From the moment they boarded the carriage, Ah Huai was filled with anticipation. He did not understand why Su Ce had suddenly changed his mind and allowed him to accompany him.
After all, a male concubine a status so embarrassing that one wouldn’t want to show their face would not typically be brought along by his master to appear in any social setting.
About a quarter of an hour later, as they finally arrived at their destination, Su Ce opened his eyes. Seeing Ah Huai, who had lifted the carriage curtain to gaze longingly at the pavilion over the water, he scoffed. “Look at that look on your face so rustic.”
Ah Huai embarrassed, lowered the curtain. With a gaze full of yearning and trepidation, he looked toward Su Ce. “Young Master, how can Ah Huai, a mere male concubine, participate in a banquet with you? This… this is not according to etiquette.”
Su Ce slanted his eyes toward Ah Huai and raised a brow. “Looking at your expression, your face is written all over with ‘please take me along,’ yet now you say such things. You truly are double-faced.”
Ah Huai pursed his lips, following close behind Su Ce as he disembarked.
The two had already delayed their departure by some time, and by now, the waterfront pavilion was already bustling with activity.
A servant at the door made an announcement.
Immediately following, hurried footsteps approached. “A-Ce! Why have you come today?”
Hearing this, Ah Huai furrowed his brows imperceptibly. From behind Su Ce, he lifted a pair of eyes filled with malice to look at the newcomer.
The person who had arrived was the beloved youngest son of the current Grand Tutor, Song Yue.
This man was one of the few friends Su Ce could speak with. As soon as they met, Song Yue affectionately took Su Ce’s hand.
“There is a banquet being held at the pavilion today, featuring imperial wine; how could I be missing?” Su Ce replied with a smile.
Song Yue immediately understood to whom Su Ce was referring. Given their long-standing friendship, how could he be ignorant of the history between the two? His face turned worried at once. “Are you truly going in? Isn’t this just asking for trouble?”
Suddenly, Ah Huai spoke up: “Young Master, perhaps Ah Huai should just return?”
Only then did Song Yue notice the unfamiliar face following Su Ce.
Song Yue curiously looked Ah Huai up and down, his gaze finally lingering on those clear, distinct black-and-white eyes. He was struck with a sudden shock, pulled Su Ce closer, and whispered in his ear: “What is the meaning of this?”
Su Ce smiled at Song Yue, glanced back at Ah Huai with a look of utter disdain, and said to Song Yue: “You see the resemblance, don’t you? It’s not easy to find someone so similar; naturally, I must keep him by my side.”
“But, but, you… sigh.”
Song Yue sighed, wanting to say something more, but Su Ce interrupted him: “That’s enough, let’s go in.”
Song Yue looked back three times with every step, wanting to speak but not knowing where to begin.
As they approached the banquet room, Su Ce suddenly stopped. He turned to walk in front of Ah Huai and smiled at him with a fake, mocking grin. “Can you try to keep up?”
Ah Huai lifted his eyelids, casting a look of confirmation toward Su Ce.
Su Ce was unsatisfied with his timid, fawning appearance. He reached out, grabbed Ah Huai’s wrist, and pulled him closer.
Just then, someone inside the banquet room opened the door. Upon seeing Su Ce’s gloomy expression and his hand tightly gripping the man’s wrist, they paused for a long time before saying: “Su… Su Ce, why have you come?”
As soon as these words were out, everyone stopped what they were doing, their gazes involuntarily cast upon the two.
Ah Huai felt Su Ce’s hand slide down to clasp his palm. He walked inside,牵着他, gaze straight ahead.
Ah Huai felt the somewhat surprised looks of the crowd. He knew it was because he possessed a pair of eyes similar to Fu Huaizhi’s and was dressed in moon-white robes—no matter how one looked at it, it appeared as if he were a substitute for Fu Huaizhi, whom Su Ce kept by his side.
His mood turned foul.
A thought could not help but arise: When would he be able to make Su Ce have eyes for him, rather than the shadow of another? If Fu Huaizhi were to disappear from this world, would all these problems be solved?
