When Lin Yuan met Mu Nanqiao, Mu Nanqiao had already been living with the Mu family for a year. His first impression of Mu Nanqiao was that he was timid, docile, and shy.

Like a small animal with no attack power.

At that time, Mu Nanqiao was not living a good life with the Mu family. Lin Yuan knew this, and even deliberately made matters worse by asking people at school to gang up and isolate him.

In the end, he got his wish and appeared in front of Mu Nanqiao as a savior. And Mu Nanqiao indeed befriended him, relied on him, and trusted him.

It was only that the year Mu Nanqiao graduated high school, he returned to his biological father.

Looking back on the year and more that he and Mu Nanqiao had been friends, in fact, Mu Nanqiao never invested anything in the friendship at all. With a weak word or a tearful look, Lin Yuan would deal with Mu Rui for him, which even led to enmity between the Lin family and the Mu family later on.

Lin Yuan thought, if Mu Nanqiao had not gone abroad, would he have come out to his family for him? But there was no way to verify this until Mu Nanqiao returned to China.

With Mu Chuanbai taking power, Mu Nanqiao suddenly became the head of Mu Group. With a wave of his hand, hundreds of people were willing to serve him. He was no longer that pitiful person from back then.

But Lin Yuan had always believed that the first person Mu Nanqiao wanted to see when he returned to China must be him. After all, they were close childhood friends and hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Mu Nanqiao had even avoided some public occasions, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

He had imagined many scenarios of them meeting again, but never thought it would be like this.

He saw his own white moonlight in the house of his chosen substitute.

Not even fully clothed.

And…..

Lin Yuan looked at Mu Nanqiao’s muscular upper body in shock. Those were not exaggerated muscles developed for fitness. Clear abdominal muscles and mermaid lines tucked into the waistband, and explosive power lurked in every smooth contour.

Lin Yuan had been hospitalized recently and had neglected to exercise, so it was difficult to restrain Lu Qi just now. He subconsciously took a step back.

After taking that step, he discovered that Mu Nanqiao was even half a head taller than him, and his narrow, fox-like eyes were filled with a chill as they gazed at him condescendingly.

His facial features were still like those of his youth, but the youthfulness had faded away, and his features had grown. There was no trace of softness or shyness anymore, and his aura was as sharp as a knife. When standing in front of Lu Qi, he looked like a beast king defending its territory.

Lin Yuan found that the white moonlight’s face in his memory was blurred by this assault. On the contrary, it became confused with Lu Qi, and gradually became indistinguishable.

He gaped, muttering in disbelief: “Nanqiao? Why are you here?”

He looked at Lu Qi standing behind Mu Nanqiao and subconsciously tried to explain: “Xiao Qi, I don’t know how you met, but he and I used to…..”

Before he could say the words “used to be friends,” Lin Yuan saw Lu Qi step forward and shield Mu Nanqiao behind him, opening his hands to block his line of sight. His round eyes were full of vigilance and disgust.

“Mu Nanqiao, don’t be afraid!” Lu Qi said loudly: “Let’s call the police! I can’t believe it, this scumbag is still lawless!”

Lin Yuan: …….

Wait, no. This man was nearly 1.9 meters tall. What could he be afraid of? Was he afraid that he wouldn’t be able to kill him in one punch?

However, what stunned him even more and collapsed his three views was still to come. Mu Nanqiao, whose eyes were dark and cold just now, raised his eyebrows and suddenly changed his expression.

“Lu Qi…..” He held the hem of Lu Qi’s house clothes and lowered his gaze, saying: “Is he here to see me?”

Lin Yuan was astonished: “Nanqiao, I really want to see you, but today…..”

Mu Nanqiao appeared to be very frightened. He raised his hands and tightly wrapped them around Lu Qi’s waist, and this big person tried to shrink down. He put his head on Lu Qi’s shoulder and said in a low voice: “But I don’t want to see him.”

Patting the hands around his waist, Lu Qi felt his desire to protect swell to the extreme at this moment. “Go to the kitchen and take out the new chili powder I bought yesterday!”

As Mu Nanqiao held back his laughter, his shoulders trembled slightly, making his “fear” more genuine.

Lu Qi had his back to Mu Nanqiao and couldn’t see the expression on his face, but Lin Yuan could see it clearly.

He encircled Lu Qi with his arms, his tall figure and broad shoulders like an unseen barrier. He was like an evil dragon entrenched on a rare treasure, his expression arrogant and proud, eyes staring coldly at the intruder.

Lin Yuan only felt it was absurd, so absurd that it made him dizzy.

Even if he was blind, he could still see that his white moonlight and his substitute were mixing together!

In recent years, many of the gang of scoundrels around him were just for fun and entertainment, but on the day the plot was exposed, which one was not a lover or an ex?  It was good he had come, his white moonlight and his ex-boyfriend were embracing right in front of him!!

The moment Mu Nanqiao came out, he was still a little hesitant. Should he choose his white moonlight or the more controllable substitute? Now it seemed that it was simply a matter of getting 200 points on the mock test and wondering whether to study at Tsinghua University or Peking University. Even saying it made a person feel like a fool!

But it was also at this moment that Lin Yuan realized that he could not tolerate Lu Qi standing at the side of another person. He thought of the light Lu Qi would leave on for him when he came home late at night, the porridge delivered to his bedside when he had a stomach ache, and the painting he had picked out of the trash can.

Lu Qi once took this relationship seriously and hoped that the two of them could hold hands without letting go or getting separated even if they were walking backwards in a milling crowd.

This was who Lu Qi was. When he had someone, he put his heart and soul into them. After experiencing this heart that was bright like the sun, Lin Yuan found that he was used to seeing this light and could not let go.

He looked at Mu Nanqiao, the white moonlight he had admired as a boy, but he only wanted to get him away from Lu Qi. 

To him, Lu Qi was no longer anyone’s substitute. He was just Lu Qi.

“Xiao Qi, I really know I was wrong.” Lin Yuan no longer looked at Mu Nanqiao, but said to Lu Qi in a hoarse voice: “I picked up the painting. You see, I still picked it up even after you threw it away. We have a destiny, right?”

“When I threw it away, it was no longer my painting,” Lu Qi said. “It was just a piece of garbage.”

As if he could no longer bear this atmosphere, Lin Yuan wiped his face and took a deep look at Mu Nanqiao, who was standing behind Lu Qi. “You come out, let’s talk.”

Lu Qi was vigilant: “What do you have to talk about with him? Your glorious past of secondary school bullying?”

Lin Yuan smiled bitterly. “Xiao Qi, you didn’t even know how to curse before, but now you’re so sharp-tongued just to protect him.”

Lu Qi pursed his lips, but still stubbornly spread his hands to block the two of them.

“Let’s go out and talk.” Mu Nanqiao straightened up. He finally removed his hands from Lu Qi’s waist and raised a hand to rub Lu Qi’s hair. “It’s all right. I’ll just tell him clearly so that he doesn’t pester us in the future.”

Lu Qi hesitated, then pushed Mu Nanqiao into the bedroom. “Then I’ll find some clothes for you.”

The bedroom door slammed shut.

Lin Yuan was just tossed like trash into the living room. He looked around, and the hands hanging by his side slowly clenched into fists.

The furnishings in the small living room were completely Lu Qi’s style, and many things were familiar to him. This apartment was small and narrow, and he would have looked down on it in the past, but now he envied the little kittens crawling around in it.

When he thought of something, his whole body froze.

With the layout of one bedroom and one living room, everything in this small residence could be seen at a glance. He didn’t see another bed, and the small sofa in the living room was not something to sleep on at all. What Mu Nanqiao was wearing didn’t make it seem like he was a guest. He simply wasn’t wearing anything at all!

In that case……

Lin Yuan stared at the bedroom door, and an unbelievable idea came to his mind. 

Did Lu Qi and Mu Nanqiao sleep together on the same bed?!

. . . . . . .

In the bedroom, Lu Qi found a light blue sporty short-sleeved shirt that was looser on him and handed it to Mu Nanqiao. Still feeling uneasy, he said: “What will you do if you’re bullied by him?”

Mu Nanqiao put on the short-sleeved shirt. It was a bit tight, but not too bad. When he heard this, he glanced at Lu Qi with his fox eyes curved and gave a sly smile. 

“In your eyes, am I so weak?” He tilted his head and took a step closer to Lu Qi. “En, then let me prove myself?”

The bedroom was already very small, and when he took such a big step forward with his long limbs, Lu Qi was almost pressed against the cabinet door. His instincts, like a small animal, sensed a hint of danger. But he trusted Mu Nanqiao very much, so he blinked and asked in confusion: “How will you prove it?”

As soon as he spoke, Mu Nanqiao leaned over and grabbed his legs, using his arms to lift him up.

Although Lu Qi was thin, he was not short. He was slender and well-proportioned, at a standard weight for an adult male. He had never imagined that after the age of fifteen, he could be picked straight up like a child.

His line of sight was suddenly elevated. Lu Qi bent over and immediately pressed down on Mu Nanqiao’s shoulders. Unexpectedly, Mu Nanqiao still had the strength to spare, and hefted him twice casually before turning around. Raising his eyes, he asked with a smile, “Are you still worried? Hm?”

His face was full of pride, as if he was holding a teddy bear, but the small red mole at the tip of his eye had a different kind of charm. Lu Qi looked at his face so close at hand, and his cheeks suddenly warmed up. He grabbed the clothes on his shoulders and exclaimed in a low voice, “Okay! I know you won’t be bullied!”

Mu Nanqiao put this person down securely and pinched Lu Qi’s ear, asking with feigned surprise, “Your ears are so red, do you have a fever again?”

“No fever.” Lu Qi averted his eyes. “Ahem, go ahead and tell him clearly. Be careful.”

Lin Yuan stood outside the door, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Why did it take so long to change clothes? Was there laughter coming from inside?

His patience ran out, and when he was about to kick the door open, Mu Nanqiao opened the bedroom door and walked out.

Facing Lin Yuan, the warm and innocent smile on his face disappeared, and a sarcastic and indifferent look took its place. 

Mu Nanqiao closed the door at once, blocking Lin Yuan’s prying eyes, and raised his chin toward the front door.

“Let’s go.” He chuckled, but his eyes were like a frozen lake. “Old classmate, let’s go out and catch up on old times.”

. . . . . . . .

Neither of them spoke, and they went downstairs one after the other.

Coming out of the north gate of the Garden Community was an open park, and there were not many people at this time. Old men and women walked in twos and threes. Lin Yuan found a relatively secluded corner and stood beneath a pavilion. 

Mu Nanqiao followed slowly.

Lin Yuan turned and looked carefully at Mu Nanqiao once more.

Mu Nanqiao was wearing a light blue sporty short-sleeved shirt and a pair of casual white trousers, along with a pair of cinnamon dog slippers on his feet. The hair on his forehead that had been splashed by Xiao Sanhua hung down casually. Putting one hand in his pocket, he watched a group of puppies playing in the distance with unfocused eyes.

Although his posture was undisciplined, he was elegant and casual with a tall and graceful body. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that he was noble.

After walking all this way, Lin Yuan became much calmer. He stood on the steps and looked down at Mu Nanqiao from a high position, saying calmly: “Mr. Mu, you are really different from how you used to be. Right now, who would recognize you as the timid secondary school student you were?”

Mu Nanqiao finally laid eyes on him, and after looking at him for a long moment, he laughed.

Lin Yuan frowned: “Why are you laughing?”

“Hah, it’s really hard for old classmates to recognize me. After all, they’ve never known me before.” Mu Nanqiao shook his head. “But you’re still the same as before. You don’t dare to speak directly, and pretend to be sophisticated, setting traps, using indirect metaphors and making insinuations…..”

He chuckled: “Lin Yuan, you’re still like this. Very good, it won’t be too difficult to deal with you.”

Lin Yuan was not at all concerned about his threat. After all, the image of that little white flower was still deeply rooted in his heart. He asked Mu Nanqiao coldly: “Do you know everything about the past? All right, I admit that what I did was wrong, but when you and I hung out together, I got you out of a lot of trouble, right? Even if we can’t be friends anymore, at least we were classmates. You don’t have to be so cruel and steal my person, right?”

“Your person?” Mu Nanqiao seemed to have thought about something amusing. “Ah, right. Lin Yuan, did you like how I pretended to be before? Gentle, kind, like a shining little sun…..”

He smiled and asked, “What, am I not your white moonlight?”

The words ‘white moonlight’ came out of Mu Nanqiao’s mouth with such mockery that Lin Yuan felt his blood pressure rise and his eardrums buzz. He gritted his teeth and said: “You say you were pretending.”

“En, pretending.” Mu Nanqiao’s smile became more friendly, but his fox-like eyes were full of malice. “I just suddenly remembered that I wasn’t good at pretending in the beginning, but then I met a boy later who went to Hengjin Secondary School to participate in a competition. In order to keep me awake, he kept talking to me and telling me of his experiences……”

He enunciated every word, doing his utmost to make Lin Yuan hear every word clearly. “Later, when I encountered a problem, I thought, ‘what would that little sun do?’ I imagined what he looked like and tried to imitate it, and some fool really took the bait.”

He laughed without restraint: “Lin Yuan, can you guess who I was imitating? As a friendly reminder, Lu Qi has been to Hengjin Secondary School.”

This sentence was somewhat roundabout. Lin Yuan spent some time thinking about it, and slowly, his expression changed. It only took a few seconds for him to go from pretending to be calm to looking ferocious. He roared and rushed toward Mu Nanqiao with his fist raised. 

Mu Nanqiao turned sideways and his fist brushed the corner of his lips. He whispered: “Now it’s self-defense……”

He raised his hand to clasp Lin Yuan’s wrist, then violently slammed it down and raised his foot to kick Lin Yuan’s knee.

Crack— the sound of his knees colliding with the floor tiles was shocking, and Lin Yuan immediately groaned in pain.

“Tsk…..” Mu Nanqiao was speechless. “And Xiao Lu was still worried that I would be bullied…..”

He raised his hand and slapped Lin Yuan twice. “Mr. Lin hasn’t been exercising. If Lin Group goes bankrupt in the future, moving bricks will be a laborious job. Even if you go to prison, you will still have to undergo labor reform, don’t you know?”

From childhood to adulthood, Lin Yuan had never suffered such humiliation. He knelt on the ground, suppressed, but what he cared about more was what Mu Nanqiao had just said.

“You said you…..ugh…..imitated Lu Qi…..” He gritted his teeth. “How do you know him?! You knew him back then? So I…..I…..”

So he didn’t like Mu Nanqiao, but a shadow who was similar to Lu Qi. He had always liked a person like Lu Qi, who was gentle, honest, and passionate.

He was simply going crazy. The moment Mu Nanqiao released him, he ignored the pain in his wrist and tried to attack, but was kicked in the chest by Mu Nanqiao and fell to the ground.

A cinnamon dog slipper stepped on his chest, and Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyelashes calmly. With the streetlights on, his expression was half hidden in the darkness and looked a bit sinister.

“Lin Yuan, I truly appreciate your stupidity. Thank you very much for bringing him to me with your own hands. To express my gratitude, I will call an ambulance for you.”

“Have a good rest. Our ‘reminiscing about the past’ has just begun.”

. . . . . . .

Lu Qi bathed the semi-wet Sanhua, dried her, and put her into the box, carefully observing the reactions of the mother cat and her kittens. As expected, Sanhua no longer recognized her babies, and slapped the kittens away one paw at a time.

After all, their smells had changed and so much time had passed. Lu Qi was not surprised. In order to prevent Sanhua from harming the kittens, he locked her in the bedroom first and then took his coat, planning to go out and have a look. 

The sky had darkened, and Mu Nanqiao had not yet returned. Although this man had childishly shown off his strength before going out, Lin Yuan was a member of the Lin family, after all. Even if he was a person only fit for guzzling and boozing, he was still rich and powerful.

