Chapter 72

The night wind on the mountain is chilly as the dew gets heavier. After coming out of Qingyun Temple, Yuan Heng took off his coat, wrapped Xiao Ziyu in it, and the two walked down the mountain together.

Dugui stood at the temple gate and watched them leave. Huazhen accompanied him, looking surprised: "Who is that next to the distinguished guest..."

“That’s the distinguished guest’s distinguished guest,” Dugui said slowly. When Xiao Ziyu started to cry, he left the room, leaving the courtyard to the two of them.

The mountain road was difficult to walk on. Yuan Heng tightly grasped Xiao Ziyu's arm, and the latter struggled: "It's okay."

He was the one who was emotional, but also the one who was embarrassed. Du Gui was still watching from behind, and Xiao Ziyu felt uncomfortable: "I can do it myself."

Yuan Heng didn't let go and squeezed his fingers hard: "It flew away as soon as I said it would. I can't catch it in the dark."

In his other hand, he was holding a broken coconut mooncake. Xiao Ziyu said, "It's already broken. Why did you pick it up?"

"You can eat them even if they are broken. Don't waste food," Yuan Heng said. "You made the mooncakes yourself. Are you planning to give them to the monks here?"

Xiao Ziyu could hear a hint of dissatisfaction: "There is another box that I sent back to Blue Ocean with my luggage. It has the salted egg yolk flavor."

Yuan Heng was overbearing, arbitrary, and petty: "There are only two boxes in total, and you want to give one away. Just buy a box of Maxim's next time you go to the mall."

The road down the mountain was closed again, but the security guard on duty recognized Yuan Heng and poked his head out of the security booth: "Mr. Yuan, why are you staying so late today?"

Yuan Heng held the person in his arms, his expression normal: "I took care of some things."

The Range Rover stopped at the corner. He first opened the passenger door for Xiao Ziyu and settled him down before returning to the driver's seat: "You came here as soon as you got off the plane?"

"Yes, because it's Mid-Autumn Festival," Xiao Ziyu said, "Monk Hua Zhen said earlier that the old abbot would only come back during the Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year."

So that's how it is. Yuan Heng started the car, turned the Range Rover around with one hand, and covered the back of Xiao Ziyu's hand with his other hand: "How did you find this place?"

"Du Ruochao, the screenwriter of 'The Jade Case', was Du Gui's nephew before he returned to secular life," Xiao Ziyu said softly, "Have you read the script?"

Yuan Heng hadn’t seen it, but he watched a few episodes of “The Jade Case” after it aired: “No wonder it felt so similar, it turned out to be inspired by me.”

Xiao Ziyu was silent for a while: "If I hadn't discovered this place, would you have never admitted it?"

Yuan Heng did not hide his fear: "I'm afraid that if you know the truth, you will leave me even at the cost of your life, just like you did in your previous life."

"No," Xiao Ziyu pursed his lips, "Senior Brother has already told me."

"Xiao Jinchuan was an accident," Yuan Heng said, "I didn't expect to meet him again."

After they got on the elevated road, Yuan Heng continued, "Your senior brother had his legs broken in Shu in his previous life. I asked someone to make him a walking stick and a sedan chair, but he limped to Changqing Palace to frame me and insisted that I give him an explanation."

He tightened his grip on Xiao Ziyu's hand and listened to Yuan Heng continue, "My man is gone. He may not be found even if he searches the sky or the underworld. He still wants me to give him an explanation... Later, Xiao Jinchuan wanted to leave the palace to travel, so I sent him off in a sedan chair carried by eight people."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cell phone on the center console rang. Yuan Heng's hands were occupied, so Xiao Ziyu took down his phone and took a look: "It's Yuan Ye."

Yuan Heng said: "I should go home for the reunion dinner, don't worry about it."

Although Yuan Qi'an was not a human, Xue Jinling didn't seem to be a bad person, and Yuan Heng was quite concerned about this younger brother. Xiao Ziyu advised: "Mid-Autumn Festival is a big festival, so let's go back and eat."

Yuan Heng was worried about his poor condition: "Okay, don't rush to eat this one."

