"That child, so thin-skinned."Shi Wuxie tried to move, but couldn't break free. The person on top of him was unexpectedly heavy.Chu Yunxi, as if sensing something in his sleep, mumbled indistinctly, wrapped his arms and legs tighter, and unconsciously nuzzled his cheek against Shi Wuxie's shoulder, finding a more comfortable position.Shi Wuxie froze, then tried pulling his arm free again. No luck.He was silent for a moment, let out an almost inaudible sigh, and gave up struggling, lying there stiffly, eyes open, staring at the canopy.The Ghostly Shadow hovered above the two of them, furiously sticking out that blurry phantom limb to kick Chu Yunxi.[That little brat! Last night he guarded against me like I was a thief, but once he's asleep he holds on so tight! Shameless!]But his "foot" passed right through Chu Yunxi's body, leaving no trace at all.Chu Yunxi was dreaming. In the dream, he was hugging a big, soft pillow that smelled wonderful, so comfortable he didn't want to let go. The sensation against his palm was fine and slightly cool, like the finest silk.The sensation was too real. His eyelashes fluttered a few times, and his consciousness gradually began to return.What was he holding?So slender. So soft.It seemed to be… a waist.Wait… a waist?!Chu Yunxi sucked in a cold breath and snapped his eyes open.As his vision focused, the first thing that met his eyes was a slender neck mere inches away, where a jade mountain pendant lay quietly, sliding gently with each breath.There was a "boom" in Chu Yunxi's head. He let go as if electrocuted, jumped off the bed, and quickly backed away two steps.Fumbling to pull together his wide-open robe, he demanded in shock and anger, "What did you do?!"Shi Wuxie slowly sat up, spreading his hands with confusion in his eyes. "Nothing."Chu Yunxi's gaze fixed on him.Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window behind him. Shi Wuxie sat right in that patch of light, his jet-black hair somewhat disheveled, a few strands playfully stuck to his cheek, the collar of his moon-white inner robe loose, revealing a stretch of collarbone.Long lashes lowered, eyes still sleepy, exuding a languid beauty.Chu Yunxi stared, stunned, and most of his confidence drained away: "Then… why were you holding me?"Shi Wuxie frowned and corrected him, "You were holding me."Chu Yunxi: …Only now did his brain fully wake up, and he remembered the pillow he'd been hugging in his dream.Come to think of it, his sleeping posture had never been good. It happened fairly often that he went to sleep with his head at the head of the bed and woke up at the foot.…A bit embarrassing."Hiss—"He lowered his head and rubbed his temples, brows tightly knitted, with deliberate weakness: "Aiya… my head, why does it hurt so much…" While mumbling vaguely, he quickly turned and slipped behind the folding screen.Shi Wuxie sat on the bed blinking. A headache?He immediately grabbed paper and brush from the cabinet at the foot of the bed and asked earnestly toward the screen, "What kind of pain? Dull? Sharp? Where is it?"Behind the screen, Chu Yunxi, who was tying his sash, froze, and the corner of his mouth twitched.He knew it!He closed his eyes and simply pretended not to hear, continuing to wrestle with the complicated garment.Shi Wuxie held the brush suspended in midair and waited a while, but got no response. He tilted his head and was just hesitating over whether to go over and ask directly when he heard a knock at the door outside."Xi'er, my dear son-in-law, are you up yet? Lunch is ready—it's already noon. Come eat a little, won't you?"Chu Yunxi felt as if granted a reprieve, and immediately raised his voice: "I'm up! Come in!"Only then did Madam Liu enter, leading two maids carrying food boxes, and began methodically arranging the dishes on the table.The aroma of food quickly filled the room.Chu Yunxi stood by the clothes rack behind the screen, facing a full-length mirror.The person in the mirror wore plain white sleeping robes, the collar casually open, revealing most of his waist and abdomen.The original owner's body had an excellent frame—shoulders straight and level, waist narrow and lean, posture upright. But years of poor health had left only a thin layer of muscle on his abdomen, where the faint