CH 23.1

Under the moonlight, Li Yuanmin cautiously climbed over the corner of the wall and slowly climbed onto the eaves to reach the roof. Ni Lie followed from behind him closely. From time to time, he reached out his hand to support him. 

He somehow gave birth to such an idea, but since he was sixteen years old, he had not been so presumptuous like this anymore.

He was King Guangan, he was the person that everyone inside the mansion relied on. He had to protect them under his wings like an eagle, not being childish like this.

However, when the night breeze hit, his clothes shook fiercely, and his black hair went flying. Li Yuanmin was unconcerned regardless and let out a long sigh in the wind. There was this excitement inside his heart that made him have the courage to shout out loud.  

At this moment, he didn’t have any role to play. He didn’t need to pretend, didn’t need to be cautious, and didn’t need to think of anything. He could just enjoy this worldly night scenery and the shining stars. 

Lonely childhood, lonely time, making his past memories barren. Now he seemed to pick up those missing fragments bit by bit.

“A Lie, you come here too.”

He was like a naughty boy, walking recklessly on the tall eaves of the mansion. He was completely unafraid of it, because there was someone behind him all this time.

Silently and carefully protecting him.

He looked down at the mansion that he had stayed at for almost eight years. This mansion was once dilapidated, just an abandoned frontier general’s mansion. Now it was completely different. It was full of life, protecting so many people, it was a home that he, himself, had personally supported bit by bit. 

His eyes fell on the backyard, and there stood a row of tall locust trees. They were planted in the first year of his coming to Lingnan. At that time, they were just a bunch of small saplings, but now they had grown into verdant lush big trees.

The memory seemed to have returned to the beginning. Under the scorching sun, he was holding the sapling, and A Lie was pulling up his sleeves to dig the soil. The sweat-stained two teenagers were full of longing for the future with all their heart.

It’s been almost eight years in a flash.

Li Yuanmin was distracted. He did not take into account the lifted tiles under his feet for a while, and cried out in alarm. Suddenly, a strong hand firmly bound his waist and pulled him back.

Li Yuanmin breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his head, and looked at the man who was a head taller than him with his usual cold expression. The silhouette of the other party was cold and strong, more profound than in his childhood with a smart and handsome appearance. 

Suddenly, Li Yuanmin, for no reason, recalled that brutal person slaughtering everyone at the city gate in his previous life. That person’s appearance was ruthless and violent. There was a deep scar from his brow to his lower jaw, splattered with bright red human blood. It looked so terrible and ferocious. It wasn’t known what had happened to him after sending him out of the palace in the previous life for this child to turn into that kind of dreadful devil. Fortunately, in this life, those nightmares were gone.

He couldn’t help but reach out his hand to touch Ni Lie’s perfectly condition face. 

When a warm feeling came from his fingertips, Li Yuanmin trembled. He suddenly recovered, and quickly removed his fingers.

He coughed slightly. He somewhat dodged his gaze, and pointed his finger to a place not far away: “…A Lie, take me to the eaves over there.”

Ni Lie’s eyes moved. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t, just followed after him in silence.

They crossed over the walls, and finally came to the highest eaves of King Guangan’s mansion. The night breeze hit, and the two stood against the wind. Left alone in the world, like two immortals, they could pick the stars with their hands

There was an open space in front of them. Under the moonlight, Lingnan city and the shining stars blended together, making up the unclear skyline.  

Li Yuan felt at ease. His sullenness for many days seemed to be swept away all at once.

He took out two pots of wine tied around his waist. He uncorked the bottle, and stuffed a bottle to Ni Lie.

In the mansion, Grandma Chen brewed a good wine, a good thing that can’t be drunk anywhere else. A drunk flower had a hidden beauty. He immediately raised his head and poured the clear and cold liquor into his throat. Accompanied by the boundless night scenery, Li Yuanmin felt refreshed in his chest.

“Your Highness….”

Ni Lie, originally wanted to stop him, but seeing him rarely show such a reckless smiling expression, he swallowed the rest of his words. He gave himself a mouthful, stepped back a few steps, and found a flat place to lie down. 

Li Yuanmin looked back and saw his not in the mood appearance and scenery. The indescribable feeling in his heart came up and the excitement that was rising immediately faded a lot. He squeezed the wine bottle, sighed, and laid down with him.

The two of them just laid down like this. No one talked, each with their own thoughts.

The night was already very deep. The stars were hanging down in the open space, while the lights in the city gradually extinguished. Everywhere sank into the deep of the night’s spiral. The world seemed to only have the two of them left.