"I'm fine," Xiao Ziyu said, "Let's go."

There was a brief silence, and Xiao Ziyu finally couldn't help asking, "Yuan Heng, do you have any opinion of Aunt Xue?"

He asked cautiously because after all, he had never experienced Yuan Heng's life experience. But after a few brief contacts, he felt that although this woman was weak, she was very thoughtful and had a non-competitive character. Yuan Heng's attitude towards her seemed a little too cold.

"Before my mother passed away, she had contact with Yuan Qi'an, and she was pregnant before she married into the Yuan family." Yuan Heng said, "She married Yuan Qi'an just after the first anniversary of my mother's death."

Xiao Ziyu didn't expect there was such a layer behind it: "I'm sorry, I..."

"It doesn't matter." Yuan Heng held the steering wheel and stared at the road quietly. "If she hadn't arranged to marry a man, I wouldn't be able to get close to you legitimately."

Xiao Ziyu looked at the bizarre streets outside the window and suddenly understood what was wrong. Yuan Qi'an was bedridden and could not do many things personally. Even if he and Yuan Heng wanted to marry a man, someone had to arrange it.

It is not very glorious to make this matter known. Xue Jinling took so much trouble. Was it to obey Yuan Qia'an's wishes or to embarrass Yuan Heng?

I haven't been back to Meilin Garden for a long time. The trees and lawns have been trimmed twice. The security guard at home exclaimed in surprise: "Mr. Yuan is back!"

Yuan Ye stood in the yard feeding mosquitoes while waiting for them. When he saw the car lights from afar, he began to wave: "Brother!"

The two got out of the car, and Yuan Ye trotted over, "Sister-in-law is here too!"

Xiao Ziyu was a little surprised: "I didn't even answer the phone, how did you know we would come?"

"Let's try our luck," Yuan Ye scratched his head, "The meal is ready, all we need is two pairs of chopsticks from you."

The four of them didn't use the big round table for dinner, so they gathered at the small square table. As expected, the table was full. Xue Jinling was standing by the table serving soup: "Heng'er, Ziyu, come and sit down."

Yuan Ye took two bottles of red wine from the underground wine cellar: "Brother, do you want to drink?"

Yuan Heng looked at Xiao Ziyu, but to his surprise, the latter nodded: "Then let's have some."

Wine is good for the mind and can help you relax. Yuan Heng agreed: "Drink halfway through the meal."

After all, it was a reunion dinner. Everyone started eating. Yuan Ye picked up a piece of pork chop and gnawed it. Suddenly, he said, "Sister-in-law, why do your eyelids look a little swollen?"

"Really?" Xiao Ziyu stuttered, "I just came back from Shucheng today, and I didn't sleep well on the plane."

Yuan Heng said: "The reality show is over, take a good rest."

Speaking of reality shows, Yuan Ye was indignant and said, "What's up with that Wen Ci? He didn't admit he plagiarized someone else's work, and now he hasn't apologized."

"There were some misunderstandings," Xiao Ziyu said vaguely, "We have resolved them privately."

"This matter must not be settled privately," Yuan Ye was afraid that his sister-in-law would be bullied, "The entertainment industry is very chaotic. The young model that my brother kept a few days ago..."

He stopped talking halfway, and looked up at his brother angrily. Sure enough, Yuan Heng asked the next sentence: "Which brother? What young model?"

Yuan Ye is going to die unjustly. He is a rich second-generation, but he is not allowed to mingle in social circles or go to clubs. He has to discuss with his brother for a long time before buying a sports car. If he is not careful, he may be caught and taken back to the company to work.

He muttered, "Nothing?"

Yuan Heng frowned: "I told you to have less contact with them. Come to the CEO's office for internship starting tomorrow."

"Brother, I really don't want to go to work. I want to hold a photography exhibition," Yuan Ye said with a bitter face. "I may have worked for others for decades in my previous life. Now I just want to lie down and do nothing."

Xue Jinling worries about her disappointing son every day: "How can you say that? The shares are in your hands, how can you not work?"

