After the Pitiful Little One Seduced the Feudal Big Daddy - Chapter 2

Half an hour ago.

Only after leaving the dormitory and walking a considerable distance did Xie Yunqing’s senses slowly begin to return. His soaked inner robes clung tightly to his skin. As the early spring wind still carrying a lingering winter chill blew against him, it felt as though he were wearing a thin layer of ice. Water continued to drip from his cuffs and the hem of his garment.

Xie Yunqing shivered. Using fingers stiffened by the cold, he struggled to wring the water from his sleeves before looking up to survey his surroundings. He realized he had wandered into an unfamiliar area.

He was still within the Imperial Academy, certainly. But compared to the public areas like the lecture halls, library, and dormitories, this place possessed a distinct air of privacy. It featured a quiet, independent courtyard, a silent, winding corridor, and a main hall whose exterior alone hinted at extraordinary refinement.

He had likely trespassed into the private quarters of some high official or noble within the Academy. Xie Yunqing immediately lowered his head, intending to leave. But just as he moved to step away, he stopped.

There should be no one here right now, he thought. When he had looked around just now, he hadn’t seen a single soul, and no one had come out to drive him away.

Previously, regardless of whether anyone was present, Xie Yunqing would have fled immediately. But now, for some inexplicable reason, he suddenly felt a desperate urge to find a hidden corner and conceal himself. Perhaps just as he used to do back at home.

In that moment, a flicker of cowardice overcame his reason. Xie Yunqing lightened his footsteps, stepped onto the corridor, and cautiously made his way deeper into the private courtyard.

At the very end of the corridor sat a small, inconspicuous side room. Xie Yunqing stood outside for a moment, listening, but heard no movement within. Hesitating no longer, he gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The first thing he saw was a white jade screen. Before he could discern the patterns carved upon it, a figure reflected on the jade’s surface startled him into a state of panic.

Almost instinctively, Xie Yunqing lowered his head and apologized: “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know someone was here.”

Then, he waited in silence for the inevitable reprimand, verbal abuse, or punishment. As he waited, regret began to settle in. Why had he been so possessed by a ghost as to think this private residence was uninhabited? Furthermore, even if no one were truly here, he shouldn’t have entered without permission.

At this thought, Xie Yunqing knelt straight down. Facing the figure behind the screen, he said earnestly, “Student Xie Yunqing has trespassed into Your Excellency’s private residence. I know my crime is inexcusable and am willing to accept any punishment.”

But his words were met with a long silence. A drop of water fell onto the slightly polished floor it was unclear whether it was the cold water from Xie Yunqing’s soaked clothes or the sweat breaking out on his forehead.

A long while passed. Once his initial terror began to fade slightly, the rhythmic, crisp sound of a chess piece being placed on a board reached his ears. Xie Yunqing suddenly realized that from the moment he had pushed open the door, the sound of the game had never once faltered.

It was as if the noble behind the screen hadn’t placed his intrusion in his eyes at all.

He was completely ignored.

For most people, being ignored implied being slighted, mocked, or even provoked. For Xie Yunqing, however, being ignored only made him feel safe. Since his mother passed away and his father remarried, for a long time, the young Xie Yunqing’s greatest wish was for no one to ever notice him. Because in those days, being noticed was synonymous with being ridiculed, humiliated, or harmed though things didn’t seem much better now.

Actually, it wasn’t that he had never known happy or relaxed times. At least before the age of five, while his mother was still alive, his father had often taught him with patience, and his mother had doted on him. He had many playmates his age who would study and play with him.

Even now, he remembered how, whenever his father finished teaching him, the older boy from next door would lead a group of friends to his gate and call for him to join them in games of tanqi, doucao, or cuju. Once, that neighbor boy had somehow obtained a shuttlecock adorned with vibrant colored feathers and tassels. It was so bright and beautiful that every child scrambled to be the first to play. Yet, the older boy had given it only to him, teaching him to boldly kick it up, throw it out, and fetch it back.

Again and again, he had played without ever tiring.

