UCTOOT CH39

“You don’t understand wine, what can you taste?”

“I can’t drink, but you won’t let me learn?”

Xie Wuchi lifted his robe and sat down, taking the wine pot. “Wine is also called an ‘aphrodisiac,’ used to stimulate passion. It’s a sexual stimulant. If you like, you can have a few more cups.”

Shi Shu’s hand immediately recoiled as if bitten by a snake. “…Huh?”

Xie Wuchi: “In short, it can relax one’s emotions and bring about a pleasant mood.”

“Hmph, I don’t believe you. I’ll drink it. No one can disturb the mind of this angel of justice. I can sit with a beauty in my lap and be unmoved, understand? I’m not a pervert like you—this one isn’t spicy, it’s sweet.”

Xie Wuchi sneered. “You want strong liquor? Boatman.”

Hearing this, the boatman poling the boat responded, “It’s in the dustpan. Please help yourself to sift it. We’ll count how much you’ve sifted and settle the bill when you disembark!”

Xie Wuchi led Shi Shu to uncover a bamboo basket, which held several jars. Unsealing them revealed jar after jar of wine with different alcohol contents: local specialty fermented rice wine, as well as flower wine, huadiao, wheat-leavened wine, and shao dao. Shi Shu ladled out a bowl of the strongest-smelling wine and returned to the small table to sit down.

To be honest, Shi Shu was in a very good mood now.

“What’s the difference between this and traveling! So authentic.”

Xie Wuchi poured the wine down his throat. “That’s right. The common people are pitiful in times of war, but when there is hope during festivals, everything seems lovely again.”

Shi Shu sipped slowly. “I like festivals. It would be great if it were a festival every day.”

As they drew closer to the theater stage and the embroidery pavilion, the boatman stopped the boat at a suitable viewing position and said, “If you two wish to return, just light the lantern.” With that, he hopped across other boats and ran ashore.

Shi Shu: “He went to watch the fun too?”

Xie Wuchi: “Leaving us some private space. Isn’t that nice?”

“Alright, it is indeed nice. I was a bit uncomfortable with the owner here, it’s perfect that he’s gone. This feeling of being on a boat is really great!”

Shi Shu was so excited he couldn’t keep his hands and feet still, leaning over the side of the boat to scoop at the fish. Unexpectedly, his hand suddenly caught something. He lifted a dripping black mass out of the water and identified it for a moment. “Xie Wuchi, whose clothes fell into the river?”

Xie Wuchi followed his gaze, his brow furrowing. “Throw it away. Didn’t your mother teach you not to pick up random things?”

Shi Shu: “What’s wrong?”

“That’s not clothing, it’s a dudou.”

“Ah?!!! A dudou?!”

Shi Shu flung it back into the river with a swish and scooped up water to wash his hands. “I know what a dudou is! Pervert! On the waist! Was it that exciting? The dudou even fell into the water—”

“You guess?”

Xie Wuchi held his wine cup, his vacant gaze shifting from Shi Shu. “Valentine’s Day is a time for romance. Stimulated by alcohol or the festive atmosphere, people’s dopamine secretion makes them crave love more, and thus their emotions are harder to control.”

“Even romance isn’t this unrestrained, is it? This girl threw her clothes away.”

Xie Wuchi corrected him, “What you fished out was a man’s dudou. Of course, it’s hard to rule out whether his partner was male or female.”

“…………”

Shi Shu washed his hands clean. “Men wear dudous too?”

“To protect the navel,” Xie Wuchi said, his eyes lowered to the swirling wine, a faint smile on his lips. “There is also a custom where lovers give dudous as tokens of affection. The recipient wears it close to their body at all times. The meaning is profound. How can you know how many ways people can think of to express love?”

Shi Shu: “…That sounds so lewd.”

“Love is sharing each other’s body heat and scent.”

Xie Wuchi’s gaze lingered on the fair skin of Shi Shu’s ear and neck. Thinking of something, he retracted his gaze and drained the wine in his cup. “To feel love is something one encounters by chance, not something one can seek.”

