After Pretending to be an Idiot, I Was Targeted by the Cold-Blooded Zhangyin - Chapter 44

After undoing the sash, Gu Feiyi moved to unbutton Xie Changsheng’s collar.

Xie Changsheng paused. He ultimately used both hands to cover his chest: “Customer! I can’t take this job! Go find someone else!”

Gu Feiyi raised an eyebrow and asked, “Find who?”

“Find Suisui!” Xie Changsheng said. “It even dares to eat poop; what’s the big deal about hanging a bell around its waist?”

Gu Feiyi: “…”

What on earth is he talking about?

Gu Feiyi suddenly wanted to laugh. His lips curved, and a light chuckle escaped.

“But…” Gu Feiyi’s hands moved slowly up from his waist, landing on the opening of Xie Changsheng’s robe.

Xie Changsheng felt Gu Feiyi pulling at his collar with a very gentle force, sliding it downward.

Gu Feiyi said, “This servant only wants to see the Little Highness wear it.”

He took a step closer to Xie Changsheng, his left leg firmly wedged between Xie Changsheng’s legs, seemingly unconsciously rubbing his knee against the boy’s inner thigh. His voice was hushed, vibrating right next to Xie Changsheng’s ear, soft and itching: “Just wear it this once… alright?”

Xie Changsheng still would not compromise: “Please choose one of the following topics and write an essay of no less than a thousand words—1. The Difference Between Me and Others Wearing This Belt and the Impact It Has on You, 2. The Significance of the Belt to You and What Kind of Impact My Wearing It Has on Your Mood…”

Xie Changsheng rambled on for a long while, and before he could finish, his ear was suddenly enveloped in softness.

Gu Feiyi had unexpectedly taken his earlobe into his mouth, sucking and nibbling with his teeth, then sliding his tongue into the ear canal like a snake slithering inward.

Xie Changsheng was caught completely off guard. A soft moan escaped his throat, and half his body went limp. He hurriedly tried to push Gu Feiyi away.

But Gu Feiyi was too strong; no matter how he pushed, the man wouldn’t budge. All of Xie Changsheng’s attention was fixed on that flexible tongue licking his ear, and his voice began to tremble: “Student Gu… if you have… endless ‘cow-strength’… you can go study the Industrial Revolution… lead the global trends a bit earlier.”

Gu Feiyi didn’t answer, instead reaching out to knead Xie Changsheng’s other ear.

This time, Xie Changsheng’s body went completely weak. If not for Gu Feiyi’s leg supporting him between his own, allowing him to lean for balance, Xie Changsheng had no doubt he would have collapsed to the floor.

He couldn’t push Gu Feiyi away, so he reached up to cover his ears, but Gu Feiyi even licked his fingertips.

Xie Changsheng felt a surge of heat rushing toward his lower abdomen. In his desperation, he raised his voice: “Suisui! Get up!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Gu Feiyi actually pulled away.

Xie Changsheng felt a sudden chill. He looked down only to find that his clothes had somehow been mostly undone, hanging loosely open to the left and right. A small portion of his chest and waist was exposed, and the chain with the bells was indeed draped around his waist.

Gu Feiyi looked at Xie Changsheng. The red marks on his neck, the snow-white skin, and the sparkling gold pendants at his waist—these three colors appeared exceptionally moving on that slender body.

Gu Feiyi’s index finger twitched involuntarily, and the irritation caused by the Old Emperor instantly vanished. He smiled and said, “The Little Highness is truly peerless.”

His eyes traced Xie Changsheng’s narrow waist over and over. Before he could see enough, a “thud” came from the door—someone had bumped into it and tumbled inside.

The Ninth Princess looked up and saw Gu Feiyi’s silhouette facing away from her. He didn’t even turn his head. Xie Changsheng was nowhere to be seen (blocked by Gu Feiyi).

The Ninth Princess didn’t have time to think and apologized in a panic: “Sorry… I’m sorry. I…”

Before she could finish, she heard Gu Feiyi say: “Get out.”

The voice was cold and carried a hint of gloom. The Ninth Princess couldn’t say another word and immediately turned and ran.

Only after the sound of the door closing did Gu Feiyi release Xie Changsheng from his embrace.

Xie Changsheng finally had the chance to pull his clothes back together. Gu Feiyi watched for a moment and laughed: “The Little Highness can’t even dress himself properly.”

He brushed aside Xie Changsheng’s hands and began to tidy the boy’s clothes bit by bit. The gold chain was not removed; it remained around Xie Changsheng’s waist, hidden beneath his robes.

Xie Changsheng reached up to touch the tip of his ear; it was still damp. Taking two steps, the bells emitted a muffled jingle from inside his clothes.

The more Xie Changsheng thought about it, the angrier he got. As the saying goes: Take a step back, and the more you think, the angrier you get; endure for a moment, and you’ll get breast hyperplasia. Another saying goes: Don’t be too normal in life.

Xie Changsheng took a deep breath and suddenly walked to the desk. He picked up the rice paper Gu Feiyi had left on the table.

He tore it up. Then he threw the brush rack. The water basin by the door? Flipped. The clothes in the cabinet? He gathered them all and scattered them like flower petals until they were everywhere. He even took a brush and drew two lines on the wall.

Gu Feiyi knew Xie Changsheng was throwing a tantrum. He sat in a chair with his legs crossed, watching, even picking up a cup of tea to drink. But before he could take a sip, Xie Changsheng snatched the cup from his hand and threw it on the floor.

Gu Feiyi’s movements paused. He looked up at Xie Changsheng: “Little Highness…”

Xie Changsheng had his excuses ready: “You aren’t angry, are you? Why is your temper so big? I’m just a child; why would you hold a grudge against a kid like me?”

Gu Feiyi raised an eyebrow, but then he began to laugh. He grabbed Xie Changsheng’s wrist, pulled him onto his lap, and rubbed the bells at his waist through the fabric. He said with a smile, “Even if the Little Highness set this place on fire, this servant would not be angry.”

Xie Changsheng gave an “oh,” then reached out to grab Gu Feiyi’s sleeve, forcibly pulling a loose thread until the fabric began to unravel.

Even then, it wasn’t enough. Xie Changsheng suddenly grabbed Gu Feiyi’s hand, brought it to his lips, and bit down hard. His white, even teeth sank into the webbing of Gu Feiyi’s thumb (the tiger’s mouth), causing a sharp, stinging pain.

Gu Feiyi: “…”

Sometimes he truly felt Xie Changsheng was more like a puppy than Suisui. But if Suisui made a mess of things, he certainly wouldn’t indulge it. Yet when Xie Changsheng broke things, he only wanted to sit aside and watch with a smile. It was truly strange.

Thinking this, Gu Feiyi offered his hand for Xie Changsheng to bite and used his other hand to stroke the boy’s hair: “Sss… a good bite. Why not use more force, Little Highness?”

Xie Changsheng: “…”

Crap. I forgot this guy is actually a bit of a pervert. Did he actually enjoy that?

Xie Changsheng pouted and let go of Gu Feiyi’s hand. Gu Feiyi looked at the ring of teeth marks on his hand and laughed. He brought the back of his hand to his lips, narrowing his long eyes at Xie Changsheng while sticking out a crimson tongue to lick the bite marks.

Three days later, the Old Emperor’s health had recovered. Having taken the correct medicine, the Old Emperor felt an indescribable sense of comfort. He was overjoyed, believing Gu Feiyi’s “detoxification” theory more than ever. He sent countless gold and silver treasures to Gu Feiyi and summoned the officials for a banquet.

This banquet was different from previous ones. The dancers were replaced by priests and shamans who sang and danced on the floor, holding various ritual implements and chanting auspicious words for a prosperous year and national peace. It was said this would go on for seven consecutive days.

Xie Changsheng watched for two days and felt like people were performing shamanic rituals in his dreams at night.

Xie Hemiao noticed his boredom and tapped Xie Changsheng’s head with his tobacco pipe, sounding a bit tipsy: “Little fool, how about going to your Second Brother’s place?”

“The tavern?” Xie Changsheng shook his head. “I’m not going.”

Xie Hemiao tapped his head again: “What are you thinking? Not the tavern—my Princely Manor.” He lowered his voice and leaned into Xie Changsheng’s ear: “I’ve hired a theater troupe. They are experts at acrobatics and stage magic; it’s incredibly fun.”

Xie Changsheng’s eyes widened: “Second Brother, you’re actually enjoying happiness behind my and Big Brother’s backs!”

“Shh, shh.” Xie Hemiao laughed, gesturing for Xie Changsheng to keep his voice down. “Are you coming or not?”

Xie Changsheng cheered: “Yes! Of course I am!” He turned to tug on Xie Chengjing’s sleeve: “Big Brother should come too!”

“I won’t—”

Xie Changsheng interrupted Xie Chengjing’s refusal: “If you refuse, you have to do three sets of Gaokao (College Entrance Exam) practice papers.”

Xie Chengjing: “…”

Xie Hemiao added, “Come along. Isn’t it tiring to always be so proper? Listen to some music and relax.”

Xie Chengjing couldn’t win against them and ultimately agreed.

Once the ritual dance ended, Xie Changsheng hopped onto Xie Hemiao’s back and let him carry him out. However, a voice called from behind: “Little Highness.”

Xie Changsheng turned around and saw it was Feng Wang. Feng Wang said he had a message, so Xie Changsheng climbed down and walked over to him.

Once they were close enough, Feng Wang said, “The Regent says the Little Highness should go early and return early.”

After Feng Wang left, Xie Hemiao asked with a frown, “Did Gu Feiyi send you a message? What did he say to you?”

Xie Changsheng replied, “He seemed to wish me a life as long as the Southern Mountains and happiness as vast as the Eastern Sea. He also wished for me to win a Nobel Prize soon to bring glory to the country.”

Xie Hemiao: “…”

He gave a “tsk,” glanced at Feng Wang’s retreating back, and exhaled a cloud of smoke into Xie Changsheng’s face: “Little fool, I heard that the Lord Regent sometimes stays the night at your Yuxiu Palace. How did your relationship become so good?”

Xie Changsheng said, “Maybe because I’m just very likable.”

Likable? Just how likable do you have to be to win the affection of Gu Feiyi?

If anyone else had said this, Xie Hemiao would have laughed in mockery. But since it came from Xie Changsheng, it was strangely convincing.

Xie Hemiao and Xie Chengjing shared a look, both seeing helpless smiles in each other’s eyes. Xie Hemiao blew another puff of smoke at Xie Changsheng, teasing him: “Aiya, you don’t know the meaning of modesty.”

Xie Changsheng waved the smoke away, thinking he should give Xie Hemiao a lecture on The Harms of Smoking. He found Xie Hemiao’s smoke too strong, so he rode in the same carriage as Xie Chengjing.

Xie Chengjing produced a piece of hawthorn-flavored candy from somewhere and handed it to Xie Changsheng. Xie Changsheng had nothing on him, so he searched his person and found a few strands of dog hair left by Suisui, which he placed in Xie Chengjing’s hand.

Xie Chengjing looked at the few tiny dog hairs with an expression between tears and laughter: “…” Even so, he reached out to pat the top of Xie Changsheng’s head: “Thank you.”

Xie Changsheng leaned against Xie Chengjing’s arm and slept for a while until the carriage finally arrived at Xie Hemiao’s manor. This manor was no less grand than Xie Chengjing’s Crown Prince Residence; it was magnificent and lively, filled with beautiful servant girls walking to and fro—a very pleasing sight.

Xie Hemiao had the back courtyard prepared with roasted meat and summoned the theater troupe to the stage. Xie Changsheng ate meat while teasing the parrots Xie Hemiao kept, all while watching the troupe perform sword-swallowing, breaking stones on chests, and stage magic.

He was enjoying himself when a loud voice came from not far away, sounding like an argument.

“What’s happening?” Xie Hemiao sent someone to inquire. A moment later, the person returned: “Second Master, it’s Li Nian and his wife from the kitchen. Li Nian’s wife found a… a scandalous picture book he was hiding and is furious.”

As he spoke, the man handed a crumpled booklet to Xie Hemiao.

Xie Hemiao flipped through a few pages, a smile appearing on his face. He instructed the servant: “We have guests; what kind of behavior is this shouting? Tell them to be quiet. They can argue once the guests have left, otherwise, they can go receive punishment.”

The man complied and left. Xie Changsheng leaned in curiously toward Xie Hemiao: “Second Brother, what kind of picture book?”

Xie Hemiao asked, “You want to see?” With a mischievous grin, he handed the booklet toward Xie Changsheng.

Xie Chengjing suddenly stood up, his face flushing deep red: “Second Brother!”

He reached out to snatch it, but Xie Changsheng was quite fast and had already taken the booklet and flipped it open. After seeing the contents, Xie Changsheng let out an “Ah” of realization.

So it was that kind of picture book.

Xie Changsheng looked at the stick-figure-like drawings of two little people twisted together mouth-to-mouth and withdrew his gaze with zero interest.

—That’s it?