outlines of a few segments could be seen, though without any real strength to them.Chu Yunxi thought of his own powerful, narrow waist from his previous life, with eight clearly defined blocks of abdominal muscle, then looked again at the body in the mirror and frowned in disgust.Then, as if possessed, last night's emphatic words from Shi Wuxie drifted into his mind: Never even thought about it.Chu Yunxi's brow furrowed even tighter.He yanked the sash tight with a few sharp tugs, then strode out in great strides.Shi Wuxie was standing at the washstand cleaning his face when he suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep past him.He straightened up, water droplets still clinging to his brow and the bridge of his nose, and bent sideways to peer out curiously—only to see Chu Yunxi running laps around the courtyard.Shi Wuxie tilted his head: ?Madam Liu, who had been directing the maids in setting out the food, heard the commotion and hurried out after him. Seeing this, she cried anxiously, "Xi'er! Aren't you eating? Why are you running on an empty stomach!"Chu Yunxi kept his head down and ran. "Wait till I finish one thousand meters!"Madam Liu was stunned. "One thousand meters? What's that?"Worried sick, she lifted her skirts and chased to the middle of the courtyard, watching her son run past her lap after lap, and pleaded heartbrokenly, "Xi'er, aren't you in pain? Why are you running? Stop and rest!"Chu Yunxi blew past Madam Liu like a gust of wind as he ran, the rush of air and his panting drowning out the ends of her words. Without turning his head, he called back, "Pain from what—?"Madam Liu hesitated, not daring to speak openly, so she waited until he ran close again, then said in a lowered voice, "Mother heard everything! Be good—if it hurts, you need medicine. Don't push through it running around like a fool, you'll ruin your health!"Chu Yunxi couldn't hear a word of it, and turned his head without slowing: "Huh?!"The courtyard was small, and Chu Yunxi's strides were long, so in the course of this back-and-forth, he had already run two more laps.Madam Liu grew dizzy watching him circle around, pressed her hands to her temples, and raised her voice: "Stop! Stop running!"Chu Yunxi braked hard, coming to a halt just in front of Madam Liu, hands on his hips, panting. "What is it exactly?"Madam Liu glanced quickly around, saw that the servants were standing far off, and that Shi Wuxie was at the doorway of the room.She pulled Chu Yunxi close, turning her back to the door, drew a small medicine box from her sleeve, and swiftly pressed it into his palm, her voice extremely low: "Mother heard everything outside just now. Didn't Lord Shi ask where it hurt?"She gave Chu Yunxi a meaningful look, full of the knowing sympathy of someone experienced. "Here, Mother has it all prepared for you. In matters like this you need to look out for yourself—you can't just let him do as he pleases with no restraint. How can your body withstand—"Chu Yunxi stared blankly at Madam Liu, then at the medicine box in his hand. His mind turned over several times before his face suddenly went dark."If you're feeling shy, just use it yourself. Mother will teach you…""You misheard!" Chu Yunxi cut in at once. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he said weakly, "I'm fine… I don't need this."Madam Liu looked surprised. "Really? But that Master Shi doesn't seem the type to be tender with anyone. After a whole night of exertion, your body…""Really, I don't need it!!" Chu Yunxi's grip on the box suddenly tightened, and the porcelain casket let out a strained crack.He took a deep breath and hastily changed the subject. "Oh right, Mother, let me ask you something."Madam Liu's attention was successfully drawn away. "Go ahead."Chu Yunxi steadied his breathing. "Back then, the diviner said my Fate Pattern was weak, that I wouldn't live past my coming-of-age. Does that mean I've been terribly unlucky since childhood? Suffering heaven's punishment every now and then?"He thought of yesterday's lightning strike—rather absurd, honestly.Madam Liu shook her head. "No, it's not that. The diviner's exact words were that at eighteen, you would face a tribulation. If you survived it, there might be a sliver of hope.""And now you've