“Aiya, it got my hands dirty.”

Shi Shu scratched his chin. The sentence floated past his mind.

He hadn’t paid any attention, instead picking up a piece of pickled fish. “Haven’t tried this before, let me have a taste.”

The small boat gently rocked on the water, surrounded by the cheerful laughter and clinking glasses from nearby fishing boats. Hearing the commotion, he looked through the boat’s canopy. On the embroidery pavilion, Madam Red Thread’s matchmaking had begun. The stage was brightly lit, and she was pulling along a handsome young man.

“Alright, let me ask you, how old are you, how many people in your family, what kind of person are you looking for?”

“Nineteen this year, only parents at home. We run an oil mill at the east end of the street. Looking for someone virtuous who can manage a household.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, an oil mill. Ladies, this family is rich! Are his parents easy to get along with?”

“They’re alright, my parents are both honest people.”

“…”

Shi Shu’s eyes lit up. He propped his chin on his hand and watched the fun. “Matchmaking is best watched when it’s others. Getting on stage yourself is really not okay.”

Xie Wuchi glanced over, drinking his wine faintly without speaking.

The small boat was quite close. Many people below the stage were jeering. Shi Shu was also very engrossed. Next, the matchmaker began analyzing the personal conditions of the next man. “Six-foot-three, thirty-five, has two sons at home, no farmland, but owns a steamed bun shop and two houses left by his father. Everyone, should a woman marry such a man?”

Shi Shu carefully scrutinized the man. “No. This man has no job and is idle. Xie Wuchi, what do you say, should she marry him?”

Xie Wuchi looked up. Seeing the bit of clear light on the tip of Shi Shu’s nose, he averted his gaze. “Ask if the man has brothers. If he does, don’t marry him. Looking at his complexion, he’ll probably die early. If he has no brothers, she’ll inherit the estate. Brothers will fight over the property.”

Shi Shu: “Wow! You can even think of that. As expected of a chaebol brother.”

Next, a handsome and lean man stood on the stage. He looked dashing and bright, with a youthful, wild aura. He got the embroidered ball and, without thinking, tossed it into a corner. “Catch!”

Shi Shu looked closely. It turned out there was a young girl standing among the tree branches. Hit on the head by the embroidered ball, she turned and ran in embarrassment. The young man ran down the pavilion in a few steps, quickly weaving through the crowd to chase after her.

“What are you running for! Still shy? You’ll be marrying into my family next month!”

The surroundings erupted in laughter. “The big boy and the little girl are childhood sweethearts!”

“This pair is good! I approve!”

Shi Shu also laughed. “Tsk tsk tsk, so sweet. Did I kill someone in my past life to have to watch this?”

Shi Shu’s fair face was illuminated by the light, his smile bright. He turned and took another sip of the spicy wine, his eyes and brows tinged with a brilliant red.

Xie Wuchi hooked the tassel hanging from the corner of the table with one hand, playing with it idly, the cool silk brushing his fingertips. His gaze on his well-defined face lingered on Shi Shu’s nose, then moved down.

Xie Wuchi: “Matchmaking is really interesting.”

Shi Shu couldn’t help but get an idea and joked, “Xie Wuchi, tell me your conditions. I’ll analyze whether a person like you is worth marrying and see if there’s anyone suitable for you.”

Xie Wuchi: “Me?”

“Quick, tell me, tell me, tell me.”

Xie Wuchi: “Blind dates are essentially a comparison of interests. My conditions, they are not worthy of knowing.”

Shi Shu: “Damn, do you have to be so arrogant?”

Xie Wuchi said flatly, “But you can ask me what kind I like.”

Shi Shu: “Then what kind do you like?”

Xie Wuchi raised his cup, the clear wine reflecting in his eyes. “I want to embrace, touch, and make love with someone, so I like others to be obedient and sensible.”

Shi Shu gave a thumbs-up. “Nice. Who doesn’t like an obedient one?”

