CH 54

Editor: noot

Proofreader: XavierForest

“Don’t…” Su Tang’s face burned a bright pink as he pushed Qian Zhu away. He realised he wasn’t being very honest; as much as he wanted it, he still shook his head and said no.

Qian Zhu smiled but made no effort to retreat, instead locking eyes with Su Tang, whose heart had started to wildly race while he couldn’t help but think, ‘Doesn’t Qian Zhu see through me? Why won’t he kiss me? He said he knew just now, so why is he hesitating?’

Su Tang had interpreted Qian Zhu’s silence a thousand times in his heart: he guessed Qian Zhu was nervous, when he, in fact, was aware that he himself was the most nervous. But… but he was just panicked ah! If that was so unacceptable, come bite him!

The sulky little peach remained wordless, which gnawed at Qian Zhu’s heart. He was such an intelligent person, how could he not be able to read the situation? It’s just that he wanted to play dumb.

“Ai, forget it.” Qian Zhu retracted his hand and let go of Su Tang. There was regret on his face, but his expression also held some hidden meaning. He looked at Su Tang, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed and seeming to brim with water, rippling with spring colors and leaving behind a lingering aftertaste.

Qian Zhu took a step back, wanting to turn around, and Su Tang was at a loss. In a moment of panic, he grabbed the corner of Qian Zhu’s clothes.

As reality set in, Su Tang slowly came back to himself, finding his actions to be rather obsessive. No need to be so frantic ah, it was obvious that Qian Zhu was only teasing him. Still, if Qian Zhu did walk away, he… he would die of regret.

Qian Zhu turned his head and Su Tang immediately released his grip, although it looked like he had something to say. However, Qian Zhu then hooked the other party’s little finger, seized his waist and pulled Su Tang into his embrace before softly smiling, his face tilted down.

A breeze blew past the curtains, the crisp sound rustling through the night, and a sliver of moonlight cut through the window, the silver beam flooding the room with a tranquil glow. The beauty of it mirrored the throb in Qian Zhu’s heart.

The first kiss of two youths would never be an elegant one—it was like biting an unripe, light green apple; it was somewhat underripe, sour at first, then sweet, right up until that sweetness entered one’s heart.

Their lips rubbed against one another, and there was no knowing how deeply they kissed, nor who licked who. Nonetheless, this feeling was pleasant, both warm and mystical, albeit a little itchy. Their hearts pulsed in tandem and they were reluctant to part.

Su Tang widened his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling. He was a little nervous and shy, his mind having gone blank. Breathing was difficult and he couldn’t move his body. He only knew how to look at Qian Zhu and feel the other’s warm and careful way of kissing him.

Qian Zhu’s eyes were also open and he stared fixedly at Su Tang.

This was slightly different from what was written in books; kissing usually involved the couple closing their eyes, but when it came to them, it was the opposite—Qian Zhu liked to open his eyes because then he could see Su Tang. He could see Su Tang’s fluttering eyelashes and his shy, blushing face.

No matter how much he stared, it didn’t feel like it was enough. He felt like he could stare at Su Tang for an eternity. When the thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t help but sweep Su Tang into a tighter embrace.

A first kiss – a delicate kiss – most definitely an unforgettable one. When they parted, Qian Zhu’s face couldn’t help but turn red.

Su Tang couldn’t even tease him—the state he was in was even worse. Despite the kiss being so delicate, his head was spinning. If they had kissed any longer, he might have passed out.

There was no doubt about it, he would’ve definitely passed out since he was now already covering his face and squatting on the floor.

He was like a small, white and soft glutinous rice dumpling1. His ahoge2 was tussled in the wind, cute beyond belief.

Even when Qian Zhu bent down, he was taller than Su Tang. He reached out and rubbed the other’s hair. Su Tang spread his fingers until he’d made a small little crack and secretly stole a glance at Qian Zhu, who pretended like he didn’t see anything.

“Why are you squatting on the floor?” Qian Zhu asked.

“Don’t know.” Su Tang muttered.

“Then, get up ba.” Qian Zhu replied.

“No good.” Su Tang continued to cover his face and shrunk into himself again. Qian Zhu realised Su Tang wasn’t just a glutinous rice dumpling, he was an easily embarrassed one. Once this little rice dumpling was feeling shy, he’d shrink until he was able to fit in the palm of a hand. That wasn’t too bad either.

“Should I join you and squat too?” Qian Zhu asked warmly.

“That’s no good either.” Su Tang still didn’t agree.

“Want me to leave?” Qian Zhu asked.

“No, you’re not allowed to go.” Su Tang‘s legs were getting numb. He was waiting for Qian Zhu to continue asking him questions but was met with silence.

The two were silent for a while before Su Tang finally couldn’t take it and asked in a small voice, “Why aren’t you asking if you can pick me up?”

Qian Zhu was stunned. Despite finding it rather funny, he said, “I thought you didn’t like that.”

“Who said I didn’t – don’t like it?” Su Tang stuttered for a moment before lowering his hands from his face, though he still continued to look down.

“You always say I see you as a baby, so I thought…” Qian Zhu didn’t get to finish speaking before Su Tang interrupted him, “So what about now?”

“What ‘now’?” Qian Zhu questioned.

“Exactly… Exactly how do you see me now ah?” Su Tang lifted his head; his face was still flushed but his eyes were very bright, as if there were stars twinkling within them.

“Of course I still see you as a baby ah.” Qian Zhu replied. He swept Su Tang off the ground and whispered into the other’s ear, “I might even see you as my wife.”

“Oh.” Su Tang put up a calm facade. In actuality, it was like there were fireworks going off in his heart and he felt tremendously happy. He raised his eyes to look at Qian Zhu and noticed him staring down at him. Much to his surprise, Qian Zhu’s eyes held a distinct emotion, one that seemed familiar. Su Tang said, “I share the same sentiment.”

