Chapter 57 Covered a chapter

One moment, Chu Ran was thinking that he might not have the chance to meet Li Fu again. The next moment, Chu Ran was sitting in a tavern on the street in broad daylight. Next to him was Uncle Xing, whom he had just met last month, and sitting opposite him was Li Fu, the prince of Dingbei, who had been reborn.

Chu Ran sat stiffly in his seat and turned his head to look at Xing Ji.

He really needs an explanation now.

But Xing Ji seemed not to receive his signal. He lowered his head and took a sip of wine.

"Uncle Xing said that you like to drink the Qiulubai here the most."

Chu Ran was about to pour wine for Li Fu, but Li Fu reached out his hand at the same time. As soon as his fingertips touched Chu Ran, Chu Ran quickly took his hand away. Li Fu personally took the wine pot, filled the wine glass, and placed it in front of Chu Ran. If Chu Ran had not seen the tone of Li Fu talking to others, he would not have thought that Li Fu's tone and demeanor when talking to him could be described as gentle.

"Do you like to drink such strong alcohol?"

"Um……"

Chu Ran felt a little confused. It might be because he was used to serving others over the years. He was the one who poured wine for others. Suddenly, someone poured wine for him. Chu Ran felt a little uncomfortable.

He picked up the wine glass and took a sip. He was used to this drink, but for some reason, he still felt his throat burning after drinking it today.

There are some things that Chu Ran could do in the past but may not be able to do now. For example, when dealing with people he is not very familiar with, unless the other person is someone he must flatter and serve, it is difficult for Chu Ran to muster the energy to cater to and deal with the other person.

Chu Ran was not very familiar with Li Fu now. Moreover, Li Fu was not someone he needed to flatter or please.

Therefore, Chu Ran just drank silently and didn't talk much. He would only occasionally respond when Li Fu asked him something.

Li Fu calmly watched Chu Ran drinking by himself.

In the past, he talked a lot to me and wanted to tell me everything, but now, he talks very little.

There seems to be nothing to say.

There is nothing to ask.

He was indeed alienated from himself.

Li Fu knew that even if he explained to Chu Ran now why he hadn't replied to his letter for so long, and even if Chu Ran understood him, they could never go back to the way they were before.

So what.

You can always go back.

Li Fu stared at Chu Ran like a falcon hovering in the sky, staring at a little sheep running happily on the grassland.

Chu Ran and Xing Ji agreed to drink together at the beginning of every month. But because he had to go back to the palace and was on duty the next day, Chu Ran would stop drinking every time and would never get drunk.

But today, I don’t know whether he felt embarrassed facing Li Fu or he didn’t know what to say to Li Fu, so he could only bury his head in drinking, and no one spoke up to stop him. Then, before Chu Ran even understood what was happening, he inexplicably drank himself into paralysis.

The wine was strong to begin with, and Chu Ran drank a lot, so once the aftereffects of the drink hit him, he felt dizzy.

After Chu Ran got drunk, he fell asleep on the table.

Li Fu saw Chu Ran lying down, and he didn't continue to drink the remaining wine in the glass, but poured it out. He stood up and walked to the other side, grabbed Chu Ran's arm with one hand, and helped Chu Ran up from the table.

Xing Ji also stood up.

"Uncle Xing, I'm going back first."

After Li Fu finished speaking, he helped Chu Ran, who was still dizzy but could still walk, up, put his arm around his shoulders, and led Chu Ran out of the tavern.

It was still daytime outside, and the streets were bustling with people.

Jin Bao drove a carriage and stopped at the door of the tavern.

Jin Bao got off the carriage and wanted to come over to help, but was stopped by Li Fu, "Just hurry up, don't worry about the rest."

So Jinbao took the initiative to retreat behind Li Fu.

Li Fu put Chu Ran in the carriage first, and then he got in. Before getting in, Li Fu said to the eldest brother Jin Yuan: "Send a message to the palace, saying that he has something to do and will not be back tonight. In addition, give him another day off tomorrow."

After saying this, Li Fu lowered the curtain and sat back in the carriage.

Chu Ran closed his eyes and slept with his back against the wall of the carriage. As soon as the carriage moved, Chu Ran's head automatically slid down. Li Fu held Chu Ran's head steadily in his palm and sat like that for a while. Li Fu moved towards Chu Ran and then gently let Chu Ran lean on half of his body.

Li Fu now lives in the former prince consort's mansion, which was the mansion bestowed by the previous emperor on Qin Yuxiao, King of Dingbei. Whenever Qin Yuxiao came to Beijing, he would live here. Now it has become Li Fu's temporary residence.

Li Fu didn't like having too many people serving him at home, so there were some servants and slaves in the mansion, but not many.

Chu Ran lay on the bed with his arms and legs spread out, motionless, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep. Li Fu only asked someone to bring him some hot water and a hot towel, then he closed the door and did not allow anyone to come in to serve him.

Li Fu sat down beside the bed. A basin filled with hot water was placed on the round stool next to the bed. Li Fu took the steaming white towel out of the water, wrung it dry, and when he stood up, he slightly arched his back forward and wiped Chu Ran's cheek.

Chu Ran was really drunk. He didn't make any noise or noise, but was very quiet. He might have felt uncomfortable and frowned a few times, but in the end, he didn't move.

After wiping his face clean, Li Fu grabbed Chu Ran's left hand again, but when he saw the long burn scar on Chu Ran's palm, Li Fu paused.

He raised his head and glanced at Chu Ran.

When I lowered my eyes, the wiping movements became much lighter.

In fact, the scar no longer hurts after so many years, but the things that happened back then seem to be engraved in his blood and bones, and he can still remember them vividly.

After wiping, Li Fu threw the things into the basin, then stood up, bent down and took off Chu Ran's clothes and socks.

He took off the clothes layer by layer until he got to the innermost layer. The body temperature passed through the thin layer of clothes to Li Fu's fingertips. Li Fu hesitated for a moment and stopped.

He moved his fingers upwards, holding Chu Ran's jaw with his palms, and rubbed Chu Ran's smooth and delicate cheeks with his rough thumb. He then lowered his head and gently bit Chu Ran's fair neck, stopping only when the spot turned slightly red.

It's like a stamp.

Li Fu lowered his eyes and stared at the red mark for a long time.

Then, he lifted the quilt folded against the wall and carefully covered Chu Ran with it.