Zhizhou was a day and a half away from Huaizhou. After sitting in the carriage for half a day, Zhao Yelan opened the curtain in a dispirited mood and saw that there were a few people outside, and farmlands all around. Some people were sitting on the ridges of the fields, looking up at the sun.

Zhao Yelan also raised his head to take a look, and his eyes were dazzled by the scorching light. Ducking back into the carriage, he quickly waved his fan: “It’s too hot here. Is there still ice?”

“It’s gone.” Yan Mingting took his fan and waved it harder. “Bear with it, we will soon be in the forest and it will be cooler under the shade of the trees.”

Zhao Yelan feared the cold more than the heat. He turned to glance at the sweat on Yan Mingting’s face. It was almost dripping, so he moved the fan a little towards him, saying: “Fan yourself.”

“What about you?”

Zhao Yelan simply took off his outer robe.

Yan Mingting’s eyes flickered, and he similarly removed his outer robe.

“My lord, there is still an hour before the post station. There is a town, should we stop and get something to eat first?” Xiao Gao opened the curtain and saw the two men taking off their clothes. His face went red and he hurriedly backed away.

“Go and buy something, we won’t go out.” Zhao Yelan ordered, “If there are fans, buy a few more.”

“Okay.”

After a incense stick of time, Xiao Gao returned, handed over the things in his arms, and said awkwardly: “I could only buy these.”

Zhao Yelan took a look. There were a few stuffed steamed buns and a rice cake. “That’s it?”

“En, many inns are closed,” Xiao Gao said. “I went to fetch water, but those people wouldn’t let us fill the water bags, so there might not be enough.”

Zhao Yelan looked at Yan Mingting at once, and they both donned their outer layers in unison, their expressions a bit heavy.

Yan Mingting hopped out of the carriage first. Xiao Gao was about to get the stool for Zhao Yelan, but found that his lord had already been carried down by Yan Mingting. He opened his mouth slightly, then put down the stool and followed silently.

Only a few scattered shops on the street were still open, and after finding one that sold food, Zhao Yelan asked: “Shopkeeper, could you please fill our water? We’ll be on our way.”

“Water, ah? It’s not that I don’t want to give it to you, we all need water now. Look at these pancakes, do you want some?” the shopkeeper asked.

Zhao Yelan glanced back at the street. There were few pedestrians, and waves of heat could still be seen in the air.

Zhao Yelan first bought some pancakes, and then asked: “Where did everyone in town go?”

“To get water.” The shopkeeper pointed to a small mountain in the distance. “There is a mountain spring there. Everyone has gone to fetch water now, and our family also went, so it’s just me watching the shop alone. After selling this last bit, I’m going to hurry over there too.”

“There is a shortage of water here?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Yes, ah, there has been a drought for almost two months, and the crops are almost dried up,” the shopkeeper said helplessly.

The carriage started moving again. Zhao Yelan’s expression was not good as he continued to watch the movement outside. When they passed the mountain, he saw the spring.

People were crowded together with wooden buckets in their hands. Even the children were holding basins or ladles, scrambling to grab the spring water, but there wasn’t enough. The people behind were anxious from the wait, so they began to snatch from others, and a fight was about to break out amongst the commotion.

“Stop!” Yan Mingting shouted loudly.

Everyone was stunned by his voice, and when they looked at the officers and soldiers behind them, they subconsciously fell silent.

Yan Mingting instructed them to line up one by one, then took the scoop from the little girl next to him and began to distribute three scoops of water to everyone, who then went back to line up again after receiving a round.

Zhao Yelan pulled the child over and asked: “Do you come here to fetch water every day?”

The little girl nodded and said aggrievedly: “It’s been more than ten days that we’ve been coming here. At first, it was only our family. Later, when everyone saw us coming, they also followed.”

“Does your family grow crops?”

“We plant there.” The little girl pointed to the rice fields in the distance.

“Can you take me to see it?”

The little girl looked back anxiously at her mother, so Zhao Yelan called her mother over to go to the field together.

The field was planted with rice, but the originally wet land was dried up at this time, and the countless cracks in the ground were shocking.

Zhao Yelan crouched down to look at the rice. The leaves were yellow and the grains were as small as sesame seeds, close to withering.

The eyes of the girl’s mother reddened, and she wiped her tears with her sleeve: “The family was just waiting for this year’s harvest, and it looked like it could be harvested soon. But with the drought happening now, how can we live, ah?

Infected by her emotions, the little girl standing to the side also began to cry.

Zhao Yelan gave them some pancakes. At this time, food was far more reliable than money, and he distributed the rest to other people. On the way, he inquired about the situation with these people, only to find that not only this place was experiencing a summer drought, but other small towns nearby were all in the same situation.

The situation had not been obvious before, and the officials couldn’t be bothered to manage the affairs of these remote places. They were busy dealing with the Imperial Envoy’s investigation, so these people were neglected.

After everyone received the water and gradually dispersed, Zhao Yelan said: “We must return to Huaizhou immediately.”

All these places belonged to Huaizhou, and now the area was leaderless. It would take a few days until the new magistrate arrived, but the disaster was imminent.

As they traveled without stopping, Zhao Yelan seemed to have forgotten about the heat, and discussed options with Yan Mingting late into the night. It was not until then that he closed his eyes and rested for a while.

When dawn touched the sky, he heard lively voices outside and woke in Yan Mingting’s arms. He was taken aback for a moment: “I didn’t fall asleep like this last night, did I?”

“Would falling asleep on the table be as comfortable as my chest?” Yan Mingting teased.

“Shameless.” After this buffoonery, Zhao Yelan felt a little more relaxed. He opened the curtain and saw that they had already arrived in Huaizhou City.

The carriage went straight to the government office. After sitting in the carriage for a day and a night, his legs and feet were a little weak. Yan Mingting helped him out, and after taking a few steps, Zhao Yelan almost fell onto him.

“Such a wanton young master, you even take the initiative to throw yourself into my arms,” Yan Mingting teased.

Zhao Yelan slanted a glance at him, opened his fan, and took a moment to recover before striding toward the government office.

The head official had been overseeing the town for the past two days, and seeing him back was like seeing a relative: “Zhao-daren, you’ve returned. Kuang Sheng and Miss Yin have come here urgently several times.”

“Are they looking for me?”

“Yes, ah.”

Zhao Yelan guessed what was going on and said, “Go and bring them here.”

Taking advantage of this time, Yan Mingting quickly took time to wash up, and then directly brought Kuang Sheng, Yin Pinglu, and Li Yucheng to the dining table.

Zhao Yelan was already eating, and they exchanged glances.

“Have you eaten? If not, let’s sit down together to save time,” Yan Mingting said.

The three of them looked at each other, and the thicker-skinned Li Yucheng immediately sat down, followed by Yin Pinglu.

Kuang Sheng scratched his head, then sat down hesitantly. He took two mouthfuls of stuffed steamed bun and said cautiously: “My lord, although I am no longer a water reporter, I still have something to report.”

“Are you speaking of the drought in the surrounding area?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“My lord knows?” Kuang Sheng was surprised for a moment, and nodded. “There are many lakes here in Huaizhou, and the Huaihe River passes by, so it’s not as obvious as in other places. But it has not rained for two months, and a few days ago I got worried, so I went around the neighborhood and found that several small counties south of us have been dry.”

“We just returned from there,” Zhao Yelan said. “I fear that more than just these places have been affected. Later, you must take people around to sum up the number.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go too. I’m very familiar with the area around here,” Yin Pinglu said.

“Can you?” Zhao Yelan looked at her. “This summer drought is no joke. It will be very tiring.”

“It’s fine, my lord, don’t worry about me. I am also someone who ran across the desert border,” Yin Pinglu said calmly.

“All right.” Zhao Yelan smiled and handed her his Imperial Envoy token, then asked Yan Mingting to send a small group of people to follow her. “Then you go and find out if the officials in the nearby drought-affected lands have received reports from people and ignored them. If this is the case, frighten them into dealing with the relevant matters quickly. After the disaster situation is resolved, we will deal with their negligence.”

Yin Pinglu suddenly felt that the token was a bit hot: “My lord, you’re asking me to investigate other officials? Wouldn’t this be inappropriate?”

“What is the problem? You’re just running errands for me. I’m not familiar with the places here and don’t trust many people. Besides, you have a good head on your shoulders.” Zhao Yelan said, “Go ahead and do it. I will take care of it if something goes wrong.”

“Go, ba,” Yan Mingting also agreed.

Yin Pinglu looked at everyone and solemnly put away the token: “Okay, the mission must be completed.”

Zhao Yelan: “You must pay attention to your own safety. You can only do more things for me if you’re alive.”

“Yes!”

Yin Pinglu and Kuang Sheng immediately went out to start their work, full of pride. Li Yucheng was the only one left, and looked at the two of them eagerly: “Now what……is there work for me to do as well?”

“What do you want to do?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Li Yucheng thought about it. He was the suave, handsome son of the Prime Minister, so he couldn’t lose to an old man and a weak woman, right? He grit his teeth: “Just do it, tell me, where do you want to send me?”

“You just need to stay in Huaizhou.”

“So simple?” Li Yucheng was speechless.

Yan Mingting pursed his lips and smiled: “This is not simple at all, you must think it through.”

“What’s so difficult about it? Just leave it to me.” Li Yucheng patted his chest, then paused and asked, “What is the main reason for me staying in Huaizhou?”

“The main reason is for you to convince your uncle and other big merchants to be mentally prepared to help the victims,” Zhao Yelan said.

Li Yucheng directly fell off the stool: “They are businessmen, and the most important thing to them is profit. Isn’t this just bleeding them dry? How can I justify it?”

“The fields in Jiangnan are the granary of the realm. If the fields cannot grow rice, it will be difficult for them to survive.” Zhao Yelan rubbed his brow. “This is just the beginning, and we won’t touch them until necessary. I’ll leave this matter to you. If you can make this group of people willing to open their storehouses or sell rice at a low price, you won’t have to pay back the remaining nine thousand taels of gold you owe me.”

“I’ll try my best, ba.” Li Yucheng sighed, lying on the table like a dead fish. “I have to think about what I’ll say……”

Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan had already gotten up to leave the dinner table, and Li Yucheng tried to persuade them to stay: “Hey, where are you going? Can’t you help me figure out how to convince them?”

Zhao Yelan went to write a sealed letter to the Imperial court, and ordered someone to send it out quickly. Then he went to the government office to check on the money in the treasury. The only bit of luck was that the disaster funds had arrived, and could temporarily relieve the pressure.

When the head official heard that he planned to distribute the disaster funds, he advised: “My lord, can we wait another two days? When the new magistrate arrives, it would be good to have him decide these matters, otherwise you……”

Zhao Yelan knew what he was thinking. Now that no one had reported a disaster, and without the approval of the court, he would be distributing the money without authorization. When the time came, he could pat his ass and leave. He was not a master who was easy to deal with, and was not suitable for taking over this mess.

“Even when the new magistrate arrives, he still has to spend some time to understand the situation and become accustomed to the affairs of the government office. Isn’t this time wasted in vain? Don’t worry, I will not leave until the matter is resolved. If something happens, I will take responsibility and won’t implicate you,” Zhao Yelan said.

“That’s not what I meant……” The official smiled awkwardly, and then expressed his sincerity and willingness to cooperate in all ways.

Zhao Yelan walked out of the storeroom and turned to look at Yan Mingting: “Have someone deliver a letter to Magistrate Sun, asking him to quickly inspect the situation around Zhizhou. His government also received half of the disaster money.”

“Don’t worry, someone was just sent.” Yan Mingting waited for a moment, and seeing that he didn’t intend to speak, he smiled and said proactively, “Tell me, Zhao-daren, what kind of mission are you going to assign to me?”

Zhao Yelan looked at him and hesitated to speak.

“Even Li Yucheng was assigned a mission, so it is impossible for me not to receive one.” Yan Mingting said arrogantly, “What’s more, I’m more useful than all of them, right?”

Zhao Yelan sighed. Sometimes he thought he was slow-witted, and held it against him, but other times there was a sort of tacit understanding, which he cherished very much.

“I worry that the Imperial court will doubt the truth of the disaster and quarrel amongst themselves, and it may take a lot of time to discuss the amount of supplies to be sent. I also fear that officials from various places along the way will make plans for the supplies and disaster funds, so a trusted person is needed to supervise.”

“It is enough to hear this. Of course only I can go,” Yan Mingting said with a smile.

“Only you can do it.” After all, he was a general, and anyone would have to be obedient before him and not dare to mess around at such a critical time.

“En.”

“You go north to the capital, and every time you pass by a place, show them my letter just in case. Have them prepare countermeasures and disaster relief supplies early. If you encounter the Imperial court’s disaster relief team on the way, follow them back and be sure to strictly guard the supplies so that they do not pass through the hands of other officials. If the team is taking the water route, you should check the water level of the canal on the way. If the worst case occurs and the Imperial team has not yet set off, you hand over this letter to the Emperor and have the supplies shipped in two batches. Travel fast, and bring a group of skilled soldiers to send the first batch over as soon as possible.”

Zhao Yelan handed him the letter, which described the current situation in detail and included a dry rice plant as proof, so that the situation was clear at a glance.

“Don’t worry.” Yan Mingting took the letter and solemnly put it in his sleeve.

Zhao Yelan couldn’t help being anxious: “It’s just that the journey is long and hard, and you may encounter all kinds of difficult officials……”

“You underestimate me?” Yan Mingting dismissed his worries in one sentence.

“Then go quickly,” Zhao Yelan said expressionlessly.

Yan Mingting laughed loudly and went to order a lieutenant to prepare the rations and troops, but when he turned around, he found that Zhao Yelan was still standing nearby, sulking.

He stepped forward and touched the other person’s head, taking advantage of the situation to embrace him, and saying: “Don’t worry about me. Actually, if you stay here alone, you should be careful about your safety. When I return, if one hair on your head is damaged, I will beat you.”

“You dare.”

“I dare not.” Yan Mingting smiled helplessly, and then asked him with a sigh, “By the way, do you know the name of that little girl yesterday?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head. He didn’t have time to ask the little girl’s name as he went around to ask about the rice fields.

“Her name is Mengting.”

Zhao Yelan raised his head in surprise.

“There are tens of thousands of Mengtings waiting for our Mengting to rescue them.” Yan Mingting lowered his head and kissed his forehead. “Today’s Mengting is unlike any other. I am very honored to have Zhao Mengting.”

Zhao Yelan looked moved, and sent him to the gate. He watched him jump onto a horse and lead his team. With the sound of the horse’s hooves, he gradually drifted away from him.

“Wait……wait!” Zhao Yelan suddenly chased after him.

The people on the street looked over curiously. Yan Mingting heard his voice and immediately pulled on the reins, turning around to ride forward a few steps.

Zhao Yelan panted as he looked up at the man on the horse, and said, “I have one more thing to say.”

“What is it?”

Zhao Yelan beckoned.

Yan Mingting bent down, and was about to put his ear close to him, when Zhao Yelan suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.

There were sudden exclamations all around, and even the soldiers with dignified faces couldn’t help but look over one after another. 

Yan Mingting’s face turned faintly red, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the other.

Zhao Yelan bit his lip lightly: “Come back early.”

T/N: Thanks so much to Cocole for the Kofi!

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Sixty <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixty-Two

The scene fell into dead silence for a very long time. Xia Xingchi raised his head and stared blankly at the camera hanging silently in mid air.

The two stared at each other for ages. He clearly still couldn’t believe what had happened, and turned his head mechanically to look at Li Chengyuan.

Seemingly unperturbed, Li Chengyuan continued to sit on the bench with a blank expression and lowered his head to take a bite of custard. He asked calmly: “Do you want to try it again?”

Xia Xingchi: “……..”

[Help, ah, it’s killing me! Sitting on his lap and grabbing Mr. Li’s chin, 

baby is actually so passionate! Yum, yum! (horny.jpg)]

[Hurry up and fry him! Hurry, Mr. Li, the car door has been welded shut by us!]

[Hahahaha baby is at a loss, he really didn’t know we were watching]

[Oops ~ We seem to have been discovered! Us peeping perverts overturned the car hahaha]

[No no no, wait, what did I miss……why do I see such an exciting scene just after turning on the live broadcast? Is this really Xia Xingchi?]

[Ignorant +1 Weren’t they not too familiar yesterday? Is today actually the 14th? I slept for half a month?]

[So these two must be a real couple, right? Anyway, good brothers don’t treat each other like that, so don’t insist on brotherhood, ba]

Sitting down and grasping the chin in such a way was earth-shattering. Not only were passers-by all stunned, but even Xia Yu’s fans, who had been dancing all morning, were speechless in shock and turned off their microphones collectively.

After a long silence, someone finally re-started the ridicule with insufficient confidence:

[This bi*ch Xia Xingchi, the boss asks him to sit and he really sits? He doesn’t know this is someone else’s fiance?]

[Ah, this? Let’s just say, could it be his own fiance?]

[Seriously, upstairs? This low-tier flop sold vegetables in the valley, he doesn’t even have the qualifications to know Li Chengyuan]

[In the 21st Century, some people still judge others by their background. I think you need to receive junior high school ideological and moral re-education]

[Mr. Li is Xiao Yu’s! It’s just sitting on the lap, and it’s all Xia Xingchi’s initiative. This is the mistress seducing him and inciting everyone’s emotions]

[Has Xia Xingchi’s water army come, ba? Li Xiu and Han Yuanhe held hands outside and no one kowtowed. If a certain guy sits down, the fiance will become his?]

[What holding hands? They were arm wrestling, ah! Is your brain sick ba?]

[You guys go ahead and fight. Anyway, whoever knocks Yuanchi cp will be happy. I will knock first in respect]

. . . . . .

Xia Xingchi looked at the egg custard that Li Chengyuan handed over, then thought of how he was fed by him just now in front of the camera and immediately became furious, wanting to directly smash the whole bowl into his face.

Then he would run away, find a crack in the ground to hide in, and desperately grab the ground with his toes for 24 hours.

Taking a very long, deep breath, he silently reminded himself that this was his boss who had just doubled his salary. It was only then that Xia Xingchi was able to resist the urge to grab his collar and beat him, and he continued to cook with great force.

The force was so great that he nearly broke the wooden spatula. Those who didn’t know would think he was mining.

No wonder Li Chengyuan had been abnormal since he entered the kitchen.

At first he thought he had been struck dumb by the truth of the White Moonlight incident, but it appeared that this person was acting deliberately from the beginning.

The showdown last night had not changed Li Chengyuan’s original plans at all. He still dug pits in a freestyle manner to let the whole world know they were a couple.

The problem was that many people had seen the recording of the rollover crash just now. If he continued to be polite and call him “Mr. Li” as if nothing had happened, would he be able to get away with it?

But if he didn’t call him Mr. Li, he couldn’t call him “Li Chengyuan” and scare the audience who hadn’t gotten up early to watch the live broadcast, right?

Xia Xingchi struggled with this while cooking, and finally came up with a reliable answer – he should go to the old man at the entrance of the village and buy some pesticides to put in the vegetables and poison this big evil idiot to death.

Since the atmosphere between the two was awkward as hell, when the meal was served, the whole dining table began to feel uncomfortable.

Among the crowd, only Li Xiu knew what had happened to overturn the car, but he didn’t dare voice it, so he could only concentrate on eating as if nothing had happened.

Han Yuanhe vaguely felt that the mood was not right, so he tried to correct it by saying: “Xingchi’s cooking skills are really good! Jing, ah, should we also learn from the teacher?”

An Jing smiled: “Then you learn how to make it for me to eat.”

After thinking about it, he asked Xia Xingchi again: “Xingchi, I noticed you like food with a rather heavy taste, why did you make it so light this morning?”

This happened to be a delicate subject for Xia Xingchi. He shot a glance at Li Chengyuan and resisted the urge to gnash his teeth as he continued to smile:

“I didn’t perform well today, I’ll make a table of spicy dishes tomorrow.”

Just let a certain person die of stomach pain, then the goal of poisoning would be fulfilled.

At this time, the director patted the microphone and said: “Good morning, everyone! Our task this morning is to catch and harvest fish, and exchange them to purchase enough meat for a barbecue this evening.”

The intensity and difficulty of the tasks for this season had been significantly reduced. After all, Li Chengyuan was among the guests, and the program team dared not torment him. Messing with their patron would definitely not result in anything good.

What’s more, he didn’t seem to be in good health, and it was best to not let this priceless person become too tired.

In any case, this season had a bigger selling point.

Li Chengyuan’s official announcement and the battlefield between Xia Yu and Xia Xingchi alone were enough to attract higher popularity ratings, and everyone could bask in the reflection of glory and be less troubled.

– – –

Xia Xingchi stood before the wardrobe that had been provided by the program group and tilted his head to stare at the hanging clothes. In the end, he unhesitatingly chose the ugliest piece, which looked like a dusty sack with holes.

Then he picked up a pair of ugly trousers with extremely short legs that looked like a lantern inflated by the wind.

“I’ve chosen. Mr. Li, please come and change quickly.”

Xia Xingchi had a strange, enigmatic air as he grabbed a down-to-earth straw hat, trying to make the outfit as ugly as possible.

Unless the program wanted to be taken off the shelves for pornography, there was really no camera in the room, and there were indeed only the two of them here.

Xia Xingchi had wanted to beat Li Chengyuan violently as soon as he entered the door, but feared that his fragile glass heart would be damaged, and he would clasp his chest and cough again.

In order to prevent his act of pretending to be more injured than he actually was, Xia Xingchi had no choice but to compromise and choose such a method of retaliation that he thought was “not very harmful, but extremely insulting.”

Among the “ugly” and “uglier,” he chose the latter, and happily made Li Chenyuan wear it.

Li Chengyuan was helpless, and could only sit aside and let Xia Xingchi toss about.

He was not an artist, and didn’t carry the burden of being an idol. On the contrary, a hedgehog with thorns all over his body must have some way of venting, so it was better to make him happy by dressing ugly.

As he was unbuttoning and taking off his casual clothes, Xia Xingchi abruptly said: “Ai! Wait — What are you doing undressing in front of me?”

Although a little money-grubber loved money, it wasn’t that he didn’t like beauties at all. Given someone’s multiple-layered routine, Xia Xingchi had to suspect that he was trying to seduce him.

“Haven’t you already seen and touched it?” Li Chengyuan didn’t think much of it at all, and didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry.

Xia Xingchi was shocked: “Nonsense! Why would I touch you, ah, you must be dreaming!”

After saying this, he remembered at once that he had indeed fished up an unconscious Li Chengyuan from the bathtub that night.

Not only did he see it, but he dragged him to the bed with great effort and wiped him up and down with a bath towel for “friendly service.”

“I was afraid you would drown! Wait, how did you know?” Xia Xingchi couldn’t help being suspicious.

At that time, Li Chengyuan had not only remained motionless with his eyes closed, but also didn’t even struggle when his mouth and nose were submerged under the water. He must have been legitimately passed out rather than acting.

But if he was really aware at that time, wouldn’t he have witnessed the process of him appearing out of nowhere……

Li Chengyuan narrowed his eyes slightly: “Xia Xingchi, you’re nervous.”

