Chapter 70: Running Away from Home "Are you asking me this, Ah Shu?" Pei Yi...
Carrying the "Shadows among Flowers" bestowed by the emperor, Xie Yushu hurried back home.
He had promised to come back and have lunch with Pei Yixue, but now the lunch time had already passed.
"Sir, we're here." The carriage stopped and the driver's voice came from outside the curtain.
Lifting the car curtain, Xie Yushu hurriedly got out of the car in two steps.
In front of Xie's house, the crowd that had earlier surrounded and questioned him had dispersed without a trace, leaving only a servant from the Jishiyi Station standing in front of the steps.
Seeing him coming back, the servant quickly stepped forward and bowed, "Sir, the boss asked me to tell you something."
Pass on a message? Xie Yushu's heart tightened, "What?"
The servant smiled innocently, cleared his throat, and imitated Pei Yixue's tone and said, "You can live in the Ministry of Revenue for the rest of your life! I ran away from home, and you don't have to look for me even if I die outside." After delivering the message, the servant nodded and bowed repeatedly, backing away while saying, "Hehe, please don't blame me, sir, these are the original words of the boss. I'll take my leave now."
"Wait!" Xie Yushu came back to his senses and called out to the servant, startling him and stopping in his tracks. "Did your master tell you where he was going?"
"Well... the master hasn't said it clearly." The servant scratched his head, "but the master's carriage is heading out of the city."
"Thank you very much."
After asking the porter to bring the horse, Xie Yushu climbed onto the saddle and suddenly remembered something. Although he had sent someone to tell Pei Yixue not to wait for lunch, he was now worried that Pei Yixue would quit the job out of spite.
Turning to the doorman, he asked, "Have you had lunch yet, sir?"
"Your Excellency, it was already used at four o'clock in the afternoon."
"Okay." Xie Yushu kicked the horse's belly and spurred the horse straight towards the city gate.
There were many wheel tracks outside the city. Xie Yushu searched for more than two hours in the suburbs, and finally caught a glimpse of a four-axle carriage with green curtains in a wilderness in the woods.
The setting sun was like molten gold, hanging on the mountain top in the sky. White smoke curled up from behind the carriage, rising into the sky that was gradually turning dark.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Hearing the choking sound, Xie Yushu quickly walked around to the back of the car.
In front of a bonfire that was about to go out, Pei Yixue was bending over to disperse the smoke in front of him and stirring the firewood with a wooden stick.
"Yixue." Xie Yushu stepped forward, held Pei Yixue's hand, naturally took the wooden stick in his hand, and pulled him behind him away from the smoke.
"Ashu, you are here."
Xie Yushu looked up at the sound, and saw Pei Yixue looking at him with a pair of eyes that could show affection even to a dog, her eyes were wet and red, perhaps from the smoke or something, but it made her look even more pitiful.
At a glance, Xie Yushu's heart couldn't help but tremble, "Why did you come here alone? It's in the wilderness, what if you encounter wild animals or bad guys?"
"Are you asking me this, Ah Shu?" Pei Yixue turned around, picked up another stick from the firewood pile on the ground, and squatted back beside the fire to fiddle with it. "As for me, of course I ran away from home."
"Yixue..." Guilt surged in Xie Yushu's heart. He called out softly and squatted down with him. "It's my fault that I came back late today. Can you please forgive me?"
"Well, let's not hold Ah Shu responsible." Pei Yixue responded gently, and then concentrated on making a fire. However, the fire became less and less intense the more he poked it.
Everything seemed normal, without any anger, but there seemed to be an invisible sullenness, like a blunt knife cutting flesh, grinding Xie Yushu's heart. He was a little afraid that Pei Yixue really didn't want to go back with him.
Xie Yushu was not good at coaxing people with words. He held Pei Yixue's hand and stopped her from moving. "I'll do it."
As they glanced at each other, Xie Yushu blocked the person behind him, knelt on one knee, bent down, picked up the firewood with a wooden stick, added a handful of hay, and blew gently at the remaining sparks.
The flames gradually grew and eventually became blazing flames. He put down the blackened dead branches and looked back. Pei Yixue had a faint smile on his face: "Thank you, Ah Shu."
Her charming smile moved people's hearts. Xie Yushu's heart was fluttering like a butterfly's wings. He sincerely didn't want Pei Yixue to be angry with him again, so he searched for an opportunity to start a conversation: "Why... did you light the fire?"
Pei Yixue did not answer, but used a wooden stick to pick out a few black, round yams from the ashes, and pointed the stick at them: "The incense of the five internal organs is extinguished, so the fire is lit and it will continue by itself."
Hungry? Xie Yushu glanced at the half-mooned red sun in the sky, and his mind raced: "Crab roe and egg custard from Xiangmanlou, deer antler and star marrow from Qionglinyan, red-stamped eight-treasure duck from Zuixian Pavilion, golden-threaded pigeon from Wangxiandian... Is there anything you want to eat? If you don't want to go to the store, we can go back home and ask someone to bring it to you."
"Ashu," Pei Yixue looked at him and said seriously, "I'm still running away from home."
"Then..." Xie Yushu paused and buried the taro back into the firewood. "After we roast and eat these, we can go back to the city for dinner, okay?"
