Chapter 4242 The Serpent Beguiled Me, and I Ate
"You specifically asked me to come here alone? Is there something wrong?" Liang Guanyue stirred the coffee in her hand, staring at the swirling vortex absentmindedly, and said sarcastically, "It's been a while since we last met. You look very disheveled."
Ji Shun had lost a lot of weight, with dark circles like bags under his eyes. His bangs covered his eyes, and his lips were pouting with dryness. He said in a hoarse voice, "You were the one who got His Highness to do this, right?"
Liang Guanyue took a sip with reserve and said with a smile, "That day in the hospital, I didn't let Fu Yunlu chase you away."
"You clearly know that's not what I'm talking about!!" Ji Shun slammed the table in extreme anger and glared at him, "Don't play dumb! His Highness is not the kind of person who kills people without reason!!"
Liang Guanyue seemed frightened. She moved back, covered her chest, and said anxiously, "...What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"Don't act so pretentious!" Ji Shun grabbed his collar and growled, "How dare you say you haven't whispered to His Highness, asking him to eliminate me completely?!"
Liang Guanyue stared at him blankly: "Who? Me? Someone wants to kill you?"
"..." Ji Shun's expression darkened instantly. He seemed even more shaky than before. He let go of Liang Guanyue and muttered in disbelief, "...You lied to me."
"I don't understand what you're saying," Liang Guanyue said, "but since you left the hospital, Mr. Fu and I haven't discussed you again." He sighed again, "Your liking for him is your business. I won't harbor any resentment towards you, let alone instigate Mr. Fu to take action against you."
"I don't believe it..."
"What happened to you these past few days?"
"...Your Highness wants to kill me..." Ji Shun murmured, "This is impossible."
Liang Guanyue said: "You still have the Ji family behind you. How could he kill you in order to maintain a good relationship with the Ji family?"
Ji Shun laughed, his shoulders shrugging as he said bitterly, "The Ji family is not like the William family. They have had time to accumulate foundation... It is the Ji family that needs Your Highness, not Your Highness that needs the Ji family."
It turns out that the upstarts suddenly became nobles. Liang Guanyue commented.
Ji Shun continued, "In the beginning, my parents sent me to His Highness because they wanted me to be his lover... But I didn't reject it at all. On the contrary, I was happy." He covered his face, his emotions a little broken, and said, "Mr. Ke, Mr. Ke said that my future shouldn't be like this. He said-"
He recalled Fu Yunlu's expression at that time, but his memory became blurry. He only remembered the movement of him bending down and reaching out his hand to him who was kneeling. Fu Yunlu's voice was filled with a gentle smile as he said, "I just happen to be in need of a helper. Why don't you be my assistant?"
He worked like this, faithfully and diligently for many years.
Fu Yunlu also became the biggest and most reliable support for Ji Shun and the family behind Ji Shun.
Even though he contradicted Fu Yunlu again and again and tried to change Fu Yunlu's decision because of the appearance of Liang Guanyue, Ji Shun always believed that his position as an assistant was always more important than that of a 'lover', wasn't it?
Otherwise, why didn't Fu Yunlu let me be his lover?
Liang Guanyue finished the last sip of coffee, looked at the confused Ji Shun in front of him, and said, "Have you ever considered that no matter how easy-going Fu Yunlu seems to be, she is still a core member of the royal family in the end?"
"Their decisions cannot be disobeyed," Liang Guanyue said calmly, "otherwise, you're challenging his position. Even though you've been together for many years, he's the one giving the orders, and you're just the executor. He's always looking down on you, and you're used to looking up to him."
"Besides, Assistant Ji, you know too much."
"As someone who shows signs of rebellion and knows almost all of his weaknesses, as Fu Yunlu, he might spare your life out of old friendship." Liang Guanyue looked him straight in the eyes and smiled slightly, "But as the Fourth Prince, he will definitely not hold back."
"..." Ji Shun chuckled twice, "I think too highly of myself..."
Liang Guanyue said considerately: "But I might be able to plead for you. After all, Miss Wenting is very good to me——"
"Stay away from my sister!" Ji Shun's mood, which had just calmed down, suddenly became agitated again, "I don't need you to pretend to beg for me!"
Liang Guanyue raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Ji Shun gritted his teeth and said, "If this is what Your Highness wants, my obedience is the best choice for the Ji family."
"You can contact Mr. Fu first, in case there is any misunderstanding or there is room for maneuver—" Liang Guanyue brought up all the unstable factors. He wanted Ji Shun's answer to prevent subsequent events from catching him off guard.
