Chapter 051 Return to Yaoxing 09

Chapter 051: Return to Yaoxing 09

Zhou Younan carefully gathered the papers spread on the bed, intending to bind them into a booklet for safekeeping.

With that thought, he waved eagerly at Wei Qing: "I'm heading back to sleep then. You should get some rest too."

Before he could turn, Wei Qing caught his hand: "Can't you stay? I promise I'll send you back once you fall asleep."

"Have you forgotten Yaoxing's rules?"

"I've never been one to follow rules." Wei Qing raised an eyebrow, looking completely unconcerned.

Zhou Younan glanced at the papers in his arms and shook his head: "No, I need to go back to sleep."

"It's not even ten yet. Can't you stay with me a little longer?" Wei Qing gently shook Zhou Younan's hand, softening his voice as if pleading.

Zhou Younan thought for a moment, then relented: "Alright, just a little longer."

Wei Qing smiled and led Zhou Younan to the bed, where they sat down together: "What are you doing with these papers?"

Too embarrassed to reveal his true thoughts, Zhou Younan offered an excuse: "I'll bind them and look through them later. Maybe I'll remember something."

"Oh, I see." Wei Qing took the papers from Zhou Younan's arms and began flipping through them.

Sitting side by side, Wei Qing's long golden hair slipped from his shoulder with his movements, coming to rest on Zhou Younan's lap.

Zhou Younan picked up the strand of hair and idly twirled it in his hand.

"Wow, I didn't look closely earlier, but this one—I really outdid myself, it's so good! I'm keeping it," Wei Qing suddenly announced.

"Huh? Which one?"

Confused, Zhou Younan leaned in to see.

But Wei Qing was faster, quickly holding the paper far away, showing only its blank side to Zhou Younan.

"Let me see which one it is." Zhou Younan reached for the paper.

Wei Qing dodged Zhou Younan's hand, feigning exaggerated surprise: "Hey, you have so many already. I just want to keep one. Are you seriously refusing? Trying to snatch it?"

Zhou Younan chuckled, but his hand didn't stop reaching for the paper: "I'm not snatching. I just want to look."

Fighting back a grin, Wei Qing held the paper even farther away, feigning annoyance: "This isn't snatching? That's so unreasonable, it's clearly my drawing."

"I'm not snatching." Zhou Younan's arm wasn't as long as Wei Qing's, so he simply stood up, trying to get around Wei Qing to see the drawing on the paper.

"Hey, hey, hey, now you're even standing up to snatch it. That's too much!"

"Nope, not letting you see."

Wei Qing flopped onto the bed, holding the paper above his head, away from Zhou Younan.

"I just want to see!" Zhou Younan also pounced onto the bed, reaching for the paper.

Amidst their laughter and play, they tumbled into a heap, with Zhou Younan ending up on top of Wei Qing.

Suddenly, Wei Qing held the paper right in front of Zhou Younan: "Alright, alright, here, you can see it."

Zhou Younan was met with a blank sheet.

He flipped the paper over.

Still blank.

It was a blank piece of paper.

Just as he was wondering, the blank paper moved aside, revealing Wei Qing's magnified face before Zhou Younan. His pale green eyes held a simmering intensity.

"Zhou Younan, you're so silly."

"You! You tricked me."

Zhou Younan looked away, trying to get up. But with a slight pull, Wei Qing drew him back into his embrace.

"Wei Qing?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than their positions reversed.

Wei Qing was now above Zhou Younan, his golden hair cascading around them.

His hand caressed Zhou Younan's cheek, his thumb gently stroking his lips, his voice husky: "You were the one who pounced on me."

"I didn't—Mmph—"

Wei Qing's kiss descended.

Zhou Younan's clothes were lifted.

Garments lay scattered by the bed, and the papers at the foot of the bed slowly edged closer to the brink due to their fervent movements.

The first sheet fell to the floor.

"Wei Qing, I... I should go back."

