Chapter 130: Confession
After the guests left, only the family of three remained at home.
Qingyan took off his apron and went to the inner room to feed Jindou. He could hear Qiu Henian in the outer room tidying up the pots and pans.
Earlier today, before Bai Shao arrived, Qingyan had already told Qiu Henian that he was an old friend they hadn’t seen in many years, so they could drink as much wine as they wanted without breaking any promises.
Qiu Henian agreed verbally, but when they started drinking, he still kept an eye on the amount. By the time they finished, half of the wine jar was still left, and both of them were still sober.
When Bai Shao left, his expression was not pleasant, showing some disappointment and desolation. He wasn’t very fond of Bai Shao, who spoke harshly and was stubborn, but Qingyan understood that Bai Shao was considering Qiu Henian’s best interests, so he didn’t blame him.
When he came to their home, Qingyan sincerely welcomed him, hoping that in the future, Bai Shao wouldn’t just go along with what others said and would judge people more discerningly.
After Jindou finished drinking his milk, Qingyan carried him around for a while, taking him to the outer room to watch his father work while chatting.
In the outer room, water was boiling in a large pot on the stove, steam rising. Jindou stared at it intently, his eyes gleaming with interest. Happily, drool trickled down his mouth, quickly wiped away by his father with a handkerchief.
After spending about an hour like this, Qiu Henian stuffed half a piece of dried cucumber into Jindou’s toothless mouth. Jindou nibbled on it for a long time without even scratching the cucumber skin.
Seeing this, Qingyan bent down and took a big bite out of the cucumber, not only swallowing it down but also teasing his son with giggles. Jindou widened his eyes and looked at his father, then down at the cucumber root in his hand, his mouth gradually pouting as if he was about to cry in distress.
At that moment, his father came over with a jar of honey, dipped a bit on a chopstick, and spread it on Jindou’s lips. Jindou’s pouting mouth immediately softened, busy licking the sweetness off his lips.
Qingyan opened his mouth and said, “Ah, I want some too.”
Qiu Henian smiled and also dipped a drop, touching it to Qingyan’s tongue.
The faint sweetness spread in their mouths. Qingyan smiled and covered Jindou’s eyes with his hand.
Qiu Henian understood his intention and didn’t make him lean over. Instead, he lowered his head and kissed Qingyan’s lips.
Qingyan looked at him and said, “I really like you!”
Qiu Henian looked at him for a while, then lowered his head again, kissing him for a long while.
Meanwhile, Jindou, whose eyes were covered, had already finished the bit of honey. He was now trying to peek to understand what his dad and father were doing.
However, his cunning dad seemed to anticipate his movements and blocked wherever he tried to look, leaving him unable to see anything, which made little Jindou very upset!
That night, the couple bathed Jindou together, gave him some fruit puree to eat, and water to drink. After putting him to bed, the little one’s eyelids fluttered before yawning, then twisted his body, folding his short, chubby arms together before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Qingyan waited for a while, making sure he was asleep, then adjusted his position, tucked him in with a small quilt, kissed his forehead softly, and quietly left the bed.
He folded the quilt high and placed it on the outside of the bed, finally feeling relieved as he exited the room.
In the neighboring room, a faint mist filled the air. Qingyan opened the door and saw a man with long hair spread out on his broad and sturdy back.
The contours of that back were very beautiful, curving down deep into the bathwater.
Qingyan took a deep breath, smiled, and walked in, closing the door behind him.
The man in the room heard his footsteps and turned to look.
Qingyan approached, bent down, and kissed the man’s lips softly. Then he picked up a nearby towel, wrapped it around his hand, and patiently helped the man scrub his back.
When the back was nearly clean, the man took the towel from Qingyan’s hand and hoarsely said, “Come in.”
Qingyan pursed his lips, took off his clothes, and stepped into the bathtub, lifting his leg to get in.
Qiu Henian noticed that his little lover was unusually enthusiastic tonight, clinging to him the whole time. Initially, Qingyan’s hands and feet were reluctant to relax, and those tender lips never left him.
Later…
He knew Qingyan’s skin was delicate all over, but feeling it inch by inch in that way was still a first for Qiu Henian. He almost couldn’t hold back halfway through…
After they finished, while helping Qingyan wash up, Qingyan kept kissing his lips, which stirred Qiu Henian’s blood, almost making him press Qingyan down on the bed again.
But with Jindou sleeping next door, they didn’t dare to stay away too long. So, after a brief kiss, they hurriedly put on their clothes and returned to the inner room.
When lying in bed, Qingyan obediently nestled in the man’s arms, allowing him to stroke his hair while planting gentle kisses on his forehead and temples.
Qingyan sighed comfortably, slowly closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
…
The next day, while Qingyan was checking the account books on the second floor of Fragrant Melody Pavillion, Shen Min came up and told him that the strange person from last time had come again, asking to see him.
Under Shen Min’s worried gaze, Qingyan went downstairs and saw Bai Shao waiting with his back turned at the shop door of Fragrant Melody Pavillion.
Not far behind Fragrant Melody Pavillion was a stone arch bridge. The small river under the bridge had long dried up. In the late April weather, green shoots were sprouting beneath the yellowing weeds.
This was the back of the shop, and across the bridge were the residences nearby.
In a few days, during the Dragon Boat Festival in May, many people would come here to gather mugwort, making it quite lively. But now, there weren’t many people around.
Qingyan and Bai Shao stood on this arch bridge, keeping some distance between them, both involuntarily looking at the greenery under the bridge. Neither spoke first.
After a while, Bai Shao took a deep breath, as if finally making up his mind.
He turned to face Qingyan and asked, “Do you truly treat him sincerely?”
Qingyan also looked at him and nodded.