When he said this, he was wearing a smile that was not a smile, with only a look of stern scrutiny in his eyes, which made Xia Xingchi’s hair stand on end. He said loudly:

“What am I nervous about! Shut up and get dressed, you!”

Li Chengyuan didn’t pursue the matter, and continued to unbutton his shirt.

He was totally indifferent and calculating, as if everything was under control and there was no reason to ask, making people confused about how much he knew. The more he was like this, the more panicked Xia Xingchi became.

— Did he really see something, and that’s why he thinks I have the ability to disappear out of thin air?

As he thought about this, he couldn’t help but glance at Li Chengyuan’s half-naked upper body out of the corner of his eye. His waistline was sleek and powerful, the lines of his muscles rather beautiful.

Evidently a certain person was not so delicate when not playing sick. On the contrary, he maintained his figure very well. No wonder he had such an earth-shattering force value.

It looked pretty good……

Xia Xingchi’s gaze slowly moved back again, and he looked away an instant later with a guilty conscience, only to slowly peek again.

Up until he decided to take one last look, and suddenly found that the person was gone.

Immediately after turning his head, he found Li Chengyuan standing in front of him, looking down as he asked mildly: “Does it look good?”

Startled, Xia Xingchi blushed a little upon being caught. Fortunately, Li Chengyuan was already dressed when he came over instead of standing naked in front of him, otherwise the scene would be even more terrifying.

“Who’s looking at you!” Xia Xingchi said, embarrassed into anger. “I’ve seen and touched a lot of handsome guys, you……you’re just the same!”

This was not an accurate statement. Although he had observed countless people, this was the first time he had seen someone so good-looking.

Li Chengyuan frowned slightly when he heard these words: “Seen and touched a lot?”

Xia Xingchi gave a hum. He was, after all, a masseuse. If a certain person behaved well, he could show off his professional skills in the future.

Li Chengyuan wanted to ask more, but the director had to urge at this time: “President Li, Xingchi? Have you changed yet?”

As soon as the door was opened, the barrage that was so bored that they were about to fall asleep while waiting suddenly burst into laughter.

[OMG! Is Mr. Li wearing a sack? Why is he dressed in such a unique style?]

[Ahhh so handsome! Facts have proven that the saying ‘clothes make the man’ is false. The male god still looks good in a sack]

[Hahaha the trousers are too short and the ankles are exposed. Nice, those ankles are so sensual and good-looking ba]

Xia Xingchi followed him out, and when the cold wind blew, he found that the clothes he gave Li Chengyuan to wear seemed too light.

His goal was only to make him look ugly, not to freeze him to death.

After all, this person may get a high fever as soon as he caught a cold, and if he became sick again, it would be too troublesome out in this backcountry.

Xia Xingchi had no choice but to turn back and retrieve a very rustic army green padded jacket. He also chose a bright red scarf, still thinking wickedly.

Li Chengyuan took the clothes and put them on good-naturedly.

[Hahahaha thanks to Xia Xingchi for letting us see such a down-to-earth male god]

[Knock CP, knock CP, he can wear whatever his wife chooses]

[Wait, why is he being called the wife? Does that mean it isn’t Xia Yu?]

[I also fucking want to know, the CP fans from Xia Xingchi’s family can really dance, isn’t this just roommates helping each other with clothing?]

[Why didn’t Xia Yu choose them? Why didn’t Li Chengyuan wear the clothes he gave him?]

[It just so happened that Xia Yu didn’t sleep in the room, what is your family fussing about? What’s so amazing about being a roommate?]

[That’s right, it’s great to think about them sleeping in the same bed. Maybe they can cuddle close together when they fall asleep ~ ]

[Don’t be so proud of yourself! Wait for Xiao Yu to slap you in the face!]

[All right, I’ll just sit here today and wait (Li-style Get Lost.gif)]

Although Li Chengyuan’s clothes were the ugliest of the ugly, everyone was actually pretty much alike, to the extent that they laughed at each other upon meeting.

This was especially the case with Li Chengyuan’s red and green. Although his appearance was not compromised in the slightest, the more beautiful he was, the more inconsistent it looked.

Everyone wanted to laugh, but didn’t have the nerve to laugh at him, and holding it in almost caused internal injuries.

Xia Xingchi tilted his head to look at the green radish sprouts on the ground, and then at the cabbages and the greenhouse in the distance.

It was said to be a strawberry shed. If they could complete the mission objective of sowing a field, they could go to pick strawberries.

The thought occurred to him that it was time to feed a certain someone fruit. A person who usually received a fixed amount of fruits and vegetable juice had simply been eating bran and swallowing vegetables these two days.

No one was experiencing life as thoroughly as Li Chengyuan. Perhaps Second Young Master Li, who was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, had never experienced such a bleak life.

Pulling radishes was a new job. Xia Xingchi tilted his head to look at the radish sprouts a few times, then confirmed again doubtfully: “There is really a radish under there?”

An Jing nodded: “Really, I saw them being pulled out when I was filming before.”

“But……isn’t the volume of this radish too enviable? I don’t think the radishes bought in the market have this many leaves, ah.”

Any skill that didn’t make money as a part-time job, even the jack-of-all-trades Xia Xingchi wouldn’t do it.

He groped amongst the dense leaves for a long time before he found the part he suspected belonged to the same radish. Then he pulled vigorously, but the radish didn’t move at all and didn’t give him any face.

Xia Xingchi then took off his coat, and seeing that Li Chengyuan had stood aside to stare at him like a big quiet cat again, he casually tossed the clothes to the temporary hanger.

After tossing it, he remembered the act he was performing, which had already mostly collapsed: “Mr. Li, please help me by holding this.”

[Hey hey hey, he’s starting with ‘Mr. Li’ again! Hahahaha stop playing, baby, kick him!]

[What what what? Pricking up gossip ears, newcomers who just arrived don’t understand]

[Hehehe It can only be understood, but cannot be expressed in words]

[The early bird gets the worm, those who get up early get sugar to eat, and whoever kowtows to Yuanchi CP wins]

Clearly full of energy, Xia Xingchi rolled up his sleeves and strode forward. With his feet firmly planted on the ground, he grabbed the thick “hair” of this radish eagerly and adjusted his posture, thinking that he could use it to make soup today.

Li Chengyuan narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed him, and after a moment, silently signaled An Jing to step aside. Then he walked to a position behind Xia Xingchi and stood there calmly.

Xia Xingchi smiled at the camera and said: “The first demonstration of pulling radishes is dedicated to the camera.”

Having spoken, he took a deep breath and then yanked it out extremely hard!

But it seemed that he miscalculated the ability of this radish to grip the ground, or maybe the previous pull had loosened it.

The radish that was motionless just now left the ground without much force, but Xia Xingchi’s center of gravity was thrown off and he immediately hurtled toward the ground.

He didn’t fall into the dirt, however. Instead, the person and radish fell into a solid embrace.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback, then turned to see Li Chengyuan catching him indifferently.

[Hahahaha this is the power of using all of his strength, ba. Too cute, baby]

[Dude, this radish almost turned baby bald]

[He fell into his arms ahhh! It killed me when that pair of eyes looked back! As long as they are in the same frame, there are rainbow bubbles!]

[Right right! Yuanchi is real!]

[Ah, this. Your family has good green tea. Isn’t deliberately falling into the arms of the boss an old trope from ages ago? Is this the Renaissance, you guys?]

[Bullshit! I saw with my own eyes that it was Li Chengyuan who deliberately walked over and waited for Xingchi to fall into his arms!]

[I’m also an eyewitness! He did it on purpose! Mr. Li is so scheming, hehe, he will do anything to distribute sugar]

Xia Xingchi hurriedly got up from Li Chengyuan’s body. It wasn’t good to touch in a public place.

As soon as he got close to him, he couldn’t help but think of the scene where a certain person had no clothes on just now. Immediately afterward, this image seemed to appear before his eyes, and it was easy to imagine the rest of what was not seen.

The two looked at each other, and Xia Xingchi seemed to have vaguely sensed the atmosphere of “Rainbow Bubbles” that everyone was talking about, as if……there was a little bit of ambiguity.

At that moment, he suddenly heard a very unwelcome voice asking with false concern: “Xingchi-ge, are you alright? Be careful not to fall.”

Xia Yu stepped forward, holding in his hands the little tomatoes he had just picked.

It was rare for this green tea to change from being a passive annoyance to an active annoyance. He had unexpectedly stopped for a while when their paths diverged, but now he began to show his presence again.

Xia Xingchi took a look at him, feeling a little displeased with the Rainbow Bubbles being popped by the smell of green tea. As always, he ignored him and turned to leave.

Although every time he gave him the cold-shoulder, there would be a bloody storm in the barrage, Xia Xingchi still insisted on not changing his behavior. The fans casually scolded him:

[How rude! If there wasn’t a screen, I would have rushed up to give Xia Xingchi a slap in the face]

[This Xia Xingchi is so disgusting, he fell into someone else’s fiance’s arms, and our family’s idol came to ask “Are you alright.” I think he deserves to eat plums the most]

[You don’t have enough food to eat, keep it for yourself ba! It’s obvious that Xingchi and Mr. Li are lovers, and someone interrupted without understanding this. You’re still making bogus accusations?]

Xia Xingchi chose a radish farther away, and while pulling it out, he thought that half of his disguise had accidentally fallen away. Why did Xia Yu dare to exploit the opportunity?

If it wasn’t for being mad with jealousy and being driven to desperate action, as a prosperous white lotus, Xia Yu had always cherished his reputation.

Xia Xingchi came to a realization as he finally pulled out a big radish perfectly and smoothly.

The car overturned during the live broadcast today, but the guests couldn’t use their mobile phones at the moment, nor could they watch other people’s live broadcast footage.

So what the hell did yesterday’s funeral trio become today?

Aside from the fact that he, the lowest paid laborer, was really serious about participating in a reality show, what were the other two doing?

One was trying to force him to make an official announcement using various traps, while another was trying to create a fake persona just like his and impersonate him.

As a result, the two routines collided together —

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but glance back. Xia Yu was completely unaware of Li Chengyuan’s scheming official announcement routine this morning, and was still following his own plan with confidence.

Xia Yu smiled sweetly and said: “Mr. Li, look! The little tomatoes I just picked are so sweet, would you like to try one?”

The organic tomatoes were indeed pretty nice, red and plump, covered in crystal water droplets after being washed.

Li Chengyuan had just calculated the accurate trajectory to catch Xia Xingchi. Clearly in a good mood, he held a rare conversation with Xia Yu: 

“Dirty.”

“They’re not dirty, I just washed them.”

Li Chengyuan replied indifferently, not hiding his disgust at all: “Your hands are dirty.”

[Hahahaha the whole family is bursting with laughter, new GIF material is available! (Li Cold-Shoulder.GIF)]

[The other party refused to taste the poisoned green tea and threw out a “gross” emoji]

[What are you saying, upstairs? Why is Xiao Yu green tea? He only kindly gave a tomato, unlike your awesome idol deliberately throwing himself into someone’s arms]

[That’s right, he’s awesome. Even if it’s all green tea, at least Xingchi is not disliked, not to mention that the small tricks between couples add to the fun]

[Hahahaha what a dirty hand. Mr. Li’s eyes were disgusted as if he were looking at a virus. Can your family still knock CP hard?]

[This is called avoiding suspicion! The more real a couple is, the more they must avoid suspicion. Wait for the reversal and be slapped in the face!]

[Plum Wholesaler: Thank you Xia Yu fans for helping me improve my sales performance. I ask you every day, are you okay?]

Picking vegetables was not a particularly difficult task, nor was it very tiring. It could be said to be a very friendly novice village task.

The rustic sunshade straw hat that Xia Xingchi chose for Li Chengyuan didn’t help much, as the weather had turned gloomy as soon as they went out, and it seemed that it was about to rain.

Xia Xingchi looked at the field waiting to be sown and the area where strawberries could be picked afterward, and thought helplessly that he would not be able to let his big golden cat eat fruit today. Speak of the devil, and the mountain rain would really come.

Fortunately, little tomatoes were assigned to the column of “vegetables” by the program team, so they could quickly pick some to act as fruit.

Li Xiu was also crouching on the ground to pick tomatoes. Seeing Xia Xingchi approaching, he chatted: “I predict it’s —”

Before he could finish speaking, a drop of rain suddenly fell on the tip of his nose.

“……I predict it’s going to rain.”

Xia Xingchi hastened to pick more before the rain became any heavier, and at the same time laughed: “Then Great Immortal Li’s predictions are quite accurate?”

This rain was not at all a good thing. Li Chengyuan couldn’t be fed strawberries, and the barbecue night was ruined.

As a little glutton who loved to eat barbecue, Xia Xingchi had already planned countless simple and delicious ways to handle the barbecue, but hadn’t expected the heavens to be so unfavorable.

Finally, after rescuing enough vegetables for these two days, the rain became heavier and the group had to retreat indoors quickly.

The division of labor for lunch preparation was still Xia Xingchi cooking and Li Chengyuan helping to light the fire.

As soon as Xia Xingchi entered the door, he stared at the hidden camera hanging in the air a few times, then turned his head to look at Li Chengyuan and considered the possibility of throttling him to death.

“Mr. Li, do you think these peppers look good?” Xia Xingchi plucked a bunch of bright red peppers from the window.

And put them all in the pot.

Li Chengyuan said lightly: “Yes.”

Xia Xingchi hummed softly when he heard this, because he felt for no reason that the subtext was saying, “I’ll eat whatever you want, as long as you don’t feel bad.”

However, considering that the big villain would never say such things, he could only chalk it up to him overthinking. He hung up the chili peppers and started cooking.

In <<Experience Life in Progressive Time>> most of the program was arranged outdoors. After all, there was not much rain here in late autumn. Clearly, the program team did not expect such rain that was not in the weather forecast.

Just in time for the afternoon free period, Xia Xingchi decided to stage a workers’ strike. He could no longer do everything according to someone else’s wishes and be completely sandwiched into a layer cake by his routine.

When he suddenly looked at Li Chengyuan casually, Li Chengyuan guessed that he was going to do something good.

Sure enough, Xia Xingchi promptly said: “Director, are there no more rooms, ah? Mr. Li and I shared a room……and I didn’t sleep very well.”

Temporarily borrowing the tea art of a green tea spirit, Xia Xingchi deliberately made his tone convey that “didn’t sleep well” was just an excuse, as if he was troubled by rumors on the internet and wanted to actively avoid suspicion.

The Director immediately got his meaning. The signal connection was successful.

But the CP fans completely went in the direction of misunderstanding, and instantly became excited:

[Oh oh oh! Didn’t ♂ sleep well. Pass it on, Mr. Li is so capable that Xingchi has to sleep in a separate room!]

[Of course life in the countryside requires hard work hehehe. No wonder Xia Xingchi’s eyes were red in the morning, he must have been crying]

[Whose pants flew over my head! Where are my pants?]

[Hehehe look at Mr. Li’s expression, his face turned black after hearing this]

As soon as the Director heard this request, he immediately planned to say that there was no problem.

After all, during the two days of cohabitation, they saw that Li Chengyuan was very obedient to Xia Xingchi, who obviously had the final say. Subsequently, they at once thought that this request fully represented the wishes of the boss.

At this time, Xia Yu suddenly said: “Xingchi-ge, why don’t we switch? I have a single room, and the environment is pretty good.”

There was no dirty meaning behind these words. It was like Li Xiu and Han Yuanhe sleeping together in the same bed, full of the innocence of “what’s wrong with men sharing a room.”

Xia Xingchi was taken aback, and his first reaction was, ‘Big teapot, you should really watch this morning’s broadcast, times have changed due to a certain person’s tricks.’

And only a fool would be so generous as to allow you to stroke my big cat in the middle of the night.

Li Chengyuan, who had always been silent like background scenery, spoke up calmly: “I can’t sleep with someone next to me.”

Everyone: ?

Then why did you proactively get a room with Xia Xingchi yesterday? And now you want to sleep alone?

Because the program team was quicker than their brains to agree to Xia Xingchi’s proposal as soon as they heard it, it was too late once they figured out that the always obedient big brother had a disagreement with his little fiance on this matter.

Under Li Chengyuan’s gloomy gaze, Xia Xingchi ended up with an exclusive private room across the hall from him.

The only problem was that the two rooms were too close, and he was very worried that someone would perform the horrible act of sitting by his bed and watching him in the middle of the night again.

Xia Xingchi didn’t say much in front of the camera, and when it was time to go back to his room, he told Li Chengyuan in a joking manner: 

“Mr. Li, sleep well. Good night.”

Even with these arrangements, he didn’t feel at ease and couldn’t fully believe the villain’s morality in this regard. What’s more, Li Chengyuan was cold and silent the whole time and didn’t agree at all.

[Is Mr. Li angry? What happened?]

[How can you tell? He doesn’t seem to have any expression]

[He didn’t talk at all, and he isn’t smiling anymore. Sisters, if you look carefully, he can actually smile……but he has been staring at Xia Xingchi coldly.]

[Did that jerk offend him? Great, when will he be kicked out, ah!]

[Laughing to death, didn’t you watch the live broadcast before brainlessly praising your idol? I have to let you down, in fact, Mr. Li is angry because he didn’t sleep with his wife]

[Hahahaha I think so too, Mr. Li can’t stick to his wife, so depressing]

. . . . . .

In order to prevent a certain person from recreating a horror movie in the middle of the night, Xia Xingchi quickly locked the door behind him as soon as he entered the room.

It was still raining outside the window at this time, and the downpour was getting heavier and heavier. Such deep mountains and cold forests were quite suitable for a number of horrors, such as the silent appearance of the villain in the middle of the night.

At last, there was no camera in the bedroom. Xia Xingchi heaved a sigh of relief and was finally able to take out his phone to check out what was happening on Weibo.

Sure enough, the pool of suspects for “Mrs. Li” had shrunk until it was basically only Xia Yu and himself left.

Xia Xingchi was leaning more and more toward murdering his fiance. If it wasn’t for this bastard’s various routines and blatant actions, he would not have appeared in the suspect pool at all. Who would have thought that the idol himself would personally show fans which way the wind was blowing.

As for the sources of the wind direction on Xia Yu’s side, one was the brainwashing articles of the water armies and various marketing accounts, and the second was the “real evidence.”

No wonder Xia Yu’s fans were able to stand firm against Li Chengyuan’s obviously bad attitude. Xia Xingchi flipped through the so-called “evidence” and found that even more photos had leaked.

They were obviously not taken on the same day, and the clothes were also different. Xia Xingchi zoomed in to take a closer look at the man in the blurry candid shots, only to find that he was really quite similar to Li Chengyuan.

Although the fans couldn’t tell the difference, he thought it was too suspicious.

Sherlock Holmeses from all walks of life had also identified that there was no trace of photoshopping in the photos……how did Xia Yu find such a person?

Xia Xingchi turned over. At the moment, the rain outside was getting heavier and knocking against the window.

This made him doubt whether the dilapidated house could keep out the huge raindrops.

In the end, Li Chengyuan was quite handsome, almost at the pinnacle of good looks. It was difficult to find someone who looked that good, not to mention someone with such high similarity to him.

Incredibly bright lightning flashed across the sky just then. It was dazzling and terrifying, as if it could pierce into this flimsy house.

At the same time, a thought flashed in Xia Xingchi’s mind – that person was Li Shengrui!

Xia Yu actually met the gong protagonist of the book earlier than in the original plot? Would Li Chengyuan……

Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering “Boom!”

It was completely different from the usual rolling thunder, deafening, as if it would pass through the window or even split the whole house in the next second……like the day he died.

Xia Xingchi immediately went stiff all over, and all the thoughts in his mind disappeared.

He trembled uncontrollably for a moment, as if the lightning had struck him again. With that loud noise, many details that had been repressed out of self-defense resurfaced:

The instant he was struck, it seemed that his internal organs were being burned at a high temperature, and even in a trance, there was a smell of roasted meat as he twitched uncontrollably in sheer agony.

Of course Xia Xingchi didn’t want to recall the moment of his death, but as the raindrops fell, the thunder seemed to split through the subconsciously buried memories in his head.

Another bolt of lightning flashed across, as if directly penetrating through the window and smashing into the rustic cabin.

Xia Xingchi curled up in bed at once and trembled as he covered his ears.

This obviously couldn’t muffle the thunderous boom, followed by another earth shattering bang!

The pain of his death forcibly replayed itself over and over again. Xia Xingchi trembled unceasingly all over, blindly fearing that he would be hit hard and his head would be split……

He hid stiffly under the blanket for a long time without hearing another thunderclap. It was only then that he finally regained his sanity and tried to assure himself that objectively speaking, he wouldn’t really be struck by lightning.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his eyes and peered out cautiously from the bedding, God seemed to be deliberately against him. The moment he stuck out his head, the dark room suddenly became bright!

There was an unprecedentedly huge flash of lightning!

Following behind must be earth-shattering thunder!

Xia Xingchi never thought that biological instinct truly had such explosive power —

He actually used the short time difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound to jump up from the bed like a spring!

Almost faster than lightning, he yanked the lock and opened the door, and then rushed all the way into the opposite room!

When he came back to his senses, he had already buried himself in another bed, instinctively burrowing into a warm embrace.

---

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Chapter Twenty-Eight << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty

The Sun residence prepared a high-quality wing room with all facilities included. Upon opening the door, one could smell the faint scent of flowers, and there were several pots of orchids in the room.

As soon as Zhao Yelan entered the room, he was embraced from behind, and Yan Mingting nuzzled his neck and kissed it delicately. There were people from the Sun residence outside. Zhao Yelan pushed him, but didn’t propel him away. He simply turned around, raised his head, and claimed the other’s lips.

After a while, Yan Mingting picked him up, walked to the table by the window, and set him down.

Zhao Yelan put his hands on the table, gasping for breath, and asked: “Magistrate Sun prepared one room?”

“Otherwise?” Yan Mingting gripped the edge of the table and kissed his cheek, then his neck. “We are husband and wife, of course we’ll share the same room. Magistrate Sun is a man who knows how to do things.”

Zhao Yelan chuckled, feeling a bit ticklish. He raised his chin unconsciously, and his Adam’s apple was gently caressed. He groaned, and the other party held him in his arms again, rubbing his hands over his back.

A thought occurred to him, and he quivered. Opening his eyes suddenly, he accidentally knocked over the flower pot next to him in a fluster.

With a bang, porcelain fragments and soil shattered to the ground, the orchids all mixed in.

“General Yan, Zhao-daren, are you all right?” The worried voices of the Sun mansion’s residence sounded outside the door.

“It’s fine.” After speaking, Yan Mingting suppressed the agitation in his heart and grabbed his hand to check it. “It’s not hurt?”

“No.” Zhao Yelan shook his head and stood up to open the door, ordering, “I accidentally knocked over a flower pot, please come and clean it up.”

Two servants rushed to clear it away, and asked if they needed some refreshments. Zhao Yelan said: “We do.”

“These ones will go to the kitchen and bring them here. Do my lords want to enjoy them here or in the pavilion?”

