After Pretending to be an Idiot, I Was Targeted by the Cold-Blooded Zhangyin - Chapter 18

Seeing the look of pure ignorance on Xie Changsheng’s face, Gu Feiyi’s expression turned even colder. Even the faint smile he habitually wore vanished completely.

Xie Changsheng asked hesitantly, “Gu Feiyi, are… are you angry?”

Gu Feiyi did not answer. He abruptly released his grip on Xie Changsheng’s chin and walked toward the door.

Xie Changsheng couldn’t guess Gu Feiyi’s intent. Taking advantage of the moment Gu’s back was turned, he scrambled out of the bathtub and grabbed his clothes, wrapping them haphazardly around his body.

—Even the strongest man is vulnerable when his backside is bare.

With clothes back on his body, though they were quickly soaked by the water on his skin and the droplets falling from his hair, Xie Changsheng finally felt a bit of confidence return. Just as he let out a sigh of relief, he saw Gu Feiyi walking back from the door.

He was carrying a tray of pastries.

Gu Feiyi sat in a chair, watching Xie Changsheng standing dripping in the corner. He tapped the table with a slender, pale index finger. “Come here.”

Xie Changsheng stood rooted to the spot.

Gu Feiyi’s brow arched slightly. “Disobedient? Does the Little Highness wish to be caned?”

Xie Changsheng’s body jolted, and he pursed his lips. Even a fool knew that being caned was painful. He began to walk toward Gu Feiyi.

However, even a fool had his own little schemes. Xie Changsheng appeared to be walking forward, but in reality, for every two steps forward, he took three steps back. Instead of getting closer, he was moving further away. At this rate, he’d be out the door in no time.

Gu Feiyi was nearly incensed into a laugh. “…Get over here!”

Seeing his little trick exposed, Xie Changsheng dejectedly shuffled toward Gu Feiyi with tiny steps. As he moved, he muttered under his breath: “Newton saw an apple hit his head and thought of gravity; Shapiro took a bath and proved the Coriolis force; you see me take two steps forward and three back and all you can think of is making me come over? This is why you can’t be a mathematician.”

“Muttering again… what crazy talk is it this time?”

Once Xie Changsheng was close enough, Gu Feiyi reached out, grabbed his wrist, and hauled him in. As if afraid the boy would run away, Gu Feiyi parted his legs and used his outer thighs to pin Xie Changsheng’s legs in place.

He picked up a pastry and held it to Xie Changsheng’s lips. Xie Changsheng shook his head.

Gu Feiyi’s hand applied more pressure. The pastry was pressed firmly against Xie Changsheng’s lips, crumbs falling like dust against his face. Gu Feiyi stared at him intently, his gaze dark and murky, like a beast lurking in the shadows.

Xie Changsheng had the distinct feeling that if he didn’t comply, Gu Feiyi’s icy hand would snap onto his neck in the next second. He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and took the pastry.

He clapped his hands with heartless, smiling joy. “Delicious! Heh heh!”

Gu Feiyi didn’t respond, his eyes fixed on Xie Changsheng’s lips and tongue. As each pastry was finished, a new one was presented. This continued until only the last piece remained. Suddenly, Gu Feiyi raised his hand, his cool thumb pressing down on Xie Changsheng’s lower lip.

“Little Highness.”

His grip was so strong that Xie Changsheng hissed in pain, wondering if the skin on his lip had broken. Just as he was about to struggle, that icy hand slid down and clamped onto his throat. Gu Feiyi increased the pressure until he saw fear in the boy’s eyes, only then relaxing his grip.

Xie Changsheng coughed lightly. Once he stopped, he went back to smiling foolishly. “Heh heh.”

Looking at that childlike smile, a sense of helplessness rose in Gu Feiyi’s heart.

As Xie Changsheng had asked—he was indeed angry. He was angry at the boy’s closeness with Xie Chengjing, Xie Hemiao, and Fang Ling.

Gu Feiyi had never entertained the idea of “raising a pet” before. Xie Changsheng was the first. He viewed the boy as an interesting toy, a kitten or a puppy. He teased him into being obedient and fed him snacks. Yet he hadn’t expected this “stupid thing” to be so disloyal. He treated everyone with the same attitude and ate whatever anyone handed him.

This left Gu Feiyi feeling powerless, like punching a ball of cotton. And this cotton would even rub his hand afterward and ask if it hurt.

It was suffocating. He took a deep breath and cursed under his breath, “You simpleton…”

Xie Changsheng seemed amused and laughed even more cheerily. Gu Feiyi felt utterly defeated and rubbed his temple. He gripped Xie Changsheng’s wrist and forced him to call him “Master” several times before his face, which had been as black as the bottom of a pot, finally improved. He pinched Xie Changsheng’s face hard before turning to leave.

Watching his silhouette depart, Xie Changsheng let out a silent, deep sigh of relief.

However, he relaxed too soon. Gu Feiyi seemed to think of something and walked back. He pressed Xie Changsheng down into the chair and began drying his hair. The wet strands became smooth and dry under Gu Feiyi’s hands.

After tying up the boy’s thick black hair, Gu Feiyi reached for the change of clothes Yang Luo had prepared. It looked like he intended to help Xie Changsheng dress.

Xie Changsheng, who had been as quiet as a doll, suddenly refused. He clutched his wet clothes tightly. “No! I won’t! No taking them off!”

Gu Feiyi was actually amused by this “rather-die-than-submit” attitude. “Is the Little Highness afraid I’ll do something to you? …I am a eunuch, after all.”

Xie Changsheng acted as if he didn’t hear, running around the room, refusing to be obedient and let Gu Feiyi help him change. Seeing him dodge like he was avoiding a plague, Gu Feiyi let out a light huff.

