Su Ce and Fu Huaizhi returned to their seats at the banquet one after the other, amidst the curious gazes of the crowd.
Su Ce was feeling vexed, his brows knit tightly as he dwelled on what had just transpired. He stole a glance across the table at Fu Huaizhi, who was drinking cup after cup, his expression one of utter dejection.
Song Yue naturally noticed the demeanor of the two and moved to his side to ask: “Why do you both look like this after stepping out? What happened?”
Su Ce answered Song Yue perfunctorily: “Nothing happened, I just almost got bitten by a dog.”
“A dog?” Song Yue was astonished. “Are there dogs here?”
Following Song Yue’s exclamation, Fu Huaizhi clearly heard Su Ce’s words.
Their eyes met across the air. Fu Huaizhi had already consumed a great deal of wine, and his usually cold, reserved face now betrayed an involuntary lapse in composure. Those eyes, accustomed to looking at life with detachment, were now filled with paranoia and attachment.
“Young Master, the fish meat has been deboned for you,” Ah Huai said, interrupting the two. He pushed the clean, white fish meat toward Su Ce respectfully.
Fu Huaizhi watched fixedly as Su Ce picked up his chopsticks and ate the plate of fish piece by piece, an expression of enjoyment on his face.
Fu Huaizhi suddenly realized something: Did he truly never understand Su Ce? Su Ce had always lowered his own status and placed him on a pedestal, so he had never cared about what Su Ce liked or disliked. Because no matter what he gave him, Su Ce would gladly accept it.
Just like in his memories, Su Ce had never eaten fish in his presence; he had assumed Su Ce didn’t like it, but he had never expected that Su Ce was actually fond of it.
Setting other things aside, he had actually enjoyed the time he spent with Su Ce—enjoying the aura Su Ce brought him, and the way Su Ce treated him alone.
But now, Su Ce’s urgency to sever their past really caught him off guard, to the point where they couldn’t even be friends. This left him feeling ashamed and angry; after all, since he could remember, this was the first time such a major setback had occurred in his smooth-sailing life.
Although he kept reminding himself to make the correct choices which was why, even when Su Ce begged him so humbly that night, he had cruelly rejected his feelings when someone resembling him appeared by Su Ce’s side, he still found it suffocating, almost making him unable to breathe.
Didn’t Su Ce love him most? Why had he stopped loving him so quickly?
This was no different from receiving a solid, invisible slap across the face from Su Ce.
Su Ce sat at the banquet, his food tasting like nothing. His mood was indeed terrible; he felt that if he stayed a moment longer, the churn in his stomach would surely come surging out.
Fortunately, Ah Huai was sharp-eyed. He gripped Su Ce’s wrist firmly and said: “Young Master, you have had too much wine today; you cannot drink any more.”
Su Ce lifted his eyes to look at Ah Huai, gripped his hand in return, his eyes brightening for a brief moment. He leaned against Ah Huai’s shoulder for support: “I am indeed a bit drunk.”
Ah Huai felt Su Ce’s warm breath sweep across his sensitive neck, like a light feather tickling his heart.
He couldn’t help but tense his body, lowering his eyes slightly to look at Su Ce, who was flushed with color. The two looked like an inseparable couple.
A secret, hidden anticipation rose in his heart, and he said somewhat unnaturally: “Ah Huai… Ah Huai will help you back.”
Su Ce stole a glance at Fu Huaizhi’s incredibly distressed face. Suddenly, his mood improved significantly. He slowly propped himself up, reached out to stroke Ah Huai’s cheek, and rubbed Ah Huai’s lips with his thumb, saying with deep affection: “Ah Huai, I want you to hold me as we leave.”
Ah Huai hesitated for a moment, then stood up, stumbling slightly as he did so.
Only then did he firmly take Su Ce into his arms. Conversely, Su Ce appeared entirely drunk, his whole body soft and limp as he leaned against Ah Huai.
Su Ce, who had already brought a male concubine to the banquet, now said such things in front of everyone.
In an instant, the guests looked at one another in silence, lowering their heads, not daring to speak.
But Su Ce was certain that the moment he left, the capital’s gossip mills would soon spread the news that he had acquired a deeply favored male concubine. There might even be gambling dens taking bets on how long the relationship between Su Ce and Ah Huai would last.
Thinking of this, Su Ce suddenly laughed while in Ah Huai’s arms.
As Ah Huai carried Su Ce into the carriage, Su Ce pushed Ah Huai away. His gaze turned cold, and his tone remained as disparaging as ever: “You nearly shook me to death. Can’t you hold me steady next time?”
A flicker of shock flashed in Ah Huai’s eyes as he looked at Su Ce’s mouth, which had just been speaking. He longed to kiss him right then and there, covering the traces of where others had kissed.
His Su Ce would always, only, be his. If anyone else dared to touch him, he would make them pay a hundredfold…
Su Ce kicked Ah Huai with his foot, looking very displeased: “Are you a mute? I am talking to you, what are you spacing out for?”
Ah Huai lowered his head, maintaining that dull, honest-looking face, and replied softly: “I understand, Young Master. It won’t happen again.”
Su Ce rolled his eyes, feeling somewhat speechless: “Why am I talking to an idiot?”
With that, he closed his eyes, unwilling to look at Ah Huai for a second longer.
The two, who had appeared as inseparable as glue just moments ago to the outsiders, had returned to their usual state of detachment.
