After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 38

 Chapter 38: Unhappy When Told You Don’t Have a Wife…

The mess in Cangzhou was left for the Senior and Junior Brothers and Sisters to clean up.

Ruan Mingyu’s immediate task was to take care of Song Chenxi.

Ruan Mingyu had never used this type of teleportation array before. He said to Song Chenxi: “Can you still use your spiritual power? If not, teach me. I’ll do it.”

He didn’t care about the details; he just wanted to leave immediately.

Song Chenxi took his hand, held it in his palm, and together they drew the array.

A halo of light appeared, and the next moment, they materialized in a small, remote border town a thousand miles away.

Ruan Mingyu was used to places with green mountains and clear water. Coming suddenly to a place where yellow sand filled the sky took some getting used to. However, this place had few people, so the chance of Song Chenxi being discovered was much lower, which made him feel slightly relieved.

“Mingyu, praise me.” As soon as they teleported, Song Chenxi said smilingly to Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu looked at Song Chenxi in shock, checking him up and down by pressing on his shoulders.

“Are you still Song Chenxi?”

Song Chenxi pointed to himself: “No, I’m Little Xi.”

Ruan Mingyu froze on the spot. It’s over, Song Chenxi has become an idiot!

He asked Song Chenxi: “What does 1 + 1 equal?”

Song Chenxi answered without hesitation: “Ruan Mingyu.”

“One plus one equals me. Calculate it again,” Ruan Mingyu persisted, unwilling to accept the fact that Song Chenxi had become an idiot.

“Little Xi likes Ruan Mingyu the most.”

“…”

No wonder they say never become a Demonic Cultivator unless absolutely necessary. Song Chenxi has become mentally deficient from cultivation!

Currently, one of them had just rushed through fire, his face covered in sooty ash, and the other was covered in blood, his clothes ragged.

A kind passerby glanced at them and threw a copper coin on the ground.

“Why are you throwing things? We are not beggars!” Despite saying this, Ruan Mingyu picked up the copper coin and put it in his pocket after the person left.

Ruan Mingyu used a cleansing spell to clean them up a bit.

The moment he wasn’t paying attention, Song Chenxi disappeared.

Ruan Mingyu frantically searched for him. Fortunately, he returned on his own, holding a potted flower: “For you.”

Ruan Mingyu: “My goodness, where did you get that from?”

A moment later, the stall owner whose flower was missing chased after him and pointed at Song Chenxi: “Thief! Give me back my flower!”

Ruan Mingyu forced a smile, pointing to Song Chenxi’s head: “I’m sorry, he has a problem here.” He gave the stall owner the copper coin to buy the flower.

Ruan Mingyu had no choice but to hold his hand, not daring to let go for a moment, afraid he would run off.

The priority now was to find a place to stay.

This was a small border town, with a total population smaller than one of their small villages back home.

Anyone could tell that Song Chenxi was not normal. Ruan Mingyu bought a conical bamboo hat and asked him to wear it.

Song Chenxi refused outright. Ruan Mingyu coaxed and tricked him: “Come on, Big Brother, just wear it. I’ll give you candy later.”

After much persuasion, Song Chenxi finally agreed to wear it.

Then, Ruan Mingyu took him to look for a house. Finally, he bought a house on the edge of the small town, in the most secluded location. He haggled the price slightly and bought it. Normally, he would have demanded a huge discount, but he was in a hurry now.

The house here was surprisingly well-built, with carpets on the floor and all the necessary furniture. The price was also reasonable. Although the seller seemed hesitant, there was definitely something supernatural going on, but sorry, they are cultivators, and they specialize in catching ghosts.

His wallet was immediately reduced by a large amount, and Ruan Mingyu felt a pang of heartache.

The seller had just left when Song Chenxi was about to follow him. Ruan Mingyu quickly stopped him: “What do you want to do?”

“Money…” Song Chenxi still struggled to speak clearly, “Go get it back for you.”

Ruan Mingyu quickly said: “We don’t do illegal things.”

“Must steal… Little Sparrow loves money.”

“…”

Ruan Mingyu was utterly exasperated and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Song Chenxi whispered in his ear: “I’ll go kill him.”

Ruan Mingyu’s eyes widened: “Don’t kill people indiscriminately! He didn’t provoke you. Stay put and don’t cause trouble for me.”

“What does the life and death of others have to do with me?” He suddenly became serious again.

“You can’t do that,” Ruan Mingyu thought for a moment and taught him, “Senior Brother, can you be more obedient?”

“Will you be angry with me?”

“Of course I will. If you dare to kill people casually, I will never speak to you again.”

Song Chenxi had been an idiot a moment ago, and now he had turned into a madman. Ruan Mingyu was physically and mentally exhausted.

…

With their own house, Ruan Mingyu had Song Chenxi sit down quietly while he cleaned the house himself.

