Chapter 45 Caught in Intimacy

Chapter 45: Caught in the Act of Intimacy

When Xie Nai brought Qin Jiao back to the military camp, dusk was already settling in. Luo Yue wasted no time in escorting the men in black to the camp prison for interrogation. Cong Shuang said she would prepare the evening meal, so Qin Jiao and Xie Nai headed to the main tent together.

Qin Jiao was now a poor homeless guy, so he could only rely on staying in Xie Nai's commander's tent.

At first, he felt a bit embarrassed, because if he took the main tent, Xie Nai would have to stay in the side camp. However, Xie Nai didn't seem to mind at all, simply saying that Qin Jiao could stay in the main tent to recover from his injuries. Qin Jiao was really touched.

But even though the main tent was now Qin Jiao's residence, Xie Nai would occasionally come to grab some of his everyday things. After all, they were only stationed here temporarily, and moving things back and forth would be troublesome.

The north wind was cutting cold.

Qin Jiao felt chilly and huddled inside his heavy cloak. He and Xie Nai were originally walking one behind the other, but suddenly Xie Nai stopped. Qin Jiao, completely unprepared, bumped into his back with a soft "thud."

"What are you doing?" Qin Jiao rubbed his forehead and tilted it to look at Xie Nai.

"This way." Xie Nai didn't answer Qin Jiao but instead veered off to the side.

"Why? Isn't this way faster?" It was freezing, and Qin Jiao didn't want to take the long route.

He looked at Xie Nai with confusion, and Xie Nai looked back at him. The two stared at each other in silence, when a bell suddenly jangled rapidly!

"Ding, ring, ring, ding ring ring—"

This bell sound... it was Xiao Baiyu's tiger-shaker bell.

Xiao Baiyu often used the tiger-shaker bell when taking Qin Jiao's pulse, so Qin Jiao was very familiar with the sound.

But usually, the bell's sound was steady. Now, however, the jingling was frantic and all over the place, completely without rhythm, as if someone were shaking it wildly.

The loud ringing came with hurried footsteps heading toward Qin Jiao and Xie Nai. Qin Jiao was about to peek out to see what was happening, but Xie Nai suddenly pulled him, and he tumbled like a ball into Xie Nai's arms.

"What are you—mmph."

Xie Nai clamped a hand over Qin Jiao's mouth before he could speak, and the young man's muffled protest turned into a discontented hum, which sounded almost like a playful whine.

The chaotic footsteps grew closer and closer to Qin Jiao and Xie Nai. Qin Jiao's eyes were wide open, clear and bright like autumn water, unusually bright.

After he gave a little nod, signaling that he wouldn't speak anymore, Xie Nai released his grip.

Curious, Qin Jiao quietly tilted his head to look. Not far away stood He Zhao, his face full of anger, and Xiao Baiyu, who was smiling softly.

"Zhou Zhou, I'm sorry." Xiao Baiyu was apologizing and trying to take He Zhao's hand.

"Don't touch me. You're someone who's about to get married—we need to keep our distance!"

Qin Jiao saw He Zhao angrily shake off the Divine Doctor Xiao's hand and took a step back.

"That's not true, Zhou Zhou. You've misunderstood. It was all my father's arrangement, and I've already refused. You left too quickly before, and I didn't have a chance to explain. Now everything is settled."

Xiao Baiyu forcefully grabbed He Zhao's hand. "Zhou Zhou, be good. Let me counteract the poison for you first."

"I don't need your help. Let Xie Nai's poison just kill me!"

He Zhao's tone was like he didn't care anymore, as if he were being stubbornly unreasonable.

"Of course I care about Zhou Zhou. I'll go find Xie Nai soon and ask him how he could treat my Zhou Zhou like this." Xiao Baiyu continued to coax He Zhao in a low voice.

"Let go! Who asked you to go question him?"

He Zhao's feathers seemed to be all ruffled up. Qin Jiao had been enjoying the spectacle when Xie Nai's name was suddenly mentioned, and he nearly burst out laughing.

The young man in his arms seemed to be struggling hard to suppress his laughter, his whole body trembling slightly. Xie Nai lightly patted Qin Jiao on the head, giving him a warning look.

Qin Jiao completely ignored Xie Nai's warning and laughed even more merrily, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight: Serves you right for using the Bone-Crushing Pill to bully He Zhao—now he has someone to back him up.

