Chapter 60#

The Cross-dressing Wife#

In the end, Gu Xingzhai yielded.

The moon hung on the branch, stars dotted the sky, and the air of the early autumn season was slightly cool, but it made people feel very comfortable.

The man sat silently on a stone stool in the courtyard, peeling crabs for Lin Xiaodong.

He peeled one, and Lin Xiaodong ate one.

“You really don’t want some?” Lin Xiaodong asked him with a smile, waving a crab leg.

Gu Xingzhai acted as if he were a mute, focusing on his own task and not responding no matter what Lin Xiaodong said.

But he truly was someone who grew up in Qingxie Town; he peeled crabs quickly and completely. Just a few minutes after starting the meal, the plate in front of Lin Xiaodong was piled high with crab meat and roe.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaodong stopped pressuring him and simply changed the subject.

“There is indeed something fishy about Old Master Gu’s early death,” he said. “But I can promise you, it definitely wasn’t me, and I don’t know who the murderer is.”

Hearing this, Gu Xingzhai’s movement of peeling the crab paused.

“I heard from the subordinates that on the day my father passed away,” he said in a deep voice, “aside from the person delivering food in the evening, he only saw you.”

“Yes,” Lin Xiaodong admitted generously. “The housekeeper called me there at the time. I took care of him by the bedside for an hour and then went back to my room. Before I left, he was still conscious and could chat with me.”

Gu Xingzhai suddenly felt a bit of tightness in his chest, as if something were blocked. He forced himself to ignore this feeling and continued to ask: “During the time my father was bedridden, what medicine did he take?”

“Nothing special, just traditional Chinese medicine like goji berries and ginseng for tonifying qi. I personally picked them for him; there won’t be any mistake,” Lin Xiaodong said. “But the old man’s heart has always been bad. Previously, he called a Western doctor to take a look, and they prescribed two boxes of medicine said to treat the heart. They should still be at the bedside now.” This was also something he accidentally discovered that day.

Gu Xingzhai frowned slightly: “Father has always been dismissive of Western ways. Why would he suddenly invite a Western doctor to the house?”

“I don’t know about that.”

The man frowned and glanced at him, only to see Lin Xiaodong supporting his chin, looking at him with a focused gaze. His clear and bright phoenix eyes were full of his reflection.

His breathing faltered, and he lowered his head to peel crabs in an attempt to cover it up, only to find the plate already clean.

“You ate it all?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes, but there are still a few in the back kitchen; I didn’t have them cook them all,” Lin Xiaodong gave a soft burp, lowered his head to touch his belly, and let out a satisfied sigh. “Nicely peeled. I’ll reward you with one…” He turned to look around, jumped off the stone stool, ran to the pond, snapped off a lotus seed pod, and handed it to Gu Xingzhai. “I’ll reward you with this.”

Gu Xingzhai: “……”

Picking a lotus seed pod in his own pond to give to him—only Lin Xiaodong could come up with that.

But looking at the man’s expression, there was no displeasure. He just gave Lin Xiaodong a deep look and placed the lotus seed pod on the stone table.

Lin Xiaodong originally thought Gu Xingzhai would continue to ask about the details of that day, but unexpectedly, he asked an unrelated question: “When did you and my father meet?”

“Three years ago, I was being pursued and got injured. Your father took the initiative to take me in,” Lin Xiaodong said very frankly, and even lifted his dark hair to show him the scar on the side of his neck. The original wound had long since healed, leaving only a pinkish scar about the length of a little finger on the skin, appearing even more hideous against his snowy skin.

“Who hurt you?” Gu Xingzhai asked instinctively.

But as soon as he asked, he tightly shut his mouth. Lin Xiaodong was a succubus; for no reason, who else besides demon hunters like them would strike a weak woman so ruthlessly?

Sure enough, hearing his question, Lin Xiaodong just smiled and let down his hair.

