Xie Yi’s hand landed on Lin Zhiji’s back, gently patting him.
However, Lin Zhiji only felt his back go numb, coughing even more violently.
The entire main hall fell into complete silence, broken only by his intermittent coughing.
No one knew how much time had passed before Chen Ben came back to his senses first, forcing an awkward laugh.
“Is… is that so?”
Xie Yi tilted his head carelessly. “Does the boss look down on us?”
Chen Ben: “……”
Feeling the faint killing intent emanating from Xie Yi, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“H-how could that be? As the saying goes… this, uh… graceful and beautiful… man, a gentleman naturally pursues him, and the two of you are truly talented… um… well-matched, very well matched indeed…”
After he finished, he looked at the others. “Right?”
The others hurriedly nodded.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“What the boss said is right!”
“That’s exactly what the boss meant!”
Xie Yi showed a satisfied smile. “Good.”
Only then did Chen Ben breathe a sigh of relief and warmly called out again, “Come, come, everyone continue eating and drinking…”
Lin Zhiji finally managed to stop coughing and, eyes teary, glanced at the culprit across from him.
He still did not understand why Xie Yi would say something like that.
If he explained now, it would only make people suspicious, so he could only reach under the table and poke Xie Yi’s hand.
And then his hand was naturally taken into Xie Yi’s palm.
Lin Zhiji struggled once, but could not break free at all.
He glared at Xie Yi and, taking advantage of no one noticing, turned slightly and used his other hand to try to pry Xie Yi’s fingers apart. In the end, both of his hands were trapped together in Xie Yi’s grasp.
Gritting his teeth, he lowered his voice. “Let go…”
But Xie Yi pulled him closer instead, pressing him against his side. Leaning down, he whispered in his ear, “Shh. We’re still in someone else’s stronghold. We can’t expose ourselves.”
As he spoke, the vibration of his chest pressed against Lin Zhiji’s back, and warm breath brushed past his ear.
Lin Zhiji’s ear immediately turned red, a faint panic rising in his chest that he could not quite name.
It felt as if something was slipping out of control.
Yet in front of everyone, he could do nothing except hope no one had noticed this awkward scene.
Chen Ben just happened to bend down to pick up his chopsticks and caught sight of their entangled hands under the table: …
Tsk tsk…
He straightened up again and saw Xie Yi leaning down speaking to Lin Zhiji, whose face was flushed red, while Xie Yi’s lips curved faintly.
An idea immediately formed in Chen Ben’s mind: a hunter falling in love at first sight with a pure and innocent young noble, finding ways to get close, seduce him, and finally elope with him.
It suddenly made sense.
All those strange details from before now had explanations.
This Yi brother was truly… bold beyond belief.
After the meal, Chen Ben personally escorted them to the backyard.
The backyard was even more shabby than the main hall, though at least it was clean.
He pointed to a capable-looking woman and said, “This is Sister Liang. If you need anything daily, you can go to her.”
Then he said to Sister Liang, “This Yi San brother will be our stronghold’s second boss from now on. And this Young Master Lin beside him is… he is, he is…”
He stammered, unable to find the right words to describe their relationship.
Sister Liang, however, laughed heartily. “Ah, a couple, I understand. I saw it when serving food—this young man leaning on him, their hands still clasped. Very affectionate indeed.”
Lin Zhiji: !!!
At this moment, Xie Yi became very polite again. “Then we will trouble Sister Liang.”
Sister Liang covered her mouth, laughing until she trembled. “No trouble, no trouble. Rest well. If you need hot water, come early—our firewood is limited, and we stop heating water after the hour of You.”
Hot water…
Lin Zhiji closed his eyes.
Sometimes he really hated how quickly he understood things.
After Chen Ben and Sister Liang left, Xie Yi led Lin Zhiji into the room.
The room was extremely simple, not much better than the ruined courtyard Xie Yi had stayed in before.
Their luggage lay on the table, but Lin Zhiji had no mind to sort it.
He opened the window and looked around. Seeing no one, he returned and lowered his voice.
“Why did you say nonsense like that?”
Xie Yi smiled. “Which part was nonsense?”
Lin Zhiji: “……”
He knew Xie Yi had done it on purpose, but could only follow the question awkwardly.
“That… that part about us eloping…”
The last two words came out so softly they were almost breath-like.
Xie Yi asked in return, “Then what should I have said?”
Lin Zhiji paused. “You could have said we were brothers…”
Wasn’t that the most appropriate explanation? Like in dramas…
Unexpectedly, Xie Yi laughed.
He walked toward him.
Lin Zhiji immediately became alert. “N-no, that’s wrong?”
Xie Yi raised a hand and pinched his chin.
His palm was large, his thumb and index finger holding Lin Zhiji’s face, the base of his hand pressing under his chin, the pad of his finger deliberately brushing the trembling skin.
Lin Zhiji was forced to lift his face and meet his gaze.
Xie Yi’s eyes were deep.
In that single dark eye, emotions churned in a way that made Lin Zhiji’s heart tremble.
His voice was low and unhurried. “With these two faces of ours, where exactly do we look like brothers?”
They were extremely close.
So close that Lin Zhiji could clearly see his own reflection in Xie Yi’s pupil, as if trapped inside a cage.
Xie Yi held him firmly, leaving no room for escape.
Lin Zhiji felt like prey locked under a beast’s gaze, alarm bells ringing in the back of his mind.
“You… let go first…”
As he spoke, he reached up to pull Xie Yi’s hand away.
Unexpectedly, this time it came off easily.
He exhaled and practically fled the room. “I’m going out for some air…”
He did not stop until he reached the back kitchen.
Only then did he turn around and confirm Xie Yi had not followed, finally breathing out in relief.
Yet his heart still pounded violently.
The warmth from Xie Yi’s fingertips still lingered on his chin, faintly tingling and itchy.
Annoyed, he rubbed it hard with the back of his hand.
His chin quickly turned red, but the strange itch did not fade—instead spreading along his jaw down his spine, tightening the muscles at his waist.
He squatted down in frustration, burying his face in his knees.
That moment earlier had completely shattered the self-deception he had been clinging to.
Before illness, his life had been gentle, almost without individuality. Though good-looking, most girls treated him as a neutral presence.
After illness, his life turned upside down. He experienced the most extreme lows of life, even life and death were not under his control, let alone something as extravagant as love.
So he had always been slow to notice these things.
But even so, he could now tell something about Xie Yi was not right.
After all, Guan Yu would not pinch Zhang Fei’s chin and make him look into his eyes.
Nor would he say they were eloping when asked about their relationship.
The more he thought, the more wrong it felt.
Many small details he had previously ignored now surfaced in his mind.
His expression stiffened more and more.
It was over.
Could Xie Yi actually like him?
Thinking of Xie Yi’s terrifying possessiveness, a chill crept up in his heart.
“Wuu…”
Like an ostrich, he buried himself deeper.
At dusk, Xie Yi stood hidden behind a thick tree trunk, his figure almost merging with the mottled shadows.
His gaze passed through the gaps in the branches, firmly locked onto the curled-up Lin Zhiji.
But in the end, he did nothing.