Jun Huailang froze for a moment before realizing what Xue Yan was talking about.
He lowered his head and saw that the wolf fang had already fallen into Xue Yan’s hand. Its color was mottled and weathered, yet beneath the lamplight, it reflected a smooth, muted sheen.
For no reason at all, Jun Huailang suddenly felt guilty and wanted to pull the wolf fang back.
Ever since the day he had put this thing on, he had never taken it off again. He wore it close to his body every day, and gradually, it had become a habit.
But now that the other person had discovered it, he inexplicably felt somewhat embarrassed.
Xue Yan’s hand, however, closed around it. As if teasing him, he deliberately clenched the wolf fang in his palm and refused to let him take it back.
“Why won’t you let me see it anymore?” Xue Yan laughed softly, deliberately going against him.
However, he had been secretly in love with him for so long that the thought simply never went any further.
He was merely happy because the thing he had given Jun Huailang was now being worn by him.
He simply did not see Jun Huailang’s slightly reddened ears beneath the dim yellow lamplight.
Just then, Jinbao heard the movement inside the room and hurriedly pushed open the door.
Inside, he saw His Highness the Heir crouching beside the bed. His Highness the Prince was so seriously injured that he could not even sit up, yet he had one arm stretched out, resting against the back of the other man’s neck.
Jinbao: …
The moment his master raised his eyes and swept him with that cold gaze, Jinbao knew that he had barged in at the wrong time.
He wished he could slam the door shut and hide outside immediately, but it was already too late.
His Highness the Heir hurriedly stood up and stuffed something back into his robe.
Jinbao: ?!
This time, he began to worry about whether he was going to be killed to silence him.
Just then, His Highness the Heir turned around and spoke.
“Jinbao, you came at just the right time,” he said. “His Highness is awake. Go bring his medicine in.”
After a pause, he added, “And prepare some light food.”
Jinbao agreed and hurriedly turned around and ran out.
The Bodhisattva truly was a Bodhisattva. Even after being dragged down from the altar by his master, he was still the number-one good person in all the world.
——
That night, after Jun Huailang accompanied Xue Yan to finish his meal and watched him take his medicine, Xue Yan drove him back to rest.
Jun Huailang had gotten up early the previous morning, and by the time he returned to his room, the sky had already begun to brighten.
By this calculation, he had gone an entire day without sleeping.
Now that his nerves had finally relaxed, exhaustion came surging over him like a tide. Once Jun Huailang returned to his room, he slept all the way until the following afternoon.
After that, he stayed by Xue Yan’s bedside every day to take care of him.
Originally, this had not been necessary, but he had not expected Xue Yan to become so restless after being injured.
Before he woke up, everything had been fine. He could obediently lie facedown on the bed and sleep. But ever since he woke up, he found lying facedown uncomfortable and said it made it hard for him to breathe. Whenever he found an opportunity, he insisted on sitting up.
When Jun Huailang was not there, only Jinbao was left to deal with him. Naturally, Jinbao could not restrain him. No matter how much he pleaded, it was useless, and he even had to endure Xue Yan’s cold expression.
Jinbao had no choice but to ask Jun Huailang for help.
Thus, Jun Huailang could only stay by his side every day.
With Jun Huailang there, even if Xue Yan found lying facedown uncomfortable, he did not dare do anything reckless. At most, when he became too uncomfortable, he would grumble a few words under his breath.
“I’ve never seen anyone recover from a flesh wound like this,” he muttered irritably. “Back in Yan Commandery, as long as my hands and feet weren’t broken, this old man could be on the battlefield in three days.”
“What did you say?” Jun Huailang, sitting beside the bed, had not heard him clearly.
Xue Yan gritted his teeth, but all the fierceness in his quiet muttering vanished completely.
“I said doing nothing all day and just lying here is terribly boring.”
Jun Huailang genuinely had not heard what he had been muttering about. Hearing him say this, he took it to heart and assumed that he really was bored.
After the meal that day, he had Jinbao bring over the books Xue Yan had brought with him. He sat beside the bed and read aloud to Xue Yan.
This completely pacified Xue Yan.
The books themselves were not very interesting, but Jun Huailang’s voice was pleasant to listen to. Clear and crisp, with a distinctly cool tone, yet carrying a few traces of indulgent gentleness.
It made Xue Yan’s heart itch unbearably.
And so he quietly recuperated for several more days.
