Chapter 32: Enjoyable, My Ass!

Page (1/3)

“Last night…” Jiang Luan began hesitantly.

Qi Shaolin grew somewhat tense. “What is it?”

Jiang Luan thought for a moment, then asked sincerely, “Tell me honestly—am I very restless when I sleep?”

Qi Shaolin: “…”

Jiang Luan said cautiously, “I think I pulled off your bandages?”

He had spent quite some time thinking about it. The only thing he could remember was the scent of blood lingering at the tip of his nose.

Jiang Luan had never shared a bed with anyone before and had no idea that he was such a poor sleeper.

He could not help worrying that he snored, ground his teeth, or passed gas in his sleep. More importantly…

“Are you all right?” Jiang Luan asked with concern. “Does your wound hurt?”

At times like this, Jiang Luan, normally rough around the edges, seemed much gentler.

Qi Shaolin fell silent for a moment, then immediately put on an aggrieved expression. “Your Lin is in so much pain!”

He then seized the opportunity to ask for a hug.

Jiang Luan paid no attention to how Qi Shaolin, who had seemed perfectly fine while changing his bandages, had suddenly turned into a spoiled little baby.

“Brother Lin, let me take a look.”

Jiang Luan moved to the other end of the branch and had Qi Shaolin undo his outer robe so he could examine the wound.

Qi Shaolin was young, after all, and recovered quickly. Beneath the loosened bandages, the wound had already scabbed over.

Only then did Jiang Luan relax. He helped Qi Shaolin wrap the bandages back around him and put his clothes on properly.

When he looked up, he discovered Qi Shaolin staring at him.

“What are you looking at?” Jiang Luan asked, displeased once again.

After all, being watched by a beautiful woman and being watched by a grown man were two entirely different experiences.

But remembering that Qi Shaolin was a pitiful wounded man, Jiang Luan softened his tone and scratched his cheek. “Is there something on my face?”

Qi Shaolin looked at him for a while, then sighed. “Nothing.”

Jiang Luan had no idea what was on Qi Shaolin’s mind. He clicked his tongue.

“You’re so young. Why are you sighing like an old man? Look at you—you were born the young master of a wealthy household…”

Qi Shaolin: “…”

Jiang Luan said awkwardly, “All right, perhaps the sort no one cares about. But at least you never have to worry about food or clothing…”

Qi Shaolin: “…”

“Oh, your guardian does seem to be somewhat lacking in human decency.”

Jiang Luan pinched Qi Shaolin’s cheek. “But at least we’re both handsome, right?”

Qi Shaolin’s expression nearly collapsed when Jiang Luan gave his cheek that teasing pinch.

Jiang Luan knew nothing of his complicated feelings.

From the moment they first met, Jiang Luan had thought the young man exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Now that he examined Qi Shaolin closely, he saw that the man had sharp brows, bright eyes, and an extraordinarily handsome face. More importantly, he had an excellent physique.

Jiang Luan was suddenly filled with regret. “Brother Lin, if you had been born in my hometown, you could make a living off your face without the slightest trouble. Wouldn’t you have crushed all those pretty-faced celebrities?”

“…” Qi Shaolin once again failed to understand what Jiang Luan was talking about, but he replied, “But I think you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, my wife. I like you best.”

Jiang Luan was not pleased to hear that. Instead, he felt depressed.

After all, this body belonged to the original owner. It was obvious whom Qi Shaolin truly liked.

He forced himself to cheer up and snorted. “So you’re one of those people who judge by appearances. You had your eye on ‘me’ from the moment I entered the household, didn’t you?”

At the same time, Jiang Luan silently added: Unfortunately, the “me” you like is not really me.

“That is not so,” Qi Shaolin said decisively.

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

His eyes remained fixed on Jiang Luan as he said seriously, “I did not fall for you because you were beautiful, nor did I begin to like you at that time.”

Jiang Luan had only meant to tease him. He had not expected Qi Shaolin to look so serious.

Under that unwavering gaze, his heartbeat unconsciously faltered.

Qi Shaolin’s pupils were black as ink, his gaze deep and still as he watched Jiang Luan. “I like you because…”

“Ah, enough,” Jiang Luan interrupted him. “We should be heading home!”

For some reason, he did not dare hear the answer Qi Shaolin was about to give. Perhaps it was better left unsaid.

In a fluster, Jiang Luan wrapped his arms around the tree and climbed down, complaining as he went about how absurdly tall it was.

Qi Shaolin sat on the branch and sighed faintly.

On the way back, each of them was lost in thought, and the atmosphere was strangely silent.

Cook Li found it somewhat odd, but he was perceptive enough not to ask any questions.

Young people quarreled from time to time—that was normal, Cook Li thought. Besides, given his young master’s circumstances, the young mistress truly had an exceptionally good temper.

“Master Li,” Jiang Luan asked the cook, “where can I buy the sweet-water shrimp that you mentioned as a specialty of Greenwater Isle?”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that.” Cook Li slapped his forehead. “I’ll take you there right away. But it’s already late, so I’m afraid there may not be any fresh shrimp left.”

“That’s all right. I’ll go and scout the place out first.”

Jiang Luan turned to Qi Shaolin. “Brother Lin, you go back on your own.”

“Why?” Qi Shaolin asked, bewildered.

