ITOTIABSAM | Young General | 95
As if someone had pressed a pause button, Gu Cong froze on the horse.
"You... I..." Not knowing what to say at this moment, Gu Cong stammered, then decided to turn his words into action, with a wooden expression, he leaned forward and kissed him.
He indeed lacked experience. In the middle of it, he lightly bumped into Xie Ye's similarly high nose bridge, learning from his mistake, he tilted his head and kissed the young man's soft, cool lips.
It was a bit clumsy, but Xie Ye found it extremely adorable. The man was clean and fresh, with only a faint smell of soap and a day-old stubble barely showing. When they got close, it tickled Xie Ye, making him unable to suppress a light chuckle.
Gu Cong, who was already nervous, blinked rapidly.
Did he do something wrong? Although Xie Ye's smile was also charming, this didn't seem like the right time for laughter.
"Stubble." It turned out that the system's theory about kissing curing illnesses was completely wrong. Xie Ye didn't suddenly feel his dry throat become moist, but he still raised his hand to touch Gu Cong's chin and squeezed out two words.
The view in front of 1101, which was covered by a large mosaic, protested, "Didn't you notice you're not stuttering anymore?"
Gu Cong noticed it too.
Usually, it was probably due to adjusting pronunciation, but whenever Xie Ye spoke, he would occasionally speak slowly, with each word pronounced very clearly, sounding somewhat hesitant.
But just now, that sentence sounded completely normal, with only a slight hoarseness in the tone.
"Did I hurt you?" Quietly resolving to cleanse his face daily, Gu Cong didn't think too much about it. He simply considered these two words to be straightforward. He raised his hand and gently touched the young man's delicate Adam's apple. "Does your throat hurt? I brought water."
His actions were purely soothing, like stroking an injured animal, without any hint of teasing. But having someone touch his Adam's apple repeatedly was still uncomfortable.
Enduring it for a while, seeing that the other party showed no signs of stopping, Xie Ye decided to reach out and take down the water jug hanging from the man's waist.
As the rough fingertips that had been acting strangely around his neck finally left, Xie Ye grabbed his wrist. "Cough."
"I'll do it."
Unlike his own skin, which was weather-beaten from years of wind and sun, the young man's skin was smooth as silk. Gu Cong became curious and unconsciously forgot to withdraw his hand.
With no new instructions for a while, the bored horse could only continue to leisurely wander along the road, waiting for the main force to catch up with them.
It was said that June's weather resembled a child's face. Now it was only May, but the weather wasn't much different. Shortly after Xie Ye woke up, the sky clouded over.
Spring rains were rarely heavy, nor did they feel cold. There had been a light rain a few days ago, misty and gentle, hardly affecting their journey.
But now, with Gu Cong accompanying Xie Ye, he didn't want the young man to get wet in the rain. In case it became heavy, dirtying Xie Ye's clothes would be the least of their concerns; he might also catch a cold.
So, even though he was reluctant to give up the rare time alone between them, he urged his horse to turn back.
However, Xie Ye interrupted, "No need to rush."
"I like... cloudy days."
It seemed that the effectiveness of the kiss had faded. Xie Ye spoke these words slowly, and Gu Cong listened patiently and attentively, slowing down his pace accordingly. With one hand, the man untied his belt and smoothly removed his outer robe. With a shake, it fell like a small blanket, covering Xie Ye's head. "Just in case."
Underneath the outer robe, Gu Cong wore a pure black inner garment, which didn't seem too rude. And indeed, General Gu's judgment of the weather was quite accurate. In just a few minutes, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Holding the water jug, Xie Ye nestled into the small space Gu Cong created with the outer robe, dry and warm, without any of the usual annoyance of being wet.
With one layer of fabric removed, the distance between the two became even closer. Gu Cong lowered his gaze and coincidentally met the young man's eyes as he looked back, nestled in his embrace, with only half of his face showing, incredibly cute.
【Feeling cold?】
Staring at him intently, the other person wrote on his chest, each stroke painstakingly slow, until Gu Cong understood.
Gu Cong shook his head. "Don't worry."
This light rain was nothing compared to the cold water he used for bathing in the evening.
Xie Ye: "Really?"
Suddenly, as if his wish had been granted, Gu Cong cleared his throat and tried to change his tone naturally. "Ahem, actually, upon closer inspection... it is a bit cold."
The next moment, the young man leaning against his chest gave up the water jug and writing, extending his arms as if to transfer warmth to himself, and embraced him tightly.
This was probably the first time Gu Cong had been held tightly around the waist by someone. The top of the young man's head brushed against his chin, tickling him, carrying a faint yet pleasant fragrance.
Stiffly lifting his arm, he pulled the slightly slipping outer robe back up.
Like hiding away a treasure he didn't want anyone to see.
But on horseback—especially on a grassland horse like Wuyun with a relatively narrow back—being too close wasn't always a good thing.
Warm breath brushed against his neck with each exhale, and after fifteen minutes, trying not to make any sudden movements, Gu Cong shifted back a bit.
Unfortunately, the rain-soothed youth, on the verge of dozing off, remained oblivious, leaning closer to him, his head sliding from Gu Cong's shoulder to his chest, rubbing against him, seeking the most comfortable position.