“Young Master Gu has traveled outside for many years. I wonder, do you have someone you like?” He changed the subject, but leaned closer, and his soft, cold hand naturally pressed onto the back of Gu Xingzhai’s hand.

The man’s body temperature was scorching, like cold snow falling into hot oil. The moment the two touched each other, a numbing sensation came from Lin Xiaodong’s fingertips, and a pleasure like being in the clouds made every cell in his body sing.

He took a sharp breath on the spot.

And Gu Xingzhai withdrew his hand on the stone table as if electrocuted, and the whole person stood up abruptly—

“Enough!”

The man closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the dark whirlpool in his eyes had completely dissipated.

“Miss Lin, I don’t have anyone I like,” he stared into Lin Xiaodong’s eyes and said word by word, “But I can also never be with you. Understand?”

After speaking, without waiting for Lin Xiaodong’s reply, Gu Xingzhai strode out of the courtyard.

System: “Uh-oh, you messed up.”

“What do you know,” Lin Xiaodong, who was flatly rejected to his face, calmly picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of smashed cucumber into his mouth to chew and swallow slowly. “Believe me, no one understands a man better than a man. This move of mine is called ‘break before build.’ Next, there are even more ruthless moves: retreating to advance, playing hard to get, guaranteeing one move will have Gu Xingzhai completely under my thumb. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see.”

The system really didn’t believe him.

Gu Xingzhai showing even a tiny bit of good feeling toward Lin Xiaodong was already beyond its imagination. One must know that in the original work, although the succubus didn’t proactively confess, no matter how he flirted and hinted to the man, Gu Xingzhai was as unshakeable as Liu Xiahui, and even maintained a very deep guard against the succubus.

“Right,” it suddenly remembered something. “Have you felt like you can’t eat enough lately?”

Lin Xiaodong asked strangely: “How did you know?”

His food intake hadn’t just doubled; he also digested extremely fast. It hadn’t been long since he finished dinner, yet he already felt empty inside. Could this succubus also have a big-eater attribute?

“You felt it when you touched Gu Xingzhai’s hand just now, didn’t you,” the system said with certainty. “The yang energy on him is more abundant than any other man. Succubi are yin and naturally attracted to him. Your previous illness was likely because you hadn’t absorbed yang energy for a long time, leading to physical weakness and eventually allowing a virus to take hold.”

Lin Xiaodong gave an “ah” and asked: “So does that mean if I don’t go and absorb yang energy, I’ll get sick again?”

“Very likely.”

This was a bit of a problem.

Lin Xiaodong, who had originally planned to take things slow, frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he decided to give Gu Xingzhai some strong medicine.

But before he could consider the specific measures, an invitation had already been delivered to Gu Xingzhai’s hand.

“A ball?” Gu Xingzhai opened it expressionlessly and took a look. the date was set for next Wednesday night.

“Not going.”

He wasn’t interested in those fashionable things from the big city.

“But this invitation was sent by Master Huang. All the influential families from several nearby towns are coming,” the housekeeper persuaded. “Master Huang is the biggest official in this area. If you don’t go, he might have thoughts about you in the future. And…” He intentionally paused for a few seconds and continued, “Master Huang also invited Miss Lin separately. Are you sure you don’t want to go with her, Young Master?”

Gu Xingzhai suddenly looked up: “Why did he invite Lin Xiaodong!?”

“I heard that it was at the theater troupe that day that Master Huang felt like he had known Miss Lin for a long time,” the housekeeper whispered with an ambiguous expression.

Gu Xingzhai clenched the invitation in his hand.

He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence through them: “Attracting butterflies and bees!”

“There’s nothing to be done about it,” the housekeeper smiled with satisfaction. In his view, once a man was blinded by the fire of jealousy, it was easy to cause a major disaster. “The Miss was born so beautiful; it’s unavoidable for outsiders to think of her. Speaking of which, I have an idea.”

“…Speak.”

“You can go with Miss Lin, invite her to dance at the ball, and act a bit more intimately.”

