Chapter 105 City Streets 5

Chapter 105: Urban Life 5

He held a long-handled wooden dipper, gripping the handle as he scooped up a large amount of water and poured it over his chest. The muscles in his arm tensed with the effort.

As the water cascaded down, it traced the lines of his back muscles, drenching his already thin trousers and making them cling tightly to his legs.

Inside the bathing shed, steam swirled and heat rose in tendrils, making the dim yellow glow of the oil lamp appear hazy. Even so, the face obscured by the mist and flickering light remained unclear.

But Liu Guyu heard the sounds.

The rush of water, the droplets rolling down his arms, chest, and back, one by one, splashing onto the wet ground and blossoming into tiny water flowers. The drip-drip-drip of water was especially distinct in the quiet of the night.

And then, low, ragged breathing.

"...Fuck."

Liu Guyu abruptly shut his eyes and slapped his own face, not too lightly but not too hard either, muttering under his breath, "That's what you get for being up so late!"

His drowsiness vanished completely. He finally thought to leave, but in his panic, he moved too clumsily, immediately alerting the person inside the bathing shed.

"Who's there?!"

First came a low shout, followed by two more splashes of water, then the rustling sound of someone hastily throwing on clothes. Finally, the cloth curtain was pushed aside as the person hurried out.

Liu Guyu turned to flee back to his room. Earlier, when he had approached the bathing shed, he could vaguely make out some light from the oil lamp, but now, turning around, he was met with pitch darkness, unable to see anything.

In his panic, he stumbled a few steps and ended up crashing headfirst into a pillar near the kitchen wall.

"Bang!"

The noise was far from quiet.

Qin Rongshi had thrown on his outer robe and stepped out with the lamp, only to realize it was Liu Guyu. He was mortified, unsure whether to advance or retreat, considering whether to just let him go back and pretend nothing had happened.

But the next moment, Liu Guyu crashed into the pillar and let out a pained groan as he clutched his face.

Even the thick-skinned Liu Guyu felt embarrassed now, keeping his voice deliberately low and gritting his teeth to suppress the sound, though he was clearly in agony.

"Stop."

Hearing this, Qin Rongshi could no longer keep up the act. He called out in a gruff voice, still somewhat hoarse.

Then, Liu Guyu seemed to hear a low sigh, followed by hurried footsteps.

Qin Rongshi hurried over, grabbing Liu Guyu's wrist and turning him around.

He'd rushed out in a hurry, only hastily pulling on a white inner robe without even tying the strings, then throwing an outer robe over it. Droplets of water still clung reluctantly to his collarbone, while trails of water slid down his chest to his waist and abdomen. His skin was flushed red from the heat, his trousers soaked through, the cuffs still dripping water.

When he saw Liu Guyu clearly, he hurriedly used one hand to pull his inner robe together while holding the oil lamp in the other. The flickering flame cast light between the two of them.

Was it because of the lamplight, or some other reason?

The firelight reflected on their faces, both flushed crimson as if freshly warmed by charcoal.

Qin Rongshi took a deep breath, but when he spoke again, his voice was even more gravelly.

"You hit your forehead, so why are you covering your mouth and nose?"

A red welt had formed on Liu Guyu's forehead, and upon closer inspection, a bit of skin had been scraped off, likely from the rough wood of the pillar. It wasn’t serious—only a drop of blood had seeped out before stopping—but the mark was deep and would surely swell by tomorrow.

Hearing Qin Rongshi's low question, Liu Guyu didn’t respond, only tightly covering his nose.

Qin Rongshi frowned, about to ask again, when the next moment he saw a trickle of blood flow from between Liu Guyu's tightly pressed fingers.

His pupils contracted, and his voice rose slightly.

"You hit your nose too?!"

He immediately reached out to pull Liu Guyu's wrist away, his tone unusually stern.

"Let me see."

The young man had built up considerable brute strength, and Liu Guyu couldn’t break free. Soon, Qin Rongshi had pulled his hand away from his mouth and nose.