Isn’t this just the protagonist in a domineering CEO novel who fucks hard? High self-esteem, high narcissism, looks at people like dogs, and even in love, demands complete obedience from their partner. A big shot is usually accompanied by an obedient wife.

Xie Wuchi’s voice lowered. “What kind do you like?”

Shi Shu scratched his jaw. “I’m fine with any kind.”

“The fewer the requirements, the higher the requirements.” Xie Wuchi poured a cup of wine. “Or are you the type of person who will be with someone as long as they pester you relentlessly, beg with low self-esteem, and cry while begging for your love? After all, you don’t know how to refuse at all.”

Shi Shu considered the scenario he had set up. “…Wait a minute, don’t say it.”

Shi Shu was indeed a bit of a softy. He had always been soft-hearted and didn’t have a clear preference for now. But if someone loved him to that extent, it wouldn’t be impossible for Shi Shu to be in a relationship like that. After all, a person’s sincere heart is very precious.

“A sincere heart for a sincere heart. Only those who cherish it are worthy of having it.”

“…”

The small boat created a slight ripple.

Xie Wuchi drained the wine in his cup. “I’m different. I won’t beg someone to love me. Love should be plunder.”

“I don’t get it. What’s there to discuss about an abstract thing like love?” Shi Shu stood up. “I’m going to watch the matchmaking.”

However, when Shi Shu looked over, dots of fire were floating on the shore. Someone was coming over holding river lanterns one by one.

“Buy a river lantern? Buying any river lanterns?”

Once placed in the water, the river lanterns would float far away along the meandering current. Someone rowed a small boat over and asked, “Buying river lanterns? For blessings and wishes to come true!”

Shi Shu called out to the seller, “Wait, can I take a look?”

“Coming right up! We have lotus, mandarin duck, flower and bird styles. If you are lovers, pick a pair of mandarin ducks to release together.”

Shi Shu chose from the basket. “These two magpies are nice. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!”

The seller poled away. Shi Shu played with the river lantern in his hand and handed one to Xie Wuchi. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I’ve never released a river lantern before. Since it’s so lively, I have to participate. Xie Wuchi, think of a wish. I’ll think of one too.”

“What is your wish?”

“I only have one wish: to transmigrate back home.”

It was quiet by his ear. Shi Shu focused on placing the river lantern into the water. The water’s buoyancy helped the lantern float further away. When he saw the small river lantern disappear into the vast sea of lanterns, Shi Shu turned back to see Xie Wuchi reaching out to place a lantern on the river’s surface, his long fingers gently pushing the base of the lantern away.

“I don’t believe in these things, but I made the same wish for you.”

Shi Shu was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands. “Brother, you’re a real one! Not bad, not bad, applause.”

“You’re welcome.”

A night of fish and dragon dances.

After the tension in Shukang Prefecture, Shi Shu was rarely this happy. The atmosphere was great amidst the laughter, and he couldn’t help but drink a few more cups until his head became very light and it was difficult to gather his thoughts.

A sense of alarm rose in Shi Shu’s heart. “Xie Wuchi, my head is a little dizzy.”

Xie Wuchi: “You’re drunk, but it’s fine. I’ll take you back in a bit.”

Shi Shu: “Is this what being drunk feels like? My legs are weak, I can’t concentrate, and my thoughts feel a bit detached.”

“Do you like the feeling of being tipsy?”

“…………”

What a psycho. Why does Xie Wuchi always have this feeling of luring people to fall?

“It’s average. I’m in a good mood today so I had a couple more drinks. I plan not to drink for the next six months,” Shi Shu said proudly.

Shi Shu watched the river view and shelled a peanut to eat. He had just taken a bite when he covered his mouth. “So painful.”

Xie Wuchi: “What’s wrong?”

“My tooth hurts. Do I have a canker sore, or am I growing a wisdom tooth?”

Xie Wuchi: “You haven’t grown your wisdom teeth yet?”

Shi Shu tilted his head back, his face upturned. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just starting to grow. It’s just that my tooth hurts a lot.”

Xie Wuchi: “Open your mouth, let me see.”

