Meng Xueran caressed his cheek. Receiving no response, he could only talk to himself. He knew that what he had just said must have infuriated Mei Jinshu, but so what? Tonight was destined to be spent together with him.
“Shall we change to another place, alright?”
“Since you are not speaking, I will take that as a yes.”
“Don’t, touch, me!” Mei Jinshu felt the effects of the drug in his body fading; perhaps in another hour he would be able to move freely. Facing the aggressive person before him, he assumed that even if Meng Xueran was in the heat of anger, he would not dare actually do anything to him.
Those humiliating, rash words were just spoken in the heat of the moment without thinking. Yet, his softheartedness would not be met with a response, but rather with a plunder of possessiveness.
Meng Xueran didn’t give him a chance to choose at all. Facing the command, he only found it laughable. He picked him up in his arms, leaped right out the window, and silently arrived at a secluded, empty courtyard.
“Tonight, we will spend it right here.”
“Where is this? What are you trying to do?!”
“You have been here before, how could you forget?” Meng Xueran held him and turned him around so he could clearly see what was in front of him. “Remember now?”
“Are you out of your mind? Why did you bring me to the Quiet Shadow Pavilion!” Mei Jinshu was intensely uncomfortable, but felt even more helpless; the lingering sense of unease within his heart was driving him insane.
He knew this was the place Meng Xueran had kept hidden for nine years, but why bring him here? This place had been abandoned for too long; it was desolate and bleak. The dark hall was covered in dust, the doors, windows, and furnishings were choked with cobwebs, and as the wind blew through, it emitted a creaking sound.
“Returning to this old place makes me feel so estranged.” Meng Xueran placed him on the bed where he used to sleep as a child, pressed down over him, and said, “Is it that everyone yearns for power and status? Does that include you?”
“If you truly like Meng Changqi, then why can’t I? Am I not even worthy of being his substitute?”
“Or could it be, the only thing you like is the identity of the Crown Prince?”
“If it were me instead, would I also be able to…”
“Slap!” Mei Jinshu didn’t know where he found the strength, but he gave him a slap across the face, then apologized to him, “I didn’t truly want to hit you, I just wanted to make you calm down a little.”
“Hahaha, no need for explanation.” Meng Xueran suddenly laughed, his raised face so ferocious, yet in a flash it transformed back into a gentle, crazed expression, and the words he spoke made one’s hair stand on end, “I won’t be angry, because what I’m going to do next will be even more excessive.”
As his voice fell, Mei Jinshu’s outer robes were forcefully torn off, fluttering down to the ground. The moment his pupils dilated, a pressing kiss descended, blocking out all breakdown and shouting.
He struggled, but his hands were fiercely pinned above his head, like a dying fish that could only thrash a few times before losing all strength. A chill emanated from his unclothed body, and he bit down hard, the taste of blood spreading in his mouth.
He is crazy, this madman!
Mei Jinshu screamed frantically in the depths of his mind: “End it, end it!”
He could no longer accept this; he completely could not accept this kind of Meng Xueran, walking the path completely opposite to his, giving up everything. Why, why!
“Give me an end to this!”
A flash of dazzling white light appeared, and as he returned once more to the conscious world, Mei Jinshu felt as if a massive boulder was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe. He lay prone on the ground for a long while before recovering.
The system said, “Host, what happened to you?”
Mei Jinshu grew angry and accused, “Did I ever say I wanted to experience it firsthand?”
The system said, “Apologies, the firsthand experience service will be cancelled for you next time.”
Mei Jinshu was speechless to the extreme, rolled his eyes at it, and sat tiredly on the floor.
The system said, “Host, please do not linger in the conscious world for too long, as it will consume your mental energy.”
“You could have told me sooner!” Mei Jinshu withdrew from the conscious world, opened his hazy eyes, and felt even more exhausted. So tired; this nap felt as if he had been pinned down by a ghost.
The sky had grown completely dark. Now there was no need to eat dinner; it would just become a midnight snack.
Just as he got up to rise, he felt as if something truly was pressing down on him. With a jolt throughout his body and a closer look, it turned out to be none other than that little brat Meng Xueran. A nameless fire surged into his heart, and he kicked the person flying with a single kick.
Meng Xueran was thus inexplicably kicked off the daybed, rolling several times on the floor until he crashed into a bookshelf, stopping only as a mess of books scattered all over the ground and rained down onto his head.
“Ow! So painful, adoptive father?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“As if you didn’t!” Mei Jinshu stood up, propping himself against a nearby side table, rubbed his temples, and said in a very foul tone, “Why didn’t you go back to sleep when it got dark?”
“Because adoptive father hadn’t returned, so I came looking for you.” Seeing that his complexion wasn’t very good, Meng Xueran assumed he hadn’t rested well or felt unwell somewhere, and asked with concern, “Did adoptive father have a nightmare, or…”
Mei Jinshu subconsciously snatched up a teacup and smashed it against him, as if stimulated. Thinking of those unbearable memories made him lose any remaining sleepiness.
Chilly tea splashed all over his body, and amidst the sound of shattering porcelain came Meng Xueran’s muffled groan. His youthful face instantly turned into an expression of terror, followed slowly by heartbreak, as tears welled up from his eye sockets one by one, looking at him with deep grievance.
System prompt: Points minus 8800, points minus 8700, points minus 8500.
The cold electronic voice exploded in Mei Jinshu’s mind. He knew he had confused the present Meng Xueran with the Meng Xueran of his past life. He feared repeating the same disastrous path; he feared flying like a moth to a flame.
