Morning light poured in, with tiny dust particles floating in the air. The long lashes of the young man on the bed trembled slightly, his amber pupils shimmering like autumn water in a mountain stream under the sunlight, adding a delicate beauty to his facial features. As the mist in his eyes gradually cleared and his consciousness returned, Xie Jinning felt completely relaxed. His head wasn’t dizzy, his vision wasn’t blurred, and there wasn’t a trace of stickiness on his body. Even the wound on his back didn’t hurt as much anymore.
He propped himself up, half-leaning against the headboard, and touched his forehead. The temperature was normal. Only when he lowered his hand did he realize that his loose clothes from before he slept had been changed into a perfectly fitting plain white robe, and the sheets had also been replaced.
“Huh?”
When did that happen? He had no memory of it at all.
His amber eyes turned in confusion as his senses gradually returned. His lips felt slightly numb, and the root of his tongue was a bit sore. Not knowing what had happened, he licked his lips and smacked them a few times, finally tasting a hint of bitter medicine.
Someone had fed him medicine.
Even though he had drunk a lot of medicinal soups since childhood, Xie Jinning still wasn’t used to this taste. He wrinkled his face, stuck out his tongue, trying to let the air take away the bitterness.
“Yan Yi.”
The call with his tongue sticking out was sticky and unclear. His fingers, as white as scallions, ran through his black hair, smoothing it out bit by bit like a cat grooming its fur.
Xie Jinning got up, put on the outer robe placed at the head of the bed, his long, smooth black hair draping down, covering his thin, straight back. The loose belt was casually tied around his waist, outlining a slender figure.
“Yan Yi, where are you?”
He called out several times but got no response. Xie Jinning pushed the door open and walked into the sunlit courtyard, stretching lazily with his face upturned.
The sunlight was just right today, warming him all over, completely dispelling the lingering chill in his bones.
He wasn’t sure if it was the ointment that worked or if the heavy massage had dispersed the bruises, but the wound on his back had already reduced in swelling, and walking wasn’t as painful anymore, though his posture was still slightly unnatural.
He closed his eyes and basked for a while, then slowly walked into the adjacent room, pushing the door open and peering inside.
At a glance, it seemed like there was nothing he needed, and the more he looked, the worse it seemed.
After putting down the curtain in the kitchen, Xie Jinning sighed lightly in disappointment, his chest feeling sour and swollen, as if his heart had been soaked in a mess of medicinal liquid.
So Xie Zhu had grown up in such a harsh environment since childhood.
He had been living a life of luxury, with jade chopsticks and cups, while Xie Zhu could only live in such a house, exposed to the wind and rain.
No wonder he was so thin; he probably didn’t have enough to eat or wear.
He had enjoyed the blessings that Xie Zhu should have had, so it was only right to return them now.
He had even misunderstood him as an illegitimate child before and treated him so poorly.
With blurred vision, Xie Jinning looked up, blinking quickly to hold back his tears. He rubbed his reddened nose and muttered, “I’m sorry.”
After mumbling, he patted his face to lift his spirits, forcing a light smile, “But now you can live in a beautiful house every day, eat whatever you want, have pretty clothes and jewelry, and toys. I’ve put them all in the third room of Jinyuan, you can take whatever you like, and also…”
Regardless of whether Xie Zhu, who was far away, could miraculously hear his apology, Xie Jinning rambled on, even mentioning the likes and dislikes of the three members of the Xie family, and as he spoke, he made himself tear up again.
He was no longer the young master of the Xie family, and remembering these things only served to torment him repeatedly in the quiet of the night.
Xie Jinning understood this, having suffered once, he didn’t want to suffer again.
Originally, he thought of seeking out his friend, using his friend’s name to meet them, and ask why they sent him away in his sleep without even a chance to say goodbye.
But now, having seen the environment Xie Zhu once lived in, he was hesitant.
He feared hearing answers he didn’t want to hear, and even more feared hearing the answers he did want to hear.
“No.”
Xie Jinning forcibly interrupted his thoughts, taking a deep breath, and whispered to himself, “From now on, these things are for you to do. Your parents, I also…”
Biting his lip in hesitation, after a moment, his eyes lit up, “How about this, when I earn money in the future, I’ll send part of it back to the Xie family, and the rest I’ll send here for you… for my parents to use.”
“After all, they didn’t raise me before, so giving them money for their old age is also a form of filial piety, right?”
A gentle breeze blew through, rustling the large tree planted in the courtyard, casting dancing shadows on the ground through the gaps in the leaves.
Seeing this, Xie Jinning’s eyebrows curved, and the corners of his lips lifted.
He took it as Xie Zhu agreeing.
With plans for the future, he shook off the gloom of the past few days, his spirit and energy rising, his eyes bright, lips red, and teeth white. In his off-white plain clothes, he was like a tender bamboo shoot, exuding a vibrant and lively aura.
He stretched his limbs, turned his head to look back, and saw a wooden rack standing in the center of the courtyard, with clothes still dripping water.
Xie Jinning walked closer and saw it was his changed clothes, even the water-green brocade had been carefully washed.
And at the very end, his changed undergarments were hanging conspicuously.
Seeing this, Xie Jinning’s face turned bright red, his fingers extended but froze in mid-air, unsure whether to retract them or not, and finally, he could only stomp his foot in embarrassment.
“Who told him to wash these?”
Yan Yi really is, really is…
Completely out of line!