Li Yuanmin looked at the distant stars and suddenly said, “A Lie, do you have a sweetheart?”

The person beside him did not answer him. Li Yuanmin supported his upper body up and looked down at him.

In the night, the sky full of stars was reflected in his dark pupils, but he avoided looking at him.

Li Yuanmin clutched his shirt persistently: “Do you have one or not?”

Ni Lie’s adam’s apple moved. His gaze fell on that unforgettable face, his throat bitter: “Why does Your Highness ask me?”

Li Yuanmin didn’t know what was wrong with himself. He obviously just came to celebrate his birthday with him, but he was so rude and impudent to ask him of this. He shouldn’t be like this. Why was he like a stupid child? When he suddenly became a little angry, he didn’t know whether it was from the other party or from himself. He sat up straight, then with no appreciation of the gravity of things, poured the wine into his mouth.

Ni Lie immediately sat up. He snatched his wine bottle, his chest lifted up and down. After a long while, he said, “What about Your Highness?”

Li Yuanmin looked at him blankly.

The other party closely stared at him, “Does Your Highness have a sweetheart? Will you marry a wife?”

This was already considered as him overstepping. Li Yuanmin thought angrily, he could only blame himself for indulging him. Usually it was okay, but when he is stubborn, even ten cows can’t pull him back. What does Ni Lie regard his mansion as? He returned when he wanted to, and stayed outside all day long when he didn’t want to return without saying a word. Now that he asked him something, he didn’t even answer back honestly and instead came to interrogate himself?

Wasn’t this all from his overindulgence?

Even though Li Yuanmin had mastered a strong heart for so many years, here and now for some reason, there was a surging sorrow in his heart. He said in a miserable and sorrowful tone: “I have this kind of body, how could I be tangled up with other people’s family? Unlike you….”

He gritted his teeth, but said it at the end, his eyes red for no reason.

His so-called father, who was sitting in the capital, would not consider his problematic marriage, so how could he personally get married? He had already prepared for a lonely life. He had thought about it. In this life, he would never get married, or get tangled up with a wife and children for a lifetime. In the future….. if A Lie had many children, then maybe he would adopt one and treat him as his own child.

He had been planning this a few years ago, but now when he thought about it, his heart was rather upset, stuffy and sour.  

The night wind blew, as if to blow away his rationality and determination. He gritted his teeth and couldn’t help pulling open Ni Lie’s clothes, rummaging around.

Ni Lie grabbed his wrist. He struggled, but how could he have earned the strength to suppress this man. However, he still struggled desperately, he was like a fluttering bird, like an unreasonable child, but he was just somewhat not reconciled to it. Not reconciled to what? He didn’t even know it himself.  

“Your Highness…..”

Controlled by that pair of big calluses in his hands, Li Yuanmin’s chest was violently moving up and down. He swallowed the sour water that was rising, and only asked in a hoarse voice: “Where is the handkerchief? Isn’t there a handkerchief here? Where did it go?”

Seeing that the other party did not respond, he yelled at him: “Where is the handkerchief?!”

The waves in the eyes of the man next to him were surging forth. Finally he sighed and let go of his hands. Li Yuanmin panted roughly, his chest fluctuating. He didn’t give up rummaging through Ni Lie’s clothes.

A piece of warm jade with warm body temperature slipped into his hand.

Li Yuanmin was taken aback. He grabbed the piece of white jade, looked at the jade, then at him.

The material of the white jade was very good, but the workmanship was rather rough. It was carved into the shape of a tiger’s head and worn with red silk. It can be seen that it had been some years old, and it had a dark yellow color that had settled over the years.

He couldn’t help but look up at Ni Lie: “This is…”

Ni Lie raised his head and poured a sip of wine. His adam’s apple moved, and finally said in a hoarse voice: “Today… is the birthday of Your Highness.”

Li Yuanmin’s eyes were hot. Somehow, the fierce clashing and messy feeling in his heart was suppressed a lot. Although he didn’t know why Ni Lie gave him such a gray old jade, he knew that the other party didn’t forget that this day belonged to the both of them.

He touched the piece of jade that was still carrying the other party’s body temperature. He held it, then untied the red rope on it, tied a knot, and preciously hung it on his neck.

The jade stuck to that snow-colored neck, shining in the moonlight.

Ni Lie stared at him motionless.

Li Yuanmin fiddled with the piece of jade, then remembering something, he hurriedly took out a pair of brand-new wristbands from his arms. He half-kneeled and put it on Ni Lie.