"Mom, I'm telling you the truth. I can't get the same sense of accomplishment from work as my brother does," Yuan Ye said. "Instead of being tied down by equity, I might as well transfer the shares to my brother."

"Why are you so disappointing?" Xue Jinling raised her voice. "What should mother do if you do this?"

"Mom, I'm grown up now and have things I want to do," Yuan Ye collapsed, "Can you please stop tying me down and making me feel guilty all the time!"

Xue Jinling's chest heaved and she put down her chopsticks with a snap, but she still couldn't say anything harsh.

"If you care so much about the shares, I'll transfer them to you," Yuan Ye said hastily. "The shares can be used as a support, and are more useful than having a son like me."

With a crisp sound, Xue Jinling raised her hand and hit over. Yuan Ye resisted for a while, and his wheat-colored skin turned red in an instant.

Xue Jinling had always loved him and had never hit him since he was a child. After beating him, tears welled up in her eyes: "I'm sorry, Xiaoye, Mommy..."

Yuan Ye turned around abruptly, pushed open the door and ran out.

"Hey..." Xue Jinling stood up belatedly, but was a step too slow and watched him run into the shadows.

"Don't worry, auntie." Xiao Ziyu and Yuan Heng also stood up, "Let's go and persuade him."

The reunion dinner turned into a farce before it was halfway through. The Range Rover drove slowly along the road for a distance and saw a figure walking quickly.

Maybe because I was so angry, I even forgot to take a taxi.

Yuan Heng honked the horn and stopped by the roadside. Xiao Ziyu got out of the car: "Yuan Ye!"

Yuan Ye turned around, but he couldn't turn his face away from his sister-in-law, so he said in a hard voice: "I'm not going back."

"Then where are you going?" Yuan Heng then got out of the car.

Yuan Ye originally wanted to go drink with his friends all night, but he changed his mind when he was about to say something and said timidly, "I, I'm going to sleep at the Marriott."

"Get in the car. You haven't even had enough food." Xiao Ziyu said helplessly.

Yuan Heng said: "Just follow me back to Blue Sea."

The two of them sang the same tune, one soft and one hard, and completely confused Yuan Ye, and he got into the car in a daze.

Halfway through the journey, he suddenly came to his senses and said, "It's over. I haven't even had time to open two bottles of good wine."

Xiao Ziyu's luggage was delivered to the Blue Ocean Management Office by Luo Li, and his personal butler had taken it up in advance. The box of salted egg yolk mooncakes was placed on the top intact.

Yuan Ye hadn't seen such a simple mooncake box for a long time. It appeared in his brother's apartment, and its ordinariness was awe-inspiring.

Yuan Heng would receive a lot of various gifts every holiday, but he would never take them home and would distribute them all at the company. He asked tentatively: "Could this be a gift from some important person?"

Xiao Ziyu laughed: "I did it."

"No wonder, no wonder, it looks plain and classy at first glance." Yuan Ye patted his chest. Fortunately, he didn't complain, otherwise Blue Sea would not have taken him in tonight.

Yuan Heng saw through his thoughts at a glance, but did not expose them. He glanced at him calmly and said, "Go take a shower first."

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, my father was in a coma in the hospital and had a quarrel with my mother. Even the most heartless person could not bear it. By the time Xiao Ziyu had packed his luggage, Yuan Ye had already gone back to the guest room and gone to sleep, feeling very angry.

Yuan Heng was wearing home clothes and watching a tablet on the sofa. He looked up when he heard the noise and opened his arms: "Are you done cleaning up?"

Xiao Ziyu nodded, snuggled in, adjusted himself to the most comfortable position, and closed his eyes sleepily.

"Are you tired?" Yuan Heng asked out loud, but he knew in his heart that he was not only tired, but also irritated. He dropped the mooncake, lost his pace, and was directly scared away.

Xiao Ziyu closed his eyes, feeling extremely tired but not wanting to sleep. Thinking back on the day, it seemed like a farce. Both the Yuan family sons were slapped in the face, which frightened him to death. Xue Jinling was almost killed by anger.

