Chapter 51#
Kill That Gentleman (14)#
While Yu Ci was thinking about random things, Shen Jue suddenly woke up.
He had been startled awake by Yu Ci’s unfamiliar scent. The moment Shen Jue opened his eyes, he met Yu Ci’s gaze through the quilt.
As soon as Yu Ci saw Shen Jue awake, his face turned cold. “How much longer do you plan to sleep in my arms?”
Shen Jue’s eyes were tired, his expression weary. Hearing Yu Ci’s words, he lowered his gaze, his long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, shielding the watery blue within. He shifted to the side, backing out of Yu Ci’s embrace, and was about to sit up when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
“You can keep sleeping here,” Yu Ci coughed. “My bed has been a bit cold lately. Sleep a little longer and warm it up so I don’t catch a cold.”
Such a pitiful expression. Tsk tsk tsk. This shorty is so deeply in love with me that he can’t bear to leave my bed. Since I’m such a generous person, I’ll allow it just this once. Don’t think there’ll be a next time.
Shen Jue had no idea that accidentally falling asleep in Yu Ci’s arms had sparked such a misunderstanding. He glanced at the hand on his shoulder, a flicker of disgust flashing in his eyes.
When Yu Ci noticed Shen Jue looking at his hand, his fingers twitched slightly, and he pulled it back the next moment. Convinced he had uncovered Shen Jue’s secret, he felt a twinge of satisfaction—a satisfaction rooted in the fact that Sang Xinghe protected Shen Jue.
No matter how good Sang Xinghe was to Shen Jue, the one Shen Jue liked was him.
Sigh, he didn’t want it to be this way.
But in the end, it was all Sang Xinghe’s fault. If he had just agreed to be with me, none of this would have happened.
Yu Ci couldn’t help but recall the scene of his confession to Sang Xinghe under that tree years ago.
Following He Queying’s suggestion, he had worn the most romantic outfit and painstakingly brought an exceptionally beautiful peach blossom branch. Afraid the petals might fall, he had refrained from using qinggong the entire way, worried the wind would scatter them.
For that day’s confession, he had also prepared a highly literary poem—written by He Queying, who had stayed up so many nights his eyes turned red.
But Sang Xinghe had rejected him. Truly blind.
At the thought, Yu Ci couldn’t help grinding his teeth.
He no longer felt like staying in bed with Shen Jue. Rolling off the bed, he tugged the golden bell by the bedside, and maids filed in immediately. Trained and orderly, they didn’t bat an eye even when they noticed another person in Yu Ci’s bed.
Silently, they helped Yu Ci wash, dress, and tie his hair.
Before leaving, Yu Ci turned to glance at Shen Jue, still lying in bed, and let out a light laugh before striding away.
As soon as Yu Ci was gone, Shen Jue got out of bed, put on his clothes from the previous day, and returned to his own courtyard. He bathed again, drank a bowl of porridge, and went back to sleep, napping straight until the afternoon.
It was only when He Queying came calling that he was woken up.
He Queying looked at the just-awakened Shen Jue and smiled. “Sleeping so late?” He placed a food container on the table. “The kitchen made some iced fruit. There’s extra, so have some.”
Shen Jue stood by the table, glanced at the container, thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled at He Queying.
He Queying returned the smile and motioned for Shen Jue to sit and eat.
Shen Jue was indeed hungry after his nap, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. As he quietly ate the fruit, He Queying sat nearby without speaking. Only after Shen Jue finished did He Queying suddenly say, “By the way, where’s that mask of yours? I think the lock mechanism could still use some tweaking.”
Shen Jue froze, realizing he hadn’t brought the mask back with him earlier.
It seemed to have been left in Yu Ci’s room.
He Queying studied Shen Jue’s expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Jue shook his head, dipped his finger in some tea, and wrote on the table.
“Left it at the Island Lord’s place.”
He Queying gave a soft “Oh” and immediately said, “No problem, I’ll go get it for you.”
After He Queying left, Shen Jue suddenly realized that He Queying hadn’t asked why the mask was in Yu Ci’s room.
That detail made Shen Jue’s mind race.
That night, Shen Jue didn’t go to Sang Xinghe’s place. He waited three days before visiting again.
When he saw Sang Xinghe again, there was no trace of the anger from that previous night.
That evening, Sang Xinghe only did it once before getting up to bathe. After bathing, he donned a loose silver-white brocade robe and sat before the chessboard, playing against himself. When Shen Jue emerged from the washroom, Sang Xinghe glanced up slightly. “There are some snacks on the table. Have some to pass the time.”
The door was still locked, so Shen Jue couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.
He didn’t feel like eating. His eyes fell on the chessboard, and a flicker of interest crossed his face. He sat down opposite Sang Xinghe.