Song Chenxi, who was just acting foolishly, suddenly changed completely. He sat solemnly on a chair, tossing the bamboo hat aside, and stared intently at Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu was cleaning the house. When he turned around, he saw Song Chenxi gazing at him fixedly. The look was chilling, as if he wanted to devour him.

Ruan Mingyu stepped back two paces: “Have you returned to normal?”

Song Chenxi was only normal for a second before his face suddenly showed a slightly wronged expression.

“Candy.”

It was just something Ruan Mingyu used to coax him, but he actually remembered.

Ruan Mingyu rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a handful of wrapped candies for him.

Song Chenxi held them in his hand but didn’t eat them. Ruan Mingyu thought he was too confused to know how to eat candy, so he peeled the wrapper and fed it to his mouth.

Only then did he obediently open his mouth and bite the candy.

Ruan Mingyu peeled one for himself and popped it into his mouth.

Song Chenxi licked his lips, then suddenly took a step forward, leaned down, and kissed Ruan Mingyu’s lips. He didn’t let him go, driving straight in and sweeping across his mouth.

The subtle sweetness in Ruan Mingyu’s mouth tasted different now.

Ruan Mingyu placed his hands on his chest and pushed him away.

“Are you sick? I gave you so much, and you still steal the one in my mouth.”

Song Chenxi smiled faintly, and Ruan Mingyu was momentarily stunned.

“Very sweet.”

Ruan Mingyu felt his face burning.

He touched his ear, puffed out his cheeks, and said earnestly: “If you touch me inappropriately again, I won’t give you a single piece of candy.”

Song Chenxi was rather proud: “I’ll just steal it myself.”

He continued: “Mingyu, I want more.”

“No more.”

“Stingy.”

“…”

…

No matter where Ruan Mingyu went, he couldn’t escape the fate of refining pills. Looking at Song Chenxi’s condition, he probably wouldn’t recover for three to five years without intensive care. He hoped he could refine some medicine to speed up Song Chenxi’s recovery.

The two settled down on the edge of the small town, and Ruan Mingyu quite liked the peaceful life.

He rarely went elsewhere, but Song Chenxi was now like a child. After staying indoors for a long time, he started clamoring to go out and play. Ruan Mingyu couldn’t refuse him and told him he would take him out if he behaved.

He behaved for several days, and Ruan Mingyu finally agreed to take him out. Seeing the passersby on the street, excitement flashed in Song Chenxi’s eyes. Ruan Mingyu pulled him, realizing he was staring motionlessly at people.

“Those are people, not prey,” Ruan Mingyu whispered in Song Chenxi’s ear, “If your hands are itching, go back and play with sand.”

“Can I play with you?” Song Chenxi asked seriously.

Ruan Mingyu almost burst into laughter from anger. He widened his eyes: “Never say that to anyone else.”

“I’ll only say it to you.”

“You can’t even say it to me.”

“Why not?”

Ruan Mingyu was at a complete loss: “Just don’t say it.”

What kind of audacious talk is that? Ruan Mingyu decided he wouldn’t let him out anymore.

Since they moved in, their life had been leisurely. Originally, there were only two or three households in this area, but a few more families gradually moved in after Ruan Mingyu arrived.

A new neighbor moved in next door. Their eldest daughter, Ayihan, was a bright and kind girl. Even the rowdy local kids respectfully greeted her as “Sister.”

As neighbors, they were naturally curious. Ruan Mingyu told them that Song Chenxi was his elder brother.

Well, a Senior Brother is an older brother, isn’t he?

Ayihan sympathized with Ruan Mingyu, who was raising his simple-minded brother alone. She occasionally brought him some nang (flatbread).

Her family had earned enough from selling nang to buy a house, moving from a remote village to the city. Although they were on the city’s edge and a distance from the center, they were very hardworking, waking up early every day to transport a large basket of nang to sell.

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t help but admire them. With such perseverance, they would succeed in anything. He sincerely hoped their family could live a better life.

Song Chenxi, however, occasionally caused trouble. For instance, sneaking into other people’s homes to catch a hen to nourish Ruan Mingyu. Or sometimes, he would suddenly go mad, grab a knife, and try to attack someone. Ruan Mingyu had no choice but to tie him to his side and make him assist with the alchemy.

When Ruan Mingyu was refining pills, he devised a method: he took a rope and tied one end around Song Chenxi’s waist and the other around his own. This ensured Song Chenxi had some freedom to move but also restricted his movements.

This method worked at first, but later, Song Chenxi got clever. Whenever Ruan Mingyu was deeply engrossed in alchemy, Song Chenxi would pull him into his arms, watching him with that strange, unreadable look.

Sometimes, Ruan Mingyu couldn’t tell if he was lucid or confused. Every time, Song Chenxi would hold him and say: “You keep refining the pills. I won’t disturb you.”

Isn’t this disturbing me?