"No."

The fifth sheet fell to the floor.

"N-no... no more..."

"Not enough."

The tenth sheet fell to the floor.

"R-really... no more..."

"Sorry, I can't stop."

The floor by the bed was strewn with papers.

The bed itself was cleared of papers, but it was still shaking.

Zhou Younan finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep. In a haze, he heard Wei Qing tell him: "Sleep. I'll take you back."

***

"Wow! It's done!"

"Shh, kid, quiet down. Your brother is still asleep."

"When will big brother wake up?"

"I don't know."

"My brother never used to sleep in. He's so strange today."

"Your brother said he was very tired last night."

"Oh."

Luo Luo and Wei Qing's voices drifted through the thick white mist.

Zhou Younan gradually regained consciousness, slowly opening his eyes.

Lifting his head, he saw Wei Qing and Luo Luo, one big and one small, their heads together, huddled around something at the table.

Zhou Younan glanced at the clock on the wall and bolted upright: "What day is it today?"

"Brother, you're awake!"

Wei Qing smiled at him and replied: "Thursday."

Zhou Younan quickly got out of bed: "Luo Luo, why aren't you at school?"

"Can't I take a day off today? I want to stay with my brother and eat the food Marshal makes," Luo Luo whined.

"No, you have to go to school now. Brother will pick you up after school."

After some commotion, Zhou Younan still managed to get Luo Luo to school on time. Luo Luo walked reluctantly, looking back every few steps as he entered the school.

Zhou Younan stood at the school gate, watching Luo Luo walk into the school.

Seeing the energetic students, a hint of envy flickered in his eyes. Zhou Younan had never attended school; he had been literate for as long as he could remember. He supposed his fathers must have taught him personally.

"Looking so envious? Want to go to school too?" Wei Qing, standing beside him, asked.

"We'll talk about it later." Zhou Younan withdrew his gaze. "What were you and Luo Luo doing at the table this morning?"

"Ta-da! This."

Wei Qing handed Zhou Younan the bound stack of papers.

Zhou Younan's eyes lit up with a smile, and he accepted it with satisfaction, saying thank you.

"Young Master Zhou." Fan Ke appeared at the school gate, wearing black-rimmed glasses.

He greeted Zhou Younan first: "Morning."

"Morning, Teacher Fan." Zhou Younan looked at him.

"Young Master Zhou, the message I sent you on the communicator..."

"Teacher Fan." Zhou Younan interrupted Fan Ke. "I saw it, but I have other things to do today. I need to leave now."

"Oh." Fan Ke was somewhat surprised; Zhou Younan's attitude today was unusually rude.

Zhou Younan took two steps away, then turned back. He said solemnly to Fan Ke: "Teacher Fan, I will handle this matter when I have time. Please wait a little longer."

"Alright." Fan Ke nervously swallowed.

"Also, I don't want Luo Luo to know about this before I deal with it, do you understand what I mean?" Zhou Younan raised an eyebrow at Fan Ke.

"Understood, understood." Fan Ke licked his lips.

Zhou Younan, with a haughty air, turned sharply and took Wei Qing's hand, leaving the school together.

After walking some distance, Zhou Younan quietly asked Wei Qing: "Is he still looking at me?"

"Fan Ke went into the school long ago." Wei Qing chuckled. "Who was that fierce person just now? Why the change?"

"I was just trying to scare him. I need your help with something..."

"Investigating Fan Ke and getting a paternity test in advance?" Wei Qing interjected.

"Yes, can you?"

"Sure, but I charge a fee." Wei Qing grinned mischievously.

"A fee?"

"Mhm, one kiss."

Wei Qing lowered his head, presenting his cheek to Zhou Younan.

Zhou Younan stood on tiptoe and gave a loud "smooch" on his face.

After leaving the school, Zhou Younan contacted Zhou Mo, telling him about attending the welcome banquet with Wei Qing.

Zhou Mo said he understood.

