The Paranoid Male Lead’s "White Moonlight" Has Reborn - Chapter 4

Jiang Chaoyun’s appetite had been poor lately. He ate only a small amount before feeling full and setting down his chopsticks.

Bixin tried to persuade him to eat more, but Jiang Chaoyun only took a forced sip of the black chicken and ginseng soup before refusing to drink another drop.

Bixin was at her wit’s end, muttering, “Young Master, this won’t do. You’re losing all your strength; there’s nothing left of you but skin and bone.”

Jiang Chaoyun touched his own wrist—it was indeed far too slender. After a moment of thought, he managed to rally himself and forced down another half-bowl of rice.

Just as they finished the meal and Bixin was having the table cleared, they suddenly heard the servant boy, Mao’er, shouting excitedly from outside: “Sister Bixin, Sister Bixin, come out quickly!”

Accompanied by his joyful shouts, a boisterous commotion from outside drifted into the room.

Bixin grew irritated and rushed out, saying, “Mao’er, what are you yelling for? Don’t you know the Young Master needs to rest?”

Mao’er immediately apologized, then pointed toward the gate and whispered, “It’s a tiger! The guards have brought a tiger to our courtyard!”

Bixin was stunned. “What tiger?”

Before Mao’er could answer, a crowd of people gathered noisily outside the gate. Old Man Liu shouted in his booming voice, “Miss Bixin, we’ve come to deliver a tiger to Young Master Chaoyun.”

He didn’t dare enter the courtyard, so he simply stood at the entrance and called out.

However, a young man ran out from behind him—it was Jiang Shujin from the second branch of the family. He had just celebrated his capping ceremony last year and was three years older than Jiang Chaoyun. He and Jiang Chaoyun were not particularly close.

As soon as he entered, he said loudly, “Chaoyun, you stay indoors all day; you have no use for this pelt. Give it to me. I have social engagements to attend and could use such a fine item.”

Jiang Chaoyun was drawn out by the noise and was startled by the sight. “What pelt?”

Jiang Shujin pointed outside. “There, a tiger! The guards already sent a white fox to your courtyard earlier; just let me have this tiger, alright? I’ll pay you double for it.”

Jiang Chaoyun’s gaze fell toward the gate, where he saw the silhouette of Han Jiangmu. The man stood silently outside the crowd, appearing to look at him, yet also appearing not to.

Jiang Chaoyun subconsciously swallowed and said, “Where is the tiger? I haven’t even seen it.”

Hearing this, Bixin hurried over and allowed the guards to enter.

Only then did the guards carry the tiger in.

Jiang Chaoyun’s first thought was that it was massive. Upon closer inspection, he saw an arrow shaft protruding from the tiger’s eye, while the fur remained completely unscathed.

Beside him, Old Man Liu gave a cupped-hand salute and said to Jiang Chaoyun, “Young Master, this is the tiger Guard Han hunted for you. Every part of this beast is a treasure—the bones, the blood, and the tiger penis are all supreme tonics for the body. The meat is too tough to be tasty, but this pelt can be made into a garment for you. Wearing it out would be truly majestic.”

Hearing that Han Jiangmu had hunted this for him again, Jiang Chaoyun subconsciously glanced at him. To his surprise, Han Jiangmu was also looking at him, and their gazes met directly.

Jiang Chaoyun instinctively wanted to look away, but then felt that doing so would make him seem too weak and unmanly, so he forced himself to look Han Jiangmu in the eye.

However, he couldn’t hold it for more than a few seconds before his face flushed and he retreated in defeat. He quickly averted his eyes, his breathing becoming slightly uneven. “If Guard Han hunted this, why hasn’t he said a word? Does he harbor some grievance against me in his heart?”

These words were incredibly unreasonable. His arrogant image would surely make the man dislike him.

Hurry up and hate me; I am truly not the kind of person worthy of your affection.

Old Man Liu was taken aback and hurried to speak up for Han Jiangmu: “Don’t blame him, Young Master. Guard Han simply isn’t fond of talking.”

Jiang Chaoyun felt a spark of joy in his heart and immediately said, “He was perfectly capable of speaking before; why is he silent now? If he didn’t want to send it to me, he shouldn’t have forced himself. It’s not as if I’m lacking a tiger pelt to wear.”

Jiang Shujin looked delighted. “Chaoyun, you don’t want it? That’s perfect then—give it to me. I’ll pay these men double.”

Jiang Chaoyun snapped, “I didn’t say I didn’t want it.”

Jiang Shujin’s smile vanished. “Giving this pelt to you is like casting pearls before swine. If you use it, who will see it? Only the family. If you give it to me, at least I can let others feast their eyes on it.”

Jiang Chaoyun usually never argued with Jiang Shujin; normally, if he wanted something, Chaoyun would just give it to him. But now, this was another great opportunity.

In his previous life, Han Jiangmu hadn’t seen much of him, which was likely why he developed those unnecessary fantasies. In this life, he wanted to show Han Jiangmu that he was nothing more than an arrogant, shallow, and unreasonable person.

At this thought, Jiang Chaoyun’s courage surged once more. Furthermore, with so many people present, he was no longer afraid of Han Jiangmu. He puffed out his thin chest and shouted at Jiang Shujin, “What do you think you’re doing? Aren’t you ashamed at your age, fighting with your younger brother for things? You even want to snatch things that have already entered my courtyard!”

Jiang Shujin: “…”

He looked at Jiang Chaoyun with some surprise. This was the first time he had heard his cousin speak to him so loudly. He couldn’t help but feel a bit sheepish, saying, “I’m not snatching it; am I not discussing it with you?”

Jiang Chaoyun raised his refined chin and said, “What is mine is mine. There is no discussion.”