“The pavilion.”

The servant asked someone to bring them to the pavilion to wait, then turned and went to the kitchen.

Yan Mingting eagerly followed him to the pavilion. He guessed that the other had been frightened by his actions just now, and blamed himself for being too impatient. This sort of thing didn’t happen overnight. The other party might not be ready for it yet, and it was already very good to be able to kiss.

He became happy again at this thought, and said: “The Sun mansion’s landscaping is very nice.”

“Yes, ah, I didn’t take a good look around during the day, but it looks really good now.”

The two sat down in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The small lake below was surrounded by rockery and other pavilions and decks, and the style of the garden was more graceful and refined than in the capital.

Sitting there at night, enjoying the cool breeze while eating cakes and drinking good wine, was truly a great blessing.

“This is much better than those strong wines. It tastes sweet and it’s not easy to get drunk.” Yan Mingting poured two cups.

“Yes, this wine is the most popular lotus brew in the area, and it is best to drink it in this season. I heard that Miss……oh, Concubine Xian, said in her letter that she wanted to drink this lotus wine. There are also many foreigners who come to our Zhizhou to buy it.” The servant spared no effort in espousing the merits of this brew.

“Is it really that good?” Zhao Yelan was moved when he heard this, and dismissed all the servants. Then he picked up the wine cup and was about to taste it, when Yan Mingting stopped him. 

“Isn’t your body incapable of tolerating alcohol?”

“Who said such a thing?”

“You, ah.”

Zhao Yelan turned a deaf ear and only said: “I just won’t get drunk, didn’t you say it was difficult to get drunk off this wine? I’ll only take a sip.”

Yan Mingting didn’t say anything more. It was okay if he just had a sip……right?

“This is your third cup,” Yan Mingting said.

“It tastes really good, and it seems that it’s really not intoxicating.” Zhao Yelan smiled, toyed with the wine cup, and put it down. “All right, I won’t drink any more.”

No more than three cups of wine was his rule. Otherwise……it would be embarrassing.

Yan Mingting drank the wine on his own, but kept feeling like the taste was lacking, so he took a closer look and saw that Zhao Yelan’s face was flushed. He said with a smile: “It turns out your face is like this when you drink, ah. Don’t you feel hot?”

“Of course it’s hot.” Zhao Yelan accelerated the speed of his fan.

“Would you like to have a couple more? Maybe it can drive out the cold in you? Then you won’t be afraid of catching a chill when winter comes,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan ignored this, waiting to see what else he would come up with.

Yan Mingting raised his head and drank a few gulps, then picked up the jug and his sword and jumped onto the rockery opposite, dancing with his sword under the moonlight.

This attracted a lot of people to stop and watch from a distance. Zhao Yelan heard the praises of others and raised his chin with honor, proudly picking up another jug of wine. He poured himself a cup, then stared at the figure that was as light as a swallow but as strong as bamboo, and unknowingly drank most of the pot of wine.

Yan Mingting raised his head and happily drained the last drops of wine. He put away his sword and returned to the pavilion to find that the other party had drunk a lot.

Zhao Yelan cast him a sideways glance, picked up a handkerchief to wipe away the wine left on his neck, and said, “Let’s go back.”

“All right.” Yan Mingting took his hand and led him back to the room.

After taking a bath, Zhao Yelan fell onto the bed, a little dizzy. He propped himself up with his arms to sit, feeling weak: “Give me water.”

Yan Mingting poured him a cup of water and looked at his blushing face, like peach blossoms in full bloom. He wanted to say something beautiful, but when he saw his frown, he couldn’t help worrying: “Are you drunk? Or are you feeling cold? Do I need to call a doctor?”

“No, I’m only a little drunk.” Zhao Yelan hurriedly grabbed his wrist. “Don’t call the doctor.”

“Okay.” Yan Mingting poured him another cup of water before lying down. Seeing him retreating vigilantly to the wall, he quickly explained in a low voice: “Magistrate Sun didn’t put spare bedding in the room. I didn’t climb up intentionally.”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him, his vision a little blurred, then reached out and touched his face, flushing as he warned him: “When I’m drunk……I will be a little strange. You had best go and find an inn.”

“It’s so late, and the inns close early. If I left you alone like this, how could I rest assured?” Yan Mingting said, “Besides, what kind of strange things could you come up with?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head and closed his eyes to ease the dizziness. He didn’t know if he would exhibit any strange behavior. After all, he hadn’t been drunk for many years, let alone showed his drunk face in front of outsiders.

He had been self-restrained since he was a child, and even when facing his parents, he never acted too intimately. But at the end of a certain year, he drank a large bowl of wine by mistake and actually crawled into the arms of his parents in the middle of the night to act like a baby, hugging them without letting go. He asked his parents why they were always so strict with him, and even whined in an aggrieved manner.

The torment caused his parents to be unable to sleep all night, and they teased him for a while afterwards. Later, they coaxed him with wine from time to time, wanting to make him clingy.

How could he fall for this again?

But that was many years ago, and he wasn’t sure what would happen now…..

Yan Mingting saw that his eyes were closed and that he hadn’t responded for a long time. He must have fallen asleep. It was a little funny, and he observed his face patiently and meticulously by candlelight.

This was his first time seeing him blush, and although it was because of drunkenness, it was a scene of its own. He raised his hand, and his fingertips slowly moved down the bridge of his nose to land on his lips. He smiled, then spread his five fingers, measuring the length and width, thinking to himself that this face was actually smaller than his hand.

At this time, Zhao Yelan groaned softly.

He subconsciously withdrew his hand and leaned closer to listen, but the other party remained silent once more. Lowering his eyes, he stared at the mole under the other’s eye for a moment and reached out a hand to touch it, then quickly withdrew his hand as if afraid of being discovered, smiling to himself.

Yan Mingting lay down again and his eyes fell on that fair neck. He became distracted again and approached him quietly, sniffing the fragrance of his body. The scent of lotus wine still lingered, which was a bit addictive.

In fact, this wine still had a bit of stamina. When he first tasted it, he only felt that it was sweet and delicious, but after that, the alcohol began to pick up. He only seemed to be okay because of his bulk.

Just as he was contemplating, there was pressure around his waist as Zhao Yelan turned sideways and hugged him.

Yan Mingting froze all over and looked at the other party in surprise. He saw that his eyes were closed and guessed that he was still not sober.

Not long after the other party hugged him, he seemed to feel hot and began to tug at his clothes. Yan Mingting watched helplessly as he exposed his fair shoulders and chest, and then fell dead asleep again.

“……” Yan Mingting raised his eyes to stare at the mosquito net, forcibly diverting his attention to avoid getting agitated.

A short while later, Zhao Yelan changed his hugging position again, grabbing his arm and throwing a leg over his own. At this time, he opened his eyes.

Eye to eye, Zhao Yelan looked at him motionlessly. After a long time, Yan Mingting spoke weakly: “Do you still know who I am?”

“Yan Mingting.”

“Yes.” Yan Mingting heaved a sigh of relief.

“Why are you so fierce to me?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“You say such a thing with no conscience, when have I ever been fierce to you?” Yan Mingting cried out for injustice.

“Then why did you bully me?”

“At what time?”

“You took a chicken, and mocked me as a sick chicken.”

Yan Mingting had to think for a long time before he remembered the scene when they had first met. Also, when he had just returned to Beijing, he sent a chicken to the Zhao residence, not knowing that his moment of kindness back then had been misunderstood by the other party as mockery. No wonder he was in a foul temper when he first walked in the door.

“I wasn’t mocking you, I just wanted to let you replenish your body, you’re too thin,” Yan Mingting patiently explained.

“You still say I’m ugly,” Zhao Yelan said expressionlessly.

“When did I say you were ugly?!”

“Last time, and now. When you say fatness is the only way to look good, isn’t it just beating around the bush and calling me ugly?”

“Save me, you really know how to talk nonsense with your eyes wide open! You go out and see, is there anyone in the world who is better looking than you?”

Zhao Yelan’s expression turned dark for a moment, then sunny, and then he stared at him blankly and didn’t say anything else.

Yan Mingting waved his hand in front of him. Seeing that his expression and reaction were a bit sluggish, he knew that he was truly drunk. Could this be revealing something hidden in his heart? He thought about it, and asked while the iron was hot: “Then do you like Yan Mingting?”

“Yan Mingting?”

“En, Yan Mingting.”

Zhao Yelan blinked slowly. Suddenly there was a trace of sadness in his eyes, and he reached out to hug him, nuzzling against his neck: “Yan Mingting.”

Yan Mingting put his arms around the other’s back and said with a smile: “Alright, alright, I know the answer.”

“Hug me.”

Yan Mingting was exceedingly satisfied and hugged him tightly, thinking that after this guy was drunk, he became so forward and clingy, revealing his heart without any scheming. He couldn’t let anyone else see him like this.

Of course, it would be great if he could see it hundreds or thousands of times.

Just as he was planning their next time drinking, the other party kicked him away and fanned himself with his hands.

Yan Mingting went to get a fan for him, but as soon as Zhao Yelan was cool, he wanted to hug him to sleep, so he acted as a blanket again and was held in Zhao Yelan’s arms. Just when he hugged back, the other party trembled and said: “Don’t touch my back.”

When Yan Mingting took back his hand, Zhao Yelan said again: “Hug me.”

“……” So difficult to serve. Yan Mingting interlocked his fingers at last and coaxed, “Okay, look how good it is to hold you like this.”

In this way, Yan Mingting was tormented repeatedly between hugging him and being kicked away, which drove up the fire in him until he couldn’t bring it down. After midnight, it was finally not so hot, and Zhao Yelan peacefully fell asleep while holding him. But Yan Mingting couldn’t sleep, the fire growing stronger and stronger.

Early the next morning, Zhao Yelan heard the voices of servants outside. Opening his eyes sleepily, he sat up and rubbed his temples. It took him a long while to regain his senses, and when he got out of bed and looked around, Yan Mingting was no longer in the room.

He opened the door, and Xiao Gao came in to change his clothes and tie up his hair. He was quiet for a long time before asking, “Where is Yan Mingting?”

“The General got up early in the morning and took a cold bath. Now he has been practicing with his sword for an hour.” Xiao Gao said worshipfully, “As expected of the General, he doesn’t forget his morning exercises even at this time!”

“……” Zhao Yelan rubbed his temples again.

After his hair was finished, some of Sun mansion’s servant girls came to the door to ask for instructions: “Zhao-daren, breakfast is ready. General Yan has already gone in advance, will you be all right?”

“Lead the way.” Zhao Yelan silently followed them all the way to the front hall for breakfast.

As soon as he walked to the door, he met Yan Mingting, who was sitting at the table. The other party was conversing with Magistrate Sun, but his eyes kept landing on him, looking at him leisurely.

He walked over without a change in expression, exchanged a few words with Magistrate Sun, and sat down to eat.

Yan Mingting secretly observed for a long while, and found that his expression was normal, as if he didn’t remember what happened last night at all.

After the meal, Magistrate Sun wanted to invite them to stroll around the neighborhood, but Zhao Yelan proposed to take their leave.

Zhizhou still had Magistrate Sun in command, but Huaizhou had no leader. Their affairs here had been taken care of, so there was no reason to delay.

Magistrate Sun saw that there was no hope of persuading them to stay, so he went to arrange a carriage.

Yan Mingting approached Zhao Yelan from behind and whispered: “Are you sober?”

“I drank too much last night and got a little dizzy, so I fell asleep. I didn’t do anything strange, did I?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Yan Mingting looked at his innocent face, raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: “No.”

The two got in the carriage, and Magistrate Sun and his wife came to see them off in person. Madam Sun took out a bundle and asked eagerly: “I don’t know if the two lords can help bring something back for Muyun. They are all local specialties, and we prepared some for the two of you as well. If you don’t mind, please accept it.”

The two agreed after seeing their sincere parental love.

“Wait, there are still a few jars of lotus wine here.” Magistrate Sun quickly moved another seven jars of wine to the carriage and said with a smile, “I heard that the two of you had a lot of fun drinking lotus wine last night, so the other five jars were prepared specially for you.”

Zhao Yelan’s expression froze. He was about to refuse, but Yan Mingting took the initiative to accept it with a smile.

After waving them goodbye, Yan Mingting put down the curtain, turned to look at the silent Zhao Yelan, and nudged his shoulder with a smile, saying: “Come on, stop pretending, you actually remember it all, right?”

“Remember what?” Zhao Yelan insisted.

“Remember what happened when you got drunk last night.” Yan Mingting kneaded his neck and shoulders with purpose. “So sore, you really tormented me all night.”

“……” Zhao Yelan turned his face away stiffly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Fine, you heartless man, turn your face and be callous.” Yan Mingting pretended to be wronged and began to complain, “When you called out for hugs last night, you weren’t so heartless.”

“You shut up!” Zhao Yelan turned his head to glare at him.

However, Yan Mingting intended to continue talking, and when it came to his appearance last night, he couldn’t stop.

Zhao Yelan couldn’t bear to recall it anymore, so he gave him a profound look: “Why did you take a cold bath so early in the morning? Come on, tell me why?”

Yan Mingting choked suddenly: “……That is, because of the wine.”

---

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Chapter Fifty-Nine <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixty-One

Xia Xingchi’s eyes widened upon hearing these words, and he looked at Li Chengyuan doubtfully.

They had a showdown last night, and he also gave ironclad evidence that the other had recognized the wrong person. Yet this person didn’t fire him, but wanted to give him a raise?

It couldn’t be that he performed well the day before by giving him a good scolding. Was such a prickly firecracker of an employee worthy of praise?

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. Xia Xingchi didn’t say a word, staring at that person vigilantly with his big, wet, red eyes as he tried to find some suspicious clues.

Li Chengyuan also gazed down at him in silence, patiently letting him look.

The atmosphere was silent for a time, and then footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

The director stood at the door and said loudly: “President Li! Xingchi! Are you awake? We’re coming in!”

This was a classic segment. Regardless of whether the guests were still asleep or hadn’t put on makeup, as long as they weren’t changing their clothes, they would be subject to surprise shots.

It was only that this was Li Chengyuan’s place, so some warning needed to be given. The gold master was different, after all, and what if the couple were playing around early in the morning……

Now that they were at the heart of the struggle with Xia Yu, the audience would probably erupt if they saw them sleeping together.

A few seconds after the voice sounded, the dilapidated wooden door was pushed open softly —

Xia Xingchi was startled, not having expected that they would suddenly broadcast live. Presently, the tears in his rabbit-like eyes and on his face were very obvious.

But Li Chengyuan reacted with great speed, quickly stuffing his head back under the blanket and wrapping him up tightly.

“Go out first.” Li Chengyuan stood after rolling up his small rice ball. “He hasn’t woken up yet.”

The camera captured Xia Xingchi after he was rolled up. The director hesitated for half a second, then imagined something even more unsuitable for children, and hurriedly exited the room.

[Wow! Wow! He’s worthy of being the boss, no matter what he says, his manner is imposing]

[How doting! To actually drive away the director because Xingchi was sleeping, rich people privilege hahahahaha]

[No matter what people say, I really think these two are a good couple. Mr. Li treats him completely differently from others!]

[Wu wu wu President Li always looks so handsome while protecting Xingchi, I ship it to death]

[Pei! This only shows that Li Chengyuan is a gentleman! Was the slap in the face not hard enough? Why are you still fooling around?]

[Declaring once again that Xia Xingchi is a male mistress. Do we need to shove the photo in your face again?]

[Who can prove that the photo is real, ah? Maybe there’s only a resemblance. After all, it’s so blurry, it might be photoshopped]

[It must be real! How can there be people who happen to be so similar to Mr. Li and Xiao Yu? You just wait for a slap in the face ba]

[It doesn’t matter who gets slapped in the face (Li-Style Get Lost.gif)]

. . . . . .

Everyone was waiting to have a feast. Once they left, Xia Xingchi poked his head out of the bedding again.

Li Chengyuan stroked his red and swollen eye sockets with his cold fingers, looking down and saying: “Your eyes are swollen from crying, so I asked for an ice pack.”

A certain little liar always had a knack for thinking wildly. It was fine to violently beat people, but unexpectedly, he cried first. Not only did this make Li Chengyuan feel distressed, but he also really seemed to feel sympathy for him.

Xia Xingchi hummed in embarrassment, and after realizing something, he emphasized again: “An eyelash got in my eye! I wasn’t crying!”

He got into the covers again after that, and when the ice pack arrived, he reached out a hand and pulled it in, like a little hedgehog hiding himself under the blanket.

There was silence all around. Xia Xingchi pricked up his ears and couldn’t hear anything, but he knew Li Chengyuan was still sitting at his side.

From the time he met this big villain, he knew that this person had a terrible hobby. He liked to stare at him quietly for long periods of time with strange eyes, and sat at his bedside to watch him that first night.

But now that all the misunderstandings had been resolved and the truth had come out, why didn’t Li Chengyuan leave?

His attitude toward him hadn’t changed, and was even a little better than before.

The two remained in a stalemate for a long moment, separated by a layer of blanket. Xia Xingchi decided to break the silence first and hesitantly asked in a low voice:

“You……are you really going to double my salary?”

Li Chengyuan was a little taken aback when he heard these words. He obviously didn’t expect that Xia Xingchi wouldn’t ask him why he didn’t leave, nor ask about the stand-in anymore. After holding back for so long, the most irrelevant question was asked instead.

So he replied indifferently with a blank face: “Yes. And maybe more, if you make me happy.”

– For example, placing all the property under his name.

However, based on the little liar’s bad behavior, Li Chengyuan didn’t intend to tell him that. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes and give everything to him too early before he got him locked up.

Xia Xingchi then quickly got out of bed with the ice pack on, trying hard to hide his excitement but to no avail: 

“Really? This is what you said, you wanted to raise the salary! Don’t go back on your word!”

It couldn’t be helped, the boss gave so much money. Xia Xingchi firmly believed that he was not this joyful due to hearing that Li Chengyuan was not going to leave his side.

Li Chengyuan immediately took out his phone, tapped the screen a few times with his slender fingers, and then held it up to show him —

Xia Xingchi took a closer look and was shocked. This guy actually turned around and paid him for ten months on the spot?!

“You can’t resign after receiving the money, understand?” As he spoke, Li Chengyuan reached out and fixed the crooked ice pack so that it covered his eyes again.

The huge windfall naturally caused the little money-grubber to nod excitedly, and the ice pack was thrown askew again. Li Chengyuan had no choice but to straighten it once more.

But after a while, Xia Xingchi realized that something was wrong……because Li Chengyuan’ life was not that long.

Thinking of this, Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but bite his lip hard, his eyes a little hot.

Just thinking that he left had made him so sad, and the original concept of “giving him the best hospice care and inheriting his legacy” no longer seemed so simple and easy.

– – –

After applying the ice pack for a while, the redness and swelling from the tears finally subsided. Xia Xingchi finally “woke up” and appeared in front of the camera after washing up and getting ready.

One didn’t need to look in order to know what a huge storm his appearance would stir up in the live broadcast, especially after being in the same frame with Xia Yu again.

Fortunately, he had ignored Xia Yu’s friendliness yesterday, and there was no shame in continuing on today as if he couldn’t see that green tea spirit.

Xia Yu was like a strong white lotus who could “kindly forgive the mistress even while wearing a green hat,” greeting him as if nothing had happened. This also guaranteed that after the rumors were dismantled, he could pretend to be ignorant of the matter.

Everyone could only pretend that they didn’t know anything about this business, and that it had nothing to do with them. After all, everyone knew who the genuine article was.

[Why are Xia Xingchi’s eye sockets a little red, ah? Could he have been crying?]

[Hug hug baby. He must be sad to be framed and insulted with such ugly words. Ai, don’t cry, don’t cry, we all believe in you]

[Hehe If you become a mistress, you should expect to be scolded. Don’t be a **** and expect to keep a good name]

[Never mind the idiot upstairs, Xingchi is definitely Mrs. Li!]

[Hehehe……thinking of happy places. Maybe he was crying when he did things that can’t be described with Mr. Li last night, and he got up late in the morning too hehehe……]

[I’m the first to object to the sister upstairs withdrawing from the literary world hehe]

[It’s really true. No wonder Mr. Li wrapped up Xingchi so nobody could see him. Could it be that there were traces of love on his body? (Dog head)]

[What happened? Whose pants did I just trip over? Oh, they’re mine]

Xia Xingchi did not expect things to go in the direction of sexual association, and only thought that there must be all kinds of ugly insults.

But in any case, now that Li Chenyuan was by his side, those words didn’t seem to be as lethal. They weren’t as important as rolling up his sleeves and making breakfast. After all, someone with a glass stomach always had low blood sugar, and precious ones could not go hungry.

As expected, Li Chengyuan still occupied the position of assisting the cook. He walked into the kitchen naturally and began to add wood to the stove to make a fire.

Xia Xingchi had already given up and didn’t bother trying to make him leave. Anyway, the act that was hanging by a thread could drop at any time. The poverty-stricken had nothing to lose and didn’t fear power.

He searched for the leftover ingredients from yesterday and decided in the end to use the remaining two goose eggs to make goose egg noodles for everyone. As he did so, he also cooked some cornmeal porridge and a few more light dishes.

While cooking the porridge, he glanced at the place where the camera had been yesterday. No wonder Li Chengyuan didn’t attack it again today. The spot was empty, and there was no camera in the kitchen.

Maybe the program team wanted to help him hide the relationship, or maybe it was on Li Chengyuan’s orders. Xia Xingchi heaved a sigh of relief. Even if he wasn’t afraid, he didn’t want to be filmed and recorded at all hours of the day.

Especially after seeing those malicious out-of-context clips that morning.

Li Chengyuan was not very efficient at working the bellows yesterday, but today he had fully mastered the skill and quickly raised the fire.

The smoke drifted up the chimney and there was no strong smell in the kitchen, only the faint scent of food and burning firewood.

Xia Xingchi put the noodles into the pot and began to study how to make goose egg custard.

Because that damn Xia Yu had disrupted the situation yesterday, Xia Xingchi didn’t pick up too many eggs. In addition to cooking the remaining eggs, he decided to also secretly cook a goose egg custard for his big cat alone.

“You’re in the way.” While stirring the egg mixture, Xia Xingchi kicked Li Chenyuan’s legs that couldn’t be stretched out due to sitting on the wooden bench. “Sir, I suggest you go sit in the water tank, don’t take up space here.”

This crude kitchen was small in the first place, and a certain person had no intention of leaving after starting the fire.

He still sat to the side with a blank expression on his face and watched Xia Xingchi, carrying on his hobby of staring silently like a feline.

Li Chengyuan moved slightly to the side upon hearing this, but Xia Xingchi was still so crowded that almost fell into his arms, so he had no choice but to kick him again.

The two of them moved and kicked in such a quiet and childish manner, repeating this many times in a row, and only stopped temporarily when Li Xiu poked his head in curiously to see what they were cooking.

“It really smells delicious, ah!” Li Xiu said with admiration. He thought for a moment and said sincerely, “In fact, we lazy bastards don’t really eat breakfast. Xingchi, don’t wear yourself out tomorrow, just sleep in.”

