Chapter 40
They separated as soon as they made contact .
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For a moment, Zhong Wan couldn’t think straight . He had lost his balance because of Yu She’s tugging, so instinctively wrapped his arms around the other’s waist . Yu She furrowed his brows and grabbed Zhong Wan’s wrists . Then, he twisted them behind Zhong Wan’s back and pressed him against the desk .
There was slight anger flashing in Yu She’s eyes . He furiously said, “Close your eyes . ”
Zhong Wan couldn’t respond because of how panicked he was . He did exactly as Yu She said and closed his eyes . Zhong Wan anxiously thought, does Yu She actually know how to kiss or not? This posture and aura… is more similar to that of an evil ghost trying to swallow a human, right?
Zhong Wan closed his eyes and prepared himself for the fact that Yu She would probably bite him hard enough to bleed . The next moment—
The next moment, Zhong Wan felt Yu She kiss him again .
Unexpectedly, Yu She was being extremely gentle .
Yu She gently brushed against Zhong Wan’s lips, even more gently than before .
Zhong Wan relaxed . His lips unconsciously parted . Instantly, he felt Yu She’s breathing become more rapid .
With eyes still shut, Zhong Wan thought, it’s over . Yu She was probably going to think he was being frivolous again . He was just about to press his lips together once more when suddenly, something slid in…
Zhong Wan’s face instantly flushed red . This person…
Had clearly just warned him earlier, but now he was the one who was… who was…
Zhong Wan lost the ability to think .
Young Prince Yu was young, but maybe because he had read all sorts of storybooks, he knew much more than Zhong Wan .
Zhong Wan’s waist went soft .
He became lost in Yu She’s kiss . The tip of his tongue instinctively twitched . Yu She furrowed his brows and pulled back .
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With anger in his eyes, Yu She glared at Zhong Wan .
Zhong Wan ground his teeth together . So Yu She could do whatever he wanted, but he couldn’t even move in the slightest?
Whose family rules were these?!
“My family rules . ” Yu She could tell what Zhong Wan was thinking . He stared at Zhong Wan in rage . After slight hesitation, he repeated himself lowly, “You… can’t move . ”
Zhong Wan was still a bit dazed . He reflexively nodded .
Whatever . Anything this lunatic said was law .
Yu She furrowed his brows . Without letting Zhong Wan go, he held up Zhong Wan’s right wrist . “How did you actually get this?”
Itbcu Qjc mjrejiis gfrqbcvfv, “P jmmlvfcajiis wjvf j rwjii rmgjamt…”
Te Vtf mbwqifafis lucbgfv tlw . Lf rlwqis ecvlv atf ktlaf mibat kgjqqfv jgbecv Itbcu Qjc’r tjcv .
Itbcu Qjc ujrqfv rtjgqis ogbw atf qjlc . Te Vtf’r olcufgr qjerfv afwqbgjglis yfobgf mbcalcelcu ab gfwbnf atf ktlaf mibat, ecjoofmafv .
Te Vtf mbivis rajgfv ja atf ugefrbwf kbecvr bc Itbcu Qjc’r qjiw . “Cmmlvfcaji rmgjamtfr?”
Zhong Wan laughed dryly . “At a time like this… why are you so caught up on this matter?”
Yu She halted for a moment . His expression became a bit icier . “If you don’t want to tell me, then whatever…”
Zhong Wan froze . His instinct told him that if he didn’t explain things clearly, Yu She would probably overthink them . He quickly said, “I went to see an old acquaintance . Hearing him… speak of the past events on our estate, I became briefly aggrieved…”
Yu She hadn’t expected for Zhong Wan to give him an explanation . His pupils trembled . He spent some time calming down, then lowered his head and silently rewrapped Zhong Wan’s wound .