They had stayed in Yangzhou for rather a long time, and the work they had needed to do had already been wrapped up several days earlier. This time, the prefect, the Duke of Yongning, and even Xue Yan, whom His Majesty had specially sent there, had all come to Yangzhou, leaving Jinling empty these days.
It was not a solution to remain there for so long, so Magistrate Shen proposed that they return to Jinling first.
His original intention had been to let Xue Yan recover a little longer before returning. But after several days, Xue Yan was already able to get out of bed, and he was also growing impatient with staying in Yangzhou, so he returned to Jinling together with Magistrate Shen and the others.
Jun Huailang still rode in the same carriage as him.
Jun Huailang had originally intended to ride a horse, but Xue Yan stubbornly stopped him.
“The carriage is spacious. Why ride a horse?” Xue Yan said matter-of-factly.
Jun Huailang patiently reasoned with him. “Your Highness needs to rest and recuperate.”
“I’ll be bored alone. Read to me.”
Over these past few days, Xue Yan seemed to be taking advantage of his injuries and had become increasingly shameless. Jun Huailang was actually somewhat unable to resist him. Hearing him say this, he had no way to refute him and was somehow led into the carriage together with him.
Xue Yan gave Jinbao a glance, and Jinbao immediately understood.
Once the two of them got into the carriage, Jinbao sat beside the coachman.
“Drive slowly. His Highness is recovering from an injury and can’t withstand much jostling,” he instructed unhurriedly. “Remember that?”
The coachman nodded repeatedly.
——
The books Xue Yan read were mostly military texts.
This was a habit he had developed since childhood. The land of Yan was wild and rugged, and he had grown up in military camps. Other than these, there simply had not been any other books for him to read.
From a young age, he had treated military texts like storybooks. Over time, he had developed little interest in anything else.
Once the two of them got into the carriage, one read while the other listened, just as they had over the past few days. A quiet atmosphere filled the carriage.
But unlike before, there was no tea to drink in the carriage.
The road from Yangzhou to Jinling was somewhat bumpy. A small stove for boiling tea placed inside the carriage could easily ignite other objects, so Jinbao had removed it halfway through their previous trip to Yangzhou.
Xue Yan did not actually like reading that much. He simply liked listening to Jun Huailang’s voice.
He had used reading as an excuse to get him into the carriage, but he could not bear to actually make him spend half a day reading in a place where he had no water to drink.
Before long, Xue Yan interrupted him.
“When we get back, will you still come to my place and read to me?” he asked.
Hearing the question, Jun Huailang lowered the book in his hands and looked at him.
Although Xue Yan was still lying facedown on the carriage bed, he was already completely different from how he had been a few days ago.
His arms were folded beneath his chin, supporting his head. His robes were also neatly arranged. At a glance, he looked lazy and at ease, hardly resembling an injured patient.
His recovery really was remarkably strong. Jinbao, who had been changing his dressings these past few days, had also said that the wounds had scabbed over and had already healed considerably.
Thus, starting these past two days, when Xue Yan occasionally wanted to sit up or get out of bed to move around, Jun Huailang no longer stopped him.
In theory, in his current condition, he no longer needed Jun Huailang to take care of him every day, much less needed him to read aloud to relieve his boredom as he had when he could do nothing for himself.
Jun Huailang hesitated slightly and said nothing.
Going by his usual personality, he could simply have refused him outright. Once they returned to Jinling, it would already be past May, and he had his own matters to attend to.
But at this moment, he discovered that he could not bring himself to say no.
…Because after spending several days together with Xue Yan from morning to night, he had actually developed a sense of reluctance to part.
While reading, he could always see Xue Yan’s expressions, and the two of them often chatted as well. This calm and peaceful atmosphere unexpectedly made him reluctant to let it end. He wanted to continue it for a long time.
…Or perhaps, it was not that he was reluctant to give up this atmosphere.
He was reluctant to give up Xue Yan.
Jun Huailang was startled by this realization. His grip on the book tightened slightly.
Seeing that he had not spoken, Xue Yan knew that he wanted to refuse.
It was not as though he truly had to listen to him read. He merely wanted to find an excuse so that he could see him every day.
He had become quite practiced at being shameless these past few days. Seeing Jun Huailang remain silent, he spoke up.
“I’m lying here every day. Reading is bad for the eyes, you know. There’ll still be quite a few official documents sent to me once we get back. Why don’t you help me with them?”
It was obviously an excuse.
Xue Yan had suffered such serious injuries. Even if he himself felt that he no longer needed to recuperate, neither the prefect nor the Duke of Yongning would dare burden him with such trivial matters.
