Shu Changyu stopped paying him any mind and leaned against the headboard, lowering his eyes to resume reading.
This time, Jing Mu wasn’t chattering endlessly beside him like before.
He simply sat there quietly.
If not for the fact that his gaze remained fixed on Shu Changyu the entire time, Shu Changyu might have thought the boy had already left.
But that gaze…
It was impossible to ignore.
After only a few pages, Shu Changyu looked up.
The moment he did, his eyes met Jing Mu’s.
Like a thief caught red-handed, Jing Mu immediately looked away for an instant.
Then, realizing that only made him look guiltier, he awkwardly turned back and forced himself to meet Shu Changyu’s eyes with feigned composure.
Shu Changyu raised an eyebrow.
“What is it?”
Jing Mu asked,
“Grand Tutor… is that book any good?”
Shu Changyu said nothing.
A moment later, Jing Mu eagerly continued, as though presenting a treasured gift.
“After you passed away in my previous life, I read your treatise on flood control over and over again.”
“Although you never said it aloud…”
“I could tell.”
“You especially longed to travel throughout the realm.”
Shu Changyu was quietly surprised.
Jing Mu was right.
But that treatise had been written in the briefest possible terms.
Though he had consulted countless historical texts, every word that made it onto the page served flood control.
Not a single unnecessary sentence remained.
How had Jing Mu seen through all that?
Jing Mu continued,
“But at the time, as the Son of Heaven, I couldn’t travel the world on your behalf.”
“So I collected travel journals instead.”
“Whenever I read them…”
“I always thought…”
“If Grand Tutor were here, I’d definitely want you to read them too.”
At that, Jing Mu smiled.
“Now…”
“My wish has finally come true.”
Shu Changyu lowered his eyes without changing expression.
Yet inside his chest, his heart pounded like a drum.
There was even a faint warmth spreading through him.
A gentle…
Comforting warmth.
“When are you leaving?” he asked as he closed the book.
“I’m going to sleep.”
“I’ll leave once the rain eases a little,” Jing Mu replied.
After a pause, he sounded as though he had no intention of leaving at all.
“Grand Tutor can simply go to sleep.”
Shu Changyu had developed a habit in his previous life.
He couldn’t sleep if someone was nearby.
Whether someone lay beside him or merely remained in the room…
The moment he closed his eyes, he felt uneasy.
Restless.
Unable to fall asleep.
He had first discovered that problem on his wedding night.
Princess Danyao had had no intention of consummating the marriage.
When he entered the room, she merely lay down in her clothes and went to sleep.
Understanding the circumstances, Shu Changyu had no wish to force her.
He simply lay down beside her.
Yet the instant he closed his eyes…
He saw flashing blades and flying swords.
It felt as though a dagger rested against his throat.
He moved to the couch instead.
The feeling remained exactly the same.
“I’m the woman here, yet you’re fussier than I am.”
That had been Princess Danyao’s sarcastic remark the night he asked her to sleep in the side room.
So now, with Jing Mu—a living, breathing person, and one who stubbornly refused to stop staring at him—remaining in the room…
There was naturally no chance Shu Changyu could sleep.
Yet the rain outside seemed determined to help Jing Mu.
It poured relentlessly, like beans spilling from the heavens, dense and merciless.
Driving him out now…
Would seem rather heartless.
Shu Changyu opened his mouth.
But no words of dismissal came.
Instead, he simply set the book aside, lay down with his back facing Jing Mu, and said nothing more.
In a quiet voice, Jing Mu wished him good night.
Shu Changyu acted as though he hadn’t heard.
Facing the wall with his eyes open, Shu Changyu didn’t dare close them for even a moment.
That imagined dagger against his neck…
Those ghosts and monsters before him…
The memories were difficult to endure.
So he remained on guard, waiting for Jing Mu to leave.
But the rain never grew lighter.
Instead…
Sleepiness gradually overtook him.
His eyelids became unbearably heavy.
At last, unable to resist any longer, they closed.
Darkness embraced him.
Peacefully.
