UCTOOT CH40.2

Shi Shu woke up late the next morning. He was still in a dream, vaguely aware of something touching his face.

That hand was cool, touching his eyelids, then his mouth. “Xie Wuchi, don’t touch me.”

That hand continued to touch.

Shi Shu exploded. “Xie Wuchi!”

He shouted and opened his eyes. A pair of black, round eyes were right in front of him. It seemed startled by him, and its small hands and feet abruptly shrank back into a corner.

“…Fuling? You’re here?”

Xie Wuchi stood at the door. His morning exercise was over, and he had just changed into clean clothes. He turned around. “The wet nurse just brought him back.”

Shi Shu: “…Sorry, I was a little loud just now.”

Shi Shu had been drunk last night, and his head wasn’t very comfortable today. But at the first glance of Xie Wuchi, the blurry memories still flooded his mind. He was clearly drunk and dazed, yet he was startled by his arousal last night.

Shi Shu lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He always did this when he was embarrassed, trying his best to act nonchalant. Xie Wuchi spoke first. “I’m going out for a bit. The two Xu brothers are looking for me.”

Shi Shu nodded hurriedly. “Please, please.”

After Xie Wuchi left, Shi Shu began to recall last night. The sensation of it being sent into his palm, and that Ouroboros sun tattoo, dark as deep cyan, seemed to be branded in his memory.

Thinking of it, a cold sweat broke out on Shi Shu’s back, a kind of post-event regret.

“What did I do last night! I saw all the way to the root of his thigh. Never mind not running away, I actually went along with him and looked at the tattoo!”

“Drinking ruins everything. I’m never drinking again in this life.”

Shi Shu felt like the sky was falling. He clutched his forehead. Just now, when Xie Wuchi went out, he was wearing a Confucian robe. Although it wasn’t made of expensive material, he was clearly very particular about his clothes in modern times. The wide robes and large sleeves were custom-made, his appearance proper and as straight as a pine tree, giving off a deceivingly lofty and pure image just by looking at him.

A tattoo isn’t necessarily obscene, but Xie Wuchi’s might be. He even spread his legs and let Shi Shu lie on his knees to look.

Shi Shu clutched his forehead for at least half an hour.

It’s over. I’m done for.

He didn’t think badly of Xie Wuchi, it was just inappropriate. Looking at someone’s leg, looking at their private parts, it was weird. Although he couldn’t quite explain where the weirdness was, intuitively, Shi Shu felt it was extremely weird.

He squatted long enough, then picked up Fuling. “When we get back to the Eastern Capital, you’ll follow Imperial Physician Lin and be a little medicine boy. You won’t follow me anymore. I didn’t bring you along last night. Today, I’ll take you out to play for the whole day.”

Shi Shu left the academy, and the little brat held onto the back of his robe, constantly stepping on his heels.

Shi Shu went to the main street. It was still lively today. The Red Thread Festival was to be celebrated for a full three days.

He didn’t like holding hands, and the child didn’t like it either. He let Fuling hold onto his sleeve, and the two of them ran outside. Fuling liked him a lot, but Shi Shu was only eighteen. He couldn’t yet bear the responsibility of taking care of a child for a lifetime, especially since he had transmigrated.

Walking to the Embroidery Pavilion, Shi Shu stood under the tower to watch the excitement. At noon, he was recognized by one of Xu Hengmen’s servants. “Young Master, your older brother and my master are having a meal at Zuihong Lou. Are you going now, Young Master?”

Xu Hengmen and Xie Wuchi, these people talked about macro issues, national and political affairs. Shi Shu didn’t understand. “I’m not going. I’ll walk around the street by myself for a while.”

The servant said, “It would be a pity not to go. My master has invited the imperial chef from the palace today. It’s the most famous feast in all of Shaoxing Prefecture. If you miss it, your palate will surely suffer!”

Shi Shu thought about it carefully. “It’s not for the food. I just love watching chefs. Let’s go.”

