Qian’an gotten in?

Li Xiu had no time to think about all of this, because as he stood there looking at the door helplessly, Fang Qian’an’s cries from inside became increasingly bleak and shrill.

Li Xiu didn’t dare think about what was happening to Fang Qian’an inside that room.

He tried to hit the door with his shoulder, but half his body went numb and the door was still locked.

“A-Xiu, A-Xiu ahhhhhhh…..”

The tone of Fang Qian’an’s voice changed.

“Fang Qian’an! Wait! Wait for me!”

Breathing heavily, Li Xiu called out unconsciously amidst Fang Qian’an’s cries.

A terrible intuition struck him. If he couldn’t open the door in time, Fang Qian’an……

Fang Qian’an might die right here.

However, with his body, it was impossible to break open the door with brute force. The door was locked so tightly that he wouldn’t be able to open it without a key.

Wait. A key?

Li Xiu abruptly recalled what that gray-faced “young man” had placed in his palm.

The key he threw on the floor!

“Fang Qian’an, just hold on! I’m going to find the key, I’ll come rescue you right away—”

Li Xiu swore he had never run so fast before. Although his right foot hurt like crazy and he seemed to have fallen several times on the way back, he didn’t remember much about it. He was almost out of his mind with fear.

His chest hurt, and he gasped for air.

Li Xiu was filled with dread when he went back to that room. He feared that when he returned, the key on the floor would be gone, just like the ghost he had seen in the mirror.

Thank goodness, the seemingly ordinary key was still on the floor when he got there.

Li Xiu grabbed it and rushed back to the room at the end of the corridor.

When he fitted the key into the keyhole, Li Xiu’s hand slipped several times due to his blurred vision and shaking hands.

But at this moment, Fang Qian’an’s wailing inside the room suddenly cut off. A kind of deathly sensation suddenly fell over him.

Li Xiu’s face paled, and he sobbed: “Fang Qian’an, what’s wrong! Don’t scare me! Answer me!”

At last, the key aligned with the keyhole, and there was a dry sound as the tongue of the lock unlatched.

The door finally opened.

The room was dim.

It was also very cramped. The only windows were two narrow transoms above the wall, which provided a severely lacking light and a musty kind of moisture. There were several pieces of artwork taped to the wall, using torn paper from texts. Most of the paintings were images of a child and a woman holding hands. Compared to ordinary children’s paintings, the colors used were very few, only red and black, as if the artist only had these two colors.

In the corners of the paintings, very large, childish characters could be seen.

“Mama and me.”

The edges of the paper were stained with mold.

A child’s mattress was crammed in a corner of the room, messy quilts and coverings piled up on it. Most likely, nobody had touched them since the tragedy over ten years ago. Now, clumps of mold had grown on the long-outdated cartoon prints.

Behind the mattress was a chamber pot — if he hadn’t grown up in a shantytown with harsh living conditions, even Li Xiu wouldn’t know what that was.

With these things in place, there was almost nowhere to stand in the whole room.

And Fang Qian’an’s large body was curled up into a ball. He had his back turned to the door as he crouched at a corner of the mattress with his head in his hands, muttering incoherently.

“Wuwuwu…..wuwu…..it’s so dark in here…..I’m so scared…..let me out…..please let me out…..”

Li Xiu heard Fang Qian’an’s terrified cries.

“Fang Qian’an, it’s okay.”

With no time to think, Li Xiu rushed into the room and hugged Fang Qian’an.

“Let’s go, let’s get out of this damn place right now. It’ll be fine once we get out. Fang Qian’an, calm down! I can’t carry you…..”

As Li Xiu hugged Fang Qian’an, his arms couldn’t even reach around the big dummy’s shoulders.

Even under normal circumstances, a boy who was naturally smaller than other people wouldn’t be able to drag someone as large as Fang Qian’an. Not to mention that at this time, Li Xiu was so frightened that he had lost all strength.

But the unnatural coldness and terror in the haunted house was so distinct.

Li Xiu could almost feel it, that intangible and twisted thing approaching him little by little.

Not to mention Fang Qian’an, Li Xiu himself was unconsciously crying as he called out.

“Let’s leave right away, Fang Qian’an, right away…..”

Just as Li Xiu fell into despair, a burst of heavy footsteps sounded, and a frustrated voice came immediately from outside the door.

“A-Xiu? Fuck, where the hell did you go? Do you realize I was going crazy looking for you?!”

Li Xiu turned around at once, staring at the tall figure approaching outside the door.

Fang Qian’an didn’t have any of the arrogance and unruliness of the former school bully.

The 1.9 meter tall young man currently had a bloodless face and white lips. He was breathing heavily, as if he had undergone intense exercise.

At this moment, he was standing in the corridor, panting. Only at this moment did Fang Qian’an realize that something was wrong.

“W-wait a minute. A-Xu, who were you talking to just now?”

Li Xiu’s pupils suddenly constricted.

“Heh…..”

The “Fang Qian’an” held tightly in his arms nestled into him and let out a long, contented chuckle.

Little by little, Li Xiu lowered his head in terror.

He saw that face again, those bloodshot, crimson eyes, the cheeks of a corpse stiffly pulled apart with open lips.

It stared at Li Xiu greedily and contentedly, softly holding the youth’s cheeks with bone-exposed knuckles.

“So obedient,” Li Xiu heard the thing whisper softly. Dry flesh fell on his forehead, leaving a kiss that smelled of rotten flesh and blood.

“I like A-Xiu the most. My A-Xiu is so good, ah……”

In a trance, Li Xiu seemed to hear a roar from Fang Qian’an, telling someone to let go of him?

It seemed that someone had burst into the room, endeavoring to tear him out of a monster’s slimy, cold embrace.

But for Li Xiu, it was all blurry, chaotic, and distant.

The youth’s exhausted body went completely limp. Everything in front of him distorted into a wriggling, squirming expansion of black smoke.

That black smoke enveloped his entire consciousness.

Li Xiu passed out.

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Chapter 30 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 32

Qiao Jin looked at the headless corpse that had been brought back, and his expression gradually turned ugly.

There were also words engraved on the corpse: Invaders will be struck down without mercy. The King of Western Shu is welcome to confront us.

“Our army…..had no great losses. Only a hundred people.”

“The other side?”

“On the other side…..no one was harmed.” The person below reported tremblingly, as if trying to make excuses for himself, “They were despicable, and used the dense forest to directly bypass the rear and intercept and kill the general. It was as if they knew that the general was hiding in the rear. I think…..someone must have informed them.”

“Informed them?” Qiao Jin wore a dark smile. “Troop deployment methods have not changed for hundreds of years. Those greedy for life and fearful of death hide behind the slaves. Even though there are no longer slaves, it is still all the same. Does this need to be reported?”

Qiao Jin just hadn’t expected that the dignified general who guards the country would be so bold yet cautious, daring to take the risk to attack and face ten thousand enemies with one hundred people. Sure enough…..this was a person of the Huo family! Their habit of doing what was least expected made it impossible for people to use common sense to deal with them.

What’s more, Qiao Jin hadn’t expected this bastard to be so useless. He did expect that Tan Fong would be defeated, but he was captured just half a day after attacking. Not to mention testing the depths of the situation in Nanfeng City, even his “misdirection” was probably ineffective.

This humiliation hit the young King of Western Shu hard in the face, nearly ashaming him into a rage. After scolding them, he sent the other military commanders to take over the remaining troops and told them to not invade rashly.

“What are you so angry about? The Huo family has been made up of famous generals for generations. Isn’t it normal that you can’t beat them?” Liu Qiao walked out of the darkness.

