Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Su He was thunderstruck, his entire body frozen. Knowing he couldn't wrest it back from the other, he sat on the bed, clutching the bed curtains tightly, his face even paler than before.

He heard the young man utter the title, and his heart sank further.

Then, the Young Marquis actually dragged a chair over and sat down. Without a word, he began flipping through the pages from the very beginning, one page, then another... In the room, apart from Su He pinned to the bed and the Page who was too scared to make a peep or come closer, only the sound of Luo Qianyu turning pages remained.

Su He held his breath, on pins and needles, sweat beading at his temples.

Luo Qianyu wasn't a slow reader. Moreover, ancient storybooks were concise in style, omitting the lengthy exposition and numerous descriptive details of modern novels. His eyes flew over the pages, his heart growing heavier with each line.

Before long, the hand holding the storybook gave a faint tremble.

He had previously held onto a sliver of doubt, thinking it might be a coincidence, perhaps just a shared name—but after finishing it, Luo Qianyu was completely certain. This storybook was, more or less, the first half of the original novel.

It began with Wen Yu's background, followed by the Young Marquis's appearance at the night market, seizing him into the Marquis's residence to serve as a Personal Guard, with other romantic rivals, the buy-stock gongs [a term for rival love interests], intermittently appearing throughout.

Currently, it had just reached the chapter where the Young Marquis returned to the Imperial College.

The book *Chasing the Crane* was written by an ancient author, and the original work had indeed been adapted by later generations. But since he had transmigrated into the book, he had assumed this world didn't exist in reality. How could this book... have been written by Su He, a character within the story?

Was he a recorder, or the one who created this tale? Was this vivid era a fictional setting, or did it truly exist in history?

After a long silence, just as Su He awaited his sentence, the Young Marquis sat still, leaning his elbow on the corner of the table, and rarely opened his mouth to ask softly, "Su He—*Chasing the Crane*. Did you write this storybook for yourself?"

Su He was stunned for a moment, his face flushing crimson. Then, he grew somewhat agitated and retorted, "Nonsense! I am but a common man, an ordinary person from the streets. How dare I compare myself to a crane? The crane immortal in the book is someone else. He arrives riding clouds and treading mist, graceful as a banished immortal."

At this moment, he didn't seem like a storybook author but rather took on the demeanor of a scholar. If not for having discovered what this guy had written... Luo Qianyu simply looked at him and said, "The crane immortal you speak of, is it Wen Yu?"

Su He's body stiffened. He pursed his lips slightly, as if tacitly admitting it.

He couldn't help but think: This person clearly claimed to have lost his memory.

Though he didn't recognize him, he seemed to know a great deal. Despite putting on the airs of a dissolute playboy, he could always easily read him like a book.

"In this storybook, you wrote about me galloping on horseback at the night market, and about me forcibly kidnapping Wen Yu into the residence to serve. Now that I've returned to the Imperial College, what do you plan to write next?" Luo Qianyu closed the storybook and placed it beside the bed. Seeing Su He swiftly snatch the book away and hide it again in a secret spot, he gave a helpless smile, raising an eyebrow wryly. "I've already finished reading it. Wanting to destroy this storybook now is useless."

Su He stole glances at his expression, shaking in his boots, not daring to answer, because he wasn't sure if it was truly a question or a precursor to the Young Marquis's anger.

"Then why did you lie?" The Young Marquis stood up, not forgetting his original purpose for coming, and asked him, "Since I haven't offended you, why have you been crying these past few days?"

Su He bit his lower lip, his eyes reddening again, tears welling up.

The Young Marquis reached out, pinched Su He's chin, and forced him to look up. "You secretly wrote me into this book. Has this been discovered by me once before?"

Su He lowered his eyelashes, tears finally streaming down, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. "Yes... I was wrong. I... won't write anymore, boo hoo..."

A sound came from outside the door at that moment.

The people in the room froze, instinctively looking outward. They saw Zhao Nian standing at the doorway holding a lantern, his eyes unable to hide his shock. By the faint light, he could see the scene inside the main room: his own young master slightly leaning over, gripping Young Master Su's chin.

Young Master Su was crying, his cheeks flushed red, his eyelashes soaked.

Zhao Nian paused, one foot over the threshold. Besides astonishment, a sudden awkwardness also surfaced.

He couldn't decide whether to enter or retreat.

Luo Qianyu: "..."

Raising his eyes, he met the gaze of another figure.

Beside Zhao Nian stood Wen Yu, clad in a plain-colored outer cloak, his expression cool and detached.