He had thought that the “cooking” Xia Xingchi mentioned might mean finding some pickled vegetable steamed buns, and didn’t expect something so rich.

Xia Xingchi blinked, and was all smiles as he said: “No way, ah, if you’re raising a big golden cat, it has to have warm food every day.”

After saying so, he raised his leg and kicked Li Chengyuan lightly.

He had seen the changes in everyone’s expressions yesterday. Xia Xingchi was likely too angry to control his voice during their quarrel and was overheard.

The pot was already cracked, so he simply smashed it to pieces. There was no need to hide their relationship in front of these few people.

Li Xiu was stunned for a few seconds. Seeing him kick Li Chengyuan, he was subconsciously terrified at first, and then instantly realized which big cat was being talked about.

But……hadn’t they avoided making an official announcement in front of the camera so far? Why did he directly say it?

Li Xiu turned his head suspiciously and glanced at the new camera. This time it was not unplugged and was still working normally, dedicated to live broadcasting the kitchen scene to tens of millions of viewers.

Looking at the empty original camera position again, Li Xiu realized in shock that Xia Xingchi seemed to have mistakenly thought that the camera was removed?!

Yesterday, the boss had unplugged it as soon as he entered the door. The program team didn’t dare to offend him or refuse, but they couldn’t lie to the audience that “the device was out of battery” again and again.

So they had to hang the camera in a very high position, where even Li Chengyuan couldn’t reach.

After this adjustment, the program team also specially sent out a notice to the group, but at that time, Xia Xingchi’s attention was all on the hot searches and all kinds of bloody storms.

After that, he secretly shed tears and applied ice with his eyes closed, so he had no time to pay attention to group notifications.

“Xingchi……uh, look……”

Li Xiu wondered if they were doing anything in the kitchen just now, and could only raise his eyebrows as a friendly reminder.

Li Chengyuan suddenly turned his head and looked over with cold eyes.

The fierce aura immediately startled Li Xiu, as if he had been caught in person by the principal when cheating for an exam, and he quickly closed the door and ran away.

Xia Xingchi was puzzled, and seemed to not have understood his abstract expression, so he turned around and asked Li Chengyuan: “What did he mean? Did Li Xiu have something to say, ah?”

After a long period of silence in the comment area, it completely recovered and exploded at this moment:

[Save me, weren’t the two of them acting like polite strangers yesterday and calling Mr. Li? How are they on a first name basis today? Did I miss something?]

[Hahahaha I’m dying. Kicking and moving, this tyrant is so cute in private!]

[I suspect they know each other privately and just pretended not to know each other for the show]

[I dare say this is not suspected private acquaintances, but suspected love]

[From the beginning, I guessed that breakfast was made for Li Chengyuan’s sake. It is said that he’s not in good health and may have a stomach problem, so he must eat breakfast]

[Is the “big golden cat” Mr. Li? He said he was raising him?! And the person involved just sat beside him with a blank expression, without any intention of refuting?]

[I don’t believe it! The same can be done between friends, ah. Without intimate actions, the phrase “big cat” certainly doesn’t mean that!]

[Isn’t this male mistress being provocative? He’s already rushed to the top of the hot search list, and he’s escalating as if nothing happened? Sluts aren’t allowed, go away!]

[Reporting the person upstairs! By the way, looking at Li Xiu’s expression, Xingchi doesn’t seem to know there’s a camera ~ ]

[Judging by Mr. Li’s appearance, he should know. Could it be that Xingchi didn’t want to make an official announcement, so he did it on purpose?]

[Bullshit, what kind of official announcement nonsense, can’t you see the hot search? Xia Yu is the official partner, thank you]

Xia Xingchi was obviously unaware of the horrific crash, and was still cooking seriously.

The goose egg custard was steamed very quickly. At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from eggs, and he wasn’t sure how it would taste.

He handed it to Li Chengyuan behind him: “There’s only enough left to make one custard. Eat it quickly, don’t let the Sherlock Holmeses on the internet see me cooking for you.”

A group of netizens: ?

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips and remained silent. If Xia Xingchi turned his head at this time, he would definitely see the expression of someone trying to hold in a laugh.

It was a pity that he was concentrating on cooking. After a while, he tilted his head and asked: “How is it, ah, is it tasty? Does it just taste like eggs?”

Li Chengyuan: “You try it.”

Xia Xingchi had never eaten goose egg custard at his age, so he was indeed very curious. When he turned around, Li Chengyuan had already filled a spoonful and handed it over.

When Li Chengyuan drank his hot cocoa at the fashion soiree last time, he found that he had a double standard for this person’s cleanliness, and wasn’t particular about sharing a spoon with him now.

Xia Xingchi was trying his best to control this huge iron pot so as not to burn the dishes, so he took a quick bite without thinking about it.

[Mama! Why did they share a spoon? Isn’t this an indirect kiss?!]

[He wanted to make a small fuss over President Li and didn’t want us to know! No way! (caught red-handed.jpg)]

[Oh my god, after waking up to watch the live broadcast, the world has gone crazy? It’s really Xia Xingchi? It’s really that low-tier stupid trash?]

[Knock it, knock it! It’s definitely not the first time they’ve done this, they have to be a couple! Xingchi actually turned out to be a rich little boyfriend at large?]

[It’s just a spoon, look how excited you are. I also shared a cup of milk tea with my best friend. Isn’t that normal?]

[Mr. Li is a clean freak! Did you notice that everyone used serving chopsticks to pick up the dishes last night? It’s clearly because he was there]

[That’s not an intimate move either. Don’t try to save his dignity or mess with our Xia Yu’s fiance, OK? Anyway, no matter how envious you are, your idol is not worthy]

Xia Xingchi savored it carefully for a while, and finally had an answer: “It’s not too bad?”

After thinking about it, he howled: “So eat it fast, ah! Please go out quickly after eating, I’m almost sitting on your lap while I cook! I’m crowded to death!”

Li Chengyuan looked at him calmly and expressionlessly and said: “Sit.”

His stubborn appearance was quite annoying. Holding the spatula in one hand, Xia Xingchi tilted his head and said earnestly: 

“Sir, do you think I dare not? I specialize in dealing with all kinds of stubbornness, and I’ll make you pay a price for your words!”

With that said, he really took a step forward and sat directly on Li Chengyuan’s lap.

Not only did he sit on it, but he even got away with tilting his head and grasping the other’s chin: “How about it……hm? Wait.”

Before he finished speaking, Xia Xingchi suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Although it seemed to others that Li Chengyuan wasn’t wearing much of an expression at the moment, Xia Xingchi was already familiar with him and knew that he was holding back a smile.

The question was, what could the big villain be smiling at?

Xia Xingchi hurriedly got off of him and tried to put as much distance between them as possible, both vigilant and puzzled: “What are you going to do?”

Combined with Li Chengyuan’s extraordinarily ambiguous actions just now, it was as if a bolt of inspiration flashed through his mind.

Xia Xingchi suddenly had an outrageous intuition, and hastily raised his head to look around —

On the corner of the wall above, a camera with a flashing red light faced the two of them. It could be called a rather silent and resentful working machine, showing everyone all the actions just now in real time.

Xia Xingchi was instantly dumbfounded.

---

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Chapter Twenty-Seven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Imperial court had been very busy these days. First, the governor of Jiangnan was escorted back to Beijing. After a few days, even the magistrate of Huaizhou and several other important officials were also detained.

The Emperor was furious, and ordered the three judicial divisions to interrogate them. It was necessary to uncover those officials in Jiangnan who were in collusion with each other. This was also to set an example for others. After he ascended the throne, he wanted to root out those people left behind by the late emperor, but his focus had always been on Beijing. The Jiangnan area had always been docile and peaceful. Unexpectedly, relying on the distance between them, even the governor dared to ignore the laws and discipline of the Imperial court. There was no telling what sort of decay lay below.

If it wasn’t for Kuang Sheng’s report that caught his attention, he would have been deceived by these people for a long time. However, although Kuang Sheng was successful in this endeavor, he could not escape the crime of falsely reporting the disaster situation, which had caused the Imperial court to allocate 100,000 taels in vain. It was difficult to transport it back in a short amount of time, resulting in a shortage in the national treasury. After discussions among all parties, the final decision was to remove Kuang Sheng from his position as water reporter, and he would not be allowed to hold an official position for life.

Kuang Sheng was already very satisfied with the results. He knew that Zhao-daren had rewritten his grievances for him in the report, so he was able to safely avoid the calamity of going to prison.

The same went for Yin Pinglu. Because she exposed the Yin family and helped Zhao Yelan greatly in his investigation, this separated her from the Yin family without implicating innocent people. Yin Pinglu sent her younger siblings to her grandmother’s house.

However, there were suddenly many vacancies in Jiangnan, and there were endless disputes in court over who should fill them.

Zhao Xuan had been busy for several days, and from time to time, he summoned officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Officials to discuss the matter. After finally settling things, he breathed a sigh of relief at last. Realizing that he had forgotten to eat lunch, he went to Sun Muyun’s residence.

Since the events in Jiangnan, he hadn’t seen Sun Muyun again. He was both busy and worried that the Sun family was also one of those rotten seeds.

But these days, Sun Muyun didn’t take the initiative to find him. He occasionally ran into her in the Imperial garden, where the other party would play carelessly with the court ladies and eunuchs, not appearing to be worried about her father. Then he received a letter from Zhao Yelan. According to the investigation, the prefectural magistrate was not involved in the affair. On the contrary, there was a county magistrate and the Wu magistrate who had been friends for many years and colluded with each other.

“What are you doing?” As soon as Zhao Xuan entered, he saw Sun Muyun spinning in circles.

“Answering the Emperor, I am trying on new clothes.” Sun Muyun smiled and said, “Jinxuan’s clothes are really good, but they are not as good as Jiangnan’s.”

“Jinxuan? Such a familiar name.”

“Of course it sounds familiar. Zhao-daren basically buys all his fabrics and ready-made clothes there. Wearing them out is a living advertisement, but it’s a pity that the common people cannot afford them at all.”

Earlier, Sun Muyun had specifically inquired about which clothes were the best in the capital.

Zhao Xuan smiled. Counting the days, Zhao Yelan had been away for more than a month. He said in a daze: “I wonder how he is doing in Jiangnan now.”

“Don’t worry, your Majesty, Zhao-daren will be very happy, and might not even want to leave. Who let us have so much stunning scenery, delicious food, and beauties in Jiangnan……oh, didn’t the General go too? Those beauties are not worth mentioning in front of the General. After all, the General is quite handsome!”

Zhao Xuan paused: “Today, instead of praising me, you are praising others?”

“His Majesty is already praised enough, the most beautiful thing in this palace is His Majesty,” Sun Muyun said.

“What about outside the palace?”

“This concubine says that His Majesty is not allowed to be angry.”

“I won’t be angry.”

“It’s Zhao-daren and General Yan! They look so good together! Your Majesty is so discerning to bestow marriage upon them! They are so well-matched, ah! Seeing two beautiful men standing together at the same time is so comfortable!”

Zhao Xuan scoffed coldly and left in a fit of pique.

“It was agreed that you wouldn’t be angry, cheapskate.” Sun Muyun sighed and shook her head, then looked out the window. “I wonder if Dad has read my letter.”

At that time, Zhao Yelan and Yan Mingting were guests in the Sun residence.

Yan Mingting had originally wanted to have someone deliver Sun Muyun’s token, but Zhao Yelan wanted to go to Zhizhou to deal with the matter of the colluding county magistrate, so Yan Mingting followed along.

Magistrate Sun had just dealt with those people according to the law. When he heard that the Imperial Envoy had come to Zhizhou in person, he explained everything that had happened in detail.

After listening, Zhao Yelan nodded without any objections: “Bothering Sun-daren to bring up the new county magistrate as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

Yan Mingting handed Sun Muyun’s token to him, and only then did Magistrate Sun know that his daughter had a close relationship with these two big figures. While he was pleased with her, he couldn’t help being a little worried that his daughter would be bullied if she didn’t have any family or backers in Beijing. Thus, he was even more polite to them, and entertained them with good wine and good food.

After dinner, Magistrate Sun prepared a room for them, but Zhao Yelan proposed that they go out for a walk.

Although Zhizhou and Huaizhou were adjacent counties, the atmosphere here seemed to be more unconstrained. More than a hundred years ago, there once appeared a beautiful woman here who vigorously pursued a man and became a laughingstock. But shockingly, within a few years of getting married, that man conquered a whole country and named it Xuan. It was precisely because of the founding Empress Mingzhu that most of the women here were enthusiastic and unconstrained. When they spied a man they liked, they would take the initiative to express their hearts.

The two of them had only walked tens of meters when they were accosted by many young women one after another, and even Xiao Gao behind them couldn’t escape.

“My lord, this sachet smells so good, you take it,” Xiao Gao said.

“This was given to you by others. If you accept it, you have to marry them,” Zhao Yelan teased.

“Ah! I don’t want a wife! I’m going to pay her back now!” Xiao Gao turned and ran back to find the woman.

Not long after, the street ahead became full of people, and the road was completely blocked. Everyone was very excited, eagerly looking at the people upstairs and shouting non-stop.

Zhao Yelan looked up to see a graceful beauty standing in the restaurant, about to throw a ball of hydrangeas to choose a husband.

“I haven’t seen a hydrangea thrower yet,” Yan Mingting laughed.

They simply stopped to watch the excitement.

The girl standing upstairs looked down below and suddenly smiled. She was attracted by a man in brocade clothes standing in the southeast direction, and could tell the difference from the people around him at a glance.

Zhao Yelan never thought that being so far away from the restaurant and only looking from a distance, the hydrangea ball would be accurately thrown into his hands.

“……”

Zhao Yelan instinctively tossed the ball to Yan Mingting: “Throw it back.”

Yan Mingting immediately threw it back as if it was burning his hand.

There was laughter and jeering all around.

The girl didn’t expect the hydrangeas to be returned to her hands. Seeing that the person who knew martial arts was also very handsome, she threw it to that person this time.

Yan Mingting quickly hugged Zhao Yelan’s waist and turned his body to the side to avoid the hydrangea ball. It hit Xiao Gao’s chest, and he caught the ball without thinking. Looking at everyone suspiciously, he handed the ball to Zhao Yelan: “My lord, this ball looks good, you can have it.”

Zhao Yelan’s complexion changed, and he swiftly handed it over to Yan Mingting: “Quick!”

Yan Mingting slapped the hydrangeas back into the girl’s hands.

Everyone: “……” Are you just playing around?!

The girl suddenly became playful and felt that she must hit them. She did her best to throw it over, but saw that they were nowhere to be found.

Yan Mingting embraced Zhao Yelan and jumped up onto a nearby roof, Xiao Gao following close behind. Finally, they stopped on a tall building and sat on the roof to watch the moon.

Zhao Yelan waved his fan, then lowered his head to straighten out the corners of his clothes. When he looked up again, he found that Yan Mingting was staring at the sachet dangling at his waist.

“There is something that I’ve always been curious about, and I wonder if I can get an answer from you.” Yan Mingting pinched his sachet.

“What is it?”

“You know I sneeze every time I smell that sweetgrass sachet. Then do you know what other things are in it?” Yan Mingting asked tentatively.

He had left the capital with haste and hadn’t received an answer from Yao Muze yet, but looking at the person before him now, he was really curious about what was going on.

“Did someone try to harm you by secretly adding something to your sachet without you knowing?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan remained silent.

“When we return, we will know what was added to it, and we can follow the clues to find out who is trying to murder you,” Yan Mingting said coldly.

“No need to find out.” Zhao Yelan raised his chin slightly, his face as white as tonight’s waning moon, lonely and desolate. He looked sideways at the other party. “I added it myself.”

Yan Mingting was taken aback.

Zhao Yelan said slowly: “It’s a powder from the Western Regions. It smells similar to sweetgrass. If worn for a long time, it will cause……”

“Coughing, headaches, weakness in the limbs?”

“You’re no fool.” The corners of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched. “Only you have such a dog’s nose. No one else has ever suspected this.”

Yan Mingting didn’t know what expression to make, and said in distress: “You did it to yourself? Why did you want to do such a thing?”

“To survive in this world,” Zhao Yelan said calmly, pointing to the right side of his chest. “I once blocked an arrow for Zhao Xuan. In the ice and snow, the cold entered my body, and it took a long time to salvage my life. I feel uncomfortable when the weather is cold, but I can, in fact, survive it. In the next few years, I will gradually get better. But I don’t want him to think I’m really healed. I want to make him feel guilty, so that when he sees my incurable body, he will think of my life-saving grace to him……Isn’t it ridiculous?”

Yan Mingting moved his lips without sound, took a deep breath, and then hugged him tightly: “You shouldn’t torture your body either, ah.”

“What else could I do? At that time, I had neither a prominent family background nor a lot of money. I was alone, and my only bet was his conscience.”

“I should have known, I should have taken you away when we first met,” Yan Mingting said in a muffled voice.

Zhao Yelan smiled silently: “But in that case, I couldn’t avenge my parents. You wanted to fight for the people, but I only had my own private hatred in my heart, so I definitely would have run away.”

Yan Mingting: “Then is your parents’ revenge finished?”

“The man you saw last time in the brothel was the last enemy,” Zhao Yelan said. “Therefore, now is the best time for us to meet. You have finished the war and I have finished my revenge. There is no other burden.”

Yan Mingting nodded, then spoke again after a moment: “But I am still a little unhappy.”

“Why?”

“Why are you hurting for him? You grew up with him, do you like him, ah……”

Zhao Yelan pushed him away, looking into his eyes with a smile as he said: “He was the prince, I had to rely on him in order to complete my revenge plan. When one falls in disgrace, the whole family is doomed. If he was gone, I would naturally not be spared by those people. Rather than being captured alive and tortured, I would rather go out straightforwardly. Moreover, the Gold Collar Guard had already appeared at that time, and I was certain that I would be saved, so I went to block that arrow for him.”

“You are not allowed to do this in the future!” Yan Mingting still felt a little angry after thinking about it. “You now have a prominent family background, a lot of wealth, and even more power……Ah, husband, no one will dare to bully you, not even Zhao Xuan. You are not allowed to get hurt for him in the future.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows. There was a smile at the tips of his eyes. “Are you drinking vinegar?”

“Yes, I’m drinking vinegar,” Yan Mingting said bluntly.

Zhao Yelan was stunned for a moment, then gave a light laugh and poked him on the head: “Did you grow up drinking vinegar?”

Yan Mingting scoffed, turned his head, and said: “Xiao Gao, go buy some wine.”

Xiao Gao immediately flipped off the roof, and Zhao Yelan cast him a sideways glance: “Could it be that you are a wine maniac? Or do you want to drink away your worries?”

“Of course not, I just wanted to drive Xiao Gao away.”

“For what?”

“For us to whisper sweet nothings to each other, how embarrassing would it be for him to see?”

“When will we be whispering……” Before Zhao Yelan could finish speaking, the other party leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

“What about a kiss?” Yan Mingting blushed first.

Zhao Yelan blinked. Their eyes met and they gazed at each other. Just when he was about to reach out to the other party, he heard Xiao Gao call: “I’m back, I brought lotus wine!”

The two were startled, and simultaneously turned to look.

“I’ve troubled you.” Yan Mingting took it in an awkward manner. “Why don’t you go and buy a bag of peanuts to go with the wine.”

“Okay.” Xiao Gao disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Yan Mingting cleared his throat, tugged at his sleeve, and said: “Shall we continue……?”

Zhao Yelan turned back as if nothing had happened. The two looked at each other’s lips and moved forward slowly —

“General, I’m back from buying peanuts!” Xiao Gao suddenly appeared. Crouching between them, he looked left and right. “You are so close, what are you playing?”

Yan Mingting was annoyed, ah!

“Why did you come back so soon?” Yan Mingting asked, grinding his teeth.

“There’s an inn downstairs, so the purchase was quick,” Xiao Gao said.

“……” He’d made a mistake. He should have told him to buy tanghulu in the capital.

Yan Mingting was thinking of a method to keep him far away when suddenly, someone grasped his jaw. He turned his head, and a pair of warm lips covered his own. It was as if a fire had been ignited, and his whole body burned. His cheeks were even hotter.

Xiao Gao’s eyes widened. He fell backwards and rolled off the roof with the alcohol. The wine was spilled, and the aroma of lotus flower mixed with alcohol wafted out.

“Good, this time he won’t come up.” Zhao Yelan grabbed Yan Mingting’s collar, and his upper body leaned toward him unconsciously. Yan Mingting braced against the ridge of the roof with one hand and tightly encircled Zhao Yelan’s waist with the other arm. He entwined the tip of his tongue, traced the contours of his lips, the scent of the other in every breath.

No matter how good the scenery and food of Jiangnan was, it was far inferior to the taste of this moment, which surpassed everything else in the world.

The moon shone brightly over a vast sea of people. They had met again at the best time, and in this life, they would be inseparable.

---

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Chapter Fifty-Eight <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixty

“What did you say……”

Xia Xingchi didn’t react, but felt that the heartbeat close to his ear seemed to be much faster.

It was so fast that he had to wonder whether Li Chengyuan’s heart could bear this speed, and whether it would make him uncomfortable.

But apart from his heartbeat, Li Chengyuan’s voice was still calm, with a low, hoarse tone: “Xia Xingchi, the person I am looking for is you.”

After a moment of silence, Xia Xingchi finally recovered and confirmed what Li Chengyuan was talking about.

He didn’t say a word for a long time, and finally let out a long “oh.” This utterance didn’t contain any special emotion.

In order to prevent someone’s fragile glass heart from malfunctioning, Xia Xingchi raised his hand and gently stroked Li Chengyuan’s chest, hoping that his fast-beating heart would slow down a little:

“Understood. Boss Li, go to sleep quickly. Staying up late can result in sudden death.”

Li Chengyuan frowned. He naturally hadn’t foreseen that Xia Xingchi would have such an ordinary and calm reaction.

It was like hearing someone say “The weather is fine today,” as if he didn’t care, and it didn’t deserve affirmation or negation.

Li Chengyuan then raised his hand and grabbed the groping hand on his chest without saying a word, staring at him quietly in the dark and obviously waiting for him to say something.

This was the matter that Xia Xingchi didn’t understand:

Although he heard that his benefactor may call the substitute by the White Moonlight’s name, the abusive text had also mentioned that this happened in bed – not this kind of bed, but the one that was not suitable for children.

Li Chengyuan was wide awake now, and he wasn’t joking. His tone was firm as he insisted on forcing the issue and saying that he was the White Moonlight……so in the end, should he play along or avoid the topic?

His wrist was clenched tightly, and clearly someone was intent on hearing an answer.

Xia Xingchi tried to struggle, but couldn’t break free. He couldn’t help being a little sour when faced with this problem, and also very irritable and angry.

He answered perfunctorily:

“Oh, I see. Then I am very honored to be the person Mr. Li is looking for! I really want to cry with joy!”

As he spoke, he reached out angrily and pushed Li Chengyuan with force, then pulled his wrist out with even more strength and simply turned over with his back facing him.