What if he was unsportsmanlike and hired a bunch of bodyguards? Would Mu Nanqiao suffer a loss?

Just as he was about to go out, footsteps sounded in the corridor.

Lu Qi would never open the door without looking through the peephole again. He leaned down to look, and when he saw the familiar blue color, he quickly opened the door. 

The living room lights fell warmly on Mu Nanqiao. He stood at the foot of the steps and smiled up at him, raising his hand to let him see the bag in his hand. “I found a good barbeque restaurant and brought it back for dinner.”

His suspended heart finally dropped. Lu Qi let out a small breath and turned sideways to let Mu Nanqiao in.

The cinnamon dog slippers were dirty. Mu Nanqiao walked into the living room barefoot, put down the package, and then rubbed his nose with a bit of embarrassment: “I forgot to change my shoes just now, and they got dirty. I’ll clean them for you tomorrow.”

The actual situation was that it was good that the slippers were still there. He had kicked someone with the slippers still on, and they could have gone on a long journey.

“A small thing like that isn’t important.” Lu Qi waved his hand and looked at Mu Nanqiao carefully. Sure enough, he found a small bruise at the corner of his lip, which was bleeding even though it was a small cut.

“He hit you?” Lu Qi rolled up his sleeves angrily. “It turns out that this piece of garbage actually has time to hurt others!”

Lin Yuan, who was lying in an ambulance, sneezed heavily. Severe pain came from his cracked ribs, and he groaned with a pale face.

Mu Nanqiao didn’t say that Lin Yuan was already on the way to the hospital. He touched the corner of his lips and gave a desolate sigh, walking to Lu Qi’s side and raising his hands to hug the anxious young man.

“What……what’s wrong……” Lu Qi cautiously raised a hand to pat his shoulder. He was a little embarrassed by the sudden embrace, but didn’t reject it. He just asked worriedly: “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“No, I’m just a little tired.” Mu Nanqiao said softly, “When I was in secondary school, wounds of this magnitude could not be considered injuries. Even if there were bruises on my body, I had to go to school as usual the next day and work part time.”

He made a pretense of tragedy.

He had just beaten up Lin Yuan. To be honest, it was more pleasant than hitting a sandbag, but he wanted to hug Lu Qi, so it didn’t matter if he pretended to be pitiful. After all, what he said was not a lie.

Lu Qi smelled really good. The tip of Mu Nanqiao’s nose lightly rubbed the side of his neck, and then he straightened up as if nothing had happened. “Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s eat. It won’t taste good if it’s cold.”

“How can you eat barbecue if your mouth is hurt?” Lu Qi looked at him helplessly.

Mu Nanqiao was also dumbfounded. “It’s fine, it actually doesn’t hurt very much.”

“Forget it, it’s a pity you were hurt, ah.” Lu Qi took the skewers into the kitchen. “Let me help you pull it all off, eating like this will really hurt you, ah. 

Mu Nanqiao laughed and squeezed into the kitchen with him.

After eating grilled mutton, Lu Qi took out the medicine kit and applied a bit of iodine to the corner of Mu Nanqiao’s lips.

“Ever since I moved here, I’ve been using this medicine kit.” The cotton swab touched the corner of his mouth like a cool kiss. 

Lu Qi moved closer and looked at it. “En, it’s just a small cut. Don’t worry, it will be healed by tomorrow.”

Mu Nanqiao lowered his eyes and looked intently at the small pear dimple on Lu Qi’s cheek.

“Lin Yuan hit you, will he come again?” Lu Qi was anxious. “I wanted to ask you before, do you want to rent a house together? Let’s move away. Although I don’t know if we can avoid Lin Yuan, at least the rent will be cheaper if we rent together.”

Mu Nanqiao should have been happy to share an apartment. After all, this meant that the person he liked was willing to stay in the same place as him, and this was a kind of trust. If they lived together, he could also take good care of Lu Qi. The pavilion closest to the water enjoyed the moonlight first, and all future pursuits would fall in place.

“How strange,” Lu Qi muttered. “The injury on your hand isn’t good. Be more careful, ah.”

Mu Nanqiao’s fingers curled up.

Lu Qi raised his head and asked, “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Mu Nanqiao shook his head, then said in a low, hesitant voice, “The matter of sharing an apartment…..I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.” Lu Qi thought this was normal. After all, many people enjoyed living alone, and he may not be accustomed to living with others after living alone for a long time.

He put away the small bottle of iodine and thought of something else, saying hesitantly, “There’s one more thing…..”

Mu Nanqiao found that the ears hidden beneath his hair were red again, like a layer of creamy strawberry frosting. It looked very sweet.

His Adam’s apple moved up and down, and his voice was a little deep when he said, “What is it?”

“It’s just…..that, ahem…..” Lu Qi averted his eyes, and after a long moment, he finally made up his mind and said quickly: “You know I’m bent. I don’t know if you are. Even though you are the object of Lin Yuan’s delusions, you’re not necessarily bent, so don’t do the ambiguous things you do sometimes. If…..if you seduce me like this, I will misunderstand you!”

He finished speaking in one breath, nearly suffocating himself, and took a long inhale. Light pink spread from his ears. “If you just want to be friends with me…..”

Mu Nanqiao blinked, then gave a low, light chuckle: “You can still tell that I’m seducing you. It’s really not easy.”

Lu Qi: “Ah……”

He watched as Mu Nanqiao leaned closer, his fox-like eyes staring at him intently. The small red mole at the tip of his eye was bright and dazzling.

“I don’t just want to be ordinary friends with you. How about it, ah?”

---

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Chapter Seventeen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Nineteen

Although the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe had lived in the dense forest for a long time, they were not isolated from the world, and they had heard a lot about what the Baifu Sect was doing. La Yue said: “Perhaps she has never killed anyone with her own hands, but there are hundreds or thousands of people who have died because of her. The cult used the Holy Maiden as a lantern, causing many believers to risk their lives and lose their minds. Even if such a person is judged according to the laws of Dayan, she may not have a way out.”

“Whether or not she has a way out will be decided by the prince. All you and I have to do is bring her to justice.” Ku You said, “Let’s start tonight and get it done quickly without further delay.”

La Yue was astonished to hear this: “It sounds easy, but how can it be done quickly? I’ve seen how the Holy Maiden walks, and her qinggong skills are not inferior to mine. It will not be easy for me to catch her.”

“She will come here tonight,” Ku You said. “You only need to find a route to take her away. Leave all the rest to me.”

La Yue looked doubtfully at the silver gauze covering his eyes and thought to himself, he said this so confidently. How will he trap her, with male beauty?

He hid in the darkness of the rafters and waited until it was dark outside. Sure enough, the sound of the wooden door being pushed open sounded from the courtyard, and the bell on the girl’s waist rang loudly. Wumeng Yunle lifted her skirts and stepped into the room. She looked at the silver-haired young man sitting at the table and said with some reluctance, “I must leave again tomorrow.”

Ku You asked: “Where are you going?”

“To go and do what I should do.” Wumeng Yunle sat down. “This time will be longer than before, and I may have to leave for thirty or forty days. In fact, I wanted to take you with me, but Master didn’t agree, and he also gave me a lecture.”

Ku You smiled slightly.

Wumeng Yunle stared at the corners of his beautiful slightly raised lips and unconsciously stretched out her fingers to trace them. In the end, she stopped halfway and only held onto a trailing strip of material. The silver gauze fell to the ground, revealing a pair of light golden eyes. She admired them attentively and said: “Your eyes are so beautiful, just like the sun this morning.”

“So you also like the sun.” Ku You asked, “Then why do you always stay in dark rooms?”

“Everyone has something they must do,” Wumeng Yunle said happily. “You don’t understand. That doesn’t matter, because I don’t understand either. I don’t understand why you keep chasing our people. They aren’t doing anything wrong, and only want to live a better life.”

She stood up, looking forward to being closer to him, and looking forward to being this man’s wife. Although she actually didn’t know what being husband and wife meant, she knew that if she fell in love with a man, she should marry him. Wumeng Yunle leaned forward slightly and put the tip of her cold nose against the other person’s forehead. Just like those fanatical believers kissed her fingertips with extreme piety and love, she wanted to cover the same pale skin with her lips.

La Yue in the dark: ……

He was considering whether he could still see the upcoming scene, but Wumeng Yunle had already let out a muffled groan. Her body leaned to one side limply, and a thin stream of blood oozed from the corner of her lips. Ku You grabbed her and raised his head, saying, “Thank you.”

La Yue jumped down and deftly shook open a sheet that he had found somewhere. He rolled Wumeng Yunle into it, saying: “I’ll take this little enchantress away. Will you be alright?”

Ku You said: “I won’t stay here any longer.” He picked up half of the silver gauze on the ground. “The maids will soon be looking for her, so we can’t stay here long.”

Without further delay, La Yue picked up Wumeng Yunle and went out. With the help of the night and the terrain, he disappeared into the dense forest miasma in the blink of an eye.

Ku You tied the silver gauze in front of his eyes and sat back at the table. Not long after, a maid indeed came and said respectfully in the courtyard: “Holy Maiden, we should go back.” After saying this, she pushed open the door and entered. Seeing that there was only Ku You in the room, she was a little taken aback. Ku You said: “She has already left.”

“She left early?” The maid couldn’t believe it, and hurriedly departed. After a while, a cacophony of voices could be heard in the distance.

Ku You remained alone in the darkness, waiting very patiently. He knew who would be the first to come to him, and as expected, that person indeed came first. Feng Xiaojin grabbed his collar and said through nearly gritted teeth: “Where is A-Le?”

“She is safe, at least for now.” Ku You pried his fingers apart one by one. “But whether she will be safe in the future depends on Young Master Feng’s choice.”

Feng Xiaojin looked at him. “If something happens to A-Le, I will kill you.”

“That is easy to say.” Ku You said. Unmoving, he only listening to the sound of swords being unsheathed outside. “But the future can be discussed later. As for now, Young Master Feng should think about how to save my life. After all, Cult Master Mu should also be furious at the disappearance of the Holy Maiden. I am a delicate person and cannot withstand any severe torture.”

The voices outside the window were getting closer and closer. Feng Xiaojin didn’t have time to think, and firmly held his shoulders: “Let’s go!”

. . . . . . .

La Yue carried Wumeng Yunle and leaped through the depths of the white mist all the way. The people of the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe were gifted, and could hold their breath for a long time. Therefore, his range of activities in this dense forest was even wider than that of the disciples of the Baifu Sect. A large, gnarled tree stretched out its canopy in all directions, with lush green leaves, forming an excellent natural shelter. La Yue held his breath and hid in a high place, letting the disciples of the Baifu Sect shuttle back and forth in the forest. But nobody noticed anything strange above.

Worried that the hostage would wake up, La Yue specially pulled open the sheet and took a peek inside during the journey. Wumeng Yunle’s head was turned to the side, a hidden weapon nailed into her snow-white neck. It looked like the crude nails commonly used when hunting wolves and bears in the Northwest. His eyelid twitched slightly. Even though she was a witch, this style of attack seemed too barbaric.

Once the Baifu Sect disciples had left, La Yue also jumped off the tall tree and continued to run toward the Valley of Ten Faces.

When the seasons changed, the climate in the mountains did as well, and a moderate sunny rain fell in the early morning. The golden light mixed with the golden silk of rain and embroidered thousands of li of green beauty all over. Liu Xian’an was still wrapped in his big robe, with his bare feet stepping on the clean and moist bamboo floor. His upper body leaned over the railing as he reached out to catch rainwater to play with.

If Master Liu saw his dissolute appearance with no care for his health, there was a ninety-nine percent chance that he would be beaten again, but the person who came back was His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. He gazed at his sweetheart’s snow-white arms, slightly damp forehead, and the rain falling on his thin shoulders, and all the scarce literary eloquence in his bones was dug out. What mountains in the distance, what fragrant frozen pear blossoms. No wonder those pedantic scholars would risk their lives to write a carriage full of poems after just one look at a beautiful woman. It was truly human nature.

Liu Xian’an said: “The weather is still a bit cold.”

“With rain and blowing wind, it will be cold even in the middle of summer.” Liang Shu took out his handkerchief and wiped the other’s hands carefully, then picked him up and returned to his room. He placed him on the couch, took out his shoes and socks, and put them on for him. “Where is A-Ning? Why were you just standing there in the wind and rain today?”

“He went to assist Da-ge. I will go there later, but I still wanted to wait for the prince to return first.”

“Waiting for me to return. Do you still want to be lazy again?” Liang Shu smiled. “According to my past habits, I wouldn’t come back at this time. I went out in a hurry today and forgot to pick something up. I didn’t want others to disturb your sleep, so I had to make an extra trip to get it myself.”

Liu Xian’an motioned at a pile of official documents placed by his shoulder: “Military reports can just be thrown on the pillow?”

“They weren’t…..” Liang Shu stood up and defended himself. “Before going out, I was confused by desire.”

Liu Xian’an had slept very soundly in the morning and didn’t remember what he had done to make His Royal Highness Xao Wang so intoxicated as to forget himself. 

Liang Shu smiled and tugged his slightly open collar, tying his belt again: “Let’s go. Come with me to have something to eat first, and then go to the pharmacy.”

Liu Xian’an picked a light cloak in order to avoid being nagged about the cold and humidity by his elder brother later. Liang Shu intertwined their fingers. As soon as they walked out of the courtyard, they saw Gao Lin running over in a hurry. La Yue ran side by side with him, conspicuously carrying someone on his shoulders.

Looking at the bloodstains seeping out of the sheets, Liang Shu frowned. He strode forward and asked urgently: “How is he?”

La Yue was extremely tired: “Fine, she was knocked unconscious by Commander Ku.”

Liang Shu retracted the hand touching the sheet: “What do you mean, it’s not Ku You?”

“No, it’s the cult enchantress.” La Yue explained, “I originally intended to bring Commander Ku out with me, but he refused. He said that he would continue to stay in the Baifu Sect and get more things so that the prince would not have to worry.”

Gao Lin gave a thumbs up. Yes, this is the right idea, if it were me, I would scoop things up too.

In the end, Wumeng Yunle was imprisoned in secret. She woke up in a daze, her neck feeling as if it had been bitten by a beast, and she almost screamed in pain. And what frightened her more than the severe pain was the unfamiliar environment around her. This was not a prison, but there were two long iron chains fastened to her ankles, and at the other end of the chains was a huge and heavy iron ball.

Her memory seemed to be blank. She could only remember those beautiful golden eyes, and then she opened her eyes and saw the scene in front of her. She tried to move her body, but felt rough fabric pricking and stinging her back. The woman in charge of guarding her said from the side: “The clothes Wumeng-guniang was wearing were contaminated by poison, so I temporarily found a dress of my own. Although it is an old dress, it is very clean.”

“This…..this is your military camp.” Wumeng Yunle sat up. “He knocked me out and brought me here!”

“He, Commander Ku? He has not returned, and is still in the dense forest.” The woman brought a bowl of sugar water and said, “His Highness will be here later. You have lost too much blood, please drink something first.”

Wumeng Yunle waved her hand to ward her off. She had never thought that she would one day fall into the hands of the Yan army. Those rumors about Liang Shu’s cruelty poured into her mind uncontrollably, causing her face to pale even more. Upon closer inspection, there were even blue and black lines on her neck.

The woman put the sugar water on the table with a sigh. The sunlight shone on the bright red dates in the bowl, like shining gems.

Wumeng Yunle felt that the red color was exceptionally and abnormally alluring. She pushed the bowl onto the ground and tried to stand up, but her whole body swayed due to excessive blood loss.

The woman stretched out her hand to assist her.

“What are you trying to do!” Wumeng Yunle asked sharply. As she stepped back, she caught a glimpse of herself in the bronze mirror. Her hair was disheveled, bloody white gauze was wrapped around her throat, and she wore an ill-fitting old white dress. Such a strange appearance made her feel more and more lost. For a moment, she couldn’t even think about running away. Dragging the chain, she staggered to the mirror and stared at the person in it, and reached up to neatly tie her hair.