“Old memories of times long gone . Boring even when spoken about,” Zhong Wan smiled . “They weren’t good memories either . Don’t ask about them, Young Prince Yu . ”
Yu She didn’t respond . After bandaging Zhong Wan up, he let the other go and said, “You may leave . ”
Zhong Wan’s face was still a bit red as he reminisced about the events that had just occurred . He wanted to leave quickly too . He turned around, but before he could depart from the shelter, he heard Yu She softly say, “Five days later… you’re still allowed to visit my estate . ”
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The corners of Zhong Wan’s lips slightly quirked up . He exited the shelter .
On this thirty-fifth day after Third Prince’s passing, Zhong Wan’s thoughts were adrift . Only Yu She was on his mind .
After completing everything with everyone else, dizzy all the while, he finally returned to their estate . Zhong Wan only wanted to go back to his room and rethink everything that had happened in the shelter again . Unexpectedly, after the horse carriage stopped and he got out, he instantly saw Lin Si .
Xuan Congxin had never seen Lin Si before . Upon seeing him through the curtain, she was surprised . “Who is that?”
Zhong Wan’s heart skipped a beat . Lin Si had always been careful in everything he did . Why would he be boldly standing here?
Zhong Wan told someone to help the two young masters into their courtyards, then walked over alone . Once he was a bit closer, he noticed that Lin Si seemed strange . It appeared that he had been hit by someone; the skin by the corner of his lips was abraded .
Lin Si’s gaze was empty . Upon seeing Zhong Wan, he froze for a moment . Then, as if extremely tired, he knelt .
“Let’s speak inside . ” Zhong Wan immediately helped Lin Si up . “Get up . ”
In Zhong Wan’s room, Lin Si cradled the hot tea Zhong Wan had handed him . He remained completely silent .
“What happened?” Zhong Wan turned his head to observe the corner of Lin Si’s lips carefully . He furrowed his brows . “Who hit you?!”
Lin Si kept his head down . He didn’t reply .
Zhong Wan had a headache because of how worried he was . “What actually happened? If you don’t want to sign, write it down! Who dared to hit you?!”
Lin Si set the tea cup down off to the side . He signed, “Fourth Prince . ”
Zhong Wan was speechless . “He… Doesn’t he trust you completely? Why did he hit you?”
A thought flashed through Zhong Wan’s mind . He anxiously exclaimed, “Does he think that you’re still working for me? That you’ll try to harm him?!”
Lin Si shook his head and let out an exhausted sigh .
Zhong Wan couldn’t sit still because of how angry he was at Lin Si . “So what is actually the problem?!”
For a long time, Lin Si remained quiet . Then, he stood up and knelt in front of Zhong Wan .
An idea struck Zhong Wan . “Or… have you decided to become completely loyal to Xuan Jing?”
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In actuality, since their last secret conversation, Zhong Wan had already started contemplating . Xuan Jing and Yu She were on opposing sides . Since he had already decided to stay in the capital and help Yu She, Lin Si would be stuck between a rock and a hard place between the two of them . Zhong Wan quickly said, “There have been too many things happening in these past few days . I didn’t have the time to tell you, but listen to me now, Lin Si…”
Zhong Wan half-knelt and held onto Lin Si’s shoulders . He smiled . “I was just about to tell you . Lin Si… you no longer need to do anything for me in the future . ”
Lin Si instantly widened his eyes .
“Hear me out first . ” Zhong Wan pressed down on Lin Si’s shoulders and started in a low voice, “Though you used to be a servant of the Zhong family, you know too that not long after you and Nanny came to our house, trouble found our estate . You and Nanny didn’t manage to gain anything either . Technically speaking, it’s the Zhong family who owes you…”
Lin Si hurriedly shook his head . He lifted his hands in an attempt to sign, but Zhong Wan held them down . Zhong Wan continued, “Listen to me . Both of us grew up in Prince Ning’s estate . If there’s kindness you must repay… that would only be the kindness from the Prince for raising you . You’ve spent several years running about . At this time, Xuan Rui and them are already safe . Thus far, you’ve paid back all the kindness you need to . ”
Zhong Wan stared at Lin Si . He gently said, “You don’t owe me anything . I’m also not your Master . I’m your didi… In the past, I didn’t have a good enough plan for you . From now on, you only need to do things for yourself . ”
The rims of Lin Si’s eyes turned red . He bent down and kowtowed facing Zhong Wan .