Although Qiao Jin was angry, he was not in a mindless rage. “Yes, ah, I can’t beat him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have other ways to stir them up.”

“What are you going to do?” Liu Qiao knew Qiao Jin very well, and the second he saw the smile on Qiao Jin’s face, he knew that this kid must be keeping in reserve a lethal trick.

“We’ll do something you’ve always wanted to do,” Qiao Jin sneered.

At this time, Nanfeng City at night was even more lively than its busiest times in the past. The battle of one hundred against ten thousand had left the enemy leaderless, and that army of ten thousand was forced back dozens of li without a fight. It seemed like such a statement could only be heard in legends, but now the people of Nanfeng City had seen it with their own eyes.

When they watched Huo Fenglie riding his black horse with the enemy general’s head in hand, everyone’s spirits were lifted by this easily-won battle. It was as if as long as this powerful man was here, any number of dangers would be eliminated before they began. Everyone spontaneously went to the streets to greet their hero and cheer. It seemed that the previous haze of anxiety had been swept away.

As Liu Zhenqing stood in front of the City Lord’s manor and watched the troops slowly returning from a distance, there was suddenly a strange feeling in his heart.

Huo Fenglie had started going to war at the age of fifteen. After returning victorious, Huo Feihan greeted him at the border, and Li Xingruo also welcomed him back at the capital. He recalled that due to being busy with government affairs, he had never welcomed the young general back home.

Now he stood here watching as Huo Fenglie gradually appeared in his field of vision, and his heart helplessly surged.

Their eyes seemed to meet, and driven by his master, Chen Jiangyue accelerated at once and took Huo Fenglie away from the contingent, straight toward Liu Zhenqing. Huo Fenglie’s long hair and cloak danced wildly in the night wind. When he was almost there, Huo Fenglie flew up and landed in front of Liu Zhenqing with more urgency than ever before.

The two gazed at each other for a moment, neither of them speaking.

Because Huo Fenglie was also in thought. He had gone to countless battlefields, and every time he returned, he would see people waiting for his subordinates, watch them embrace each other in joy for the victory, watch them cry with joy at being reunited. But Huo Fenglie had never seen the person he most wanted to see in the crowd.

Regardless of whether Qing-ge was alive at the time, he never saw him.

And today, he did.

“I’m back,” Huo Fenglie said abruptly. He looked at Liu Zhenqing intently, an unconscious childish expectation in his eyes. But this expectation quickly vanished, as if the general who guards the country no longer needed the fantasies of his youth at this moment. As long as Qing-ge welcomed him back, that was enough. 

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie, who seemed to be in a trance, and said with a smile: “Welcome back.”

Just as Huo Fenglie nodded, the person in front of him suddenly threw himself into his arms and hugged him tightly in front of all those soldiers and common people.

In a flash, it was as if his heart was struck. Huo Fenglie couldn’t react, and even thought for a moment that he was fantasizing again.

After all, a battle like this did not require such a warm welcome.

But Liu Zhenqing seemed to feel that this wasn’t enough, and deliberately acted out a coquettish scene. “I was so worried that you would be injured, but you’ve come back safely, ah. You’re amazing! You won such a huge victory!”

It sounded like he was talking without rhyme or reason, but he seemed to be trying to make up for what he had failed to do in the past.

Huo Fenglie let his fantasy become reality bit by bit, and in the end, he could only hold this person tightly in his arms. The two people behaving as if there was no one else around caused an uproar. It was rumored that the general who guards the country had no one by his side, so what was this?

Setting aside everyone’s shock, Qiao An, who was about to step forward to congratulate him, didn’t look very good. He hadn’t expected Huo Fenglie to be so capable, capable enough that he didn’t even care how rude Huo Fenglie was to him before. If he could use this person, there would be no need for him to be controlled by others anymore. Besides, where did this man who called himself a military adviser look more beautiful and gentle than him? Since Huo Fenglie liked men, he should find that he, a genuine prince, was certainly better than the military advisor.

On the other side, Tang-furen, who had come out with Tang Mu, had already heard about the battle. For those who had experienced the near-destruction of the city, the security given by Huo Fenglie was indescribable. Seeing the two embracing, Tang-furen was so unwilling that her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys twisted up. Her own child was incomparable. She wouldn’t give up easily, and must continue her efforts to get Huo Fenglie to marry her child.

When they returned to the City Lord’s manor, the four of them sat down and began to discuss the war. 

Huo Fenglie briefly explained what he had done, and Dai Tingyu’s jaw dropped in shock. “You haven’t fought them many times, ah, but you wrapped it up so quickly?”

Huo Fenglie said: “Judgements can also be made by observing the smoke rising from the cooking fires. The upper class of Western Shu, whether they are generals or not, live relatively extravagant lives, and it is impossible for them to change very much in a short period of time. The place where the smoke is thickest is naturally where the most people are being served, and a judgment can be made using this.”

Dai Tingyu’s eyes widened in disbelief. He likely hadn’t expected to be able to flexibly determine information from this angle.

Tang Mu said: “This great victory also dealt a heavy blow to the Western Shu Kingdom. They shouldn’t provoke us in the short term, but they may not respond to our request for a parlay. If they don’t retreat, do we really want to lead our troops in?”

“It’s not cost-effective to waste our troops on their small country!” Dai Tingyu couldn’t help but express his dissatisfaction. “They might talk nicely and agree to be a vassal state, but I think that Qiao An is a master at treachery.”

Huo Fenglie didn’t care about this. Due to Liu Qiao’s existence, he didn’t really want a direct confrontation with the King of Western Shu. He was worried that Liu Zhenqing would be upset, so he said: “Respond to ever-changing situations with constancy.”

They briefly discussed the follow-up arrangements and then departed. Because the troops of the Western Shu Kingdom had been taken under leadership again, relevant news came one after another. Huo Fenglie simply rested for a while, then returned to the military camp with Dai Tingyu to make further arrangements.

Huo Fenglie returned late at night. On the courtyard path that was supposed to be still in the dead of night, he met an unexpected person head-on.

“General Huo has returned, ah. Thank you for your hard work. You’ve worked very hard.”

Huo Fenglie was uncertain how a woman like her could intercept him on the path, and said: “Tang-furen, what can I do for you?”

“I’m just happy that the general won a great victory. It’s the time for celebration. Mu’er originally wanted to treat you to a drink, but who knew you would be busy again?” Tang-furen said with an apologetic smile.

Huo Fenglie didn’t waste time, saying directly: “Tang-furen, go back and rest early. I’ll take my leave.”

Tang-furen didn’t stop him, and only smiled strangely. After Huo Fenglie left, she immediately told several servants to stand guard outside Huo Fenglie’s courtyard.

And when Huo Fenglie went to the courtyard, he sensed that something was wrong as soon as he stepped into the room. There were extra people here. Huo Fenglie quickly strode to the inner room, where the bed curtain was down. Qing-ge usually slept here. Since Huo Fenglie’s recovery, they had been sleeping in the same bed. His eyes filled with murderous intent. It didn’t matter if he was ambushed, but if they’d hurt Qing-ge because of this…..as he stepped forward, someone suddenly pounced from behind.

The sweet, greasy fragrance that followed caused his expression to change. This smell was obviously a drug. 

Huo Fenglie ducked out of the way. The person who pounced missed, and before he could come to a stop, he felt a cold touch on his neck. It was the scabbard of a sword. Because the visitor had no killing intent, Huo Fenglie hadn’t drawn his weapon.