Shi Shu’s head was very dizzy. “Why are you looking at my mouth? No.”

Xie Wuchi poured a cup of clean, warm water and handed it over. “Rinse your mouth.”

Shi Shu was unconvinced but still took the water, gargled, and spat it into a nearby basin. “I said no looking. It’s just a toothache. It’ll probably stop hurting in a bit.”

Xie Wuchi: “Suit yourself.”

Despite saying that, Shi Shu didn’t eat anything else. He barely took a sip of wine and immediately hissed in pain, one hand covering his mouth. Shi Shu gave up on the idea of continuing to eat and drink. He turned and lay down on the boat cabin, looking up at the on-and-off singing and acting on the theater stage not far away.

The feeling of being drunk was not good. If he were in the modern world with his parents watching over him, Shi Shu couldn’t have had a single sip. Now that no one was watching, he actually got drunk to the point of being tipsy.

Shi Shu lay there in a spread-eagle position. “My tooth hurts.”

A toothache isn’t a disease, but when it hurts, it’s really killer. Shi Shu was originally a bit sleepy, but the pain kept him from sleeping for a while. A moment later, the boat was suddenly bumped by the one next to it, and Shi Shu jumped up.

The person next door said, “Sorry, sorry! Swung the tail too hard and bumped into you.”

Shi Shu retracted his gaze. At this moment, Xie Wuchi had one hand on the inner wall of the boat cabin, and they had crashed into each other, their figures suddenly overlapping.

Shi Shu: “My tooth hurts—”

Before he could finish, Xie Wuchi’s hand cupped his chin, gently rubbing the line of his jawbone. “Don’t move.”

Shi Shu: “…What can you see?”

Xie Wuchi’s hand was very hot, and the calluses were rubbing against his skin again. To be honest, having his chin pinched by him a few times, Shi Shu was getting used to it. In the darkness, a pair of round eyes stared at him, his expression carrying a youthful stubbornness, his eyes occasionally glancing down at Xie Wuchi’s movements.

Xie Wuchi reached out, took the lamp, and the circle of light instantly gathered only on their faces.

“Your face isn’t swollen. Open your mouth.”

Shi Shu: “Do you even know what you’re looking at? Don’t touch me! Hiss—”

Shi Shu’s skin was fair, a slight contrast to Xie Wuchi’s sun-tanned hands. He wasn’t very cooperative at first, but his lips were gently rubbed by a fingertip. “Open.”

“Hehe.” Shi Shu thought of Xie Wuchi kissing him and his eyes widened angrily. But now his mind was foggy, his will to resist was unclear, and he unexpectedly lay there very softly, blinking as he stared at him. “What are you doing?”

After his lips were parted by a thumb, an index finger reached into his mouth. The slender knuckles pressed down on his tongue, feeling for the position of his molar.

“Mmm…” Shi Shu felt as if he was frozen, struggling with his arms and legs for a moment.

His molar was gently rubbed as if to check for a new tooth pushing through. Mentally, Shi Shu should have been fiercely rejecting such an intimate gesture, but the alcohol had dissolved his perception and will, and his physical movements were very light.

In the black-canopied boat, a small oil lamp allowed Xie Wuchi to get close, casting a circle of light that reflected in his handsome, fair nose bridge and brown eyes.

Xie Wuchi: “You are indeed growing a wisdom tooth—hmm?”

“Chu…”

Shi Shu’s teeth had always been white, beautiful, and neat since he was little, arranged like seashells, very healthy. With his jaw held tightly by Xie Wuchi, he had to endure.

When Xie Wuchi touched the moist heat inside his mouth, his brow furrowed sharply. He gently rubbed the fair gumline and was about to withdraw when he was suddenly bitten lightly. The culprit, Shi Shu, stared with wide, blank eyes, not knowing what had happened.

“Still hurts? Let me help you. Maybe it will be better if I rub it.” Xie Wuchi’s hand on his chin didn’t move, instead focusing on pressing. His index finger pressed back on his lips, his voice carrying a patient command. “Open your mouth.”

