After My System Went Bankrupt, I Found My Happy Ending with the General - Chapter 29

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed before Luo Chuchen finally snapped out of his daze. He tried to struggle, but the pressure with which Liang Jue had pinned his wrist had already loosened, allowing him to easily free his hand from the restraint.

Luo Chuchen shifted slightly outward, the rustling sound of fabric accompanying his movement. As he moved, the warmth from the bedding enveloped his face once again.

Liang Jue watched as Luo Chuchen inched his way toward the edge of the bed like a caterpillar, and it seemed he, too, had only just realized what had happened. The snow on the back of his neck had melted, leaving behind a cool sensation that slowly brought him back to his senses.

Liang Jue hastily rolled over, propping himself up against the wall inside the bed. He hesitated, opening his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

With the weight lifted off him, Luo Chuchen let out a sigh of relief. Paying no mind to Liang Jue’s actions, he quickly scrambled off the bed and stood by its edge, rubbing his face.

It felt scorching hot.

After trudging through the snow and braving the wind, his hands and feet had been icy cold. Yet, after being pressed into the bedding by Liang Jue for what felt like only a few moments, Luo Chuchen felt as though his entire body was radiating heat.

“You” Luo Chuchen felt extremely awkward and didn’t dare look back at Liang Jue’s expression. Stomping his foot, he said, “Hurry up and get up. I’ll wait for you outside.”

With that, he lowered his head and hurried out. But as he rounded the screen and reached the doorway, he paused.

No, his face must still be burning. If He Qi she chuan and the others saw him like this, who knew what they would think…

Luo Chuchen had no other choice. Silently, he sat down on the daybed outside the screen.

The thumping in his chest continued relentlessly. Luo Chuchen took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

If only he hadn’t grabbed that handful of snow earlier!

How could Liang Jue be so strong? And why did he have to sleep on such a hard bed? Now his back and wrist ached. He’d have to settle this with him later.

Fuming inwardly, Luo Chuchen strained his ears to listen for any movement inside the room.

Liang Jue seemed to have gotten out of bed, retrieved his clothes, and dressed. He must have found a candle somewhere, as he lit the candlesticks in the room one by one.

The sound of splashing water suggested he had fetched a basin to wash up.

Was he about to come out now?

Luo Chuchen’s heart pounded nervously. He closed his eyes, counting the footsteps as Liang Jue approached.

He’s coming, he’s coming.

“Why are you sitting here?”

Liang Jue rounded the screen, surprised to find Luo Chuchen still sitting on the daybed instead of having left. He stopped in front of him and asked.

Liang Jue appeared completely unaffected by the earlier commotion Luo Chuchen had caused.

Luo Chuchen felt even more embarrassed. He looked up at Liang Jue, who stood silhouetted against the light. Now fully dressed, he looked every bit the proper gentleman.

But as Luo Chuchen gazed at him, his mind was flooded with the memory of Liang Jue pressing down on him, his warm, damp breath against his face, the weight of his body radiating heat through the bedding, and the deafening sound of his own heartbeat.

The rabbit in his chest, which had only just begun to calm down, was now frantically making its presence known again.

Luo Chuchen gritted his teeth, forcing out the words through clenched breath, “About earlier, I’m sorry.”

Hearing him mention the earlier incident, Liang Jue’s expression also turned somewhat awkward. He glanced sheepishly toward the door and windows and said, “It was my fault.”

“I shouldn’t have teased you with snow,” Luo Chuchen admitted with self-awareness, first obediently acknowledging his mistake in a muffled voice before starting to settle the score. “But you didn’t need to use so much force either.”

“Did I hurt you?” Liang Jue froze for a moment, then strode over to sit beside him, reaching out to grab Luo Chuchen’s left wrist to examine it.

Coincidentally, that was exactly the injured spot. Luo Chuchen hissed in pain, growing even more flustered and angry.

He shook off Liang Jue’s hand and snorted, “Right here, it’s all red.”

Faced with Liang Jue’s expression full of regret and heartache, Luo Chuchen felt even more aggrieved. He added fuel to the fire, accusing, “And you threw me onto your bed! My back hurts terribly from the impact, and you pinned me down for so long without letting me move.”

Liang Jue momentarily didn’t know where to touch, so he carefully picked up Luo Chuchen’s hand, pushed back the sleeve covering his wrist, and saw that it was indeed red.

“It was a sudden reaction a subconscious defense mechanism, I’m truly sorry,” Liang Jue’s expression was as if he were looking at some rare treasure. He pressed the red mark with his fingertip to assess the severity of the injury, then blew on it gently before letting go. “I’ll go get some ointment for you.”

Luo Chuchen was quite pleased with this attitude and stopped sulking. He sat on the soft couch, legs crossed, waiting for Liang Jue to return with the medicine.

Liang Jue brought the ointment, scooped some out with a small spoon, and applied it evenly to the red mark on Luo Chuchen’s wrist. He gently rubbed it in with his fingertip, asking as he did so, “Is this pressure okay? Does it hurt?”

“No,” Luo Chuchen replied, watching Liang Jue busy himself. All his anger had vanished.

Liang Jue’s massage technique was excellent, incredibly soothing. The area where the ointment was applied grew warm and soon melted completely.

Once the medicine had fully absorbed, Liang Jue sealed the ointment and handed it to Luo Chuchen. “Keep this. When you get back, have Shechuān apply it to the injury on your back.”

Luo Chuchen blinked, the lingering comfort on his wrist making him inexplicably reluctant. “Shechuān isn’t as skilled as you are.”

