Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Xie Zhigui's mouth twitched with irritation: "Are you a dog? Biting at anyone you see, regardless of the circumstances!"

"Stop hitting, it hurts."

Ming Feiyu's grin was infuriatingly smug: "I'll be sure to change next time."

“……”

He didn't believe for a second that Ming Feiyu would change. Next time it would be the same: employing a mix of coercion and seduction, tangling with him for what felt like an eternity, wearing him down until he capitulated.

It was like a butterfly that wandered into a spider's web, struggling fiercely only to find the threads becoming tighter with every movement, draining all its strength, until the lurking spider effortlessly enjoys a hearty meal without expending any effort.

Xie Zhigui couldn't help but wish he could chop him to pieces with his glare! Ming Feiyu, on the other hand, simply shrugged indifferently, figuring that being angry was better than crying, and got up to fetch breakfast to feed him.

"You should have congee with medicinal herbs today, especially after being drenched in the rain for so long; it'll help expel the chill."

"I refuse to drink it!"

Xie Zhigui resembled a provoked hedgehog, his metaphorical spines raised defensively, ready to go down fighting if provoked.

With a resigned air, Ming Feiyu forcibly grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of his self-declared safe zone.

"Eat first. Ruining your health over anger isn't worth it."

"Don't touch me!" Xie Zhigui was now so sensitive that even the slightest touch was unbearable, and he fiercely shook off his hand.

"Get lost!"

The bowl of scalding porridge was accidentally knocked over, clattering as it spilled all over Ming Feiyu, his exposed skin quickly blistering in the air.

The sudden incident froze the atmosphere between them instantly.

Xie Zhigui hadn't expected the hot porridge to splash, nor had he anticipated Ming Feiyu's failure to dodge with his usual agility. Seeing the reddened burn on his hand, covered from fingertips to forearm with a dense array of blisters, Xie Zhigui's bristles softened in an instant.

He whispered, "I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional."

Fearing both his pain and his anger, Xie Zhigui ignored his own hurt and hastily got up from the bedcovers: "I'll get a wet towel to soothe the burn."

"Don't move."

Ming Feiyu, suppressing a cry of pain, yanked the newly risen Xie Zhigui back down and pushed him to the far end of the bed.

"I'll handle it. You sit there, don't get burned," Ming Feiyu said, his voice deceptively calm.

Xie Zhigui paused, taken aback as he watched Ming Feiyu walk out of the room, wondering, wasn't he angry?

But then, as his gaze drifted downward, he saw in the sway of the long sleeves Ming Feiyu's fists clenched tightly, the veins turning a dark blue-black.

Right, he understood now.

He lowered his eyes to the disheveled bed, the porridge still steaming, the white vapor conveniently obscuring his eyes, concealing whatever thoughts might be passing through his mind.

When Ming Feiyu returned with cleaning tools, he found Xie Zhigui wasn't on the bed. A quick survey of the room revealed no sign of him.

Did he run away secretly because he thought he’d be punished for angering him?

Ming Feiyu’s expression darkened in an instant, fury flaring up and burning painfully in his chest. He threw the cleaning tools to the ground with a snort, flicked his sleeves, and turned to storm out the door.

"Ming Feiyu."

He had just crossed the threshold in his rage when a voice from behind caused him to come to an abrupt halt.

Surprised, he turned to look back. Xie Zhigui was emerging from the inner room, holding medicine and bandages in his hands.

He asked, "Where are you going?"

"I… was looking for you."

Although he swiftly regained his composure, Xie Zhigui still caught a whiff of the thick anger lingering in the air.

And suddenly, he understood.

He glanced at Ming Feiyu again and then moved to the table, arranging the items methodically. "I was just fetching the medicine from the other room. I wasn't running away."

What? What did he say?

He didn't want to leave; he wanted to stay.

Ming Feiyu silently repeated these words in his mind, the roaring flames of his anger quelled by a few soft-spoken words, even sprouting a tiny, tender shoot of something akin to joy.

"What are you dazing out for? Come here and apply the medicine."

"Alright."

Ming Feiyu walked over, his mood significantly lightened, his steps now sprightly.

Xie Zhigui felt quite guilty, especially seeing Ming Feiyu’s injuries up close.

But as he carefully applied the medicine to the wounded hand, Ming Feiyu’s gaze remained fixed on him, so intense that it made Xie Zhigui’s scalp tingle and his face burn as if he had a fever.

Unable to continue, Xie Zhigui glared back at him: "Can you stop staring, please?"

Ming Feiyu: "I enjoy watching."

“……”

Feeling at fault, Xie Zhigui had no retort. He could only pretend not to notice and continued tending to the wound.

But Ming Feiyu's gaze descended like flurries of snowflakes, unavoidable.

Xie Zhigui was genuinely overwhelmed.

——Haven’t you seen enough of my face?! Or did the scalding make you lose your mind?!

In his agitation, Xie Zhigui, while applying medicine to the palm, accidentally knocked the most injured part of the back of the hand against the corner of the table.

Crash!

The medicine bottle on the table toppled and shattered on the floor, another crisp sound of breaking glass.

After a second of stunned silence, Xie Zhigui panicked, disregarding the medicine on the floor. He leaned down to examine the wound, cautious not to touch the freshly applied medicine, uncertain if the impact had caused swelling.

"I'm sorry, I truly didn't mean to do that."

Twice in one day, this hand had suffered because of him.

Xie Zhigui, feeling guilty, didn’t dare to look at the owner of the hand, fearing that Ming Feiyu would unleash his anger on him.