Gu Cong, already feeling hot, grew even warmer.
In the distance, the large convoy rushing along the official road could already be seen. Without hesitation, Gu Cong turned his head once again.
How could he dismount in this situation?
"Hey,"
Wuyun, who had been changing directions and circling around on the same road, wagged his tail and snorted, deeply suspecting that his master had gotten lost.
Fortunately, the rain wasn't heavy, coming and going quickly. When Lu Jin finally caught up with his army, Wuyun was happily grazing.
Sitting on a rock with Xie Ye, Gu Cong suggested, "Let's make a fire."
"We'll camp here tonight."
Unlike the area near Yanjing, where there were plenty of spacious and safe inns to stay, the borderlands were different. Gu Cong had taken the lead, so he naturally took on the responsibility of scouting ahead.
"As you command." Lu Jin responded with a salute, noticing keenly that his commanding officer's outer robe, which he had worn earlier, was now neatly folded and serving as a cushion to keep Xie Ye from getting cold.
Tsk, now that's what you call a married man, he thought, a bit amused by the gesture.
Lu Jin clicked his tongue in disapproval.
But marching at night was indeed more dangerous. It was still a day's journey from here to Sanggan City, and no matter how urgent it was, they wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.
Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't completely dark yet, he volunteered to lead a team to gather plenty of dry branches that could be used as firewood. Even though it was spring and had just rained, they had fire starters, so they could warm themselves up and roast some dry rations to eat.
In the past, Xie Ye always sat quietly in the carriage, eating whatever was given to him without causing any trouble. If it weren't for the General later accompanying him, the guards would almost forget that there was such a person.
The flickering flames illuminated them, and they realized that despite the hardships of the journey over the past ten days, the youth's face showed no signs of fatigue. Even as a man, he was still as delicate and beautiful as when he had just left the capital, captivating everyone's gaze in a manner typical of Sanggan City, where the people were more open-minded and expressed their appreciation for beauty without malice.
However, soon enough, General Gu, who had been sitting next to Xie Ye, stood up and moved a stone to sit heavily opposite him, straightening his back and blocking the view of everyone else.
What are you looking at?
Don't they have their own wives?
"Have some hot soup first to warm up," Gu Cong broke the large piece of baked bread into smaller chunks, reminding Xie Ye, "It's a bit tough, so take it slow."
Today they hadn't encountered any game, so they couldn't supplement their meal with fresh meat. Instead, they had collected some edible mushrooms and cooked two large pots of vegetable soup with salt sprinkled in to improve the flavor.
Despite the crude cooking method, the final taste was surprisingly good thanks to the freshness of the ingredients. Xie Ye held a wooden bowl taken from the carriage and took a few sips, suddenly finding a piece of dried meat in front of him.
"This is the normal portion size. I forgot to eat it earlier," Gu Cong explained, not wanting Xie Ye to think he was being selfish, "You're too light; you need to eat more meat."
Xie Ye shook his head and changed his grip on the bowl. He casually picked up a twig from the ground and wrote, "And you?"
Unexpectedly, this time the man didn't give him a chance to refuse at all. His large hand gently pinched Xie Ye's lower jaw, applying just enough pressure to make him open his mouth and eat the jerky.
"I can eat anything," Gu Cong said casually, taking a sip of soup from the wooden bowl in Xie Ye's hand and biting into a piece of bread, looking completely relaxed.
Xie Ye, on the other hand, struggled with the tough jerky. After chewing for a long time without being able to bite through it, he ended up just holding it in his mouth, causing his cheeks to bulge noticeably.
Reminded of the squirrels he used to see when hunting with his grandfather in the outskirts of the capital, Gu Cong reached out and pressed a small dent into the soft "hill" on Xie Ye's cheek.
The AI assistant known as 1101 cooperated quite naively, saying, "Yay! It's a dimple."
Xie Ye thought to himself, Both of them are idiots.
However, Gu Cong misunderstood his expression. "This bread isn't greasy; it's clean."
Then, he used the back of his hand to wipe Xie Ye's face. "Look."
Knowing that Xie Ye valued cleanliness, Gu Cong made sure to wipe his face thoroughly. Otherwise, how could he use half again as much soapgrass as usual when changing clothes at the inn?
Xie Ye was dumbfounded. But he still graciously inspected the slightly darker back of Gu Cong's hand under the firelight, leaned in to sniff it like a small animal, and finally, with an air of approval, lightly pressed a "stamp" onto it.
With his lips.
Gurgle. Ignoring the "statue of the general" across from him, who had just frozen in place, Xie Ye naturally sat back down and took another sip of soup. With a gulp, he finally managed to swallow the jerky.
The next moment, a new piece of jerky was handed over to him.
In the flickering firelight, those amber-colored pupils sparkled as if they were practically spelling out "once more."
For a moment, Xie Ye couldn't quite figure out who was teasing whom.
Not interested in further tormenting his teeth and cheeks, Xie Ye lifted a twig, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, and threateningly poked the other's knee, not giving a certain someone a chance to pinch his chin again.
Unfortunately.
A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes. Unable to coax another kiss from General Gu, he reluctantly bit into the jerky, his jaw set firmly, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything.
The author has something to say:
Jerky: I didn't provoke any of you.
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