After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: “Senior Brother Returns, Jealousy Erupts”

Decades had passed, and Ruan Mingyu no longer feared him as he once did. His anger and timidity were useless in front of this person.

“Senior Brother, why are you looking for me?” Under the circumstances, he calmly uttered the words “Senior Brother.”

Shen Yanyuan observed him for a long time, and only after a lengthy pause did he say:

“Have you been well these past years?”

“Well, of course, I’ve been great. Free and unrestrained days; everything I do is comfortable,” Ruan Mingyu smiled at him nonchalantly.

Shen Yanyuan stood outside the door, motionless for a long time. He stared at Ruan Mingyu’s face almost greedily, wanting to catch a glimpse of the same gaze that had pursued him years ago.

There was none.

His eyes would never linger on him again.

“Why didn’t you stay put?” he asked, unwilling to give up.

Ruan Mingyu stretched lazily from refining elixirs: “I am not a pet you raised, to ask your permission for where I go.”

Shen Yanyuan insisted: “Come back with me. I know you don’t like snow. I melted all the snow on Lu Peak. You will never have to see snow again.”

Ruan Mingyu stood still. He was no longer the youth who was entirely at Shen Yanyuan’s mercy back then.

“I’m sorry, I’m not interested.”

“I was the one who brought you up the mountain,” he suddenly said, remembering something.

“So what?” Ruan Mingyu shrugged. “Senior Brother, my name is Ruan Mingyu, not Ruoyue.”

Shen Yanyuan said nothing more. Ruan Mingyu had grown taller, and the look in his eyes had changed, no longer overlapping with the image of the youth who had begged him to bring him up the mountain.

Shen Yanyuan took out a bottle of medicine and placed it in Ruan Mingyu’s hand.

“Your spiritual body has deficiencies; you need to take this elixir regularly.”

Ruan Mingyu might have accepted it from anyone else, but he didn’t want any more ties with Shen Yanyuan.

Ruan Mingyu smiled: “I appreciate Senior Brother’s kindness. But I am a Pill Cultivator now; the one thing I don’t lack is elixirs.”

“Senior Brother, please leave.”

Ruan Mingyu must have said something that annoyed him, as Shen Yanyuan suddenly became gloomy. “Leave? Go where? If anyone is leaving, it should be you going back with me.”

At this point, the calmness Shen Yanyuan had forced was gone. He rushed forward, grabbed his shoulders, and asked somewhat crazily: “Did you seize Ruoyue’s body?”

He tore Ruan Mingyu’s clothes open, attempting to find any sign of soul-seizure on his body. Disappointingly, there was none.

“I don’t know what method you used that makes it undetectable.”

Ruan Mingyu dodged him and tightly clutched his clothes. Not wanting to be manhandled any further, he frowned: “If you keep this up, I’ll scream!”

Shen Yanyuan’s eyes were bloodshot, his cold composure nowhere to be seen. He muttered: “How could this be?” He forcibly injected his divine sense into Ruan Mingyu’s body, stubbornly insisting on finding evidence that he was not Ruoyue.

Seeing that Shen Yanyuan had no intention of letting go, Ruan Mingyu yelled: “Help! Assault! Senior Disciple Brother Shen Yanyuan, the old bull eating young grass! This centuries-old man is trying to assault me, a young boy! Is there any justice or law in Seven Stars Sect!”

Shen Yanyuan never expected such words to come out of Ruan Mingyu’s mouth. He covered Ruan Mingyu’s mouth. Ruan Mingyu bit him fiercely, leaving a bloody tooth mark on his hand.

In his haste, Shen Yanyuan actually forgot to use a spell. Regaining his senses, he quickly cast a Mute Charm on Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t make a sound, making it impossible to call for help, and he was absolutely no match for the person in front of him. His heart sank. What exactly did this person want?

The male leads in this book are all insane.

The divine sense injected into Ruan Mingyu’s body. His body instantly went soft, and his face turned pale. The two spiritual senses merged. Ruan Mingyu felt a burning sensation in his chest, but Shen Yanyuan had no intention of letting him go and continued to probe.

The person in front of him finally calmed down. Shen Yanyuan held him. After probing with his spiritual sense, he looked utterly lost. The person was still the same, but his heart had changed.

In truth, he would have preferred him to be someone else entirely.

Shen Yanyuan lowered his head and looked sadly at Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu, once recovered, pushed him away without a second thought.

Shen Yanyuan stared at him intently, and after a long time, said: “I’m sorry.”

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t speak and used hand gestures to tell him to leave.

