That left Wen Xu nearly ready to believe it.
Staring fixedly under Yu Qinghan’s piercing gaze, Wen Xu felt his legs turn to jelly and hurriedly explained, “Shizun, you really have misunderstood! This disciple never meant anything of the sort. I like women, not men; why would I ever want to kiss Shizun?”
He felt as though he had spent his entire day doing nothing but explaining himself—what terrible luck. Yu Qinghan and Yuan Xiuzhu truly deserved to be master and disciple; they were both equally fond of jumping to conclusions.
Modern people didn’t even have imaginations this active; their minds were far too warped!
With a profound and fathomless look, Yu Qinghan stared unblinkingly at Wen Xu’s face, his voice low and firm. “You were standing very close just now—close enough that you nearly kissed my face.”
Wen Xu widened his almond-shaped eyes, his mouth slightly agape. “This disciple merely wanted to check whether Shizun was asleep.”
Yu Qinghan raised an eyebrow slightly. “And then you prepared to kiss me?”
Wen Xu felt aggrieved. “…I did not!”
He felt utterly wronged. “This disciple was simply tired and wanted to take a nap, but since Shizun hadn’t told me to stop massaging, I wanted to see if Shizun had fallen asleep so I could slack off for a little while.”
“Just for that reason?” Yu Qinghan found the excuse a bit far-fetched and remained entirely unconvinced.
Wen Xu nodded vigorously with an affirmative “Mm-mm.” “Just for that reason! I was afraid of making Shizun angry, so… can this disciple go take a nap for a bit now?”
Blinking twice, Wen Xu put on an adorable act, even deliberately puckering his lips as he gazed up at Yu Qinghan with hopeful, pleading eyes.
Yu Qinghan reached out to stroke his chin, a hint of contemplation lurking deep within his dark gaze.
Was his little disciple trying to act cute for him? Those little puckered lips actually looked rather endearing.
He simply hadn’t expected that while the little fellow’s lips looked soft, his stance was remarkably unyielding—refusing to admit that he liked him even to the bitter end.
No matter; the days were rather dull as it was, and the little disciple’s current personality suited him well enough for entertainment.
Standing up to straighten his robes, Yu Qinghan looked down with an air of authority at Wen Xu, who was still seated on the floor. “Massaging legs isn’t some monumental task. If you’re tired, just stop. I initially thought you had become a bit more lively after surviving your ordeal, but why is your head still so rigid?”
Unjustly subjected to a lecture, Wen Xu looked up at Yu Qinghan with an innocent expression. “It’s not that I’m rigid… This disciple simply respects Shizun, which is why I strictly obey Shizun’s commands.”
“You make it sound as though Master is terribly strict. If you want to sleep, then sleep; Master isn’t going to eat you.” As he spoke, Yu Qinghan extended his right hand toward Wen Xu, palm facing upward. “Give me your hand.”
“He won’t eat me, he just almost did,” Wen Xu muttered under his breath with lingering fear, recalling Yu Qinghan’s terrifying bloody maw.
Gazing at the fair, slender hand before him, he hesitated for a moment before extending his own hand and placing it into Yu Qinghan’s palm.
Yu Qinghan’s large hand enveloped Wen Xu’s soft, pale fingers, then exerted a slight pull, hauling him straight up from the floor.
The exact moment he stood up, Wen Xu lost his balance and tumbled directly into Yu Qinghan’s embrace, his tender face colliding squarely against that hard chest with a muffled “Oof!”
The instant Wen Xu lunged forward, Yu Qinghan instinctively wrapped his other arm around the boy’s slender waist, instantly pressing their bodies together with zero space between them.
A sudden gust of wind swept through, swirling up falling petals across the ground, while a few loose strands of dark hair fluttered into the air and became hopelessly intertwined.
It was a scene straight out of an idol drama: when the male lead pulls up the female lead from the floor, she accidentally tumbles into his arms a romance both picturesque and ambiguous.
Wen Xu seriously suspected he had been handed the female lead script, primarily because today’s chain of events bore an uncanny resemblance to one!