technically 'died' once already—doesn't that fit the prophecy?" As she spoke, she stroked the sweat-damp hair on his forehead, her eyes full of pure hope and relief. "My son must have made it through."Chu Yunxi pondered for a moment, and suddenly it made sense.He had transmigrated and taken over the original body's form—so did that mean this tribulation was his to endure?At the thought, he looked up at the sky, his eyes darkening, then flipped the heavens the middle finger."Alright, got it. Have you eaten yet?"Madam Liu nodded. "I have. I was just saving some for you two…""Good enough." Chu Yunxi shoved the medicine box back into Madam Liu's hands without a word of protest, then steered her toward the courtyard gate by her shoulders. "Go on, tend to your business. Don't worry about me."Madam Liu stood at the gate, looking down at the medicine box in her palm, and sighed with a smile. "This child—so thin-skinned."Chu Yunxi finished his final lap and stopped in the center of the courtyard, breathing hard. Sweat slid continuously down his temples, soaking the collar of his inner shirt along his neck.A servant promptly handed him a cloth to wipe his face.He looked up, his gaze drifting past the corridor—and saw that Shi Wuxie was not eating, but standing quietly in the shadow of the corridor pillar, head bowed, intently studying the booklet in his palm, occasionally raising his brush to jot something down.That figure was lean and slender, standing straight as a stalk of bamboo, the sunlight tracing the line of his waist, bound by his belt and looking all the more taut for it.Chu Yunxi's gaze lingered on that waist for a moment, his fingertips seemingly recalling once more the feel of it from his dream—delicate and cool, yet remarkably supple.He hastily averted his eyes, his throat bobbing involuntarily.Seeing that Chu Yunxi had stopped and seemed done, Shi Wuxie closed his booklet and turned slightly, preparing to return to his room.The instant he turned, Chu Yunxi suddenly bent down, one hand planted on the ground, the other held behind his back, steadily beginning one-armed push-ups."One, two, three…"As he pushed himself up and down, Chu Yunxi lifted his sweat-damp lashes and glanced toward the corridor.Sure enough, Shi Wuxie retraced his steps, his expression turning serious again, quickly scribbling notes from time to time: […movements are standard, rhythm is steady—far exceeds the strength and control this frail body should possess…]Chu Yunxi sneered inwardly.Train. Train like his life depended on it!Once he trained this broken body back to the way it was in his past life, let's see if this little madman could still say "never even thought about it" with a straight face!Hah.But the moment that thought flashed through his mind, Chu Yunxi's movements paused.Wait… hold on.What was he even thinking? He was exercising only to live a long life, to make this madman who prayed daily for his early death see his wish come to nothing.That's right, exactly that!With that thought, his tangled brain finally smoothed out. His brow relaxed, and he briskly switched hands and continued.It wasn't until both arms were throbbing with a clear ache that he stopped, chest rising and falling slightly.The attendant nearby had long been watching dumbfounded, and only now came back to his senses, hurrying forward with concern: "Second Young Master, please don't overexert yourself—you've only just recovered…"Chu Yunxi nodded. Keeping one arm propped on the ground, he then engaged his core, bent one leg for support, and rose neatly.With a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, he looked toward the corridor again.Only to see Shi Wuxie give him one last glance, then calmly close the booklet and turn to leave without a shred of reluctance. There was none of the bright, shining look he had imagined.Chu Yunxi: ?His lips pressed flat, and he strode after him.Shi Wuxie was already seated comfortably, lifting his chopsticks to eat, when he sensed a source of heat approaching from afar. When it stopped across from him, the warmth radiated over—even the fingertips gripping his chopsticks seemed to be scorched.He looked up across the table and saw Chu Yunxi panting out hot breath, chest heaving, like a little sun warming the surrounding