Shen Yanyuan nodded. Ruan Mingyu thought he had changed his mind, but the next second, he was hoisted over Shen Yanyuan’s shoulder!

Telling him to leave didn’t mean telling him to take himself away!

Seriously!

Ruan Mingyu struggled violently in protest.

Shen Yanyuan held him tightly and carried him back to Lu Peak.

…

Upon reaching the destination, as soon as Ruan Mingyu was put down, he instantly rushed toward the door.

A rope flew out, tripping him and binding his entire body.

Shen Yanyuan picked him up from the floor and placed him on the couch.

Ruan Mingyu could only make muffled sounds when trying to speak. He vigorously shook his head, signaling Shen Yanyuan to let him go.

Shen Yanyuan said to him: “Three days. You only need to stay here for three days, and I will let you go. If you agree, I will lift the Mute Charm.”

Did he have a choice? Ruan Mingyu nodded.

Shen Yanyuan removed the spell for him.

Ruan Mingyu was a bit confused: “What exactly do you want to do?”

Shen Yanyuan: “You and I are fellow disciples now. Are you still afraid of me doing anything to you?”

Ruan Mingyu: “What do you really want? Stop being so roundabout.”

Shen Yanyuan averted his gaze: “I just want to confirm my feelings.”

He pleaded: “Just stay here for three days. After three days, whether you stay or leave is up to you.”

Ruan Mingyu: “That sounds nice, but what if you don’t let me leave?”

Shen Yanyuan said: “I can take an oath.”

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t defeat him right now, and the opponent clearly had the upper hand. Hearing this, Ruan Mingyu conceded: “Fine, take the oath.”

Shen Yanyuan spoke and established the ‘Word of Spiritual Power.’

Ruan Mingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. If Shen Yanyuan didn’t let him go, he really would be helpless for a while.

With a reassurance in his heart, Ruan Mingyu began to play hard to get: “You’re delaying me for three days. How are you going to compensate me for lost wages and emotional distress? I charge a fee.”

Shen Yanyuan nodded: “I can give you whatever you ask for.”

Ruan Mingyu: “Is that true? I want one billion.”

Shen Yanyuan fell silent.

…

Back here, Ruan Mingyu was staying in the same courtyard as before. The courtyard was cleanly swept, just as he had left it.

The former maid, Xiao Wei, was both surprised and delighted to see him: “Young Master Ruoyue?”

Ruan Mingyu laughed: “Just call me Ruan Mingyu.” Previously, out of fear of revealing his identity, he had constantly suppressed himself and dared not speak. Now, Ruan Mingyu let loose and started chattering and gossiping with her.

Xiao Wei asked him how long he planned to stay.

Ruan Mingyu said: “I’ll leave in three days. If he doesn’t let me go, your boss will be struck by lightning.” He reached under the bed and pulled out a small box containing his savings, which he had forgotten to take in his hasty departure.

He grabbed a handful of spiritual stones and gave them to Xiao Wei: “Little Sister, I really owe you for talking to me on the mountain before, or I would have gone crazy.”

Xiao Wei said nervously: “I don’t deserve this.”

Ruan Mingyu pressed the stones into her hand: “Although being a person requires a clear conscience, what is a clear conscience? It means not doing anything wrong, so you dare to walk alone at night. You have to be fair to yourself while being fair to others. There’s a saying: not earning money when you can makes you a fool! Take it; it’s not ill-gotten gains.”

Xiao Wei covered her mouth and laughed, amused by him.

Xiao Wei said: “When I save enough money, I want to open a tea shop down the mountain.”

Ruan Mingyu: “Me too. When I save enough money, I want to open a medical clinic.”

…

Three days was neither short nor long. If he were refining elixirs on Yuantai Peak, the time would fly by in a flash, but now he was truly on someone else’s territory.

Shen Yanyuan often sat in his room, doing nothing but watching Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu treated him like air, going about his own business. But Shen Yanyuan’s gaze was impossible to ignore.

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t stand it any longer and earnestly tried to persuade him.

“Why are you so fixated on me? If you truly like Song Chenxi, you should just tell him directly. You are fellow disciples, not blood brothers. If you can’t bring yourself to say it, I can do it for you.”

Shen Yanyuan shook his head: “I don’t like him.”

Ruan Mingyu’s eyebrow twitched, and he quickly asked: “Then if you say you don’t like Song Chenxi, why did you bring someone who looked like him up the mountain in the first place?”