"Your nose is bleeding... Where did you hit it? The bridge?"

As he asked, Qin Rongshi used his sleeve to wipe the blood from Liu Guyu's face, his expression anxious.

Seeing there was no way to avoid it, Liu Guyu coughed guiltily and took two steps back, his gaze briefly sweeping over a certain part of Qin Rongshi's body below before quickly looking away.

"Cough... I ate too much deer meat. It’s making me flush."

Qin Rongshi: "..."

Liu Guyu seemed to hear the man beside him take another deep breath.

He wanted to explain further, but Qin Rongshi spoke first, annoyed.

"Shut up!"

Then, as if realizing his tone was too harsh, he sighed again and softened his voice. "Don’t talk, or the blood will flow into your mouth."

After saying this, he glanced at Liu Guyu again and noticed he had come out wearing only a robe, in slippers but barefoot, his ankles already red from the cold wind. His trousers were thin and loose, just a single layer.

His frown deepened, but he said nothing more, instead pulling Liu Guyu quickly back to the room.

"Sit for a while. I’ll be right back."

Qin Rongshi left these words and turned to go outside, but seeing Liu Guyu tilting his head back while holding his nose, he immediately added, "Don’t tilt your head back. The blood will flow down your throat."

As he spoke, he turned back, one hand supporting Liu Guyu's chin and the other pressing the back of his head, straightening his tilted posture. "Pinch your nose. Wait for me to come back."

Liu Guyu did as he was told, and Qin Rongshi turned and left again.

Once he was gone, Liu Guyu raised his other hand to cover his eyes, feeling utterly embarrassed.

Extremely embarrassed.

Qin Rongshi returned shortly, carrying a basin of water—two ladles' worth drawn from the water jar.

He wrung out a cloth and pressed it to Liu Guyu's face. The cloth was large enough, folded twice, to cover both his forehead and the bridge of his nose.

"...Hiss, it’s cold."

The water from the jar in winter was bone-chillingly cold. The moment it touched Liu Guyu's forehead, it made his whole body shudder.

Qin Rongshi remarked sharply, "Dressed like that and you’re still afraid of the cold?"

Liu Guyu shot him a glance, wanting to say that Qin Rongshi was dressed even more lightly than he was, and his trousers were still wet.

But he didn’t dare say it, afraid that Qin Rongshi would recall what had just happened and make the situation even more awkward between them.

Who would have thought that even without him saying anything, Qin Rongshi glanced at him, noticed the lingering flush on Liu Guyu’s face, and couldn’t resist adding another jab: “So you do know how to feel ashamed?”

Liu Guyu: “…Hey, hey, that’s enough. You should take a look at how red your own face is.”

The last part was muttered under his breath, almost like talking to himself, but the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop—naturally, Qin Rongshi heard it too.

Qin Rongshi took another deep breath and said through gritted teeth, “…I’m just flustered!”

Liu Guyu nodded, sounding quite understanding: “Yeah, I get it, I get it. Too much venison. I’m flustered too.”

Qin Rongshi: “…”

Qin Rongshi stopped talking to him, as if finally realizing that even after two years, he still couldn’t win against Liu Guyu’s quick comebacks.

He shot Liu Guyu a light glare, turned back to wring out the cloth, soaked it again in cold water, and continued applying it.

Neither of them spoke another word. The oil lamp, casually placed on the table by Qin Rongshi, flickered on and off. Through the dim light, Liu Guyu looked at Qin Rongshi and saw his gaze lowered, fixed intently on his face, his expression unusually serious as Qin Rongshi pressed the cold, damp cloth with his right hand.

…Didn’t he use his right hand earlier too?

Hmm… Qin Rongshi isn’t left-handed, so he must have used his right hand.

His hands are quite good-looking—slender fingers, not overly large knuckles, glowing softly under the candlelight like a piece of fine jade.

