Back in room two, Shen Tanqi fell asleep, but all night long, his dreams were filled with images of Yu Ce.
Shen Tanqi didn’t sleep well the whole night.
The next morning, with dark circles under his eyes, he went to room four to find Yu Ce, only to discover that he was no longer there.
The door was unlocked, indicating that the room had not been vacated.
Shen Tanqi sat inside the room, staring blankly at the traces left by Yu Ce’s presence.
Calling them traces was an exaggeration; in reality, there was nothing much. The bed was neatly made, the bedding folded neatly. The clothes soaked by last night’s rain were nowhere to be seen, and the room was as clean as if no one had ever stayed there.
Only a plate of cold dishes delivered early in the morning on the table proved that he had indeed been here yesterday.
He left without saying a word. Shen Tanqi felt somewhat resentful, but more than that, there was a sense of empty disappointment.
He had thought he would see him when he woke up early.
He didn’t have anywhere he wanted to go. Shuoxia City hadn’t left him with any good memories, and the scenery was just like that. So, he quietly waited for Yu Ce to return to his room.
From dawn until dusk.
Shen Tanqi lay on the table, half asleep, half awake, only to notice a chilling breath circling around him.
He opened his sleepy eyes and looked somewhat confusedly at the person in front of him. Though only ten years old, taller than most peers, the person still looked down on him, making Shen Tanqi feel as if the grown-up Yu Ce was standing in front of him.
“Are you waiting here for me?”
The voice was as cold as water, instantly waking Shen Tanqi up.
He replied somewhat unhappily, “What else would I be doing?”
There was no response from the other side. His gaze calmly fell upon him, and he simply said, “Go back to sleep.”
A whole day had passed.
Shen Tanqi had waited all day for him, hoping to talk when they finally met, but instead, he was told to leave.
Perhaps out of defiance or maybe out of genuine reluctance to leave, Shen Tanqi stubbornly lay back on the table and said, like a child throwing a tantrum, “I’m not going.”
Young Yu Ce seemed somewhat helpless too, murmuring softly, “How old are you?”
Shen Tanqi glanced back at him, “Do you think I’m too old?”
Defeated by his logic, young Yu Ce sighed and said, “I meant you’re acting childish. Go back to sleep, I’m tired today.”
His voice was gentle, as if soothing Shen Tanqi.
Shen Tanqi found this side of Yu Ce rather odd. Leaning closer to him, he asked softly, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Startled by his sudden closeness, Yu Ce took a step back, lips tightly pressed together. “Stop messing around, I’m tired and need rest.”
It seemed his temperament was developed from a young age; he liked to keep things to himself.
Shen Tanqi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “You better think carefully. You’ve wasted my entire day.”
Young Yu Ce seemed indifferent as he replied, “I didn’t intend to waste your time. You can leave. What use is there in following me around here?”
He still had his own matters to attend to; he couldn’t spend the whole day with Shen Tanqi.
“You waiting here for me wasn’t something I asked for either,” Yu Ce acknowledged with self-assurance.
At his words, Shen Tanqi’s expression shifted slightly. He reminded himself that this brat in front of him hadn’t accumulated much emotional attachment with him; it wasn’t worth getting angry over. After a while, he calmed himself and said softly, “I just wanted to wait for you to come back and talk, maybe chat about kids or something.”
At the mention of children, Yu Ce turned away, saying, “No need. The child you bore wasn’t out of your initial intentions. It was only reluctantly that you got involved with me. This kind of connection should be severed sooner rather than later.”
Damn.
He was really getting annoyed now. Yu Ce always had a way of casually provoking his anger with just a few words—something others couldn’t manage.
“Fine, you’re still young. I won’t argue with you,” Shen Tanqi couldn’t stand his nonsense anymore. He got up, opened the door, and as he stepped across the threshold, he murmured quietly, “Anyway, I only have two days left before I leave this world forever. I won’t bother you anymore.”
With that, he walked out of the room without looking back, closing the door slowly behind him.
Yu Ce stood motionless, his fingertips trembling. He turned to look at where Shen Tanqi had been, but there was nothing there except a lonely wooden door.
The tea on the table was cold, drained. Shen Tanqi had waited for him all day, using tea to keep himself awake, just to talk.
He reached out and touched the tea cup, now cold.
As Shen Tanqi tidied his bedding, he cursed Yu Ce from head to toe in his mind..
Idiot, stupid dragon!
No wonder he can’t find a wife. There must be a reason for it, for kicking him out like this.
Shen Tanqi lay down in the soft bedding, feeling like he was throwing himself away like garbage into the depths of the bed. After a while, he calmed down.
Maybe Yu Ce really did encounter something upsetting today, and he was in a bad mood?