Through a thin layer of fabric, he could distinctly feel the solid, well-developed pectoral muscles beneath, accompanied by a steady, thumping heartbeat. His nasal passages were filled with a chilling, refreshing fragrance that smelled exceptionally pleasant, making it hard not to lose oneself in the sensation.
Clutching Wen Xu’s hand, Yu Qinghan lowered his gaze to look at that wrinkled little face. He found his little disciple’s body pleasantly warm, feeling quite cozy pressed against him, while the waist he held was slender and wonderfully flexible.
Wen Xu’s experience, however, was vastly inferior. Recovering his wits from the alluring chill of the fragrance, a wave of annoyance washed over him due to three distinct reasons:
First, Yu Qinghan’s chest was far too hard, leaving his face aching from the impact.
Second, Yu Qinghan’s body temperature was too low, feeling rather chilly.
Third, Yu Qinghan was far too tall, dealing a painful blow to his pride.
He hadn’t paid much attention before, but standing side-by-side now, he realized he barely reached Yu Qinghan’s chest. This height difference was heartbreaking!
The original host still seemed quite young; he wondered if drinking a few cups of pure milk would give him any chance of growing taller.
Let’s hope so!
Though first, he suppose he would need to track down a dairy cow and milk it himself. Untreated fresh milk probably tasted rather gamey, though.
As these stray thoughts crossed his mind, Wen Xu began to find the prospect rather troublesome. Suddenly, he figured failing to grow tall wasn’t the end of the world anyway given how bizarre his current constitution was, he probably wouldn’t even be able to take a wife in the future, so he might as well save himself the trouble.
Short life and fleeting days aside, honestly obeying and figuring out ways to butter up Yu Qinghan was the correct path forward!
Noticing that Wen Xu remained completely motionless with his face pressed against his chest, head lowered in silence, Yu Qinghan mused inwardly: It seems the little disciple intentionally threw himself into my arms.
To create an opportunity for physical contact, the little fellow had truly gone to great lengths.
The corners of Yu Qinghan’s lips curled upward, a hint of playful amusement dancing within his ice-cold black eyes as a sudden urge to tease the boy arose.
Lowering his head until his thin lips were nearly brushing against that soft, tender earlobe, he whispered lightly, “Ah-Xu, is Master’s embrace comfortable?”
Spoken in a low, gentle voice rich with magnetic resonance, the words sent a tingling jolt straight through Wen Xu’s ear, feeling like a brief electrical current sweeping across his body with a lingering wave of numbness.
That was when it finally dawned on him that he was still being held tightly in Yu Qinghan’s arms, having spent an ungodly amount of time spacing out in this exact posture!
A scorching wave of crimson rushed up to flush Wen Xu’s face. Raising one hand to cover his ear his knuckles accidentally grazing Yu Qinghan’s cool, thin lips he used his other hand to shove hard against the other’s chest, forcefully tearing himself away from the spacious embrace.
“Shizun’s embrace is uncomfor… No, wait, Shizun’s embrace is very comfor—”
Realizing that no matter how he answered it sounded wrong, Wen Xu decisively abandoned the question. With darting, evasive eyes, he stammered, “W-What comfortable or uncomfortable? This disciple simply fell into Shizun’s embrace by accident! Many thanks to Shizun for catching me in time! Otherwise, I surely would have taken another tumble.”
With profound meaning in his gaze, Yu Qinghan remarked, “Ah-Xu, you seem terribly nervous. You weren’t like this before.”
“R-Really? What is there for this disciple to be nervous about? Shizun, you’re overthinking things! Anyway, I’m so sleepy, Shizun, this disciple is going to take a little nap over there!”
Flustered and panicked, Wen Xu scurried like a rabbit toward the desk situated furthest from the window. He slammed the single book resting upon it shut, shoved it aside, and immediately slumped forward with his arms crossed on the desktop to hide away and sleep.
He had no earthly idea why he was acting so flustered. It wasn’t as though having Yu Qinghan whisper beside his ear warranted a reaction this intense.
What a complete embarrassment!