“Still looking? Why isn’t it over yet?”

As soon as Shi Shu opened his mouth, the finger reached into his oral cavity again, not as direct as before. Shi Shu perplexedly felt the finger repeatedly massaging the bone of his jaw, like a scene from a movie, rubbing the inflamed and swollen area inside his mouth. His fingers were strong, but it didn’t cause Shi Shu any particular discomfort.

Shi Shu: “Uh…?”

Shi Shu blinked, his gaze meeting Xie Wuchi’s, his eyes a little confused.

A darkness in Xie Wuchi’s eyes. “Further examination is needed.”

The black-canopied boat, the Red Thread Festival, the reed marshes. The restless air of a summer night.

Xie Wuchi’s gaze was hidden by his eyelashes. On such matters, he always seemed to be able to control things with ease. His finger brushed against Shi Shu’s lips, his back stiffening. He leaned over, his gaze damp and dark as he stared at him. “Shi Shu?”

“Hmm? Your hand…”

“Being rubbed like this, does your tooth still hurt?”

“Uh.”

Shi Shu looked at him blankly.

Xie Wuchi lowered his eyes, pinching the jaw that held his lips parted.

His voice was as cold as an observer’s. “If I rub a little harder, will it be a little better?”

Shi Shu: “…Maybe?”

Shi Shu’s head was dizzy from being drunk. For a moment, he forgot that Xie Wuchi was a man, that this distance and intimacy seemed too close, a little wrong.

Shi Shu’s eyes darted as he looked at him. The finger was still rubbing his tooth, a gentle abrasion that made his whole jaw feel a little soft, a slightly unfamiliar sensation.

“Tell me, baby, does your tooth still hurt?”

Xie Wuchi’s voice seemed to come from far away, comforting him, repeatedly asking for an answer.

Shi Shu: “Guh… Xie Wuchi…”

And Xie Wuchi really did, soothing that tingling sensation, lowering his head to reflect his handsome features, the thin calluses on his fingertips intentionally or unintentionally brushing against Shi Shu’s jaw as he caressed it.

“No, not comfortable…!”

“Don’t be impatient. A little slower, and it will be fine.”

“What will be fine?”

A low voice: “The wisdom tooth won’t hurt anymore.”

Xie Wuchi’s voice was trembling, his hot breath like fire, landing on the tip of his nose.

“What?!” Shi Shu was having trouble breathing. He simply reached out and removed his finger, turning his head away. “Ah, I’m done for, I can’t breathe! What are you doing?! What are you mumbling about?!”

Xie Wuchi didn’t continue, but his knuckles brushed against his lips again, with control and a sense of locking him in. The blue veins on the back of his broad hand were stark and fierce, the calluses on his fingers heavy as he held the youth’s handsome jaw.

Xie Wuchi’s spine tingled with an itch. His thumb caressed, feeling every inch of the skin’s texture and temperature, the breath and the heat.

The proper and elegant clothes covered Shi Shu’s body. He lowered his head, dark hair spilling over his shoulders, his nose tip to Shi Shu’s nose tip, the beast inside him crashing against his organs until they ached.

Xie Wuchi took a breath, a suppressed, dark coldness flashing in his eyes in the darkness. He let go.

The sharp sound of the night watchman’s gong in the distance dispersed the entire atmosphere.

“It’s getting late. The boatmen are starting to pack up. You’re also very drunk. Time to go back and rest,” Xie Wuchi said.

The boatman was brought over by a small boat. “You two, heading back? No need to pay, the young master of the Xu family has covered everything. Please head back.”

“Thank you.”

Shi Shu’s head was spinning as he waited for the boat to rock to the shore. Xie Wuchi got off the boat, his figure appearing upright and imposing in the shadows of the elms and willows, proper and elegant, his steps leading the way, seeming to keep a distance from Shi Shu.

But in the next second, he heard Shi Shu: “Hey, hey, hey—how did I miss a step!”

Xie Wuchi’s sleeves drooped as he pulled him onto his back. “Get on.”