He angrily pushed open the courtyard door, walked to the wooden door next door, and knocked, “Yan Yi, Yan Yi, I’m calling you.”
Still no response, it seemed he wasn’t home.
Xie Jinning, new to the place and unfamiliar with the surroundings, didn’t know where to find him. As he hesitated, an elderly female voice came from behind.
“Child, are you looking for Xiao Yan? He went out early in the morning.”
It was an elderly woman with silver hair, dressed simply and leaning on a wooden cane. Her face was sallow and thin, with wrinkles deeply etched like tree roots, her eyes slightly cloudy, but her spirit was good.
Hearing this, Xie Jinning clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully, “Thank you for letting me know.”
Seeing his disheveled hair but still exuding an undeniable elegance and grace, the old woman’s cloudy eyes flashed with understanding.
She glanced at the open courtyard door of the Xie family next door and said directly, “You’re the child who was switched at birth, right?”
Switched at birth, that sounded much better than being called a “fake.”
His clear almond eyes dimmed for a moment, he pursed his lips and replied obediently, “Yes.”
The old woman, Chen, looked him over carefully, her smile gentle, “You look like Ah Fang when she was young, with big eyes like apricots and a small face, a pretty and lively child.”
Xie Jinning guessed she meant to say almond eyes and peach cheeks. He touched his cheek, still not quite used to being called “pretty” as a man, despite having heard it several times.
“Thank you, Grandma, but… who is Ah Fang?”
The old woman replied, “She’s your mother.”
While observing the house, Xie Jinning hadn’t noticed any items used by a woman, which puzzled him. The old woman’s answer was like a pillow for a sleepy head.
He quickly asked, “I didn’t see her around. Do you know where she went?”
Before leaving, he wanted to see her once, to know what his biological mother looked like.
Facing Xie Jinning’s expectant gaze, the old woman slowly shook her head, a hint of sadness on her face, “Ah Fang passed away from illness several years ago.”
In an instant, Xie Jinning felt as if he had been struck by lightning, unsure how to react, with tears quickly welling up.
His throat seemed to be gripped by a large hand, his eyes reddening as he hoarsely asked, “Do you know what illness it was?”
“I’m not sure, but… it was probably a heart disease.”
The old woman sighed, “Well, good child, since you’re here, just settle down. Your father, Ah Nong, is a good man too. You two should live well, so your mother can rest in peace.”
The thick black lashes cast a fan-like shadow on his eyelids, trembling slightly.
This time, Xie Jinning didn’t respond. After watching the old woman leave, he glanced at the still-closed courtyard door of Yan Yi’s house and turned back to the courtyard.
The sun in the sky was still dazzling, the sunlight warm like spring, but Xie Jinning no longer felt like basking in it.
He hadn’t expected that the first news he would hear about his biological mother would be of her death.
He hadn’t even had the chance to meet her, to see her once.
Xie Jinning slowly returned to his room, hugging his knees and curling up on his side.
Like a fetus in the womb.
…
Yan Yi moved quickly through the forest, his eyes locked on a white rabbit running three feet away.
The white rabbit was completely unaware of the impending danger, its nose twitching as it searched around, finally finding a patch of tender green in the yellowing grass and starting to feast.
At this moment, the wind slowed, the timing was perfect. Yan Yi drew his bow, ready to shoot, when a dark brown figure appeared in his peripheral vision.
It was a brown rabbit, emerging from the bushes, hopping to the side of the gray rabbit that was eating grass, sniffing it.
The gray rabbit, thinking it was also foraging, generously tilted its head to the side, leaving a few nibbled grass blades.
Yan Yi squinted, slightly shifting his steps, trying to find the right angle to hit both with one arrow.
Just as he was about to release the arrow, the brown rabbit suddenly mounted the gray rabbit, which was half its size, its hind legs moving in a mating posture.
These were clearly two male rabbits.
Yan Yi’s mind suddenly flashed back to the scene from his dream last night—a carved bed with red curtains hanging low, two bodies of different shapes entwined, rising and falling.
Rapid breathing and the sound of bodies colliding echoed in the air, the unbearable whimpers and moans stirring the heart.
He couldn’t see the person’s face, only the pair of jade-white long legs wrapped around the honey-colored waist, swaying slightly with the wild thrusts, toes curling and suddenly tightening.
The arch of the foot, with faint blue veins showing through the thin skin, like carefully drawn patterns, winding and delicate.
Until the owner of those legs couldn’t bear it anymore, letting out a long moan, the arms embracing the man’s shoulders falling weakly, the tightly pressed chests separating, and the small mole embedded in the flower-like hollow between the snow-white peaks was a striking red.
In the dream, the red candles and warm curtains, the intoxicating spring scene, made it hard to wake up.
Outside the dream, the pants were wet, swollen and painfully hard, the mind in chaos.
An archer must not be distracted. Amidst the surging emotions, the wooden arrow slipped from his hand, grazing the gray rabbit’s ear and hitting the tree trunk behind.
Sensing danger, the two rabbits leaped up and quickly fled, disappearing without a trace.
In this mountain forest, prey wasn’t abundant, but once Yan Yi found it, he was always spot on, even thick-skinned wild boars couldn’t withstand an arrow through the eye.
This time, it was just two rabbits, yet he missed.
His jaw clenched, the still swollen side of his face stinging and numb, his chest heaving violently. Unable to suppress his frustration, he punched the tree trunk, directly punching through it.
The splintered wood scratched his arm and fist, leaves fell like rain, covering his head.