“I want my clothes.” Wumeng Yunle turned around and repeated, “I want my clothes!”

The woman never thought she would have such a reaction after waking up. She didn’t dare stimulate the other party’s emotions too much for a while, so she comforted her while sending someone to report the matter to Lieutenant General Gao.

Gao Lin was with Liang Shu, and Liu Xian’an and Liu Xianche were also there. No matter how serious the injury to Wumeng Yunle’s neck was, it couldn’t be more severe than the poison in her body. There were seventeen or eighteen kinds of poisons scattered around her body, and most of them had been with her for more than ten years. Liu Xianche said: “Mu Zhe should feed her the antidote regularly and quantitatively, but the antidote is also poisonous. As the toxins accumulate over the years, she may not be able to live long. At most, five years.”

“Mu Zhe doesn’t need her to live long,” Liang Shu said. “Only for her most beautiful years.”

“Her brother may be in the same situation.” Gao Lin turned around and asked, “First Young Master Liu, can this poison be cured?”

“It cannot, and it wouldn’t be of much use to treat it,” Liu Xianche said. “Instead of trying every possible means and causing the poisoned person to live in pain for another year or two, it is better to continue to take the so-called ‘antidote,’ so that at least she can live a slightly more comfortable and decent life in her remaining years.”

“This Mu Zhe…..” Gao Lin was even more disgusted. “Raising a freak with an ageless appearance, and raising such a short-lived brother and sister pair, this doesn’t fall short of his sinister and immoral spirit at all.”

Liu Xian’an went alone to the hut where Wumeng Yunle was imprisoned.

He held a cloth bag in his hand and handed it to the woman guarding the courtyard, saying: “This is A-Yuan’s dress. It’s new. She doesn’t think the color looks good, so she hasn’t worn it before. Give it to her.”

The woman brought the dress into the house. Yumeng Yunle had already torn her old dress to pieces. It was unknown how much force she exerted, but her sharp black and red nails broke, and crescent-shaped bloody marks were printed on her body one after another.

She was like a crazy person. And she was indeed going insane, simply because she saw that she was not beautiful enough.

The woman placed the cloth bag on the table, and the silk fabric poured out like running water, giving off a gentle luster. Wumeng Yunle was drawn to the sight. She stopped taking off her clothes, and when she was about to touch it, she saw the butterfly gem button on the collar and her eyes suddenly seemed to burn: “This is Liu Nanyuan’s clothing.”

“It does belong to Third Young Lady Liu. She is the only one in the army with a figure similar to yours. But this dress has never been worn.” The woman said, “Put it on, ba. No matter whether it fits or not, at least the material is good.”

Wumeng Yunle stood without moving, and only stretched out her hands haughtily. The woman wasn’t bothered. She stepped forward to change her clothes and then took two steps back and looked her up and down. She said: “It fits well, but the waist is a little too big by half an inch.”

She just mentioned it casually, but Wumeng Yunle became happy again because of her half-inch slimmer waist. She lifted her skirts and looked at the vague figure outside the window screen, asking: “Who is that?”

“Second Young Master Liu.”

The woman opened the door and invited Second Young Master Liu in. The sunlight was very bright at noon, enough to illuminate every corner and every person in the room. Although the two of them had seen each other before, they had only glanced at each other in a hurry. This time, they finally had enough time to slowly look at one another’s faces.

Wumeng Yunle asked: “Where is your sister?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “She went to the towns and villages farther south.”

“When will she return?”

“It’s difficult to say.”

“Does she look like you?”

“She is very similar.”

Very similar. Wumeng Yunle stared at his face, as if trying her utmost to imagine what it would look like if the same facial features appeared on another woman’s face. She became anxious again as she thought about it, because it seemed that she really was an alluring beauty, walking in the sunshine, surrounded by singing and laughter. She remembered the words of the Master, and how she should use her body to confuse those men, use her slender waist and mellowest tone in exchange for the other party’s absolute fanaticism and piety.

But now, she was trapped here with wounds all over her body, blood flowing out of her flawless white skin and solidifying into hideous and ugly scars at the wounds.

The current situation caused Wumeng Yunle’s face to gradually become distorted, and her eyes turned a bright red. Seeing that the Gu worms in her body were about to start wandering again, the woman raised her palm and knocked her out at the crucial moment, asking in confusion: “What’s wrong with her? Did she train to become a demon?”

Liu Xian’an said: “It is obsession, an inner demon.”

Inner demons were the hardest to heal.

Liu Xian’an left a bottle of soothing pills, returned to the study, and roughly recounted the situation to Liang Shu. He said: “I wonder if the parents who gave these siblings to Mu Zhe will feel remorse after learning the truth.”

“How can there be so many medicines for remorse in the world?” Liang Shu said. “I just received another secret report, you take a look first.”

Liu Xian’an picked up the letter on the table. It roughly said that because of Liu Nanyuan’s activities in the southwest, many members of the Baifu Sect had begun to doubt their previous choices, as well as if the Baifu Buddha Mother who could cure diseases and eliminate disasters really existed. So they confessed one by one to get leniency, hoping that the goddess…..the miracle doctor could also cure them and their families.

Liu Nanyuan and the other disciples of Baihe Mountain Village welcomed everyone who came, conducting free medical consultations along the way, and actually found poisonous Gu in many people’s bodies. Many people watched this scene, and seeing was believing. When more and more people learned that the Baifu Sect’s seemingly miraculous chanted blessings were actually poisonous Gu used to play tricks, fearful worship turned into furious cursing. Moreover, there were various styles of cursing, up to the ancestors and down to the grandsons, not missing half of the family tree. It was a cursing style evenly distributed like rain and dew. 

“Okay, okay, please keep your voices down!” Chang Xiaoqiu held up the Pojun sword to maintain order and shouted loudly, “If you want to curse, then go away and curse. If anyone dares to speak filthy words in front of Third Young Lady Liu, I will seriously beat them!”

Therefore, everyone went away to curse, all of them talking at once. Unsatisfied with just cursing, they directly submitted a collective petition asking the prince to eradicate the Baifu Sect as soon as possible in order to seek justice for everyone.

Upon receiving the petition, Liu Xian’an looked at the long string of fingerprints and names on the back and sighed: “The prince should send more people to protect A-Yuan. I feel the Baifu Sect will not allow her to be so free and happy.”

“No need to tell me, I already made arrangements in the morning,” Liang Shu said. “Of the Imperial guards sent by Emperor Brother, I will only keep one, and send the rest to protect A-Yuan.”

Hearing this, Liu Xian’an felt a little relieved. Because if nothing else, the Imperial guards appeared particularly reassuring just by their physiques. Each one was tall and broad, full of a simple sense of security.

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Chapter One Hundred Sixteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Eighteen

Wan Zhao Tower was the best restaurant in Tongmao Prefecture, and its popularity could be felt as soon as they entered the door. Because they arrived late, the only empty seats were on the second floor. Once they sat down, Huo Fenglie ordered skillfully, and Liu Zhenqing realized that it was no coincidence. Huo Fenglie had a good grasp of what he liked to eat.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Er-gou with a smile, and felt that although Er-gou had been a closed-up gourd since he was a child, he was thoughtful and observant. 

However, Huo Fenglie felt a little uneasy with Liu Zhenqing looking at him. “What?”

Liu Zhenqing deliberately teased: “Do you want to drink?”

Huo Fenglie suddenly looked embarrassed, because last time on the ship, He Lan had betrayed Huo Fenglie in a carefree manner when he accidentally mentioned that Huo Fenglie could outdrink them all and not be drunk after a thousand cups.

Only then did Liu Zhenqing find out that Huo Fenglie had deliberately deceived him when they were at the General’s Manor.

However, Liu Zhenqing didn’t think too much about it, and only thought it was because he had gradually developed his drinking capacity. He didn’t think this person had lied to him when he was a child. Therefore, he proudly teased him with it.

Huo Fenglie’s face was full of embarrassment, and he begged for mercy in a low voice: “Qing-ge, I was wrong.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “If it were before, I would have a drinking contest with you to see who wouldn’t get drunk after a thousand cups. But now, forget it. If I drink, I’ll just end up acting crazy.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes were soft: “It’s fine, I’ll look after you.”

“Wouldn’t that mean you’d be watching me make a fool of myself alone? Forget it, forget it.” Liu Zhenqing thought it over. In order to avoid being slapped in the face in the future, he just said: “If I really want to drink, we can discuss it.”

Huo Fenglie nodded obediently.

Before the food was served, they heard people around them talking about the Imperial Examinations.

It seemed that there had long been problems in the south. Everyone was suspicious but dared not speak out, and it was not until there was a problem in the north that they spoke freely.

The shopkeeper had come out at this time, likely to greet the regular customers, and they couldn’t help but complain to each other.

“The candidates are staying and the shop’s business is booming, ah.”

“No way, ah, ordinary candidates around here can’t afford it.”

“Ai, shopkeeper, I heard you say before that business isn’t easy. This place is full of people. Shopkeeper must be purposely crying about poverty.”

“Heh, that’s because you don’t know how much our taxes are.”

“Is that so, ah? I wonder if the taxes will be reduced if these officials are arrested.”

“Taxes are stipulated by the Imperial court, they can’t just be reduced, ah. I’m afraid you’ve drunk too much and are confused.”

“But although our area is not as devastated as Yanqiu Prefecture, it has also been affected. I heard that taxes were reduced before.”

“Ai, don’t mention that. There are more corrupt officials now. If the emperor just takes action and captures them all, life in Yanqiu Prefecture would be easier in the future. On our side…..ai, we can only wait and see.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhenqing raised his head and looked at Huo Fenglie. He pushed a plate of deboned fish in front of Liu Zhenqing and said quietly: “Tongmao Prefecture reported flooding and asked for relief. The emperor gave consent.”

“Heh, it’s indeed the same old routine again. Comments about the common people being bullied never reached the throne room.”

They used the most unyielding face to levy taxes, but bewailed their poverty and paid less, seeking huge profits in the middle. As long as every official was capable of doing their own accounting, they could hide it alone, making it less likely to be discovered than the disaster relief money. These old accounts were very complex. There were only a few channels that could deliver messages, and it was very easy for them to be intercepted. In ancient times, it wasn’t very good to be unreasonable. As long as you didn’t overdo it and force the common people to struggle for survival, there would naturally be no explosion.

When Liu Zhenqing was in office, he felt that this wouldn’t work, so he taught Yuan Jue to learn from the wise emperors of the Yuan clan’s ancestors to cultivate his own eyes and ears and dead soldiers. Perhaps because of this, Yuan Jue heard some movement even though it was well-concealed here.

Afterwards, the two went to all the Liu family’s shops, but they were all operating according to their duties, and there were no problems.

This actually let Liu Zhenqing breathe a sigh of relief. If the Chamber of Commerce had problems, that would mean they truly colluded with the rebels. It would be difficult for the Liu family to break away from them. If it was just a few individuals, then they had been deceived and used, and the Liu family still had an excuse.

When they returned to the government office in the evening, they saw an extra person in their courtyard.

At the stone table in the courtyard, a man was sitting with Bai Su. He was middle aged and wearing a black fox fur cloak. His skin was as white as snow, and he occasionally coughed, short of breath.

It could be seen that Bai Su was chatting with him in high spirits, and seemed to enjoy the conversation with the man.

When Bai Su saw them returning, he quickly stood and introduced them. The man also turned to greet them with elegant manners and an open face. As expected, this man was none other than Prefect Cheng Xi, who had been mentioned several times before.

Huo Fenglie had the highest status here, and Cheng Xi naturally tried to kneel down and salute, but Huo Fenglie stopped him. “Cheng-daren is not feeling well. There is no need to do this.”

“This subordinate has been feeling unwell for a long time. It is not a serious illness,” Cheng Xi explained calmly with a comfortable smile. 

In Bai Su’s introductions, Liu Zhenqing naturally became the friend accompanying Huo Fenglie. Although he didn’t know his identity, Cheng Xi was still polite to him. He was older than everyone else, yet still humble, polite, and dignified. When spending time with him, you really couldn’t find any faults at all.

He was indeed someone whom people were happy to associate with.

“I saw that Cheng-daren was tired after discussing the case with the investigation team members all day long, so I invited him out to come catch his breath and have dinner by the way,” Bai Su explained to the two of them.

“Many thanks to Young Master Bai for helping me clarify my thoughts and making the investigation team understand. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to escape.”

Bai Su wore an embarrassed expression, and looked at the two of them helplessly.

Obviously, no one in the investigation team could think as fast as Bai Su and Cheng Xi. Working with them would be exhausting, and since Cheng Xi was inferior to the investigation team from the capital, he had no choice but to deal with them.

As Cheng Xi spoke, he looked at Bai Su in a daze and said: “Young Master Bai is just like his elder brother. He has a quick mind and extraordinary insight. Even their looks are similar.”

Perhaps Cheng Xi’s eyes were too sincere and full of emotion, because Bai Su was stunned when he was told this, and there was some discomfort on his face. “Cheng-daren is over-praising me.”

Liu Zhenqing watched with interest. It seemed that Cheng Xi and Bai Yu had a really good relationship back then.

But Huo Fenglie looked at Cheng Xi, somewhat lost in thought.

Having heard that Qin Yu was still interrogating, He Lan also went to the interrogation room to help after returning, so the four of them ate together.

Du Dongfeng was busy running back and forth, and the hospitality was spot-on.

During dinner, apart from the taciturn Huo Fenglie, Liu Zhenqing also had a brief chat with Cheng Xi. Listening to his analysis of the case and summary of future investigation directions, his finishing sentence subdued everyone’s hearts.

“Do you think that if this case involves loyal members of the Imperial court, the emperor will be willing to continue the investigation?”

This sentence was a notion that astute people thought but dared not speak.

The Imperial Examination was not only related to the Ministry of Rites, but the next level up, the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister of the dynasty not only held great power, but his eldest daughter was also the current empress and could not easily be moved. 

So far, this matter did not seem to have any connection with the Prime Minister, but in essence, did the Prime Minister really know nothing about it? It was hard to say.

Huo Fenglie suddenly said: “Wherever the evidence points, we will investigate them.”

Cheng Xi’s heart was naturally put at ease with just a few words from the country’s general, but at the same time, everyone also understood that investigating the Prime Minister was very difficult. “This is natural. Everything should be based on evidence.”

And Liu Zhenqing was currently more and more interested in Cheng Xi.

His family was in decline, he was a son from a poor family, and he relied on studying to make a living. According to this setup, he had originally thought he would be a lone flower admiring itself, talentless, proud but inferior, and with a lot of psychological problems. He never imagined that this person would be so insightful. He had to say that if Cheng Xi had not been hampered by his illness, he would have been a bright, upright and talented person. According to Liu Zhenqing’s judgment, if he was allowed to serve as an official in the capital, he could also become a high minister.

Liu Zhenqing truly admired people with such a nature, and understood why Bai Su was able to converse happily with him in just one day.

In fact, Bai Su had come here to look for his brother’s lost paintings. Cheng Xi had two of the paintings, and when talking about this, he sighed and said: “To be honest, if Young Master Bai hadn’t asked for them, I would have been reluctant to return them. After all, Wangshu didn’t leave me many mementos either.”

When Bai Su heard this, he was a little startled. Seeing Cheng Xi’s expression, he couldn’t help but feel a few strange emotions. “Actually, when my father was collecting my brother’s scrolls, he found that two were missing, so…..”

Cheng Xi waved his hand and said: “Property should return to its original owner. Since Wangshu isn’t here, they should naturally be given to relatives such as yourself, but I have one capricious request.”

“Cheng-daren, please speak.”