He hadn’t thought before speaking and didn’t realize the hidden implication that he wanted Liang Jue to apply the medicine. But Liang Jue caught it and smiled without agreeing. “I’ll teach him later.”

Luo Chuchen was puzzled. “Why teach him? Can’t you just take a look at it for me?”

“…” Liang Jue didn’t respond immediately, pausing for a moment before saying, “It’s not really appropriate.”

“What’s not appropriate?” Luo Chuchen raised his eyebrows, thinking Liang Jue was distancing himself from him. He grew anxious and didn’t think it through. “It’s just applying medicine, right? It’s not like I’m some delicate maiden, what’s inappropriate about it? Explain it to me.”

Liang Jue: “…”

Liang Jue seemed both amused and exasperated but still refused to relent. “That’s not what I meant. After all, I can’t apply medicine for you morning and night every day. I’ll have to teach him eventually.”

The more Liang Jue refused to yield, the more stubborn Luo Chuchen became. He shoved the ointment back into Liang Jue’s hand and began undoing his belt without another word.

Liang Jue was stunned and quickly reached out to stop him. “Wait, can’t we talk this through properly?”

“Who wants to reason with you?” Luo Chuchen ignored him, unfastened his belt, tossed the jade ornaments aside with a clatter, and prepared to remove his outer robe.

“Don’t.”

Seeing Luo Chuchen undress so quickly, Liang Jue’s face flushed slightly. Concerned about the injury on Luo Chuchen’s wrist, he sighed and said, “Alright, don’t rush. Your wrist is still hurt. I’ll apply the medicine for you.”

Luo Chuchen’s anger subsided a little, and he stopped undressing.

Liang Jue added, “It’s chilly near the door. Let’s go inside to apply the medicine.”

His bedroom had no charcoal fire burning, and Luo Chuchen finally felt a hint of cold. He tightened his outer robe and shifted the blame, saying, “Then why did you argue with me for so long?”

Liang Jue sighed helplessly, picked up the belt accessories and cotton robe nearby, and led the way to the inner chamber.

Inside, Liang Jue’s bedding was already neatly folded. Luo Chuchen willingly took off his outer robe, loosened half of his inner garment, and lay face down on the bed. “Take a look.”

It was indeed bruised.

Steadying his emotions, Liang Jue pulled the bedding aside to cover the parts of Luo Chuchen that didn’t need medicine. As before, he gently massaged the ointment into the bruises.

Having witnessed countless battle injuries, Liang Jue knew that if such marks were on him, they wouldn’t even be worth scratching. But as he gazed at the two faint bruises on Luo Chuchen’s fair and delicate back, his heart ached with regret, and his touch grew even lighter than before.

Luo Chuchen let out a contented hum, causing Liang Jue’s hand to pause. “Don’t make random noises.”

“Why not?” Luo Chuchen murmured, resting his head on the pillow and tilting it slightly to look at Liang Jue in confusion.

Liang Jue remained silent.

Luo Chuchen deliberately hummed a couple more times, amused when he noticed Liang Jue’s expression darkening.

Bored, he tapped his toes and said, “See? Applying the medicine went quite smoothly. I feel much better than before. If it were Shechuan, I might still be in pain until the selection exams.”

There was no logic to his words, and Liang Jue found it amusing. “If Shechuan heard you say that, he’d be upset.”

“He’d know I was joking,” Luo Chuchen said cheerfully. “I just don’t understand why you refused so adamantly earlier. It’s such a small matter.”

Liang Jue retorted, “Then what’s your reason for insisting I apply the medicine?”

“Hmm,” Luo Chuchen replied, feeling refreshed from the massage and having long let go of his earlier temper. He answered honestly, “I thought you were distancing yourself from me.”

Liang Jue raised an eyebrow. “When did I make you feel that way?”

Now that the topic was brought up, Luo Chuchen had plenty to say. “First, yesterday, you didn’t even ask me before saying I should go back to study. Then you drank until so late at night. And today, you kept stopping me left and right. How could I not overthink it?”

“I didn’t keep you yesterday because the others had just returned from the front and there was a lot of drinking at the banquet. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Liang Jue explained. “Besides, think about it yourself do your accusations make any sense?”

Luo Chuchen: “…”

He struggled to argue further. “It’s not like I can’t drink.” His voice trailed off, and he felt too embarrassed to explain further.

Liang Jue wiped his hands with a cloth, pressed down on Luo Chuchen’s head, and ruffled his hair.

“You.”

“It’s done. Get dressed.” Liang Jue helped him pull up his inner garment.

Luo Chuchen felt a wave of embarrassment as he realized that his earlier tantrum, which had trapped him in a dead end, was indeed rather unreasonable.

He immediately fell silent, too ashamed to say anything more, and obediently put on his clothes.

The belt and ornaments were also brought to him by Liang Jue. As he let go, Liang Jue’s fingertips brushed against the jade accessories. “Why are you only wearing these two pieces?”

Luo Chuchen followed his gaze and saw that he was only wearing one jade pendant and one piece of emerald at his waist.

He didn’t see anything wrong with it and twisted slightly, causing the two pieces to clink together with a crisp sound. “See, doesn’t it look quite nice?”

Liang Jue was about to say something when a knock sounded at the door.

He Qi pushed the door open. “General, the officials have all risen and are waiting for you in the main hall.”

Luo Chuchen: ?

He turned to look at Liang Jue. “You have guests in your residence?”