Yuan Heng lowered his eyes and could see the cheek of the person in his arms. She was calm and at ease, with her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was filled with worries.

By the time he finished reading a document, Xiao Ziyu's breathing had already calmed down. His head lost support and completely tilted on his chest. His two long legs were draped over the sofa, and his ankles were so thin that they could be grasped in one hand.

Putting down the tablet, Yuan Heng picked up Xiao Ziyu and walked into the master bedroom. After the last crazy night, he asked his aunt to clean up and it took two full hours to clean up.

He tucked Xiao Ziyu into the quilt, dimmed the bedside lamp, and let out a long sigh without making a sound.

After his identity was revealed, Xiao Ziyu was not the only one who felt relieved, and he did not even blame him.

Yuan Heng pulled the man into his arms and stroked his long hair, feeling that the sense of security that he had been missing since childhood was slowly being made up.

When holding this person, it seemed as if he was no longer the indestructible thirty-year-old, but the panic-stricken five-year-old who would never be loved. He no longer needed to pretend, because even if his dark true face was exposed, there would be people who would accept it with infinite tolerance.

The hands that he had met countless times in his dreams finally reached out and held him tightly.

Yuan Heng woke up from his dream in the second half of the night. He subconsciously closed his arms but missed. He suddenly opened his eyes, and found that half of the bed was cold, with no sign of life.

His heart suddenly began to panic. Without time to think, he put on his slippers and ran out of the bedroom. Suddenly he saw a figure leaning against the window.

Xiao Ziyu was leaning against the bay window, with one leg bent and the other hanging naturally. The moon was clear above his head, but the light falling into the room was dim, outlining only a cold and extraordinary profile.

A red dot floated in the darkness. Yuan Heng looked intently and found that Xiao Ziyu had opened the window a crack and held a long-barreled pipe to his lips.

The tube was slender and had a small capacity. Xiao Ziyu raised his chin slightly and inhaled and exhaled lightly. The curling smoke drifted out of the window with the wind, reminding Yuan Heng of the small incense burner in Qinglan Garden.

He didn't dare to speak loudly, for fear of scaring people away. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice: "Why are you smoking here?"

"I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall asleep," Xiao Ziyu also lowered his voice, his delicate jawline blurred by the light smoke. The tobacco burned in the pipe was not ordinary tobacco, there was no stinking smell of tar, only the bitter taste of grass and wood.

Yuan Heng approached him and held him in front of him to ensure that Xiao Ziyu would not disappear on the spot. Then he asked, "Where did the pipe come from?"

"I bought it in Lanxi Ancient Town," Xiao Ziyu wanted to knock it, but he resisted the urge to get it on the smooth and tidy bay window.

The whole set of movements was smooth and flowing, and her breathing was skillful, which was many times better than his kissing skills. Yuan Heng's Adam's apple rolled: "I didn't know you still smoked a pipe."

"I learned it from others when I went out to play at the age of thirteen, and got beaten up by my senior brother when I came back," Xiao Ziyu raised his eyelids, obviously recounting an old story.

Yuan Heng had never pried into this, so he asked unconsciously, "Then what? Why didn't you smoke after entering the palace?"

Xiao Ziyu curled his lips and smiled: "After all, I can't ruin my manners in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. What if he doesn't like me anymore?"

Yuan Heng couldn't help holding his breath, feeling that he was willing to step into a gorgeous trap: "I like it no matter what."

Xiao Ziyu was in a state of confusion. He had trouble falling asleep after waking up in shock. He sat alone by the window for most of the night, gradually feeling relieved in the misty smoke.

He stood up on the bay window, without even wearing slippers. His white toes were like beautiful jade. He stood steadily and looked down at Yuan Heng.

His lips parted slightly, letting out the last wisp of smoke. Xiao Ziyu held the pipe in his hand and leaned over to whisper in Yuan Heng's ear: "How are you going to prove it?"

A faint fragrance wafted towards him. Yuan Heng did not retreat but moved forward. He stretched out his arm around Xiao Ziyu's legs and lifted him up.

"There are many ways to prove it, it just depends on whether you can bear it."