“Actually, I was copying those two paintings before you came. I wanted to keep them as a reminder. It’s just that the investigation case has delayed me recently, but they are almost completed. I would like to ask, can I return them before you leave?”

Bai Su would naturally not refuse Cheng Xi’s sincere request, and felt envious that his brother could have such a close friend. 

“Of course. In my brother’s letters before, he often mentioned that Cheng-daren’s painting skills were superior to his, which made him very envious. Please let me take a look after you finish copying them.”

Cheng Xi was stunned, his face full of emotion. “He really said that?”

Bai Su nodded. “Brother also said that when matters were finished, he hoped to travel with Cheng-daren to complete a map of the country.”

Cheng Xi trembled all over.

Bai Su smiled and lowered his head, saying: “The map of the country was a shared ambition of my brother and I. Originally, I blamed my brother for not completing it with me, but I didn’t expect that he had a close friend to complete it with.”

“Yuzhou,” Huo Fenglie warned him suddenly.

As soon as Bai Su raised his head, he found that Cheng Xi on the other side had frozen, his eyes slightly red. When he came to his senses, he suddenly coughed and covered his face, then excused his rudeness and got up to leave.

Bai Su stared blankly as Cheng Xi left, not knowing what to say.

Huo Fenglie glanced at Liu Zhenqing and saw that he was staring straight ahead. He remembered that pure and intelligent young man.

Bai Yu, Bai Wangshu, was the son of the Imperial Teacher. He was a top scholar, but chose to take the most difficult road. It was obvious that his simple character was not suitable for officialdom, but he said firmly that he would follow Liu Zhenqing, no matter how many insults followed him, because he knew that he was not following the wrong person. But Liu Zhenqing had heard him unintentionally mention wanting to draw a map of the country once it was stabilized. 

Now this was impossible.

It was all his fault.

Liu Zhenqing’s heart was cold. Then he felt his cold, stiff hand being held by someone, warmth spreading across.

Startled, Liu Zhenqing looked up. Although the other’s expression was straight, a bit of worry and distress could be seen. 

As an older brother, how could he make a little brother worry?

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and smiled, perhaps to fight against some bad feelings. Regardless, he raised the hand held by Huo Fenglie and rubbed his mouth with the back of it, wiping all the oily residue of the soup on the back of Huo Fenglie’s clean hand. Then he watched Er-gou’s reaction with a grin.

He saw Er-gou stiffen for a moment and look at the back of his hand in a childlike manner, as if he was being bullied but couldn’t react. Liu Zhenqing smiled, but didn’t notice Er-gou’s reddish ears, uncontrollably quivering pupils, and the inexplicable deep color of his eyes.

Lost in his thoughts as he was, Bai Su did not see this ridiculous scene, but He Lan, who had sneaked out to get something to eat, saw it.

He Lan: They’re not even concealing it anymore! But he still won’t admit it!

After that, Bai Su went back to his room with his thoughts. Liu Zhenqing had initially planned to rest early, but he couldn’t sleep, and lay on the windowsill to look at the moon. Huo Fenglie made the bed behind him.

“Er-gou, Bai Su brought Cheng Xi here today. His original intention should be that he wants us to help see if Cheng Xi can be trusted, but I quite like him, so I may not be able to judge fairly. What do you think?”

“You like him a lot?” Huo Fenglie’s voice suddenly sounded behind him with an unclear tone.

Liu Zhenqing turned around and said doubtfully: “Yes, ah. Why, do you think there is something wrong with him?”

Huo Fenglie’s mouth flattened for a moment before he said: “I think he liked Bai-dage.”

“Ahem!” Liu Zhenqing was shocked. He was asking if Cheng Xi could be trusted, but what did Er-gou say? Was this what he thought it was? “Ah? When you say ‘like’……do you mean that?”

Liu Zhenqing touched two fingers together.

Huo Fenglie nodded.

Liu Zhenqing shook his head. “Where did you see that? No matter how I look at it, I see the love of a close friend and brother, ah.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flickered. “I just saw it.”

Liu Zhenqing expressed his doubts that Er-gou, this emotionally inexperienced fellow, could be the only one to figure this out. At this time, Du Dongfeng came to the inner courtyard to check the candles. Liu Zhenqing saw him and called him over.

“My lord?”

“Xiao Du, let me ask you, is your Prefect Cheng married? How is it at home?”

Du Dongfeng thought for a moment and said: “Prefect Cheng used to have a wife and a mistress, but now there is no one left. He doesn’t even have any heirs. He only focuses on serving the people and doesn’t talk about matters of love.”

Liu Zhenqing was a little surprised. “What happened to them?”

“I heard that the wife was originally part of a marriage contract. Prefect Cheng’s family was in decline then, and the wife’s family initially did not recognize the marriage. But later, when Prefect Cheng became an official again, they rushed to marry, so there was no affection. Later, because he was infatuated with his mistress and didn’t come home often, his wife took the initiative to divorce him. She died of illness later, and he never remarried.”

Indeed, a person couldn’t be judged by their appearance. There was actually a romantic affair.

Hearing this gossip, Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows and glanced at Huo Fenglie. The other person also looked surprised, as if he couldn’t believe he had guessed wrong.

Nobody was perfect. Cheng Xi’s previous performance was too good before, which made Liu Zhenqing instinctively feel that something was wrong. Now that he had heard this gossip, he suddenly felt that the man was a normal person, so he relaxed and went to bed first.

Late at night, someone shook him awake.

Although Liu Zhenqing didn’t have a temper upon being woken up, he was still somewhat resentful. He raised his hand to hit the person, but his hand was gently grabbed.

“Qing-ge, it’s time to get up. Qing-ge.”

Liu Zhenqing’s head gradually cleared up. Right, it was agreed that they would get up in the middle of the night and go to the archives room to secretly investigate the tax account books.

When he sat up in a daze, Huo Fenglie began to help Liu Zhenqing put on his cloak and shoes. Liu Zhenqing yawned all the way and ordered him about.

It wasn’t until Huo Fenglie carried Liu Zhenqing and flew to the roof that he was awakened by the cold wind.

But Huo Fenglie soon noticed this and adjusted his cloak to cover Liu Zhenqing’s face again.

In the darkness, Liu Zhenqing could only hear Huo Fenglie’s slightly faster heartbeat and feel the shallow rise and fall of his chest. He felt safe even though his feet weren’t touching the ground.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at a quiet room. Liu Zhenqing stepped down and lifted his cloak to see stacks of bookshelves.

Since they couldn’t light a lamp, they could only use the moonlight to investigate carefully. Fortunately, the moonlight was good tonight.

He had just browsed through one county and discovered where the problem lay. Then Huo Fenglie, who was helping him get a book behind him, put down the book and suddenly grabbed Liu Zhenqing, dodging into a shadowed corner.

Before Liu Zhenqing could react, he heard a slight movement. Someone was gently pulled the door bolt.

It turned out there was someone coming here in secret at night?

Was his purpose the same as theirs?

Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie exchanged glances, but it was too dark to see one another’s expressions. Liu Zhenqing could only sign “wait and see” on the back of Huo Fenglie’s hand.

After a moment, they saw a cautious figure grope for the same bookshelf under the moonlight, rummaging for something. Listening to his movements and footsteps, he sounded like a martial artist.

Suddenly, he seemed to be aware of the breathing of other people here, and the visitor couldn’t help but take two steps in their direction.

They were hiding a bit close, and Liu Zhenqing could just see the man approaching from his angle of sight. At this moment, Liu Zhenqing blamed the moonlight for being too good.

Huo Fenglie also turned around and looked over. Just as he was thinking of a solution, Liu Zhenqing suddenly tugged Huo Fenglie and pointed to a place where boxes of books were stacked nearby. There were several rows of boxes here, and there was a gap between the boxes and the wall that was barely wide enough for one person to lie down. As for the height, even if three or four people were stacked up, they would not be noticed. Liu Zhenqing chose to believe that Huo Fenglie’s martial arts would make them silent, so without waiting for him to react, he took the lead to embrace Huo Fenglie and turn around. Huo Fenglie quickly put his hands and feet on the ground, and almost like a gust of wind, the two people stuffed themselves into the corner. Even if someone passed by, they wouldn’t be able to see the two people stuffed into the darkest place at the back of the book boxes.

But Huo Fenglie had only concentrated on holding Liu Zhenning and making no sound, and didn’t pay attention to the angle. So now, Huo Fenglie was lying on the ground, and Liu Zhenqing was lying tightly on top of him.

As the other party drew closer, even though he knew that they were low enough, Liu Zhenqing instinctively pressed tighter tighter, hugging the other person so that the gap was narrower. He even wanted to find a gap to place his legs so that there would be no excess space.

And this resulted in the two of them embracing each other very tightly.

Liu Zhenqing was not distracted by this, and was wary of being discovered, but Huo Fenglie could no longer control his thoughts. He felt that Liu Zhenqing’s aura completely enveloped him, causing his mind to tumble and his body to involuntarily stiffen.

As the man found nothing, Liu Zhenqing became more courageous. He sat up slightly and looked through the gap in the boxes of books to see what the other person was going to do.

But he didn’t know that the internal energy of the person under him had become disordered due to where he was sitting.

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Chapter Forty-Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Six

Pei Yi woke up in a warm bed.

He felt the familiar presence beside him and clung to it. “Er-ge.”

Bo Yueming had already woken up, and kissed his forehead. “You’re awake? Did you sleep well?”

Pei Yi dazedly opened his eyes, and it took a few seconds before he responded with a smile, “En, what time is it?”

Bo Yueming replied, “Almost four o’clock.”

They had taken advantage of the New Year’s holiday to book an exclusive hotel with a hot spring on a snowy mountain in western Sichuan, and changed the booking to the last flight the night before. They chartered a car to go to the hotel, and it was already five o’clock in the morning when they arrived.

Then after the tiring journey and washing up, they embraced each other and fell asleep.

Pei Yi saw the familiar bed sheets and quilt cover, and felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction—

Bo Yueming had always known about his habit of being familiar with is bed and quilt, so when they went on a trip this time, he specially brought the sheets and quilt that Pei Yi was accustomed to.

Even though they were both exhausted when they arrived at the hotel in the early morning, Bo Yueming took the time during Pei Yi’s bath to change everything and even light some incense to help him sleep.

Pei Yi saw this kind of meticulous care and noted it down in his heart.

Bo Yueming asked in a low voice, “Are you hungry? I’lll ask the hotel to bring you some food. Let’s soak in the hot springs this evening and get up in the morning to see the sunshine on the mountains.”

“Okay!”

The hotel they booked was in a very good location. The floor-to-ceiling windows faced the stunning scenery of the snow-capped mountains, and there was a hot spring sourced from a major engineering project.

Although the trip was a bit tiring, Pei Yi was still very satisfied with the vacation spot they had chosen.

. . . . . . .

The hotel’s hot springs had private bath configurations.

Pei Yi untied his bathrobe, slipped into the water, and couldn’t help but let out a satisfied sigh.

After sleeping and eating well then soaking the hot springs during the cold winter, all of the post-travel fatigue was driven away.

Bo Yueming brought over the fruit platter delivered by room service. Seeing Pei Yi’s look of comfort, he smiled and asked, “Do you feel good?”

“Definitely.” 

Pei Yi smacked the water and said, “Er-ge, come in quickly.”

Bo Yueming handed him the sliced apples and a fork, then took off his warm bathrobe and got into the water.

Pei Yi bit into the fruit, but his eyes followed Bo Yueming’s movements—

Bo Yueming’s figure was well-proportioned and well-trained, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, abdominal muscles, and smooth but not exaggerated muscle lines.

The more Pei Yi stared, the more obvious he became, until his thoughts were practically written on his face.

 Bo Yueming’s breathing became tight as he was stared at by his kitten, and he had to put a stop to it. “Have you seen enough?”

“Nope,” Pei Yi answered calmly.

He glanced down at his slim, flat figure, and then poked Bo Yueming’s abdominal muscles, admiring them with a hint of envy, “Er-ge, why can’t I train to be like this?”

Bo Yueming laughed and said, “You’re very good the way you are.”

Everyone’s physique was different. Pei Yi, who loved sweets and sleeping in, had never gained weight in these years, and others would be jealous of him. 

Pei Yi took the last slice of apple and reluctantly accepted Bo Yueming’s comfort.

Bo Yueming took his fork. “Do you want more?”

Pei Yi shook his head. “I’m full after dinner.”

He lay on the edge of the hot spring, gazing at the stars through the glass skylight. “Er-ge, look. The stars here are very bright.”

Bo Yueming looked alongside him and said, “I asked the hotel manager, and they allow small fireworks to be set off here. I bought you a box. They will transport it up from the foot of the mountain tomorrow and you can play tomorrow night.”

Pei Yi was immediately in high spirits. “Really?”

As soon as he spoke, he hid his smile and said, “Those are just for children to play with.”

Bo Yueming asked, “Aren’t you a child? The last time you held such a small firework stick instead of a candle, wasn’t it because you wanted to play?”

Pei Yi laughed after being called out and moved closer, holding Bo Yueming’s arm. He asked knowingly, “Er-ge, why do you know everything? I can’t hide any of my little thoughts from you.”

Bo Yueming hugged the person in his arms tightly and kissed his lips.

Pei Yi looked into his eyes and saw himself clearly in those blue irises. He suddenly wanted to freeze time at this moment. “Er-ge, were you serious about what you said in front of Father Yan last night?”

Bo Yueming replied in earnest, “I was serious.”

Pei Yi asked again, “Will we be like Father Yan and Father Rong in the future, and get the certificate, get married, and stay together forever?”

“Pei Yi, I meant what I said.”

Bo Yueming gently grasped the back of his neck with his warm hand. “As long as you are willing, then when you graduate and reach the legal age for marriage, we will go and get the certificate.”

Pei Yi received Bo Yueming’s repeated vows, and the remaining uneasiness and confusion deep in his heart completely vanished.

They had only been dating for over a month. Compared with the long and distant future, this sort of contact was often insignificant, but now Pei Yi was confident—

Bo Yueming would hold his hand until the end, until they reaped the same happiness as Father Rong and Father Yan.

“Er-ge.”

Pei Yi wrapped him up with his hands and feet.

“En?”

The inadvertent touch caused Bo Yueming’s temperature to rise another degree, and he quickly stabilized himself. “Be careful, don’t act recklessly and choke on the water.”

Pei Yi wasn’t afraid, and moved continuously closer. “You said that some things between lovers must be carefully considered before taking action. I’ve already considered them clearly.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming’s heartstrings tightened slightly, and then he heard Pei Yi’s continued confession.

“I know you may think that what I’m going to say next is impulsive and rash, but I’m certain that I’ve figure it out—”

“I don’t just like you. I love you.”

“I love you, so I want to explore more beautiful things and create more memories with you.”

The love of young people may be reckless or impulsive, but it was certainly the most sincere and passionate.

“Since I was ten years old, I have been growing up under the protection of Father Yan, Father Rong, and you. You guys always think that I’m ignorant and you’re afraid that I’ll be hurt, but I know what I want.”

“We can’t choose where we come from, but we can choose where we end up.”

Just like then he was ten years old and acknowledged Zong Baiyan and Xu Rong as his adoptive parents, and when he was thirteen years old, he acknowledged Bo Yueming as his friend and brother.

Even now, he believed that Bo Yueming would be the one who would love him and stay with him for the rest of his life.

Pei Yi took a deep breath and said with firm, brave sincerity, “Er-ge, my home is you, and I also hope that your home is me, okay?”

Bo Yueming’s heart flared with heat, and he said solemnly, “Okay.”

They kissed inseparably, wrapped in sweetness and love.

Pei Yi took a rare moment to breathe and teased, “Er-ge, do you want me?”

Bo Yueming’s Adama’s apple bobbed, and he couldn’t refuse. “Are you sure?”

A flash of shyness crossed Pei Yi’s face. He tilted his head and whispered in his ear, “I actually bought those items. They’re hidden in my backpack. I don’t know if the size is suitable.”

