“Enough, A-Heng.”
Looking at the food stacked in his bowl like a small mountain, Jiang Xuning finally couldn’t help but speak up. Just as the youth was about to add more food to his bowl, he stopped his movement in time.
“I am already full.”
He said somewhat helplessly, putting down his bowl and chopsticks along with his words.
“How much is this?”
Being stopped, Yu Heng was clearly a bit displeased. He didn’t quite agree with Jiang Xuning’s explanation, but beyond that, he was mostly worried, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
“Brother didn’t eat properly yesterday, and you’re eating so little today. I’m afraid your body won’t be able to take it. Look, compared to yesterday, Brother’s complexion has become much more haggard.”
The youth spoke with heartache in his expression, his eyes shimmering with moisture, carrying an indescribable sense of grievance.
Jiang Xuning was helpless under this direct gaze. He could only force himself to shift his eyes away from the person’s face, though he couldn’t stop complaining in his heart.
Actually, he hadn’t eaten little at all; in fact, compared to usual, he had eaten quite a lot. It was just that his health was poor and his appetite was naturally much smaller than others, let alone…
He looked at the food piled like a small hill in his bowl with a headache. With someone beside him constantly serving him dishes, how could he possibly eat little?
Moreover, looking at the dishes on the table that were clearly full of Yue City flavors, he was speechless for a moment.
Yu Heng didn’t notice these anomalies and continued to himself, “Brother must eat more today to properly nourish yourself.”
Saying this, he was about to raise his chopsticks again to add more to the other’s bowl until Jiang Xuning stopped him once more.
“Enough, A-Heng. I am truly full.”
Heaven and Earth be my witness, he really didn’t know when A-Heng became so obsessed with his eating. Furthermore, the reason he looked haggard didn’t actually have much to do with whether he ate well…
“Ah, could it be that the food doesn’t suit Brother’s taste?”
This time, Yu Heng did listen to Jiang Xuning, but his focus wasn’t on whether he was actually full. Instead, he reacted belatedly, thinking there was a problem with the dishes.
“I’ll go down and prepare them again right now. Brother, please wait for me a moment.”
As he spoke, the youth rose to dash out the door, but in that motion, a hand grasped his wrist.
“A-Heng, the food is fine. I am really full, believe me.”
Jiang Xuning sighed. Perhaps explaining again and again made his heart feel a strange exhaustion. Truth be told, he was very unaccustomed to the current A-Heng.
To be more specific, he was unaccustomed to A-Heng’s current attitude toward him.
It was like looking at some delicate flower or fragile porcelain, always cautious, as if he might shatter or be bruised in the next moment. Jiang Xuning didn’t like this feeling; he was sick, but he wasn’t fragile.
An inexplicable sadness arose; he didn’t want A-Heng to see him like this at least, not now.
“Brother.”
Unconcealed emotions are always easy to detect. Sensing that the person’s mood wasn’t right, Yu Heng stopped moving toward the door and obediently came back to sit down. His beautiful face was scrunched up, covered in clouds of worry; he thought he had provoked Brother’s dissatisfaction.
Jiang Xuning would always have a bottomless softness for Yu Heng; this was something he had realized long ago. Looking at the nervous youth, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly, yet he remained serious.
“A-Heng, you don’t need to be so cautious with me. I am fine, really.”
He forced the youth to meet his gaze, speaking with absolute sincerity, “Just like before… okay?”
Yu Heng was caught off guard by this sudden eye contact. He subconsciously swallowed, feeling a wave of flustered heartbeats. He blinked, feeling his throat go dry.
But he quickly suppressed this anomaly, lowering his head and arguing defensively, “I wasn’t.”
However, this stubbornness didn’t last long. Sensing the person before him wanted to lean closer, he couldn’t help but turn his head away and mumble, “I understand.”
This state left Jiang Xuning a bit at a loss. He only thought he had said something wrong; after all, Yu Heng was always clingy in the past, so this obvious dodging was clearly not right.
Just as he was wondering what to say to coax the youth into being happy, he saw Yu Heng who had been gloomy just a moment ago suddenly snap his head up.
The movement was so sudden that Jiang Xuning didn’t have time to back away, and they stared straight at each other. In the intersection of their gazes, he could even feel the heat coming from Yu Heng, and even his breathing was intermittent yet incredibly clear. At this moment, the two were extremely close.
Thump… Thump-thump…
The flesh and blood in his chest were pounding. Jiang Xuning felt as if he might suffocate in the next second. He looked at the youth who was still moving closer to him, so nervous he couldn’t even say a word.
This was the first time Yu Heng had looked at him with such predatory eyes, attacking, like a wild wolf hunting for food. Meanwhile, he was weak and trembling, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
“What do you want to do?”
This was the question Jiang Xuning wanted to ask at that moment, but he couldn’t open his mouth. Out of fear? No, even he didn’t know. The atmosphere became scorched and tense until…
The beautiful youth pouted slightly, his round eyes wide, his exquisite face full of grievance.
“Brother.”
He called out softly, causing Jiang Xuning to daze for a moment, as if he had returned to their childhood. When he looked again, where was any so-called wild wolf? It was clearly just a beautiful “delicate flower.” It was as if everything just now was but a phantom, a temporary hallucination. However, he seemed unable to distinguish clearly until a warmth returned to the back of his hand.
“Brother.”
Yu Heng was still calling. The fragile ones are always best at attracting attention. He tugged at Jiang Xuning’s sleeve, appearing completely indifferent to the anomaly just now, no longer obsessed with how much the other ate. He only said pitifully, “But, this is what I prepared for so long…”
Indeed, as a major immortal sect, the Tianyan Sect never placed importance on the desires of the palate. Never mind mortal food, even spiritual food was rare; a standard India Pill was usually enough to settle things.
What’s more…
Jiang Xuning glanced at the table. This was Guangling; even if Yu Heng went down the mountain early in the morning, it would be impossible to find Yue City dishes here.
His heart softened involuntarily. Combined with the youth’s expectant gaze, he couldn’t help but sigh. As expected, he couldn’t harden his heart against A-Heng. In the end, this meal concluded with Jiang Xuning drinking another bowl of chicken soup.
Having achieved his goal, Yu Heng was full of joy. His beautiful face became vivid because of this smile, so the dazzling one didn’t dare look directly at it, with no trace of the previous grievance. Jiang Xuning didn’t feel anything wrong with this; he just lowered his head and quietly sipped the tea in his cup, only the slight upward curve of his lips betraying his thoughts.
In this peaceful moment, an object suddenly burst in, breaking the tranquility.
A pale golden light circled Yu Heng repeatedly until he stretched out his hand. The light then transformed into a physical form and landed on his fingertip.
Jiang Xuning, to the side, finally saw the object’s appearance clearly. A butterfly, a very beautiful butterfly he had never seen before. Its whole body shimmered with flowing light, as exquisite as a lifeless object, yet extremely vivid.
He couldn’t help but want to look closer, but in the next moment, the golden butterfly turned to ash on the youth’s fingertip.
Seeing this, Jiang Xuning was stunned. He subconsciously looked up, only to see Yu Heng suddenly smile, saying mysteriously, “He’s here.”
“He’s here?”
A flash of confusion crossed Jiang Xuning’s face.
“Who is here?”