After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: “Great, He Loves Me.”

Ruan Mingyu looked up and saw Song Chenxi, whose eyes were full of mockery. Damn it! Why did he have to show up now, not earlier or later?

Ruan Mingyu quickly pushed Shen Yanyuan away, but it only made his previous actions look more suspicious.

“Senior Brother, it’s not what you think!”

Song Chenxi raised a mocking eyebrow: “Ruan Mingyu, who begged me to take him away back then? And now you’re here, embracing him and acting all affectionate? Ruan Mingyu, you’ve really grown some nerve.”

Shen Yanyuan stepped forward and pulled Ruan Mingyu back to his side: “Junior Brother, your behavior is becoming increasingly erratic. You have no right to question him here.”

Song Chenxi sneered: “Get lost. You don’t have a say here.”

Shen Yanyuan refused to back down: “Is this the attitude you use to speak to your Senior Brother?”

The two immediately became hostile. Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Ruan Mingyu rushed forward and hugged Song Chenxi, trying to stop them. However, upon getting close, he noticed Song Chenxi’s pupils were faintly red, a prelude to demonic transformation.

Ruan Mingyu thought, This is bad! Since he was slightly shorter than Song Chenxi, to block Shen Yanyuan’s view and prevent him from noticing anything unusual, Ruan Mingyu placed his hand on Song Chenxi’s shoulder, used his free hand to cup the back of Song Chenxi’s head, and switched positions with him so that Song Chenxi was facing away from Shen Yanyuan.

To make the act convincing, Ruan Mingyu acted very emotionally: “Senior Brother, you’re finally back! I’ve missed you every moment these past few decades. It’s so wonderful to see you again!”

Ruan Mingyu thought his acting was a bit fake, but Song Chenxi slowly calmed down. However, Shen Yanyuan’s originally aloof face opposite them now looked somewhat distorted.

The priority now was to separate the two. The sect strictly forbade disciples from fighting amongst themselves; if discovered, they would be imprisoned at Mount Siguo for punishment.

Ruan Mingyu hastily pulled Song Chenxi away. When they reached a hill, he looked back. Fortunately, Shen Yanyuan hadn’t followed. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

The next moment, Song Chenxi grabbed his arm and pinned him against the rock wall.

Song Chenxi smiled ambiguously and began to settle the score: “Ruan Mingyu, twenty-nine years later, you’ve become quite skilled.”

Ruan Mingyu looked down, feeling a little guilty.

Song Chenxi pinched his chin, forcing him to look up at himself.

“What are you afraid of?” Song Chenxi stared at him with an inscrutable look. “Why won’t you look at me?”

Ruan Mingyu’s mind was racing. Damn it, how could he placate Song Chenxi?

He could roughly guess Song Chenxi’s thoughts. So, the moment he looked up, Ruan Mingyu drooped his eyes, deliberately putting on a pitiful expression: “Senior Brother, I was forced into it! What is his cultivation level, and what is mine? How could I resist? Senior Brother, I truly didn’t go with him willingly; he forced me.”

He grabbed Song Chenxi’s sleeve and shook it, calling sweetly: “Senior Brother, please don’t be angry with me anymore.”

Song Chenxi had little reaction, but the red shadow in his eyes gradually receded.

Seeing that it was effective, Ruan Mingyu intensified his effort, saying: “Senior Brother, think about it. He named me Ruoyue, which means ‘like the moon.’ I bear a slight resemblance to you, Senior Brother. The person he truly loves is you, but since he couldn’t see you, he captured me to serve as a substitute. There is absolutely no affection between him and me!”

He held Song Chenxi’s hand, his large eyes fixed on him, feigning sincerity: “Senior Brother, don’t you understand my heart?”

Ruan Mingyu’s original intention was to express that Song Chenxi was his true Senior Brother and that he was just play-acting with Shen Yanyuan. However, in Song Chenxi’s eyes, it took on a different meaning.

Song Chenxi looked down at Ruan Mingyu holding his hand. He paused, seemingly lost in thought, and then asked: “Did you receive the letter I sent you?”

Why did he suddenly ask about that?

Ruan Mingyu dared not say that the letter had turned to ashes before he could read it, so he nodded.

