Chapter 84

Rong Tang remained quiet for a long time before stepping back, freeing himself from the close contact of their foreheads.

Once again, he became fully aware of Su Huaijing’s incredible perceptiveness. Rong Tang even suspected that if Su Huaijing one day directly asked him, “Are you reborn?” he wouldn’t be surprised.

Su Huaijing was a person who disregarded conventional rules and constraints, yet he was so sharp, as if nothing in this world could escape his eyes.

Rong Tang couldn’t help but wonder how many clues he had inadvertently revealed to Su Huaijing over the past year.

Because the truth was too strange, too far beyond common understanding, he had never made an effort to hide it.

If Su Huaijing didn’t suspect anything, things would remain peaceful; but if suspicion arose, even his identity as the “Duke Ningxuan’s Shizi” would raise many questions.

Su Huaijing may have noticed that, as “Rong Tang”, he seemed to know and care about things he shouldn’t. But he had never asked. It was as if he was waiting for Rong Tang to confess, or perhaps he didn’t care, choosing instead to spend one of his carefully earned wishes on such an absurd, ambiguous request.

He even fabricated the dream itself—why would he need to look for Su Huaijing in the next one?

Rong Tang pressed his lips together and said, “Dreams aren’t real.”

“I know,” Su Huaijing nodded.

“Then why are you wasting your wish?” Rong Tang asked.

“It’s not a waste,” Su Huaijing said, “Tangtang, people spend one-third of their lives sleeping, and you, due to your health, sleep even more than most.”

He opened Rong Tang’s clenched hand and held it. Rong Tang was confused for a moment and asked, “So?”

Su Huaijing continued, “If both your waking and sleeping time make up your life in this world, how can you be certain your dreams aren’t real?”

Rong Tang froze, almost convinced that Su Huaijing had already seen through the truth.

He blinked and said softly, “But dreams are fake.”

Su Huaijing stared at him, his gaze full of tenderness, and gently echoed, “Alright, they’re fake.”

Rong Tang could tell from his tone that Su Huaijing didn’t believe him at all. Just as he was about to argue, Su Huaijing leaned in, bracing himself on the couch with both hands, and kissed him on the lips.

Rong Tang’s eyes widened in shock.

Just moments earlier, he had retreated as far as he could to avoid Su Huaijing, yet now, with his legs pinned down and his arms immobilised, he found himself utterly defenceless.

But Su Huaijing merely closed his eyes, his lips softly grazing Rong Tang’s, as if trying to comfort him.

Outside the window, the sound of horse hooves treading the snowy streets continued. It was almost dusk, and the sun had hidden behind the clouds all day. The warm glow of a street vendor’s wonton stall spilled out into the street, blending with the snow-covered ground.

Winter in Yu capital lacked some of the liveliness of summer, but the street corners still bustled with activity, people gathering around the warmth of the vendors.

Su Huaijing had stolen kisses from Rong Tang a few times before, usually when Tangtang was adorably oblivious. Su Huaijing couldn’t resist, always thinking that as his rightful husband, there was no reason he couldn’t kiss him.

Every time, Rong Tang would blush furiously and threaten to get angry before eventually giving in.

But this time, Su Huaijing didn’t do anything extra. He simply stayed close, and through their kiss, he slowly and firmly conveyed a message: I’m here to comfort you. You can trust me, rely on me completely. I will never, ever ignore you.

Not even if it’s just in a dream.

After the kiss, the carriage stopped in front of Duke Ningxuan’s Palace, and Su Huaijing withdrew from Rong Tang’s side. Rong Tang’s breath was somewhat unsteady, his lips parting slightly, revealing the tip of his tongue without realising it.

Su Huaijing bent down to gather his belongings, and outside the carriage, Shuang Fu’s voice could be heard. Rong Tang snapped back to himself, his ears reddened and his expression stiffened, about to rebuke Su Huaijing. However, before he could utter a word, Su Huaijing swiftly stuffed a piece of candied fruit into his mouth, silencing him.

Rong Tang froze. Rong Tang’s anger flared. Rong Tang was nearly ready to hit someone!

Finally, his emotions were vibrant, not like a lifeless puppet.

Su Huaijing smirked and tried to help him down from the carriage, but Rong Tang waved his hand, glaring fiercely, raising his sleeve to wipe his mouth, still with a bulging piece of candied fruit. He then jumped down from the carriage by himself.

Shuang Fu, waiting outside, was somewhat surprised, craning his neck to peer inside the carriage, wondering why Sir had not disembarked with the young master.

Unable to quell his frustration, Rong Tang strode ahead, saying, “Go serve him in his room!”

Shuang Fu blinked in confusion: “Young Master?”

Su Huaijing had just bent down to exit. Hearing this, he shook his head in bemusement, quickly caught up to Rong Tang, and grabbed his hand.

Rong Tang struggled to shake free, but to no avail. He halted, glaring up at Su Huaijing, “Let go.”

With the candied fruit still in his mouth, his words came out weak and, somewhat petulantly.

Su Huaijing, feigning innocence, whined back at him, “We’re standing at the gate of the residence, my dear husband, don’t bully me.”

Rong Tang: “?” How could I possibly bully you???

He was on the verge of being driven mad by Su Huaijing! Instinctively, he glanced around.

It was twilight, and the lanterns at Duke Ningxuan’s Palace gate were already lit. Guards stood on either side, and the gatekeeper had opened the door, bowing as he welcomed them. Shuang Fu and the other servants would enter through the side gate only after their masters had gone inside. No exaggeration to say, there were at least a dozen pairs of eyes watching them.

In the noble families of high society, any small incident happening in someone’s household today would be all over the aristocratic circles by tomorrow, let alone a scene playing out at the front gates.