He was even so terrified he couldn’t sleep at night, wanting to immediately let Meng Changqi ascend the imperial throne and bring an end to everything.
Yet the cold electronic voice reminded him over and over of just how heartbroken the present Meng Xueran was, just how much he loathed him. Every single teardrop was points; every single gaze was despair directed at him.
Crying, Meng Xueran ran out of the study, fled beneath a tree, and curled himself up into a tiny ball. That small figure was so helpless, his tears blooming into large patches across his sleeves as he wept bitterly.
He didn’t know what he had done wrong, or why his adoptive father hated him so much.
Why, why?
Following him out of the study, Mei Jinshu discovered Ye Ting keeping watch outside the door. After a long silence, he said, “Prepare dinner.”
“This subordinate will go arrange it right away.” Ye Ting was quick on his feet; shortly thereafter, dinner was delivered into the study.
Looking at the dishes laid out on the table, Mei Jinshu had zero appetite. Clearly, he hadn’t eaten anything at all, yet his mouth tasted bitter, making it hard to even swallow.
After calming down, he felt that his actions just moments ago had indeed been a bit too excessive. The Mei Jinshu and Meng Xueran of his past life were not the Mei Jinshu and Meng Xueran of the present moment. All those past events had already ended in the previous life. The current him would not necessarily repeat the same mistakes; everything was an unknown variable.
If in this lifetime Meng Xueran truly had no desire to claim the throne, then treating him this way was indeed extremely unfair.
What should he do? He had raised Meng Xueran so poorly, even getting used to hitting him with a stick only to offer a sweet date right after. Could he be blamed for this? Raising a tiger was a hazard, and who wouldn’t fear being counterattacked down the road?
He hated all unknown variables. If possible, he really wanted to see what the future held and how it would all end.
Fine, then.
“Ye Ting, go find him.”
“Ah? Me?” Ye Ting wore a troubled expression and shook his head, saying, “My lord, you overestimate me too much. Even if I find him, I can’t persuade him back; you have to go yourself.”
Mei Jinshu said, “I have to go myself?”
Ye Ting said, “Of course. The young master is crying like that; you definitely have to go in person.”
“Light the lamp.” Mei Jinshu felt he really had lost to him. From afar, he spotted that huddled figure beneath the tree, so small, acting just like a throwing-a-tantrum wild cat, looking pitiable yet stubbornly proud to the extreme.
As he walked forward, the lamplight drew closer bit by bit. Meng Xueran caught a glimpse of that white-robed figure. He was dressed so thinly, was he searching for him?
If he caught him, would it just be another round of scolding? Meng Xueran wiped the tears from his face, turning around to run.
Mei Jinshu said, “Just you dare try running?”
“Adoptive father, I, I’m not running.” Lowering his head, Meng Xueran frantically searched his brain for an excuse as his stubborn figure cast a reflection in the moonlight, and he spoke, “I was just getting ready to go back to sleep.”
“Running around without even wearing shoes, you are getting quite capable.” Looking at his dirty bare feet and suppressing his aversion, Mei Jinshu scooped him up into his arms and walked back toward the study.
“Hitting you just now was my fault, but you really did scare me. As an elder, disciplining a junior is only natural. But a mistake is a mistake; I apologize to you, and let us consider this matter dropped.”
Meng Xueran blinked his tear-swollen eyes in disbelief. The usually stern and unsmiling Prime Minister actually apologizing to him? In an instant, that sweet date was as good as fed right into his mouth.
He rubbed his fluffy head against Mei Jinshu’s chest and whispered softly, “I was merely living under someone else’s roof; I don’t blame adoptive father. To be able to stay in the Prime Minister’s estate, A-Jiu is endlessly grateful.”
He was a bit too sensible for his own good. Rendered speechless, Mei Jinshu had been thoroughly outmaneuvered once again.
Returning indoors, he set him down and instructed, “Wipe your feet clean, put on your shoes, and come over to eat.”
Without wasting a second, Meng Xueran followed suit. The two of them sat before the table and began burying their heads to eat their midnight snack. Having gone hungry all day, they were truly famished at that moment. Mei Jinshu drank two bowls of congee and reminded him, “It is too late, don’t eat too much.”
“Mn.” Meng Xueran nodded, completely shedding his previous grievance.
Mei Jinshu sighed; children were indeed easy to coax.
The next day, the two of them woke up together. In front of the bronze mirror, Mei Jinshu personally bound his hair for him, tied a cyan hair ribbon, patted his shoulder, and exhorted, “If the Princess teams up with others to bully you again, I authorize you to bully them right back.”
Meng Xueran said, “But the Princess is a girl; I suppose I had better not.”
Mei Jinshu said, “She relies on being two years older than you to bully you; you just need to make sure she doesn’t provoke you in the future. If you meet a girl, you like and treat her well, she will treat you well in return.”
Meng Xueran’s face flushed bright red in a flash as he shook his head and said, “Why must I always get along with girls? Adoptive father, can’t I really go to a boys’ academy?”
“Alas, why can’t you understand my well-intentioned efforts?” Leading him toward the outside door, Mei Jinshu put on an earnest and profound posture as he said, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand now; in a few more years, you will understand.”
“Adoptive father…”
“Go on.” Sending him off onto the carriage, Mei Jinshu instructed, “Shiyi, take good care of him.”
“Understood.” Following closely behind, Mei Shiyi boarded the carriage.