“I can’t be more sincere.”
Bai Shao looked at him, his eyes hesitant.
Eventually, he gritted his teeth and said, “I’ve been his subordinate for many years, so I know him quite well. He’s the type to go with the flow, as I’m sure you know.”
Qingyan nodded.
“Indeed.”
Bai Shao sneered, “So, no matter who he married back then, he would have taken responsibility till the end, treating them well for a lifetime. You know this, right?”
Qingyan’s fingers hanging at his side moved slightly, his eyes turning cold.
He said, “You’re crossing a line.”
But Bai Shao didn’t back down. Seeing Qingyan’s reaction, he knew his words were having an effect. His eyes narrowed, pressing closer step by step.
“I guess he’s never explicitly stated whether he’s genuinely pleased with you.”
With a bang, Qingyan’s fist smashed into Bai Shao’s face. Bai Shao could have dodged it, but he didn’t move, letting the other person angrily hit him. This somehow made the indescribable and inexplicable guilt in his heart dissipate a bit.
After this strike, Qingyan’s clenched fist trembled slightly as he said, “Bai Shao, you need to understand, what you consider a conscientious act may be a stumbling block for others. You are too self-righteous!”
After speaking, Qingyan turned and left, leaving Bai Shao standing there with an uncertain expression.
A while later, Bai Shao left the stone arch bridge with a grim face and headed towards the Prosperous Inn.
On the way, when passing by the gate of Fragrant Melody Pavillion again, he saw the older boy he had mistaken before talking to Qingyan. The boy looked somewhat worried, but Qingyan smiled and linked arms with him affectionately, saying something warmly. The boy smiled back, his eyes filled with trust and reassurance.
At this moment, an older woman came over carrying Jindou. Qingyan probably thanked her, but the woman shook her head, smiled, handed the child to him, and then took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe the child’s drool. She casually tucked a strand of Qingyan’s stray hair behind his ear, her movements gentle and loving.
Bai Shao knew this woman surnamed Li was not related to Qingyan; she was just a neighbor. However, people in the village said Aunt Li treated Qiu Henian and Qingyan as if they were her own nephews.
Qingyan’s maternal relatives treated him poorly, and when there were matters that required maternal family intervention, Aunt Li would handle them instead.
If it were only because of Qiu Henian’s relationship, Aunt Li wouldn’t have needed to go to such lengths.
Bai Shao stood at the door and watched for a while before silently leaving.
……
In the evening when she returned home, Qingyan noticed several times that Qiu Henian seemed hesitant to speak.
Before going to bed that night, Qingyan asked him about it, but he shook his head and said, “You didn’t sleep well last night. Go to bed early tonight.”
The next morning, Qiu Henian got up early and prepared breakfast. Today, Jindou woke up later than usual. Qingyan fed him milk, then put him on the mat for Ah Miao to watch, and hurried to the dining table for breakfast.
Qiu Henian brought out the steamed egg custard he made for Qingyan, placed it beside her, and instead of leaving, he stood beside her watching.
Qingyan looked up in confusion and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qiu Henian shook his head again and said, “Nothing.”
After that, he went to wipe Jindou’s face and change his clothes. Qingyan couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but he was in a hurry to leave, so he didn’t press him further, planning to ask him later when he had time in the evening.
After finishing their breakfast, the family of three prepared to leave. The carriage was already hitched by Qiu Henian early in the morning, waiting in the courtyard.
Qiu Henian walked ahead and opened the two large doors in the courtyard. Qingyan followed with Jindou in his arms. He noticed that Jindou had grabbed a chopstick at some point. Fearing he might poke himself, Qingyan managed to calm him down and went back inside to swap it with a drumstick.
When he came out again, ready to leave, there was a noise at the outer door, and Qiu Henian came back in.
Thinking that he might be anxious, Qingyan started to say, “Just now I…”
But he couldn’t finish his sentence because Qiu Henian entered the outer room, walked briskly to him, and the expression on his face made Qingyan involuntarily close his mouth.
The sunlight was nice that day, streaming through the window behind Qiu Henian. He stood against the light, slightly lowering his head, looking at Qingyan seriously.
Suddenly, Qingyan’s heart started racing, feeling inexplicably excited and hopeful, as if sensing something.
Qiu Henian finally spoke, saying, “I’m not good with words. I’ve been wanting to say something for a long time but couldn’t.”
Qingyan suppressed his emotions and just responded with a soft “Hmm.”
Qiu Henian continued, “These words have been repeating countless times in my heart. After a while, I thought maybe I didn’t need to say them.”
Qingyan’s heart beat faster.
Qiu Henian took a step forward, looked into Qingyan’s eyes, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier.”
He paused for a moment, then said slowly, “Qingyan, I like you.”
Qingyan blinked, his cheeks turning red. In a moment, his eyes welled up with tears.
He lowered his head to look at his shoe tip. His forehead touched Qiu Henian’s cheek, and Jindou, thinking that his father wanted to hold him, reached out his short hand and hugged his father’s neck.
Qiu Henian took Jindou, held him, and then reached out to embrace Qingyan’s waist, pulling him close to him, kissing him on the forehead.
Tears flowed down Qingyan’s cheeks.
He hugged his waist tightly and softly complained, “It’s all because of you…”
But he seemed to hesitate to say more.
Qiu Henian kissed his forehead and cheek repeatedly, understanding the grievances in his heart, thinking about how to apologize to him properly.
Qingyan soon calmed down, lifted his head, kissed his chin and lips affectionately, choked with emotion, and replied, “I like you too.”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Suddenly, he heard a childish voice say, “Daddy.”
In disbelief, Qingyan turned around and saw Jindou smiling at him with his toothless grin.