But he hadn’t asked just now, and he didn’t know what had happened to Yu Ce. Yu Ce was only ten years old now; why was he getting angry with a child?
Forget it, it doesn’t matter. He would be leaving here in two days anyway. Even if something really happened, he probably couldn’t help Yu Ce.
Shen Tanqi sighed, took off his outer clothes, and hung them on the rack. Just as he was about to blow out the candle on the table, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
His heart skipped a beat, his hand trembled, and he almost knocked over the candlestick on the table.
Quickly straightening the candlestick, Shen Tanqi looked towards the door and called out, “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
The voice was young, still calm.
Hearing his voice always made one feel like he might drift away at any moment, disappearing silently and cleanly.
Shen Tanqi’s heart softened instantly. He walked slowly to open the door.
By the candlelight, Shen Tanqi’s shadow fell on Yu Ce, blurring the emotions in his eyes.
“Is there something you need?” Shen Tanqi asked softly. Though his anger had subsided, there was still some stiffness in his tone.
Yu Ce lowered his eyes, a small shadow cast under his dense eyelashes. He extended his hand, holding a packet of sticky rice cakes wrapped in red paper.
His voice was soft, cautiously asking, “Will you eat this?”
Shen Tanqi raised an eyebrow, the lingering frustration in his heart completely dissipating at this moment. He took the package from Yu Ce, only to see Yu Ce turning to leave. “You’re leaving just like that?”
What’s with this kid, changing his words like that?
Yu Ce turned back to look at him, hesitating, and whispered, “You…”
He wanted to say, ‘What do you want to hear?’
But as the words reached his lips, he realized they might provoke Shen Tanqi’s anger, so he quickly changed it to, “When are you leaving?”
As soon as he said it, Yu Ce regretted it.
Asking when he would leave was almost like telling him to go away. It would have been better to ask what he wanted to hear.
But Shen Tanqi just leaned against the door frame, smiling gently, “Are you reluctant to see me go now?”
At his words, Yu Ce stood still, calming his mind, looking steadily at him and saying, “If you’ve come from the future and are my husband, then you will definitely return to me.”
So, there’s really no question of reluctance.
Shen Tanqi looked slightly surprised, smiling, “Are you so sure that I’ll come back to you?”
Yu Ce nodded, his eyes bright, capturing the moonlight and candlelight. He reached out and tapped Shen Tanqi’s chest lightly, whispering, “I asked it just now.”
In an instant, Shen Tanqi stared at him blankly, feeling as if he had misheard.
His thoughts drifted back to that night at the Bloodthirst Cliff, the spring breeze mild, and Yu Ce sitting beside him, saying the same thing.
Yu Ce said he asked his heart.
Shen Tanqi’s heart had him.
“What did it tell you?” Shen Tanqi found it amusing, thinking it was a strange coincidence, and teased him with a smile, “Did it tell you that everything here belongs to you?”
But Yu Ce wasn’t amused. He looked at Shen Tanqi seriously, speaking slowly and deliberately, “It said that you like me, a lot.”
Shen Tanqi froze, suddenly clutching his chest. Remembering how Yu Ce could discern the situation with his fingers on his abdomen, could it be that his touch could really reveal something about his heart?
This was absurd. Even in a world of cultivation, this seemed a bit much.
He bit his lip tightly, preventing any cracks or clues from escaping his heart, and whispered, “Why don’t you ask it again?”
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce finally smiled, warmth glimmering in his eyes. He withdrew his hand and said, “I was just kidding. Actually, I can’t hear anything at all.”
So naive.
His husband was so easy to fool.
Who needs to listen to heartbeats when Shen Tanqi’s eyes give everything away?
Yu Ce had never experienced this feeling before—the sensation of being liked by someone. It felt wonderfully surreal, like floating on soft clouds. He couldn’t believe it, yet he was also uneasy, afraid it might all just be an illusion, a fleeting dream that would vanish as quickly as it appeared, plunging him back into reality.
Realizing he had been played, Shen Tanqi gritted his teeth, wanting to grab Yu Ce’s ear, but Yu Ce anticipated it and stepped back, even politely bowing to him with a smile. “Get some rest early. See you tomorrow.”
With a ‘click,’ he casually closed the door as he left.
This little rascal…
Shen Tanqi took a deep breath, almost laughing at himself for getting worked up.
People were indeed strange sometimes. How could he end up liking Yu Ce, who always managed to annoy him? Yet, inexplicably, it had to be him—no one else would do.
Feeling much better now, he murmured softly towards the door outside, “Alright, see you tomorrow.”
Outside the wooden door, the young boy’s ears turned red. He tightly gripped his clothes and tiptoed away from the door, nearly stumbling and almost falling from the second floor.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