Sang Xinghe, noticing the shadow suddenly cast over the board, looked up in surprise to find Shen Jue there. He caught the intent in Shen Jue’s eyes and raised an eyebrow. “You want to play?”
Shen Jue nodded.
It had been a long time since he’d played chess.
Sang Xinghe said, “Alright, then. Do you want the white stones or the black?”
Shen Jue examined the board and chose the black stones.
Sang Xinghe was a little surprised. The black stones were already showing signs of defeat, yet Shen Jue had chosen them. It seemed he was a master in disguise.
Half a cup of tea later, Sang Xinghe looked at the board and barely suppressed a twitch at the corner of his mouth. He had vastly overestimated his opponent.
Shen Jue frowned, as if he didn’t understand why he had lost so quickly.
Back in the heavens, Shen Jue had never lost at chess—because he only ever played with his master and senior fellow disciple. What he didn’t know was that those two were infamous for being terrible chess players, so bad that almost no one would play with them.
So they humored Shen Jue into playing, and after enough games, he came to believe he was actually quite skilled.
He had hoped to impress Sang Xinghe with his chess skills, only to lose disastrously.
Shen Jue discreetly glanced at Sang Xinghe, only for his gaze to be caught.
Sang Xinghe thought for a moment, decided to spare Shen Jue’s feelings. “You should have chosen the white stones. You would have won then.”
Shen Jue blinked, then began gathering the pieces. After putting them away, he handed the bowl of black stones to Sang Xinghe.
Sang Xinghe gave a soft “Hmm” and took it anyway.
This time, Shen Jue lasted a whole tea session.
He looked at the white stones now completely surrounded by the black ones, pressing his lips together in displeasure.
Sang Xinghe looked at Shen Jue’s eyes and gave a resigned smile. “I’ve studied chess since I was young. It’s only natural that I have a slight edge now. I think with more practice, you’ll surpass me in no time.”
That was, of course, just a polite remark. He hadn’t come across anyone so bad at chess in a long time.
Sang Xinghe sighed inwardly and quickly put the pieces away.
Once done, he shifted the topic. “By the way, did you have any reaction to that medicine last time?”
Mentioning this made Shen Jue a little angry. The elixir he had tricked out of Sang Xinghe had no effect whatsoever. He hadn’t felt any increase in his inner strength these past days.
Seeing Shen Jue’s reaction, Sang Xinghe guessed as much.
He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “Actually, there are quite a few elixirs in my sect.”
At Sang Xinghe’s words, Shen Jue’s hand under his sleeve moved slightly.
In the previous lifetimes, Sang Xinghe had said something similar to him, but back then Shen Jue hadn’t understood the implication. Sang Xinghe was testing whether Shen Jue could help him leave the Ten Ultimate Island. In the earlier lives, Shen Jue’s movements were restricted, and his situation was hardly better than Sang Xinghe’s.
But after Shen Jue died and became a spirit, he would float around while Sang Xinghe slept, and he had discovered a way off the island.
“If I ever get a chance to return to my sect, I could give you all those medicines,” Sang Xinghe said gently.
Shen Jue thought for a moment, then got up, poured a cup of cold tea, dipped his finger in it, and wrote on the chessboard, “Do you want to leave this place?”
Sang Xinghe’s eyes flickered briefly. He wrote back, “Yes.”
After seeing that “yes,” Shen Jue continued writing, “I know a way to leave the island, but…”
Before he could finish writing, a noise came from outside.
Sang Xinghe’s eyes hardened. In one swift motion, he grabbed Shen Jue and pressed him down onto the chessboard.
Caught off guard, Shen Jue’s vision blurred as Sang Xinghe leaned over him.
A teacup was knocked over, rolling onto the couch, spilling water that soaked the fabric around Shen Jue’s lower back.
When Yu Ci entered, he happened to see Sang Xinghe burying his head in the crook of the other’s neck. He had, in fact, witnessed the intimate scenes between Sang Xinghe and Shen Jue three times now, but each time his feelings were different.
The first time, he had wanted to kill Shen Jue. The second time, he had just wanted to go to sleep. This time, his feelings were particularly different—especially when he saw Shen Jue’s weak struggles beneath Sang Xinghe.
Ah, it must be cruel for him to like me and yet have to serve another man. But there’s nothing I can do—I only love Sang Xinghe.
His own feelings unreciprocated, Yu Ci felt a certain kinship with Shen Jue’s “pitiable plight.” We’re both victims of unrequited love.
With that thought, Yu Ci looked at the tangled pair and spoke. “Xinghe, the moonlight is beautiful tonight. Why don’t we take a walk outside?”
He wanted to let Shen Jue give up hope once and for all. After all, his heart belonged only to Sang Xinghe.