Song Chenxi stared directly at him: “What do you intend to do?”

Ruan Mingyu vaguely replied: “It’s quite good.”

Song Chenxi’s face suddenly flushed slightly. Ruan Mingyu thought he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes, confirming he hadn’t mistaken it.

Song Chenxi’s gaze toward Ruan Mingyu immediately became eager, and he suddenly said something out of the blue: “You look very good in these clothes.”

Ruan Mingyu was wearing a light blue outfit, like the pale reflection of a spring lake, making his lips red and teeth white.

Those were the clothes he had picked up from Song Chenxi; the items hadn’t even been burned by fire.

Although many years had passed, due to his cultivation and the fact that Ruan Mingyu had spent most of his time in a deep sleep, his appearance looked nearly the same as it did back then, and his gaze hadn’t changed much either. The corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and when he smiled, his eyes curved, making him look especially innocent.

Song Chenxi, on the other hand, was different. Compared to before, his eyes held a hint of malice.

Ruan Mingyu coughed. Okay, although he was somewhat attractive, hearing it from Song Chenxi was still a bit surprising.

Wait, why did he say that?

Song Chenxi couldn’t help the corners of his mouth from curling up. He released the hand pinning Ruan Mingyu’s arm and said hypocritically: “Since you’ve chosen me, don’t associate with Shen Yanyuan again. If I see you talking to him again, I’ll…”

Ruan Mingyu tentatively asked: “You’ll what?”

Song Chenxi “hmphed”: “I’ll lock you by my side.”

Ruan Mingyu: “…” What kind of wolfish words were those? Did his experience in the secret realm damage his brain?

One of them was talking about one thing, and the other was thinking about something else entirely, completely missing the point.

Song Chenxi thoughtfully massaged Ruan Mingyu’s arm, then wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on Ruan Mingyu’s head.

Ruan Mingyu’s heart thumped rapidly. This scene was utterly bizarre. What was he trying to pull?

He tried to break free from Song Chenxi’s embrace, but Song Chenxi placed his hand on Ruan Mingyu’s waist and whispered: “Don’t move. Let me hug you for a while.”

His strength was immense. With his arms wrapped around Ruan Mingyu, Ruan Mingyu’s whole body pressed against his whenever he moved. He could feel Song Chenxi’s warm breath by his ear, and they were so close that Ruan Mingyu could even hear the other person’s heart racing. Perhaps “a deer leaping wildly” was the right expression, even though it was a bit strange, it was truly apt…

Ruan Mingyu didn’t dare move, cautiously glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

Song Chenxi must be crazy…

It seemed cultivating demonic arts did carry risks. A moment ago, he was full of murderous intent and looked like he wanted to stab someone, but now his face actually showed a gentle expression. Ruan Mingyu speculated that he must have gone astray in his cultivation and had some mental issues. Moreover, he was moody and acted erratically. If he was angered, getting stabbed twice would be considered a light punishment.

Hmm, it’s better not to provoke him.

If Song Chenxi knew what Ruan Mingyu was thinking, he would probably put on an exhibition of mood swings right then and there.

He hugged Ruan Mingyu for so long that Ruan Mingyu felt like he was suffocating. He gently reached out and tried to pry Song Chenxi’s hands off, wanting him to let go.

Saying it too directly might be bad, so Ruan Mingyu put it tactfully: “Senior Brother, I want to go down the mountain to buy some spiritual land. Could you advise me? Let’s go now!”

Song Chenxi: “No rush. I’ll go with you when I have time.” He lowered his head and sniffed Ruan Mingyu’s hair. “Where did you sleep these past two days? You smell a bit rank. Go back and change your clothes.”

Ruan Mingyu sniffed his own clothes. They still carried the scent of sandalwood that was lit in the room. They didn’t smell bad at all! What was wrong with Song Chenxi now?

After another long hug, he finally showed signs of letting go.

Song Chenxi looked down and chuckled: “Alright, don’t hug me so tightly. Let me settle the score with Shen Yanyuan first.”

Ruan Mingyu: “…”

It’s a complete role reversal!

Realizing what he was saying, Ruan Mingyu quickly chased after him and grabbed him.

“Do you really have to fight?”