At these words, Jiang Shujin grew displeased. “Chaoyun, you weren’t like this before. Why have you become so overbearing now!”

Before? Jiang Chaoyun thought for a moment; he could hardly remember what he used to be like.

Because of his illness and because he always listened to Madam Jiang Lin, he usually stayed quietly in his room. All he could see was the small patch of the world outside his window.

At his age, how could he be truly indifferent to death? Even having died once, he still feared it. He was attached to this world, to the Jiang Manor, to his parents, and to all the beauty in life.

In his previous life, he had merely been clinging to life; living was a blessing, so how could he have dared to act willfully?

Jiang Chaoyun felt a touch of novelty—not just because he was playing the role of an unreasonable brat in front of Han Jiangmu, but because of that small spark of vitality that actually belonged to a boy his age.

An inexplicable impulse surged in his heart, making his next words flow even more smoothly: “How am I being overbearing? You’re the one being overbearing! If I use this pelt, it’s ‘pearls before swine’? Hmph, listen to yourself—do you think I’m not worthy of this pelt? Let me tell you, it’s the pelt that isn’t worthy of me! Not only do I want it, I’m going to have it made into a tiger-skin hat and tiger-skin boots!”

He paused, pulling his hands out from beneath his cloak. Between his cream-white, tender hands, he held a small, exquisite gold-inlaid hand-warmer. He huffed, “My hand-warmer is missing a cover; I’m going to make a little sleeve for it too!”

As he spoke, he flashed a triumphant smile at Jiang Shujin. Perhaps because his emotions were running high, his lips were a shade redder, making his teeth seem even whiter. His eyes were sparkling with light. He smiled brilliantly, revealing a pair of tiny, sharp canine teeth. An arresting aura of vivid life burst forth from him.

Previously, because of his weak health, Jiang Chaoyun was always quiet—like a New Year’s painting: beautiful, but lacking a bit of living spirit. Now that he was laughing and making a scene, his entire being seemed transformed, radiating a piercing vitality.

How could anyone still tell he was a sickly person?

Jiang Shujin had never seen this side of Jiang Chaoyun and was momentarily dazed. But he quickly recovered and snapped angrily, “What a waste of God’s gifts! Such a fine tiger pelt, and you’re using it for a hat and boots?”

Jiang Chaoyun said, “If there’s any scrap left over, I’ll use it to make leg-warmers for the table in my room.”

Jiang Shujin’s face turned red with anger. “Unreasonable! Utterly unreasonable! Fine, I am a gentleman; I won’t argue with you!”

Without waiting for Jiang Chaoyun to say anything else, Jiang Shujin flicked his wide sleeves and stormed off.

Jiang Chaoyun let out a breath, feeling his spirits lift significantly.

Beside him, Bixin said hesitantly, “Then, Young Master, are we keeping this tiger?”

Remembering that Han Jiangmu was still there, Jiang Chaoyun took a peek at him. Seeing that Han Jiangmu had been staring at him the whole time, his nerves couldn’t help but tighten. He coughed lightly, averted his gaze, and said, “Of course we’re keeping it. The hand-warmer is too hot; a cover to insulate the heat would make it much more comfortable.”

Old Man Liu said tactfully, “Using such a fine pelt for a hand-warmer cover is a bit of a pity.”

Jiang Chaoyun said, “Can’t I still have the tiger-skin hat and boots made?”

Old Man Liu: “…”

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Jiang Chaoyun, he looked toward Han Jiangmu.

Finally, Han Jiangmu spoke. The corners of his mouth curled up as he said, “The Young Master may do whatever he wishes.”

There was an inexplicable sense of pleasure in his tone at that moment. “A tiger-skin hat… would suit the Young Master very well.”

Jiang Chaoyun noticed the emotion in his voice and was surprised. He isn’t angry at all?

Was Han Jiangmu really such a good-tempered person?

Jiang Chaoyun shot him a look and said, “So you can speak. I thought you had lost your voice.”

The people around them were a bit confused by the scene. The tone in which Young Master Chaoyun and Guard Han spoke to each other was… far too familiar.

It wasn’t their fault for thinking so. Jiang Chaoyun’s voice was very youthful; when he grew slightly weaker or less forceful, it took on a soft, “glutinous” quality. Instinctively, he didn’t dare to be too cruel to Han Jiangmu. He was constantly trying to balance between “making him hate me” and “not offending him so much that he executes my family later.” The result was this lack of actual bite.

He didn’t realize that to outsiders, his weak, huffy voice sounded exactly like he was acting spoiled.

Han Jiangmu’s gaze was dark, as if it had swallowed all the surrounding light, turning into a deep, profound black. “Does the Young Master like listening to me speak?”

Jiang Chaoyun’s eyebrows shot up. He gave a huff and said, “Who likes listening to you? I don’t want to hear it. The tiger stays here; you can leave.”

The moment he issued the order to leave, he felt guilty. The man had worked hard to hunt such a massive tiger for him, and instead of thanking him, he was unceremoniously kicking him out—it really was far, far too unreasonable!!

Jiang Chaoyun felt a bit ashamed, and his voice grew even weaker. “Why aren’t you moving? Leave quickly!”

Old Man Liu said hesitantly, “Reporting to the Young Master, Guard Han’s skinning technique is the best among us. He was the one who skinned that white fox from before, without a single scratch on it. So, this tiger…”

Jiang Chaoyun shuddered and looked at Han Jiangmu. “You even know how to skin animals?”

Han Jiangmu gazed into his eyes, the corners of his mouth turning up. “Yes, Young Master. In the art of skinning, I have been tempered through a thousand trials.”

Jiang Chaoyun’s voice grew even weaker as he gave a very awkward laugh. “Is that so?”

Skinning… Han Jiangmu, is there anything you can’t do?