“Xia Xingchi, you —”

Li Chengyuan watched Xia Xingchi instantly erect the thorns all over his body, as if he would stab anyone who got close to him and then bite them twice. He couldn’t help being puzzled, never having expected him to have such a reaction.

He had imagined before that he might be surprised, happy, in disbelief……but why was he angry?

Was this the reflexive counterattack after a petty liar reunited with his defrauded victim?

“Hurry and go to sleep! Stop talking, okay? Otherwise, Mr. Li, you can sleep by yourself tomorrow night, ba. I’m sleepy!”

Xia Xingchi rolled over angrily and buried his face in the pillow.

If Li Chenyuan wasn’t his boss, he would have definitely kicked him away hard.

On account of his poor health, Xia Xingchi didn’t care to talk about the matter of “jealousy” anymore, yet he lost his mind at night and directly escalated to treating the double as the White Moonlight?

In other words, he had been misidentifying him all this time, and he was actually regarded as the “White Moonlight” in his eyes. No wonder he suddenly laughed during their quarrel that day. It was obviously because of this deep-rooted misconception.

“You can’t even recognize your White Moonlight. Li Chengyuan, you are so blind.” In the end, Xia Xingchi couldn’t hold back. He lay sullenly on the pillow and said, “Are you worthy of him like this?”

Li Chengyuan was observing whether or not he would smother himself if he continued to lay on his stomach like this, and whether he should be turned over. Now he was relieved that he could still talk, and tranquilly replied: 

“I recognized him as soon as we met.”

“That shows even more that you’re blind!” Xia Xingchi said angrily.

He had thought he was looking for a substitute, but he had actually recognized the wrong person as soon as they met.

It seemed that there were indeed more uncomfortable things than being a substitute. If everything was wrong in the beginning, then the cohabitation, the annual salary of tens of millions, and Li Chengyuan’s instances of protection and tolerance were obviously paid to the wrong person.

Even though the stand-in was still working and being paid in an upright manner, now it seemed that he was a mistake who was taken as the wrong person, and couldn’t even be counted as a substitute?

Li Chengyuan was not angry upon being scolded, and just said seriously: “I’m saying, it’s you.”

Seeing him so convinced and unrepentant, he finally couldn’t bear the rage on the heels of the sourness:

“Idiot! Laozi will suffocate you to death! Whatever, it’s all wrong. You fire me, ba! I quit!”

With that said, he popped up and took the pillow to cover Li Chengyuan’s face.

Li Chengyuan was smothered by him with a pillow, but he didn’t struggle. He just closed his eyes and reached out to grab his collar.

Xia Xingchi was straddling him to press the pillow down, and he fell directly into his arms after being yanked like this. He heard his heart beating more and more rapidly. Perhaps this was the legendary expression of a “heart being moved.”

Xia Xingchi lowered his eyes, suddenly feeling extremely sad for no reason. So much so that he didn’t want to do anything anymore, and just lay quietly atop the other’s body and listened to his heart, not knowing for whom it was beating.

Xia Xingchi was very sure that he was not the person Li Chengyuan was looking for. He was struck to death by lightning not long ago and came to this strange world. How could he be missed by Li Chengyuan since he was seven years old?

Not to mention not being in the same time or space at all, assuming that he was five years old eighteen years ago, being kicked around like a football by everyone with nobody to take him in, it was impossible for a rich and noble son to notice such a low-level brat.

The atmosphere was filled with a silence that stretched indefinitely.

Li Chengyuan lay still on his back and let Xia Xingchi lay on top of him. Neither of them said anything for a while.

In the end, Li Chengyuan was the first to break the silence, and said spoke a rare string of words:

“Xia Xingchi, I never said I was looking for a lover……I was just looking for a little liar. I want to ask him why he lied to me and make him fulfill his promise.”

Xia Xingchi sighed and asked: “How old was he if he was able to fool you?”

Children grew up very fast, both in size and mentality. It would be difficult for a five-year-old to fool a seven-year-old.

What’s more, he knew that the big villain in front of him had an outrageously high IQ since he was a child, far surpassing his peers, and had won various awards.

“Ten years old……or a bit older, just slightly short.”

Li Chengyuan narrowed his eyes, remembering the way someone patted his chest and asked him to call him brother, and how he always wanted to touch the other’s head because of his height.

Perhaps due to the way he was lying on his chest, the voice Xia Xingchi heard seemed particularly melancholy and low.

That chest vibrated slightly from the sound, and even Xia Xingchi’s heart seemed to shake faintly. It was an indescribable feeling, slightly astringent.

Obviously, apart from being shorter than his peers due to a lack of nutrition, he and this “White Moonlight” had nothing in common.

Xia Xingchi bit his lips, rolled away from Li Chengyuan’s body, and finally made a decision to pretend to be relaxed:

“Li Chengyuan, you know I’m two years younger than you. Are you blind or stupid?……It’s obvious that you’ve got the wrong person, so it’s up to you to fire me or break off the engagement.”

After speaking, Xia Xingchi turned over and ignored him. All of a sudden, he didn’t want an annual salary of tens of millions and a huge inheritance. He just wanted to get away from this person and stop feeling like his chest was stuffed with lemon-soaked cotton.

Thinking of being fired, the worker conscientiously scolded the boss: “You’re an idiot.”

Li Chengyuan: “…….”

He had no answer to the question of age, but he knew he wouldn’t recognize the wrong person.

It was just that if he insisted on saying “it’s you” in front of Xia Xingchi now, this irritable little hedgehog might not merely curse, but also jump up and hit people.

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips and had to remain silent for the time being.

In the dark, he stared at the lump of Xia Xingchi’s back for a long time. After confirming that he was asleep, he silently stretched out his hands to wrap him in his arms, lest he get so cold that he leaned into someone’s arms like a thief.

Xia Xingchi didn’t sleep well that night. He fell asleep in a sour mood, thinking about what the seven-year-old Li Chengyuan would be like.

He had half a night of bizarre dreams, and actually dreamt of him when he was a child.

In the dream, Li Chengyuan was rather thin and pale, like a fragile and beautiful porcelain doll. Xia Xingchi couldn’t help worrying that he would pass out if he stood for too long.

Perhaps his subconscious made what he was worried about happen, because the porcelain doll wobbled for a moment, then fell straight down in front of him.

Seeing this, Xia Xingchi rushed forward to catch him, but found that he had also become smaller in the dream.

What’s more, even in the dream, Li Chengyuan was very strong, indifferent, and unfriendly.

Even though his consciousness was muddled and he was about to pass out, he still ordered with a young, beautiful face: “Go away.”

As soon as he finished speaking, before the Xia Xingchi in the dream could react, he began to cough painfully without stopping.

Xia Xingchi’s eyes widened upon seeing that his pale lips were smeared with glaringly bright red blood, never having expected that he was so seriously ill.

But before he could do anything, the sudden shock traveled over from the dream.

The sky was getting brighter now, and Xia Xingchi found himself hugging his “idiot ex-employer” with his hands and feet, so he quickly and silently climbed off of him.

It was clearly extra embarrassing to be so intimate after a fight.

After thinking about it, he couldn’t help recalling how the dream had been so real. He stared at Li Chengyuan’s sleeping appearance for a while, making sure that he wouldn’t suddenly get sick and cough up blood like in the dream.

Just as he was lost in thought, he saw Li Chengyuan move. Then he subconsciously took Xia Xingchi, who had slipped away just now, back into his arms and hugged him again.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback and quickly reached out to push him, thinking, this person has the habit of hugging the pillow when he sleeps?

But maybe because this warm embrace was so comfortable, he raised his hand but didn’t touch him in the end, and just let himself bury his head in Li Chengyuan’s arms, falling asleep again in a daze.

Little did he know that Li Chengyuan had woken up some time ago and was watching him with his eyes open. After a while, he raised his hand and gently touched his disheveled head.

– – –

Xia Xingchi woke up after going back to sleep, and as he stared dazedly at the primitive ceiling that was worn down to slag, he reached out to find that there was no one next to him. Even the bed was cool.

Thinking of the dispute and showdown when they clarified things the night before, it was not unimaginable for Li Chengyuan to directly leave.

It was no wonder that the boss as precious as gold and jade could come here to accompany the little stand-in to endure hardships. Li Chengyuan must have regretted it to death that he had exposed his identity after misidentifying a cannon fodder passer-by. Now people all over the country knew what the male god who had always kept a low profile looked like.

Xia Xingchi sighed. Seeing that no one was urging him to get up for the time being, he took out his phone from under the pillow and checked Weibo casually, wanting to see how yesterday’s show had been received.

At the same time, he would see if he was really dragged into the water and included as a suspect for Li Chengyuan’s other half.

He opened the hot search list and #Li Chengyuan’s lover suspected to be exposed# suddenly came into view.

Xia Xingchi was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He rushed to tremblingly click it.

The internet in the remote backcountry mountain village was rather poor, and his heart beat wildly as the results loaded with difficulty.

Various thoughts flashed through Xia Xingchi’s mind, but the most common one was, “God! What a big loss!”

If he had a monthly salary of one million, and on the basis of having the money and ability to handle public relations well without affecting his income as an artist, he could still consider meeting his employer’s demand for an official announcement.

But now that he had no money and no job, the love affair still had to be exposed?

Xia Xingchi poked at the gray-white loading screen, and had to suspect that it was because he called Li Chengyuan an idiot last night, and he was deliberately taking revenge.

Otherwise, without human intervention, how could this entry suddenly rise to such a high position?

Just as he was thinking this, the picture finally loaded successfully, and Xia Xingchi quickly clicked on it  —

Only to find that the one in the picture was not him!

Although it was a blurry candid shot, it would still be easy for him to recognize himself.

In the photo was a person who was about the same size as him, arm in arm with the tall man beside him and leaning intimately into him.

The image quality was a bit blurry, and only half of the man’s side profile could be seen, but even Xia Xingchi really thought it looked like Li Chengyuan.

He was stunned. Didn’t this bastard only have the White Moonlight on his mind? How could he let other people stick to him like this?

[Damn! So President Li’s lover is really a boy? I didn’t believe that revelation at first]

[Which one? Which one? To be able to tell the gender so accurately, it seems this person knows something, ah. Why else did this guy get so much attention?]

[They also said that the other party was a young master from a rich family, and that he was not a lover, but a fiance, the kind that is about to get married]

[Ahhh! I found out yesterday that Mr. Li was wearing a ring on his middle finger. At that time, the hand of the male god was so beautiful, so this is an engagement ring?!]

[This divinator who broke the news hit a strike, ah. The gender is male, and they are fiances……If they deduced this much, then ‘young master of a rich family’ must be true]

[In this reality show, there is only one young master from a rich family, so the situation is quite clear. It must be Xia Yu]

[Yeah yeah yeah! I knew it was Xia Yu ! ! ! Those who said our family shipped too hard, you’ve been proven wrong ~ Dying of laughter ~ Mr. Li and Xiao Yu are real!]

Seeing this, Xia Yu couldn’t help but frown and go back to look at the photo……it seemed that the person really was Xia Yu.

If it was Li Chengyuan’s real White Moonlight, that would be fine, but if the other party was Xia Yu, Li Chengyuan would have to have lost his mind to let him stick to him like this.

Yesterday he had told him to go away in disgust. How could he suddenly fall in love with him today and take pictures with him on the spot?

Although Xia Xingchi suspected that the man might not be Li Chengyuan, the melon-eating people from all walks of life obviously didn’t know the inside story.

So he could only watch helplessly as he was directly dragged into the water for no reason. Yesterday’s live broadcast became very outrageous under the malicious guidance and editing of the water armies.

[So President Li and Xia Yu are really a couple? So what were Xia Xingchi’s fans doing yesterday? Is this a slap in the face?]

[God, why is Xia Xingchi so shameless? What did he do next when the young couple went out to gather goose eggs? He deliberately waited for Mr. Li to protect him, and scolded Xia Yu angrily. What a self-righteous boy mistress]

[Damn, how did he have the face to sleep with Li Chengyuan last night? The couple was trying to avoid suspicion, Xia Xingchi is a psycho, right?]

[You’re the psychos! You didn’t watch the original broadcast, you only watched the clips and comment blindly? It didn’t happen that way at all!]

[The task of gathering goose eggs was assigned by Xia Yu. Li Chengyuan took the initiative to help in the kitchen, and said “Xia Xingchi, you come sleep with me.” I hope everyone knows (soybean sweating.jpg)]

[Really, really? It’s none of Xia Xingchi’s business, and you want to say that Li Chengyuan took the initiative? Don’t even look at Mr. Li’s worth, and Xia Yu is rich, self-restrained, and popular. What is your idol?]

. . . . . .

Xia Xingchi frowned. This situation was even scarier than the position of “Mrs. Li” being exposed and being eaten alive by Li Chengyuan’s fans. Now it had directly become a mistress script.

With a mistress like himself around, the firepower of Mr. Li’s crazy girlfriend fans was not entirely directed at Xia Yu, the “first wife,” and a considerable part of it was directed at him.

Xia Xingchi took a deep breath. Sure enough, he had underestimated the disgusting character of the vicious protagonist who must retaliate.

Xia Yu was embarrassed and ashamed yesterday, so he came back with a vengeance.

The instigator of this business must be Xia Yu. Anyway, the heat was not in vain. Even if he was unmasked in the end, since he himself had never taken part, it was no big loss.

He would still be a pristine white lotus, innocent and misunderstood, and would perhaps be seen as a lovely and pitiful victim.

But when he thought about it carefully, Xia Xingchi still felt that something was off.

Although Xia Yu was an idiot, he had a powerful “Military Advisor” manager. The last black hot search was obviously because he jumped the gun in a hurry to avoid Feng Yingxu and overturned the car in the end.

So what happened this time? Feng Yingxu actually let him be so stupid and ridiculous just to retaliate? Or was there a bigger conspiracy?

Xia Xingchi took a few glances at the overwhelming insults in the comment area. Obviously, they were more horrible and damaging than last time.

“Mistress” was already pretty much violating the bottom line of morality. In addition, there were the new and old grudges with Xia Yu’s fans, and Li Chengyuan’s powerful fans also joined the battle.

Greetings to the 18 generations of ancestors abounded. They could criticize him from head to toe, make all sorts of bad cuts devoid of context, and photoshop pictures……

Xia Xingchi frowned, and closed Weibo without giving it a second glance.

Li Chengyuan had still regarded him as his White Moonlight the last time he was on a black hot search. At that time, he gave him clothes and peeled crabs for him, removed the hot searches, and helped him strike back.

Now even if he was cursed at by the entire internet, he could only endure it. After all, he didn’t have a public relations team, and he wouldn’t get help from the management company.

With this in mind, Xia Xingchi turned his head and once again glanced at the empty pillow. The sour feeling not only failed to disappear with Li Chengyuan’s departure, but instead, it intensified.

It was likely that he would never see that person again in the future. This might be the fate of the innate cannon fodder. He had thought that life would change after his death, instead of suffering from poverty and being bullied by others.

In fact, he still had no relatives or friends, and that hard-won protection and care was just due to the ridiculous and embarrassing mistake of being recognized as the wrong person. Li Chengyuan might also feel embarrassed, and not spare this stranger a glance in the future.

The sourness and grievance was getting stronger and stronger.

Under his optimistic appearance, the difficulties and hardships, resentment and grievances accumulated for more than twenty years were like a silent volcano, and it seemed to finally be set off by this last straw.

Xia Xingchi’s eyes became hot, and then tears blurred his vision.

— Damn, how shameful.

It was only being cursed at by various anti-fans and losing an inconsequential gold master boss. This was nothing but drizzle compared to his previous life, so what was there to cry about?

With this in mind, Xia Xingchi quickly got under the covers and wrapped himself up tightly.

But he didn’t expect that the bedding would be covered in the familiar light fragrance of Li Chengyuan’s body. So the unreasonable sourness in his heart became stronger, and he couldn’t stop crying even if he wanted to.

There were footsteps at the door at this moment, and then someone pushed the door open and entered.

Xia Xingchi was desperately fighting against the flood of unstoppable tears, trying to stem the flow to no avail, and didn’t hear these movements at all.

Therefore, he was unprepared when the covers were suddenly lifted off, and he happened to be gritting his teeth and silently wiping his tears.

Li Chengyuan was taken aback for a moment. He obviously didn’t foresee that when he went out to make a phone call to take care of the Weibo hot searches and take a shower to wash up, Xia Xingchi would hide alone in bed and silently cry.

Xia Xingchi hurried to wipe away the tears on his face. With blurred vision, he tried to see clearly who was so hateful to enter his room without permission and lift his blanket.

The two stared at each other, and Li Chengyuan’s normally calm face revealed a somewhat bewildered expression. It was obviously his first time seeing him cry, and he didn’t know what to do for a second.

Xia Xingchi had come to his senses, and it was really embarrassing to be caught crying in secret.

He instantly flushed and snarled: “Li Chengyuan, what the hell are you doing! You —”

Before he finished speaking, Li Chengyuan quickly and skillfully re-wrapped him into a small rice ball with the blanket, making a quick fix as if nothing had happened.

After a while, he patted him on the head again and relaxed his voice as much as possible to ask: “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying! There’s an eyelash in my eye!”

Xia Xingchi roared sullenly through the blanket as he struggled to expose his head: “You haven’t left already? Boss, you have already been fired by me!”

Li Chengyuan saw that his eyes were red from crying, looking like a rabbit’s against his fair skin. He couldn’t help but be distressed and feel that it was a bit laughable.

“You thought I left……so you felt sad and cried?”

“Bullshit, I ordered you to go last night,” Xia Xingchi replied forcefully, trying to save some face.

Besides, it wasn’t all for him in the first place. Maybe it was because of the group of brain-dead fans who personally attacked him? 

But this big villain may actually have magical powers. Seeing him sitting here now, even though he knew that he would no longer be protected as his White Moonlight, Xia Xingchi felt inexplicably at ease.

“En, you let me go. You fired me.”

There seemed to be a bit of a smile in Li Chengyuan’s tone as he looked down at him mildly and asked: “Then can I pay double the price to get back to work?”

---

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Chapter Twenty-Six << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Eight

As soon as he voiced this doubtful question free of politeness, everyone immediately froze in place.

Evidently, no one expected that a little low-tier artist with no background would dare to speak to Mr. Li with such an attitude.

And it sounded suspiciously like he was accusing Mr. Li of pretending?

The scene froze, and everyone thought that this was the courage of “acting recklessly and without scruples,” and ruining his stardom by the minute.

Unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan was actually not as sullen as everyone predicted, and just maintained his cold face for a long time without saying a word – it seemed that there was some faint embarrassment and bewilderment.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the film team hurried up to mediate, fearing that the two would quarrel on the spot in front of the cameras. Then what was originally a life experience show would become a couples mediation segment.

“Ai, that’s right!” The assistant director bit the bullet and stepped forward to ease the atmosphere. “Mr. Li, think again, Xingchi is hinting that you should use psychological suggestion……maybe if you think about it, you’ll feel better! Right!”

Everyone: ?

It didn’t do anything to adjust the atmosphere, and the strange scene froze even further, which made the assistant director so embarrassed that he immediately wanted to fidget with anxiety on the spot.

Fortunately, Xia Xingchi realized that he was still in front of the cameras, and just now he had opened his mouth in a fit of anger and lifted half his disguise.

He promptly deescalated. His eyes still stared at Li Chengyuan, but his mouth said: “Yes, that’s what I meant. Mr. Li, think again?”

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips slightly, and there was a faint burning sensation on his ears. He naturally knew that this was just smoothing things over – but how did Xia Xingchi know that he wasn’t faint?

Or did the little liar recognize him and remember the previous incident?

[Fuck, Xia Xingchi’s words really scared me, how dare he]

[Help, Xingchi, what’s wrong with you, don’t mess with the boss! Wu wu wu I don’t want my baby to be shunned!]

[No, ah, why do I think that Li Chengyuan is a little afraid of Xia Xingchi? His expression was obviously stunned just now]

[Isn’t this comical? Why don’t you say that the earth is bigger than the sun?]

[It’s real! I also think so! As soon as Xia Yu approached, Boss Li impatiently told him to leave, but Xia Xingchi questioned him with this attitude and he just didn’t speak?]

[Knock it, knock it! I just said they had something between them! Hahahaha I didn’t expect Xingchi to be the one who has the final say in the family!]

[I don’t believe it. Please, President Li, what is all of this?]

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips, and after a while, gave a faint “En,” accepting the way out that the film team tremblingly handed the two.

The film team immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had accepted Mr. Li’s suggestion to help expose the relationship between the two during the reality show, it would be too scary if the official announcement was made in the form of a quarrel.

Mr. Li’s little fiance was a prickly head at first glance, and dared to offend anyone with his hair-trigger temper after being annoyed.

Xia Xingchi was stained with iodophor, and really wanted to press the wound on the back of Li Chengyuan’s hand in revenge for his deceitful behavior, but in the end he still couldn’t bear it.

Finally, he just bumped Li Chengyuan’s leg with his knee to express his anger. After applying the medicine and treating the wound, he quickly got up and left to continue washing.

Among the six people, none of them knew how to cook, so this heavy responsibility fell on the jack-of-all-trades Xia Xingchi.

Everyone looked over eagerly, and Xia Xingchi didn’t evade, rolling up his sleeves and saying straightforwardly: “Somebody come and help me start the fire in the kitchen, and the rest will do the washing up later, ba.”

After the few people gradually got to know each other, the atmosphere became lively, and they immediately rushed to help the cook.

As soon as Li Xiu put down the egg that hadn’t hatched after waiting for a long time, he raised his hand enthusiastically and then saw a figure stand up from the corner of his eye.

Li Chengyuan got up and rolled up his sleeves: “I’ll do it.”

“Ah?” Xia Xingchi didn’t expect him to come forward like this, and quickly said, “No, don’t……”

The closer he was to Li Chengyuan, the easier it was to have an accident. Not to mention that “actively accompanying him to cook” was itself a very ambiguous topic, which greatly increased the suspicion.

Li Chengyuan raised his finger and pointed at his own right hand: “I can’t wash the dishes.”

He spoke with conviction, but after hearing this, Xia Xingchi just wanted to yell at him:

Then you can do nothing, ah! Who asked the gold master to do something?!

But now he dared not call him out anymore. The more he engaged him, the more suspicious he would appear, so Xia Xingchi could only plaster on a service industry smile and say: “Mr. Li, you should rest. In fact, I can do this myself.”

Before he finished speaking, Li Chengyuan strode into the kitchen assertively and not to be questioned.

Everyone wore doubtful expressions. They didn’t understand why he insisted on working, but didn’t dare to fight him for it in any case.

Li Xiu slowly put down his raised hand and held the egg silently again without speaking. There was suddenly a huge guess in his heart.

Xia Xingchi: “…….”

[Shocked! Ahhhh I have a bold idea!]

[I have one too, I have one too! Who would have thought that the hidden treasure is actually my Xingchi baby]

[Ah, this? Things haven’t even begun to take shape, isn’t it normal to help the chef cook?]

[Yes, ah, Mr. Li is right. His hand is injured, so he can’t wash the dishes. Isn’t it appropriate for him to help the cook now?]