“…”

The servant led him all the way to Zuihong Lou, said to be the most luxurious restaurant in Shaoxing Prefecture. He saw layers of double-eaved hip-and-gable roofs. It was said that a meal at such a top-tier pavilion cost what an ordinary person would spend in a whole year! It was like a modern five-star hotel.

Shi Shu led Fuling to the door and heard several people chatting.

“They actually invited Xiao Luan Xian too?”

“Xiao Luan Xian has always been unaccommodating. She won’t even make an appearance for the princes and marquises from the Eastern Capital. For her to grace Zuihong Lou with her pipa this time is rare.”

“Didn’t you see the archery on the Zhou family’s pleasure boat last night? That heroic posture, that formidable strength. Xiao Luan Xian has never liked dandies, she only loves heroic figures. That’s probably why she came.”

“…”

Shi Shu stopped in his tracks. He stepped back and saw a graceful back through the screen. Her painted nails were light, her hair full of gold and jade ornaments, revealing a snowy white nape.

This group of young masters who loved elegance all had to speak deferentially to her, not daring to say a single contradictory word.

The back was seated one seat to Xie Wuchi’s left. It seemed someone had intentionally set them up.

Shi Shu scratched his chin and said, “I’m suddenly not feeling well. You guys go ahead and eat. I won’t go in.”

Shi Shu picked up Fuling and made a run for it. “Let’s go, let our bro have his romance.”

Although Fuling was small, Shi Shu treated him like a brother. He bought a string of sugar-coated haws for him. “Little bro, eat up.”

While strolling along the river, Shi Shu saw the middle-aged fisherman from yesterday by the broken bridge again.

This time, he was still standing under the tree, looking up at the treetops in deep thought.

Shi Shu walked over. “Did your fishhook get stuck up there again?”

The middle-aged man turned his face and smiled. “It’s you, little friend.”

Shi Shu looked closely. “Why don’t I teach you how to climb a tree? That way, you can get it yourself in the future.”

The middle-aged man: “I know how to climb a tree, I’m just worried about falling. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

Shi Shu: “Are there many people watching you here? No one is watching you.”

The middle-aged man turned and picked up his fishing rod. “You’re right. Even if I fall, what does it matter?”

Shi Shu grabbed a tree branch and climbed up the tree. The man watched his agile figure. “Dé zhī wǒ xìng, shī zhī wǒ mìng. (To get it is my fortune; to lose it is my fate.) Why is it that when people get something, it’s not happiness, but fear?”

Shi Shu stammered. He was most afraid of having heart-to-heart talks with people. “Uh… old bro, do you also have someone you can’t forget?”

“I suppose so,” the middle-aged man said. “For example, this tree. I used to want to climb it, but after falling once, I never climbed it again, for fear of losing my life. A case of seeing snakes in the shadow of a bow.”

Shi Shu: “Are you talking about climbing the tree?”

“Perhaps not.” The middle-aged man watched Shi Shu standing among the branches, untangling the transparent fishing line. “But a fishhook caught in a tree does require someone to climb the tree to retrieve it. Of course, the person climbing the tree might be in danger of their life, the peril of hanging upside down, the fear of falling. But someone still has to climb the tree. Otherwise, the fishhook cannot be retrieved.”

“…”

Shi Shu didn’t say anything more. This person was definitely not talking about a tree.

Seeing the line was taut again, Shi Shu jumped down with a “thump,” kicking up a cloud of dust. “I’m fine, small problem.”

The middle-aged man took the fishhook and didn’t say thank you. He turned away. “If there is nothing to eat or drink, and only this one fishhook, and the tree is a mountain of blades made of steel knives, who would dare to go up and retrieve it? Does the brave warrior go, or does the one in armor and holding a weapon go? Why can’t the two be the same person?”

“Rùmó, zhuó le xiàng. (Falling into obsession, becoming attached to form.) Even fishing can’t be done in peace.”

Shi Shu changed the subject. Seeing the shallow stream by the bank, he asked casually, “Can you catch anything here?”

“Can’t catch anything, just wasting time. But I don’t dare to climb the tree.”

“…”

Shi Shu didn’t say anything more. He took Fuling’s hand. “I’m leaving.”

