Chapter 202: Red String

Chapter 202: The Red String

He poured out the few remaining bits of silver and several crumpled small silver notes from his money pouch, pushing them all in front of Yun Xunyu.

"There," his voice was a bit stiff. "Take... take this for now.

I'll get my pay in a few days, and then I'll... make up the rest."

Yun Xunyu looked at the meager silver on the table, the smile in his eyes deepening, but he didn't reach for it.

Instead, he reached out and gently took hold of Cheng Ge's wrist, which was about to retract.

Cheng Ge was startled, instinctively trying to pull his hand back, the scolding already on his lips, "What are you—"

Before he could finish, he felt a cool sensation on his wrist, as if something smooth and thin had swiftly wound around it.

He looked down and saw a simple red string bracelet already tied around his wrist.

It fit perfectly, and the vibrant red made his wrist skin look even fairer.

"What in the world is this?!" Cheng Ge's scalp prickled, and he immediately reached with his other hand to yank off the red string.

But Yun Xunyu gently blocked his hand, his tone still carrying that lazy smile: "Darling, it's woven with real gold thread."

Cheng Ge: "!!!"

Cheng Ge's movement froze instantly, his fingers that had already reached the knot of the red string pausing mid-air.

He abruptly lowered his head, leaning close to his own wrist.

He stared at the seemingly ordinary red string for a long time, his eyes nearly crossing.

At a certain angle in the sunlight, he could indeed see faint glimpses of extremely fine, dazzling gold threads within the fibers of the red string!

Cheng Ge gulped, his fingertips touching the red string on his wrist, his earlier resistance dissolving completely.

Seeing this, a smile curled at the corner of Yun Xunyu's lips, and he couldn't help stroking the red string a couple of times.

"Tsk... don't rub it thin by touching it so much."

Cheng Ge smacked Yun Xunyu's hand away, instantly yanking his sleeve down, hastily hiding the red string completely.

*Heart firm, thread unbroken; clouds drift on a slanting wind.*

*When the red string falls on the wrist, it wards off evil, blocks disaster, and protects peace. It is also the red thread in the hands of the Old Man under the Moon, binding the heartstrings of two lovers.*

Cheng Ge was still looking down, his mind racing, calculating how much the red string woven with gold threads on his wrist could be worth.

Was it priced by the gram or by the craftsmanship? Would it be more cost-effective to take it apart and extract the gold threads...

Suddenly, he heard a soft call near his ear, a voice deep and with a seriousness unlike his usual self: "Darling."

Cheng Ge instinctively lifted his head, caught off guard, meeting a pair of deep, soulful eyes.

The usual lazy smile on Yun Xunyu's face had faded; his pupils were deep, clearly mirroring Cheng Ge's own image.

Yun Xunyu tilted his head slightly, looking at him, his long lashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

He asked softly, his tone carrying a seriousness that verged on hesitancy: "Darling, would you be willing to come back to Nanling with me?"

Cheng Ge looked at his eyes so close, which seemed to contain an unfathomable deep pool, for a moment almost pulling him in.

He was dazed for a split second, but quickly came to his senses. He smirked and said lightly, "What for? To expand the territory of Great Zhou for me?"

Seeing this reaction, a hint of barely perceptible melancholy flickered in Yun Xunyu's eyes, but it was soon covered again by that nonchalant, lazy demeanor.

He chuckled softly, his gaze slowly sweeping across Cheng Ge's face like a feather, finally fixing.

With a hint of playfulness, he said softly, "It seems there's something on darling's face."

"Huh?" Cheng Ge heard this, took it seriously, and immediately raised his hand to wipe haphazardly at his face, "Where?"

"Don't move," Yun Xunyu stopped him, his voice gentle. "Let me help you."

Saying this, he raised his hand, his fingertips slowly approaching Cheng Ge's cheek.

Cheng Ge, as if under his spell, obediently stood still.

The slightly cool fingertip grazed extremely gently across Cheng Ge's eyelid, carrying a faint, elusive cold fragrance.

Cheng Ge's eye was tickled by the touch, and he blinked involuntarily, like a frightened butterfly's wing.

He asked, a bit uncomfortable, "Is that enough? What was it..."

But before he could finish the words—

"—mwah—"

Cheng Ge: "..." I can't believe I fell for his damn lies!!!

* * *

Lin Nanshu was holding the osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut flour cake that Cheng Ge loved, and had just reached under the arched gate, but his steps hesitated involuntarily.

His grandfather Lin Zhufeng's words still echoed in his ears. He took a deep breath, about to step into the courtyard—

"Darling, it seems there's something on your face."

A lazy, smiling voice drifted over with the wind, like a fine needle, unexpectedly piercing Lin Nanshu's ear.

His breath hitched slightly, his fingers around the food box slowly curled, knuckles whitening.

The sunlight barely managed to project the shadows of the two people in the courtyard onto the ground, their figures almost overlapping, stretched long, appearing so intimate.

The wind whispered by his ears, carrying a touch of inexplicable coldness, making him lower his eyes.

He couldn't help but take two steps forward, using the pillar of the corridor as cover, and could just glimpse the scene in the courtyard.

He saw Yun Xunyu slowly lean in, his cool fingertip grazing across Cheng Ge's eyelid, his movements gentle, almost tender.

The next moment, like a snowflake settling on a plum blossom branch, it pressed against the corner of Cheng Ge's eye.

Lin Nanshu felt his heart stung sharply, a sharp, tingling pain spread through him.

The afternoon sunlight, usually so warm, now stung his eyes, almost blinding him.

He thought painfully, so this was how they... usually interacted? So straightforward, so ardent, almost unrestrained.

And what about himself? He only dared to lurk like a ghost in a dark corner, feeling even a moment longer of looking was a transgression. Muyu treats him... differently, doesn't he...?

However, before this self-pitying thought could even spread—

Crack! A sharp, ear-ringing slap exploded in the courtyard like a thunderclap.

Lin Nanshu's pupils shrank as Yun Xunyu was knocked sideways, his hands barely catching the stone table to keep from falling, a clear red mark immediately forming on his cheek.

Instinctively, Lin Nanshu took half a step backward, swallowing hard, his throat bobbing.

“Give me your life, you dog!” Cheng Ge's furious roar followed, nearly lifting the roof off.