FIMA Ch131: The Sole Outcome

“Hm?” Gu Siyuan pondered slightly, originally intending to answer directly.

But looking at Xie Chenyun’s beautiful profile illuminated by the candlelight, he recalled the scenes of the two of them sharing a bed in the past days.

At the very least, since arriving in this dynasty, the only physiological reactions he had experienced seemed to have been directed entirely toward a man.

He said with a calm expression, “That is not the key issue. As long as Zhen genuinely likes them, whether they are a man or a woman naturally does not matter.”

If it had been before, Xie Chenyun would have definitely—and very smugly—assumed that Gu Siyuan was using this sentence to declare his love for him.

But after what had just happened…

The doubts that had taken root in his heart since Jiangcheng, those things that felt off, seemed to have their veils forcibly torn away.

…A Gu Siyuan who possessed such profound scheming abilities and such formidable martial arts was naturally not the lustful, foolish ruler he had once thought him to be.

In that case, from the moment they met, was he truly coveting his beauty as he had assumed?

Would a person like this—an Emperor with such far-reaching vision—truly fall in love with him at first sight, to the point of being deeply infatuated and yearning for him day and night?

He lifted his head, looked at Gu Siyuan, and said softly, “Is that so? Hearing this, it seems Your Majesty actually isn’t clear on it yourself. Has Your Majesty… not yet met someone you truly rejoice in?”

Once the words left his mouth, they carried a trembling hoarseness that even he found hard to face.

Xie Chenyun didn’t even know what answer he was hoping to get.

“Chenyun, what is wrong?”

Gu Siyuan had been staring at Xie Chenyun the whole time. Seeing him suddenly put on an expression of unparalleled loneliness and fragility, he was somewhat baffled.

Xie Chenyun looked at him and asked again, “Has Your Majesty ever liked anyone?”

Gu Siyuan’s sword-like eyebrows rose slightly, and he said casually, “Liking or not liking… there is no need to take such mundane emotional affairs to heart. Chenyun still hasn’t explained why you lost your temper so violently just now, even daring to attack Zhen. Do you know what the crime of assassinating the Son of Heaven is, and what fate awaits those who lay a hand on Zhen?”

Xie Chenyun lifted his eyes to glare at him. He raised his right arm, holding his hand flat like a blade, and slashed it directly toward Gu Siyuan.

Except…

The very next moment, it was easily blocked by Gu Siyuan, who effortlessly caught it in his palm with a backhand grip.

Gu Siyuan gently kneaded the slender white fingers in his palm: “Chenyun, how audacious. Knowingly committing a crime?”

Xie Chenyun then remembered that his internal energy had been sealed.

Tch…

He let out a light chuckle.

Even if he wasn’t sealed, he couldn’t beat Gu Siyuan anyway.

In the past, Gu Siyuan had merely been hiding his strength and humoring him.

He couldn’t help but bite his lip, using quite a bit of force, instantly causing faint traces of blood to seep out.

Suddenly, a warmth touched his lips.

Gu Siyuan used his thumb to gently wipe away the blood at the corner of his mouth, saying in displeasure, “Why are you acting like a child? Biting yourself like this?”

Xie Chenyun froze, whispering, “Is Your Majesty this gentle and considerate to everyone?”

Hearing this, Gu Siyuan only found it amusing.

“Chenyun really knows how to joke. If a personality like Zhen‘s could be called gentle and considerate, wouldn’t that be incredibly unfair to those who are truly refined and courteous?”

As he spoke, he pressed down on those bright red lips with keen interest. The lips beneath his finger pad were indeed quite soft.

Consequently, he unconsciously remembered that night in Jiangcheng; he seemed to have genuinely tasted this delicious flavor before.

Gu Siyuan suddenly felt his mouth go dry.

He abruptly stood up, scooped Xie Chenyun into his arms, and walked toward the bed: “Alright, Chenyun, it is time to sleep.”

Seeing Gu Siyuan’s completely natural attitude, Xie Chenyun looked up at his exceedingly handsome face, momentarily not knowing what to say.

He blinked before saying faintly, “Your Majesty, I can walk myself.”

Gu Siyuan bounced the person in his arms slightly to adjust his grip and said, “It is only a few steps. Zhen carrying you is the same.”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Since you know it’s only a few steps, carrying me back and forth—isn’t that even more stupid?

Xie Chenyun suddenly asked again, “Has Your Majesty ever carried anyone else like this?”