Bo Yueming bit his lip as if in punishment. “Who taught you this? You really want to set a fire?”

Pei Yi had thought about it, and was still ready to make a move.

He gave the boldest invitation in the most innocent tone, “Then, then let’s do it?”

Bo Yueming revealed an ambiguous smile. “Kitten, are you underestimating me or overestimating yourself?”

In the next second, Pei Yi had no time to quibble, and was dragged into the abyss of desire by the person in front of him.

. . . . . . . 

. . . . .

 . . .

The alarm clock that had been set in advance rang on time.

Bo Yueming immediately awoke and pressed the alarm on his cell phone. He slowly turned on the dim bedside light and looked at the person in his arms.

Pei Yi was still curled up in the quilt and sleeping deeply. His arms and the sides of his neck were stained with “indescribable” marks left over from the previous night’s tossing. 

Bo Yueming stared at these for a while before his reasoning broke free from his dreams.

He confirmed that the sun had risen and electronically opened the curtains. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was a gleaming snowy scene, and snow-capped mountains slept in the distance.

The weather was pretty good, and they could pretty much see all the beautiful scenery they wanted.

Bo Yueming drew closer and coaxed, “Kitten, are you awake? It’s sunrise.”

After the two confirmed their feelings for each other the previous night, they naturally started to behave more intimately.

Pei Yi had talked a lot of nonsense before starting, but in fact, it didn’t take long for him to cry and beg for mercy. Bo Yueming didn’t want the first time between the two of them to go too far, so he stopped and pampered him.

It was just that Pei Yi didn’t forget about getting up early to see the sunrise before he fell unconscious, so Bo Yueming woke up at this time.

“Uh…..”

Pei Yi was still immersed in sleep and frowned unhappily, retracting his head further into the bed.

Bo Yueming had long become accustomed to staying in bed, so he gently pulled down the quilt. “Still sleepy? How about we wait until tomorrow?”

Pei Yi gave a coquettish wu and raised his eyelids with difficulty. “……Er-ge.”

His voice was no longer as clear as before, dry and hoarse.

Bo Yueming immediately understood and responded softly, “Wait for me, I’ll get you warm water.”

Pei Yi nodded slightly.

Half a minute later, Bo Yueming reclined back with a glass of warm water.

Pei Yi leaned into his arms, drinking the water as his reasoning slowly pulled him back to the present.

The sky was getting brighter, and the anticipated sunrise was getting closer.

Pei Yi slowly drank half a glass of water, saying, “Er-ge, I just had a very fantastical dream.”

Bo Yueming’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What was it?”

“I dreamed that we lived different lives. We went through a lot of hardships when we were young, and ended up together by chance.”

Pei Yi couldn’t describe the dream step by step, so he chose to briefly describe it, “In the dream, you were still part of Bo Group, and I had a game studio. We also had a cat.”

Pei Yi found it interesting that they had a life of hardship and joy in his dreams, and couldn’t help but look sideways at Bo Yueming. “When I graduate from university, let’s raise a little black cat, okay?”

Bo Yueming heard what Pei Yi said and felt that it was destined to happen.

He did not doubt the authenticity of his lover’s dreams at all, and only said, “Okay, we’ll call him Inspector. He’ll come.”

Pei Yi was startled. “How did you know I wanted to name the kitten that? I……”

“Shh.”

Bo Yueming stopped his curious inquiry and said, “Look out the window.”

Golden light scattered atop the snow-capped mountain, holy and magnificent. It was a kind of beauty that could not be described in words, enough to wash away all fatigue and haze in the soul.

Pei Yi was so shocked that his eyes widened. Perhaps because he hadn’t gotten enough rest after the previous scene, he stared at it for a long time before being able to utter a single sentence.

When Bo Yueming saw his silly appearance, he couldn’t help but clasp his fingers. “It is said that all the wishes of those who see the sun shining on the golden mountain will come true.”

“Really?”

“En.”

Bo Yueming had never liked making wishes, but now he confided in a whisper with a pious heart, “I wish that either in dreams or reality, we will be together forever.”

Pei Yi nestled into Bo Yueming’s arms, “I wish the same thing.”

The endless snow-capped mountains outside the window were shrouded in golden light while inside the house they clung to each other, still in love at the best age.

T/N: Aaaand that’s a wrap! This is officially my longest finished translation. I hope you enjoyed the story! Please support the author if you haven’t already, I’ve provided their jjwxc link in the table of contents. And I appreciate any donations so freakin’ much. In all honesty, your support has helped me make ends meet lately.

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Extra 14/15 <<Table of Contents

After washing up, Pei Yi sat on the bed, the curve of his mouth still not going down.

Footsteps sounded at the door as Bo Yueming came back from outside with a glass of warm water.

Seeing this, Pei Yi hurriedly got up from the bed and threw himself into the other person’s arms. “Er-ge!”

“Careful.”

The water in the cup overflowed onto his hand, but Bo Yueming didn’t get angry with Pei Yi. He just encircled the other person with one arm and placed the cup firmly at the bedside with the other.

Pei Yi knew he was too excited, and picked up a tissue to wipe his hand. He was still immersed in happiness and couldn’t extricate himself. “Er-ge, does, does this count as being in a relationship?”

Bo Yueming sat on the bedside and gestured to him. “Come here.”

Pei Yi withdrew his intention and sat face-to-face in his arms. “En?”

“Were you confused by the sweetness of the cake?” Bo Yueming encircled Pei Yi tightly and tossed the question back. “With us like this now, do you think we are in a relationship?”

“Of course we are!”

Pei Yi answered confidently with a hint of pride. He asked curiously, “Er-ge, when…..when did you treat me differently?”

Bo Yueming understood his question and answered honestly, “There was no specific time. By the time I realized, it was already too late.”

Too late to return to the status of “brother,” and too late to stop “liking” Pei Yi.

Pei Yi didn’t think Bo Yueming’s answer was perfunctory. He considered carefully before responding, “It seems to be the same for me.”

Years of being together day and night had caused them to trust each other, rely on each other, and fall in love with each other. There was no strict timeline of emotional transition.

If he had to point out a time, perhaps the unexpected encounter at the racecourse had destined their fates to intersect, and today’s wish had completely tied the two together.

“Er-ge, you should have realized your feelings before I did. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Pei Yi was a little regretful. He felt that—

If Bo Yueming had guided him and enlightened him earlier, the two might have been together long ago.

Falling in love early…..it was very exciting to think about.

With a look from Pei Yi, Bo Yueming knew what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd. He patted the other’s little head full of wandering thoughts and answered seriously, “Kitten, I like you, but I never want to force you to be with me.”

“If I used my status as your ‘brother’ to deliberately lead you into a trap unawares, then I would not be worthy of your love.”

Bo Yueming would not deny that he was selfish, but after realizing his feelings, he restrained himself to the greatest extent.

He waited, waiting for the moment Pei Yi realized it himself.

Pei Yi’s heart warmed, and he replied jokingly, “En, that’s right. If you had abducted me two years earlier, my family wouldn’t have agreed.”

Bo Yueming smiled.

He could see how much Zong Baiyan and Xu Rong loved Pei Yi, and feared he would have to undergo another wave of tests in the future.

Pei Yi gazed at Bo Yueming’s features. Even though they had been together for five or six years, the more he looked at them, the more excited he became. For a moment, he became “lustful,” and moved closer to kiss Bo Yueming’s forehead and the tip of his nose—

Finally, he landed on the corner of his mouth like a dragonfly touching water, and his ears turned red.

“Er-ge, thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?” Bo Yueming saw the joy on Pei Yi’s face and his heart felt soft. 

“I’m thanking you for liking me.”

Bo Yueming chuckled. “You’re welcome. Thank you for liking me too.”

Pei Yi’s eyes lowered, and he couldn’t help but kiss the other’s Adam’s apple, still only having a taste. “Er-ge.”

“……”

This place that was rarely touched burned a red that could start a prairie fire. 

Pei Yi seemed to have discovered a new continent as he rubbed it with his fingertips.

Bo Yueming was tickled by the temptation of the kitten in his arms and reached out to gently clasp the back of his lover’s head, nuzzling his nose. 

“You only want to play this way?”

“Huh?”

“How about this—”

Those slightly cool lips gently kissed his mouth, and an indescribable heat arose from the caress.

In a brief moment of confusion, Pei Yi felt his teeth being pried open with ease, and being led by the person in front of him stirred up another lingering sensation.

The sounds of their breathing intertwined.

Pei Yi’s entire face turned red, but he still responded awkwardly and sincerely.

After an unknown amount of time, the kiss that seemed to last forever finally stopped when Pei Yi cried out for mercy.

“……”

Pei Yi opened his lips slightly, taking in the hard-won fresh air.

Bo Yueming tried hard to steady his breathing, and his eyes fell heavily on his lover’s lips. Their red color was a masterpiece left by his kiss.

Bo Yueming wiped away the moisture at the corner of Pei Yi’s mouth with his fingertips, feeling an indescribable satisfaction. “Feeling better?”

Pei Yi nodded his head again and again, his head a mess, and finally buried his face in Bo Yueming’s neck, feeling embarrassed and excited. “Er-ge, your kissing skills seem to be very good.”

Bo Yueming was taken aback for a couple of seconds, and then laughed. “Really?”

Pei Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he answered hesitantly, “It seems so, ba. Today is the first time I’ve kissed someone.”

Bo Yueming’s smile deepened and he kissed his ear. “What a coincidence. This is the first time I’ve kissed someone.”

Within a few seconds, Pei Yi reacted and burst into foolish laughter.

Bo Yueming had grown up with him, and had now become his first love. This wonderful feeling filled him with joy.

“Are you thirsty?” Bo Yueming relaxed his embrace and picked up the warm water beside him. “Didn’t you just say you were thirsty?”

Pei Yi didn’t refuse and drank half the glass, then handed the remaining water to Bo Yueming. 

Bo Yueming didn’t mind this, and drank the remaining water in one gulp. 

It was already past eleven o’clock as the two satisfied people lay on the bed embracing each other.

Pei Yi suddenly recalled the “stimulation” he felt after getting up early last time, and was too embarrassed to sleep with Bo Yueming again. It had been three or four months now.

“Er-ge?”

“En?”

Pei Yi thought of the kiss just now and the sensation of being ‘helped’ that time and felt a bit overwhelmed. “Now that we’re lovers……can we do those things?”

Bo Yueming was knocked speechless by the curious kitten’s straight ball and grasped the back of his neck lightly. “You really want to?”

These low words fell into his ears.

Pei Yi shrank down sensitively and added, “N-no, ah, I’m just asking casually.”

Since they were a couple wasn’t it normal to sleep together?

If it were anyone else, Pei Yi may not have been able to accept such a fast pace, but since it was Bo Yueming, he felt that it was okay no matter what.

Pei Yi was thinking to himself when he heard Bo Yueming say seriously, “Pei Yi, there’s no rush.”

“Ah?”

“I like you and I respect you.”

While caressing Pei Yi, Bo Yueming solemnly explained, “You will be driven to do many things according to your ‘preferences’ and ‘age,’ and you will be curious to explore everything that interests you. 

Bo Yueming was firm in his emotional choices, but was also willing to give Pei Yi more room to think and grow.

“Everyone’s first time is precious, and so are the first feelings of love. So I hope that the first intimacy between us can be based on affection and devotion.”

The moment Bo Yueming finished speaking, Pei Yi understood what he wanted to express.

This was love.

It was a lasting love that was more than simple ‘liking.’

Pei Yi was moved, and buried himself in Bo Yueming’s arms. “Er-ge, I understand.”

They still had a lot of time. Their liking would condense into love, and their love would inspire them to accomplish more happy and fulfilling things.

Bo Yueming kissed his forehead and said, “Go to sleep. Good night.”

Pei Yi closed his eyes. “Good night.”

. . . . . . . 

Since Pei Yi and Bo Yueming had established their relationship, every day was like a kite floating in the sky and they were so happy that they couldn’t tell north from south.

Pei Yi had initially planned to wait until the end of the holiday before revealing their relationship to Zong Baihan and Xu Rong.

It was just that the best laid plans couldn’t rival those of the heavens—

Pei Yi looked at Zong Baiyan who was keeping a straight face on the sofa, and then at Bo Yueming standing at his side, feeling a rare sense of uneasiness.

After finally reaching the New Year’s holiday, Pei Yi had planned to escape the school environment and live a two person life with Bo Yueming.

In the evening, the two of them packed some light luggage and prepared to drive to the airport. But they couldn’t help kissing once they got in the car, and were unexpectedly caught by Zong Biayan…..

Then they were “caught” on the spot and sent home!

“I say, I haven’t seen you come home on the weekends recently! How old are the two of you? Are you living together?” Zong Baiyang narrowed his eyes, directing a rare serious look at Bo Yueming.

Pei Yi saw the look in his father’s eyes and subconsciously defended his lover, “Father Yan, w-w’ere not, Er-ge respects me very much.”

“I didn’t tell you to speak.”

Zong Baiyan blocked Pei Yi’s assistance but softened his tone.

Xu Rong walked up with freshly brewed fruit liqueur as soon as he spoke, as calm and gentle as ever. “Why are you still standing here? Take a seat.”

Pei Yi seemed to have seen his savior, and quickly mellowed his tone. “Father Rong.”

Xu Rong received this beseeching look from his child and handed the first glass of warm red wine to Zong Baiyan. “Xiao Yi has been part of the Bo family since he was a child. This isn’t the first day you’ve known about it, so why are you being so strict now?”

“…..Rong-ge.”

Zong Baiyan took the fruit wine from his lover. He restrained his helplessness and pretended to be serious. “How is the situation the same now? These two boys started dating without telling us!”

Zong Baiyan felt an indescribable feeling of melancholy when he thought about the kitten he had raised lingering in another person’s home all day long. 

He looked at the tall Bo Yueming and said, “Boy, when did you come up with this idea?”

Pei Yi retorted, “Father Yan, it was me who had intentions toward Er-ge. I confessed first.”

“……”

Zong Baiyan was truly speechless at this moment, and was so aggreived that he didn’t know what to do. 

Xu Rong was inwardly amused, and didn’t console him at all.

He poured two more glasses of warm fruit wine for Pei Yi and Bo Yueming respectively, and hinted warmly, “Come, everyone sit down and talk.”

“Thank you, Father Rong!”

“Thank you, Uncle Rong.”

The two of them responded in tacit agreement and sat down on the loveseat. 

Even though they didn’t act intimately, their invisible barrier that isolated outsiders made Zong Baiyan’s temples twitch.

Xu Rong walked back to Zong Baiyan and said, “Xiao Yi had a heart-to-heart talk with me before, and I already knew what was going on between the two children.”

Zong Baiyan never had a bad temper with Xu Rong. “Rong-ge.”

Xu Rong was aware of his temperament, and half coaxed and half teased, “What? You, as a father, are against love before marriage?”

Zong Baiyan gave a long sigh.

Of course he was not such a pedantic parent. When children reached a certain age, they should naturally enjoy the beauty of love.

He just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

Zong Baiyan’s gaze focused on Bo Yueming again, and he sounded him out covertly, “Yueming, you should know what I want to say?”

The Bo family was one of the wealthiest in the Imperial Capital.

As Old Mrs. Bo’s valued grandchild, some people fawned over Bo Yueming openly while some people targeted him secretly.

To say the least, both of them were still young.

Whether it was dependence or affection, habit or liking, could they really tell the difference? What if they broke up in the future?

Zong Baiyan favored his own family. Of course he hoped that Pei Yi would meet the right person and live a happy and worry-free life, but he also feared that he would get involved in the unnecessary disputes of the wealthy because of Bo Yueming.

Bo Yueming stood up and bowed solemnly to Zong Baiyan and Xu Rong. “Uncle Yan, Uncle Rong, I understand your thoughts and concerns.”