Noticing Gu Xingzhai’s look that seemed to want to kill someone, the housekeeper immediately raised both hands to show his loyalty: “Heavens be my witness! Young Master, I came up with this idea entirely for your own good! Think about it, it doesn’t matter what those servants gossip about, because Miss Lin’s heart is entirely on the late Master; but if a person of Master Huang’s caliber takes an interest in her, then even our Gu family wouldn’t be able to stop the widow… ma’am from remarrying.”

Gu Xingzhai slapped his hand on the table in front of him, and the heavy rosewood table actually developed a crack on the spot from his strike.

“Shut your mouth!” he growled, a look of fury flashing in his eyes. “My father never publicly admitted that Lin Xiaodong was his wife or concubine, nor did he mention their relationship in his letters; he only said she came to repay a favor and asked me to take good care of her. If I hear ‘widow’ or ‘ma’am’ or similar words again, I’ll tear your mouth!”

The housekeeper was so scared he shut his mouth tightly and didn’t dare speak again.

But after Gu Xingzhai left with a somber face, a self-satisfied smile gradually appeared on his face.

“A young and aggressive brat after all,” he hmphed, dusted off the wood chips that splashed onto his sleeve, and gave a sharp “ptui” at the man’s departing back. “When the time comes that you offend Master Huang and are pointed at by everyone, I’ll see how you can stay in this town!”

However, the housekeeper overestimated himself and underestimated Gu Xingzhai’s shrewdness.

The extreme anger he had shown in front of the housekeeper just now was partly a true reflection of his inner feelings, but more of it was a deliberate performance for the housekeeper to see.

Although Gu Xingzhai was often teased by Lin Xiaodong in private as an “old fogey,” he was already much stronger than other men of this era. Other heads of great families, not to mention serving others at meals, would be considered restrained if they didn’t have a group of concubines massaging their shoulders and backs.

Of course, this was also because Gu Xingzhai had just returned from outside and was young and had not yet married.

“Xingzhai, I’ve been friends with your father for many years,” just like that, less than a month after Old Master Gu passed away, someone came to propose marriage under the name of being his father’s friend. “You’re at that age too. I know young people who have received new education now advocate for late marriage, but no matter how late, you can’t be in your twenties without a home, right? By the way, how old are you this year?”

Gu Xingzhai used the action of sipping tea to hide the impatience in his eyes: “Twenty-three.”

“Only twenty-three?” the person was taken aback, thinking that with Gu Xingzhai’s steady and composed appearance, one really couldn’t tell he was only in his early twenties. “No, but twenty-three is at that age. My uncle’s family happens to have a girl, sixteen years old, pretty and bright, and well-educated and especially follows the rules! Let me tell you…”

To get this marriage match, he unhesitatingly changed his tune and began to introduce the girl’s situation volubly.

“Follows the rules?” Gu Xingzhai suddenly put down his cup and asked an unrelated question, “What does it mean to follow the rules?”

“It… it means being obedient and good,” the middle-aged man was momentarily stuck. He observed that Gu Xingzhai’s dress seemed relatively traditional, so he focused on emphasizing the girl’s virtue. “Her parents have raised her very well since childhood, knowing the order of elders and juniors and the proper distance between men and women. She is proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to needlework and knitting. She is a famous talented girl for miles around! Proposers almost broke down the door. If it weren’t for the many years of friendship between your father and me, my relative wouldn’t have sent me on this trip.”

Gu Xingzhai smiled: “Thank you for the trouble, Uncle, but I’m afraid I cannot agree to this marriage.”

“Why!?”

“I like those with a more lively personality,” he said lightly, “I don’t like those who follow the rules.”

The middle-aged man struggled for a moment and said stutteringly: “Then, then actually my aunt’s house also has a daughter, a bit older, but she attended a modern school and even cut her hair short…”

Unbelievable, he thought with a struggle. Gu Xingzhai looks like a serious person, yet he actually likes that kind of unconventional girl?