The middle-aged man’s refined face showed a smile. “Your name is Xie Shi Shu?”

Shi Shu was surprised. “How did you know?!”

“Wenqing wrote about you in his letter to me. He has been unwilling to leave the Eastern Capital, wanting to wait for the right opportunity to submit his petition, to act when the time is right, and to transform into a dragon at the first sign of a storm. But I have not stepped out of Hedong Academy for ten years. He said his health was not good. How is he now?”

Shi Shu: “Who are you?”

“Xu Shouchun,” the middle-aged man threw his fishhook into the river. “That arrow your older brother shot from the Zhou family’s pleasure boat last night was truly powerful. It shot through my face. Ten years ago, after Pei Zhi died, for the sake of this ancestral glory and wealth, I never touched a bow again. I didn’t have his courage back then, and now, my son is not brave enough either. But seeing that the young descendants of the Great Jing are so strong and powerful now, I am gratified.”

Shi Shu was stunned. “You people…”

“Forget it,” Shi Shu said. “If you want to talk about fishing with me, I can chat. I can’t chat about these things.”

Xu Shouchun: “Hahaha, come, I caught a small fish.”

Not far away, a servant who had been sitting nonchalantly. Shi Shu had thought he was a commoner, but it was actually a servant. He took out a crucian carp from the fish basket.

“Take it to Zuihong Lou and make a soup for his older brother to drink. Say it’s from me. As for you, little friend, weren’t you a little monk before? Then just stay here and fish with me.”

Shi Shu changed the subject. He avoided all inquiries, only talking about fish, so as not to accidentally expose anything.

After all, Xie Wuchi had things to do. Shi Shu was not interested in the court, but he couldn’t sell him out.

After sitting for an hour, Fuling couldn’t sit still anymore. Shi Shu got up to play with him and left the side of the broken bridge.

Xu Shouchun wasn’t particularly impressed with them either. There were many young people who flocked to the Xu clan of Changyang, and the outstanding ones were innumerable. Shi Shu, moreover, wouldn’t say pleasant, flattering words. Xu Shouchun’s few words of conversation could only be considered a good impression of the two. The gift of a single crucian carp was a small courtesy. As for the power he held, he would not bestow it easily.

In the evening, Fuling was taken by the wet nurse to eat and sleep.

Shi Shu had just eaten when the Xu family’s servant came again. “Young Master, your older brother sent a message. He is not coming back tonight.”

Shi Shu: “What!!! Xie Wuchi is not coming back tonight?”

“He said he’s on a night cruise on a pleasure boat, getting drunk among the flowers.” The servant winked. “With a beauty by his side, who would want to come home to an empty bed? Is your brother thirty this year? Did his wife die, is that why he’s all alone?”

“He was always a monk. He only recently returned to secular life…”

Shi Shu thanked him and indicated he understood. After the servant was sent away, he drew water for a bath. “Last night he was so thirsty, tonight he’s not coming back. Xie Wuchi, huh? You move pretty fast, don’t you?!”

When one is quiet, the memories of last night surge.

The swaying kerosene lamp in the boat cabin, the light, hot dream of the night, Xie Wuchi’s eyelashes almost brushing against his, his fingers kneading the teeth in his mouth.

He seemed to have said something, but he couldn’t remember clearly. But he remembered the matter of seeing his tattoo last night with perfect clarity.

Xie Wuchi was a good person.

But Xie Wuchi was not right. He had problems. Not the kind of problems where you curse at people, but psychological problems. Shi Shu had a friend before whose family atmosphere was not good, and he often relied on self-harm to relieve his emotions.

“He said before he had a sex addiction. Judging by his behavior, does he also have to use this channel to vent his stress and maintain a human appearance?”

Shi Shu wiped his fair waist with a damp cloth, the stimulation making him arch his back. “It’s quite important for Xie Wuchi to find a partner, otherwise the only victim will be his roommate, me.”

Cold water trickled from Shi Shu’s fingertips. In his mind was his first kiss in the prison, the tongue forcing its way into his mouth, the throbbing vein on his neck, alluring in the darkness.