But when he got a good look at this person, his face darkened.

Under the moonlight, he saw Qiao An’s snow-white body wrapped in only a single layer of gauze. His hair was disheveled, and he was dressed in an unusually seductive manner.

“General…..” As if enticing him, Qiao An stretched out his slender fingers and gently touched the scabbard with charming eyes that seduced the soul.

But in the next second, a flick of the scabbard caused Qiao An to fall down in disarray.

“Scram,” Huo Fenglie said coldly, not showing any mercy.

Qiao An was shocked. He was already like this, and ordinarily, good-looking men would want to pounce on him when they saw him. His demureness should make him soft-hearted, so why was this Huo Fenglie’s heart still so cold, ah?

“General Huo…..I really am sincere. I admire you. I don’t ask for anything else, just a spring night. Don’t worry, no third party will know about this.” 

As Qiao An spoke, he crawled toward Huo Fenglie on his knees, doing his utmost to pose as endearingly as possible.

He had taken the initiative to throw himself into the other’s arms like this, and didn’t believe that Huo Fenglie wouldn’t eat the meat that was brought to his mouth.

But as Qiao An waited for an answer, there was the sound of a sword being drawn.

Qiao An was reaching for his belt, and instantly froze. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he said: “What….what are you doing?”

But before Qiao An could say another word, the sword was completely unsheathed. Qiao An was so terrified that he crawled and rolled away on the floor. 

Once he drove Qiao An away, Huo Fenglie’s anger still did not subside.

There was still another person!

Huo Fenglie approached the bed warily, sword in hand. As soon as the bed curtain opened, he stared blankly for a moment.

There were two people on the bed. One was an embarrassed-looking Liu Zhenqing, and the other was Tang Mu, who was lying down asleep with a reddened face. He was only wearing his underclothes.

“Qing…..Qing-ge? You…..you…..”

Before Huo Fenglie could speak, Liu Zhenqing reached out and covered Tang Mu with the quilt.

Huo Fenglie’s expression changed several times as he stared fixedly at Liu Zhenqing. He could no longer understand the current situation. Why were Qing-ge and Tang Mu in bed, all disheveled, and why had Qiao An been outside to intercept him?

In fact, Liu Zhenqing was also quite upset with the current situation.

Outsiders were aware that Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie stayed in the same courtyard, but that due to medical treatment, Liu Zhenqing stayed in a different room. Later, when Huo Fenglie was cured, he had shamelessly come to steal half the bed. Perhaps the fact that they carried out daily activities in the original room caused a misunderstanding, making people think that they were still sleeping in separate rooms.

As a result, Liu Zhenqing had bathed in his own room tonight, and when he came to Huo Fenglie’s room to wait for him to go to bed, he opened the bed curtains and found a drugged Tang Mu.

At that time, Tang Mu was already curled up unconscious on the bed. As soon as he touched Tang Mu, the man tried to pounce on him. He could only feed Tang Mu detoxification pills and wait for the drugs to wear off. 

But while they were waiting for detoxification, an additional person snuck in. When he saw the person clearly, Liu Zhenqing was speechless for a while. Never mind targeting Er-gou, but this was twice in one night. In this situation, Liu Zhenqing naturally couldn’t allow the other to discover Tang Mu’s presence, so he could only wait for an opportunity.

And at this moment, Er-gou returned.

Liu Zhenqing spoke succinctly, wanting to complain to Huo Fenglie about the fight that shocked that person with wicked intentions. Perhaps their public embrace still hadn’t discouraged him, and Qiao An feared he would be robbed if he tried too late? 

But Huo Fenglie said with a grave expression: “You have long spoken about Tang-chengzhu’s traditional medicine. When you were close to him, did you ever…..”

Liu Zhenqing said hurriedly: “What are you thinking about!”

Huo Fenglie regarded him suspiciously, as if he could see Liu Zhenqing’s guilty conscience. 

Liu Zhenqing’s back was sweating. In fact, when Tang Mu embraced him, he’d pushed him away in shock. 

And it was indeed a shock, because he’d discovered an incredible secret.

Liu Zhenqing scratched his head and ears, not knowing what to say for some time.

And at this moment, Tang Mu murmured softly on the bed. His voice was sweet and moving, with a tearful tone.

This was not the point. The point was that it was clearly a woman’s voice.

Although Tang Mu’s voice was usually soft and delicate, it was still low. But now it was clear and bright.

Dumbfounded, Huo Fenglie looked toward Liu Zhenqing. Seeing that the other was so uncomfortable, he came to a realization.

“Xiting-ge…..Xiting…..”

The two of them looked over to see Tang Mu holding the willow leaf jade tightly in her hand.

Without waiting for Liu Zhenqing to say anything, Huo Fenglie’s first reaction was to reach over, grab Liu Zhenqing’s arm, and pull hard.

Liu Zhenqing was pulled into the air by Huo Fenglie before he could react, flying out of the bed into Huo Fenglie’s solid embrace. 

He looked at Huo Fenglie in astonishment.

Huo Fenglie’s expression was extremely ugly. It was as if he couldn’t tolerate Liu Zhenqing staying in bed with Tang Mu for one more second. 

“What is going on?” Huo Fenglie’s deep voice sounded dangerously. “Did you know before?”

“That’s an unjust accusation. I found out just now too.”

“How did you know?”

“Eh……”

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Chapter One Hundred Ten << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twelve

Scree—

The rusty door made a harsh sound.

The small storage room door was locked tightly and wouldn’t open.

Only then did Fang Qian’an react, breaking out in a cold sweat. “Fuck, A-Xiu, what are you doing?!”

Li Xiu also retracted his hand from the door handle as if he had been burned.

“Sorry.” Li Xiu took a few steps away to get farther from the door. “I wasn’t paying attention and suddenly reached for the door.”

“I wasn’t thinking,” the youth whispered hurriedly.

“En, it’s fine,” Fang Qian’an responded dryly, but both people present sensed something that couldn’t be put into words.

Thud thud thud—

And as they were looking at each other, the two heard the very clear sound of footsteps coming from the ceiling.

It sounded exactly like somebody running.

From far to near, and then quickly away again.

On the second floor…..someone was running?

Wait, was it human?

As this question flashed through his mind, Li Xiu could only hold his breath. He looked toward Fang Qian’an, who was staring with a tense jaw at the peeling and mottled ceiling.

When the footsteps vanished after a brief moment, the entire villa was as silent as a graveyard.

After a long while, Li Xiu heard himself say shakily: “Did you hear that?”

Fang Qian’an was breathing heavily. “En.” The boy nodded with a pale face. “…..Wanna go to the second floor?”

Li Xiu hesitated for some time.

To be honest, he was so terrified at the moment that his legs were weak.

However, when he unexpectedly spoke, it was as quietly as a mosquito: “L-let’s go.”

They hadn’t found anything useful on the first floor.

If they didn’t go to the second floor to have a look, wouldn’t they continue to encounter ghosts and have nightmares?

It would be impossible to prepare for the university entrance exam in such a state, wouldn’t it?

Li Xiu used countless excuses to convince himself. However, as he and Fang Qian’an tremblingly climbed up to the second floor like turtles, he was still so nervous that he couldn’t breathe.

The second floor appeared much cleaner and tidier than the first floor.

The smooth teak floor was covered in a layer of dust. Most of the rooms were locked, and the remaining furniture in the communal areas were covered in white cloth.

Li Xiu stared at the floor for a long moment.

There were no footprints.

Because of this, the eerie feeling grew – if there were no footprints on the floor, then who made the footsteps he and Fang Qian’an had heard just now?