“That’s not right.” Qian Zhu firmly shook his head and said, “I’m your husband ah.”

“You’re shameless.” Su Tang huffed, taken aback.

“En, I don’t want anything, I only want you.” Qian Zhu nodded.

Su Tang was at a loss for words. He’d been teased into turning red, and he wanted to resist with force but realised his little fists wouldn’t have much of an impact. Besides, Qian Zhu quite liked it when Su Tang tried to be hostile.

“Why won’t you let me win?” Su Tang pouted, upset.

“When did I not let you win?” Qian Zhu retorted. He drew the bead curtains apart before carrying Su Tang out into the courtyard to sit on the swing.

Su Tang was rather afraid of heights; the only reason they could settle there was because he was awfully fond of the tree. Knowing this, Qian Zhu had planned and built a swing under it. In this way, they could rest on the swing when they were tired and take a nap together.

This time on the swing, Qian Zhu let Su Tang sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around his torso. He couldn’t stop himself from occasionally pecking Su Tang’s ear with his lips.

“Did you steal a kiss from me here?” Su Tang asked out of the blue.

With a trace of shock in his tone, Qian Zhu replied, “How did you know?”

“Ha, so that’s how it was! You had intentions towards me from the start.” Su Tang swiftly twisted his body around and straddled Qian Zhu, his legs on either side of the other’s waist. “You rogue, why won’t you just admit it?” 

Qian Zhu smiled and pinched the other’s little nose as he asked, “Then, how did you find out about what I did?”

“I… I had a dream ah. There were flower petals falling on my face. It – It felt like I was dreaming.” Su Tang’s expression was a little unnatural and his former confidence disappeared.

“Were those flower petals or something else on your face?” Qian Zhu teased.

“You!” Su Tang’s face instantly flushed red. Something seemed to have flashed through his mind but he refused to voice it. He raised his little head and said, “You can believe it or not!”

“Okay, I choose to not believe.” Qian Zhu’s response merely further enraged Su Tang. He thrashed about on Qian Zhu’s lap, yelling to be put down. He almost immediately lost his balance and nearly fell off. He desperately clung to the ends of Qian Zhu’s clothes and yanked himself back into Qian Zhu’s embrace.

Qian Zhu remained still after the struggle. Too overcome with embarrassment to shift away, Su Tang decided to bury his face in Qian Zhu’s chest, not saying a word.

The night was spectacular, the moon was perfectly round, and he was by the side of the person he liked. No matter how he thought of it, he felt it was sweet. The two embraced for a long time until Su Tang started to get sleepy. Only then did Qian Zhu say, “Baby, I really have to leave tomorrow.” 

Su Tang shot up. His formerly warm heart turned cold at Qian Zhu’s words. He parted his lips, wanting to say something, but Qian Zhu silenced him with a finger to his mouth. He explained, “The Heavenly Emperor isn’t comfortable with me always being in the celestial world, so he has me go down to the lower realm3 once in a while.”

Su Tang blinked and wanted to speak, however Qian Zhu shook his head and said, “I can’t bring you. The lower realm doesn’t have spiritual energy. Your cultivation isn’t enough yet, meaning you won’t be able to stand it down there.”

“Then… Then what can I do?” Su Tang seemed like he wanted to cry. Qian Zhu rubbed his head and reassured him, “Wait for me at home. I’ll do my best to come back quickly.”

“How long will it take?”

“It won’t be too long. It could be as short as a few months or as long as… a year.” Qian Zhu lied, aware that he’d actually have to leave for longer this time.

“Then I’m not willing.” Su Tang found that unacceptable. He wound his arms tightly around Qian Zhu and refused to let go. Qian Zhu himself was also unwilling to leave, his heart filled with an emotion he wasn’t able to describe. He didn’t know how to articulate it to Su Tang either.

“Actually… there’s something I haven’t told you.” Qian Zhu paused, and Su Tang was quick to raise his head; he was all ears, his heart filled with joyful anticipation. He hoped it was a good thing but also worried it was something bad. He was afraid but Qian Zhu still told him. 

“The Ning Yan xianjun4 you’re looking for is actually me.”

While his name really was Qian Zhu, outsiders weren’t permitted to call him that. Instead they had to politely call him ‘Ning Yan xianjun’. This originally wasn’t hidden, but everyone was afraid of him and those who met him would turn mute, so there was no need to mention them giving their greetings.

Su Tang was unconvinced, yet he couldn’t help finding some truth in his claim. Truth be told, Qian Zhu and Ning Yan xianjun had similar auras. He’d just forgotten about Qian Zhu’s cold demeanour towards others since he was usually so warm to him. He liked Qian Zhu, the original male lead, but what about the mission? What should he do?

Su Tang panicked, but he realised it wasn’t simply because of the mission—he was more afraid that Qian Zhu would… would like the female lead.

The system noticed Su Tang’s feelings and yet remained calm. It continued to tell Su Tang that he had to carefully consider the outcome; he’d already failed his mission several times.

“I’m sorry, I know the way I did things wasn’t right. I also know that you’ll hate me from now on, but I still like you. I like you so much that I want to give my heart to you.” Qian Zhu said as he tucked Su Tang’s hair behind his ear. The other raised his head, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

“I…” Su Tang opened his mouth, but Qian Zhu already had a defeated smile on his face. “Do you want to reject me?”

“If I rejected you, what would you do?” Su Tang suddenly asked.

“I’ll still like you no matter what you do.” After he said this, a fire was lit in Qian Zhu’s heart.

“So…” Su Tang met his gaze.

“So…” Qian Zhu smiled.

“So, you like me the way I like you, am I right?”