At first glance, one could see that this wristband was not an ordinary thing. The face was the tough and durable leather of a snow mountain yak, and the rivet ring was made of black iron in the polar region. It was exquisite. Seeing that he trained diligently, and always wore wristbands, he asked someone to find materials a long time ago. Finally, he had the skilled craftsmen make it before his birthday.

“Is it too tight?”

He lowered his head and moved back and forth. His hair brushed across his face, and the familiar cold fragrance drifted into his nose.

“A Lie…” Li Yuanmin raised his head and met Ni Lie’s eyes.

Very dark, very deep, with some emotions that he couldn’t understand. Li Yuanmin’s heart thumped and jumped up. The other party’s hot breath was on his face. He swallowed his saliva with difficulty for no reason, feeling a little difficult to breathe.

The other party lowered his head a little closer. Li Yuanmin moved back a little in panic. When he got closer, he backed away again. He evaded his gaze. His heart had never beaten so fast like this, and he could barely breathe.

But the other party was still stubbornly approaching. Li Yuanmin only had time to call out a pitifully weak, A Lie. 

The back of his head was held by force. The other party’s hot lips crushed down heavily on his lips with a tipsy feeling from the wine and the sprouting heat from the youngster’s body. 

Li Yuanmin lost all his strength, but he called for the other party to hold him tightly in his embrace. His body had tight muscles from the training over the years. It was not exaggerated, but it made Li Yuanmin unable to breathe. The other party’s lips were hot and restless, infringing on him without restraint. 

It wasn’t known how long it took before Li Yuanmin was released.

“I will accompany Your Highness….”

Ni Lie’s breath was hot. He lowered his head and continued to peck his lips.

“Your Highness will not get married, and I also won’t get married.”

“How can that be…” Li Yuanmin shook his head, helplessly avoiding his constantly attacking lips. It almost made him cry. He had never been fragile before, so he could only refute unbearably: “Marrying a wife and having children is the way of life. You…you can’t be reckless like this. I won’t allow it…Ben Wang won’t allow it…..” 

But Ni Lie only tightly hugged his waist and blocked his lips again. He was forced to raise his head, like a bird with broken wings, confined to his solid arms, that little world. 

Li Yuanmin’s big drop of tear fell. He didn’t know why he was crying. He hadn’t cried in a difficult situation for many years, but he cried into a mess in the embrace of the child he had raised. His cheeks were wet from crying. Li Yuanmin pushed him away, but his pushing hand was controlled and pressed against the other party’s heartbeat.

Li Yuanmin cried until he was out of breath. He thought with a broken heart, it turned out that his heart was also beating this fast and this hard.

His tears were eaten up drop by drop. 

“A Lie….”

His hairband fell out in the struggle, and his black hair was dancing with the wind. In this kind of dim light, Li Yuanmin wrapped his arms around Ni Lie’s neck and closed his eyes as he offered himself up.

Ni Lie trembled all over, and hugged him tightly.

A round bright moon stuck out its head from the cloud.

It was quiet everywhere, even the wind was gone. 

Ni Lie’s heart was filled with infinite joy, immense joy that impacted his long frozen heart. His most precious treasure was tightly held in his embrace, and he had never been so lucky. He had never experienced this kind of ecstasy, but he did it. 

This gamble against fate, he had won! 

Ni Lie couldn’t help lowering his head, and kissing his white and smooth forehead, his thin eyelids, his tall and beautiful nose, and his red lips that he had lingered on for countless times that had been contaminated with his own hot breath.

Li Yuanmin’s eyes were red, and the tip of his nose was pink. His heart trembled because of those dense kisses.

“A Lie…” Li Yuanmin clutched his shirt tightly, but didn’t know what to say.

Everything that happened tonight had taught him to be afraid and be happy.

He’s afraid that he would tempt him to a path of no return, afraid that this young man’s life that had finally gotten on the right track a long time ago would be delayed by himself. But, his heart was happy. Happy for no reason. Ever since the start of those abrupt kisses, he was so happy that he didn’t know if it was a good thing.

He won’t leave. Li Yuanmin thought despicably, he liked himself. He will stay by his side and won’t be snatched away by anyone.

He thought he was so noble, but in fact he was not. He had the same jealousy, the same selfishness. He wanted to monopolize this man.

He didn’t want to share even a bit of him with others.

Ciacia/N: The old Ciacia? Oh, she’s dead by all these nosebleeds and happiness. Now, there is the new papapa thirsty Ciacia *smirks*.