“There won’t be any boats left if we wait much longer,” Jiang Luan said. “Go ahead and rent one for us.”

What a perfectly respectable reason it sounded like.

But the truth was that Jiang Luan simply did not want to stay with Qi Shaolin at that moment.

His thoughts were a mess, and he needed time to think.

Qi Shaolin said nothing. He merely stopped where he stood.

Jiang Luan and Cook Li continued toward the market.

At sunset, farmers along the road carried their hoes home, passing Jiang Luan on their way.

Beside one farmer walked his wife, carrying a basket. The two chatted and laughed as they went.

“I told you not to bring me dinner. You already work hard enough taking care of the household. I brought dry provisions with me,” the farmer said.

“Don’t say that. How could I eat properly with you away from home?” The woman took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her husband’s brow.

The couple continued on, bickering affectionately, smiles impossible to conceal.

Jiang Luan could not help turning around for another look, only to find Qi Shaolin still standing there, quietly watching him.

At that moment, the farmer and his wife passed by Qi Shaolin, making his solitude seem all the more stark.

The setting sun stretched his shadow far across the road. The tall man stood alone by the roadside, looking rather pitiful.

Jiang Luan came within a hair’s breadth of calling out, “Come with us.”

But when the words reached his lips, they became, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

At that, Qi Shaolin had no choice but to turn and walk away.

Although Jiang Luan felt somewhat disappointed after sending him off, he said nothing and continued on his way.

When Qi Shaolin reached the riverbank, he did not board a boat.

He simply stood there, lost in thought.

By rights, after Jiang Luan had driven him away, he should have felt more at ease.

Lately, his life had seemed far too comfortable, and he had let down his guard considerably. That was not a good sign.

He should not be enjoying such a life with a clear conscience. At least, not now.

Qi Shaolin lowered his head and looked at what he was wearing: a dark navy martial robe with pale cloud-scroll trim, a leather belt, and sturdy cowhide boots. He looked utterly different from the man he had once been.

All of it had been personally arranged for him by Jiang Luan.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

Could he truly leave Jiang Luan?

As Qi Shaolin stood deep in thought, his ears suddenly twitched. He turned to look in the direction Jiang Luan and the others had gone.

Cook Li, who should have been at the market by then, was running down the road.

He stopped anyone he came across and asked, “Have you seen my young mistress? About this tall…”

Cook Li held up a hand to indicate the height. Afraid of getting involved, each passerby hurriedly replied, “No, I haven’t. I haven’t seen anyone.”

Cook Li had run until he was drenched in sweat, his legs trembling with exhaustion and his heart filled with despair.

Suddenly, someone seized him by the shoulder.

“Where is Jiang Luan?” Qi Shaolin asked coldly.

…

…

Night had fallen, and almost nothing could be seen in the dense woods of Greenwater Isle.

Someone lit a torch, illuminating a carriage hidden behind a cave. A man was sprawled across it, fast asleep.

“You bastard! How can you still be sleeping at a time like this?”

The man holding the torch kicked the sleeper off the carriage.

“Hasn’t the person been brought back yet?”

The kicked man rolled off the carriage, turned over once on the ground, and rubbed the back of his head. “I’ve been here alone the whole time.”

“Damn it,” the torchbearer cursed. “How hard can it be to abduct one pretty boy?”

Just as he finished speaking, two men emerged from the woods, carrying a bulging burlap sack between them.

“Boss, we got him!” one of them announced, throwing the sack onto the ground.

Both men were covered in mud, and one of them even had a cut across his face.

“What happened to you?” the man with the torch asked.

One of them spat on the ground and said in frustration, “This kid was unbelievably difficult to catch. Nobody said he knew martial arts!”

“A pretty boy who knows martial arts?” The torchbearer sensed that something was wrong. “You didn’t grab the wrong person, did you?”

“How could we?” the man protested. “Boss, didn’t you say the person we were supposed to take was a beautiful young man in purple, near One Family Eatery?”

Several men exchanged glances before hurriedly opening the sack.

A slight young man tumbled out. His hair was disheveled, his eyes tightly shut, and he was indeed dressed in purple.

The man who had been driving the carriage studied him for a moment before saying, “You got the wrong person. Look—there’s no cinnabar mole between his brows.”

The leader shone the torch on the youth’s forehead. Sure enough, it was completely clean.

He flew into a rage and rapped each of the two men on the head. “Are you idiots? Have you never seen a pretty boy before? How could you mistake him for someone else?”

The two men were left dazed.

But they had gone to great lengths to capture this boy, and naturally they were unwilling to admit that all their effort had been wasted.

“With a face this beautiful, how could he not be one?” one of them protested. “He must have hidden the cinnabar mole somehow!”

As he spoke, he lifted the young man in purple and dipped his fingers into some water, then began rubbing the youth’s forehead.

The leader gave a cold laugh and folded his arms, watching his subordinate’s performance.

To everyone’s surprise, after rubbing for quite some time, the man actually revealed a bright red cinnabar mole on the young man’s forehead.

“…” The man himself froze for a moment before saying delightedly, “Boss, see? I told you I was right. He is one!”

A beautiful young man, appearing near One Family Eatery in Greenwater Isle and dressed in purple—clearly, this was the person their employer had ordered them to capture.

The leader had nothing left to say. He nodded stiffly. “Very good. Then the matter is settled. We must get him out of the city tonight.”