Shi Shu waved his hand to refuse. “No need, I can walk. Don’t worry about me.”

After a moment of silence, Xie Wuchi also spoke.

“Suit yourself.”

The road from the Lao River to the Hedong Academy took some time to walk. This river led directly to the Hedong Academy. Shi Shu walked with deep and shallow steps, the night wind cooling his body and mind.

When he reached a bridge, he saw a man of refined and indifferent middle age standing by the bridge, a fishing rod placed next to him, looking up intently at a tree.

Shi Shu asked, “What is this person doing?”

Xie Wuchi glanced to the side. “I don’t know.”

The middle-aged man had his hands behind his back and didn’t speak, just kept staring at the tree.

Shi Shu thought there was something in the tree, walked over, and looked up at the tree. “What are you looking at?”

The middle-aged man seemed to have just returned from his thoughts and said, “Oh, I cast my fishing line and the hook got caught in the tree. I’m thinking about how to get it down.”

Shi Shu followed a very thin silver thread and saw the hook. He said, “Can’t you climb the tree? I’ll help you.”

“No need, I’ll just leave the fishing line,” the middle-aged man said.

“It’s fine, it’ll be quick!”

With that, before Xie Wuchi could react, Shi Shu had already started climbing the tree.

Xie Wuchi frowned slightly but didn’t speak, standing under the tree.

Only after climbing the tree did Shi Shu discover that the fishhook and the branches were tangled. It was too dark to see clearly. He got close and untangled it for a moment before jumping down. “It’s done!”

The middle-aged man chuckled and said, “Thank you. It seems I am indeed one who knows easily but acts with difficulty.”

After saying this, the man, his face full of contemplation, cast his fishing rod back into the river and stopped talking to them.

Shi Shu didn’t think anything of it, let out a wine-scented burp, covered his mouth, and ran forward. Xie Wuchi glanced at the middle-aged man and followed behind Shi Shu.

After climbing flights of towering stairs, it was dark in the night’s view. A young servant came forward to ask, “What are you two here for?”

After stating their purpose, the servant quickly said, “Please follow me. The young masters are very concerned about your arrival and have already prepared rooms. Your luggage is also stored in the rooms, and the child has been taken to sleep by a wet nurse.”

Following the lantern, they arrived at the side rooms behind the academy. With a “creak—,” the servant closed the door, and the lights in the room were lit.

“These two rooms are adjacent, so you two can look out for each other. Please.”

Shi Shu: “Okay, thank you.”

This made Shi Shu think. Previously at Liushui Nunnery, he and Xie Wuchi had to share a room out of necessity. On the road to Shukang Prefecture and at the medical bureau, the conditions were limited, so they had to share a room again. The Xu family was large and wealthy and had arranged two rooms. It seemed a bit awkward to sleep together again.

Shi Shu said, “Then I’ll sleep in the left room, and you sleep in the right one.”

Xie Wuchi: “Okay.”

Shi Shu went headfirst into the room and lay down on the bed. From not far beyond the door came the sound of scholars reciting texts late at night.

“Reserve candidates for the imperial examinations. These students are really hardworking… but it’s making it hard for me to sleep…”

Shi Shu hesitated for a long while, got up, and drunkenly knocked on the next door. “Xie Wuchi, open the door.”

“The door didn’t open immediately,” Shi Shu knocked again. “Xie Wuchi, it’s me! What are you doing in there alone?”

Only then did the door open. Xie Wuchi had changed his clothes, the lapels of his chest still not pulled together. “What’s wrong?”

Shi Shu: “That room is a bit noisy. Can I sleep in your room?”

“My room is also noisy.”

“Really? Let me feel it.” Shi Shu entered the room as if it were his own, went to Xie Wuchi’s bed and lay down. To be honest, having been his roommate for so long, he wasn’t used to not sleeping together.

Xie Wuchi looked at him calmly, went to the table to light a lamp and write in his diary, asking him, “Does your tooth still hurt?”

Shi Shu: “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Those two rubs you gave were effective.”