“Does it hurt?”

Ming Feiyu intended to say it didn’t hurt at all, but seeing Xie Zhigui’s frantic concern, he changed his tack, wanting to tease him by pretending to be in agony.

“It hurts, it hurts a lot.”

“It feels like the bone is shattered.”

“What, what should we do?”

“Yes, indeed, what do you suppose we should do about it?”

At these words, Xie Zhigui became even more flustered, completely missing the sly glint of amusement in Ming Feiyu's eyes.

"Wait here, I'll go see if there's any medicine for fractures." Xie Zhigui got up to head towards the inner room.

"No need."

Ming Feiyu caught the hem of his clothes and pulled him back down, sitting him. Then, pointing unabashedly to his own cheek, he declared, "A kiss right here will make the pain go away."

“……”

Xie Zhigui’s face became a mask of indifference for a brief second.

He snapped back to reality, remembering that Ming Feiyu was an ageless, deathless creature. Even the gravest wounds would heal on their own; it was just a matter of time.

To him, such a wound was as trivial as a raindrop's touch, neither painful nor itchy.

So, this guy was playing him for his own amusement again!

Xie Zhigui, at a loss for words and facing Ming Feiyu's expectant gaze, decisively withdrew his hand, his words cold as he spat out, "Get lost."

Had it not been for the recent scald, a slap would have been inevitable.

Ming Feiyu clung on: "But it hurts."

“……”

Xie Zhigui turned away, unwilling to entertain him, and snorted, "Die of pain for all I care, you can't even feign illness convincingly!"

Seeing his pretense had failed, Ming Feiyu, not the least bit embarrassed, pulled the sulking Xie Zhigui's body toward him and stole a quick kiss on his cheek when he was off guard.

Almost instantly, Xie Zhigui's body stiffened, his hair stood on end, and blood rushed to his ears while his eyes, cheeks, and ears felt as if they had been scalded by hot oil.

He was about to erupt in anger, but at the sight of Ming Feiyu’s eyes crinkling with laughter, his words got stuck in his throat.

"The pain in the hand was a lie, but the desire to kiss you was true."

Just then, the sun climbed to mid-sky, its beams streaming through the doorway and casting a fiery glow over half his body. Xie Zhigui’s skin turned even redder, an unstoppable wildfire spreading over him.

Quickly realizing he had been teased again, Xie Zhigui felt a mix of anger and annoyance, and he lightly smacked Ming Feiyu’s other, uninjured hand.

“Have you no shame?”

Unexpectedly, this act of retaliation was turned on its head as Ming Feiyu swiftly caught Xie Zhigui's wrist. With a triumphant arch of his brow, as if he had secured an incredible trophy, he bit gently on the back of Xie Zhigui's hand, causing a shiver of goosebumps to spread across his skin.

"You're right, I am shameless."

"...What?"

Ming Fei Yu burst into laughter: "You're heartless, I'm shameless; neither of us is good. But don't you think we're a perfect match?"

Xie Zhigui was left speechless by his words; this man's thick skin and mental fortitude were beyond any ordinary person's.

Yet, he could pinpoint exactly where to strike to throw her into complete disarray.

Thinking about how he could never win an argument with him, and would instead be teased, with no way to retract his hand, he glared at Ming Fei Yu and decided to stop talking to him altogether.

If it came down to it, he would just keep up this silent battle.

In the silence, Ming Fei Yu watched as Xie Zhigui's face alternated between pale and flush, the veins on his neck throbbing, struggling between shame and composure.

He knew that Xie Zhigui was thin-skinned; he might appear cold but poke him in the right spot and his ears and cheeks would stay red all day.

When he first discovered this secret, he had thought Xie Zhigui was feverish, as back then he was often seriously ill every ten days and slightly ill every three. Frightened, he had force-fed him a large bowl of fever medicine, choking the already miserable fellow even more.

At that time, he hadn't realized why he was being glared at with disdain, nor why Xie Zhigui would hide under the covers, sulking and ignoring him.

It wasn't until much later that he had an epiphany, and with suppressed laughter, he peeled away the pretenses layer by layer, revealing someone whose face was as red as a boiled shrimp.

Remembering some amusing incidents, Ming Fei Yu decided not to tease him any further.

"Why so silent? Are you angry?"

“……”

Ming Fei Yu chuckled softly, shaking his head: "You're still so easily provoked."

He caressed the back of his hand gently, fingers tracing patterns rhythmically, as if writing words.

Xie Zhigui, suspicious of what trick he was up to next, watched his every movement, piecing together the letters in his mind, which slowly formed a sentence.

A sentence that could shatter Xie Zhigui's cold exterior, one that was unexpected yet made perfect sense, one so sincere it could make him sad for him, a sentence he didn't want to hear at this moment.

Words that couldn't be spoken aloud were conveyed in another form, through the intimacy of touch.

Ming Fei Yu observed Xie Zhigui's complex expressions, and even with his stoic facade, years of companionship allowed him to notice the slight tremble of Xie's downturned lashes. With a subtle nudge against Xie's palm with his pinky, he pretended as if nothing had happened.

He felt that Xie Zhigui had remembered but was just too stubborn to admit it.

"Do you know what I'm writing?"

He seemed to be anticipating something, leaning subtly towards Xie Zhigui.

But the moment Xie Zhigui looked up, his expression changed rapidly, every complicated emotion dispersing like smoke in the wind, dying under the harsh glare of the sun. He continued to regard him coolly, keeping him at a distance.

Xie Zhigui said, "I don't know."

"Let go."