[The logic is sound, but I still wonder what’s going on (just a passerby checking the pot)]

[There can’t be anything between them! No hookup, no hookup!]

[Yes, ah! If you don’t believe me, take a look at the camera in the kitchen, the two are nothing at all!]

Unexpectedly, the fans that were still repeating “nothing” received a slap to the face very quickly —

The camera in the kitchen abruptly went black. It was evident that the power supply was cut off, as even sound didn’t come through.

As soon as Xia Xingchi entered the kitchen, he turned around and saw Li Chengyuan casually unplugging the camera

“You……?”

After being at a loss, Xia Xingchi suddenly became furious. Was this person afraid that everyone didn’t know what was going on between them?

Trying to hide it by unplugging the camera made it even more conspicuous, and when the screen went black, everyone would come to their own conclusions.

The bottom line of his patience had been brushed by the big villain’s various antics, and Xia Xingchi shut the kitchen door with force.

He wished he could take advantage of the lack of monitoring to beat him to death with three punches and jump ahead to inherit his fortune.

It had already come to this point, and Xia Xingchi did away with the pretensions. Now that there was no camera, Xia Xingchi no longer had to pretend he didn’t know him, so he turned hostile straightaway and asked:

“What on earth are you trying to do, ah! Not discussing this matter first, are you trying to scare me to death?”

It was so different from the original score. The big villain just wanted to find a substitute to show his affection for his White Moonlight, but Xia Xingchi’s job also included acting as a substitute in front of the whole population of the country?

“Must I report to you in advance before “experiencing life?” Li Chengyuan calmly replied, looking down at him condescendingly.

This sentence was a bit familiar. Xia Xingchi remembered that he had said the same thing when “running away from home”……so this person had held a grudge for so long?

He took a deep breath and felt that he really couldn’t stop himself from beating up the boss. He really couldn’t figure out what was wrong with this person, that he wanted to force his hand and officially encourage speculation about cp.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help but start to mentally replay the audio from that interview. That slightly smiling voice was the complete opposite of its usual indifference, obviously only for the sake of one sweetheart.

The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t calm down. Feeling agitated, he wanted to quickly plug in the camera and make Li Chengyuan leave, but suddenly heard this person’s subtle tone of voice as he asked without haste: 

“Xia Xingchi, are you jealous of ‘him’?”

It appeared to be a question, but the end was so flat that it seemed to be an affirmative sentence.

“……Nonsense! Of course not!”

This sentence was like a series of sparks, and the little firecracker that was ready to explode was ignited!

Xia Xingchi was furious from embarrassment, and couldn’t help but raise a hand to punch Li Chengyuan.

Although he had often committed the “atrocity” of beating lecherous customers in the past, even his clothes being lifted up and his waist being touched never made him as upset as he was now.

But contrary to expectations, he couldn’t find a reason for his anger and was subconsciously reluctant to hit him hard. Rather than punch him, it was more accurate to say that he pushed him with his fist.

Incidentally, Li Chengyuan didn’t avoid it, and happened to get punched in the chest. Then he took half a step backwards, bumping his back against the rough and crumbling wooden door, and there was a loud creaking sound.

“Cough cough……” Li Chengyuan held his chest with one hand, and then began to cough in discomfort.

Xia Xingchi was taken aback. He had never seen someone use an injury to gain the advantage like this. He had definitely held back his strength, so how could this person be so weak, as if he wasn’t full of strength just before?

But seeing that Li Chengyuan’s lips were actually turning pale, believe it or not, he was still going to be deceived as the other cried wolf yet again. Xia Xingchi had no choice but to assume it was real at first, and hurriedly went to help him.

“You, you stop pretending, ah.”

He regretted it the second he made the move. Even if it was just a little push, this was his family’s own delicate and frail big cat, an untouchable glass-like breed.

Li Chengyuan covered his lips and coughed with his head down. His chest felt a little cramped, probably because his fluctuating emotions made his heart feel uncomfortable.

The question of “jealousy” just now was not intended to annoy Xia Xingchi, but to test whether he remembered the past and had already recognized him.

Otherwise, how on earth did he know for sure that he didn’t feel faint?

The result was disappointing, but despite that disappointment, Xia Xingchi did actually seem a little jealous.

This discovery at once gave Li Chengyuan a hint of secret ecstasy, and for a moment, he wanted his heart to be tugged up and down by someone any number of times.

But this “performance” was also a little exaggerated, 70% true and 30% false.

Because Xia Xingchi was poked by the matter of “jealousy,” he was clearly very angry, and Li Chengyuan didn’t know if he could calm him down if he didn’t act.

He had found himself doing this before, time and time again.

The movement from the kitchen was moderate, and the people outside the door could faintly hear the two arguing, but they couldn’t hear the content of their quarrel.

That someone could argue with Boss Li was amazing enough, and by the sound of it, Xia Xingchi had the upper hand, as Li Chengyuan hardly spoke.

Fortunately, only those on the scene could hear anything from this distance. The live broadcast equipment didn’t receive a sound, and netizens were unaware of this disharmony.

An Jing turned her head to listen, and couldn’t help but look at Han Yuanhe. After sharing a tacit glance, they clearly came to an incredible and shocking answer as to Xia Xingchi’s identity.

Shortly after, they heard Xia Xingchi’s snarl and a bang as something hit the other side of the door, followed by Li Chengyuan’s coughing —

Shocking, when there was domestic violence between this couple, it was actually Xia Xingchi who took one-sided action?

A group of people had discovered a whole new world. They exchanged glances of shock and were quite happy to eat melons.

Only Xia Yu had been left alone and ignored since just now, and couldn’t be happy at all. He just gritted his teeth with resentment that he couldn’t show on the outside.

– – –

Xia Xingchi cooked very quickly, and plates of stir-fried vegetables and stews were served one after another. The barrage immediately exclaimed:

[Wow, wow! These dishes look too delicious! Xingchi is so powerful, this is proof he’s a jack of all trades]

[Wu wu wu I really want to eat it too. As expected of a foodie brother, anyone who knows how to eat knows how to cook!]

[Speaking of which, during the time when their screen was black just now……hehehehe (dog head.jpg)]

[Hehe what? The film team already explained that the equipment lost power. This kind of old-fashioned house has few electrical sockets, and it’s normal that it wouldn’t be fully charged]

[I don’t believe it. It’s such a coincidence that the power was cut off immediately after they entered the door, and Li Chengyuan happened to be standing in front of the equipment at that time?]

[Stop guessing, stop guessing, hurry up and eat! Bah, hurry up and watch them eat!]

“This seems to be the most precious meal I’ve ever eaten,” Li Xiu sighed with emotion.

The meal cooked by the boss and his wife was completely analogous to eating the meal cooked by the emperor and empress themselves.

Xia Xingchi calmly placed a few light dishes in front of Li Chengyuan.

This was specially made for him, in hopes of soothing the injured cat’s heart.

After all, who would have thought that just pushing him could make him “miserable” to the point of chest pain?

Although it wasn’t serious and there was no need to take medicine, it still made Xia Xingchi completely afraid to provoke this glass-hearted person, and he didn’t care about drinking vinegar for the time being.

As soon as they finished their meal and put down their chopsticks, they heard the director tap the microphone to test the sound, as if they had an announcement to make.

Xia Xingchi tilted his head, thinking that today was just a warm-up, so there should be no tasks, right?

He guessed that nothing good would happen, and heard him say:

“I have some bad news to tell you —”

“Due to special circumstances, the rooms we have prepared are two less than the number of people, so two of you will need to share a bed with others temporarily.”

Han Yuanhe breathed a sigh of relief:

“That’s all, ah, it will be warm to sleep together in this cold weather. The director scared me to death when he paused, I thought there was another surprise mission.”

For example, in the last season, people were pulled out of bed to pick corn in the middle of the night, and all the contestants were so sleepy that they almost passed out hanging on the corn stalks.

Of course, because this bad idea didn’t take into account whether there were any viewers watching the live broadcast in the middle of the night, and whether the listlessness of the contestants the next day would affect the show, the final response was mediocre.

Learning from the past, this season should not be so twisted and inhumane.

“Yes, ah, it’s very simple to share a bed, and it’s warm,” Li Xiu followed with a sigh of relief.

Xia Xingchi couldn’t help feeling doubtful, and wondered what kind of conspiracy this was.

Although he knew that the reason for the lack of two rooms was likely due to his and Li Chengyuan’s successive appearances from nowhere, logically speaking, it shouldn’t be too difficult to prepare another residence, right?

There were six people and four rooms. First of all, An Jing must not be with a male artist, and even her boyfriend Han Yuanhe was not suitable. The two were not married, after all, so they should be more conservative in front of passers-by looking to find fault.

Then, Li Chengyuan, who was as precious as gold and jade, should also be assigned to a separate room —

As soon as Xia Xingchi had this thought in mind, he saw Li Chengyuan raise his eyes and look over. The expression in his eyes that seemed to be a false smile clearly revealed his intentions.

Xia Xingchi: …….

Save me, ah, please don’t come over here, okay?

No wonder he didn’t agree when he said, “we won’t sleep together now, we’ll make it up later,” a few days ago. He was actually waiting here.

However, they had been sleeping together during this time, and Xia Xingchi was indeed a little used to this warm humanoid pillow.

Sometimes when he woke up in the middle of the night and found himself clinging to Li Chengyuan, he would quickly slip away from him in shock.

But he became bolder after a while, semi-consciously rubbing his head against him as he continued to hug him to sleep. In the end, he was never caught and beaten.

And he didn’t know if it was due to sleeping together, but in any case, Xia Xingchi never saw Li Chengyuan taking sleeping pills before going to bed again.

Although there were many benefits……it was in front of the camera, after all, ah!

[I bet a dime that Boss Li will sleep with Xiao Yu! They must be the real thing!]

[Laughing to death, then he’ll kick him onto the ground in the middle of the night and say “Get lost.” (Li-style Get Lost.gif)]

[Why is your family so stubborn? With it like this, can there still be friendly communication? Can’t you see how much Li Chenguan loathes Xia Yu?]

[You don’t know shit, this must be to avoid suspicion! The more real they are, the more they have to avoid suspicion]

Xia Yu’s fans were trying hard, then heard Li Chengyuan say indifferently under Xia Xingchi’s murderous gaze: “Xia Xingchi, come share a room with me.”

Xia Xingchi: “…….”

Although he had expected this result for some time, he had never been speechless and wanted to hit someone so many times in one day.

[ ! ! ! ! ]

[There’s definitely something going on between these two! Gathering goose eggs, cooking together, and sleeping together?]

[OMG! OMG! Mr. Li took the initiative to extend the invitation to sleep! The boss said “Come to bed with me ♂” Hehehe]

[Knock it, knock it, I’m starting to suspect that they’re actually a couple]

[Han Yuanhe is also sleeping with Li Xiu, ah, what’s the big deal? It’s just sharing a bed, what’s so exciting about it?]

[But Mr. Li took the initiative to share the bed with someone! The gold master has the right to sleep by himself, of course, but he chose to sleep with Xingchi!]

[Isn’t this showing his affection for Xia Yu? This way, Xia Yu can sleep comfortably by himself! He sacrificed himself to let Xiao Yu sleep well!]

[ ? ? ? What logic is this? Are Xia Yu’s fans all psychos?]

[Hello, I am a plum wholesaler, ready to send plums to Xia Yu’s fans. Issuing query: Are you OK? You close your eyes and ship blindly?]

. . . . . .

Fans from all sides were still in the midst of a melee. The cp fans and the fans of each idol were in a mess, insisting on their own opinions even after hours of debate.

Xia Xingchi lay down hugging his pillow, ready to file his teeth and bite Li Chengyuan to death.

This person performed all kinds of tricks in one day, and it was as if he had been grabbed by the back of the neck and lifted out of his safe and secure den. He couldn’t resist no matter how hard he struggled.

The weather was extremely cold in late autumn, and there was no heating here.

During this time, Xia Xingchi had stayed comfortably in Li Chengyuan’s “greenhouse,” and became accustomed to the temperature control system that worked at all times.

It was presently very cold after taking a shower, so he could only shrink into the covers and shiver, hoping that a certain person would come back from washing up and hug him to keep warm.

Because Li Chengyuan was so fussy about cleanliness, the room was thoroughly cleaned and thicker bedding was laid.

Although it wasn’t as good as the big bed at home, they were luckier than the other contestants.The only downside was that the hard kang bed was a bit narrow, and it may not be easy to keep a distance with two people sleeping together on it.

When Li Chengyuan dried his hair and opened the door to come in, he saw Xia Xingchi emerging from the nest like a mushroom, watching him silently with wide eyes as he maintained a state of cold war.

Li Chengyuan: “Are you waiting for me?”

“Who cares to wait for you.”

After speaking, Xia Xingchi shivered and quickly covered himself with the bedding, rolling to face away from him.

After the lights were turned off, the night was extremely dark. There were no street lights outside the curtains, only blackness.

In the dark and quiet, the minutes and seconds passed.

Xia Xingchi shrank into a ball from the cold and couldn’t fall asleep on the chilly kang. His mind wandered, and it was as if he had returned to the times when he was hungry and cold.

When he was so poor that he couldn’t bear to pay the heating bill, and had no money to buy thicker bedding, he just curled up under the blanket and shivered……but it was different now, and there was a large heated pillow next to him.

Although Li Chengyuan’s body temperature was slightly lower than that of ordinary people, it was still warm, after all. Xia Xingchi stared at him in the dark without moving, planning to stick to him for warmth after he fell asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Chengyuan remained motionless, and his breathing was very even. Xia Xingchi assumed that he had fallen asleep.

Thus, he moved over slowly bit by bit, and carefully tucked himself into his arms. He tried to retract his head into the blanket and place it against Li Chengyuan’s chest, so that he would be completely surrounded by the warm pillow. However, the arm lying in front of him was somewhat in the way. Xia Xingchi cautiously grasped the sleeve of his pajamas, trying to pick it up himself and get inside.

Li Chengyuan opened his eyes and watched Xia Xingchi’s clumsy adjustments for a long time, but he still couldn’t get it right, and he couldn’t bear it anymore.

He simply hugged the person in his arms and achieved the position he wanted in order to block the air and keep warm: “Cold?”

Xia Xingchi was startled by the sudden talking from the humanoid pillow. This person was actually awake!

It was not good to use his own boss to block the wind, so he hastened to put on a show of respect: “I, I thought sticking together would be warmer……I was afraid you would freeze!”

“Good. I’m afraid of the cold.” Li Chengyuan’s voice was a little hoarse and a little languid.

Maybe he had fallen asleep and was awoken by his behavior just now.

Xia Xingchi felt a little sorry when he thought about this. It was too sinful and regretful to wake someone up when they didn’t sleep well.

Li Chengyuan held the back of his neck, not annoyed. He only ordered: “Hurry and sleep.”

The less angry he was, the more guilty Xia Xingchi couldn’t help feeling.

He wondered if the other forgave him because he wasn’t irritable upon waking up – or if for his White Moonlight’s sake, he forgave the double who looked like him?

Thinking about this topic that had not only made him angry from embarrassment during the day, but had also nearly caused him to beat up his benefactor, the word “jealous” inadvertently came to Xia Xingchi’s mind. He quickly tossed it away without acknowledgement.

The atmosphere between the two was silent for a long time. He knew that Li Chengyuan wasn’t asleep yet, and with his ear pressed against his warm chest, he could hear a slightly faster heartbeat than usual. This was obviously not like a person sleeping, but rather like this person was thinking about something.

“Li Chengyuan.” Xia Xingchi dithered for a long time, and finally tried to remove the sourness from his voice as he asked jokingly, “Where did your White Moonlight go, ah?”

Normal dog-blood plots were written like this, and the White Moonlight would always suddenly appear from abroad or wherever.

Then Li Chengyuan would “fire” him. He would no longer pay him, stop retaliating against others for him, and would no longer hug him to keep warm.

But after asking this question, Xia Xinghci regretted it. Not to mention that it seemed a bit embarrassing, maybe Li Chengyuan didn’t want to answer this sad question.

Most importantly, he suddenly remembered that……the plot should not develop like this?

After all, Li Chengyuan was about to die, so it was obvious that the villain script should be followed first —

Just as he was thinking, Li Chengyuan continued to hold him in his arms in the darkness and calmly replied:

“Xia Xingchi, what if I said that the person I’ve been looking for is you?”

---

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Chapter Twenty-Five << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Seven

The government office was brightly lit and noisy, which alerted people all around, and they all ran to the gate to watch the excitement.

Magistrate Yin donned his official uniform and ran to the lobby in a panic. Seeing the wounded assassins lying on the ground, his legs were so weak with fright that they went limp. Pretending to be calm, he looked at Yan Mingting, who was standing in the hall: “General Yan, who are these? 

“Magistrate Yin, don’t play stupid now,” Yan Mingting said sternly.

“This official doesn’t understand what General Yan means.”

“Of course you understand. We’ll just wait here for the Imperial Envoy to handle the case.” Yan Mingting sat down on the chair next to him and watched him intently, as if staring at prey.

Magistrate Yin dripped with cold sweat and looked down at the assassin on the ground, still alive and moaning in pain. He had a feeling that something was wrong, and his palms began to sweat.

Clearly, Yan Mingting and “Zhao Yelan’s” relationship wasn’t good, so why did he rush to save the other in time?

“Lord Imperial Envoy, you……” Magistrate Yin walked to the other side with heavy steps, looked at the silent Gao Tan, and made a pretense of concern, “Why is there blood all over your body? Who did it? Was it these people? I’ll put them in prison now!”

“Wait a moment.”

There was a sudden clear voice at the door. Magistrate Yin looked over and saw the two young masters from the capital walking in with Yin Pinglu.

Yan Mingting immediately rose to meet them, and began to converse with their leader.

Magistrate Yin clenched his fists. When matters reached such a point, either the fish would die or the net would split. To temporarily distract the Imperial Envoy, he raised his voice: “Zhao-daren, I want to expose to you the fact that General Yan had an affair with someone!”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent and collectively looked at him.

“Zhao-daren, there is something you don’t know. During your absence in Huaizhou, General Yan and this Fu-gongzi expressed affection to each other, colluding in secret. This official saw it with his own eyes! Even at this moment, my lord, you were almost killed, but the General’s primary concern is that gongzi! I’m really looking out for you, my lord!” Magistrate Yin’s words were sincere and his tone was animated, as if he really felt sorry for Zhao-daren.

But after he finished speaking, the person in front of him just looked at him indifferently, then took a step to the side, and another step……

Magistrate Yin watched helplessly as he moved step by step to stand behind the young master, and then handed over the token of the Imperial Envoy to him.

Magistrate Yin’s eyes went wide and blank.

“Are you finished?” Zhao Yelan took the token, avoided the duo lying on the ground, and walked to the table at the front of the lobby to sit upright and still. “Will you honestly confess your crimes now?”

“You!” Magistrate Yin came to a belated realization and pointed at him with a trembling finger, his legs weakening. “You are……you are Zhao Yelan?!”

Zhao Yelan gave him a cold look and hit the gavel: “Bring Kuang Sheng to the hall.”

Kuang Sheng was escorted in by several soldiers. When he entered the lobby, he was a little surprised to see the person sitting in the main seat, but soon calmed down. Ever since he discovered that the group of people obeyed this person’s orders, he had guessed that he was of high status. He had not, however, expected that he was the real Imperial Envoy.

“Zhao-daren, I want to sue the prefectural magistrate for raping civilian women and colluding with higher authorities!” After Kuang Sheng finished speaking loudly, County Magistrate Wu was brought up by Yu Dali.

“My lord, this person sent people to Kuang Sheng’s house in a futile attempt to silence him, but we captured them alive. The assassins all confessed,” Yu Dali said.

“The criminal has been caught in the act. If you don’t want to be punished, County Magistrate Wu, then obediently sign your confession.”

County Magistrate Wu’s hair was scattered, and he was unbearably humiliated. Glancing at Magistrate Yin, he signed his name.

“Now, who is the person who sent others to murder a court official?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“It was me,” County Magistrate Wu choked out.

“Magistrate Yin is your father-in-law, and he has accepted a lot of bribes from you. Why must you take the blame for him at this time? Do you know that this crime can destroy your family? Is he worth your entire family’s lives? Even if you don’t take your wife into consideration, are you willing to lose your child’s life and cause your Wu family to have no descendents?” Zhao Yelan said.

These words really hit County Magistrate Wu’s weak point. His biggest fear was having no heir. The veins on his forehead throbbed, and he turned to look at Magistrate Yin.

Magistrate Yin knew that the matter was over. His knees softened, and he knelt down on the ground: “My lord, please forgive me, this official was just confused for a moment!”

“You were confused? You were afraid that the Imperial Envoy would find evidence of collusion and bribery between you and other officials. You were just afraid. In addition, you thought that Yan Mingting and I did not have a good relationship, so you planned to murder me and then spread word of Yan Mingting’s affair in order to divert attention and cause confusion,” Zhao Yelan said.

Magistrate Yin knelt on the ground, his hands continuing to tremble.

“Now write down the list of all the officials you secretly bribed, and I can fight for a lighter sentence for you.” Zhao Yelan handed him the brush and paper. Seeing that he was still unwilling to move, he smiled slightly. “These assassins lying here haven’t died yet, but they are living a life worse than death. Write quickly while you are still able to do so, lest you be punished later worse than them.”

He looked back at the two assassins whose hands and feet were still bleeding, and then couldn’t bear to look anymore. He turned back around and quickly signed.

After more than half an hour, Zhao Yelan finally got an indictment, including the list of embezzlers: “Send these two people to Dali Temple immediately.”

“My lord, didn’t you say that you would lighten the punishment?!” Magistrate Yin stared at him in shock.

“I have lightened it, ah, did I touch you?” Zhao Yelan said, “The investigation of this case will of course be left to the people from the Ministry of Justice and Dali Temple. If you want someone to intercede, ask them.”

Magistrate Yin slumped to the ground and was lifted up. When passing through the door, he turned to look at Yin Pinglu.

“I will take good care of my younger siblings,” Yin Pinglu said.

“Pei!” Magistrate Yin spat at her. “You traitorous leech! How did I bring a daughter like you into this world!?”

Yin Pinglu froze in place, staring at him in disbelief.

Yan Mingting was about to step forward, but Zhao Yelan got there first and slapped the man hard: “You don’t know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth,^[1] you old thing. What you have today is purely your own doing.”

“Precisely!” Li Yucheng had been unhappy with this old man for a long time, so he went up and kicked him several times to vent his anger. 

Xiao Gao also took advantage of the opportunity and punched him a few times.

“Take him out.” Zhao Yelan waved his hand.

“Are you okay?” Yan Mingting looked at Yin Pinglu, and she shook her head, quickly wiping her fingertips over the corners of her eyes.

“It’s nothing, I don’t feel any guilt at all now. Do whatever you want, the two of you don’t have to worry about my reputation.”

The Imperial Envoy had the right to try this case locally, and went through so much trouble, probably so that she would not be implicated in it. 