In an instant, a ripple seemed to appear from Xie Wuchi’s pen. He put down the pen and opened the door, only to be met with the “swoosh” of several Confucian robes’ wide sleeves. It turned out some people were arguing as they walked.

Shi Shu listened carefully. One side was saying, “The river flows downstream. As I see it, we must restore the Confucian orthodoxy. The entire court, civil and military, should govern the world with loyalty and filial piety. His Majesty should repeatedly declare the words ‘loyalty and filial piety’ to rectify the court’s principles, and then the extravagant and corrupt atmosphere in the court and country can be swept away, and the current predicament can be changed.”

“Wrong, wrong, wrong! You are truly an old pedant from a pile of dusty old books!”

“The court should not use loyalty and filial piety anymore, but should broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure! The root of everything lies in the empty national treasury. To get money, there are only two ways: ‘broaden sources’ and ‘reduce expenditure.’ We should think more about ways to find money and not listen to those old men rambling on.”

“Naive, childish. The unity of knowledge and action, who can achieve the unity of knowledge and action?”

“…”

“Brother, sorry, sorry!”

Seeing that they had almost bumped into someone, these people quickly cupped their hands in apology. Xie Wuchi said nothing, took a bucket to the well in the courtyard to draw water, and then closed the door again.

Shi Shu had to admit, “To be studying diligently even during the Qixi Festival, this group of people is really amazing.”

Xie Wuchi glanced at Shi Shu. “Wash up and prepare for bed. They’ve left, you can go back.”

“Oh…”

Shi Shu got up from his bed and walked towards his own room. Unexpectedly, just as he reached the door, that group of scholars returned, still discussing loudly.

Shi Shu couldn’t help but ask, “What are you talking about?”

The crowd turned their heads and saw a handsome young man leaning against the doorway, asking with a smile. They all said enthusiastically, “Who are you?”

Shi Shu: “I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“We are all poor scholars. Our classmates went to the Lao River to celebrate the Red Thread Festival. We have no spare money and nowhere to go, so we can only sit here and chat, calling it a ‘night talk session.’ Do you want to come?”

Someone joked, “Although there are no beauties in red, there are many blue-robed confidants. We guarantee you won’t be lonely tonight.”

“Come on, the night talk session is just beginning!”

Shi Shu was bored anyway, and his feet moved. “Okay, I’d like to listen too.”

Just as he finished speaking, Shi Shu felt the collar of his neck tighten, as if his vital point was being choked by something. Xie Wuchi’s indifferent voice sounded in his ear, “It’s getting late. It’s better for all of you to sleep early.”

Shi Shu was being dragged and struggled. “I can’t sleep.”

“If you can’t sleep, talk to me.” After saying this, Xie Wuchi nodded to the group of scholars and, under their shocked gazes, closed the door.

“…”

The room was instantly dark, the commotion shut outside the door. Shi Shu’s eyes widened in the darkness. Xie Wuchi in front of him had just unfastened the lapels of his upper garment. The layers of clothing were loose, revealing his collarbones and lean muscles, dispelling the propriety of his neatly worn clothes and adding a touch of messy casualness.

The room was dark, filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.

As soon as Shi Shu entered the room, his head spun. “Aren’t you going to wash up…?”

Xie Wuchi: “You watch me wash.”

“Ah?! Why?”

Xie Wuchi: “Or would you rather find your few blue-robed confidants?”

“What are you talking about? It’s just chatting, there’s no other meaning. Besides, you were the one who kicked me out just now.”

“So obedient. Then if I let you come back, you’ll乖乖stay here. We’ll leave after we get the thing from Hedong Academy. It’s better to socialize with these people as little as possible.”

Xie Wuchi took off his upper garment. The account book they had found with great difficulty in Shukang Prefecture was in the inner layer, and he threw it onto the bed.

The air revealed his lean upper body. Normally, Shi Shu would have averted his gaze, but perhaps because he was drunk, Shi Shu blinked and stared at the firm muscles before him.