He was only worried the boy would get a headache from sleeping with wet hair or catch a cold from the wet clothes. Yet Xie Changsheng didn’t realize he was being looked after.

It was just like Consort Li’s fat orange cat. It would fall into a mud pit and be covered in filth, but when the servants tried to bathe it, it would scream as if someone were trying to kill it.

Kindness treated as malice; a dog biting the man who feeds it.

Gu Feiyi decided to stop caring. He cursed his own “servile” instincts again, glanced at the boy cowering in the corner, and turned to leave.

Once he was sure Gu Feiyi was gone, Xie Changsheng crawled out from the corner. He clutched his chest and let out a long sigh of relief. He quickly changed out of the wet clothes, sneezing several times in a row, then dove under his blankets for warmth.

He curled up in a ball, trembling. Half of it was from the cold, half from being frightened by Gu Feiyi.

But it wasn’t the kind of fear one feels when seeing a ghost. It was the fear of a parent suddenly calling your full name, or saying, “I have something serious to talk to you about, stand up and listen.” You don’t know the intent; you don’t know what will happen next.

Xie Changsheng would have preferred it if Gu Feiyi had just slapped him and spoken plainly, rather than combing his hair and feeding him while refusing to say why he was angry.

So what was it? Because he talked to Fang Ling? Because they played around? It couldn’t possibly be because of that sour plum Fang Ling shoved into his mouth, could it?

Two days later, the Little Princess’s hundred-day celebration arrived. Every palace was bustling and magnificently decorated. The banquet the Emperor had prepared for days finally opened. All three princes and all twenty-seven princesses were in attendance. Officials and princes of the blood brought their families. The scale was several times grander than the previous banquet.

The crowd drank and watched dances with the Emperor, listening to consorts play music and scholars recite poems praising the sovereign. The younger children ran around playing hide-and-seek. Ironically, no one truly cared about the actual protagonist: the hundred-day-old princess.

Xie Changsheng sat beside the Old Emperor. It wasn’t by choice; Gu Feiyi had specifically instructed him this morning. Gu Feiyi had pinched his face and told him, “Little Highness, you must be good at the banquet. You must not defy His Majesty.”

Xie Changsheng had blinked. “What if he bullies people again?”

Gu Feiyi took a moment to realize he was referring to the Emperor harassing the dancing girl in public. That Xie Changsheng brought this up surprised him, but he also found it absurd and amusing.

Xie Changsheng shook his sleeve back and forth. “Gu Feiyi, I don’t want to see him take his clothes off. He’s so ugly. He has several rolls of fat on his belly; it makes my eyes hurt.”

Gu Feiyi’s eyes curved. Does the Emperor know his favorite son talks about him like this? A surge of delight hit Gu Feiyi’s heart. He let out a low, pleasant laugh and whispered into the boy’s ear, “Since the Little Highness has asked, this servant will ensure you see no such filth today.”

Xie Changsheng nodded. “Okay, I’ll be good.”

But now, Xie Changsheng felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. The Old Emperor smelled of alcohol and rouge, mixed with the burnt scent of alchemy, making Xie’s head throb. Moreover, the Emperor was cuddling a beautiful consort, kissing her every now and then.

Xie Changsheng craned his neck to look for people— Xie Chengjing was talking to several princes; Xie Hemiao was laughing with some dandy young lords; Fang Ling had his little sister on his shoulders, helping her reach for red leaves on a tree.

As for Gu Feiyi… he couldn’t find him. He didn’t know where he had gone.

Seeing that no one was paying him attention, Xie Changsheng planned to slip away. He stood up and circled around to see the little princess being held by a wet nurse. She was wearing “hundred-family” clothes and a longevity lock—white, round, and tiny, like a glutinous rice ball.

Xie Changsheng teased her with the tassels on his jade pendant. The princess giggled and reached for them. Xie Changsheng placed the pendant in her arms. “For you. It’s yummy.”

The princess seemed to understand and beamed with joy. Seeing her smile, Xie Changsheng smiled too. The nurse found it novel, thinking that even a fool knew how to play with a child.

She asked, “Does the Little Highness want to hold the Princess?”

Xie Changsheng immediately shook his head. “I don’t know how.” Children are cutest in other people’s arms. What if he dropped her?

The nurse misinterpreted him. “It’s not hard, Little Highness. I’ll teach you.” She began to hand the baby over.

Xie Changsheng turned to run, only to have his arm caught.

“What is this panicked behavior?”

Gu Feiyi smiled as he looked at Xie Changsheng. “What is so hard about holding a child that the Little Highness is this scared?”

He took the princess from the nurse—whose face had suddenly turned pale—and showed Xie Changsheng how to pose. “Lift your left hand higher. Make a wider circle with your right. Right… don’t move.”

In the next second, the princess was placed in his arms. Xie Changsheng’s hands dipped under the weight; he nearly failed to catch her. He broke into a cold sweat, but fortunately, Gu Feiyi was beside him, supporting his arms.

Even after the princess was stable, Gu Feiyi did not let go. His silhouette overlapped with Xie’s, making it look as if he were embracing him from the side.

Xie Changsheng looked down at Gu Feiyi’s hand, then looked up, his voice flat and dazed: “You’re touching my hand.”

Gu Feiyi’s narrow eyes rippled with laughter. His left hand remained supporting Xie’s, while his right reached out to stroke the baby’s hair.

Gu Feiyi’s hand moved like a snake, sliding from the princess’s soft, sparse hair onto Xie Changsheng’s hand which was cradling the back of the baby’s head. With his icy hand covering the back of Xie’s, Xie Changsheng heard Gu Feiyi’s smiling voice:

“Does the Little Highness think the Little Princess will grow up happily?”