Song Chenxi raised an eyebrow: “Are you worried about him? Afraid I’ll injure him?”

Ruan Mingyu genuinely wanted to pry open Song Chenxi’s head to see what he was thinking.

Ruan Mingyu didn’t want them to fight. If someone asked why they were fighting, and someone revealed the truth, it might not sound good, and it could implicate him.

He sighed, pinched himself, and said mawkishly: “Senior Brother, I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Song Chenxi was stunned. He rubbed Ruan Mingyu’s head and said softly, unaware of his own tender tone: “You can rest assured.”

Ruan Mingyu was still worried and followed him.

Song Chenxi went to confront Shen Yanyuan. He laughed wildly: “Senior Brother, I’ve missed you greatly after years apart. It’s been years since our last sparring match. Today, your Junior Brother wants to seek guidance from Senior Brother!”

Shen Yanyuan didn’t even look at him. His gaze remained fixed on Ruan Mingyu behind Song Chenxi. He said coldly: “Very well.”

Song Chenxi turned back to Ruan Mingyu and said: “Mingyu, why did you follow me? Stay far away. Swords and blades have no eyes later. If you cry, I’ll have to spend time comforting you.”

“…”

Seeing that he couldn’t change Song Chenxi’s mind, Ruan Mingyu felt speechless but still obediently ran to the hill opposite.

As the saying goes, when immortals fight, mortals suffer. Although they weren’t immortals, their fight would likely be a bloody storm.

Sure enough, as soon as Ruan Mingyu walked away, a loud noise erupted—a mountain-shaking blast that hurt the eardrums—followed by the clanging of swords, crackling and popping. It was hard to imagine the intensity of the scene.

Initially, Ruan Mingyu watched with interest, but later he realized they were incredibly persistent fighters and the noise was too loud. He simply found an earplug and blocked his ears.

Eventually, he grew tired of watching and leaned against a tree to nap. He truly fell asleep in that doze.

Ruan Mingyu slept soundly, oblivious to the world, and even had a dream. In the dream, one second Song Chenxi was smiling gently, and the next he turned sinister, tying him up: “You little liar, how dare you deceive me? I’ll break your legs so you can’t go anywhere.”

Ruan Mingyu was jolted awake by the nightmare, suddenly opening his eyes.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw Song Chenxi’s magnified face again, causing him to shrink back in fright. But it was Song Chenxi leaning over, affectionately touching his nose with his index finger, asking him: “Had enough sleep?”

Ruan Mingyu hadn’t completely pulled out of the dream, his eyes flickering. He dodged Song Chenxi’s outstretched hand and pretended to rub his eyes.

“Is the fight over?”

“Mm.”

Ruan Mingyu immediately stood up: “I’m done sleeping. Let’s go back.”

Song Chenxi didn’t move. He gently plucked a fallen leaf from Ruan Mingyu’s head and then nodded.

Ruan Mingyu was rigid all over from the sudden gesture.

“Did you freeze? Let’s go.”

Song Chenxi seemed to be in a good mood, smiling as he led Ruan Mingyu away.

Ruan Mingyu snapped back to reality. Seeing how quickly Song Chenxi’s mood changed, he asked: “Did you win?”

Song Chenxi: “I didn’t lose.”

Ruan Mingyu wondered what kind of answer that was.

Did he win or lose? Was he happy or unhappy?

Song Chenxi’s mind was hard to fathom! Ruan Mingyu’s head was a mess. He felt that Song Chenxi had misunderstood something, but he couldn’t figure out where the problem lay, holding his head until his brain felt like it was about to smoke.

Song Chenxi stopped and looked back at him: “Little Sparrow, hurry up and catch up. Are you reluctant to leave?”

Ruan Mingyu shook his head. Forget it, I won’t think about it anymore. He jogged a couple of steps to catch up: “No, I was just thinking about something.”

Song Chenxi asked: “What were you thinking about?”

Ruan Mingyu spoke without thinking, answering subconsciously: “About you.” After realizing what he had said, it was too late. Ruan Mingyu immediately shut his mouth.

Song Chenxi’s smile grew even brighter, genuinely appearing to be in a good mood.

“You should be thinking about me.”