“I am still young, and Pei Yi is even more so. Apart from our family backgrounds, we are still not strong enough to be completely independent, but please believe me—”

“In any case, I am three years older than Pei Yi. I will try to gain a foothold and establish my career before he graduates. He will never become a pawn or an abandoned piece in the competition between wealthy families.”

Bo Yueming was very clear about his feelings for Pei Yi, and also understood what he wanted.

“Pei Yi lacked a sense of security when he was a child. You have done your utmost to protect him these years and don’t wish for him to suffer. I promise you now—”

“Unless Pei Yi gets tired of me in this life, I will never give up on him. If you two can trust me, and if Pei Yi is willing, we will get the certificate after graduating from university.”

“…….”

Graduate from university? Get the certificate?

Pei Yi’s eyes suddenly lit up, and something seemed to surge out of his heart. In an instant, he was filled with flowers of expectation. “Yes, ah! I’ll do it!”

Zong Baiyan coughed upon seeing his child’s unrestrained smile.

Pei Yi simply held Bo Yueming’s hand, facing it together. “Father Yan, you watched Er-ge grow up. Don’t embarrass him.”

“We have a sense of proportion and won’t act recklessly.”

“…….”

Zong Baiyan took a sip of fruit wine and said nothing.

Xu Rong glanced at Zong Baiyan’s lowered eyes. How could he not know his lover’s true thoughts? It was likely that he had been persuaded by Bo Yueming’s sincere confession just now.

What’s more, Pei Yi was right. In the past five or six years, they had witnessed Bo Yueming’s care and protection of Pei Yi.

If they wanted to find someone to replace Bo Yueming, there was really no such person.

Xu Rong remembered that Pei Yi and Bo Yueming had been ‘caught’ by Zong Baiyan and took the initiative to ask, “Where were the two of you going originally?”

“ The Egret Private Hot Spring Hotel, to see the snowy mountains and soak in the hot springs.” Pei Yi took a peak at Zong Baiyan and complained, “This attraction just opened, and tickets are really hard to get.”

Xu Rong saw him carelessly reveal his childish temperament and answered for him, “You go on. When you come back, we’ll have a good meal together.”

“It’s getting cold, so be sure to keep warm when you get there.”

Hearing Xu Rong’s words, Pei Yi took Bo Yueming’s hand and prepared to run away. “Thank you, Father Rong!”

It was probably not too late to rebook a later flight!

Bo Yueming had originally thought that he was about to undergo a tug-of-war test, and was stunned and unsure. “Uncle Rong?”

Pei Yi tried his best to suppress his smile and revealed in a low voice, “Er-ge, don’t be afraid. Father Rong is the boss of this family.”

“……”

Zong Baiyan pretended to drink, so “angry” that he felt suffocated.

What was this scenario where a grown daughter could not remain unmarried for long? Even when they were so old, they couldn’t stay!

Pei Yi cheekily pulled Bo Yueming away and waved goodbye in a conscientious manner before leaving.

It wasn’t until the two of them left the house entirely that Zong Baiyan put down the cup he had already finished drinking. “Rong-ge, why didn’t you protect my image? You let my child laugh at me.”

“How old are you? You’re still losing your temper with them?” 

Xu Rong sat to the side and asked with a smile, “Just admit it. Other than Yueming, you wouldn’t accept any others taking him away from you.”

As for their concerns, even if Bo Yueming encountered difficulties in the future, his family would help protect him.

Zong Baiyan stood up and moved closer, walking around Xu Rong to grasp his shoulders and neck. “I just didn’t expect these two children to grow up so fast. Tell me, what is the difference between how they are now and when they’re living together?”

“Yueming is a measured person. He won’t mess around, and Xiao Yi can protect himself well.”

Xu Rong trusted Bo Yueming’s character, and trusted his own child even more.

“Besides, it’s normal for young people to be impulsive. Living together or not living together—” Xu Rong turned to the side and raised his head, a smile in his teasing eyes. “When you pestered me to live together, you seemed to have been a year younger than Yueming.”

“……”

Zong Baiyan smiled with a hum. “How reliable was I back then?”

“Yes, ah, pretending to cry in order to get me to agree was very reliable.” Xu Rong exposed him and patted the back of his lover’s hand. “Don’t worry, I have a hunch that they will be as happy as we are.”

Zong Baiyan had long since lost all the objections in his heart, and held Xu Rong’s hand in return. “En, it’s up to them to make their own decisions.”

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Extra 13/15 <<Table of Contents >> Extra 15/15

Dingding.

The bell rang—

The afternoon class had just ended. Pei Yi closed his laptop with a snap, slipped out of the lecture theater through the back door, and walked non-stop to the School of Economics next door.

He entered the No. 1 teaching building with ease, and before he could get on the elevator, he heard an argument in the corner.

“Fuck, I’m telling you, don’t meddle in other people’s business!”

“What’s the cleaning aunty’s problem? Didn’t I say I’d compensate her for her cell phone? It’s her who thinks the money isn’t enough and is trying to get more!”

Pei Yi heard this angry accusation and stopped unconsciously.

Instantly, there was another anxious, tearful voice, “Young man, the amount of money isn’t the point. Although my phone is a bit worthless, it contains photos of my child before his death. I….I…..”

Pei Yi frowned and walked over, driven by curiosity.

Perhaps the entanglement had been going on for a long time, because the two boys on the other side were a bit impatient. “Don’t try to flaunt your age, if you don’t want this money, then forget it. Lao Zhou, let’s go!”

“Where are you going!”

A fair-looking boy with a slender figure stood in front of them. “You just pushed Auntie to the ground, and her hand is obviously broken. You need to take responsibility!”

“Weren’t you just bragging about your wealth? And you’re trying to escape this small amount of medical expenses? You have no quality or education!”

The voice was cold and overflowing with ridicule.

Pei Yi’s eyes shifted from the boy’s face to the auntie who was being protected by him.

Sure enough, the latter was holding her left hand, her expression one of extreme and forbearing anguish.

It was pretty much clear who was in the wrong.

The two boys causing trouble exchanged glances, and their impatience instantly reached its peak. They didn’t dare do anything to the cleaning lady there, so they had to transfer their emotions to the boy who was blocking their path.

“Fuck, I told you to stop meddling in other people’s business!”

Pei Yi saw that the boy was at a disadvantage, and rushed forward at once with quick strides!

. . . . . . .

Twenty minutes later, in the department head’s office.

When Bo Yueming arrived, the department head’s lecture and criticism regarding the fight between Pei Yi and the others had just come to an end. As an outer courtyard “invader,” Pei Yi actually kept a straight face and maintained a rare “refusing to give in” attitude.

Bo Yueming knocked hesitantly on the office door. “Director Sun.”

When their eyes met, Director Sun obviously recognized Bo Yueming, who was an outstanding student. “Yueming, ah. This classmate Pei Yi claims to be here to see you. Do you know him?”

“I know him.”

Bo Yueming approached and looked at Pei Yi. “He’s my little brother.”

When their eyes met, Pei Yi’s kitten-like appearance vanished instantly, and he lowered his head with a guilty conscience—

It was too embarrassing for a dignified college student to have his family come to claim him after a fight!

“All right, it’s nothing serious, just a small dispute.” The department head confirmed Pei Yi’s status as a student and didn’t exaggerate the matter.

The fight between Pei Yi had just begun when the department head passed by after getting off work, so it didn’t lead to a big transgression.

“Pei Yi isn’t from our school, so let’s forget it this time.”

“Li Yuan, Zhou Zekai, and Lin Yi, each of you will write me a letter of apology! Submit it to me by Monday! I’ll give you a warning first this time, but if it happens again, you will be punished!”

. . . . . . .

Five minutes later, a group of people exited the department head’s office.

“Just wait and see!”

The two boys who had caused the trouble sneered angrily and left at once. They left as soon as they said this, but looking at their backs, they especially deserved a beating.

Pei Yi’s anger had yet to subside, and immediately surged up. “Fuck, I still haven’t beaten them into behaving…..”

He couldn’t help but blurt out a curse, and before he could rush forward, Bo Yueming grabbed him by the nape of the neck. “Pei Yi, stop!”

“……”

His threatening attitude immediately vanished.

Pei Yi turned around honestly and obediently and said: “Er-ge, they started it. I just dropped by to help, honest!”

“I can vouch for him. He really did just drop by to help.” Someone behind the two suddenly spoke up.

Pei Yi’s eyes shifted over and brightened slightly. “Li Yuan, right? Hi, I’m Pei Yi.”

The two were in the same camp during the fight just now, so they would naturally greet each other in a friendly manner.

Li Yuan gave a restrained nod and expressed his gratitude. “Thank you, ah.”

Pei Yi raised his head and said, “You’re welcome. I just did what should be done. Are you from the School of Economics too?”

“En, I’m a sophomore.” Li Yuan glanced at his phone and said bluntly, “Let’s talk if we have a chance. I’ll take that auntie to the hospital for an X-ray first.”

If follow-up treatment was needed, he could also take advantage of the department head’s prestige to go to Lin Yi and the other guy and discuss a compensation settlement.

Pei Yi recalled the auntie’s situation and nodded. “Wait, why don’t you find someone to go with you? I’m afraid those two guys will cause trouble again.”

Normally, Pei Yi might have accompanied him personally, but today was a special day and he couldn’t waste too much time on other things.

Pei Yi glanced at Bo Yueming, who was in the same school as  Li Yuan. “Er-ge, please call someone to help him.”

Li Yuan didn’t like to trouble others. Just when he was about to refuse, he heard Bo Yueming follow Pei Yi’s wishes and open his phone interface. “I’ll find Yan Cen. He has a car, and happened to come to school today to drop off some documents.”

“……”

Li Yuan bit back his words.

Pei Yi didn’t notice anything and directly agreed. “Okay!”

The three of them shortly reached a consensus, and after deciding to talk another day, Li Yuan took the cleaning lady to find Yan Cen.

Soon, only Pei Yi and Bo Yueming were left in the corridor outside the office.

The eyes of the two met again, and Pei Yi admitted his mistake without fear of embarrassment, “Er-ge, I was wrong. I won’t do it again. Don’t tell Father Rong.”

Helpless, Bo Yueming led him away. “Are you hurt?”

Pei Yi regained his spirit. “No, I’m perfectly fine.”

Bo Yueming could do nothing about him, so he simply said, “You’re not allowed to do this next time. If you’re going to fight across schools, plan it in advance.”

When he heard this, Pei Yi immediately remembered his purpose in coming here. “Er-ge, it’s your birthday today. Are you going home tonight?”

Bo Yueming didn’t like birthday parties, and in the past, he kept everything simple when celebrating. At most, he had a simple home-cooked meal with Old Mrs. Bo, Pei Yi, and others.

However, Bo Yueming was still happy that Pei Yi had remembered his birthday.

“En, I’m going home. Are you coming?”

“I was just about to tell you—” A glimmer of light flashed through Pei Yi’s eyes, and he pretended to be calm. “Er-ge, you and the Old Madam and the others eat first tonight. I’ll come find you around seven or eight o’clock.”

“……”

The corners of Bo Yueming’s mouth flattened slightly. “You have something to do?”

Pei Yi did his utmost to hide his inner thoughts. “En, I have an appointment with someone else, so I have to come later.”

Bo Yueming’s smile vanished. “Fine.”

Pei Yi snuck a glance at him. “You’re not angry?”

Bo Yueming noticed his deliberate questioning and wasn’t fooled. “No.”

Pei Yi suppressed a smile. “Oh.”

A month ago, Pei Yi had confirmed his intentions under the guidance of Xu Rong, but didn’t act rashly. Instead, he carefully thought about his plan of pursuit for a long time.

He and Bo Yueming knew each other so well that any “abnormality” would be spotted.

Instead of using the methods of normal people, it was better to remain calm and get along together “normally,” and wait until the time was right before taking action.

Today, Bo Yueming’s birthday, was the right time for him.

The two of them walked out of the No. 1 teaching building, and Pei Yi simply played his trick and ran away. “Then I’ll leave first! Er-ge, see you in the evening!”

With that said, he simply ran off under Bo Yueming’s gaze.

“……”

Bo Yueming watched Pei Yi leave without looking back, and his deliberately restrained emotions turned into a furrow between his eyebrows.

He had initially thought that after the last “misunderstanding,” it wouldn’t take long for Pei Yi to come to a realization, but unexpectedly, a month had passed and everything was still business as usual.

Bo Yueming frowned endlessly, feeling that he should find a way to speed up the process.

There was no time like the present. If there was a chance that night, he would have to pierce this layer of window paper himself.

. . . . . . .

Pei Yi kept his word and came to the door with a cake before eight o’clock in the evening.

“Er-ge, happy birthday!”

Seeing his smiling face, Bo Yueming’s inner gloom that had been building up all afternoon lifted instantly. “Where are you coming back from?”

He was still very concerned about who Pei Yi was with after saying he had “something to do” tonight.

Pei Yi couldn’t help but laugh, and continued to hold up the cake in his hands. “Look, I made it myself! I asked Father Rong to teach me this evening!”

Xu Rong had a class this afternoon, and Pei Yi could only ask for advice after the class was over.

Bo Yueming understood the truth from his few words, and carefully examined the cake covered by a transparent layer of plastic.

Pei Yi proceeded to show off. “How is it? Not bad, right? Father Rong gave me guidance and I did it myself.”

Bo Yueming’s lips finally curled up. “En.”

This crooked thing didn’t look like the decorating technique of a regular cake shop, but in order not to ruin the kitten’s enthusiasm, it was best not to say anything about it.

Pei Yi confidently handed over the cake. “It must be delicious.”

Bo Yueming chuckled. “You say it’s a birthday cake for me, but won’t it all go into your stomach later? Was this cake made according to your favorite flavor?”

Pei Yi covered his lips and refused to admit it. “Nonsense, if you can eat it all, I definitely won’t compete with you.”

The two went up to the second floor.

Bo Yueming was in a good mood, and placed the cake on the bar table. “What kind of wine do you want to drink? Kangdi?”

Pei Yi happily agreed. “You’re willing to give me this wine? Okay, ah!”

Bo Yueming took advantage of his height to take down the red wine from his collection, and opened the bottle while Pei Yi carefully opened the plastic outer packaging of the cake and looked with satisfaction at his first dessert creation.

Pei Yi looked over and said, “Er-ge, do you want to watch fireworks?”

Bo Yueming stopped pouring wine and asked, “What?”

“Look, I’ll conjure them up for you—” Pei Yi took out two numbered fireworks sticks from his black backpack. “We’ll use these instead of birthday candles today.”

Bo Yueming shook his head. “Childish.”

Pei Yi inserted the fireworks sticks representing his age into the cake, his smile undiminished. “It can’t be helped. Who told the Imperial Capital to ban fireworks? I could only use these instead. They’re supposed to burn for one minute. Is that enough for you to make a wish?”

Bo Yueming took out a spare lighter from the cabinet and let him arrange the process.

“Er-ge, have you decided what wish you want to make?”

“Not yet.”

Bo Yueming was telling the truth.

He had never been keen on celebrating birthdays, but he met Pei Yi later on and every birthday became a day for him to indulge in eating cake, which was also pretty good.

Rather than making a wish, Bo Yueming preferred to watch Pei Yi eat cake contentedly.

Pei Yi revealed in a low voice, “They say that birthday wishes come true easily.”

Bo Yueming asked, “What wish do you make every year?”

“It’s very ordinary. I just wish for everyone around me to be healthy.” Pei Yi paused, and said in a softer voice, “I, I don’t know my specific date of birth. If I make a big wish, it will probably fail.”

“……”

A trace of distress overflowed from the depths of Bo Yueming’s eyes, and he changed his words. “Then make a wish for me.”

Pei Yi’s thoughts moved slightly. “Me?”

“En, I give you permission to say whatever you want.”