"Younan, my mother likes to stay at the Zhou family's old house. I'm there now making preparations. Do you want to come take a look?"

The old house?

Zhou Mo said that he and his fathers once lived in the old house.

"I'll go see it."

The Zhou family's old house was a simple two-story building. The lower floor's exterior was red, and the upper floor's was yellow, Wei Qing's two favorite colors.

As soon as the three of them stood at the entrance, Wei Qing concluded: "I like it."

Zhou Mo echoed: "Both my mother and I prefer living in the old house."

Two identically styled small buildings stood side by side. Zhou Younan asked: "Two buildings?"

Zhou Mo explained: "The one on the left belonged to my uncles. The one on the right was my parents'."

"Although my uncles have passed away, my mother has always had them kept clean. Everything inside has been kept exactly as it was, untouched."

Looking at the open door, Zhou Younan sincerely said to Zhou Mo: "Thank you."

Zhou Mo nodded in acknowledgment, smiling: "If seeing these helps you recall any past memories, be sure to tell me."

Zhou Younan excitedly told Zhou Mo: "I actually remembered a little last night."

Zhou Mo's eyes flickered, and he put on a surprised and delighted expression: "What did you remember?"

"I had long hair back then, and my younger father would blow-dry it for me." Zhou Younan happily squinted his eyes, asking Zhou Mo: "Did I have long hair when I was little?"

Zhou Mo smiled and said: "Yes, your hair was never cut before you were four. Later, you were playing around and your hair got burned, so you had to cut it short after that."

"So it really was a true memory." Zhou Younan's eyes sparkled as he gazed at the old house's door, feeling a bit impatient.

"Alright, no more talking. Go in and take a look first. We can talk more after you've seen it." Zhou Mo was very understanding.

"Okay." Zhou Younan quickly walked into the old house, with Wei Qing following closely behind him.

Zhou Mo, left standing in place, remained silent for a moment before slowly walking into his own family's old house.

As he walked, Zhou Mo analyzed things in his mind.

Zhou Younan said he remembered his younger father blowing his hair dry.

They must have talked about something, but it definitely had nothing to do with him.

Right now, Zhou Younan wasn't guarded around him. If the conversation in his memory had mentioned him, he would have said it directly.

He just didn't know if Zhou Younan would remember anything else in the old house.

Zhou Mo paused slightly, a strand of his light blue, shoulder-length hair lifted by the wind and fell across his forehead.

Smoothing his hair back, Zhou Mo continued walking into the old house.

It didn't matter much if he remembered anything. Since childhood, he had never done anything shameful in front of Zhou Younan.

Seeing Wei Qing stick to Zhou Younan like glue, he truly seemed deeply in love.

Compared to their last meeting, Zhou Younan looked much healthier, and his attitude towards Wei Qing was much more affectionate.

The two of them were indeed growing deeper in love day by day.

This was good, but very unfavorable for him.

The smile in Zhou Mo's eyes vanished.

If Zhou Younan had remained amnesic, considering Wei Qing's potential as a valuable asset to the Zhou family, he might have delayed his plans.

But now that Zhou Younan was starting to regain his memories, it was better to act sooner.

After all, the effect of that capsule only lasted for "one month."

If he missed this chance, there would never be another opportunity to make Zhou Younan willingly leave Wei Qing.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Mo's brows relaxed, and he stepped into the old house.

He went upstairs to his room.

His dark eyes, filled with suppressed joy, swept from left to right, taking in every item in the display cabinets.

Suddenly, Zhou Mo's gaze froze, fixed on the innermost display cabinet. The innermost display cabinet was empty; a pair of golden bracelets that had been there were gone.

In their place was a note: "Young Master, my name is Liu Huo. I work as a servant in the main house. The items are with me. I didn't steal them; I just want you to help me get justice."

The handwriting was messy. Zhou Mo looked at the empty display cabinet, gritted his teeth, his dark eyes filled with rage.