Gu Siyuan placed him on the inner side of the bed, then climbed in and lay down on the outer side before answering, “Naturally not. Why would Zhen carry anyone else? It’s not as if they lack legs.”

He naturally opened his arms.

After a long moment, he looked at Xie Chenyun: “What is wrong with you?”

Xie Chenyun snapped back to reality: “Hm?”

Gu Siyuan: “Why aren’t you sleeping in Zhen‘s arms? Didn’t you like doing that before?”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Looking at Gu Siyuan’s calm expression and apathetic gaze, Xie Chenyun felt like he was going to go crazy.

His mind buzzed as he asked, “Does Your Majesty truly never feel this is inappropriate? If the person Your Majesty likes in the future is a man, and he learns that Your Majesty shared a bed so intimately with another man today, I fear he would be displeased.”

Gu Siyuan fell silent for a moment, his eyebrows raising: “That does make sense.”

He had never considered matters of romance before, so he felt two men sleeping like this didn’t matter. But thinking about it carefully, it was indeed inappropriate.

Setting aside the fact that this behavior would be unfair to his future lover… just putting himself in those shoes: if he had a sweetheart like Xie Chenyun, he naturally would be completely unwilling to know that he had once lain so beautifully and obediently in someone else’s arms.

Seeing him hesitate, the sour ache in Xie Chenyun’s heart deepened.

Just as I thought. That beloved person isn’t me.

He gave a soft laugh, asking with a tone that seemed both melancholic and resentful: “Your Majesty, how can you be so affectionate, yet so heartless? Have you ever thought about what you will do when it is your turn in the future—when you yearn for someone but cannot have them, tossing and turning in sleepless torment?”

“…” Gu Siyuan gave him a bewildered look.

What is wrong with him now?

Xie Chenyun clearly saw the confusion in his eyes.

Just like how he hadn’t understood why he had lost his temper so violently by the bath earlier?

Instantly, the smile on his face became even more mournful.

Gu Siyuan felt that things were very wrong.

He quietly observed Xie Chenyun for a moment, then said very calmly: “If Chenyun is worried about Zhen suffering the bitterness of lovesickness, there is no need. If Zhen likes someone, I simply need to open my mouth and they are mine. What need is there for such roundabout pining? It is truly a waste of time.”

The smile on Xie Chenyun’s face deepened, and he sighed slowly: “That is true. A heroic figure like Your Majesty—as long as you ask, people will naturally flock to you like ducks. Which man or woman in the world wouldn’t have their heart moved?”

Hearing this laugh, Gu Siyuan actually detected a trace of melancholy and resentment within it.

Cool strands of hair brushed across his arm. This was Xie Chenyun’s hair; he was very familiar with it.

He couldn’t help but recall his unfinished thoughts on loyalty and exclusivity from a moment ago, remembering the way Xie Chenyun woke up in his arms every single morning—beautiful, obedient, and as cute as a small animal.

He turned his eyes, looking toward the man.

The slightly yellow candlelight of the palace lantern shone upon his jade-white cheeks and his spring-water eyes. The most beautiful scenery in the world was nothing more than this.

Gu Siyuan thought about their various conversations just now, and that laugh from a moment ago.

His heart suddenly stirred. He reached out, scooped up a handful of the person beside him’s ink-black long hair, stared at him, and asked incredibly naturally: “What about you, then? Is your heart moved?”

Xie Chenyun’s expression changed.

He suddenly thought this person had seen right through his mind.

Gu Siyuan’s hand moved from his hair to his cheek, then firmly pinched his chin, asking again: “Zhen is asking you a question.”

Xie Chenyun licked his lips: “Is Your Majesty… joking with me?”

Gu Siyuan’s expression was its usual cold sternness: “I am not. Zhen wants to hear your honest truth.”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Why can he always sound so perfectly justified and confident, even when doing things that are completely unreasonable?

Gu Siyuan leaned in, pressing a light kiss to his cheek, and then his lips.

Xie Chenyun was somewhat bewildered. Biting his lip, he mumbled, “What does Your Majesty want me to say?”

Gu Siyuan’s fingers gently stroked Xie Chenyun’s cheek, and he said with utmost seriousness: “Zhen had never considered matters of romance before. But since you suddenly brought it up just now, Zhen thought it through directly. Zhen has decided that I want you to be the person Zhen likes. Zhen wants to sleep with you, and Zhen wants to hug and kiss you whenever I please.”

“Ah…” Xie Chenyun was shocked to the extreme.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether he should be happy or annoyed in his heart.