Xie Wuchi’s skin was not particularly fair. Coupled with the sun and rain in Shukang Prefecture, there was a noticeable line of demarcation in skin tone on his hands and wrists. The back of his veined hand was clearly more tan. When he wiped his neck, that section of his hand was a little dazzling.

In short, Xie Wuchi’s hands looked very sensual.

As Shi Shu watched, a scene from the black-canopied boat seemed to flash in his mind: he was being held down by Xie Wuchi, a lamp shining into his pupils, his mouth also stuffed with his hand.

Shi Shu’s head was dizzy, making it difficult to concentrate his thoughts. In short, he licked his lips subconsciously.

Xie Wuchi was preparing to wash his whole body when he looked up and saw that Shi Shu had not turned away.

“Being rubbed gently like this, is it comfortable?”

“If I rub a little harder, will it be more comfortable?”

“Tell me, baby, is it comfortable or not?”

“Don’t be impatient. A little slower, and it will be fine.”

“…”

These words inexplicably swirled in his mind for a moment. Shi Shu still seemed to not quite understand their meaning. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but failed.

Shi Shu heard the sound of fireworks outside the window, and his attention was immediately diverted. He quickly climbed onto the bed, pushed open the window, and looked out. Hedong Academy was located on the hundred steps of Changyang County, which happened to provide a view of the splendid lights of the riverbank that he had missed.

When the fireworks ended and Shi Shu turned around, Xie Wuchi had already washed his lower body and had tied on a new pair of pants.

Shi Shu’s gaze focused, and he found that Xie Wuchi’s waist was half-exposed, his muscles firm. He said calmly, “Don’t mind it. It’ll be fine in a moment.”

Shi Shu: “You…”

Normally, Shi Shu wouldn’t say this, but now Shi Shu squeezed out a sentence after a long while, “Brother, you’re so handsome.”

Xie Wuchi came closer and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Go to sleep. We’ll continue checking the accounts tomorrow. After we meet Xu Shouchun, we’ll return to the East Capital. If nothing unexpected happens, this is Pei Wenqing’s intentional introduction. If we can establish a relationship with the Xu family of Changyang, more people in the court will support us, which will be very beneficial for our future path.”

Shi Shu: “It’s hard to ignore. Damn.”

Xie Wuchi closed his eyes. In the dim light, he finally realized that Shi Shu was indeed very drunk.

“Are you very interested in it?”

Shi Shu: “Not really. Did you just say climb up with Xu Shouchun?”

Shi Shu felt that this was no different from the countless times he had slept with Xie Wuchi. They would chat casually, it’s just that this time he chose this topic.

Then, Shi Shu’s wrist was grabbed. “Do you want to touch it?”

“…” Shi Shu said definitively, “No. You were just saying that in the court—”

“Then do you want to see it?”

“…………”

Shi Shu: “What are you doing? Why would I look at your abs?”

A scattered light in Xie Wuchi’s eyes. He calmly changed the subject. “Xu Shouchun is not someone an ordinary person can meet. If it weren’t for this letter from Pei Wenqing, we wouldn’t even be able to enter Hedong Academy. And Xu Shouchun is the central figure of the ‘New School.’ A large number of civil officials in the court have ties with him, are directed by him, and follow his lead. Do you know what that represents?”

Shi Shu’s head was dizzy. He looked down. Xie Wuchi had caught his ring finger and hooked it on the thin waistband of his cotton pants, pulling the pants down from his waist inch by inch with his finger.

The skin was scorching hot.

What does it represent?

The blue veins on Xie Wuchi’s neck pulsed. He half-closed his eyes and seemed to let out a somewhat cold gasp. While Shi Shu was still using his remaining thoughts to ponder this question, in his vision, the hard abs on Xie Wuchi’s waist were already revealed.

What does it represent?

A voice pressed against his ear, hoarse.

“Do you want to see my tattoo?”

The tone was suddenly stimulating.

A jolt shot through Shi Shu’s mind, as if he had been struck on the head, all the alcohol turning into cold sweat. “Huh???!!!—”

Ah???!!

Support me on Ko-fi