air.For some reason, he recalled the feeling of being held tightly in Chu Yunxi's arms earlier. It really had been quite warm—there was still residual heat from that palm on his lower back even now.As Shi Wuxie ate quietly, he reminded himself: note it down later—body temperature runs high.Chu Yunxi poked at the food in his bowl with his chopsticks a few times, and finally couldn't hold back, asking as if casually: "What? Did you record all the data from my workout just now?"Shi Wuxie took a moment to understand what "data" meant, then nodded and said flatly, "Recorded."That flat reaction made Chu Yunxi's chest tighten. He raised an eyebrow and pressed on: "Running a full thousand meters, then thirty one-armed push-ups… you don't have any other thoughts about it?"He deliberately emphasized the numbers, trying to awaken the other's awareness that "this is highly unusual."Shi Wuxie looked up, his eyes shifting as he first digested Chu Yunxi's wording, then answered honestly: "I do. Given your physical condition, this 'data' is quite impressive."Chu Yunxi's face turned stern. "Then why do you have that expression?"Shi Wuxie looked puzzled. "What expression should I have?"Chu Yunxi choked.Shouldn't his eyes be shining, full of curiosity and excitement, as if he'd seen some rare specimen?Why was there no reaction at all?Chu Yunxi's mouth twitched, and he suddenly felt that his competitive behavior was utterly stupid.Deflating, he spat out stiffly: "Nothing."Shi Wuxie had long grown numb to these rapid mood swings of his. He gave a barely audible "oh" and continued eating in silence.Slowly, he scooped up a spoonful of soup and brought it to his mouth. The moment he swallowed, he suddenly choked and started coughing."Cough, cough—!"Shi Wuxie coughed violently, the tips of his ears flushing slightly red.Chu Yunxi: ..He was about to reach out and pat the man's back, but his hand hovered in midair as he hesitated.Why should he care about this little madman?Let him cough himself to death.But before long, Shi Wuxie's coughing subsided.Unhurried, he drew out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth, then cleaned up the soup that had splattered on the table—his movements composed and fluid, all in one smooth motion.As if such minor mishaps were already old hat to him, Shi Wuxie picked up his chopsticks again.Just then, a servant came to report: "There's been a murder at the Jing'an Marquis Residence. The Marquis begs you to come to the estate at once."Shi Wuxie's chopsticks paused. "Who has died? What happened?"The servant answered from outside the door: "The messenger says the manor's eldest young master fell into the water, and by the time he was pulled out he had stopped breathing. They're still trying to resuscitate him. The Marquis insists this was no accident—that something suspicious is afoot—and keeps saying it was… it was the work of the second young master who was only recently brought back into the family. He's come to ask you to uphold justice."Chu Yunxi, catching a few key words over his meal, rolled his eyes and asked, "That second young master who was brought back—don't tell me he's the Marquis's own son who was lost outside and swapped at birth?"The servant froze. "Young Master, how… how did you know?"Chu Yunxi's lips curved up in a chuckle.He knew it—this was absolutely a BL world!The true-and-false young masters trope: late, but it arrived.In The Ghostly Shadow's hollow eye sockets, a wisp of Ghost Fire flickered to life as he said excitedly, 【Yu Nu, the web we laid before can finally be drawn in.】Shi Wuxie nodded, dabbed the corner of his mouth with his handkerchief, and rose. "Let's go take a look."He had just turned when Chu Yunxi grabbed his wrist.Shi Wuxie looked back in puzzlement, only to see Chu Yunxi flash a smile. "I'm coming too."Shi Wuxie refused coldly. "It's a crime scene, and the Marquis's household is noble-born. Idlers are not permitted inside." With that, he draped his cloak over his shoulders and walked out."Hey—"Before Chu Yunxi could get another word out, the man was already gone.Left alone in the room, Chu Yunxi narrowed his eyes.You won't let me go? Then this spectacle I'm going to see, whether you like it or not.
Chapter 8
My Cold-Faced Wife Wants to Kill Me Again