Am I too normal, or is this person too abnormal?

Isn’t liking someone something that happens AFTER you fall for them?

Can it actually be pre-determined and decided as a policy?!

Xie Chenyun looked up at Gu Siyuan. His long eyelashes cast cute, fan-shaped shadows under his thin eyelids: “Is Your Majesty sober right now?”

Gu Siyuan nodded, his expression calm, his voice crisp and cold: “When is Zhen ever not sober? The reason Zhen is asking you this is exactly because I am extremely sober.”

“The moment Zhen thought about it, I realized that for various reasons, the relationship between the two of us is truly far too intimate. If this continues, I fear it will pose a hindrance to both our futures. Therefore, if we simply truly get together, that is naturally the best outcome. However, before that, Zhen wishes to know: is your heart moved for Zhen?”

Xie Chenyun was silent for a moment before speaking slowly: “Hasn’t Your Majesty already decided everything?”

Gu Siyuan shook his head: “Although Zhen believes the people of the world are mine for the taking, the result is the result, and the process still requires respect. This concerns our harmonious coexistence for the next half of our lives; at the very least, it requires your consent.”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Then before I consent, can you take back those two kisses you just gave me?!

He tilted his chin up, looking at Gu Siyuan: “Then what if I say my heart isn’t moved? What will Your Majesty do?”

Hearing this, Gu Siyuan froze for a moment.

He was clearly quite surprised and baffled by this answer.

Xie Chenyun stared straight at him.

However, Gu Siyuan was naturally no ordinary person.

Even when rejected to his face by the person he liked, he remained incredibly calm and placid.

He reached out, touched Xie Chenyun’s cheek, and sighed: “Although it is quite a pity that Chenyun cannot immediately share mutual affection with Zhen and travel to Mount Wu together (consummate the relationship), Zhen is naturally not the sort of person who would take by force and plunder. Zhen will pursue Chenyun, until Chenyun throws yourself into Zhen‘s arms as soon as possible.”

Looking at this person’s cold, stern face and calm eyes.

Xie Chenyun asked softly, “Your Majesty, how can you always remain so sober-minded?”

Never losing composure, never hesitating, even when rejected.

Calculating everything clearly and precisely, even emotions.

Gu Siyuan looked at Xie Chenyun, clouds of confusion gathering between his brows.

He truly didn’t understand.

Just a moment ago, this person seemed to think his mind wasn’t sober, yet now he seemed to be complaining that he was TOO sober.

These thoughts were truly contradictory.

However, with a beauty in his arms, there was no need to fuss over such trivial details.

Gu Siyuan moved his arm, scooping up both the person and the blanket into his embrace, patting him gently: “Chenyun is probably not feeling well today. Rest early!”

Tch, it seems even his brain isn’t working properly today.

Xie Chenyun was wrapped up like a furry animal, with only his head poking out.

He rubbed gently against Gu Siyuan’s chest and said in annoyance, “Your Majesty, I haven’t been moved by you yet, so is it really appropriate for you to act like this? Weren’t we supposed to respect each other before that happens?”

Gu Siyuan rubbed his head and said faintly: “En, Zhen is respecting your past habits. Is that not good?”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Unwilling to always let this person control the tempo, Xie Chenyun tried to argue and analyze: “Right now, we are at the juncture of Your Majesty pursuing me. I believe it is best to maintain a certain distance from Your Majesty; otherwise, I fear it will affect my final judgment. Your Majesty, why don’t you unseal my acupoints?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him and pinched his soft cheek: “Chenyun, do not worry. It will not affect the judgment. Because no matter what, at most the process will be different; the result will not change.”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Annoyed, Xie Chenyun opened his mouth and bit down on the webbing of Gu Siyuan’s hand, mumbling: “Who says? What if I am never able to like Your Majesty? Even more so, what if I fall in love with someone else tomorrow?”

Gu Siyuan’s eyes turned freezing. He swept a glance over him and said apathetically, “Then the acupoints will remain sealed for now.”

“…” Xie Chenyun.

Gu Siyuan then called out toward the outside of the hall: “From this day forth, Beauty Xie is not permitted to take a single step out of the manor. If there is even the slightest mistake, you will all come see me with your heads in your hands.”

“Yes!”

The neat, solemn voices of the guards acknowledging the order echoed from outside the room.

“…” Xie Chenyun.

What happened to respect?!

What happened to not being the sort of person who ‘takes by force and plunders’?!

So THIS is the only reason the result won’t change…

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