“Let’s go on?” Fang Qian’an said.

“En.” 

Li Xiu rubbed his arms and felt goosebumps under his hands. And Fang Qian’an didn’t look any better than him.

Now, there was no more unfamiliarity or estrangement between the two. They were practically hugging each other as they went.

Trembling in fear, Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an began to investigate the situation on the second floor.

It was uncertain whether it was luck or misfortune, but the second story seemed to have been earnestly renovated by the school. All of the places where the wallpaper had fallen off had been scraped and repainted. But every now and again in some corners, they could see some objects that were incompatible with the surrounding environment — gourds made of copper, evil-warding swords, and some unexplainable artifacts.

Fang Qian’an looked at those things when he noticed the direction of Li Xiu’s gaze. After a moment of shock, he cursed.

“Fuck—”

Then the boy clung to Li Xiu’s shoulders with even greater strength, and Li Xiu felt a trembling hand reach into his school uniform.

“What are you doing?” Li Xiu grabbed Fang Qian’an’s hand with a frown.

“That salt and glutinous rice you’re carrying with you, sh-share some with me.”

Fang Qian’an seemed like he was about to cry.

Li Xiu didn’t know what he was doing at first, but then what Fang Qian’an said made him start to feel terrified.

“Where those objects are placed, t-there may have been corpses lying there before.”

……

The massacre of the Xiao family was so famous not only because the deceased were the richest family in City A, but also because it was extremely abnormal and nefarious. 

After they made several investment decisions with astonishing results, once-prosperous family in City A selected the most capable and high-profile second-generation leader. And as expected, the famously decisive and skilled young family head led the entire Xiao family to greater glory.

But such a man at the pinnacle of his life, on an extremely ordinary day, lost his mind.

“……He used the security system to seal off the entire villa. First, he strangled his wife to death on the bed, then he put the semi-paralysed Old Mr. Xiao into a large warm fish tank and drowned him…..cut the younger brother’s family to pieces…..and slaughtered all of the staff.”

Likely due to fear, Fang Qian’an’s voice was hoarse as he drew closer and closer to Li Xiu.

“The most terrifying thing is that the family massacre wasn’t completed in a short amount of time. Xiao Weisi had announced that the family was on vacation, so almost half a month passed before people figured out something was wrong. And in that half month, he even held several online meetings. The families and friends of the deceased even received messages from their friends and relatives…..”

But judging from the investigation after the incident, at the time they received the messages, those people had long been dead.

“I heard that when the police came to the door, the old man’s skeleton in the fish tank had pretty much been eaten. Mrs. Xiao’s body was also extremely decomposed. But the younger brother and his family were still sitting upright at the dining table, and there was even food in their stomachs…..”

However, that food was their own flesh.

From the hall to the stairs, those who tried to escape were killed one by one, their bodies scattered throughout the villa.

And as for Xiao Weisi…..

“But they were never able to find Xiao Weisi,” Fang Qian’an said in a hoarse voice.

“Although a self-filmed video of him swallowing a bullet to commit suicide was found in the study, no body was found no matter how hard they searched. So—”

“Stop talking!”

Li Xiu interrupted Fang Qian’an.

He was shaking.

In fact, Li Xiu was not the type of timid person who would scream in fear upon hearing a horror story. But this time, he was so frightened by Fang Qian’an’s words that his heart beat wildly and his whole body trembled.

Fang Qian’an seemed to realize that this was inappropriate for the occasion. He wondered if he had become tipsy after drinking half a bottle of alcohol. The place the two of them were standing was simply not suitable for him to tell those stories — yet he still told them uncontrollably.

They held each other for a while like this, and Li Xiu recovered a little bit.

“That’s not right.” He suddenly frowned, thinking back. “Why haven’t I heard about this before?”

The story of the Xiao Family Haunted House was so famous that Li Xiu had pretty much grown up hearing about it, but he had never heard the version Fang Qian’an just spoke of. The most widely-circulated theory in City A was that Xiao Weisi went crazy in the middle of the night and killed his entire family before committing suicide. But with such great commotion, even the neighbors who went to work in their gardens every day didn’t notice any signs — it turned out that everyone had been dead for less than half a month, and a shocked neighbor said that he had greeted the lady of the house just the morning before. 

The family could even be seen eating neatly around the dinner table every day.

“Ah?”

Fang Qian’an was also a little surprised when he heard Li Xiu say this.

“But what I always heard before was…..”

Wait, who had told him those things? Fang Qian’an was in a daze for a moment, and found that he could no longer remember.

Li Xiu gave him a puzzled look and didn’t continue to badger him. Fang Qian’an came from an extraordinary family, and might have learned from an elder the details that weren’t allowed to be published.

“Let’s look around the second floor. Regardless of if we find anything or not, we have to do it.” Li Xiu frankly admitted that he was indeed frightened. “…..I feel so uncomfortable here.”

He gave Fang Qian’an some glutinous rice and salt. Holding the rest in his hands, he held his breath and trembled as they walked deeper into the second floor.

Many rooms on the second floor were locked.

However, whether it was the negligence of the workers who maintained the home or something else, the door to the master bedroom was not completely locked and could be opened with a slight push.

Unlike the first floor, this room had surprisingly good lighting, with at least four floor-to-ceiling lattice windows in the hexagonal room. One of them likely had a problem with it, since it wasn’t closed tightly and a large gap remained.

A cool breeze blew slowly into the room from the outside world, and the translucent window screenings billowed, making the whole room look bright and dreamy.

“Cough, cough, the dust is so heavy…..”

Yet Fang Qian’an covered his nose and coughed the second he entered the room.

It was true that because the windows weren’t all closed, the dust in the room was heavier than elsewhere.

The grand bed of yesteryear sat firmly in the middle of the room, the white cloth covering now a light gray.

A beautifully-carved European dressing table was not spared either. The originally white cloth was blown up by the breeze, and the exposed wood had long become deformed and faded.

Li Xiu’s reaction was not as big as Fang Qian’an’s. After all, the place he grew up may not even be as clean as this.

However…..

“This is the master bedroom.”

Fang Qian’an took a few steps forward as he spoke and tossed out the glutinous rice and salt in his hands.

“Why did you do that?” Li Xiu asked in surprise.

“Exorcism,” Fang Qian’an replied solemnly. Then he took out his cell phone and began to play the Rebirth Mantra.

The tall boy clasped his hands together and muttered desperately.

“Mr. Xiao and Mrs. Xiao, we didn’t mean to disturb your rest. You adults have a lot of experience and don’t need to follow students like us to study. Don’t trouble us anymore, and I will burn paper money for you when I go back…..”

Li Xiu: “……”

After chanting briefly, Fang Qian’an noticed Li Xiu’s silence and quickly stopped, gesturing to him again.

“Come here,” Fang Qian’an said nervously. “Don’t stand alone at the door. In ghost movies, people like you are the easiest to be dragged away.”

Li Xiu’s body went stiff.

Then he shuffled a few steps closer to Fang Qian’an.

After entering the room, Li Xiu frowned and pursed his lips. He found that he didn’t like the smell in the room.

After more than ten years of wind and rain, there was still a faint, lingering rancid smell all over the room. But the smell was very light, so light that it quickly dissipated after a careful sniff.

Li Xiu even suspected that he had such an olfactory hallucination simply because he was frightened over what Fang Qian’an just said.

As Fang Qian’an prayed desperately, Li Xiu didn’t speak (after all, Fang Qian’an looked really stupid right now). He just stayed close to Fang Qian’an and looked around automatically at the room where the richest man had lived in the past. 