Bo Yueming turned off all the lights in the small living room, then used the lighter for illumination and walked back to Pei Yi. “Say it, and I will help you realize any wish that you have.”

Pei Yi’s pupils sparkled in the firelight. “Really?”

Bo Yueming lit the firework candles and said, “Really. Come on.”

A cluster of fire split the darkness and illuminated their smiling eyes.

Pei Yi looked at the dancing firelight and felt an indescribable nervousness in his heart. “The first wish is for Bo Yueming to be free from illness and misfortune, and be safe and happy.”

“Okay,” Bo Yueming responded.

“The second wish—” Pei Yi took a deep breath imperceptibly. “I wish for Bo Yueming to be with the person he likes during this new year and stay together with them forever.”

Bo Yueming was stunned for a moment, and something seemed to surge from his chest. “……Okay. What’s the third wish?”

“The third wish—”

Pei Yi gazed at Bo Yueming through the candlelight, his heart beating faster and faster. 

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The firework candles were still burning brightly, and seemed to have burned away the invisible layer of window paper between the two of them.

Just before the flames were about to bottom out, Pei Yi finally heard his nervous and trembling voice say, “The third wish is for the person Bo Yueming likes…..to be me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole room fell into darkness.

Pei Yi didn’t know how to describe his emotions at that moment. He was overwhelmed with anticipation, and so nervous that he wanted to cry.

He didn’t know if the confession he had made through his wish would be reciprocated. He was even more afraid that he would lose the relationship he already had with Bo Yueming.

Even so, Pei Yi pretended to be relaxed and asked in the silence, “Er-ge, I like you. Do you want to be my boyfriend, ah?”

One second, two seconds, three seconds. Even the smell of smoke from the extinguished candles was lost in the air.

In the darkness, Pei Yi felt a heat on his lips, and as their breaths entangled, he finally received the answer he wanted.

“Okay.”

One word. Simple, firm, and clear.

— I give you permission to say whatever you want. I will help you realize any wish you have.

— I wish that Bo Yueming will always like me and be with me.

— Okay.

---

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Extra 12/15 <<Table of Contents >> Extra 14/15

Perhaps because he was worried that if he spoke a lot, his secret would be revealed, Yuan Yu did not say much. After asking about his identity and the causes and effects of the incident, he lay back weakly, panting slightly with chapped lips and looking half dead. Chang Xiaoqiu was still young and lacked focus, so he found an excuse to get away early in order to avoid laughing again. He was carrying a ripple of teenage thoughts and originally wanted to tell Liu Nanyuan about this fun thing, but Song Changsheng stopped him halfway and said: “Where are you running to? Come and help.”

“Oh.” Chang Xiaoqiu was forced to put away the little pink waves in his heart. He walked over and asked, “Song-xiansheng, what can I help you with?”

“His Highness requires that all weapons be delivered within five days. We don’t have enough manpower.” Song Changsheng still had an apron hanging around his neck. “There are many people in the forest who don’t even have enough time to eat. I’m here to assist.”

“Okay, then I’ll help,” Chang Xiaoqiu agreed. “But I can’t help for long. Third Young Lady Liu will go to another town for a free clinic soon. The prince sent me to lead people to protect her.”

After all, just staying in the Valley of Ten Faces would limit their influence. And it was currently the most beautiful season in the entire southwest, with flowers blooming and butterflies fluttering, so they should let the rivers of joy wash away in all directions. Liu Nanyuan herself had no objection to this. She even wanted to drag her Er-ge with her, but was ruthlessly rejected.

“Why?”

“Because it isn’t necessary.”

Second Young Master Liu had always avoided doing unnecessary things if possible, and besides, it was really tiring to play the role of an immortal. His belt was so tight that he couldn’t take even two bites of rice, and the jade button on it was heavy. Liu Nanyuan was shocked by this outrageous reasoning. Your jade button is only three fingers wide and half a finger long, how heavy can it be? 

But Liu Xian’an persisted. He quickly changed into his comfortable old clothes and lay down flat on the couch under his sister’s gaze.

Liu Nanyuan: “……”

The prince also can’t manage you.

But Liang Shu would not manage him. Others loved to see the immortal young master in brillant clothing, but he liked it all and was blinded by love. He felt that the jade button truly was heavy, and that he shouldn’t wear it if he didn’t like it. On this day, after finishing the military affairs at hand, he returned to his residence under the moonlight and picked up the drowsy man from the bed, asking him: “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Liu Xian’an replied deceptively, I waited, and fell asleep while waiting. He stretched hard and just barely opened his eyelids: “Has the prince seen the fake Commander Ku?”

“I saw him. He doesn’t appear to be too lively,” Liang Shu said. “But I don’t have time to play around with him anymore. The army’s route has been decided. After two more tests to ensure safety, the army can march straight in and overthrow the Baifu Sect’s lair.”

Before Liu Xian’an fell asleep again, he did not forget to emphasize that before heading straight in, it would be best to rescue Commander Ku first.

And the fake Commander Ku soon made fresh movements. He no longer lay in bed all day long, but instead dragged his sick body to walk around the military camp on crutches. 

“Don’t!” Gao Lin stopped him and advised earnestly, even if you have lost your memory, you are still the commander of the Southwest Garrison. The commander must be strong and powerful, but look at you now. You are blind and sick, with broken ribs, and crooked like a shrimp that has been left in the pot. You look very unpresentable, which is detrimental to the morale of our army.

Yuan Yu said: “I want to listen to the sounds here, perhaps I can remember more.”

Gao Lin donned a look of embarrassment that was also full of brotherhood. He thought for a long moment and said: “Then take a walk nearby and don’t go too far. Come, I’ll accompany you.”

Yuan Yu used a stick to explore the path and walked forward step by step. His pace was very slow, and Gao Lin did not rush him. He followed quietly, waiting to see what kind of mischief the other party was going to do. Yuan Yu looked at the surrounding military camp and soldiers through the thin silver gauze covering his eyes. After a long time, he asked hoarsely: “Where is the prince?”

“Ahead.” Gao Lin pointed at once. “It’s that black-roofed bamboo house. Oh, I’m sorry, gege forgot that your eye disease hasn’t healed. Come, I’ll take you there for a walk.”

Yuan Yu walked toward the bamboo house ahead.

As dusk fell, the camp was buzzing with the thrum of summer insects, noisy and fretful.

“Why are there so many bugs?” Cheng Suyue brushed off the black spots on her body. “I can’t even get rid of them all.”

“Nanyang’s secret technique is called Gu Army.” Liu Xian’an held up a butterfly in a glass jar. “I caught this in the prince’s study today.”

Cheng Suyue was greatly surprised, mainly because Second Young Master Liu was able to catch a butterfly. This was too nimble. But in fact, Liu Xian’an did catch it himself. He specially made some bait, sat on a chair with a net, and soon caught two pure white butterflies with the sit-and-wait method.

“It looks very ordinary.” Cheng Suyue drew closer and asked, “Is it any different from the ones commonly seen in the rapeseed flower fields?”

“It looks just the same, but the scale powder on its wings is highly toxic. If a person inhales a certain amount, there will be hallucinations and pain,” Liu Xian’an explained. “But my Da-ge has worked with several girls from the Scimitar Silver Moon Clan to prepare the antidote. It will be mixed in the soup and distributed to the soldiers in the next two days.”

Cheng Suyue felt that the important points of every sentence she heard tonight were a little off. First Young Master Liu and several girls from the Scimitar Silver Moon Tribe?

Liu Xian’an gave an ‘En.’ “Da-ge showed no expression during the entire process, just like a block of ice. It is best not to provoke him these days.”

“I am going south with Young Head Escort Chang and Third Young Lady Liu. Did Second Young Master Liu forget?” Cheng Suyue said, “We must leave tomorrow.”

She therefore prepared several more beautiful dresses and also a box of jewelry sent by Liu Nanyuan, which were awkward no matter how she wore them. Liu Xian’an nodded and said, “I understand. Playing the role of an immortal is indeed physical work.”

But being drowned in the cheers and laughter of the common people was indeed very pleasant.

Liu Nanyuan carried her own small medicine box and rode her Er-ge’s chubby red horse, leading her team to leave the Valley of Ten Faces in a majestic manner. When she first set out, there were only about a hundred soldiers and disciples from Baihe Mountain Village. Later, the team grew larger and larger as many people joined in and volunteered to help, coming one after another.

Cheng Suyue disliked the gorgeous dress , which could be called simple compared with the clothing of the southwest people. She soaked up folk songs every day, and her originally tone-deaf voice could actually sing along with a few lines. Liu Nanyuan’s singing voice was even more melodious. The old ladies in the village couldn’t remember her name, so they simply called her A-Ying and praised her, saying that even the most beautiful oriole in the world did not have a voice as sweet as hers.

Chang Xiaoqu also learned a few songs and hummed them in his free time, but didn’t expect to cause many girls to join him. He blushed deeply on the spot, jumped off the tall tree, and ran away, causing a lot of laughter behind him.

It seemed that wherever this procession went, happiness would flow.

The news also spread to the depths of the miasma forest.

A maid said: “Now the whole southwest is praising her beauty and kindness.”

Wumeng Yunle sat on a chair, wringing her handkerchief tightly as she looked at her pale face in the mirror.

“The Holy Maiden is naturally more beautiful than her.” The maid leaned in slightly, looked at the person in the mirror, and held her shoulders with both hands. “Don’t worry, the leader won’t let that medical woman be proud for too long.”

Wumeng Yunle said with dissatisfaction: “But she has been proud for long enough.”

The maid smiled: “That is because many people have never seen the beauty of the Holy Maiden, so they will naturally be attracted by her.”

“Master doesn’t let me go out easily.”

“Then the Holy Maiden should go beseech the Leader.”

The maid’s voice was like a snake constricting around a person: “The Leader loves the Holy Maiden the most and will definitely let you out. Just like the medical girl, you will meet many, many people. Or to be more precise, you will meet many, many men and they will go crazy for you.”

Wumeng Yunle stroked her face: “Okay, I’ll go find Master right now.”

It was noisy outside. Ku You closed his eyes and judged the footsteps of the person who had arrived, which were as light as if they were stepping on clouds.

“Commander Ku.” La Yue ‘floated’ sideways through the crack of the door.

This was the second time the two of them had met. The first time, La Yue also squeezed into the room like a ghost, and gained his initial trust with one of Liang Shu’s military talismans. Ku You had rubbed the familiar lines with his thumb but did not speak. Seeing that he remained silent, La Yue thought he still had doubts in his heart, so he continued: “His Royal Highness Xiao Wang said that if Commander Ku still has doubts after seeing this military talisman, I should mention the blindfolded cavalry shooting event in the northwest camp a few years ago. All the soldiers who participated had ten rings. Only Commander Ku missed the target twice, which was worse than—”

“That’s enough.” Ku You couldn’t bear it anymore. “Before that mounted shooting event, I had been fighting wolves for three days and three nights…..forget it, let’s get down to business.”

“I’m here to take Commander Ku out of this hellish place,” La Yue said. “The path is ready. We can evacuate tonight.”

Ku You said: “I want to wait a few more days.”

La Yue was puzzled: “Why?”

“This group of evil cultists have been making preparations and training recently, so they should be making their next move.” Ku You said, “I have developed an informant here, and he is still hesitant about whether to cooperate with me. I want to win him over.” He turned his head and ‘looked’ at the other person through the silver gauze, continuing, “Since you’re here, why don’t you stay and help me, brother? By the way, I don’t know what to call you?”

Just like that, he got himself an extra helper.

La Yue’s figure was agile, and he could float better than a ghost’s shadow. He ran out to gather information when he had nothing to do, and gained quite a lot. This time, he also said after entering the door: “That enchantress who wants to marry you will leave soon.”

Ku You guessed: “Mu Zhe wants to use her to win over people’s hearts again?”

“Yes, and according to the words of the cult leader, he has been inciting her to give more.”

“Give more?”

“Use her body to capture men.” La Yue explained, “He said that Third Young Lady Liu uses her body to gain fanatical followers, and she has a more beautiful body than her. There were also some dirty sentences, so I won’t describe them in detail. He meant just what he said, but the demon girl didn’t react to it. She wasn’t even angry.”

Ku You said: “Because she doesn’t know it is wrong. She only knows that what Mu Zhe says is right.”

“She has contributed much to the Baifu Sect’s rapid expansion, but now she has ended up in this situation. I don’t know if it is abominable or tragic.”

“Abominable and tragic are not mutually exclusive. Although she bears much blame and has killed as many people as Mu Zhe’s sword, she does not deserve to be humiliated like this.” Ku You asked, “Is there any way you can take her away?”

La Yue was puzzled: “Yes, there is. Commander Ku wants to save her?”

“I’ll leave her to the prince, and Dayan’s laws can punish her,” Ku You said. “Moreover, she is extremely important to Feng Xiaojin. Holding her in our hands gives us one more bargaining chip.”

---

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Chapter One Hundred Fifteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Seventeen

“I gave the set of Ru porcelain to you,” Mu Nanqiao said. “I didn’t ask you to pass it on to Mrs. Talia.”

“En.” Mu Chuanbai nodded. “I understand. What you mean is that there is no problem with giving your dad two empty spots.”

Mu Nanqiao held his forehead. His hair fell down, and his handsome features were filled with helplessness. “Dad, you don’t need those two bowls. I gave them to a very important person…..so what exactly are you here for?”

Mu Chuanbai said nothing, gazing out at the community through the car window.

In addition to the geographical advantage of being close to Hengjin Secondary School, the Garden Community could be said to be “old and broken,” at least according to the few well-established families in Shanghai.

But his son, who had spent almost all of his secondary school years alone here, was forced to change his nature and pretend to be weak and foolish at the age when he should be the most energetic.

Many scars still could not be healed, and this person suffered from a severe stress disorder in dark environments. It was difficult for him to enter intimate relationships, and there were still violent emotions and self-destructive tendencies that were constantly suppressed.

And he was to blame for all of this. Because of his negligence and stupid blind trust in his “relatives,” he had nearly lost his child.

He was in a coma for two months after the car accident, and it took him another half year to be able to sit up and move around. Later, when it was revealed that the car accident may have been related to Mu Chuansong, Mu Chuanbai and his wife nearly went crazy, because Mu Nanqiao was staying in the old house and seeing the murderer every day.

But every time Mu Nanqiao contacted them, he said he was doing well.

Whether their son was coerced, or he hid his situation because he didn’t want them to worry, or both, Mu Chuanbai and Talia were so frightened that they returned home overnight and took Mu Nanqiao away.

If someone hadn’t stopped her, Talia would have tried to use a chair to wake Mu Chuansong directly. She had almost lost her husband and almost harmed her son. This Russian woman practically demolished Mu Chuangsong’s home. She smashed all the furniture in sight like a hurricane, and the slender ballet dancer burst out with the destructive power of a warrior. 

Mu Nanqiao was already taller than Talia at that time, but he was very thin, with a pair of cold, calm eyes. When he was hugged by his mom, there were some slight ripples in them. He raised his hands and hugged Talia back, but this maturity made his parents’ hearts twist even more.

Mu Chuanbai had become a father at the age of twenty-one. He had not even finished graduate school at that time. Although the little lion’s arrival was an accident, when he actually took the wrinkly baby into his arms, he vowed to protect Talia and this little boy for the rest of his life.

But he didn’t do it well, so he deserved to never stand up again.

Mu Chuansong was now in prison and would have no chance to come out in his lifetime. This father and son became the true masters of the Mu family, but if he could change things and make a different choice, he would rather be a man who was abandoned by his family and opened a small shop. At least then, his son would still be a cheerful and lively child.

It was only that he couldn’t go back in time. Fortunately, there was still sunlight shining through the broken cracks.

“You gave the bowls to a person you like?” Mu Chuanbai asked slowly, “What kind of person are they?”

A person he liked…..

