Chapter 336: Nannan’s Colors

Chapter 336: Nannan's Colors

Little Xie Yuan finally found another opportunity and became Nannan's little fatty.

Nannan loved to play outside the mansion, so he would inquire about her schedule and arrange to bump into her.

Once, twice, three times... every time, until Nannan finally got familiar with him, calling him "little fatty."

After becoming thoroughly acquainted with her, Little Xie Yuan vaguely understood that Yanjing’s sky was often a deep blue, the clouds like white jade paste painted across it. Nannan loved lying on the grass, watching whether the clouds looked more like kittens or fish.

In Yanjing, every household had mud walls and gray tiles, but the crevices were filled with lush green moss and plump tile grass. Occasionally, there would be a few dogtail grasses, swaying in the wind. Sometimes Nannan wanted the plump tile grass on the roof, and he climbed up to pick it for her several times.

Water wasn't always green; it could also be red, blue, golden... many colors. The color of the water depended on the color of the handkerchief Nannan used to scoop it when playing.

The trees didn’t just have yellow or green leaves; there were also white hawthorn blossoms, bright red dogwood berries, and orange persimmons... Nannan loved climbing high, not necessarily because she loved eating the fruits, but simply because she wanted to pick them wherever she saw them.

On snowy days, everything wasn’t purely white. Although Nannan loved wearing red, she had many other colored jackets and hair ribbons.

As spring turned to summer, Little Xie Yuan learned about many colors. He no longer debated in his mind; Nannan was colorful, and a single color couldn’t define her.

In his heart, Nannan was his best friend.

Later, Nannan told him she would give herself to him.

What did "giving herself to him" mean?

Although he was at an age where he was starting to understand vague romantic feelings, he still didn’t fully grasp what this meant.

He dared not ask his father, so he asked his mother.

His mother looked at him and laughed with the maidservants around her, asking who had said such words to him. She said she would go and ask for the girl to become his wife since he liked her so much.

Little Xie Yuan blushed repeatedly, refusing to say anything.

But he understood.

"Giving herself to him" meant a girl liked a boy—she wanted to marry him.

That day, his face felt as if it was burning.

It turned out Nannan liked him and wanted to marry him, to be with him forever.

And marriage meant two people would be together for life.

Of course, he wanted to be with Nannan forever.

Whenever he saw her, all his worries vanished.

From that day on, Little Xie Yuan made up his mind.

Nannan was his future wife, and he was her future husband. Nannan was his Nannan, and he was her little fatty.

From then on, he chased after Nannan even more.

Later, he grew even fatter, thanks to Nannan’s constant feeding.

His mother worried about him.

Her first two sons were handsome young men, but how did this one turn into a ball?

Moreover, being too fat was bad for health. He had the theory for martial arts but lacked strength.

Little Xie Yuan knew his mother wanted him to slim down, but he only agreed verbally. On the surface, he trained hard, but secretly, he bought snacks outside.

Nannan said she liked him best as a little fatty.

What if he wasn’t fat anymore and Nannan didn’t like him?

He stubbornly maintained his chubby figure. However, due to eating and training more, his strength increased significantly. The few youths Guo Yi brought along weren’t enough to handle him anymore.

If they brought a dozen people, they might be able to subdue him, but with more people came more mouths, and Guo Yi didn’t dare use that lethal weapon again.

Xie Yuan killed someone for the first time when he was ten years old.

He visited Nannan almost every day, trying to avoid Guo Yi’s attention, but Guo Yi still found out.

One autumn day, the weather was perfect. After school, he took the usual detour to the place near Su Mansion where Nannan often played.

But halfway there, he encountered Guo Yi alone.

This was the first time Guo Yi met him alone, thinking he had leverage over him.

The youth sneered at him, "Crawl under me today, or I’ll find a chance to kill the young miss of the Su family."

Seeing the panic in Xie Yuan’s eyes, Guo Yi thought he had finally caught his weakness. From now on, Xie Yuan would be his dog, to be tormented however he pleased.

He deliberately emphasized his words, "Guess how I’ll kill her? Should I use that little toy I showed you before, or should I gut her directly? She’s so pretty; killing her will be quite a sight."

As soon as the youth finished speaking, Xie Yuan pounced on him like a crazed beast.

Guo Yi didn’t even have time to scream before Xie Yuan tackled him to the ground and bit through his throat with his canine teeth.

Blood sprayed onto Little Xie Yuan’s face, and Guo Yi’s throat gurgled from the pain, but Xie Yuan didn’t stop, tearing a piece of flesh from his throat.

Blood spilled everywhere.

It was Xie Yuan’s first time killing someone, yet he felt no discomfort.

He had seen his father kill many times and was not afraid of blood.

He was more afraid that Nuan Nuan might get into trouble, any kind of trouble.

With Guo Yi dead, the scenes he had described could never happen.

Little Xie Yuan wiped the blood from his face and smiled.

He was a child of Xie Mansion, and from a young age, he knew how to kill and how to dispose of bodies without leaving a trace.

He quickly cleaned up Guo Yi's body.

After making sure there was no blood or smell on himself, he went to find his Nuan Nuan.

He had expected that with the only son of the Guo family missing, the Guos would be enraged and search extensively. But it turned out that his father had just investigated the Guo family, and the entire household was imprisoned and sentenced to death.

Everyone assumed that the Guo family had received a tip-off and secretly sent Guo Yi away.

The authorities searched for a while but gave up. Instead, they found five bodies buried in Guo Yi's courtyard, all tortured to the point where even their bones were scarred, along with the remains of many small animals...

After the investigation, it became clear that the young master of the Guo family had a penchant for torture and murder. The five corpses were innocent children from ordinary families, and everyone cursed him, wishing he would suffer a thousand deaths.

As the Guo family crumbled, over time, no one in the Capital spoke of them anymore.

And little Xie Yuan continued as before, close and intimate with Nuan Nuan.

Until one day, his mother suddenly told him that they were going to live at his maternal grandparents' house for several years.

He panicked immediately; he did not want to leave Yanjing. Without Yanjing, how could he see Nuan Nuan?

But his father quickly settled the matter—this time, he had to go.

Xie Yuan did not understand, but he knew that in Xie Mansion, his father's word was law.

Many years later, he learned the truth.

It turned out that his father, who seemed deeply favored by the emperor, was not actually so trusted.

The emperor needed his father as a tool, yet also feared him. He needed this tool to bear all the blame and, one day, to take... the wrath of everyone.

Under duress, Xie Yuan left Yanjing.

But his heart did not leave with him.

His heart had been taken by Nuan Nuan long ago, without his knowing.