In Shukang Prefecture, he was so sick he almost died. The desperate kiss as he was pressed down on the bed, his mouth covered.

Shi Shu’s crow-feather-like long lashes lowered, his brows knitted. At that time, Xie Wuchi’s scarlet eyes, like he was grabbing a life-saving straw, pinched his chin and ground against his lips. Regardless of whether he was psychologically resistant, kissing was actually quite comfortable.

Last night, looking at his tattoo.

“He doesn’t even say he likes me. If I liked someone, I would repeatedly say I like them, do things they like, chat with them, eat, walk, shop, and make them happy.”

“Xie Wuchi hasn’t done any of these things! Very stable, gets horny as soon as no one is around.”

“If I had met a new transmigrator, or if he had met someone else instead of me,” Shi Shu pondered, “would they also have to endure what I experienced?”

The highly self-respecting and self-disciplined Xie Wuchi handled things in an orderly and proficient manner, walking on his defined life path like a ruler. He maintained his martial prowess and health with morning exercises, wrote in his journal, read books, and worked. Only when he was idle after finishing his tasks did he start to get horny.

Arrogant and narcissistic, not the petty kind of arrogance. He just considered himself superior. On the surface, he was polite to people, but in his heart, he was full of a sense of superiority.

Of course, he hadn’t said anything bad to Shi Shu, and he was very good to Shi Shu. Shi Shu could accept it, and he didn’t dislike it. After all, everyone has their own way of living, right?

“So he kisses when he wants to kiss, and makes me look at his tattoo. If it were anyone else, I would have hit them long ago, but Xie Wuchi is sick, so how can I say that…”

The cloth in Shi Shu’s hand was twisted into a knot. The scene of Xie Wuchi kissing him, the whirlwind of his dirty talk made his head spin—

“Want to see me come?”

“I like your gaze.”

“Is it beautiful?”

“What the hell! You don’t even say you like me! If you said you liked me, I would have clearly rejected you. You’re just leaving me here to guess.”

“Fine, fine, don’t come back. If you really get into a relationship, I’ll even wish you happiness! But this does give me a reminder. I can’t just let him touch me randomly anymore. It’s a relationship with no beginning and no end.”

After Shi Shu finished his bath, he lay down and pulled up the quilt. Unexpectedly, he had a nightmare. In his dream, not only did Xie Wuchi speak to him gently and smile, but he also held his neck and kissed him repeatedly, laughing softly as he kissed, touching his ear, completely ignoring his straightness. The feeling was alluring and hard to resist.

Shi Shu had never recalled it, but he had never forgotten it either.

After kissing his lips, he pressed Shi Shu to touch his tattoo. His fingertips touched the pattern, the Ouroboros with the radiance of the sun extending from its tail, self-destruction and self-rebirth. The sharp light scattered in all directions, the mottled scars a painful spot under the skin. He had never seen what Xie Wuchi looked like in a relationship, but on that night in the Shukang Prefecture medical bureau, he kissed him from above, and Shi Shu remembered with perfect clarity the passion in his eyes.

Psycho, crazy!!!

In the dream, Xie Wuchi clung to him like a ghost.

Shi Shu didn’t remember if he had dodged. He was repeatedly kissed on the face by Xie Wuchi, his consciousness in a montage state—the uneasy voice, breath, the veins on the back of his hand, the tightening of bones, the light and shadow, the words of the two people—they had always existed in his memory. Once they were woven into a grotesque dream, it was as if he were swimming in a forest.

—The sound of the watchman’s clapper. Shi Shu opened his eyes and returned to clarity.

He lifted the quilt and sat up on the bed. His handsome features, illuminated by the moonlight, had a touch of coldness. There was no emotion on his face.

“Forget it. I was willing before. After all, you saved my life and have always been good to me. Letting you kiss and touch me a couple of times is fine. Now that you have someone, I won’t do it anymore. If you joke again, I’ll ignore you.”

“I’m not a petty person either, to think about such a small thing over and over~”

“People always have some big or small problems. I let you kiss me a few times, that’s enough.”