These words fell into his ears unexpectedly and then rolled into his heart like thunder, an awakening from hibernation, the growth of the first grass sprout in a barren land. From then on, everything began to recover silently, and everything went as it should.

Mu Nanqiao looked stunned for a moment, but soon laughed.

“It was love at first sight.” Mu Nanqiao looked at his father with a bright light flowing in his beautiful narrow eyes. “Dad, you don’t know what it was like when I first met him. It would be difficult not to fall in love at first sight.”

“Very good,” Mu Chuanbais said. “Your mom and I also fell in love at first sight.”

Mu Nanqiao shrugged noncommittally: “You two fell in love with physical appearances.”

Mu Chuanbai was dissatisfied: “It was love at first sight, why are you trampling on your dad?”

Mu Nanqiao said: “I didn’t see his face. I was bruised and swollen at the time.”

Mu Chuanbai: “You win, son.”

The clouds cleared and the sun suddenly dawned. Mu Nanqiao was in a good mood and wanted to see Lu Qi as soon as possible, so he issued an eviction order to his old father, “You go back, I’m going to cook for him.”

He got out of the car, then suddenly remembered something and frowned.

“Dad, the person I like is a man.” He hesitated. “Mom, she…..”

In Russia, the gay community was an ostracized group, even among young people. They all had an indifferent attitude of not supporting or opposing it, as long as it had nothing to do with them, while older generations had a more conservative attitude.

Mu Chuanbai lowered the car window and waved his hand toward him: “Your mother said that if one day you are willing to embrace another person, she is willing to do whatever it takes.”

This should have been a very touching scene, but for some reason, after saying this, his father suddenly took a black mask out of nowhere and put it on, winking at him.

Mu Nanqiao: ? ? ?

“Mu Nanqiao!” Lu Qi ran over, slightly out of breath. “Xiao Bai is okay. You didn’t come back for so long. I was afraid you had bought too many things, so I came to pick you up.”

He noticed the person in the car and stopped hesitantly. “I’m disturbing you and……”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

He knew why his dad put on a mask so quickly. This way, nobody could see the copied and pasted faces of the father and son.

So he said calmly: “My boss.”

Mu Chuanbai smiled in greeting, although Lu Qi could only see the smile in his finely-lined eyes.

“Hello,” Lu Qi greeted politely.

The boss’s car drove away, and the two carried the shopping bags upstairs.

Lu Qi sneezed and rubbed his nose, saying in a nasally voice: “You’re really related, ah. The boss’s eyes look similar to yours.”

Mu Nanqiao was already beginning to regret his careless words. He had thought he wouldn’t have much interaction with this person back then, so there was no need to explain too much, but now the lies were beginning to snowball.

It was best to find a time to explain things clearly. While Mu Nanqiao cooked, he thought about how to tell the whole story.

But plans were plans, and surprises always came sooner than expected.

Lu Qi was lively and energetic while cooking. He chopped the cod into small pieces with two knives as if it was the virtue-less Lin Yuan. With his help, the two dishes and one soup were completed quickly. Lu Qi was hungry, and ate a lot.

After dinner, Lu Qi asked Mu Nanqiao if he wanted to watch a movie. The two people sat on the sofa, and the small three person sofa was suddenly a little crowded with two tall young men. Lu Qi chose a science fiction movie, and amid the grand music of the prelude, Mu Nanqiao coughed. “Lu Qi, I have something to tell you.”

As soon as he made his opening remark, Lu Qi suddenly covered his mouth, skewed his deer-like eyes, and stood up suddenly.

Mu Nanqiao was startled. He put his long legs down and sat upright, thinking that he hadn’t said anything yet, so why was there such a big reaction?

Then Lu Qi stepped over his long legs, went straight to the bathroom, and threw up loudly.

Mu Nanqiao: ……

Did the truth really nauseate him?

He was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up and went to the bathroom.

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Chapter Fifteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventeen

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The last notes of the piano music were still echoing in the sky above Hengjin Secondary School. He didn’t know which year the warehouse was demolished. Wild grass grew in the open unused space, and unknown wildflowers bloomed in clusters. The flowers were small and multi-colored, growing enthusiastically.

Mu Nanqiao stood in this open space, looking down at the small flowers swaying in the wind.

There was a rustling sound on the wall behind him. He turned around and caught sight of a boy climbing over the wall. He was wearing a Hengjin Secondary School uniform, and one of his legs had already swung over the wall. He didn’t expect to see anyone here and gave Mu Nanqiao a blank look, asking tentatively: “You are?”

Mu Nanqiao raised his eyebrows and made a welcoming gesture.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief and jumped down from the wall neatly, his movements skilful. It looked like this was not the first time he had done such a thing.

“I thought you were a school leader, big brother. You scared me to death.” The boy patted off his dusty hands, took off his suit-style school uniform jacket, and casually put it on his back. “What are you doing in this wasteland?”

After standing here for a while, the smell of tobacco and alcohol had been blown away by the wind. Mu Nanqiao planned to go back, so the two of them walked toward the sidewalk together.

Regarding the boy’s question just now, Mu Nanqiao answered casually in a lazy tone: “I’m thinking about what to do with this vacant land after gaining control of Hengjin.”

The boy looked up at him in disbelief.

Anyone who said such a thing was most likely talking nonsense, but for some reason, he felt that this person was not joking.

“Damn it…..jumped over the wall and met a bigshot…..” He murmured a few words in a low voice and quickly caught up with Mu Nanqiao. “Boss, how about I buy you a drink?”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

Checking the expression in his eyes, he was a full-level extrovert.

There were many people in Shanghai who wished to have a drink with Mu Nanqiao, but right now he wanted to go back to the old neighborhood and have a drink with his little neighbor on the pretext of watching the kittens.

His face was cold, his refusal obvious. Still, he warned the child: “Minors are not allowed to drink alcohol.”

“Who said anything about drinking alcohol?” The boy pointed to the street corner. “Look, milk tea. This milk tea shop is super tasty, and the queue can reach the school gate after school. I climbed over the wall in advance to buy it for my girlfriend!”

The underage brat had a girlfriend. Mu Nanqiao fell silent.

When he came to his senses, he was already standing at the door of 501 with two cups of milk tea.

He hadn’t drunk something so high-calorie in many years. Not knowing whether Lu Qi would want to drink it or not, he stood at the door and hesitated for a while, then laughed angrily at his tangled appearance.

There was nothing to be hesitant about. He should have invited Lu Qi to drink milk tea a long time ago. He didn’t drink it when he was young, so he would make up for it today. If Lu Qi didn’t like it…..

Then he would just ask him what he liked to drink.

After successfully convincing himself, Mu Nanqiao raised his hand and knocked on the door.

There was a click click sound through the door. After a pause, the door lock popped open crisply.

Mu Nanqiao raised the milk tea in his hand. “I passed by the milk tea shop after getting off work. I don’t know if you…..”

At the door, Lu Qi was wearing beige house clothes, with red eyes and a red nose.

His smile faded at once, and he frowned at the other’s flushed face. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Qi opened his mouth, and finally turned sideways in a huff, saying in a muffled voice: “Come in.”

Mu Nanqiao walked in, hung the milk tea on the coat rack at the entrance, and changed his shoes. He was anxious to find out why Lu Qi was angry. However, this person with long legs and long arms was squeezed into the small entrance and couldn’t move freely, and even stepped on himself. 

There were obvious shoe prints on his handmade Italian shoes, but Mu Nanqiao didn’t care. He entered the small living room wearing cinnamon roll dog slippers, and Lu Qi stuffed a tablet into his hands. A variety show was playing on the tablet, and there was sliced fruit on the small coffee table. It could be imagined that Lu Qi was sitting on the sofa, eating fruit and watching the variety show just now. So how did he get himself angry?

Mu Nanqiao clicked play.

A little star appeared on camera.

In terms of appearance and temperament, this little star actually looked a bit like Lu Qi. Although his facial features were more delicate than Lu Qi’s on camera, that kind of delicateness was too deliberate, and his makeup was heavy.

This person was someone Mu Nanqiao recognized. He was the little star Lin Yuan hired.

But how did Lu Qi know?

He glanced at Lu Qi doubtfully and pretended to be confused: “Who is this person?”

“He’s just a star.” Lu Qi came over and pointed at the screen, saying, “That’s not important, look back.”

As soon as he came closer, Mu Nanqiao was able to see the small tuft of messy hair on his head. It turned out that the reason why that tuft of hair misbehaved was because there was a whorl there.

“That’s it!” Lu Qi patted his arm. “Look at this packed lunch!”

Only then did Mu Nanqiao turn his eyes away from his hair and look down at the tablet.

This variety show was a daily event. The little star’s cooking skills were surprisingly good. When the program team asked them to make a packed lunch, the other guests just fooled around casually. He was the only one who made three dishes and one soup and packed them neatly into an insulated box.

When asked by the other guests why he did so well, he smiled shyly and said: “I have a good friend who had a stomach ache for a while, so I brought him food.”

The other guests immediately started heckling him, saying, isn’t this relationship between friends unusual, ah?

The little star just lowered his head and smiled with his lips pursed. This attitude of neither admitting nor denying was very ambiguous.

Lu Qi squeezed out a sentence through his teeth: “I’ve seen this packed lunch before.”

Mu Nanqiao: ? ? ? 

“I started thinking that it was just the same style, but then I saw these dishes he made, and the rice that was pressed with a mold to make a little penguin impression…..” Lu Qi took a breath. “When I was in the hospital, all I ate was food cooked by others! I thought it was Lin Yuan who made it, and because I was so touched, I agreed to date him…..”

Mu Nanqiao could imagine, but Lu Qi was about to explode with anger.

Lu Qi had a constitution that was a little bit prone to tears. When he was emotional, his eyes would easily turn red even if he wasn’t going to cry. Right now, for example. He was actually just angry and wanted to use a crowbar to hit Lin Yuan. He was very curious about this person’s brain circuits—maybe he could open his brain and take a look: Oops! This is not an earthling at all!

Mu Nanqiao was speechless for a moment.

How should he put it, he had still thought too highly of Lin Yuan. If this idiot young master Lin wanted to pretend to be “virtuous,” he could have ordered a nutritious meal at his hotel and put it in a lunchbox. And there were always the housemaids at home, right?

In the end, he found another way and gave the meals cooked by his lover to the person he was pursuing.

It was not to save money, which Lin Yuan was not short of. It was just that he didn’t want to put in the effort.

Mu Nanqiao patted Lu Qi’s back gently, as if smoothing a kitten’s fur, but his focus was not on that idiot Lin Yuan. “You were hospitalized some time ago? What was wrong? How is your recovery now?”

“It wasn’t a big problem,” Lu Qi murmured to himself, “Did the doctor stab me in the eye? How could I be with such a person…..”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Mu Nanqiao rubbed his head. His wish was fulfilled, and he pressed down that unruly hair.

Lu Qi was still in a state of bubbling anger, his head buzzing, until Mu Nanqiao pushed him to sit on the small sofa. Something warm was stuffed into his hands, and he lowered his head subconsciously. It was a cup of milk tea with the straw inserted.

“Drink something sweet.”

Lu Qi took a sip of milk tea and puffed out his cheeks.

The sweet peach flavor and taste of milk tea flooded his mouth. The temperature was just right, soothing his manic depression little by little.

He chewed the soft peach pulp and blinked, saying belatedly, “Thank you, this is delicious.”

Mu Nanqiao also took a sip from his own cup. He had asked for full sugar, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too sweet and tasted pretty good.

It was impossible to persuade Lu Qi not to think about this matter. Anyone who encountered such a thing would be angered to death. The two of them were silent for a moment. Lu Qi was still angry, and Mu Nanqiao was wondering whether Lin Yuan’s broken leg was too minor.

“Mew….” 

Fortunately, there were four small creatures in the room who couldn’t give them meaningful looks. Lu Qi drank half a cup of milk tea and gave a long sigh. “I’ll feed the kittens.”

He got up and went to the kitchen, and when he turned around, he found Mu Nanqiao following him.

“We agreed to take care of them together.” Mu Nanqiao unbuttoned his cufflinks and slowly rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll learn how.”

Lu Qi thought about it in confusion. Had he agreed to let Mu Nanqiao help take care of the kittens? Wouldn’t it be too much trouble?

But Mu Nanqiao had already raised his hand to get the milk powder on the shelf. He had no choice but to move closer. The two of them stood in front of the sink, and the space was a bit crowded. Lu Qi put his shoulder against Mu Nanqiao’s arm and looked at the temperature display on the kettle.

45℃. Just right.

Lu Qi directed Mu Nanqiao: “Pour the water first, then put in the milk powder…..”

The man next to him lowered his eyelashes and looked as serious as if he was conducting an experiment. Lu Qi couldn’t help but stare at his hands.

Mu Nanqiao’s hands were beautiful, with long fingers and slightly convex muscles on the back, but his knuckles were red and slightly scratched.

“What happened to your hands?” Lu Qi asked.

The fingers holding the milk powder spoon tightened, and Mu Nanqiao said casually: “I accidentally bruised them.”

Lu Qi thought silently, why do these hands encounter so many accidents?

After the four kittens finished drinking milk, Lu Qi crouched beside the cardboard box to play with them.

Lu Qi rubbed the kittens’ heads with his slender fingers. Just as he was about to say something, his stomach growled.

Mu Nanqiao was standing behind him. When Lu Qi turned around awkwardly, he saw the smile in the other’s eyes.

“It seems there is still a kitten who hasn’t had enough to eat.” Mu Nanqiao glanced at the watch on his wrist. “I don’t have any kitchen utensils over there. How about lending me the kitchen in exchange for dinner?”

Lu Qi looked him up and down and asked uncertainly, “Can you really cook?”

“Who are you looking down on?” Mu Nanqiao raised his eyebrows. “Order whatever you want.”

“But…..” Lu Qi coughed. “I only have two eggs left in the refrigerator. How about fried rice with eggs.”

Mu Nanqiao: ……

How could elementary school homework such as egg fried rice reflect his superb cooking skills? The most important thing was that he wouldn’t be able to outdo that Lin Yuan, who plagiarized all of his elementary school homework.

“I’m going to buy groceries,” Mu Nanqiao said firmly.

Today, this peacock was determined to spread his tail!

. . . . . . .

There was a large supermarket downstairs, which was very convenient for shopping. Lu Qi also wanted to follow him down, but Xiao Bai, one of the four cubs, vomited milk. Thus, he had to stay and clean up, as well as monitor the kitten’s condition.

Mu Nanqiao returned to the bottom of the unit with shopping bags. He was about to press the code to open the door when a low-key black business car behind him suddenly honked its horn.

He turned around and the car door opened. His assistant got out nervously.

Mu Nanqiao frowned and saw a middle-aged man sitting in the backseat through the car window.

Compared to the previous president of Mu Group, Mu Chuanbai could be considered very young. He and his wife had married early, and Mu Nanqiao was their only child. He was only twenty-one years old when they had Mu Nanqiao, so he was still in his prime.

Sitting in the back seat, he flipped through a stack of paper documents. Anyone would be able to see the blood relationship between him and Mu Nanqiao. The father and son had similar features, but Mu Nanqiao’s facial contours were more handsome and three-dimensional, while Mu Chuanbai’s face was much softer, with a natural calmness and elegance.

There was a thick blanket covering his legs. When Mu Nanqiao sat down, he sat on one corner. Mu Chuanbai patted his thigh in dissatisfaction and pulled out his blanket.

“Dad.” Mu Nanqiao sighed helplessly. “What are you doing here?”

“Let me ask you, why is the eight-piece Ru porcelain set you gave me missing two bowls and two spoons?” There were fine lines at the ends of Mu Chuanbai’s eyes. He glanced at his son who was taller than him and smiled very kindly. “Your mother opened it and found two empty spots.”

Mu Nanqiao: …….

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Chapter Fourteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixteen