Chapter 122

Gu Yun pointed at the couch. “There.”

Chao Yan lowered his eyes.

Gu Yun gave a cold laugh.

Last night had made one thing abundantly clear to him: give this man an inch and he would take a mile.

If he still allowed this man to sleep beside him, then over the next few days of the New Year holiday he would undoubtedly find every possible way to wheedle benefits from him. And Gu Yun knew perfectly well that he could not bring himself to refuse outright every time. If that happened, he would inevitably end up being tossed about again and again.

How would that be any different from meat laid out on a chopping block?

He did not dislike doing intimate things with someone he liked, but the person he liked was far too perverted. Everything he did danced repeatedly along the very edge of Gu Yun’s bottom line.

If he had not touched the man’s ear last night and found it slightly warm, he might have suspected that Chao Yan already had someone else and a wealth of sexual experience.

Chao Yan said, “Must it really be like this?”

Gu Yun replied with cold indifference, “Otherwise, why don’t you rest somewhere else? It’s not as though this is the only place with a bed.”

Chao Yan looked at him for a moment, then bent down. Gu Yun started in surprise. Before he could dodge, a kiss landed on the side of his face.

“All right,” Chao Yan replied. “I’m fine with whatever. As long as you’re happy.”

Why did he make it sound as though Gu Yun were bullying him? And even if he was bullying him, then the person being bullied deserved it.

Gu Yun walked towards the far side of the bed to fetch his outer robe. The insides of his thighs were red and swollen, making every step uncomfortable. After taking two steps, he stopped and turned to look at Chao Yan.

Chao Yan had already taken out his outer robe. Along with it, he had also brought an undergarment, namely the dudou that Gu Yun had become too lazy to wear at night ever since his identity had been exposed.

Gu Yun stared at Chao Yan, trying to find some subtle expression that would prove he had done it deliberately. He failed.

Frustrated, he held out his hand. “Give me the clothes and get out.”

“I’ll help you dress,” Chao Yan said.

Gu Yun glared at him.

“Am I going to eat you?” Chao Yan asked. But seeing that Gu Yun was unwilling to yield even the slightest bit, he could only comply. In the end, he had pushed things too quickly.

After driving Chao Yan out, Gu Yun finally regained a sense of security. Slowly, he dressed himself, including the dudou. He wrapped a plain velvet brocade scarf around his neck, bent down, picked up his silk-lined socks, drew them up from his toes, tied the fastenings securely, then put on his cloud-patterned shoes lined with thick padding. By the time he finished, he was wrapped up tightly from head to toe and no longer needed to fear the cold outside.

Gu Yun shuffled to the door and opened it. Just as he was about to step out, he glanced up and saw Chao Yan.

Leaning against one wall, Chao Yan was reading a book on agriculture. Hearing the door open, he looked back and immediately came over. His eyes were bright, perfectly suited to his courtesy name.

Gu Yun turned his head away. Chao Yan put away his book and walked over. “I’ve already told them we’ll eat outside the warm pavilion. There’s no need to go to the main hall.”

Gu Yun stared at him, dumbfounded. “You… you…” His face flushed red. After struggling for a long while, he finally managed to force out the words: “Doesn’t that mean everyone knows what we did last night?”

Chao Yan lifted a finger and touched his face.

So hot. No less hot than last night.

Gu Yun felt as though a volcano had erupted inside him. He had reached the limit of his endurance and immediately moved to shut the door.

Chao Yan stuck a foot into the doorway.

Gu Yun: “…”

Catching the door before it closed, he snapped, “Do you not want your foot any more?”

Standing in the doorway, Chao Yan’s tall frame blocked the light from outside, enveloping Gu Yun within his shadow.

Amidst his fury and embarrassment, another strange feeling arose. Gu Yun shifted his feet and retreated backwards.

Chao Yan caught his wrist. “Not everyone,” he said. “Only those who attend you closely. Besides, they didn’t just find out now. The moment I asked for hot water last night, they already knew.”

Gu Yun: “…”

Gu Yun said, “And you’re still explaining!”

Chao Yan slid down from his wrist to his fingers, interlacing their hands. With his other arm, he drew Gu Yun into his embrace.

“It’s all right. They won’t think much of it. In Great Xuan, wherever servants attend their masters, this sort of thing happens all the time. There are even situations far more embarrassing than this.”

Gu Yun paused. Pushing against Chao Yan’s shoulder, he created a little distance and looked up at him. The man’s eyes were lowered slightly, his expression gentle.

“Great Xuan?” Gu Yun asked.

Chao Yan replied, “You aren’t accustomed to ordering people about, and from your speech and bearing, you clearly don’t come from an ordinary family. So I guessed that the nobles and powerful people in your homeland don’t rely on servants. Perhaps you don’t even have maids or attendants.”

Gu Yun let out a soft breath through his nose and nodded lightly. He neither refuted it nor found it surprising. If Chao Yan had spent this long with him and still failed to notice such things, then he would truly be a fool.

“I’ve already sent people to search for your parents and the others,” Chao Yan said. “There’s no news yet, but I’ll tell you as soon as there is.”

“You don’t believe what I told you before?” Gu Yun asked.

“You mean that you and Xu Jingzhou were sent here by the gods?”

At that moment, Zhang Zhangshe approached from nearby and quietly announced that breakfast was ready. Chao Yan instructed her to have the dishes brought in, then pulled Gu Yun away to wash up and have his hair arranged.

Palace servants carried in tables and chairs. Soon after came the crisp sounds of bowls and plates being set down. Before long, all the dishes had been laid out.

