The hand in front of me is fair and slender, with distinct joints. It is clearly a hand that has been pampered. Even the nails look round, full and shiny, with beautiful lunulae.
It's a very beautiful hand. Although it's a man's hand, holding hands doesn't seem unacceptable.
The moment the thought crossed Xie Chang'an's mind, he was startled and, for the first time in his life, felt the urge to back down.
But Ye Jingchen was looking at him right now, so retreating was out of the question.
"It's just holding hands, Brother Chang'an, you won't be too scared, will you?" Ye Jingchen asked with a smile, extending his hand towards Xie Chang'an again.
"It's just holding hands, what's there to be afraid of?" Xie Chang'an closed his eyes, steeled his heart, quickly reached out and touched Ye Jingchen's hand, then withdrew his own.
Because it was so fast, he didn't even feel the touch when he touched Ye Jingchen's hand.
"It's holding hands, not touching. Brother Chang'an, why did you pull your hand away so quickly? Are you afraid my hand will eat yours?" Ye Jingchen shook his outstretched hand and asked with a half-smile.
It has to be said that Xie Chang'an's current reaction is quite interesting.
Xie Chang'an used to be very innocent, but he never seemed to be as innocent as he is now.
So innocent that you just want to bully her.
The reason for this contrast is probably that although he has no memories of his rebirth, the experience after his rebirth has changed him, making him less sharp and wary than he was when he was first reborn.
However, even if Xie Chang'an changes a lot, he shouldn't be able to withstand such teasing and provocation without fighting back.
It's just holding hands, what's so scary about that?
After mentally preparing himself, he grabbed Ye Jingchen's hand.
The moment their hands clasped tightly, Xie Chang'an felt a shiver run through him.
They were both men, but the feel of their handshakes was completely different.
Ye Jingchen's hands had smooth and delicate skin, and because both his palms and the backs of his hands were fleshy, they felt soft to the touch.
Xie Chang'an subconsciously relaxed his grip.
"You've got it wrong, you have to hold it like this." Ye Jingchen broke free from Xie Chang'an's hand and opened his palm towards Xie Chang'an.
Xie Chang'an didn't understand what he meant, so Ye Jingchen used his other hand to help Xie Chang'an open his palm as well. Then his palm overlapped with Xie Chang'an's palm, his fingers inserted between Xie Chang'an's fingers, and then he tightened his fingers to form a gesture of interlocking fingers.
"Holding hands together, we'll stay together for life." Ye Jingchen raised their clasped hands and said to Xie Chang'an with a smile.
Seeing Ye Jingchen's smiling face, Xie Chang'an's heart skipped a beat.
"It's getting late, I should go back to Prince Qian's residence. Goodbye." Just then, Ye Jingchen let go of Xie Chang'an's hand and strode outside.
Xie Chang'an looked at his hands, clenched them loosely, as if he could still feel the touch of holding Ye Jingchen's hand.
Xie Chang'an found it unbelievable. Had he just been bewitched by a man?
When he came to his senses, he remembered that he still had the task of seeing people out of the mansion. When he reached the gate, he could only see Ye Jingchen's back as he got into the carriage.
Soon, the carriage from Prince Qian's residence left the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's residence and disappeared at the end of the street.
Both the carriage and the people inside left completely, without a trace of regret.
The thought that Ye Jingchen left so decisively just to have dinner with Ye Jinghe at Prince Qian's residence made Xie Chang'an feel inexplicably choked up.
That evening, Xie Chang'an called Xie Geng out again.
Before today, he always believed that his relationship with Ye Jingchen was fake, just to deceive everyone.
However, when Ye Jingchen was seen off at the mansion, Ye Jingchen's words and the gesture of holding his hand made him realize that there might really be something between them.
Otherwise, Ye Jingchen wouldn't have been able to say those ambiguous things and make those ambiguous gestures so naturally.
Even if Ye Jingchen's hand felt softer than he expected, he was still a man. Shaking hands was one thing, but could he really go any further?
"Where has our relationship progressed?" Xie Chang'an asked coldly.
"What do you mean, 'at what stage'?" Xie Geng was a little confused by this seemingly random question.
"Since you said I like Ye Jingchen a lot, how far have things progressed between us—as he mentioned this afternoon?" Xie Chang'an asked with difficulty.
Xie Geng gave a look of sudden realization, then jumped three zhang away, looking at Xie Chang'an warily.
Xie Chang'an looked at him as if he were a fool.
"I don't know the answer to that question," Xie Geng said after a moment's hesitation.
"You are my bodyguard, how could you not know?" Xie Chang'an retorted.
"After you and His Highness retire for the night, we can only stand guard outside the room, so we don't know," Xie Geng replied seriously.
Xie Chang'an: ......
If he were simply sleeping in the same bed with Ye Jingchen, there would be no need to have all the guards leave the room.
Although Xie Geng said "I don't know," he had actually answered the question.
Xie Chang'an was forced to confront a problem he had been avoiding from the very beginning.
How did we get married?
The crown prince married a male concubine, who came from the Zhenguo Duke's mansion, which the emperor feared most. How exactly was this marriage arranged?
This was a question he should have understood from the beginning, but at that time he didn't want to accept the fact that he was 'getting married'.
"In order to marry His Highness the Crown Prince openly and receive everyone's blessings, His Majesty used celestial phenomena and prophecies to deceive everyone and make His Majesty grant you the marriage..." Xie Geng excitedly shared this game, in which heaven and earth were the chessboard and all people were the pieces, with Xie Chang'an.
The more Xie Chang'an listened, the heavier his heart became.
This scheme could only have been orchestrated by someone who has been reborn, but just how much does he love Ye Jingchen that he would use the lives of all people to carry out such a plan?
Xie Geng had a great talent for storytelling, and he told this story with great enthusiasm and went on for several hours until he got to their grand wedding that drew huge crowds, at which point he reluctantly stopped.
Xie Chang'an thought Xie Geng had a great talent for storytelling, and that he could become a storyteller when he got older and could no longer wield swords.
That night, Xie Chang'an had a strange dream while sleeping, dreaming of his wedding night with Ye Jingchen.
After waking up from the dream, Xie Chang'an felt terrible.
Because of this dream, Xie Chang'an felt that he wouldn't be able to look Ye Jingchen in the eye for a while.
He didn't want to see Ye Jingchen, but fate had other plans.
Right after breakfast, Changzhao and Changze pestered him, wanting him to take them to find Ye Jingchen to play.
Before he could refuse, his ancestor agreed on his behalf.
So he had no choice but to take the two little brats to Prince Qian's mansion again.
The children rushed to the courtyard where Ye Jingchen lived, but found nothing. The palace servants who stayed behind said that the Crown Prince and Prince Qian were admiring the flowers in the garden.
"What are two grown men doing admiring flowers?" Xie Chang'an thought to himself, and immediately ordered the palace servants to take them to the garden.
Ye Jingchen likes children. Once he sees Changzhao and Changze, let's see if he still pays attention to Ye Jinghe.
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