“You’re a man . Don’t be so wishy-washy . ” Zhong Wan stood up . “Alright, you’ve kowtowed already . How about this: in the future, you can visit as normal . But if you need to stop visiting to avoid Xuan Jing becoming suspicious… you can do that as well . ”
Lin Si remained kneeling, shoulders gently trembling .
Zhong Wan looked down at Lin Si . Memories of twenty years of mutual support flashed through his mind . He took a deep breath before displaying a reassuring smile . “Are you done yet? Get up!”
It took Lin Si a long time to get to his feet . His eyes were red . He signed, “I didn’t come here because of that . ”
Zhong Wan was surprised . “What else could you be here for? Did… Xuan Jing already misinterpret your actions? That truly is quite troublesome . ”
Zhong Wan furrowed his brows . Could it be that they would need to put on an act? He would need to punch Lin Si a few times before letting him return, crying, to Xuan Jing? Or… should he have Lin Si beat himself up as a sign that he had switched sides?
Lin Si gestured, “Fourth Prince doesn’t know about the situation between Master and I . He beat me because I did something wrong . ”
Zhong Wan didn’t understand . “You are detailed and careful in your actions . What could you have done wrong?”
Lin Si lowered his head and hesitated before signing, “Yesterday, Fourth Prince dragged me to drink with him because he was in a bad mood . Fourth Prince doesn’t have a high alcohol tolerance, so became drunk . At night… I intended to do something improper . He caught me . ”
Zhong Wan froze in place .
A long time passed before Zhong Wan carefully asked, “You… What did you do to him?”
Lin Si’s ears flushed red . He twiddled his fingers and gestured, “Improper things . ”
Zhong Wan suddenly felt like his brain had stopped working . He got out with difficulty, “Improper in… what way?”
Lin Si shook his head . It was obvious that he didn’t want to speak more on the topic .
Zhong Wan was speechless . After brief thought, he still felt angry . “How improper could you have been? For him to hit you?!”
Lin Si barely managed to lift his hands and sign, “He was drunk and couldn’t move . I… took advantage of that . I would have deserved it even if he had beaten me to death . ”
In his heart, Zhong Wan understood that Lin Si wasn’t that kind of person . He couldn’t actually have done anything to Xuan Jing . It was reasonable that Xuan Jing would become angry enough to beat someone after being suddenly exploited . But…
Zhong Wan muttered to himself, “What good fengshui does the Zhong family have for its members to all have no descendants? How come you’re also…”
Lin Si hung his head in shame .
“I’m not blaming you . I don’t care as long as you’re happy,” said Zhong Wan, struggling to comfort him . “Besides, with Xuan Jing’s temper, if he really felt nothing towards you, he probably wouldn’t have left you alive and well enough to leave the estate . He would’ve cut you in half already . You… how did you get out?”
Lin Si lowered his gaze . He signed, “Fourth Prince told me to get as far away as I could . ”
Zhong Wan sighed again .
“Just stay here for now, then . ” Zhong Wan’s mind was a mess . “Or… do you need to avoid any possible implications? Otherwise, when you want to return later on, Xuan Jing might worry that you’re on my side . ”
Lin Si thought for a moment . He signed, “I fear I won’t be able to return . I’ll stay . ”
“Don’t be so confident about the future,” Zhong Wan said . “The left wing in my courtyard is still empty . You can stay there . From today onward, you don’t need to do anything else for me . Take a few days to rest first . ”
Lin Si nodded, got up, and left .
Zhong Wan sighed and started stressing out for Lin Si .
Though Xuan Jing didn’t have much of a brain, he was an okay person . At least, he was a much better person than Xuan Qiong . He had saved Lin Si’s life . After all these years of interaction, it was reasonable that… Lin Si would feel that way about him .
But if Xuan Jing didn’t feel the same way, Lin Si would probably have much to suffer .
What was this mess?!