Those times felt both very long and very short. Long enough to carve an indelible mark upon his heart, yet short enough to feel like that life had vanished in the blink of an eye. His life never possessed such vivid colors again.

And now, twelve years later, he was merely a pitiable soul who felt safe only through the cold indifference of others.

For reasons he couldn’t name, Xie Yunqing slowly raised his head to look at the figure who, in this moment, provided him with a sense of security even though the owner of that figure had done nothing at all.

Very tall. That was Xie Yunqing’s first impression. Even from a seated figure, one could see an incredibly upright and commanding stature. The silhouette of his profile was as deep and defined as a mountain ridge, reflected upon the white jade screen like a deliberate painting, making the entire screen glow.

The sound of chess pieces continued without pause. Continuing to ask for punishment might actually be the real disturbance, Xie Yunqing thought. He slowly moved to sit on his heels, wanting to leave, but dared not move rashly.

Just as he was debating whether to speak and take his leave or to retreat in silence, he suddenly heard someone say, “What has happened?”

Caught completely off guard, Xie Yunqing froze. He couldn’t even process the meaning of those few words, nor could he remember the man’s voice. It took a long moment of reaction before Xie Yunqing realized the noble behind the screen was speaking to him. Perhaps his sense of security had deceived him, but he felt a flicker of care in those few words—something he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“I…” Xie Yunqing suddenly didn’t know how to answer.

Actually, there was nothing much to say. He had long since grown accustomed to everything he suffered today; he could endure it, and it would pass. It wouldn’t prevent him from continuing his studies at the Academy, nor would it leave him with lasting pain. It really had no impact at all.

Thus, even he felt a sense of bewilderment as to why he had appeared here.

Suddenly, the room became so quiet that only Xie Yunqing’s breathing remained. Behind the screen, Pei Yanzhi’s hand holding a chess piece paused. The sound of the game stopped.

Pei Yanzhi raised his eyes slightly. His gaze moved from the chessboard to a jade disc displayed on a treasure shelf. The jade was translucent, and its placement happened to act as a mirror, clearly reflecting the person outside the screen.

In the jade disc, a youth of about sixteen or seventeen was soaked to the bone. His jet-black hair was messily plastered to his cheeks, neck, and his unconsciously half-exposed collarbone. His eyelashes were clumped together, casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes, which shimmered with a translucent watery light. They looked as though he had just cried, tinged with a slight redness like a rippling lake under the setting sun.

His skin was so pale that “snow” was insufficient to describe it; it was more like the glass-bead tribute from the Western Regions white to the point of being translucent. Perhaps because it was too cold, the joints of his fingers and wrists were flushed with a faint pink, adding a triple measure of fragile, glass-like delicacy.

Xie Yunqing also suddenly became aware of this abrupt silence. Fearing that his hesitation had displeased the noble, he hurriedly continued, “It… it is nothing.”

That sounded terribly dismissive. Yet, truly unable to give a detailed explanation, Xie Yunqing resorted to a temporary lie. He lowered his eyes uneasily and said, “I… I accidentally fell into the water nearby and wanted to find a room to warm myself before returning. I didn’t mean to disturb Your Excellency. I shall leave immediately.”

With that, Xie Yunqing moved to stand up.

“Stay.”

Xie Yunqing froze instantly. In the next moment, he jerked his head up to look at the figure again. But the noble behind the screen said nothing more. The sound of chess pieces being placed began once again.

The door had been closed at some unknown point by an unknown person.

Xie Yunqing dazed for a moment, then silently moved to a corner of the room and sat half-curled with his knees pulled to his chest. Perhaps the room was truly warm, or perhaps he was simply too exhausted today, but amidst the rhythmic, crisp clicking of chess pieces…

Xie Yunqing unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

When he woke, he found he was still in the side room. It was dark outside, and the lamps had been lit. Startled, he instinctively looked toward the screen the figure was gone.

His heart felt strangely empty. Ignoring his stiff and numb limbs, Xie Yunqing tried to stand up immediately, but as he moved, something slid off his body.

Xie Yunqing looked down. It was a moon-white outer robe.