People really are greedy.
Ah Huai swept a glance at Fu Huaizhi and sat down gracefully behind Su Ce, straightening Su Ce’s robes for him.
Su Ce picked up a wine flagon, poured himself a full cup, and raised it toward Fu Huaizhi. His expression was cool, his words dripping with sarcasm: “How is it that the banquet hosted by Young Master Fu did not invite me? Could it be that because I had a few extra cups of wine that night years ago—accidentally causing distress to your future wife—you have decided to distance yourself from me?”
Fu Huaizhi stood up and said politely: “A-Ce, what are you saying? I simply thought you did not enjoy going out in the winter, which is why I did not notify you.”
Su Ce let out a muffled laugh. “Young Master Fu did not invite me, so how do you know I would not have come out? Doesn’t your self-righteous understanding of me sound laughable?”
With that, he raised his wine cup toward Fu Huaizhi with a wicked smile, downing the wine and the mist of tears welling in his eyes into his throat in one motion.
“Young Master, please drink slowly.”
Fu Huaizhi held his cup, hearing the familiar male voice. He glanced at the man sitting opposite Su Ce, who stood up and took a handkerchief from his robe to carefully wipe the wine stains from the corner of Su Ce’s mouth. The man’s eyes were gentle, holding only Su Ce in his gaze.
Fu Huaizhi’s heart sank; why did this wine suddenly taste so pungent? It choked him until he began to cough violently.
Someone at the banquet, bold enough, asked: “Young Master Su, who is this?”
Su Ce raised an eyebrow, wrapped an arm around Ah Huai’s shoulder, picked up a cherry from the fruit plate, and held it to Ah Huai’s lips. He laughed: “They are all very curious about you. Won’t you introduce yourself?”
Ah Huai stood up slowly, bowed slightly. “This servant’s name is Ah Huai.”
Su Ce looked at Fu Huaizhi. “Speaking of which, this male concubine of mine shares a few similarities in his brows and eyes to Young Master Fu.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of the crowd shifted. A man lying beneath Su Ce actually resembled the person who had once been the talk of the entire city—one couldn’t tell if this was a case of missing the person through the object, or a mockery of Fu Huaizhi, suggesting that like a male concubine, he would forever be beneath the Su estate.
In an instant, the once-lively banquet fell completely silent. No one dared to speak, fearing they would offend Su Ce, this havoc-wreaking demon.
Fu Huaizhi’s grip on his wine cup tightened, then he gave an indifferent smile: “The world is vast; there will always be some similarities. Please excuse me for a moment.”
Ah Huai watched Fu Huaizhi’s retreating back, the expression in his eyes dim and inscrutable.
A moment later, Su Ce also left the table, leaving Ah Huai sitting alone.
Su Ce was feeling somewhat dizzy and wanted to go out for some air. But the moment he turned back and saw who was behind him, he froze in his tracks.
“A-Ce.” The emotion revealed in Fu Huaizhi’s eyes made Su Ce feel a sense of nostalgia, yet Su Ce could only clench the hand hidden beneath his sleeve, reminding himself not to pine for the past, not to sink again into Fu Huaizhi’s gentleness.
But Fu Huaizhi pressed closer, step by step, toward Su Ce. “A-Ce, you have drunk too much wine today. I have the kitchen boil some hangover soup for you. It is windy outside; let me take you back.”
Su Ce took a step back, dodging Fu Huaizhi’s reaching hand. “Young Master Fu, if others were to see this display of deep affection, wouldn’t it just add another charge to my record? What was that charge again?”
Su Ce knit his brows; perhaps the alcohol was slowing his reflexes, but he was truly thinking hard.
Suddenly, he realized, and looked at Fu Huaizhi: “Accusing me of bad conduct, bringing a male concubine to a banquet, and still harboring old feelings, seducing a married man.”
Fu Huaizhi did not know why every word out of Su Ce’s mouth felt like a dagger piercing his heart. His expression turned ghastly; he looked on in disbelief. “A-Ce, you, you weren’t like this before!”