The bedroom was very big. In addition to the sleeping area, there was also a small, private reception space. There were also two white double doors on both sides of the room. Li Xiu could probably guess that they were the bathroom and the cloakroom.

And just the sleeping area was almost as big as Li Xiu’s entire home.

After so many years of abandonment, it still looked so spacious, comfortable, and luxurious.

However, the owner of this room…..

Whoosh—

Another gust of wind blew through the window.

The white cloth hanging in front of the dressing table swished and shook, drooping a little more in the breeze.

From the corner of his eye, Li Xiu happened to see something on the dressing table.

“Fang Qian’an, what’s that?”

He nudged Fang Qian’an and walked toward the dressing table.

After that tragedy, the vanity had long been emptied, but there was now a picture frame upside down on it.

Li Xiu righted it and found that there was a photo embedded in the frame — it looked a bit like a family portrait.

However, in such an environment, the photo frame had long become deformed, the photo inside faded and yellow.

The color photo taken at that time now looked like a black and white photo from many years ago.

A family dressed in formal wear stood neatly on the lawn of the villa, smiling as they looked at the camera.

The first thing Li Xiu noticed was their smiles.

The moneyed and privileged family members who lived like royalty all seemed to have similar temperaments. Even their smiles looked exactly the same — their lips were open slightly to reveal a bit of teeth, the apples of their lips pushed upward by the corners of their mouths. Their eyes were all narrowed, turning into two thin slits right beneath their eyebrows.

There were two light pupils in those slits, glinting faintly.

The dead people in the photo simply smiled like this at Li Xiu.

A familiar chill spread throughout his body again.

Li Xiu stared blankly at the photo, his eyes fixed on the familiar face in the corner.

Although he looked much younger ten years ago than the person Li Xiu knew, and the face in the photo was incredibly blurry, Li Xiu recognized that face at just one glance.

“F-Fang Qian’an,” he said with difficulty.

Fang Qian’an leaned over and rested his chin on Li Xiu’s shoulder. In order to see the photo, he directly covered Li Xiu’s back.

“Isn’t this person…..Teacher Ouyang?” Li Xiu asked, at a loss. “Why is he in this photo?”

The moment he saw Ouyang in the photo, Li Xiu’s mind was in chaos.

He thought of the young teacher who had been hanged in his nightmare, and the rumors in reality that he had committed suicide due to his crimes.

Although he hadn’t fully figured it out yet, Li Xiu’s intuition made him feel extremely uneasy.

Rather than saying that he was asking Fang Qian’an, it was better to say that he was asking himself.

And Fang Qian’an didn’t answer him. 

Whoosh—

The wind blew the white cloth on the dressing table.

Li Xiu looked up, and his eyes fell on the mottled, blurry mirror.

An unfamiliar blue-gray face had its neck stretched out, pressing tightly against Li Xiu’s cheek.

[A-Xiu, ah…..]

---

The Author Has Something to Say:

Gege: Hugging A-Xiu（ヽ(°▽°)ノ)

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Chapter 29 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 31

Li Xiu actually didn’t know why Fang Qian’an was telling him this.

The youth stood there and looked at Fang Qian’an for a few seconds, then bit the bullet and replied: “I still can’t tell by looking at you.”

Li Xiu said this very earnestly. After all, judging by Fang Qian’an’s current physique, this guy seemed to be able to kill ten cows with one punch. It was really difficult to imagine that just over ten years ago, this behemoth named Fang Qian’an was a critically ill patient who needed a kidney transplant.

Seeing Li Xiu’s bewildered look, Fang Qian’an shook himself and came to his senses.

Damn, what was wrong with him…..

Fang Qian’an rarely mentioned his private details to outsiders. Not even his best friend (if he actually had such a thing) would know what he went through when he was young. Fang Qian’an secretly felt that it was shameful to talk about such an old event everywhere, but at present, he couldn’t help but tell Li Xiu all about his past.

No wonder Li Xiu was wearing an “I don’t know what expression to use with you” look on his face.

Fang Qian’an experienced extreme regret for a moment, before Li Xiu’s somewhat clumsy response reached his ears.

“You look very healthy now, and you don’t seem to have any side effects. That’s great.”

Fang Qian’an licked his lips and started to become uncontrollably chatty. “En, isn’t that right? Every time I’ve gone to the hospital for a checkup over the years, people look at me and exclaim that I’m a medical miracle…..”

As they spoke, a wall appeared before their eyes.

When he saw the wall that separated the Xiao Family Haunted House from Qiming Secondary School, Fang Qian’an’s voice cut off abruptly.

It was currently still class time, so the campus was extremely quiet.

The workers responsible for installing the barbed wire fence were not there at this time. The iron door was unlocked and slightly open, and the footpath led directly into the depths of the lush trees — and the Xiao Family Haunted House.

Li Xiu didn’t know if Fang Qian’an had used any special means to send away the workers responsible for blocking the back door, and didn’t ask.

Pursing his lips, he walked forward with Fang Qian’an in silence. A few minutes later, the two of them stood directly before the Xiao Family Haunted House.

Under the midday sun, this nationally famous haunted house looked like any other abandoned villa.

…..But that strange, dark and eerie atmosphere could not be imitated by any other.

When the two of them saw the Xiao Family Haunted House, they paused for a minute.

The door of the villa was open. The porch was a bit of a mess, and the flower beds had been trampled into disarray. These should be the traces left when the police led people to carry Song Cheng’s body out in the morning.

Babump—

Li Xiu bit his lip, feeling his heart beat a little faster.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t nervous, he thought as he glanced to the side.

Fang Qian’an was normally very afraid of ghosts, but now he didn’t seem to have any expression on his face. Li Xiu even felt that the other boy might be calmer than himself.

There seemed to be a voice whispering in Li Xiu’s mind.

I must be crazy to go into a haunted house with this guy.

Then Fang Qian’an held his hand again.

It was only then that the 1.9 meter tall man next to Li Xiu turned his head little by little. His face would always look a little sinister and cold when he was expressionless, but now it was embedded with a pair of eyes filled with tears and terror.

“I…..I’ll bring you in so you don’t get scared,” Fang Qian’an stammered.

Li Xiu: ……

The youth’s forehead twitched slightly, but Li Xiu ultimately didn’t let go of Fang Qian’an’s hand.

Just like that, they both took in a deep breath and quickly rushed onto the porch.

It was strange. The sun was clearly shining brightly outside, but once they entered the house, they couldn’t help but feel that it was very dark.

Although there were floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere, Li Xiu felt that the light seemed to be intercepted by something the human eye couldn’t glimpse, unable to penetrate into the house.

An abandoned house in disrepair seemed much colder than a normal house.

As soon as he entered, Li Xiu couldn’t help but shiver.

He also unconsciously clenched Fang Qian’an’s hand. 

Li Xiu’s pulse was very fast due to the tension, and Fang Qian’an’s was equally rapid.

“Are you cold? How about you wear my school uniform?”

Because they were holding hands, Fang Qian’an immediately noticed Li Xiu’s trembling and asked this at once. Li Xiu shook his head, frowning as he looked toward the other end of the corridor.

“No need. Let’s go check out that room first.”

Following the messy footsteps left by the visitors during the day, Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu arrived at a familiar room — the place where Li Xiu was dragged to be bullied that day.

There was a heavy layer of dust on the floor, and shoe prints were superimposed upon one another, giving it a disorderly look.

In the center of the room, dark red marks could be faintly seen.

When he saw those red marks, Li Xiu couldn’t help but stop and lean into Fang Qian’an’s side.