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t stand it anymore and tied the rope to a pillar instead. This restricted Song Chenxi’s movement to the area between the alchemy room door and the main house door.

Since Song Chenxi couldn’t enter the alchemy room, he sat by the main door.

Passersby often curiously asked him why he sat at the door, and he would state formally:

“Waiting for Mingyu.”

Then someone would ask: “Who is Mingyu?”

Song Chenxi would smile initially, but as soon as Ruan Mingyu’s name was mentioned, his face would turn cold, and he’d curse: “None of your business.”

Now, everyone around knew he was mad.

The neighborhood kids often saw him sitting at the door and made up a rhyme to sing to him.

“A madman came from the east, sitting all day by the door watching the sand, asking children for candy, and threatening to stab them if they refused.”

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t help but laugh inappropriately the first time he heard the children’s rhyme.

Initially, Ruan Mingyu worried that the children would bully Song Chenxi. He told Song Chenxi that if anyone bullied him, he should tell Ruan Mingyu, and Ruan Mingyu would defend him.

Later, he saw Song Chenxi playing a game with the kids. When he lost, he would flick the opponent’s forehead, and one strike from him would send a bunch of kids bawling.

Ruan Mingyu never said those words again. Instead, he reminded Song Chenxi to be gentle and not make the kids cry, or their parents would come looking for trouble.

Indeed, even if Song Chenxi was foolish now, he wasn’t someone to be bullied.

Eventually, the children would respectfully greet Song Chenxi as “Big Brother” whenever they saw him. Then, when they saw Ruan Mingyu, they would call him “Second Brother.”

…

About half a year passed.

Ayihan was getting married.

Weddings here lasted a long time—three days and three nights was not an exaggeration.

Ayihan invited Ruan Mingyu to attend. As the crowd would be large, Ruan Mingyu worried Song Chenxi might go mad, so he didn’t take him. However, the sounds of singing and dancing from the neighbors still reached their ears.

Song Chenxi sat by the door, looking wistful. Ayihan’s most mischievous little brother asked him: “Why aren’t you going?”

Song Chenxi said earnestly: “Mingyu will be angry.”

The child said: “He’s not your wife, why are you so afraid of him?”

Song Chenxi: “He is.”

The child: “He’s your brother, isn’t he? Ah, I can’t talk sense into an idiot like you.”

Song Chenxi gave him a cold look. The child shivered and ran away.

He was the most unruly child in the area. As he ran, he muttered:

“Uh oh, the madman is going to hit someone! He’s unhappy because I said he doesn’t have a wife!”

Although Song Chenxi was mad, he was generally obedient, so Ruan Mingyu wasn’t completely overwhelmed. He was busy refining pills all day and sometimes neglected Song Chenxi.

Song Chenxi was unusually quiet today. Ruan Mingyu felt a little guilty and asked him proactively: “Do you want to join the fun next door?”

Song Chenxi nodded, then said incoherently: “We can get married later too, just like them.”

Ruan Mingyu didn’t quite catch what he said. Considering Song Chenxi had the mind of a small child now, being cooped up in the room all day wasn’t good. He thought for a moment and said: “How about this, wait a little longer. We’ll go to their house for dinner tonight.”

In the evening, Ruan Mingyu kept his word and brought Song Chenxi over.

Ayihan’s family was very warm and hospitable, quickly inviting Song Chenxi and Ruan Mingyu to their seats.

Ruan Mingyu brought some of his refined pills as a wedding gift.

Ayihan: “You shouldn’t have brought anything. Just come and sit down.”

Both brothers were handsome and a bit mysterious, staying home all day.

People at the table curiously asked Ruan Mingyu if he had a wife.

Ruan Mingyu shook his head, but Song Chenxi nodded.

Everyone laughed heartily, assuming Song Chenxi was just being foolish again.

After a little wine and some roasted lamb, everyone started bragging and joking, offering to introduce a wife to Ruan Mingyu.

Before Ruan Mingyu could refuse, Song Chenxi rejected them for him.

“He won’t marry a wife.”

The laughter grew even louder.

The people here loved to sing and dance. In the evening, everyone started singing, drinking, and dancing, without stopping all night.

The young bride and groom danced holding each other. After the dance, the bride tossed her bouquet into the air. Song Chenxi rushed forward and snatched the flowers out of the crowd.

Ruan Mingyu told him to return it: “What are you doing with that?”

Song Chenxi stuffed it into his hand: “For you.”

“Why are you giving me this?” Ruan Mingyu was confused.

Song Chenxi said very seriously: “They say this is how people stay together forever.”

Saying this, Song Chenxi leaned in, lightly licking his lips. Fortunately, everyone around was immersed in the merriment and didn’t notice the clandestine action in the corner.

Ruan Mingyu pushed him away, whispering: “You can’t do this outside.”

“Oh, then we’ll do it at home.”

“…”