Nothing happened.
No ghosts.
No monsters.
No blood splattering everywhere.
No flashing blades.
Everything seemed to have been swallowed into oblivion.
Within only a few breaths…
Shu Changyu fell asleep.
Just before losing consciousness, a hazy thought crossed his mind.
Perhaps…
Because I didn’t die an unjust death in this life…
That’s why I can finally sleep in peace.
Even that old affliction has disappeared.
He never realized…
That with the great wolfdog quietly keeping watch beside him…
The sense of security he’d never experienced in either lifetime had somehow, miraculously, returned.
When Shu Changyu stirred awake again…
It was already the middle of the night.
The rain outside seemed lighter, though it still pattered steadily against the bamboo.
Rolling onto his side, he saw Jing Mu.
Dressed only in a thin robe, he sat on the couch with one hand propping up his face, asleep as he leaned awkwardly to one side.
Looking down…
Shu Changyu noticed Jing Mu’s heavy cloak draped over the outside of his own quilt.
He sat up.
His voice still hoarse with sleep, he called softly,
“Jing Mu.”
The moment he heard Shu Changyu’s voice, Jing Mu instantly woke.
He immediately rose and hurried to the bedside.
As he tucked the quilt more securely around Shu Changyu, he asked in a sleepy, raspy voice,
“Grand Tutor… are you cold?”
When those long, elegant fingers brushed beneath Shu Changyu’s chin…
They were freezing.
The cold made him shiver.
Looking up, he found Jing Mu’s eyes still unfocused and dazed.
He was clearly only half awake.
Outside, wind rattled the paper windows.
Though it was already early summer, the nights remained chilly.
After the rain, even more so.
Jing Mu had spent the entire night sitting in the draft wearing only a single robe.
A nasal congestion had already crept into his voice.
Shu Changyu frowned.
“Put your outer robe back on.”
Jing Mu seemed not to hear him.
He merely tucked the quilt around Shu Changyu once more before turning back toward the couch.
Shu Changyu nearly exploded.
Is this brat trying to smother me?
He reached out and grabbed Jing Mu’s wrist.
Still half asleep, Jing Mu lost his balance from the unexpected tug and fell onto the edge of Shu Changyu’s bed.
Shu Changyu pulled the cloak off the quilt and shoved it into Jing Mu’s hands.
“Put it on.”
But Jing Mu completely misunderstood.
To his sleepy mind…
Shu Changyu lifting the blanket looked like an invitation to climb in.
Only then did Jing Mu belatedly realize how cold he was.
The last shred of reason left in his sleepy brain was overwhelmed by gratitude.
I knew Grand Tutor was an incredibly kind person, he thought.
So, without hesitation, he kicked off his boots…
Slipped beneath Shu Changyu’s quilt…
And immediately wrapped Shu Changyu tightly in his arms.
Shu Changyu froze in utter shock.
“Jing Mu!”
“What are you doing?”
The only reply…
Was Jing Mu’s slow, steady breathing.
Shu Changyu had no idea how he’d eventually fallen asleep afterward.
Jing Mu was young, vigorous, and solidly built.
Held in those strong arms, Shu Changyu could barely breathe.
Yet somehow…
Warmth radiated from the young man’s body.
A soothing warmth enveloped him completely.
It drew him into a dark, soft, gentle haven.
Without realizing it himself…
The comforting warmth he associated with a peaceful paradise came not from some beautiful, gentle young woman…
But from an energetic, broad-shouldered young man.
He lifted a hand, intending to push Jing Mu away.
But seeing how deeply he slept…
He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Tilting his head slightly upward, all he could see was the clean, handsome line of the boy’s jaw.
Those pale, thin lips…
Softened beneath the faint moonlight.
They looked unexpectedly gentle.
So gentle…
That they made one want to kiss them.
With such absurd thoughts drifting through his mind…
Shu Changyu finally slipped into sleep.
He had always slept lightly.
He couldn’t even share a room with another person.
Yet now…
Curled in Jing Mu’s embrace…
He slept as though unconscious, without waking once until dawn.