If his guess was correct, Song Cheng’s body…..was lying there during the day…..

No matter how calmly he usually behaved, an uncontrollable chill came over Li Xiu at this moment.

“This…..this is it, right?”

Li Xiu’s throat was a little dry.

“It’s right here.”

Fang Qian’an’s voice was also shaking.

“After we came here, we started…..running into…..”

He couldn’t even say the word.

With great difficulty, Li Xiu twisted his neck to look at the wall from his memory.

In his mind, he could almost imagine what that wall looked like now — it should be just like in that nightmare, filthy, turbid and disgusting mildew stains all over, densely covered in talismans that seemed to be dripping blood, with a small scarlet door embedded in the wall.

And if you listened carefully, you should hear scratching sounds coming from behind that red door.

But when he worked up the courage to look over, what he saw was a wall painted white.

“Huh?”

Li Xiu couldn’t help but stare blankly.

Breathing heavily as he stood beside him, Fang Qina’an spoke stammeringly after a long moment: “The school must have done this.”

Indeed, the wall was newly painted, and upon closer inspection, there were messy, crude paint stains on the floor.

It could be seen that the workers who painted the wall were not very careful. But in any case, after a coat of cheap white paint, this wall didn’t look so scary anymore.

Fang Qian’an mustered up the courage to walk around the room twice, carefully avoiding the spots where Song Cheng’s blood remained. He had spoken of coming here to gain some understanding, but when he actually entered the haunted house, Fang Qian’an didn’t find anything worth studying.

No talismans. No strange incantations. Not even ghosts.

After more than ten minutes, Li Xiu’s nerves gradually began to settle. He watched Fang Qian’an pace in circles, and said in a low voice: “What should we do next?”

Fang Qian’an swallowed and replied very softly: “I-I want to go look at other areas.”

“A-Xiu, you’ll come with me, right?”

He looked expectantly toward where Li Xiu was leaning at the door. The wet sheen in his eyes made Li Xiu feel strangely uncomfortable.

“I will,” Li Xiu said.

The two of them held hands as they carefully walked around the other areas on the first floor of the haunted house.

Just like the previous room, they didn’t find anything special.

The only things to be found were empty instant noodle cups that hadn’t been taken away, along with some cigarette butts from who knows when.

Oh, and a variety of used condoms.

The haunted house was previously used as a staff dormitory by the school, and there were still mattresses in the rooms that hadn’t been cleaned out. While Li Xiu was investigating, he almost tripped on one and fell.

Fortunately, Fang Qian’an ended up grabbing him and he didn’t fall onto the floor, but onto the mattress. For some reason, Fang Qian’an suddenly felt his strength drain, and he unknowingly slipped and fell directly toward Li Xiu. He was thankfully able to adjust his posture at the last moment and didn’t fall right onto him. His bent knees pressed against the mattress, and he placed his hands right next to Li Xiu’s ears to stabilize his body.

The mattress bounced up and down due to the impact, making creak, creaking sounds one after another.

That sound fell into Fang Qian’an’s ears, and his face suddenly felt hot.

Li Xiu was now right under his chest. This position caused Fang Qian’an to realize like never before how slender Li Xiu was. The youth’s eyes were open slightly in shock. He’d taken a deep breath when Fang Qian’an fell down just now, which actually sounded somewhat like a gasp. Fang Qian’an could help but stare at Li Xiu, who was looking back at him. Dark, smooth hair was spread over the mattress, and Li Xiu’s creamy white neck was exposed outside the collar.

Fang Qian’an smelled Li Xiu’s scent.

A sweet, warm fragrance that seemed to have its own temperature. The aroma of human skin.

Fang Qian’an’s eyes went blank for a moment.

“Fang Qian’an?”

Li Xiu gave him a strange look. “What are you doing?!”

“……”

After being stunned for a moment, Fang Qian’an realized how odd their current posture was. The young man was stimulated and suddenly raised his waist, straightening up quickly with a hint of panic.

Then he pulled Li Xiu up.

“Are you okay?” Fang Qian’an asked uncomfortably.

“I’m fine, just a little nauseous. And…..” Li Xiu didn’t notice Fang Qian’an’s moment of unnaturalness. His face looked a little green as he eyed the things on the ground, and he muttered, “I just can’t imagine people coming here to do that.”

“In a place like this…..can you really get it up?”

When thinking about this matter, Li Xiu suddenly felt that the whole haunted house wasn’t so scary.

“Cough…..”

The youth’s disbelieving whisper fell into Fang Qian’an’s ears, and the tall boy’s eyes wandered for a moment. He unconsciously let out a dry cough, then looked away.

At this moment, Fang Qian’an suddenly caught of glimpse of something—

“Huh?”

Li Xiu heard an exclamation from beside him.

“Fang Qian’an?”

“A-Xiu, look—”

Fang Qian’an abruptly stepped forward and dragged the mattress away, walking toward the corner of the room.

The room they were currently in was an independent suite next to a large kitchen — according to Fang Qian’an’s explanation, this was supposed to be the housekeeping room where the housekeeping staff did their daily work. 

And in an inconspicuous corner of that room, Fang Qian’an spied a small door. Li Xiu followed Fang Qian’an’s gesture and looked over, frowning after just a glance.

The door was only half a person tall, the gray panel almost blending into the wall.

…..Fortunately, it wasn’t the bright red color from the nightmare.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing weird or scary about the door they were looking at.

However, Li Xiu felt very ill at ease the second he saw it.

But he also didn’t understand why Fang Qian’an suddenly cared so much about this door.

“Is there a problem with this door?”

“Didn’t I say? According to my experience, this is where the housekeepers worked daily, and this door should be the utility room where they storedtheir cleaning tools. The strange thing is this right here.”

Fang Qian’an’s fingers slowly moved up from the gilded door handle to land on the iron bolt above it.

A heavy iron lock currently hung from the bolt.

“This bolt must have been added later.”

Li Xiu was still a bit puzzled: “So?”

“It’s so ugly.” Fang Qian’an’s eyes were wide open as he tried to explain, “What I mean is, this lock is too out of place. Look—”

Fang Qian’an turned and motioned for Li Xiu to look in the direction they had come from.

“Couldn’t we see it as we walked just now? Although this place is dilapidated, when it wasn’t abandoned, all of the decorations and furnishings were the most fashionable and luxurious. And there should be nothing valuable at all in this kind of storage room, so there is no need for an iron lock and bolt — and it’s even such an ugly one.”

The young man’s voice grew increasingly lower.

“It’s like they were afraid that something would escape from inside, so they added a special lock — A-Xiu?!”

Fang Qian’an couldn’t help but shout when he saw what Li Xiu was doing.

Because while he was fretfully analyzing, Li Xiu had already put his hand on the door handle and yanked it with force.

---

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Chapter 28 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 30

At 2 o’clock in the morning, He Chuzhou had no time to change clothes, and simply put a jacket on over his pajamas before rushing out.

There was very little traffic along the way. When he passed by a 24-hour supermarket, he stopped and bought a portion of seafood porridge and preserved egg and lean meat porridge. Fearing that it would be too bland, he also bought some clear soup oden and then got into the car and drove to Pei Xi’s residence.

He entered the password and opened the door. The living room was dark and quiet. Walking farther in, it was the same with the bedroom. There was no light coming through the crack in the door.

He couldn’t have passed out from the fever, could he?

This conjecture gave him a shock, and he strode quickly toward the room while carrying the two portions of porridge. If the hallway wasn’t so short, he probably would have been running.