Shi Shu pondered, “It’s just that if I really get into a relationship in the future, I’ll feel a little sorry for the person. Why don’t I just make it clear beforehand, and see who is willing to accept me. After all, being kissed by a man can be considered a stain.”

“But I’ve fucking transmigrated, and I’m still thinking about relationships. This is my life! I’m not getting into one!”

After thinking it over and over, Shi Shu found that his usually carefree personality was actually suffering from insomnia for the first time!

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, Shi Shu simply got up and went to the courtyard to practice running, yawning. Running, letting the wind brush past his ears, his mood instantly improved a lot. He ran until sweat dripped from his fair earlobes. Shi Shu leaned on his knees, looking down at the beads of sweat gathering on the stone slabs. He had finally figured this matter out.

Xie Wuchi, you have offended me.

If he was in a relationship with Xie Wuchi, it wouldn’t matter. He was very conceited and most likely looked down on entertainers.

But no matter what, you shouldn’t have provoked me from the beginning.

What’s bound to happen will happen. Shi Shu and his dorm roommates still tolerated each other’s bad habits. For example, his roommate played games late at night and was very loud, and Shi Shu took three showers a day after training, making it impossible for others to use the bathroom. To have coexisted peacefully with Xie Wuchi for so long without any conflict was abnormal in itself.

Shi Shu went to the well, drew a bucket of water, took off his clothes, and washed himself, wiping the sweat from his arms clean.

For the past two months, he had indeed been too dependent on him. Because Xie Wuchi was emotionally stable, experienced in handling matters, and had reliable methods, he was obviously much more mature than him both psychologically and physiologically. So Shi Shu relied on him.

While wiping his back, a figure walked in from the end of the courtyard, tall and proper, with a very steady and elegant demeanor. He wore a light blue long robe. Who else could it be but Xie Wuchi?

As soon as he saw him, Shi Shu’s mind instantly recalled the dream and last night’s events. He shook his head to clear the thoughts and yawned.

“You’re back?” Shi Shu asked.

Xie Wuchi: “You’re not asleep yet?”

Shi Shu put on his clothes, emptied the water from the wooden bucket, and went into the house. “I slept for a bit and then got up. I couldn’t really sleep.”

“What’s wrong?”

Shi Shu: “Nothing, just thinking about things. By the way, the fisherman we met yesterday was actually Xu Shouchun!”

“I guessed it was him when we met yesterday, so it really was. No need to see him again. We leave for the Eastern Capital tomorrow. That bowl of fish soup counts as him agreeing to do me a favor. He’ll have to promote me in the future.”

Shi Shu: “Okay.” He yawned again.

Xie Wuchi turned his head, his calm gaze turning to him. “Were you waiting for me?”

“…Not really. I really did just wake up.”

Xie Wuchi stood by the candlelight, untying his clothes. After taking off his outer robe, he raised his hand to push his hair back and tied it with a black ribbon.

Shi Shu looked away, picked up the clothes on the bed, and said, “I’m going to sleep for a while more. Call me when it’s time to leave tomorrow.”

Xie Wuchi: “Okay.”

After saying this, he saw Shi Shu walk out the door and push open the one to the adjacent room.

Author’s Note:
The previous part was a bit rushed. I might need to revise it a little. I also want to revise the chapter where Xie Wuchi gets sick and kisses Little Shi Shu to be a bit crazier. I need to do some revisions these two days.

Unlock a small theater:

Little Shi Shu takes the initiative to climb into bed for an assassination, kissing and hugging Xie Wuchi every day, deliberately touching the handsome guy’s tattoo to provoke him. But because the little straight man is too nervous, even though they kiss and touch every day, they still haven’t done it. It takes a month.

Then, Little Shi Shu’s psychological state during the assassination: Xie Wuchi seems to be busy with big things recently, let’s wait.

Xie Wuchi seems to be doing good things, let’s wait.
I was kissed into a daze today, forgot…
My legs were kissed until they were weak today, uh, tomorrow…
And so on.

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