Chao Yan dismissed the servants, led Gu Yun to a seat, and said softly in an even tone:

“How am I supposed to believe that? You know I don’t believe in gods and spirits. I still find your earlier explanation more believable: that disaster struck your family and you ended up here. No matter how you came to Great Xuan, my attitude towards you remains unchanged. Once your parents and the others are found, I’ll accompany you to see them, and I’ll make proper arrangements for their future.”

Gu Yun lowered his head, his fingers hooking against the edge of the table.

“Eat,” Chao Yan said. Picking up a porcelain spoon, he ladled out a bowl of polished-rice porridge and placed it before Gu Yun.

The porridge was warm, just right to eat. Gu Yun slowly took two mouthfuls and looked at Chao Yan. His gaze was hesitant, as though there were countless things he wished to say.

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Chao Yan set down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped the corner of his lips with a handkerchief, and asked: “What are you worried about?”

He looked at him. “With the relationship we have now, can you still not speak plainly?”

Gu Yun had been about to speak, but upon meeting his gaze, he suddenly no longer wanted to. Lowering his head, he continued drinking his porridge.

The warm porridge slid down his throat into his stomach, spreading a comforting warmth that unfurled through every nerve in his body.

Gu Yun narrowed his eyes. The urge to tell Chao Yan returned. This time, however, he was not as impulsive as before, saying whatever came to mind the instant he thought of it. He carefully weighed everything in his heart. Only after deciding that he still wanted to tell him, and that he could bear whatever consequences followed, did he finally open his mouth.

“Your Highness.”

Straightening up, he stretched out a foot and lightly nudged Chao Yan’s.

When the man showed no reaction, he hooked his calf around Chao Yan’s lower leg and rubbed against it. “Chao Yan?”

Chao Yan lowered his eyes.

His gaze lingered for a moment upon the layered folds of the lotus-pink skirt before him. Then he shifted his stool to one side, moving himself away along with it.

Gu Yun: “?”

Gu Yun cast him a dark look.

Chao Yan spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. “I have an appointment with Vice Minister Meng later. Stop causing trouble.”

Gu Yun’s gaze slowly drifted downward. Even through the layers of winter clothing, there was still a noticeable bulge.

Gu Yun: “…”

What impressive vitality.

Obediently, he sat properly again. “There is no need to keep searching for my parents,” he said.

After calming the heat stirring within him, Chao Yan asked, “Why?” As he spoke, his lashes lowered slightly while he considered the matter. “Did they treat you badly? If that’s the case, then perhaps there’s no need to look for them at all.”

Gu Yun looked at him intently. “I lied to you. They’re not in Great Xuan. My family never suffered any disaster.”

“I see,” Chao Yan said.

“You’re not allowed to be angry.”

Chao Yan nodded. “That’s good news. I won’t be angry.”

After a brief pause, he continued: “If that’s the case, then why did you come to Great Xuan? And where is Xu Jingzhou?”

“Xu Jingzhou and I were travelling,” Gu Yun replied. “We fell into the water, and when we climbed back out, we were already in Great Xuan.”

Chao Yan stared at him, frowning.

“I wasn’t lying about that,” Gu Yun said lightly. “I simply felt that under the current circumstances, there was no point continuing to deceive you and waste time and money.”

“So you really were sent to Great Xuan by the gods?” Chao Yan asked. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that, according to what you told me before, your homeland is far too distant from Great Xuan.”

“I don’t know what force brought Xu Jingzhou and me here,” Gu Yun said. “But perhaps one day that force will appear again, and we’ll be able to return home. In truth, I don’t know how far my homeland is from Great Xuan. To be precise, my homeland and Great Xuan are two places that, by all ordinary logic, should never be able to connect with one another.”

“Heaven and earth?” Chao Yan asked.

“No.”

Resting his chin on one hand, Gu Yun said: “Reality and fiction.”

For the first time in his life, Chao Yan felt that everything he had seen and learned over the past twenty-odd years might be astonishingly shallow. He could not understand a single word.

Reality and fiction? What reality and fiction?

Clenching his fist, he looked calmly at Gu Yun. “Could you explain that in more detail?”

“Not yet,” Gu Yun replied. “This is my greatest trump card.”

“Very well. I won’t force you.” After a pause, Chao Yan continued: “But you said that perhaps one day this force will appear again, and you and Xu Jingzhou will return to your homeland.”

“Yes.”

“You said that your journeys to and from this place depend upon that force. Hypothetically speaking, what if you return home and that force never appears again?”

Confusion appeared in Gu Yun’s eyes. “Then we’d never see each other again, wouldn’t we?”

“Since it appeared once,” Gu Yun said, “it will definitely appear a second time.”

“That’s baseless,” Chao Yan replied. “It’s merely what you want to happen.”

“And what you’re saying is equally baseless. It’s only your assumption.”

“I’m speaking hypothetically.”

“Right now that force hasn’t appeared, and we haven’t returned home. Stop making assumptions. Bringing this up before was my mistake. I won’t mention it again.”

Chao Yan smiled. “I understand now. What you’re saying is that if you had the chance to return home, you and Xu Jingzhou would leave immediately. You never once thought about me. Abandoning me wouldn’t be difficult for you at all.”

“You’re being utterly unreasonable!”

“I’m being unreasonable?”

Chao Yan laughed softly. “Fine. Search your conscience and answer honestly. If you could return, wouldn’t you and Xu Jingzhou leave immediately?”

“I…” Gu Yun bit his lower lip.

Chao Yan rose and left.

Fuming, Gu Yun proceeded to eat two large bowls of rice.