"No need. Because you're right." Ji Shun clenched his fists. "His decision... cannot be disobeyed. Even if I meet him, it might be useless. I'd rather take advantage of the fact that he's still willing to help the Ji family." Ji Shun murmured, "This is also a kind of exchange, isn't it?"
Ji Shun left in a daze. Liang Guanyue watched him leave, confusion surrounding his entire mind.
What kind of education did these people receive from childhood to adulthood, and what kind of people and things did they come into contact with?
Why would they be willing to infringe upon their own interests and even give up their own lives for the so-called family and feelings?
It was so stupid that he couldn't understand.
Not only Ji Shun, but even Fu Yunlu was not spared.
If Fu Yunlu was smart enough to get rid of those burdens, or learn to guard her territory as carefully as he did, how could he have caught these handles.
——
When Fu Yunlu came to pick him up, Liang Guanyue was squatting on the ground, observing a sparrow jumping on the grass.
He held up his face, not blinking, and stared at her expressionlessly.
The wind blew in his face, and the scattered hair on the side of his face tickled his nose. Liang Guanyue sneezed, startling the vigilant sparrow. He looked up at the trajectory of its flight and pouted unhappily.
Fu Yunlu laughed at this, walked over to him, and teased, "Can you be angry about this?"
Liang Guanyue turned her eyes towards him, squinting slightly because of the sunlight: "Why didn't you tell me you were coming earlier?"
"Seeing you're so engrossed, it's hard not to disturb your interest if I speak."
"Are you free these days?"
Fu Yunlu patted his head: "Do you like it or not?"
Liang Guanyue replied: "You are too idle. I am afraid it is because the leader dislikes you."
Fu Yunlu squatted down with him and said with a smile: "No matter what, I am more than capable of supporting you."
Liang Guanyue said sweetly: "It doesn't matter if you can't support me. If you can't, I will support you."
Fu Yunlu was stunned for a moment, then reached out and tucked the other person's hair behind her ear. "If I really have to rely on a child like you to support me, then I'm really useless." She added, "By the way, a play I like is scheduled tonight. Do you want to go with me?"
Liang Guanyue stood up, and Fu Yunlu followed suit. He yawned and said disdainfully, "Don't be as boring as the last concert."
"No, I wasn't thoughtful enough last time." Fu Yunlu still remembered Liang Guanyue dozing off on his shoulder mid-performance. "This drama will definitely not be boring."
Liang Guanyue put her hands in the pockets of her gray coat and glanced at him teasingly: "If I feel bored, shouldn't I be punished?"
"What?" Fu Yunlu paused, "Punishment...?"
"Why, you don't have confidence in what you like?"
"Of course not..." Fu Yunlu hesitated, "Tell me about it."
Liang Guanyue shook her head: "No, you have to agree first."
"..." Fu Yunlu wondered what kind of earth-shattering punishment a child like Liang Guanyue could come up with, so she compromised and said, "Okay, I promise you."
Liang Guanyue's smile deepened. He leaned close to Fu Yunlu's ear and whispered, "If you're bored, brother has to play something fun with me." He pinched his fingertips and said, "Just on the bed, okay?"
"..." Fu Yunlu was in a dilemma and said, "Okay."
Liang Guanyue stared at him for about three seconds, then kissed him on the lips and said, "Fu Yunlu, you're much cuter than that sparrow just now."
Fu Yunlu laughed angrily, pinching his cheeks and gritting her teeth in hatred: "Little brat, sometimes I really want to teach you a lesson."
Liang Guanyue just kissed him again.
Fu Yunlu let out a deep breath and surrendered.
…
[Miracle, miracle, there is no miracle! It's all fake! There's no hope! They're full of lies, deceiving everyone, and we're all kept in the dark—]
[No.] The pastor lowered his head compassionately and said slowly, [The truth must be hidden within.]
For if there had never been anything real in all this, people would not believe in any of it;
Therefore, we should not conclude that because there are so many false miracles, there are no true miracles at all; on the contrary, we must say that since there are so many false miracles, there must be true miracles, and the reason why there are false miracles is precisely because there are true miracles.
Liang Guanyue yawned for the fifth time with an expressionless face and muttered, "What a mess."
Fu Yunlu coughed: "...We haven't reached the exciting part yet, baby, why don't we take a look at it again--"
"Brother, let's go home." Liang Guanyue held his hand, like a snake coiled on the tree of good and evil, and said, "I kind of miss that place where you were."
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The author has something to say: (Note): [Because...] is from Pascal's "Pensées"
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