Gu Xingzhai sighed.

It seemed that if he didn’t speak plainly today, there would be no end to trouble like this in the future.

“Uncle, I’ll tell you the truth,” he said in a deep voice, “I like men.”

Middle-aged man: “……”

Goodbye!

He stood up and left with a face full of anger, thinking it was outrageous; even if he didn’t want to marry, he didn’t need to find such an absurd excuse to brush him off!

But it must be said that this move of Gu Xingzhai’s was indeed ruthless.

After he personally said he liked men, not only did the people coming to propose marriage disappear, but even the old ladies who usually smiled at him on the street no longer had a good face, replaced by pointing behind his back and rumors that were becoming more and more outrageous.

And when Lin Xiaodong also heard this rumor, it was already several days later.

The version he heard was “When Young Master Gu was eighteen, he went to a martial arts hall to challenge it, but fell in love at first sight with a delicate scholar on the way. The two privately made a pact, but were discovered by the scholar’s family and forcibly separated. In the end, the scholar died in depression, and Gu Xingzhai returned home in anger, blah blah…” Looking at that, the rumor even had a tendency to become a full series, not stopping until it made Gu Xingzhai out to be a lone star of misfortune and the reincarnation of a villain of ten lifetimes.

“Who would have thought Young Master Gu was also troubled by love,” he leaned on the soft couch, eyes half-squinted as he looked at Gu Xingzhai standing before him. “I wonder what wind blew today to make you think of an old flame like me?”

Gu Xingzhai frowned deeply: “What old flame or new flame, what kind of talk is that.”

“Is there anything wrong?” Lin Xiaodong said naturally. He pointed at Gu Xingzhai: “You’re only twenty-three, of course you’re a new person.” Then he pointed at himself, “After this year, I’ll be at the age of thirty. Although unmarried ones these days can be called Miss, according to seniority, you should call me elder sister.”

He smiled and watched Gu Xingzhai show a “you dare” expression. He stretched with pleasure and beckoned the man over: “Come here.”

Gu Xingzhai’s face was stiff: “…What is it, just say it.”

“I went to practice medicine in town today and accidentally twisted my foot.” Lin Xiaodong said. Fearing Gu Xingzhai wouldn’t believe him, he even lifted a section of his cheongsam to show him. But the man only took a quick glance and then lowered his eyes, as if a gentleman who doesn’t look at what is improper.

“I’ll get a doctor for you,” he said.

“No need for such trouble,” Lin Xiaodong pointed to the safflower oil on the tray next to him. “Just use this. Alas, I’m afraid I don’t dare to rub it myself, for fear of rubbing it wrong.”

He changed his sitting posture, propping up half of his body with his elbow, and looked at Gu Xingzhai with great expectation: “I remember you seem to be a martial artist? Then you should be very good at these sprains and bruises. Help me rub it.”

Without waiting for Gu Xingzhai to refuse, he tilted up a leg on his own, kicked off his shoe, and his fair foot landed squarely on the man’s black gown. As if that weren’t enough, his toes even intentionally pressed hard on the man’s firm abdomen.

Gu Xingzhai took a sharp breath.

He grabbed Lin Xiaodong’s rebellious foot but accidentally touched the bruise on the ankle. Lin Xiaodong gave an “ah,” and watery light immediately appeared in his eyes. He picked up the pillow behind him and smashed it onto Gu Xingzhai’s head.

“Gently!”

This blow didn’t have much lethality, but the sense of spoiled complaining was ten out of ten.

But Gu Xingzhai seemed to be stunned by the hit. The man stood there in that posture for a moment, and then actually obediently found a stool to sit down on, placed Lin Xiaodong’s foot on his knees, opened the cap of the safflower oil, applied it bit by bit to the bruise, and slowly massaged it with his palm.

“Does it hurt?” he asked with his head down, expression unclear.

