The Eldest Brother is Handsome but Sick. - Chapter 31

The “Lesson” Under the Corridor

“Senior Brother, I heard that you are fond of me?”

Su Huai’s hand remained by his cheek. Despite his feelings being so unexpectedly exposed, Yan Jin did not bristle and flee.

He squinted his eyes, finding Su Huai’s current behavior somewhat familiar. Images flashed through his mind; he suddenly recalled that three years ago in Huaian, Su Huai had also stroked his eyes and brows in this manner.

Back then, he thought Su Huai was simply being affectionate after a long separation, and he had been worried sick when the boy fainted. Thinking about it now could that face full of agony have actually come from Yan Jin’s own obliviousness?

Has this brat been playing mind games with me since then?

Yan Jin laughed in frustration. All these years, his feelings had been led by the nose by this kid; he was truly a “wonderful” Eldest Senior Brother.

“I never said such a thing.” Yan Jin took Su Huai’s hand down.

Su Huai was not annoyed; instead, his smile grew more brilliant. He took a step forward and caught Yan Jin’s hand again. “It’s fine. I’ll just act as if I heard it.”

Too close.

Yan Jin’s breath hitched. This was the closest the two had been in recent days; in a daze, he even felt he could hear their two heartbeats merging.

A massive wave surged in his heart. He was about to speak, but the moment he looked up, he met Su Huai’s gaze.

Yan Jin: “…………”

Being handled like this… is this the retribution for my usual sharp-tongued banter?

He thought to himself: You’re so smug do you really think I’ve never seen a pig run just because I haven’t eaten pork? Having lived two lives, I shouldn’t be so ignorant of the world. I have to give him a bit of a lesson.

He looked down at Su Huai’s hand. The wound had been redressed; he had applied the medicine himself and knew it was healing well, but the white cloth was still an eyesore.

“Su Huai,” he called softly.

“Mm?” Su Huai responded in a low voice.

Yan Jin looked up and offered a faint smile. His crabapple-like eyes curved into crescent moons, sparkling as they focused entirely on the person before him. He turned his wrist, interlacing his fingers with Su Huai’s, and then forcefully pulled the boy toward him.

Outside, the thin snow hissed. Su Huai was pulled into a stumble, ducking under the corridor with him. Fearing he might crush Yan Jin, Su Huai hurried to break his grip and create space. But in that instant, Yan Jin suddenly stepped forward, their breathing inches apart.

Su Huai’s eyes widened abruptly, and his heart skipped a violent beat.

He usually kept a stoic face, living like the “cool and aloof young lord” from a storybook. Since returning from the Northwest, he would smile when facing Yan Jin; though he looked handsome when smiling, it always lacked a bit of sincerity.

It was as if he were perpetually anxious, calculating matters, conflicted and pained.

Ultimately, Su Huai was raised by Yan Jin; they shared the same trait of not liking to reveal their inner thoughts except when facing each other.

But at this moment, his wide eyes were full of bewilderment. He clearly hadn’t expected Yan Jin to respond. He looked dazed and foolish, exactly like Little White Plum having just woken up.

Yan Jin found it hilarious. And here I thought you were so capable; turns out you’re just a paper tiger.

“Senior Brother…” Su Huai’s face had turned bright red. He wanted to retreat, but Yan Jin held him in a death grip.

“What? You remember how to run now? You weren’t embarrassed when you were flirting with me earlier?” Yan Jin laughed. “You little white-eyed wolf, is this how you treat the Senior Brother who raised you? Why didn’t you have the courage to say it before?”

Su Huai began to panic. “No, I…”

“Fine. I’m a bit of a scoundrel myself, so I’m too lazy to hear your explanations. Whether it’s true or not, things are already like this. Saying anything else is useless.” Yan Jin used his strength to pin Su Huai against the wall, leaning in as if to kiss him only to stop abruptly at the last second.

He scrutinized the distance between himself and Su Huai, smiling triumphantly like a cat about to do something bad and wagging its tail in joy.

“Thought I was going to kiss you?” Yan Jin asked.

His breath brushed against Su Huai’s neck. Amidst Su Huai’s frantic fluster, Yan Jin listened to the boy’s heavy breathing and mimicking Su Huai’s earlier actions stroked his features one by one, his fingertip stopping at the center of the brow.

Then, he curved his middle finger and thumb into a loop and flicked Su Huai’s forehead

Thwack! A loud, resonant flick. Yan Jin didn’t hold back; Su Huai’s brow turned red instantly.

“Dream on,” Yan Jin hummed. “This is a lesson from your Senior Brother.”

However, Su Huai didn’t respond. He stood frozen in place, blinking.

After a moment of silence, just as Yan Jin worried he had flicked the boy into stupidity, Su Huai suddenly crouched down. He covered his face, hiding his features, but the tips of his ears were red enough to drip blood.

The pain in his brow remained, spreading through his entire body. His breathing became increasingly heavy. “Senior Brother, you are truly…”

Truly what? Just say it!

Now it was Yan Jin’s turn to be stunned.

“…” For the first time, he realized: Crap. I played too far.

Just then, a head poked out from a nearby door. Wen Wu said, “You two, could you please not flirt in front of my eyes?”

If he hadn’t spoken, it might have been fine, but his words were like a wake-up call to Yan Jin.

A scream erupted from the quiet side courtyard of the Marquis Estate a cry loud enough to lift the roof and linger for three days.

Heavens, what was I just doing? I was flirting with Su Huai! How did I dare! Aaaaaaaah!

He had repeatedly warned himself to be cautious and solemn, never too casual!