Pei Yixue followed his example and also picked up a yam and buried it, without answering. Xie Yushu couldn't help but call out with some expectation: "Yixue?"
Pei Yixue's smile deepened, and he whispered two words: "No~"
"Then...Yixue, what do you want me to do before you go home with me?" Xie Yushu leaned closer and coaxed in a low voice.
"I don't want to." Pei Yixue smiled as his eyes moved. He reached out to touch his cheek and rubbed his lips repeatedly with the tip of his thumb.
The familiar tingling sensation spread from the tip of his heart to every part of his body, and Xie Yushu's lips unconsciously chased and kissed that warmth.
"Yixue." Xie Yushu called out pleadingly, "Don't be angry with me, okay?"
"I'm not angry." The fingertips on her lips slid across the corner of his mouth and landed on his cheek. In front of him, Pei Yixue's face suddenly enlarged.
The moment their soft lips touched, Xie Yushu hugged his back, and following Pei Yixue's pressure, they both fell onto the soft grass.
Pei Yixue kissed him, and his hand slid along Xie Yushu's neck to his chest, but he felt a hard book inside his lapel.
The moment the book was pulled out, Xie Yushu woke up as if from a dream, and suddenly grabbed the other side of the book: "This... I can't read this."
Looking at those wandering and flickering eyes, Pei Yixue took the opportunity to press Xie Yushu's hand above his head, leaned over and asked seriously: "So, Ah Shu and I are going to have a secret?"
"...I am in trouble." Xie Yushu looked embarrassed.
"Well, I won't look." Pei Yixue let go of his hand, his tone unable to hide his "disappointment".
Just as he was about to stand up, a big hand held his lower back firmly. He lowered his eyes and stared at Xie Yushu, only to hear the other party hurriedly say: "Yixue, I didn't mean that. It's just that the things inside... are a bit unbearable to look at."
"Why is it not pleasing to the eyes?" Pei Yixue asked.
Xie Yushu hesitated for a long time, unable to utter a word, which only aroused Pei Yixue's curiosity. "Since Ah Shu is in trouble--"
"It's...that kind of book." Xie Yushu finally spoke.
"That kind?" Pei Yixue reached out for the book again, and this time he picked it up easily without encountering any resistance.
Xie Yushu seemed to have completely given up struggling. He closed his eyes tightly, not daring to look at him. Only his cheeks and neck were flushed red.
At this point, Pei Yixue had already understood the contents of the book without flipping through it. He felt amused, for he had never expected that Xie Yushu, who used to blush when talking about romance, would actually look for such a book on his own.
It would be better to study with him carefully.
Opening the book, Pei Yixue's eyes were drawn to the exaggerated movements and expressions on the screen, and the striking mark on the chest of the man who was in a superior position and fighting with all his might was caught - it turned out that it was Shuang'er who was controlling the man.
Pei Yixue's eyes turned slightly and fell back on the person in the grass, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. He looked so pure and unselfish on the surface, but secretly he had such thoughts?
He touched Xie Yushu's cheek with his fingertips. His eyelashes trembled slightly, but his eyes were still tightly closed. Pei Yixue leaned over and whispered in his ear: "Ashu, open your eyes and look at me."
Xie Yushu's eyelids moved slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes. When their eyes met, Pei Yixue asked, "Where did you read this book, Ah Shu?"
"I...only read some of them." Xie Yushu answered sincerely.
"Ashu likes it?" Seeing Xie Yushu's lips moving, hesitating for a few times before returning to silence, Pei Yixue chuckled, spread the book in front of Xie Yushu, and pointed at one of the small paintings, "Then let's study it a little bit, okay? Let's start by... exchanging the upper and lower positions in the painting."
"Study?" Xie Yushu asked in surprise.
Pei Yixue smiled and reached out to the only part of Xie Yushu's body that he had not touched before.
The chirping of birds returning to their nests in the treetops stirs the night sky, and the croaking of frogs gradually grows louder, playing a grand forest symphony together.
The moon hung in the middle of the sky, and the low humming in the carriage gradually died down, leaving only the heavy and interlaced breathing.
Pei Yixue instinctively hugged the person in his arms tightly and murmured softly: "Ashu...Ashu..."
In response to his call, a big warm hand climbed up his sweaty back and stroked it gently with a slight tremor as if to soothe him.
Pei Yixue buried his face deep in Xie Yushu's shoulder, waiting for the electric aftereffect to slowly fade away. He tightened his embrace, his heart filled with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
Finally, Xie Yushu belonged to him completely.
He tilted his head slightly, couldn't help but kiss Xie Yushu's cheek, and stood up slightly. Their eyes met again, and silence was worth a thousand words.
For a long time, Xie Yushu just stared at Pei Yixue like this, as if he couldn't see enough, and put his hand on his face again.
Pei Yixue pressed the hand on her face and rubbed the warmth of her palm with her head tilted. She gave him several light kisses, her eyes sparkling as she looked into his eyes lovingly: "Ashu, do you like it?"
"...like...like." Xie Yushu replied in a hoarse voice, "You..." Before he finished his words, he felt a change somewhere in his body and stared at the person.
"I like it too. I like it very much." Pei Yixue leaned over and sealed his lips again.
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