Lin Xiaodong was quite satisfied with his service and grunted: “It’s okay, a bit more gently.”

So Gu Xingzhai’s movements became even gentler.

Seeing him like this, Lin Xiaodong was also curious: “Why are you so obedient today? Doing whatever I say?”

“Is refusing useful?” Gu Xingzhai looked up and asked back. Anyway, Lin Xiaodong always had a thousand ways to make him yield.

Lin Xiaodong gave a light hum: “Smart of you.”

The corners of Gu Xingzhai’s lips curled imperceptibly, and he lowered his head again.

Lin Xiaodong’s foot clearly looked well-cared for; the toes were white and round, the instep delicate and soft, like fine mutton-fat jade held in the palm. Gu Xingzhai could completely circle the slender ankle with one hand.

He held the lower part of the young man’s calf with his left hand and repeatedly massaged the bruise in circles with his other hand. Under the dual action of the safflower oil and friction, Lin Xiaodong’s originally fair skin gradually turned a light red, and the protruding bone on the ankle made the beautifully lined calf appear even more slender and long.

Probably massaged into comfort, Lin Xiaodong couldn’t help but let out a few soft grunts from his nose, like a kitten that had finished nursing and was lying belly-up in its nest making a soft purring sound; or like a little fox that saw a piece of dried meat in a kind person’s hand, squinting its eyes and making a coquettish plea.

Gu Xingzhai’s breathing became unconsciously rapid.

He looked up, only to find that the young man leaning on the soft couch had flushed at some point. But looking at Lin Xiaodong’s beautiful phoenix eyes staring fixedly at him, it wasn’t shyness, but a bright, flame-like passionate emotion that he didn’t dare to touch.

The person before him was different from all the men and women Gu Xingzhai had met before.

In this era, people were reserved and subtle in expressing their emotions; even those were few. Most were still bound by parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words, with their lives arranged early on by so-called “rules” and “traditions.” Everyone carried a shackle, as if through a layer of gray gauze, hazy and hard to guess clearly.

But Lin Xiaodong was not like that.

He was direct, generous, passionate, and beautifully impactful, with every gesture full of charm, daring to express his inner feelings and daring to challenge the inherent concepts in people’s hearts.

Just standing there, he was the most beautiful scenery of this era.

“Why stopped?”

Lin Xiaodong asked softly, drawing his foot out from the hand of the pensive Gu Xingzhai.

Seeing the man remain silent, he raised his eyebrows and sat up from his lying position, arching his instep, and his toes followed Gu Xingzhai’s instantly tensed arm all the way up, finally landing on the button of the collar tied before the man’s Adam’s apple.

Gu Xingzhai raised his eyelids and stared at him coldly.

In the man’s dark eyes, some unfathomable whirlpool seemed to be brewing.

But Lin Xiaodong wasn’t afraid of that.

He propped himself up on the soft couch with both hands, his toes tilted up, his body leaning back slightly, his curved eyes and brows looking exactly like Daji, who possessed a natural charm, beside King Zhou in the past: “Young Master Gu, are you a mute?”

A tremor came from the tip of his toe, and Gu Xingzhai finally spoke.

“Lin Xiaodong.”

“Hmm?”

Lin Xiaodong instinctively replied, but before he could react, a strong arm circled his waist and pulled him fiercely into a solid, scorching embrace.

What followed the next second was a hot kiss that almost drowned his entire person.

“You…” Lin Xiaodong’s scalp went numb from Gu Xingzhai’s disordered and somewhat fiercely punishing kissing technique. He was a bit out of breath and pushed hard on the man’s shoulders, but under the disparity in their martial strength, it was not at all useful. He could only grab the black gown tightly, crumpling the fabric on the chest into a mess.

Gu Xingzhai’s large hand tightly gripped his waist, and without looking up, he used his other hand to grab Lin Xiaodong’s slender wrists that were waving in the air and pressed them against the wall. It wasn’t until the person in his arms was kissed until the corners of his eyes were red and his body was soft all over, and his expression no longer had its previous ease, that the deep desire he had suppressed in his heart for many days gradually dissipated.