“Sending it to the capital for trial is not just to save face for you, but to make a big show of it so that officials in other places can be more apprehensive and well-behaved.” Zhao Yelan said, “Moreover, there are too many people involved in this, and it is most appropriate to hand it over to the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple.” In order to prevent the Imperial court from suspecting him again.

On the second day, Zhao Yelan interrogated Magistrate Yin and County Magistrate Wu overnight, and the news of a lot of related personnel was spread through the streets and alleys, causing a sensation in the entire Jiangnan area.

Officials from several surrounding prefectures were also involved, and everyone was in danger of being thoroughly investigated.

The common people were all delighted, discussing this major event over dinner and tea. Some felt that it was unthinkable, and there were also those who felt that they deserved death.

In addition, many people knew that the so-called “most beautiful man in the capital” had turned out to be Zhao-daren, and while praising his conduct of punishing corrupt officials, they also praised his good looks.

When Zhao Yelan went out to buy stuffed steamed buns in the morning, he was surrounded by people. Some asked how he would deal with the officials, and some bold women spoke out and declared that they wanted to marry him.

Yan Mingting started to get sour from a long distance away, and pulled him out of the crowd. Holding his hand, he said: “The matter of the officials will be handled by the court, and a new magistrate will arrive soon, so see to your own business and don’t even think about my wife! We have been married, the kind with three matchmakers, six ceremonies, and an eight-carrier sedan chair!”

Everyone was amused by him, and laughed while praising the General for also being very handsome. The two were really a good match!

“Girl, what did you just say?” Yan Mingting asked.

“I said that General Yan and Zhao-daren are really a good match!”

“I didn’t quite hear that.”

“Both General Yan and Zhao-daren are great heroes. General Yan helped us catch the bandits, and Zhao-daren caught corrupt officials for us. You are the perfect match!”

Yan Mingting and everyone else laughed together.

Zhao Yelan glanced helplessly at the proud Yan Mingting.

“Be careful that the Imperial Censor doesn’t accuse you of the crime of inciting the masses.” Back at the inn, Zhao Yelan put down the paper bag in his hand, which contained a few big steamed buns fresh out of the oven.

“Then I’ll give him a good beating. Not thinking about the common people, and hanging onto the words and deeds of officials all day long, he’s really idle.” Yan Mingting sat down beside him heavily.

“Again with your vulgar language.” Zhao Yelan laughed.

Yan Mingting laughed too, saying with emotion: “In my opinion, when comparing Jiangnan to the capital, it’s like heaven and earth. The people here are really sensible.”

There were many officials in the capital, and many different parties and interests. Common people without a keen sense of judgment would follow others’ opinions when they heard about turmoil in the court.

Yan Mingting still remembered the time when he had just returned to court. He heard gossip about Zhao Yelan outside all day and didn’t care much at first, but after getting along with Zhao Yelan for a length of time, it was inevitable that he would be fed up with these voices.

In Jiangnan, these peoples’ first impression of Zhao Yelan was that he was cruel and merciless, but since they were far apart in distance, they didn’t care how cruel he was. Now in their hearts, it was Zhao-daren who was a decisive and resolute person who had captured corrupt officials for the sake of the common people. He was a good official who did practical things for them!

Yan Mingting stood up suddenly, called a few people, and ordered: “You spread what the common people said today in the capital, preferably in other places as well.”

Zhao Yelan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Their mouths can’t be blocked, so why care about others’ opinions?”

“I care, I don’t want to hear them say bad things about you.” Yan Mingting sat back down in a huff.

Zhao Yelan looked sideways with a slight smile in his eyes. He slowly approached his cheek, pinched his earlobe lightly, and whispered: “Then will you listen to my words?”

Yan Mingting had already frozen completely when the other party got close. Now his face was even redder, and he turned his head, wanting to kiss his lips.

But the other party took a light step back and pressed his index finger against his lips.

“Not right now.”

“Why?” Yan Mingting stared blankly.

Because I just ate a steamed bun filled with chives, and the taste is strong.

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows and didn’t give the real reason, but got back to business as usual: “I received an urgent letter from the Imperial court saying that the trial of the governor’s collusion with officials and bandits has been completed, and he has been detained in prison, waiting to be dealt with. The new governor is about to take office.”

“En.” Yan Mingting listened seriously, but his heart itched unbearably when he looked at him. “What else?”

“In addition to County Magistrate Wu, there are several other important officials on their way to the capital. Those other small officials will stay in Jiangnan for investigation. You send people to guard the rest of the people on the list, and wait for the new governor to deal with them in turn. Someone who has just arrived in office must be eager to make some political achievements. This is a great opportunity. I won’t participate, so we can set off for the capital as soon as that person arrives.”

“Going back so soon? Don’t you want to relax for a few more days?”

“The new governor will arrive in a few days, that’s enough time for us to have some fun.”

“All right.” Yan Mingting looked at him with burning eyes. “Is there anything we should do?”

“En, I haven’t bought any Jiangnan silk yet.” Zhao Yelan took his purse and prepared to go downstairs. “I’ve heard that Jiangnan silk is exceptional, so I will go and take a good look.”

Next door, Li Yucheng heard movement and ran out excitedly: “Are you going to look at silk? I can accompany you, ah, I’ll take you to the best silk shop!”

“Let’s go,” Zhao Yelan readily agreed.

Yan Mingting looked at the backs of those briskly departing figures and silently covered his face.

“General, what’s wrong with you?” Yin Pinglu came out to the sight of his melancholy face, then saw the two figures going downstairs. The sound of their discussion about clothing could be heard from here, so she could guess what they were going to do.

“Tell me……is it the clothes or the man that is most important?” Yan Mingting asked.

“This….. If the General is jealous, he can follow suit.” Yin Pinglu smiled and said, “Nothing is more important than being happy, so why make Zhao-daren choose? How about making him a little happier?”

Yan Mingting thought for a moment and suddenly realized: “You’re right. Come on, you come too.”

“What am I going to do?”

“You divert the attention of that brat Li Yucheng and chat with him for a bit so that he doesn’t follow Zhao Yelan around the whole time.”

Yin Pinglu smiled and followed.

The group of people arrived at a silk shop with a large storefront, and Li Yucheng yelled: “Shopkeeper, take out your best silk, these masters have plenty of silver!”

Someone soon took out several materials for them to choose from. Zhao Yelan touched the material. It was as thin as a cicada’s wings, soft and comfortable, and was indeed a good product. As soon as he took out his purse, Yan Mingting pressed it back down.

“I’ll pay the bill.” Yan Mingting was full of pride.

Zhao Yelan raised his eyebrows, picked out one of the beautiful brocade handkerchiefs, and looked at him with a half-smile: “I want this handkerchief too.”

“Buy fifty of them!”

“This garment is pretty good.”

“Buy!”

“This color is unique.”

“Buy, buy, buy!”

The shopkeeper was completely overjoyed, and hurried to pack up the goods.

“The total is one hundred and fifty-eight taels.”

Yan Mingting took out his purse and tossed it over. The shopkeeper happily counted the money, but said awkwardly: “Gongzi, this……is not enough.”

The corners of Yan Mingting’s mouth twitched, and his voice immediately weakened: “How much is it?”

“Forty-three taels.”

Yan Mingting usually didn’t carry much money when he went out. This was really embarrassing. He looked down at the accessories on his body, and just when he touched the jade pendant on his waist, his hand was held down by Zhao Yelan.

“We won’t pay with this,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Isn’t such a thing good?” Yan Mingting whispered to him. “My piece of jade is just an ornament and doesn’t have much use. Just give it to him.”

“You don’t need to give it.” Zhao Yelan called, “Li Yucheng, pay the bill.”

Yan Mingting immediately became unhappy: “Why let him pay?”

“Because this is his uncle’s silk shop, and he still owes me more than nine thousand taels of gold. Isn’t letting him pay such a small amount just a fraction of that?” Zhao Yelan looked back at Li Yucheng. “What do you think?”

Li Yucheng grinned: “Sure enough, I can’t hide it from you, ah. Not only will I give you all these things, but I also want to give you a piece of clothing as long as you promise to wear it for a few days.”

“Only one?” Zhao Yelan asked him.

Li Yucheng came to his senses and said, “Yan Mingting and Miss Yin can have one too!”

In the end, the four of them changed into new clothes in the store, and almost everyone turned their heads to look at them as they walked down the street.

Zhao Yelan finally wore a new fan, and when someone asked where they had bought their clothes, Li Yucheng immediately replied: “The Cheng family silk shop!”

Within half a day, everything in the Cheng family silk shop was wiped out.

After dinner, Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan went for a stroll together. This time, there were finally no other people around.

“There are masks.” Zhao Yelan felt that this was novel. The masks sold here were all in the shape of animals. He took a few glances, picked up the dog-face mask in front of him, and placed it on Yan Mingting’s face.

“……” Yan Mingting put his hand on the mask and was about to remove it, but then saw Zhao Yelan laughing. As if he couldn’t stop, he laughed louder and louder, his eyes curved into half moons. He laughed without any scruples, without melancholy, and without concealment.

Yan Mingting was infected by his laughter, and also couldn’t help but laugh: “Is it so funny?”

Zhao Yelan smiled and nodded, almost unable to stand up straight, and grabbed his arm to borrow his strength. He said: “Take out the money.”

Yan Mingting paid for two, then picked up a cat-face mask and quickly put it on his face, laughing loudly: “So good-looking!”

Zhao Yelan smiled and asked: “What are you talking about?”

“You and your cat face, of course.” Yan Mingting ran away after speaking.

“You’re the one who’s good-looking!” Zhao Yelan automatically chased after him. “You and your dog face are the ones that look good!”

The streets were bustling and full of light, and many people saw two tall men wearing ridiculous masks chasing each other and happily quarreling.

A child was standing on the side of the road licking tanghulu. Seeing this, he said in a babyish voice: “Mother, I don’t play these things anymore. Why are those two still playing, ah? They add up to half a hundred years old, they are so childish.”

---

[1] To not know the “heights of the sky and the depths of the earth” is to be arrogant and conceited. ⮐

---

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Chapter Fifty-Seven <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-Nine

The moment Li Chengyuan appeared, both the guests present and the netizens went silent almost simultaneously.

Evidently, no one could have imagined that a person who was so low-key that he didn’t even post pictures online might show up here without any warning.

This variety show was said to let one “experience life,” but to put it bluntly, this just meant suffering hardships. Everyone was popular and brought in money, so what was the purpose of this kind of high-ranking and pampered rich man?

[Wtf?! This is Li Chengyuan?!]

[Isn’t this the fugitive hero of some comic? This face, these legs, this whole body, is this something that mortals can have?]

[Holy shit, the body proportions are perfect, and his legs are so long. He has to be 1.9 meters, right? It turns out that this is the real high-quality male god]

[I don’t believe it! Everyone hasn’t seen the last season, it involves a lot of hardships. A person with this kind of status is crazy to participate]

[I doubt this is the actual fucking male god. Could this be the emperor’s face double?]

[No no no! Go to the hot search, upstairs! All the photos of Mr. Li at the financial summit were posted! It’s him!]

[Dude, dude, I called it. Then I wonder who Li Chengyuan participated in the show for.]

[+1, for example……is there a lover among these guests?!]

At this time, Xia Xingchi’s mind was filled with tens of thousands of grass mud horses^[1] galloping past. No matter what, he never imagined that Li Chengyuan could be so outrageous that he would make an impulsive decision and immediately appear here.

Up until his death in the book, his fans never knew what he looked like, so he was caught off guard when he showed up and disrupted the original plot.

Xia Xingchi had to try his best to control his expression first, otherwise the Sherlock Holmeses from all walks of life on the screen would notice the clues in minutes.

Seeing that everyone politely called him “Mr. Li,” he promptly pretended not to know him, and said nonchalantly: “Hello, Mr. Li.”

Li Chengyuan glanced at him with an inexplicable smile in his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Xia Xingchi suddenly had a bad feeling, and hoped that the big villain wouldn’t go crazy in front of the cameras.

Fortunately, Li Chengyuan didn’t do anything in the end. Except for the brief smile, he just nodded expressionlessly.

The director spoke at just the right time: “Welcome to the filming of <<Experience Life In Progressive Time>>. In the coming week, we will experience a different kind of life together!”

“So first of all, let’s release some simple small tasks to warm everyone up —”

[Hahaha who is “together” with his director? This bald old man is evil!]

[Let me see how they create difficulties for even the simplest tasks this season]

[According to this experienced old fan, the first day is just a warm-up and will indeed be a little easier]

[Then I’m relieved. Don’t get tire out our Mr. Li! Don’t make things difficult for him! (super loud)]

[Li Chengyuan probably invested money in this show, they dare not embarrass their benefactor]

Regardless of whether it would be difficult the next time, the first task was really not difficult. Xia Yu took the initiative to step forward and take the task card to read it: 

“Gather the necessary ingredients for dinner and cook it on your own.”

“The guests will be divided into three groups to carry out the work of picking vegetables, gathering goose eggs, and making purchases.”

Then, without waiting for anyone to speak, Xia Yu arranged it in a very “gentlemanly” way: “I think that shopping is relatively simple, and isn’t dirty or tiring. It is very suitable for girls, so shall we let An Jing do it?”

Turning to Han Yuanhe and Li Xiu, he spoke again: “So Han-ge and Li-ge will pick vegetables, ba? I feel like this shouldn’t be too much work.”

Li Xiu still held the egg that was about to hatch: “Then you and Xingchi will go to pick up goose eggs? Geese are not like chicken and ducks. It is said that they are very powerful and can guard the home.”

In the end, this was theoretical knowledge that came from a certain text in elementary school. No one had seen with their own eyes whether or not geese were easy to mess with.

Xia Yu sent Xia Xingchi an inexplicable glance and then smiled innocently: “It’s okay, Xingchi-ge must be very experienced, I’ll just count on him!”

Xia Xingchi was inexplicably given a cue. Everything had been forcibly arranged by someone before he could say a word, and he knew that there was another bloody storm in the barrage without even looking at it:

[Anyway, Xia Xingchi came from a remote area, so for him, this is not a new life experience at all, but a return to his roots]

[Our baby Yu is a rich second generation, so he must have never experienced such hardship. The best point of this low-tier artist is that he will do all the work]

[Ah, this, I think they are all human beings, so why does Xingchi have to work so much? Is this a status thing? How great.]

[Do Xia Yu’s fans talk like this? You usually get beaten a lot, right? Morons.]

[Xiao Yu is just telling the truth, and he’s being very friendly. Xia Xingchi just came from a mountain village, isn’t that right? Are you worried?]

Ever since the two of them were on the same frame, the barrage had been full of gunpowder. Xia Yu’s fans were numerous and their fighting power was superb, so things that were obviously unreasonable could also spark off an unreasonable quarrel.

Xia Xingchi was speechless, and wanted to kick Xia Yu. Picking goose eggs was a trivial matter, but the question was, what combination of ghosts and snakes was this?

On one side was the big green tea spirit that induced nausea at first sight, and on the other side was a crazy man who had appeared out of nowhere. He just wanted to shout “Save me, ah, don’t come over here!”

He would rather pick goose eggs by himself and let the two of them cool their heels.

Everyone was unwilling to be at odds with Xia Yu on camera. Although they were a little dissatisfied with these forced arrangements, they still accepted the tasks one after another.

Even Li Chengyuan just stared at Xia Xingchi indifferently for a few seconds, then looked away and nodded slightly in agreement.

Xia Xingchi: …….

It wasn’t only Xia Xingchi who didn’t want to team up with Li Chengyuan. When the tasks were assigned, An Jing was also clearly afraid that everyone would arrange for Li Chengyuan to join her team.

After all, the procurement task was leisurely, and not dirty or tiring, and she happened to be in a group by herself. This group was very suitable for the rich and esteemed businessman to join.

At present, it was suspicious for Li Chengyuan to associate with anyone. With his behavior of appearing out of thin air, fans were almost certain that “Ms. Li” was among the participants.

Although many young artists were chasing popularity just a few days ago, An Jing, for example, already had an official boyfriend, so she didn’t dare take part.

[Xia Yu arranged it so naturally, eh? It’s as if he knew Mr. Li would definitely be in this group]

[En en en? Raising gossip ears!]

[They were saying before that Mr. Li’s other half is a boy, a young master from a rich family]

[Wtf! Could it be that Mr. Li came to this reality show to……]

[Ahhh! Is it really our family’s Xiao Yu?! Xiao Yu is worthy! The wealthy young master is worthy of the boss!]

[If so, Xia Xingchi is redundant here, ah. Those who can’t read the room hinder Xiao Yu from sprinkling sugar]

[Laughing to death, your family really knows how to leech off Li Chengyuan. You cross out Xingchi as superfluous when things haven’t even started to take shape?]

[Are you OK? If you have nothing to do, just eat plums.^[2] Not everyone ships blindly, we don’t speculate on Mr. Li’s love life]

. . . . . .

Twenty minutes later, the odd trio of monsters, ghosts, and snakes reached the border of the goose pen.

Xia Xingchi didn’t dare to say a word to Li Chengyuan, for fear that he would say something crazy and shocking, so he stripped off his “Mrs. Li” vest on the spot.

And he didn’t want to take care of the green tea spirit, lest Xia Yu once again do something immoral to gain popularity.

As for Li Chengyuan, he didn’t talk much, so it was impossible for him to bother to take the initiative to say something to Xia Yu.

For a while, the strange atmosphere felt like a funeral procession, not as lively as the geese squawking at each other.

“Xingchi-ge must be very powerful and experienced.” Xia Yu felt no shame at all, and continued his green tea talk, “This is the first time I’ve seen a goose with my own eyes!”

Xia Xingchi shrugged. It was fine for this guy to repeatedly highlight his wealthy young master character and step on the “bastard” from the mountain valley on the way.

The problem was that he didn’t do any work and let the “experienced” one do it all, but his pay was a whole zero more than his own?

The little money-grubber was considering his reply when Li Chengyuan, who had been silent all along, abruptly said with indifference: “If you have no experience, go see more of the world. Don’t talk nonsense.”

Xia Yu was taken aback, never having thought that Li Chengyuan would speak for Xia Xingchi, and was stunned speechless for a long moment.

[Hahahaha it turns out that the tyrant will also diss people, ah! It’s so satisfying, someone finally dissed that green tea. I can’t wait to give Xia Yu a slap]

[Upstairs is Xia Xingchi’s water army, right? Is this called dissing? This is obviously very sweet, ah!]

[Yeah, he didn’t talk to Xia Xingchi, he just asked Xiao Yu to see more of the countryside. Isn’t this just a normal conversation?]

[My dude, I think Xia Yu’s fans all need to eat plums wholesale, are you okay? Did you receive a knock to the head? You have a problem with your brain?]

[Open your eyes, today he can be counted as going to the moon and leeching off fame. Should my Mr. Li have to endure that green tea?]

Xia Xingchi didn’t expect Li Chengyuan to insult people, and wanted to laugh wildly.

In order to prevent himself from gloating too much, he picked up the basket and decided to go in first so that he could complete the task early and clock out of work early.

But with his hands on the fence, he also felt a little uncertain.

Although Xia Yu had mentioned his “experience,” he had never actually gathered goose eggs. After all, no one hired people to do this, and they wouldn’t make much money.

Such huge geese must be scarier than dogs, and they could also fly up to peck people. Perhaps he would be chased and pecked while stealing their eggs.

But considering the weird atmosphere between the funeral trio, Xia Xingchi took a deep breath and finally opened the gate to enter the enclosure. In any case, the goose pen was livelier, and some geese “talked” to each other.

Everyone thought that Li Chengyuan would watch from the sidelines, but unexpectedly, this pampered boss rolled up his cuffs slightly and then strode in to follow Xia Xingchi.

Although it was scary to snatch eggs from under the noses of geese, the big geese were taking a leisurely stroll at this time and didn’t have a care for the whereabouts of their eggs at all. Only a few were staring vigilantly at the uninvited guests.

Xia Xingchi remained motionless and stared back at the three aggressive geese for a long moment. When he finally confirmed that he wouldn’t be chased and pecked for the time being, he continued to walk slowly.

“Li Chengyuan, I’m going to gather the goose eggs, you go and lure them away, and make a little noise when you get there,” Xia Xingchi said softly.

After speaking, he realized that he was so nervous that he forgot to pretend not to know a certain person, so he quickly added: “Thank you, Mr. Li, please remember to be safe.”

Hearing this, Li Chengyuan gave him a cold half-smile, as if he was a little dissatisfied with the second half of the sentence.

But he turned around and did as he was told, walking a few steps further away and coughing lightly.

As expected, the geese guarding their nest turned their heads when they heard this sound, and Li Chengyuan deliberately took a few steps back, causing them to immediately switch to the fleeing target and move forward.

Xia Xingchi heaved a sigh of relief, and quickly lowered his head to fumble for a goose egg.

The two cooperated tacitly, while Xia Yu was left alone with no one paying attention to him.

[Hahahaha this is the cp you want to force? I think Mr. Li likes Xia Xingchi more]

[Ha. Xia Xingchi is able to do farm work, it’s normal for our little master not to be able to. What are you so proud of?]

[Is this called showing one’s skill before an expert? Mr. Li is a real nobleman with a golden spoon in his mouth, and he’s still working. What can your family be proud of?]

Xia Xingchi was bending over to gather seriously, but suddenly sensed Xia Yu walking over from behind him with light steps.

A bad premonition flashed through his mind, and Xia Xingchi immediately straightened up, turning his head as he said: “Stop! What are you doing?”

“I’ll help you gather them together,” Xia Yu said with an innocent expression. “May I, Xingchi-ge?”

Xia Xingchi let out an “oh,” thinking that maybe he was being too suspicious, and he was only here to show his presence. Thus, he bent down again and continued to feel around: “Whatever.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as his fingers touched a smooth egg, he heard a big goose behind him let out a very aggressive “honk!” 

Startled, Xia Xingchi quickly raised his head —

As soon as he looked up, he saw a white figure soar into the sky like lightning, rushing towards him!

The incident happened so suddenly that he could only think: “Fuck! It can really fly so high?!”

Looking at Xia Yu again, this grandson had already run away quite innocently, as if this was none of his concern.

Xia Xingchi was filled with fury. He must have invisibly provoked this group of firecrackers just now, and ran away after lighting them up.

As if responding to its call, the aggressive behavior of this goose immediately attracted countless companions.

In just a few seconds, the scene was thrown into chaos. More than a dozen big geese besieged him at the same time, and goose feathers flew around in an instant.

It was too late for Xia Xingchi to run. He didn’t forget to grab the last goose egg in the confusion, and then hurriedly covered his head with his arms and tried to crouch down to hide.

At this time, his wrist was grasped by a cold hand, and then his whole person was buried in a familiar embrace.

Protecting his head with one hand, Li Chengyuan picked him up from the ground neatly and ran all the way out of the goose pen, throwing off the fierce geese that were chasing after him.

[ ! ! ! ! ]

[Fuck, geese are really not cute, they’re too fucking scary, the kind that can leave a psychological shadow!]

[Wu wu wu Mr. Li is so cool, ah! So handsome! So handsome!]