Shen Yanyuan looked at him: “I didn’t know what love was. Before you came, only talking to my Junior Brother caused my emotions to fluctuate, but Junior Brother was not often on the mountain, so I brought Ruoyue back. It wasn’t until you arrived that I realized the feeling was different. When you wouldn’t talk to me, I finally understood what the ‘bitterness’ mentioned in books felt like.”

Ruan Mingyu said: “You won’t die without love, but you will die without money. I think you are self-inflicting worry, insisting on figuring out what love is. If I had cultivation as powerful and resources as abundant as you, I wouldn’t care about love. I’d be perfectly happy alone.”

Shen Yanyuan looked at him and suddenly asked: “If I gave you money, would you stay and keep me company?”

Ruan Mingyu: “Stop. Don’t tempt me with money. No matter how much you give, it won’t work. A little bird always yearns for the sky.”

Ruan Mingyu didn’t want to stay with him any longer. He grabbed a fishing rod and sat by the riverbank. As he had promised, it never snowed here anymore. He didn’t even need to break the ice to fish.

He had just set up his fishing rod when he turned around, and Shen Yanyuan appeared again.

Shen Yanyuan sat down beside him. He clearly wanted to strike up a conversation with Ruan Mingyu but didn’t know what to say.

His voice was cold and emotionless. Come to think of it, he and Song Chenxi were also fellow disciples. Song Chenxi was different from him; no matter what the situation, his voice always carried a smile, whether he was relaxed or angry.

Ruan Mingyu was lost in thought and didn’t notice Shen Yanyuan leaning over and holding his hand. He quickly moved his hand away.

Shen Yanyuan said: “That’s not how you fish.” He took the rod and cast it out. Before long, a fish bit the hook.

Ruan Mingyu’s trip to the river was only incidentally about fishing; he mainly just wanted to daydream. Whether he caught a fish or not was up to chance.

After fishing all afternoon, the fish they caught filled an entire bamboo basket.

While he was supposedly fishing, most of the fish were actually caught by Shen Yanyuan. Ruan Mingyu sat on the bank and soon drifted off to sleep. He propped his head up with one hand, his head occasionally drooping. Perhaps he was having a nightmare; his brow was slightly furrowed, and his long eyelashes fluttered continuously.

Shen Yanyuan watched him and reached out to support his chin to prevent him from falling to the ground.

He maintained that posture, ignoring the fish that were biting the hook and pulling the rod constantly. To him, the most important thing right now seemed to be Ruan Mingyu getting a good rest.

Ruan Mingyu slept for half the day. When he opened his eyes and saw Shen Yanyuan’s magnified face, he was startled and fell backward, almost tumbling into the pond. Luckily, Shen Yanyuan quickly grabbed his arm.

Ruan Mingyu gave an awkward laugh.

Shen Yanyuan: “Do you want to continue sleeping?”

Ruan Mingyu was fully awake: “No.”

He gathered his things and started walking back. Shen Yanyuan followed him, maintaining a distance, only stopping when he saw Ruan Mingyu return to his room.

Shen Yanyuan looked at him and suddenly called out: “Ruan Mingyu.”

Ruan Mingyu pretended not to hear and quickly closed the door.

The three days finally passed. Ruan Mingyu gathered all the things he had accumulated. Shen Yanyuan walked him to the door.

Before leaving, Ruan Mingyu initiated a conversation with him for the first time, asking: “Do you know when your Junior Brother will return?”

Shen Yanyuan: “Which Junior Brother?”

Ruan Mingyu: “Song Chenxi, of course!”

Shen Yanyuan: “Since I have come out of seclusion, I imagine he should be soon.”

Shen Yanyuan said: “If you want to come back, you can do so anytime.”

Had he not had enough of his good life, to go back and be locked in a cage?

Ruan Mingyu just smiled without saying a word.

Shen Yanyuan: “Can I have a hug? Just one.”

Ruan Mingyu: “No need.”

Shen Yanyuan pulled out a pouch of spiritual stones. Ruan Mingyu’s eyes went wide.

“Well, maybe. But just one hug, as agreed.”

Shen Yanyuan carefully pulled him into his arms. His cold heart suddenly seemed to beat rapidly.

Ruan Mingyu was held against him. He lifted his head: “Time’s up.”

Shen Yanyuan’s breathing became heavy: “Just a moment. A little longer, just a moment…”

Just then, a rushing sound of wind could be heard from not far away. Someone seemed to be moving quickly toward them.

Not long after, Ruan Mingyu heard an extremely familiar voice, though laced with a smile, it was not difficult to detect the suppressed anger within:

“Oh, did I interrupt a reunion between former lovers? Ruan Mingyu, who allowed you to be so affectionate with him behind my back!”