Ah, such beautiful hands… and they’ve been used for *that* kind of thing too!

…

Stop, stop, stop—what is he even thinking!

Liu Guyu squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment, tilted his head to the side, and began playing dead.

Qin Rongshi: “What…?”

Qin Rongshi frowned, Qin Rongshi was baffled.

After about a few moments, Qin Rongshi finally said, “Alright, let go of your hand. Let me take another look.”

Liu Guyu obediently released his hand. Qin Rongshi held his chin, lowered his head to examine it for a while, and finally let out a sigh of relief: “The bleeding’s stopped.”

After saying this, he used the cloth to wipe the bloodstains from Liu Guyu’s face, then took Liu Guyu’s hand and carefully wiped each finger, not missing even the webbing between them or under the nails.

Once finished, Qin Rongshi leaned in closer to Liu Guyu. Liu Guyu felt a wave of warmth brush against his cheek, causing the fading blush to rush back.

Liu Guyu: “Wh-what else is there?”

As soon as he spoke, he felt the warm pad of a finger touch his forehead, followed immediately by Qin Rongshi’s voice.

“The wound isn’t serious—it’s already scabbed over. But this spot will probably swell tomorrow.”

As he spoke, his fingers brushed across Liu Guyu’s forehead, lightly passing over the bright red mole at the center.

This was the first time Qin Rongshi had seen Liu Guyu’s red mole up close, and the first time he had touched it—a tiny mole that only a spouse was allowed to see and touch.

The moment his fingertip touched the mole, he pulled back as if scalded by a fiery tongue, immediately retracting his hand into his sleeve and curling his fingers unseen.

“Get to bed early.”

With those words, he turned and left the room.

Liu Guyu was unusually stunned, staring blankly as Qin Rongshi walked out. It took him a long while before he slowly raised a hand to rub the spot on his forehead where Qin Rongshi had pressed.

Uh… he’d forgotten to wear his headband again.

Liu Guyu lowered his head, lost in thought, and his gaze fell on a small wet spot on the floor where Qin Rongshi had been standing earlier.

“Whatever, I should just go to sleep.”

Liu Guyu clutched his forehead, crawled back into bed, pulled the covers over himself, and closed his eyes. He had expected to toss and turn for a while before falling asleep, but as soon as he settled into the warm bedding, he fell asleep.

*

The next morning, at the crow of the rooster, Liu Guyu woke to the morning noises.

He dressed, went out to wash up, and passing by the kitchen, he was surprised to find the cloth curtain of the bath area had been taken down and replaced with a small wooden door.

Liu Guyu: “Uh…”

He rubbed his face, acted like he hadn’t noticed anything, turned, and entered the kitchen.

“You’re up? I made millet porridge today, and steamed sweet rice cakes. Hurry… Hey! Gu Yu, what happened to your forehead?!”

The headband Liu Guyu wore was about two fingers wide, but the bruise at his temple was too prominent even for the headband to cover.

Cui Lanfang quickly pulled him over, tilting her head to get a better look at his face, and asked with concern: “Oh dear! How did this happen?”

Remembering yesterday’s events, Liu Guyu felt embarrassed, and his toes inside his cloth shoes began curling anxiously.

He pulled away from Cui Lanfang’s grip, forced a nervous laugh, and said: “I wasn’t sleeping well and bumped into the bed frame… Ah, it’s nothing, Ma! It looks scary, but it doesn’t even hurt anymore!”

Liu Guyu bent over to avoid Cui Lanfang’s reaching hand, slipped over to the cutting board, grabbed two rice cakes—stuffing one into his mouth—then turned and ran outside, mumbling through a full mouth:

“Mmm… Ma! I’m heading to the shop first!”

Cui Lanfang hurried after him, calling out: “Hey! Wait! Gu Yu! At least put some medicine on before you go! Hey! This child!”

But Liu Guyu wasn’t about to stick around.

He was afraid of running into Qin Rongshi first thing in the morning and making things even more awkward.