Rong Tang abruptly realised he was cornered—there was no way he could simply brush off Su Huaijing here.

If he were to shake him off at the front gate, by tomorrow there might be matchmakers proposing to find him a new wife.

Seething, Rong Tang chewed angrily on the candied fruit before finally allowing Su Huaijing to lead him into Duke Ningxuan’s Palace.

Along the way, Su Huaijing spoke incessantly, but Rong Tang ignored him. Occasionally, when too irritated, he would respond with a half-hearted “ng.”

Su Huaijing, however, was not upset. Leading him through the moon gate of the Tanghua Courtyard, he seemed to remember something and asked, “Didn’t Tangtang ask me what gift I wanted?”

The piece of candied fruit had long since been chewed up, and now only the seed remained in Rong Tang’s mouth, ready to be spat out.

He paused slightly, then nodded, “Yes. What would you like?”

They might quarrel, he might still be angry, but the New Year’s gift had to be prepared.

Who could resist his precious Boyboy?

Rong Tang gave himself this mental note, convincing himself that Su Huaijing was merely a rebellious boy going through a phase. As the mature, reasonable father, he couldn’t possibly argue with his son.

Thinking this, Rong Tang felt instantly relieved, and his eyebrows relaxed.

Standing across from him, Su Huaijing caught the change in his expression and chuckled to himself, suspecting that Tangtang might be cooking up some mischievous thoughts again.

But Su Huaijing didn’t mind. Any mischievousness was fine, as long as Tangtang was happy.

The moon rose over the western hills, and raccoon paw prints dotted the snowy ground. Su Huaijing leaned in closer, and the small bit of joy that had been bubbling inside Rong Tang immediately vanished.

Afraid Su Huaijing might try to steal another kiss or worse, Rong Tang quickly took a step back, staring warily at him. He pursed his lips tightly, ignoring the discomfort of the candied fruit seed still in his mouth.

Su Huaijing laughed, “What’s Tangtang gege thinking?”

“What good can come from you calling me gege?” Rong Tang shot back quickly, his voice muffled.

Su Huaijing blinked in mild surprise before grinning, then teasingly said, “But isn’t Tangtang really my gege too? If Sheng Chengming can call you that, why can’t I?”

Rong Tang: “……”

That didn’t seem quite right.

He wavered slightly, unsure how to reply.

Before he could respond, Su Huaijing spoke again, this time saying, “I’ve decided on my New Year’s gift.”

Rong Tang blinked in surprise, relaxing slightly. “Say it.”

In truth, he had already prepared quite a few gifts for Su Huaijing: several properties in the capital under his name, and even a manor in the suburbs, which he planned to renovate to resemble the Song Garden and give to him as a present.

But that last project would take some time and wasn’t ready just yet, so Rong Tang had kept it a secret from him.

He knew that as a main villain, Su Huaijing would need to win people over, build his power, enter the court, and even earn the emperor’s favour, and all of this would require resources.

Although Su Huaijing managed a business in the capital, and no doubt had other assets, one could never have too much.

It might be a bit materialistic, but it was practical, and it was the best Rong Tang could prepare.

But Su Huaijing said, “I want Tangtang to love me.”

Duke Ningxuan’s Palace had a few cats, and a couple of them had jumped into Tanghua Courtyard, meowing as they settled in a corner. The wind shook the treetops, causing snow to fall. Rong Tang stood frozen, both ashamed and furious.

He spat the candied fruit seed into his hand and quickly snapped, “Is that something you should be saying to your gege!?”

Su Huaijing innocently asked, “Why not? We’re not blood-related. Even if we were, plenty of cousins marry, don’t they still talk about love?”

Rong Tang: “You’re just being ridiculous!”

Su Huaijing, shamelessly proud, delivered the killing blow: “But Tangtang was the one who proposed to me. Are you having second thoughts?”

With his breathtaking looks and a pitiful expression, no one could resist Su Huaijing when he acted innocent.

Rong Tang’s ears were already flushed red, and now he felt like he might catch fire. Standing in the freezing cold, he couldn’t even feel the chill.

But no matter what, he could never win an argument against Su Huaijing!

He’d never been able to out-talk this main villain!

Young Prince Rong was about to explode. For a moment, he even thought back to their head-on confrontations in their previous two lives and wondered if they had been better.

At least back then, no one spoke so bluntly, leaving no room for retorts.

Rong Tang didn’t even realise why he felt that way. He could have just rebutted. Yet, no words came to him.

Finally, after standing there, angry and frustrated for what felt like ages, he spat out, “Not even zombies would want to eat your brain!”

Then he turned and stormed off!

Pei! Love-struck fool!

Here I am, laying the groundwork for your future success, and you’re thinking about…… all this nonsense that can’t even be aired on TV!

Rong Tang sped back to his quarters, almost forgetting what he’d overheard in Ke Hongxue’s courtyard earlier, or what he had seen in the system space.

All the melancholy, dejection, and emptiness in his heart had been swept away by the sheer frustration brought on by Su Huaijing. He didn’t even notice that the person who had teased him earlier was now watching him leave with a dark expression.

The moon and stars shone down on the snowy landscape, turning it as bright as day.

Su Huaijing stood still, gazing at the door that had just closed.

Tangtang, you shouldn’t have refuted that dreams aren’t real.

You answered wrong from the start.

-What would I do if you ignored me?

You came looking for me, didn’t you?

You searched for me, and I ignored you. Is that why you fell into nightmares?

Su Huaijing pinched his fingertips, lost in thought.

After a while, a spot of red stained the snow beneath him, bright against the snowy white night.