The door to the bedroom was unlocked. Pushing it open, he groped around for the switch and turned on the lights. Cold white light poured down from above, instantly filling the room.

There was no human figure as far as the eye could see, only a slight ripple under the quilt. This person was covered so tightly that not even the top of his head was exposed.

“Silly, do you mean to suffocate yourself after you pass out from the fever?”

He set down the packaging bag and bent over to bed to fish out this fainted ostrich.

Before he even saw him, the temperature his hands touched had already made him frown: “So hot.”

Pei Xi vaguely sensed that someone was there and tried to open his eyes, but his pupils couldn’t adapt to the bright light. After several attempts, he could only catch a complete figure through slitted eyes.

But it was enough for him to recognize him.

“Chuzhou.”

His voice was already hoarse from the coldness bearing down on him, and sounded even more pitiful in person than it had on the phone. 

It upset He Chuzhou to hear this. Why did illness have to hit at his weakest moment? It saw the weak Pei-calico and bullied him, right?

Why couldn’t it have been him who caught a cold?

He recovered from illness quickly. Even if his fever reached 40 degrees, he could drive himself to the hospital. He was a hard-to-kill patient, saving time, effort, and worry.

“It’s me, it’s okay. Let’s go to the hospital now.”

He reached out to pick this person up, but Pei Xi shrunk back in resistance and refused: “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

“If you don’t go to the hospital, you’ll be burned out by the fever in a while. I’m with you, so what’s there to be afraid of?”

He approached again, but Pei Xi still stubborning shook his head and shrank inward.

He Chuzhou clicked his tongue and raised his voice a bit: “Pei Xinxin, behave yourself!”

Pei Xi: “Chuzhou, I’m too cold.”

The two spoke nearly at the same time, but Pei Xi’s voice was so soft. He Chuzhou was taken back for a second and subconsciously lowered his voice again: “Cold? Is it very cold?”

“Very cold. My whole body is cold.”

Pei Xi reached a hand out from the side and grabbed the fabric on He Chuzhou’s arm. His half-opened eyes seemed to be covered in a sheen of mist, struggling to focus: “Chuzhou, hug me.”

“Hug me and keep me warm.”

The expected hug didn’t come after he spoke. Pei Xi’s eyelashes trembled, and he relaxed his fingertips in disappointment. 

In the room where one could hear a pin drop, there was a helpless sigh.

In the next second, the spot next to him sank and a corner of the quilt was lifted. Before the cold air could sneak in, a warm body pressed against him first. 

Long arms wrapped around his waist, and he fell into a strong, broad embrace. The familiar clean smell put him very much at ease.

“Using such coquettishness to deal with me, you must’ve been sure I’d bite!”

He Chuzhou gritted his teeth, but his movements were the exact opposite, as if he feared that a heavier touch would make him crumble.

“This is the last time. It won’t work next time, you know? How can I go along with you like this all the time? Do you want me to have any face left?”

Pei Xi’s muffled voice came from the direction of his chest: “Why do you care about having face with a child?”

He Chuzhou: “……”

The choked silence made Pei Xi’s lips curve uncontrollably. He lowered his head to bury himself deeper.

He said there would be no next time.

After all this time, he had never seen that “next time” where it didn’t work.

A warm bed was fine, but he also had to go to the hospital.

He Chuzhou waited until the body in his arms stopped shaking so violently, and when his resistance was as strong as before, he swiftly carried this person downstairs and rushed to the hospital. 

There were not many patients at this point in time. They went upstairs from the outpatient reception room and a doctor took Pei Xi’s temperature. With a high temperature of 39 degrees, it was no wonder this person couldn’t quite wake up from his fever. 

“The change in seasonal temperature is great this year, and more people are catching colds. You should pay attention to keeping warm and exercising.”

“In addition, a balance between work and rest is essential. The patient is largely overworked, which gave the virus the opportunity to take advantage. When you go home, make sure the patient rests well and drinks more warm water. Remember to open a window for ventilation…..”

He Chuzhou noted down the doctor’s every order and returned to the ward to accompany Pei Xi for an intravenous injection.

Pei Xi was surprisingly obedient during his injection. He didn’t resist or struggle, and only winced when the needle pierced the back of his hand. The rest of the time, he tilted his head to look unblinkingly at He Chuzhou.

He Chuzhou asked him in a low voice if he was hungry, and he shook his head. He asked if he was thirsty or sleepy, and he also shook his head.

He didn’t speak, only looked, occasionally moving his fingers to hook the cuff of He Chuzhou’s shirt or his little finger. His long eyelashes cast a shadow on the porcelain-white skin under his eyes.

Those small movements melted He Chuzhou’s heart, so he placed the other’s hand into his palm and covered it, telling him many jokes He Aiyue had made since childhood.

Once the IV was finished and the fever had subsided, he took this person home with some medicine.

The sick Pei-calico was not only good, but also twice as clingy as usual.

He seemed to have turned into a small animal that was unfamiliar with everything. Only in its infancy could it feel safe, and only by lying on the shoulders of a great beast was it free to observe the world.

In other words, he basically couldn’t be away from He Chuzhou.

He Chuzhou carried him out of the car and back to the bedroom. When he was leaving to heat up the porridge for him to eat, Pei Xi immediately sat up in bed and moved to follow.

There was nothing He Chuzhou could do, so he came up with an idea on the spur of a moment.

He downloaded a children’s stopwatch on his cell phone and pointed at the colorful balls on it, saying to Pei Xi: “I’ll be back before the 300th ball drops. If I’m not back by then, will you come and find me in the kitchen?”

300 balls. 300 seconds. It was more than enough time to heat up a serving of seafood porridge.

Seeing Pei Xi lay back and start counting silently, he picked up the bag and turned toward the kitchen. Pouring the porridge into a bowl and putting it in the microwave, he set the time to two minutes. As soon as the beep sounded, he immediately took the bowl back to the bedroom all in one go.

“234, 257, 289…..”

As soon as he approached the door, he heard such a burst of chanting. Choked with emotion, He Chuzhou quickened his steps.

Counting aloud instead of silently, it was obvious that someone was truly impatient.

On the 300 mark, he stepped into the room. Unsurprisingly, he earned himself some disdain: “Chuzhou, you’re so slow.”

He Chuzhou accepted this without question: “Yes, yes, I’m slow. Slower than the tortoise in the square fountain pool.”

As he spoke, he walked over and sat at the bedside: “Come on, it’s been a long night. Eat something and go to sleep.”

For fear of burning him, he fed him the porridge very carefully, turning the spoon back and forth to cool it down and blowing on it a few times before each mouthful. He also asked Pei Xi how it tasted and whether it was too bland and unappetizing.

When Pei Xi said he couldn’t eat anymore, there was less than half left in the bowl. He Chuzhou set aside the bowl after eating two or three mouthfuls and turned around to see Pei Xi looking at him intently.

“What is it?” he asked. “Are you sleepy?”

Pei Xi shook his head. Then he leaned forward and hugged him hard.

Having been pounced on, He Chuzhou subconsciously hugged him back. He felt Pei Xi rub his forehead against the side of his neck, his nose brushing the tip of his ear.

A familiar tingling feeling soon spread throughout his whole body. This coquettish Pei-calico was so sweet that he couldn’t resist, unable to move his hands and push him away. He could only pull back stiffly.

Until he heard a murmur in his ear: “It turns out this is how it feels to have someone take care of you when you’re sick. No wonder……”

He Chuzhou shifted: “What?”