Ah Huai sat on the floor, looking up at Su Ce, the emotions in his gaze incredibly complex.
Winter departed, and spring arrived.
As Ah Huai spent more time with Su Ce, he gradually discovered that Ah Huai was becoming increasingly attuned to his thoughts. There were many things he didn’t need to state; he only had to give Ah Huai a look, and Ah Huai would immediately understand.
It was just that Su Ce remained as willful and capricious as ever. But Ah Huai seemed to have figured out Su Ce’s temperament, and in their daily life, he became increasingly adept at serving him.
This gradually caused Su Ce to become accustomed to Ah Huai’s role.
In the third month of spring, Ah Huai carried bags large and small behind Su Ce as they boarded the carriage.
They were about to set off for the outskirts of the capital to participate in the spring hunt held by the Crown Prince. Su Ce had originally wanted to avoid it, but he had been hounded time and again by Song Yue, who had even resorted to tears, accusing Su Ce of disregarding their years of friendship.
Su Ce grew weary of the pestering and finally agreed.
They had barely arrived when they ran into Fu Huaizhi, who had recently married, standing by a carriage, still looking like a handsome gentleman. A light breeze stirred the willow branches, causing the bead curtains on the carriage to sway, and Fu Huaizhi extended his hand, seemingly preparing to welcome someone.
Su Ce didn’t need to look to know that the person sitting in that carriage was likely Fu Huaizhi’s new wife, Zhong Sioruo.
Perhaps his gaze was too intense, as Fu Huaizhi and Zhong Sioruo both turned their heads to look at him.
Seeing he had been discovered, Su Ce did not panic; instead, he put on a sour face and shouted loudly: “Ah Huai! Where are our rooms? I’m tired.”
Ah Huai quickly emerged from the carriage and stood by Su Ce’s side: “Young Master, Ah Huai will take you to your room right away.”
Fu Huaizhi narrowed his eyes, surveying Ah Huai.
In just three months, Ah Huai looked like a completely different person; he was already slightly taller than Su Ce. His already fine features were now even fairer. Furthermore, the previous submissive weakness was gone, replaced by a gradually emerging air of youthful heroism. He looked like a simple, sunny boy, but Fu Huaizhi couldn’t help but feel that something was deeply wrong.
Although Zhong Sioruo had heard rumors of Su Ce’s actions and knew that everything in the past had been Su Ce’s unrequited love, Fu Huaizhi was her husband, and it was hard for her to shed her wariness of Su Ce. Now that they had met again, she naturally did not want Su Ce to provoke Fu Huaizhi. She pushed Fu Huaizhi and said softly: “Husband, I am also a bit tired. Could you accompany me back to our room to rest for a while?”
Fu Huaizhi retracted his gaze upon hearing this, smiled, placed a hand on Zhong Sioruo’s waist, and said with a smile that he would.
At lunchtime, Su Ce sat in his room, looking at a table filled with green, leafy vegetables. He tried a piece with his chopsticks, then spat it out immediately, saying with extreme disgust: “Why is this so hard to swallow? Is this meant to make me suffer?”
“Young Master, this was prepared by the imperial kitchen chefs. Because the ingredients haven’t been delivered yet, everyone is making do at noon.”
“Making do?” Su Ce’s expression was extremely displeased. “It tastes so bad. I am not a rabbit that can survive on grass; how am I supposed to ‘make do’ with this?”
With that, he swept the bowl and dishes off the table.
The servants waiting outside heard the clattering from inside and fell silent, exchanging glances it seemed this Young Master Su had an even bigger temper than the rumors suggested.
“Ah Huai, go find me something to eat, hurry! I still have to go hunting with Song Yue this afternoon.”
Upon hearing this, Ah Huai could only respond in a low voice and turn to leave.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to prepare some ingredients in advance; otherwise, Su Ce would likely have kicked up a fuss for a long time before settling down.
Fu Huaizhi, seeing Ah Huai hurrying along, took a few quick steps and patted Ah Huai on the shoulder.
Ah Huai stopped and looked back at Fu Huaizhi, taking a polite, distant step backward to create a gap, asking politely: “Young Master Fu, is there something you need?”
Fu Huaizhi weighed his words before asking: “A-Ce… how has he been lately?”
Ah Huai paused for a moment before realizing that the “that day” Fu Huaizhi was referring to was the day of his wedding. A cold smirk appeared in his heart, his pupils turning dark and deep.
That day was Fu Huaizhi’s wedding night. The snow, which had stopped for a long time, was once again flying through the world.
When Ah Huai found Su Ce, Su Ce had been sitting alone in the courtyard, shedding silent tears for a long time.
He was frantic, desperate to pull Su Ce up, but Su Ce suddenly resisted with all his might. Perhaps because he had been sitting in the cold wind for too long, his body collapsed uncontrollably to the ground, his face covered in tear tracks: “I don’t need you to care, get out!”
Ah Huai grabbed his hand, which caused him to shudder from the freeze, but Ah Huai stubbornly gritted his teeth and pressed Su Ce’s hand against his own chest: “Young Master, why suffer so much for someone who isn’t worth it…”
Ah Huai did not want Fu Huaizhi to know. He said coldly: “The Young Master has been very well every day, so there is no need for Young Master Fu to worry.”
Silence fell between the two. Just as Ah Huai prepared to leave, he heard Fu Huaizhi say: “A-Ce… he hasn’t touched you, has he? You look so much like me; since he hates me to the core now, how could he touch someone he despises?”