After the Pitiful Little One Seduced the Feudal Big Daddy - Chapter 18

After a moment of stagnation, Xie Yunqing’s heart suddenly accelerated, thumping violently against his ribs. His entire body turned burning hot, and his cheeks felt as though they were on fire.

He was too close to Pei Yanzhi so close that the man’s breath brushed against his forehead, and the temperature within that embrace enveloped him without a single gap. In contrast, Pei Yanzhi’s expression remained unchanged. His pitch-black eyes looked down with cold indifference, watching him calmly, as if he were merely passing by rather than holding the youth in his arms.

To be precise, it wasn’t that Pei Yanzhi was holding him, but that Xie Yunqing had climbed into his lap and pleaded for him to hold him tight.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, yet his consciousness became strangely clearer. It forced him to remember that days ago, in the library of the Pei residence, the “Father” he had clung to had also been Pei Yanzhi!

He could no longer think he was terrified of remembering more details of how he had offended the man. In a fit of self-abandonment and self-deception, his eyelashes and body trembled as he tried to scramble out of Pei Yanzhi’s lap.

However, Xie Yunqing hadn’t realized just how tall and broad Pei Yanzhi was. He had to use both hands and feet to crawl across the man’s powerful thighs before he could manage to leave the embrace. No wonder he had thought he was back in his childhood the moment he saw that silhouette.

The cost of his distraction was steep. As he scrambled down, his robes became entangled with Pei Yanzhi’s, and he began to wobble, nearly falling over. The maps in his arms scattered across the ground.

Xie Yunqing squeezed his eyes shut. But the expected pain never came.

Pei Yanzhi reached out and caught him by the waist, steadying him.

It was too hot the temperature of Pei Yanzhi’s arm and the pulsing veins beneath the skin felt like they were scorching through his clothes. Xie Yunqing’s waist felt as though it were being turned soft by the heat.

In a panic, he hurriedly pushed Pei Yanzhi’s arm away. Supporting himself against the stone table, he stood up and retreated several steps. Then, he knelt once more, bowing low until his forehead touched the ground. “Pay… paying respects to Chancellor Pei…”

After the greeting, he wanted to plead for mercy, but he found he couldn’t bring himself to speak of what had just happened. He could only keep his forehead pressed firmly against the ground, awaiting Pei Yanzhi’s judgment.

The sun had completely vanished behind the mountains. The moon rose, casting a silvery glow into the pavilion and over Xie Yunqing. He was dressed so thinly that even the faint moonlight clearly traced the curve of his waist, which flowed like a winding stream before Pei Yanzhi’s eyes.

Pei Yanzhi knit his brows slightly, and his wrist moved instinctively. Just like when he had seen the wisteria petal in Xie Yunqing’s hair, his fingertips suddenly felt a phantom itch.

A long time passed. It lasted so long that Xie Yunqing began to wonder if the man had left while he was in a daze. He mustered the courage to look up, only to be met by those dark, deep eyes—Pei Yanzhi was still sitting there, quietly watching him.

Before he could feel terror, the first thought in Xie Yunqing’s mind was: How can his eyes be deeper than the night? One look was enough to make one sink into them, completely unable to turn away.

But a chill soon followed. It was unclear if it was the mountain wind or the aura radiating from the man himself. Xie Yunqing shivered. “Pei”

“What is this?”

His plea for forgiveness was interrupted. He watched as Pei Yanzhi picked up the drawings from the ground and, after a brief flip through them, asked him softly.

Pei Yanzhi’s expression still held no emotion. Xie Yunqing couldn’t read him, and his own thoughts were a jumbled mess, so he could only lower his head and answer respectfully: “They are… maps of the mountain and water terrain that I drew.”

“Why draw these?” Pei Yanzhi continued to ask. The dozen or so sheets of paper seemed to be of different sizes in their hands; in Xie Yunqing’s hands, they were normal pages, but in Pei Yanzhi’s large hands, they looked as if half of them had been trimmed away.

Xie Yunqing felt inexplicably hoarse. “It was… a hobby… taught by my mother…”

Pei Yanzhi gave no reaction. He pulled out one page and examined it closely under the moonlight. “The text and estimated data marked here are related to water conservancy construction,” he said, continuing to flip through. “Was this also taught by your mother?”

Xie Yunqing hadn’t expected the man to see the true purpose of the drawings. But on second thought, it made sense as the Chancellor of the dynasty, Pei Yanzhi was nearly omniscient. He dared not hide anything further, pouring out his mother’s experiences and lifelong ambition: “…Mother hoped that one day, the people of the world would be free from the disaster of floods and could live and work in peace on their ancestral lands.”

For some reason, Xie Yunqing was too ashamed to speak for himself in front of Pei Yanzhi, yet the man saw right through him.

“This is also your ambition.”

It was no longer a question, but a calm statement of fact.

Xie Yunqing’s heart tightened inexplicably. He instinctively lifted his head, crashing into Pei Yanzhi’s gaze. He didn’t know how to describe his current feelings. He only knew that Pei Yanzhi was the first person who knew his heart’s desire and did not doubt or mock it.

In the past, even his father, after hearing his confession, told him that he should focus only on passing the Imperial Academy exams to secure an official post. And the children led by his brother had only mocked him for “dreaming of idiots” and “overestimating his own strength.”

“I…” It felt surreal. His eyes and nose suddenly felt a bit stinging. Yet he had no words, and lacked the courage even to admit it.

Pei Yanzhi said nothing more. After folding the maps and returning them to him, the man stood up. His tall silhouette completely enveloped Xie Yunqing. Then, he leaned down and extended a hand toward the youth. “The night is deep. Rise.”

Xie Yunqing was stunned. After a moment, he didn’t dare take the man’s hand, but instead used the stone table which had turned completely cold to support himself as he stood up. His palm recoiled from the chill.

Pei Yanzhi’s gaze swept over the back of the youth’s hand. He withdrew his own hand and said simply, “Follow me for now. I will have someone send you back later.”

Xie Yunqing followed dazedley, walking away from the camp.

In the deep night, the forest was filled with an unknown fragrance. The surroundings grew quieter until only the sound of their footsteps remained. Suddenly, several fireflies appeared, dancing and swirling between them.

Walking behind Pei Yanzhi, Xie Yunqing smelled the forest scent and watched the moonlight and fireflies grace the man’s form. The night wind brushed past Pei Yanzhi and then over Xie Yunqing’s cheeks like a gentle caress.

Xie Yunqing’s footsteps paused. He realized that on this chilly March night, he no longer felt the cold.