[ (whispers) There seems to be such a smug look?]

[Oh my god, when the goose flew up just now, Mr. Li’s expression changed and he rushed up to protect Xia Xingchi without even thinking about it]

[Actually, I have a bold guess…….]

Contrary to common belief, geese did not lack teeth when they bit people. In fact, the edges of their upper and lower beaks were covered in them, scalp-numbing, thin, and densely serrated. They could even directly draw blood with a peck.

Xia Xingchi held the basket in one hand and quickly closed the gate with the other to block the jumping geese, then quickly turned to look at Li Chengyuan’s hand.

Sure enough, he was right. The back of his hand was bleeding, especially conspicuous against his cold white skin. The bright red blood ran all the way down his slender fingers, dripping from his fingertips to the ground.

“Damnit……”

Xia Xingchi held Li Chengyuan’s bloody right hand, and all at once felt his heart tremble with distress.

After a long moment, he couldn’t bear it and roared: “Xia Yu! What the hell are you doing! Is this fun for you?!”

Xia Yu suddenly appeared frightened and pitiful: “I, I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry, Xingchi-ge, I’m sorry, President Li.”

As he spoke, the edges of his eyes were turning red with grievance.

[Wu wu wu Mr. Li’s hand, ah! His hand! It’s bleeding!]

[There must be something wrong with Xia Xingchi. Xia Yu didn’t do it on purpose, what’s with this attitude? How does he deserve to talk to Xia Yu like this when he’s such a jerk?]

[Didn’t do it on purpose? Didn’t I see him step on a goose’s foot and run away afterwards, just leaving our Xingchi where he was?]

[Cut it out with all this Xia Xingchi shit, what does he have to do with Li Chengyuan? Besides, wasn’t it all for him?]

[Although, don’t you think he is skillful in holding Mr. Li’s hand? There seems to be something between them]

[Don’t be ridiculous, your family is the one who went to the moon and rubbed shoulders with fame, so he deserves it? He’s a low-tier pauper, is he stacking debuffs?]

Li Chengyuan pursed his lips. Seeing Xia Xingchi genuinely worried for him, he couldn’t help being a little happy.

But he also knew that an artist needed to maintain their image, so he gently grasped the back of Xia Xingchi’s neck with his other hand, where the cameras couldn’t see.

He comforted in a low voice: “It’s okay, it’s just a small wound. Don’t worry.”

With cool fingertips stroking the back of his neck, the little hedgehog finally calmed down.

Xia Xingchi glared at Xia Yu angrily for a moment, and realized that what Xia Yu might want was for his image to collapse when he lost his composure.

Forget it, after a dog bit someone, they couldn’t bite it back in front of the camera.

Xia Xingchi took a deep breath and said coldly: “Fine, we’ve collected enough goose eggs. Let’s go back and get the wound treated.”

– – –

When they returned, the vegetable-picking team had also completed their task. Only An Jing, who was in charge of shopping, needed a little more time as she tried to buy all the daily necessities on the list in the small shops where supplies were scarce.

It stood to reason that for this kind of accidental injury, participants were required to purchase first aid supplies by themselves, so as to experience the real hardships of life.

But Li Chengyuan was not a normal participant, after all, and it would be courting death to deliberately make their employer suffer. The program team hurriedly brought the medicine kit and stuffed it into Xia Xingchi’s hands.

When Li Chengyuan dropped in, they were aware of the relationship between the two and knew who the real master was, so this set of actions was performed naturally.

However, Xia Xingchi’s anger had subsided, and let alone gently holding the big cat’s injured paw, he wished he could be far away from Li Chengyuan.

He didn’t pretend to have a good attitude when the accident happened, and now he was probably included on the “Mrs. Li” suspect list.

If he gave Li Chengyuan medicine in an ambiguous manner right now, he would simply be incriminating himself.

He quickly set the medicine kit in front of Li Chenyuan as if it were dynamite: “Boss Li, hurry and apply the medicine……I’m going to choose vegetables and prepare to cook.”

Li Chengyuan looked at Xia Xingchi with a slight frown, not saying a word.

Like a willful and arrogant big cat, he insisted on someone treating his wound, otherwise he would never do it himself and just sit there with a cold face.

Pretending he didn’t see it, Xia Xingchi walked into the simple kitchen and used a primitive water tank to scoop up water and wash the vegetables.

At the same time, he couldn’t help pricking up his ears to hear if Li Chengyuan had opened the medicine box.

But it seemed that he had caught a chill from the late autumn wind, and had a cough at this time that was obviously uncomfortable.

With Li Chengyuan’s cough, Xia Xingchi couldn’t help being worried and wanted to go out to see him.

But outside the kitchen, there were cameras all around slapping him in the face, and an increasing number of fans had come to see the male god after hearing the news.

Just as he was considering it, Xia Yu asked in a manner that implied they knew each other well: “Are you all right, Mr. Li? I went to pour a glass of warm water, why hasn’t the injury on your hand been treated yet? I thought Xingchi-ge would……”

“Get lost,” Li Chengyuan said angrily.

He had coughed half-fakely for a long while but failed to fish out his little hedgehog, and he was getting irritable when Xia Yu leaned over to obstruct his view again.

He had thought to sow dissension, and his original intention was to imply “Xingchi-ge doesn’t feel sorry for you at all, he is not as considerate and caring as I am.”

But Li Chengyuan only paid attention to the first half of the sentence, and was offended when provoked by the delicate topic.

After all, whether it was the cameras or Xia Yu, it was all undermining his purpose of tricking Xia Xingchi back out to feel sorry for him.

[Hahahaha I laughed so hard! This “get lost” is very aggressive]

[I’ve already made a gif. Hehehe, special green tea emoticon pack]

[Ah, this, Xia Yu showing concern? Isn’t being rich amazing, ah]

[Oh, it’s really amazing to be rich. Xia Yu made a play and was directly banned]

[Che, Xia Yu is also a rich second generation, so can he be easily shut out?]

[In the eyes of ordinary people, he might be called “rich,” but the assets of the Xia family may be less than a few tenths or even one percent of Mr. Li’s, understand?]

[Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Li seems to be upset? He looks so pale]

Li Chengyuan raised his eyes and stared in the direction of the kitchen for a few seconds, then slowly lowered his head to stare unblinkingly at his wound.

A few seconds later, Xia Xingchi, who had pricked up his ears and continued to listen, suddenly heard an exclamation: “Mr. Li, what’s wrong?!”

“Quickly help! Help!”

Xia Xingchi was startled, and rushed out of the kitchen before he could shake off the water on his hands, almost tripping over the old threshold.

Li Chengyuan’s face had turned pale, and he frowned as he pushed away the team doctor, sitting on the chair with pursed lips and not saying a word. He was obviously very uncomfortable, and it was a bit difficult for him to brace his body and sit upright.

“What’s going on?” Xia Xingchi rushed forward anxiously. “What’s wrong?”

Li Chengyuan was silent for a long time before whispering: “I get sick at the sight of blood.”

Xia Xingchi was taken aback upon hearing this. He hadn’t expected him to have such a problem, and he clearly heard a bit of blame and……grievance from his tone?

But obviously no matter how he thought about these words, they should have nothing to do with this terrible and crazy villain.

In any case, Li Chengyuan obviously didn’t want others to help him deal with the wound, and he couldn’t deal with it himself if he was feeling faint.

Xia Xingchi had no choice but to open the medicine box and pretend that the two of them didn’t know each other: “Mr. Li, may I help you treat your wound?”

Fortunately, the wound was not too deep, but there was a lot of blood, so it looked a bit scary. He could only see that this paw that could be used as a hand model should not scar.

For fear of hurting Li Chengyuan, Xia Xingchi couldn’t use too much force. He could only concentrate and carefully wipe off the blood, and then gently apply iodophor with a cotton swab.

Finally feeling a little happier, Li Chengyuan pursed his lips and silently gazed down at Xia Xingchi’s concentration expressionlessly.

[Fuck, this scene. Knock cp, knock cp!]

[Look at Mr. Li’s eyes, ahhhh I’m dead, I won’t believe it if you say these two aren’t a thing]

[Applying medicine is a matter of course, but this doesn’t look like brotherhood. Sworn brothers wouldn’t look at each other with such affectionate eyes]

[Boldly guessing, Xia Xingchi didn’t want to admit the relationship, so Mr. Li tried to find a way to make him show his affection hahahaha]

[Oh my god, isn’t President Li chasing after him! I ship it even more!]

Xia Xingchi didn’t look up, unaware that Li Chengyuan was staring at him.

It was only that while applying the medicine, he felt that something was off. Why did he get sick at the sight of blood?

Wait……

Wasn’t this wrong, ah? When this big villain became crazy and warped in the later stages, wasn’t he able to meticulously bleed someone without changing his expression, and then throw them into the sea to feed the sharks?

This was fucking called getting sick at the sight of blood?

Was it so selective that he only got sick at the sight of his own blood, or did he just choose this period of time in front of the camera to grow faint?

Only then did Xia Xingchi realize that he was clearly being deceived. He gnashed his teeth, and the strength in his hand suddenly increased!

Li Chengyuan was caught off guard and gasped. Xia Xingchi raised his head gloomily and asked with a smile: “Mr. Li, think about it again, do you really feel sick?”

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[1] “Grass mud horse,” 草泥马 (cǎonímǎ), is a near-homophone of the profanity phrase, “Fuck your mother, ” or 肏你媽 (cào nǐ mā). It is used to circumvent internet censorship. ⮐

[2] This phrase dates back to a Chinese commercial for the plum preserves brand Liuliu Mei (溜溜梅). It became an internet meme/insult. ⮐

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

Yin Pinglu took the people assigned to her and went straight to the government office.

Those relatives of the Yin family were still staying in the Yin residence. They were sitting together in discussion about how to deal with the Imperial Envoy, when they heard a servant come to report: “My lord, Sixth Young Lady is back!”

“Pinglu?” Magistrate Yin put down his teacup and stormed out. When he saw Yin Pinglu, he pointed at her in a fit of rage and cursed, “You unfilial daughter, you still know to come back?!”

Yin Pinglu: “I came back to do business.”

“What business can you do? You unfilial daughter, I’m going to beat you to death today! This old man has lost all face because of you!” Magistrate Yin stepped forward and raised his hand, but a thick bronze token appeared before his eyes. The words “Imperial Envoy” came into view.

“Who dares to strike me?” Holding the token, Yin Pinglu looked at him with cold eyes, and the people behind her quickly prepared to protect her in the center.

“Why do you have this token?” Magistrate Yin lowered his hand and looked at her in astonishment.

“I am here to investigate the case for Zhao-daren. He is busy and cannot spare the time, so he asked me to come in his stead.” Yin Pinglu showed a letter. “Third brother-in-law, this is Kuang Zhimei’s last letter, which records all of your crimes. Do you plead guilty?”

“What crimes? What Kuang Zhimei? I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” County Magistrate Wu shouted.

“Kuang Zhimei is the woman you raped last year. You don’t seem to remember her. Is it because there are other victims?” Yin Pinglu said.

“How is this possible! You show me that letter!”

Yin Pinglu handed the letter to him, and the county magistrate hurriedly opened it. Magistrate Yin also leaned over to take a look. After a while, both of their faces sank more and more.

With trembling hands, County Magistrate Wu suddenly crumpled up the paper and swallowed it.

“Brother-in-law, what you just ate is a copy that I made.” The corners of Yin Pinglu’s mouth twitched without humor, and she took out a wrinkled envelope. “This one is the original.”

“Yin Pinglu! I never harmed you! Why do you cause trouble for me like this?!” County Magistrate Wu stared at her viciously, wishing to tear her apart.

“You didn’t harm me, but what kind of disgusting eyes did you look at me with all the time?” Yin Pinglu raised her chin, took a deep breath, and said calmly, “It is not me who harmed you, but yourself. You hurt good women and innocent people, and spun a cocoon around yourself.”

“Enough!” Magistrate Yin interrupted them. “Isn’t it a trivial thing to convict someone with one letter? Who knows whether it has been fabricated out of thin air?”

“Yin-daren, don’t worry, Zhao-daren has already found other evidence. You should hurry up and think about your other crimes, so you can explain them and strive for leniency.” After Yin Pinglu finished speaking, she turned around and led the people away.

“Yin Pinglu! You are of the Yin family’s blood! If you dare to step out of that door, you will no longer be part of the Yin family!” Magistrate Yin shouted.

Yin Pinglu turned her head and said word by word: “I have never been happy to belong to the Yin family.”

She strode out the door and looked up at the sky. The corners of her eyes were moist, but she quickly stabilized her emotions and left with her head held high under the eyes of the watching crowd.

The purpose of her trip was not to anger this group of people, but to emancipate herself from the Yin residence. Only when she completely drew a line between her and the Yin family could she try to escape being convicted later.

“Father-in-law, what should we do now? Zhao-daren is coming to find me soon, you have to save me!”

“Save you? I can’t even protect myself, what can I do to save you!” Magistrate Yin shoved him away in a rage.

“If you can’t save me, there is really no way out.” County Magistrate Wu said, “Kuang Zhimei’s younger brother reported me to you, but you drove him away. They are sure to investigate you, do you think you can get away with it?”

Magistrate Yin was horrified: “That person……didn’t you say that person framed you!”

“Yes, ah, I just gave you some money and you believed my words. You drove that person away without even checking.” County Magistrate Wu said in a low voice, “Afterwards, I found someone to take revenge on him. If you don’t save me, I will say you did it yourself. Think about it carefully, the governor and I both had accidents. Do you have any other way out?”

“Useless thing, why did I recruit you as a son-in-law!” Magistrate Yin was so furious that he passed out.

Yin Pinglu returned to the inn and sought out Zhao Yelan: “My lord, it is already done.”

“Thank you for your hard work. You should go back and have a rest first,” Zhao Yelan said.

“All right.”

Zhao Yelan opened some letters on the table, which were other evidence that Yan Mingting brought back from Kuang Sheng’s house. There were also signed letters from other victims. Some of these people, such as Kuang Zhimei, gave up redress because of tragic retaliation, and some of them did not want to be known by outsiders and refused to show their faces.

In addition to these letters, there was also a list of officials whom Kuang Sheng had investigated and found had financial transactions with County Magistrate Wu.

“Eat something, ba.” Yan Mingting came in with some snacks. “The dessert in Jiangnan is exquisite and looks really good.”

The four rabbit cakes on the plate were very cute, as if they were actual rabbits.

Yan Mingting picked on up and examined it carefully, saying with emotion, “I wonder how Hongshao is doing now.” After speaking, he took a bite of the rabbit cake.

“……” Zhao Yelan asked, “Want to go back?”

“It’s fine. Anyway, you’re here, so it doesn’t matter if I go back or not.” Yan Mingting picked up another rabbit cake and fed it to his mouth.

Zhao Yelan reached out to grab it, but Yan Mingting refused to give it to him. He would have to open his mouth to eat it. He lowered his eyes and said: “I can’t eat it in one bite.”

“Then you can eat it in several bites.”

Zhao Yelan imagined that scene of eating it bite by bite. This pastry was soft, glutinous, and sticky. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if it stretched?

“It’s improper, I won’t eat.” Zhao Yelan still cherished his image, especially now.

“You really won’t eat?”

“En.”

“Then I’ll get you something else.” Yan Mingting put down the rabbit cake, got up, and left the room.

After but a moment, Yan Mingting approached the door lightly, and when he abruptly pushed it open, he caught Zhao Yelan stealing food.

Zhao Yelan was startled, and stuffed most of the remaining rabbit cake into his mouth in a panic.

“Ha! I caught you!” Yan Mingting walked over, put his hands on his knees, and bent down to look at his bulging meat bun face with a smile. “And you said you didn’t want to eat it.”

They looked at each other for a moment and Zhao Yelan was rather embarrassed. Neither eating it nor spitting it out, he could only stare at him fiercely: Get out.

Seeing his appearance, Yan Mingting was overjoyed. He thought he was really cute, and subconsciously kissed him on the mouth.

Zhao Yelan: “……”

Yan Mingting: “……”

The two froze at the same time, but their hearts were very turbulent. The soft touch stunned Yan Mingting. It was more fragrant and soft than the rabbit cake. He couldn’t help licking it, and it was like fireworks had gone off in his head, making him dizzy.

Zhao Yelan gulped, but the thing in his mouth got stuck in his throat.

“Oh my dear mother, why don’t you close the door.” Li Yucheng passed by and covered his face in fright, only showing his eyes.

Zhao Yelan suddenly felt unwell: “Urgh……”

Yan Mingting: “ ? ”

“What happened? Yan Mingting, why are you making someone vomit?”

Yan Mingting: “……”

Zhao Yelan patted his chest heavily, choking. His face flushed red and he hurriedly hid behind the screen, vomiting out the rabbit cake into a brocade handkerchief. His face was unsightly.

He stepped out from the screen and looked at Yan Mingting in a daze. For a long moment, he didn’t know what to say. No matter what was said, he would lose face.

“Go, go, go, what are you doing in my room, do you have nothing to do?” Zhao Yelan drove the two of them out of the room, locked the door, and went to deal with the vomit just now with a headache.

Indeed, he didn’t even have time to reminisce about that shallow kiss. It was his bad luck.

“General, why do you look preoccupied?” When Yin Pinglu came out to eat, she found that Yan Mingting had been sitting motionless. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Yan Mingting shook his head and looked at her helplessly: “You can’t help with this matter.”

“What made you look so worried?”

I kissed my wife and he vomited. Can this be spoken? Of course not, ah!

Even though he knew that Zhao Yelan was choking, this was their first kiss and it may have left a bad impression on the other party. He regretted it so much that he wanted to die.

He should not have been so reckless.

Under the premise that both of them were ready, another extremely romantic kiss would become an unforgettable memory for a lifetime.

The question was, what should he do to have a romantic kiss without leaving any regrets?

This was much more difficult than contemplating military tactics.

Yan Mingting went to take care of business that evening, and when he returned to the inn, he saw a couple kissing under a willow tree by the roadside. Their heads were turning back and forth, and it was very odd.

He walked up curiously and was spotted by the man, who cursed at him and took the other person away.

Yan Mingting resentfully continued to walk forward, and suddenly saw smoke coming out of the inn as people in a crowd shouted. Surprised, he immediately ran over.

Someone shouted that there was a fire, and the guests rushed out through the gate.

Looking around urgently, Yan Mingting found no trace of Zhao Yelan. He jumped onto the roof and then down into Zhao Yelan’s room, but found nothing.

In that moment, he felt as if his body was encased in ice.

“Zhao Yelan! Zhao Yelan!”

Yan Mingting searched from room to room, unable to imagine what he would do if the other party had an accident.

Just when the search seemed fruitless, a figure suddenly ran in the wrong direction through the lobby, shouting: “I’m here! Come down quickly!”

Yan Mingting looked down and rushed to descend the stairs in just a few steps, hugging him tightly in his arms. He said hoarsely: “Where did you go?”

“Let’s go out first.” Zhao Yelan’s voice was a little rough from the smoke.

When Yan Mingting took him out, Li Yucheng and Yin Pinglu were there to meet them, and they all retreated several tens of meters away.

“Are you all okay?” Yan Mingting asked.

“We’re okay, the three of us went to drink tea upstairs on the opposite side of the street, and it didn’t take long to notice smoke coming out of the inn. While we were watching, we saw you, General, rushing inside. You were running so fast that you didn’t even hear my lord calling out to you.” Yin Pinglu explained the situation just now and was afraid to even think about it. If he had really caught fire, what could they do?

Hearing this, Yan Mingting covertly squeezed Zhao Yelan’s palm: “The next time something like this happens, don’t rush in.”

“It’s fine, it’s not really on fire anyway,” Zhao Yelan said.

Yan Mingting studied the smoky inn and felt that something was wrong. He had never seen the source of the fire. “What’s going on?”

“It’s just a smoke bomb.” Zhao Yelan coughed and said, “In order to disperse all the people inside, they used hidden agents.”

Yan Mingting glanced at the subordinates who went to help rescue the inn, and then at the rest: “The target is Xiao Gao?”

“En, the dog has jumped the wall,^[1] and they made up their minds to act,” Zhao Yelan said.

When all was said and done, it had been a year since the case of the woman’s rape, and the only evidence was those letters since the victims who were still alive did not want to testify in public. Even if County Magistrate Wu and others were arrested and went through the interrogation process, it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, the officials in this area were in collusion, and if something went wrong, it would be easy for them to escape.

However, to plot against the life of a court official who was acting under Imperial decree was naturally different. When the time came, the combined punishment of several crimes would definitely eradicate this group of moths.

“I had Xiao Gao over there pretend to let two people tail him. You go and check the situation, he fled along the alley,” Zhao Yelan ordered.

Yan Mingting nodded, and wanted to have the others protect Zhao Yelan, but the remaining two were thin and weak, and it was difficult for them to even protect themselves. He could only go to the inn and gather his subordinates to protect Zhao Yelan and the others before setting out to search for Gao Tan.

When he arrived, Xiao Gao was fighting with the assassins in a blind alley. Yan Mingting joined in, and within a short while, they knocked the two people to the ground.

At this time, Xiao Gao crouched down and grasped the man’s jaw, breaking it with a crack. Then he cut the tendons in his hands and feet, and went to the other person to do the same.

Yan Mingting was astonished.

“My lord said that I should cut off all the ways for them to kill themselves first, so that they can suffer and be able to confess quickly during interrogation.”

Not long after, Zhao Yelan received news that the assassins had all been captured alive and were being sent to the government office.

“Let’s go and see a good show.” Zhao Yelan opened his fan, waved it twice, and then glanced down at the writing on it.

He had never had the time to buy a new fan, and the weather was especially hot, so he could only carry it with him. Apart from being irritating, it still had some practical use.

Li Yucheng also opened his new fan and walked swaggeringly, looking very grandiose.

Yin Pinglu looked at their two fans. One was “The Most Beautiful Man In the Capital” and one was “The Number One Dandy In the Capital.”

She was silent for a moment, then slowed down her pace wordlessly so that she was not walking side-by-side with them. Lowering her head, she pretended not to see the mocking eyes of the passers-by around her.

“I think a lot of people have gone in the direction of the government office to watch the excitement. It should be that Yan Mingting and the others have already arrived,” Li Yucheng said.

Zhao Yelan stopped abruptly in his tracks.

“Why aren’t you moving?” After Li Yucheng asked this, the other went over to the small loch next to him.

Li Yucheng followed him without knowing why, and seeing him stare at the water, he asked: “What are you looking for? What’s in this loch?”

Zhao Yelan turned his head to the left, then to the right.

Li Yucheng observed for a long while, then realized in surprise: “You can’t be looking at your face, right?”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him and asked straightforwardly: “I just ran into smoke, is there anything on my face?”

Li Yucheng: “There doesn’t seem to be, it’s still good-looking.”

Only then was Zhao Yelan satisfied, and his expression immediately became shrewd and cold: “Let’s go.”

Li Yucheng: “……”

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[1] The idiom is “a cornered dog will jump over the wall,” which means someone has been driven to desperate measures. ⮐

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Chapter Fifty-Six <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-Eight