Jun Huailang knew that this was merely an excuse.
But the excuse seemed to have been made for him as well, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
“All right.” He smiled slightly and raised his eyes toward Xue Yan.
Xue Yan could not help smiling as well.
He thought, Damn it, how can this person be so good?
The reason he had become increasingly brazen during this period was entirely because Jun Huailang indulged him. Otherwise, he would never have had such courage.
Xue Yan had more or less tasted the sweetness of being favored, and he felt that suffering this injury had been worth it.
Especially worth it.
With an injured man aboard, the carriage traveled particularly slowly on the journey back. It was not until night had fallen that the group finally returned to Jinling City.
When they passed through the northern city gate, Jun Huailang glanced outside.
The official road beside the embankment was still surrounded by barriers. It had not yet been repaired.
“What are you looking at?” Xue Yan had sharp eyes.
Jun Huailang said, “Ah, nothing. I just heard some time ago that they were repairing the official road here, so I wanted to see how the repairs were going.”
Hearing this, Xue Yan gave a faint hum. “I’ll hurry them along tomorrow. Why are they taking so long to repair a road?”
Jun Huailang quickly stopped him with a smile. “It hasn’t even been half a month. That isn’t slow. Let’s not hurry them.”
Once the Prince of Guangling opened his mouth, wouldn’t they have to rush the work at top speed? That would only waste manpower and money.
The two of them chatted idly about one thing and another, and soon the carriage stopped in front of the governor’s residence.
Fuyi had already been waiting there, with the mounting step prepared.
Jun Huailang helped Xue Yan out of the carriage, and the two of them returned to their quarters together.
When they reached the place where they had to part ways, Jun Huailang stopped. He saw Xue Yan raise his arm and lightly nudge him.
“Don’t forget tomorrow,” he said.
Jun Huailang pressed his lips together and nodded. Then he heard Xue Yan let out a low laugh, its meaning unclear.
That laugh seemed to burn the tips of his ears.
By the time Jun Huailang returned to his room, he still had not quite recovered from it.
Fuyi brought tea to his hand.
Jun Huailang picked it up and took a sip, then instructed Fuyi, “Go bring over the chest where I keep my books.”
He still remembered that other than military texts, Xue Yan did not have much else to read. Aside from the books he used for the imperial examinations, Jun Huailang also had some storybooks and travel journals. He thought he would pick out a couple and bring them to Xue Yan tomorrow.
Fuyi agreed. Before long, he led two young servants in carrying the chest inside.
Jun Huailang put down his teacup and began looking through the books.
Even he himself did not notice that the corners of his lips had lifted slightly, his gaze soft, completely different from his usual cool and quiet appearance.
Just as he was about to pick up a book, Fuyi suddenly spoke softly.
“Master, did you meet someone in Yangzhou this time?”
“Hm?” Jun Huailang paused.
Fuyi smiled softly. “I just feel like Master seems to have encountered something good, or perhaps…”
He smiled half-jokingly.
“Or perhaps you met someone you have feelings for?”
Jun Huailang’s hand stopped.
It was clearly nothing more than a passing joke, yet for some reason, the four words someone you have feelings for seemed to burn against his ears.
When he heard those words, the person who came to mind was actually Xue Yan and that low laugh of his just now.
Deep, carrying two parts of untamed wildness, with another two parts of inexplicable meaning hidden within his laughter, as though the two of them had privately agreed upon some secret that could not be spoken of to outsiders.
Clearly, he had only gone to read to him for a few days…
Yet Jun Huailang’s heart had become somewhat unsettled.
Holding the book, he pretended to remain calm and asked faintly, “Someone you have feelings for? What is someone you have feelings for like?”
Fuyi froze.
He had only been joking. Could there really be someone?
“It means you think about him every day and want to be together with him every day?” he hurriedly explained. He had read quite a few storybooks, so he spoke with great confidence. “You’re happy just being together, and whatever you do, you think about him—most importantly, when I just said ‘someone you have feelings for,’ the person you thought of was him!”
Jun Huailang’s hand loosened, and the book fell to the floor.
Immediately afterward, a crumpled piece of paper fluttered out from one of its pages.
As if trying to conceal something, Jun Huailang immediately bent down to pick it up.
Then the movement of his hand stopped.
It was a small piece of paper. One side had been cut neatly, while the other was jagged, clearly torn from some book.
The writing on it was missing characters and strokes, and he could only barely make out the meaning.
【Xue Yan’s lips curled into a cold arc as he reached out and grasped her chin…】