Pei Xi lowered his head, saying: “No wonder he always liked to say he was feeling uncomfortable or sick. Even if he bumped into the corner of a table, he would make a fuss for half a day.”

He Chuzhou didn’t understand, but placed a palm on his back and rubbed it comfortingly: “Xinxin, who made a fuss?”

“Pei Zhen.” Pei Xi tilted his head to rest it on his shoulder: “He made a huge fuss. It obviously didn’t hurt, and the place he hit it wasn’t even red.”

“But Dad would still believe him. He would show care for him and put down his work to coax him for a long time.”

“He never took care of me when I was sick. When I called for him, he would just say he was busy, that Pei Zhen wasn’t feeling well and he couldn’t spare the time. He would tell me to go to the hospital by myself.”

“I didn’t have the energy to go to the hospital, so I could only find some medicine in that house and lay down after taking it. I was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t sleep, so I could only count the seconds with my eyes open until dawn.”

“Every time. Every time, it was like this. When I ultimately felt so unwell that I couldn’t hold on anymore, I would go to the hospital alone. When the blood flowed back as I slept while being given an IV, only the nurse would notice.”

“He left me there alone, without a care for whether or not I was doing well. Regardless of if I was getting by well or not, he only cared about whether Pei Zhen would go crazy when he saw me, and if his mental condition could be improved.”

“But why?”

“Aren’t we the same?”

“In a family, are the adults more willing to love someone younger, or the one whose love is more fulfilling to them? Was I not enough, so they didn’t love me?”

He Chuzhou often thought that Pei-calico’s spirit resided in an imaginary world. Everything about him was incompatible with Pei Xi, such as complaining that he didn’t like to get up early, or acting spoiled when he was sick.

Another example was right now. He didn’t know if the younger brother Pei Xi spoke of even existed, nor if those nights of silent suffering while ill had actually happened.

But so what?

Pei-calico was so simple and kind, unable to lie. He was just speaking of what he knew.

So even if it was fake, that didn’t prevent him from feeling sorry for Pei-calico at this moment. He would condemn anyone who made him unhappy.

“Xinxin, you are good enough. Don’t judge yourself based on the opinions of those around you.”

He rubbed the back of Pei Xi’s head and gently taught him how to be self-confident: “Those who don’t love you just don’t know your true value. And if they don’t know your value, why should you heed their opinions?”

Pei Xi was silent for a couple of seconds, then raised his head to look at He Chuzhou. He said uncertainly: “But…..am I really good enough?”

“Of course!” 

He Chuzhou didn’t hesitate: “You are more than good enough. Only a good person will feel that he’s not good enough.”

“But I’m not a good older brother.”

Pei Xi bit his lip: “I don’t like Pei Zhen, just as he doesn’t like me. I didn’t do my best…..”

He Chuzhou: “Who created the rule that an older brother must like his younger brother? Shouldn’t it depend on whether the younger brother is lovable or not?”

“You can do everything well except liking him, so the one who should reflect on himself is not you, but him.”

“Besides, what reason can someone have not to love a child? It’s a natural instinct to dote on them unconditionally. If you have to be the best to be worthy of love, is that love or them taking advantage of you?”

“It’s a common problem among many failed Chinese families that the one who is loved the most is always the most useless one. What is the explanation for this?”

What was the explanation?

Pei Xi shook his head blankly. He had never thought about it. He didn’t know.

He Chuzhou: “The explanation is that there is no reason to be partial. This kind of love isn’t worth much. Throw it on the ground, crush it, and don’t pick it back up. We don’t care about it.”

“Don’t compete with trash for favor, and don’t beg for a defective product. You’re no longer on their level. Those pieces of work aren’t worthy of your consideration.”

This was an argument Pei Xi had never heard before. He was somewhat unable to react, and his expression and red-rimmed eyes looked a bit obedient and foolish.

He Chuzhou hugged his waist and waited for him to digest this. Suddenly, he remembered another thing and narrowed his eyes: “Wait, so this is the reason you don’t want to call me gege?”

Pei Xi’s digestion process was disrupted by him. His eyes widened slightly and he looked even more stunned: “Who said…..didn’t you say you don’t like it?”

He Chuzhou promptly took in a deep breath.

How many days had it been!

He’d finally found the opportunity to talk about this matter that was constantly stuck in his throat!

“I don’t like it?”

“I absolutely love it, okay?”

“You call it so nicely. I wish I could shrink you down and put you on my shoulder so you could call me that every day. How could I not like it?”

Pei Xi: “But that day, you told me not to address you that way……”

He Chuzhou: “I just spoke nonsense to save face. Who knew you would take it seriously?”

Pei Xi: “Then that’s not the case anymore?”

“Right.”

He Chuzhou didn’t even pause to think: “What’s the use of face? If you save so much of it, can you go to the supermarket and exchange it for another one? Or when zombies siege the city, can you bake it in a pot to sate your hunger?”

“It’s not important. A hundred faces aren’t as important as you calling me gege.”

Pei Xi’s eyes shone. Lips pursed, his expression seemed a little embarrassed, but his eyes still curved as he obediently called him Gege.

He Chuzhou nearly cried with joy. He wanted to go downstairs and run 800 laps around the Third Ring Road.

But he was endlessly greedy. Before running, he pinched Pei Xi’s earlobe and coaxed: “Call me that again?”

“Gege.”

Pei Xi laughed.

Hugging his neck, he pressed their foreheads together, their straight noses touching.

Then he closed his eyes and nuzzled He Chuzhou like a kitten: “Gege.”

*

*

The days were growing increasingly short in Wancheng, and dawn came later and later.

It was nearly morning, and the sky above was still full of stars.

There was no heat in the bathroom where he had just showered. He Chuzhou wiped the cold water from his body and came out. The person he had just put in bed to sleep was still breathing deeply.

Wu Qing’s phone call came out of nowhere. Taking his cell phone, he walked out of the room before answering it: “It’s so early in the morning. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Wu Qing: “What’s with your disgruntled tone? Besides, my biological clock won’t let me sleep at this time.”

He Chuzhou: “If you have something to say, say it.”

Wu Qing: “Someone saw you walking around the hospital late at night. I’m calling out of concern for you. What’s the matter?”

He Chuzhou: “Pei…..President Pei has a fever, so I took him to get an IV. Where did you get such a capable spy?”

Wu Qing said: “It couldn’t be helped, I have friends all over the world. But your voice doesn’t sound like you just woke up. Is the fever so serious? You haven’t slept all night.”

“No, it’s going down.”

He Chuzhou paused for a second or two after speaking. Putting his hands on his hips, he glanced back toward the bedroom and said abruptly: “I want to ask you something.”

Wu Qing: “Go ahead.”

“Why does my state seem to be a little abnormal^[1] recently?”

Wu Qing: “ ? ”

Wu Qing: “Abnormal?”

He Chuzhou: “Is this normal?”

Wu Qing: “You’re abnormal???”

Wu Qing: “Brother, please, you ate pork and forgot that pigs can run? You already have a boyfriend. What’s not normal is not being abnormal after holding it in for so many years, right?!”

He Chuzhou didn’t pay close attention to what he said about pigs running. But after he said the word “boyfriend,” the corners of his mouth escaped his control for some reason.

When he realized soon after, he suppressed them with a frown: “That’s not what I said.”

“Forget it, you know nothing.”

Wu Qing: “? ? ? ? ?”

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[1] Okay, so this joke was impossible for me to convert  to English, but the abnormal (变态) used here can also mean perverted or horny. Substitute “abnormal” for “horny” and it will all make sense. ⮐

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Chapter 29 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 31