In fact, he slept so deeply…
That he only frowned awake when Jing Mu awkwardly tried to pull the arm from beneath his neck.
Opening his eyes…
He saw the young man’s face flushed scarlet.
At the same time, Jing Mu carefully scooted his waist backward while frantically trying to sneak out of bed without Shu Changyu noticing.
Their eyes met.
Jing Mu’s gaze was filled with embarrassment…
And overwhelming affection.
The instant he realized Shu Changyu was awake, he practically leaped out of bed as though electrocuted.
But in his panicked haste…
The unmistakable bulge standing proudly beneath his robes struck heavily against Shu Changyu.
Shu Changyu’s face darkened immediately.
Jing Mu hastily grabbed his cloak to cover the obvious evidence while stumbling over his own tongue.
“Grand Tutor!”
“I—I don’t know how I ended up in your bed!”
“I really wasn’t trying to…”
Shu Changyu couldn’t even be bothered to hear the explanation.
Annoyed by the noise, he merely waved him silent before getting out of bed himself.
“Don’t you have morning court today?”
Jing Mu immediately answered,
“I-I’m leaving right now.”
“Tidy yourself up before going.”
Shu Changyu said,
“Don’t leave looking so disheveled.”
Jing Mu’s mind was in complete chaos.
Whatever Shu Changyu said, he obediently agreed to.
He hurriedly acknowledged the order, threw on his cloak, fastened his belt, and quickly began fixing his hair.
Only after finally forcing that spirited little troublemaker beneath his robes back under control…
Did he finish composing himself.
Even then, he remained mortified.
He didn’t dare meet Shu Changyu’s eyes.
He feared Shu Changyu would become angry…
Or say something that would stab him straight through the heart again.
After making himself barely presentable, he lowered his eyes.
“Grand Tutor…”
“I’ll take my leave.”
Turning, he prepared to go.
“Come here.”
Shu Changyu spoke.
Jing Mu’s legs ignored his own wishes.
The moment he heard the command, he obediently turned around and stood before him.
What’s coming is coming, he thought.
Last night I somehow climbed into Grand Tutor’s bed…
Held him all night…
And this morning…
Someone as proud and aloof as Grand Tutor is surely going to…
Then, lowering his eyes…
He saw a pair of elegant hands, long and straight like bamboo joints, settle upon his crooked belt.
With calm, practiced movements…
Shu Changyu straightened it.
“Lower your head.”
Shu Changyu instructed.
Still stunned, Jing Mu obeyed.
Those graceful hands then moved into his hair.
Neatly gathering the loose strands sticking out everywhere, Shu Changyu tucked them properly beneath his crown.
“You look utterly disheveled.”
“What kind of appearance is this?”
Shu Changyu’s cool voice commented.
Jing Mu slowly raised his eyes.
They met Shu Changyu’s clear, focused gaze.
Freshly awakened…
Shu Changyu wore only a pale inner robe.
His long hair hung loose over his shoulders.
Sitting on the edge of the bed…
He patiently adjusted Jing Mu’s belt and hairpiece.
Just like…
A wife seeing her husband off.
The realization exploded inside Jing Mu’s mind.
A storm called happiness swept through him like torrential rain.
It crashed through every fortress he possessed…
Leaving complete chaos in its wake.
He stared blankly as Shu Changyu withdrew his hands and said,
“All right.”
“Go.”
Jing Mu didn’t move.
“Why are you still standing there?”
Shu Changyu looked at him, frowning slightly.
“If you don’t leave now, you’ll miss morning court.”
At that very moment…
Jing Mu suddenly grabbed one of Shu Changyu’s hands.
He lifted it to his lips…
And swiftly pressed a kiss into the center of his palm.
Before Shu Changyu could even react…
Jing Mu had already let go.
“Jing Mu takes his leave!”
The young man’s bright voice brimmed with happiness and delight as it rang through the room.
The warmth of that voice lingered beside Shu Changyu’s ear…
Just like the kiss left burning in the center of his palm.