Gu Xingzhai took a deep breath and stepped back slightly. Although his cheeks were flushed from the kiss just now, his gaze as he looked at Lin Xiaodong still carried a trace of cold scrutiny. When a succubus had sex with a human, the yang energy on the adult male would be sucked away by the other party; this was the succubus’s nature and could not be avoided. As a demon hunter, Gu Xingzhai was even more sensitive to this.

He gave a cold laugh, though his expression looked like he was mocking himself:

“Now, it’s as you wished?”

Feeling the man’s scorching breath on his neck, the succubus’s special constitution made Lin Xiaodong, aside from being annoyed by Gu Xingzhai’s roughness, feel a bit of an addictive sensation of wanting more.

He steadied his breathing slightly and was about to say something when Gu Xingzhai suddenly reached out and quickly tidied Lin Xiaodong’s messy sideburns, then stood up and strode to the courtyard gate, blocking the housekeeper who was just about to come in: “Is there something?”

The housekeeper was startled by the cold-faced man, but soon replied: “Young Master, my son was clamoring to come and see the mansion today. I had a momentary soft heart and brought him here, but I haven’t seen any sign of him since lunch. I was afraid the brat might disturb the Miss and was planning to look for him in the courtyard.” He squinted his eyes, looking suspiciously at Gu Xingzhai’s black gown that was no longer as smooth as usual, and asked tentatively, “Young Master, you…?”

“Miss Lin came back from outside today and twisted her foot. I didn’t stand steady when helping her find safflower oil on the cabinet and fell off the chair.” Gu Xingzhai told a lie without blinking.

Seeing the housekeeper unwilling and wanting to peek into the courtyard again, the man’s expression immediately darkened, and he took a step forward to block his view. “A doctor has already come to see her, and Miss Lin is already resting. Let’s go; I’ll help you look for your son.”

“…How can I let you do that.” The housekeeper saw that there was no way to get past Gu Xingzhai into the courtyard today and could only say so resentfully.

But he gave a cold snort in his heart, thinking that if Gu Xingzhai hadn’t done anything with Lin Xiaodong just now, he’d cut his own head off on the spot for Gu Xingzhai! Thinking of Lin Xiaodong’s light swaying steps and every smile in her cheongsam, the housekeeper’s soul couldn’t help but ripple again—but following that, there was also jealousy and hatred for the Gu family father and son that reached his marrow.

Seeing that Gu Xingzhai had gone for a long time and hadn’t come back, Lin Xiaodong let out a sigh, curled his lips boringly, and was also prepared to return to his room.

But as his gaze shifted, he noticed a familiar invitation letter on his right hand.

The housekeeper seemed to have given him one before, saying it was an invitation from some official, but he only took a glance and then casually stuffed it under his pillow and paid no more attention to it.

So, this invitation belonged to Gu Xingzhai?

Lin Xiaodong opened it curiously, and what met his eyes was a line of small regular script written with a brush:

“Sincerely invite you to bring a partner to this banquet.”

The invitation sent to him didn’t have this sentence.

But to say this was accidentally dropped by Gu Xingzhai, Lin Xiaodong definitely wouldn’t believe it. After all, his long gown didn’t have pockets.

“Pressed me against the wall for a good round of lightness, and after bullying me, you still want to invite me to accompany you to a ball?” Lin Xiaodong gave a cold laugh, wiping the faint moisture on his lips with the back of his hand. “Thinking quite beautifully.”

The system was puzzled: “Are you angry?”

He saw that Lin Xiaodong seemed to have enjoyed it quite a bit just now and even collected a wave of yang energy for a full meal; it was simply killing two birds with one stone.

“Cough,” Lin Xiaodong gave a dry cough, his gaze wandering. “Mainly, I don’t know how to dance female steps in high heels.”

System: “……”