Yan Jin clutched his head and fled like the wind.

Wen Wu raised an eyebrow and turned to Su Huai, who had already stood up. “Aren’t you leaving, Doctor Su?”

Su Huai was not as panicked as Yan Jin. He looked perfectly composed; aside from his red face, no issues could be seen. He bowed to Wen Wu: “Farewell.” Then, he walked away with his usual calm.

Wen Wu watched him walk away with the same arm and leg forward, marveling: “How can someone walk with such a strange gait and still look poised and handsome?”

With that, he leaned against the door for a moment, thinking of a certain someone he hadn’t seen for a long time. He shook his head helplessly. “Never mind. How could he come to see me?”

He hummed a folk lullaby and entered his room with his hands behind his back. “Once the dust settles, I must bring Ao Bozhou here and show off in front of them.”

The Substitute Scholars

Some people choose to forcibly forget things when faced with extreme embarrassment people like Yan Jin.

At the very least, by the time the midday meal was served, he and Su Huai were sitting together as if nothing had happened. He could even laugh and talk with Su Huai; aside from Yan Jin bristling twice when Wen Wu teased him, everything was peaceful.

After the meal, Lin San and Lin Si were supposed to go to the Chongwen Academy to listen to lectures, as per Wen Wu’s usual arrangement.

The Chongwen Academy was a place specifically for the children of the Imperial Family and nobility to study. In Wen Wu’s words, it was filled with “stuffy old pedants.”

Yan Jin and Su Huai were originally going to leave with them and then go their separate ways.

But as the four were walking, Lin San and Lin Si suddenly stopped.

“Doctor Yan, Doctor Su, could you do us a favor?” Lin San asked. “Today is Master Liu’s lecture. He always spends the first part of the class cursing the Marquis before he starts teaching. We don’t want to hear it; we want to go with Miss Wen to help find the antidote.”

Yan Jin and Su Huai exchanged a look. “Does your Marquis know about this?”

Lin San said, “We can’t tell the Marquis; he’d be angry. So…”

Yan Jin was confused. “So?”

Lin Si picked up the thread: “We trouble you two to attend the lecture in our stead.”

Lin San: “Exactly.”

Lin Si: “We trouble you.”

Yan Jin: “But we—”

Lin San pressed his palms together in a plea, while Lin Si said expressionlessly, “We trouble you.”

Yan Jin was silent for a moment. Meeting Lin San’s “puppy dog eyes,” he swallowed the words he intended to say. He rubbed his temples helplessly. “Just this once.”

As soon as he spoke, several books were thrust into his hands, and the two children vanished. They had fled incredibly fast.

Yan Jin said tentatively, “Why do I feel like we’ve been scammed?”

Ultimately, he and Su Huai ended up sitting in the classroom. Most of the students were teenagers; to avoid being noticed, they sat in the very back row.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Just as Lin San said, Master Liu habitually cursed Wen Wu for a while before picking up his book. He didn’t even check for the two boys, proving he truly loathed anyone from the Marquis Estate.

Yan Jin propped up his chin, feeling drowsy. To avoid falling asleep and shaming the Marquis Estate, he had to pick a spot and daze off.

The Memory of the Snow

In a daze, it felt like he had returned to many years ago.

At that time, his mother had been dead for less than half a year, and his father was perpetually depressed. He sat properly in the study as usual, waiting for the tutor to come and teach him.

He had spent most of his previous life in a hospital and hadn’t had much schooling, so he cherished his reading time. But for some reason that day, looking at the four-walled Yan Estate made his heart feel exceptionally stifled.

He committed the most rebellious act of his life: he drugged his tutor’s food and skipped class.

Ever since he had transmigrated here, he was always followed by a crowd of people whenever he went out. Only on that day was he free, free to go wherever he wanted and see whatever he wished.

To him, everything outside was beautiful.

It was on that day that he saw a person.

Strictly speaking, the encounter at the Su Family Clinic was not the first time he met Su Huai. Their true first meeting was in Yangzhou.

At that time, Su Huai’s grandfather was still alive. Su Huai and the old man were passing through Yangzhou; seeing that there were suffering people even in such a prosperous place, they chose a busy area to set up a free clinic.

Amidst the ice and snow, a little “dumpling” of a boy sat with a stoic face, holding the frozen hand of an old man and saying in a milky voice: “You must not touch cold water anymore.”

After speaking, he seemed to sense something and looked toward Yan Jin’s direction from a distance. However, the surging crowd had already hidden Yan Jin completely.

But Yan Jin saw him. In a place where no one knew, he had smiled brightly and waved to Su Huai.

His heart suddenly felt clear; he had found the task he would spend his life completing. Only then did he decide to travel north to study medicine.

And then came that meeting at the Su Family Clinic.

Yan Jin had actually been very nervous. He wondered if that little dumpling had continued to be a doctor, what he had grown up to look like, and if he was living a comfortable life.

However, all his worries vanished the moment he saw Su Huai. He sat atop the courtyard wall, peeking from behind the crabapple tree; that tiny “snowball” had grown up beautifully—exactly the way Yan Jin had hoped for all those years.

At this thought, he remembered the current Su Huai.

Oh, he’s still grown a bit crooked. And the culprit is me, Yan Jin thought gloomily.

Suddenly, a crumpled paper ball landed gently on the table and rolled to his hand.

Yan Jin blinked. He didn’t even need to think to know who threw it.

He opened it. On the paper was a drawing of a dazing little person, and beneath it was a sentence:

“If Senior Brother doesn’t want to listen to the lecture, why not look back at me?”