“Then what was I like before? Fu Huaizhi, I tell you, I have always been like this. Everything you thought you knew was just me acting to please you. What? Can’t handle it now?”
Fu Huaizhi, perhaps provoked by Su Ce’s words, lunged forward. He clamped his hands tightly onto Su Ce’s shoulders, all his usual restraint and coldness wiped away. He demanded: “Must you speak to me like this? This male concubine you’ve found—those eyes are so like mine; doesn’t that just mean you can’t let me go? Why can we not return to the past?”
Su Ce felt nauseous from being shaken. With a mocking smile, he pushed Fu Huaizhi away: “Fine, let’s return to the past. Can you cancel your marriage engagement and marry me? You can’t, can you? Then how can we…”
Before he could finish his words, he was pulled into Fu Huaizhi’s arms and kissed on the lips he was preparing to use for more biting words.
Su Ce’s pupils contracted from the sudden action; he stared wide-eyed at Fu Huaizhi, who had closed his eyes before him.
With lips so soft, why must they now speak such vile words to one another?
As their breaths mingled, the heart in Su Ce’s chest, filled with hatred for Fu Huaizhi, began to crack. The inability to get what he sought made his heart feel raw, and he found himself wanting to indulge in this absurd moment.
Ah Huai, standing in the shadows of the corner, saw the two overlapping silhouettes.
He clutched the wooden railing beside him, his eyes fixed on Fu Huaizhi’s back and the expression on Su Ce’s face.
Why was Su Ce always so easily attracted to others? Why did he have to be like a rat in a sewer, unable to let Su Ce look at him the way he looked at Fu Huaizhi?
Why! He had clearly worked so hard to reach Su Ce’s side was he still not working hard enough?
If he had power, would things be different?
He wanted Su Ce to have eyes only for him, to have no one else by his side.
He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. Just as he put on a fake smile, preparing to walk toward Su Ce, he heard a “slap.”
Su Ce’s lips were stained with saliva, turning a deep red. He looked at Fu Huaizhi, who had turned his head to the side, with trembling hands and a fierce glare. He shouted: “Fu Huaizhi, what are you doing now?”
Fu Huaizhi seemed to have been slapped back into consciousness. Panicked, he ignored the stinging heat where Su Ce had struck him. “I didn’t, Su Ce, I just…”
At that moment, a worried voice broke through, interrupting their conversation.
“Young Master!”
Ah Huai walked over quickly, took Su Ce’s trembling hand with a look of concern, lowered his gaze, and asked: “Young Master, you have been away from the table for so long, Ah Huai was so worried. Why is Young Master Fu here, too? What happened to your face?”
Fu Huaizhi’s expression turned awkward; he did not answer Ah Huai.
It was Su Ce who pulled Ah Huai to his side, looking displeased: “Did I not tell you to wait for me at the banquet? Why did you come out?”
Ah Huai lowered his eyes, looking as if he were about to cry: “Ah Huai… Ah Huai was worried about you. That is why I came searching.”
Su Ce looked at him suspiciously, but in the end, said nothing: “Enough, let’s go back.”
Fu Huaizhi watched their retreating silhouettes and shouted: “A-Ce.”
Su Ce did not look back.
Ah Huai reminded him in a low voice: “Young Master, Young Master Fu is calling you…”
I do not know what Su Ce said to Ah Huai, but Ah Huai turned around and shot Fu Huaizhi a triumphant smile: “The Young Master says that today’s events should be treated as if they never happened. If Young Master Fu wishes to bring up the past again, he will ensure the Fu family has no place left to stand in the capital.”
When Ah Huai said this, there was not a hint of respect for Fu Huaizhi in his eyes.
His gaze was sinister, the aura radiating from his entire being causing Fu Huaizhi to realize that he was not a lowly servant who had to rely on Su Ce for survival—or, to be more precise, his usual submissiveness was a carefully crafted facade. The man before him was more like a venomous snake lurking at Su Ce’s side, ready to strike and kill anyone who posed a threat to him.