Xie Nai had no way to deal with him, so he simply reached out and firmly turned Qin Jiao's head away. Originally, Xie Nai intended to turn that teasing face aside to avoid seeing it and getting annoyed. But who would have thought the timing was unlucky? Just as Xie Nai forcefully turned Qin Jiao's head, Qin Jiao saw Xiao Baiyu grabbing He Zhao by the chin and forcefully kissing him!

"Xiao Baiyu, you scoundrel! Let go, mmph—"

He Zhao's voice was abruptly cut off. The tiger-shaker bell on Xiao Baiyu's body jangled with every movement, every collision...

Shocked! Embarrassed! Oh god!

Qin Jiao's handsome face instantly flushed bright red!

What the hell—how could 'Flowery Peacock' and Divine Doctor Xiao be fooling around in the military camp like this!

Qin Jiao felt so uncomfortable he wanted to crawl into a hole on the spot. Xie Nai, however, looked completely calm. Qin Jiao glared at Xie Nai angrily—you started this, why did you make me see this!

Seeing Qin Jiao's red face glaring at him, Xie Nai suddenly leaned in slyly, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Qin Jiao, with sudden insight, understood Xie Nai's meaning: Even if I hadn't turned your face, they still would have kissed. And now...

The night was dark, the air thick with tension. Qin Jiao's heart suddenly beat very fast, almost leaping out of his chest. A strange warmth flooded through him, and his whole body grew hot.

Xie Nai was still closing in. The man's handsome face showed faint traces of a smile, and the small red mole at the corner of his left eye seemed about to brush against Qin Jiao's cheek.

"What are you two doing?!"

Suddenly, an angry shout shattered the tender moment.

Qin Jiao quickly pulled back from Xie Nai's arms. His eyes darted away, and his hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly.

As soon as He Zhao saw this scene, he seemed to grasp something, but not completely. He stormed over, grabbed Qin Jiao, and the two of them stormed off like a whirlwind!

Qin Jiao couldn't resist and could only let himself be "swept away." Before leaving, He Zhao angrily left a remark for each of Xiao Baiyu and Xie Nai.

To Xiao Baiyu: "You're a con man peddling fake meds—you fraud!"

To Xie Nai: "Opening a dye shop in the underworld—you pervert! You're just as bad!"

The night wind blew the nearby banners with a howling sound. Qin Jiao was "swept away" by He Zhao, leaving Xiao Baiyu and Xie Nai exchanging looks.

Fortunately, both were extremely composed people. He Zhao had mistakenly thought that Qin Jiao and Xie Nai had just happened upon them, and hadn't seen Xiao Baiyu and He Zhao being intimate earlier. But Xiao Baiyu had noticed them from the very beginning.

Still, Xiao Baiyu didn't look embarrassed at all at being caught in an ambiguous moment. He continued to smile warmly and gently, smoothing out his rumpled robe. In a soft voice, he said, "Your Highness, I gave you the Bone-Crushing Pill back then, thinking you could use it for self-defense in a crisis—not so you could dose Zhou Zhou."

Xie Nai was totally unfazed by Xiao Baiyu's veiled accusation. His gaze was cold and steely: "At the time, your letter only said to keep him here. Isn't he now alive and kicking before you?"

Alive and kicking, and even had the nerve to whisk Qin Jiao away right in front of him.

Xie Nai's matter-of-fact explanation cracked slightly Xiao Baiyu's usually gentle face. "But you shouldn't have used the Bone-Crushing Pill on him!"

Xiao Baiyu pressed his forehead in frustration. Back when He Zhao had quarreled with him and taken off from Apricot Forest Manor, Xiao Baiyu had been too tied up with manor affairs to chase after him, so he had someone tail him.

When he learned that He Zhao had been captured by Xie Nai, Xiao Baiyu wrote a letter. On one hand, he apologized for He Zhao's recklessness; on the other, he asked Xie Nai to help detain He Zhao.

The original words in Xiao Baiyu's letter were: "Zhou Zhou has a hot temper. If necessary, Your Highness can use some forceful means to keep him."

But they completely misunderstood each other on 'forceful means.' The former thought: if push came to shove, just lock Zhou Zhou in a room until I can explain and apologize to him later. The latter thought: poison him—if he dares to run, let the poison would finish him off.

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