Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 60

 

| PN | Bed Partner | 60

On an early summer night, neither cold nor hot, a faint fragrance could be sensed in the flower room. The skylight was half-open, and even without the lights on, the cool moonlight illuminated the room brightly.

Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi were sitting on a long bench in the flower room, with two bottles of wine beside them, chatting casually.

Qi Chao talked about meeting Qiao Sheng and others while waiting backstage. He laughed, mentioning how the staff were particularly worried that Qiao Sheng, in a wheelchair, might displease the prince.

"I still don’t know what’s wrong with Qiao Sheng's injury; it hasn’t healed yet," Qi Chao said, taking a sip of wine and smiling at Shen Yuxi.

Shen Yuxi looked down, the transparent wine in the moonlight appearing especially clear. His slender fingers traced the rim of his glass, and he gently said, "It’s unclear; I hope he recovers soon."

The way he spoke made it seem as if the injury wasn’t something he had inflicted.

Qi Chao nodded and looked up at the moon outside the skylight. After swallowing the wine, he asked, "What will you do next? Are you going home?"

"Not exactly."

Shen Yuxi knew that if he said he was going home, Qi Chao might try to persuade him to stay. He paused before replying, "I have other matters to attend to."

“Is that so?” Qi Chao’s voice was a bit lazy as he rested his head against a nearby post, looking somewhat drowsy. He smiled at Shen Yuxi and asked, “When you’re done, would you come back here?”

Shen Yuxi had indeed guessed part of Qi Chao’s intention but not the whole. Normally, he might have felt irritated, but perhaps due to the early summer atmosphere or the lazy smile of the man beside him, time seemed to slow down. 

Shen Yuxi felt more amused than annoyed.

His voice was gentle as he replied, “The matter I need to handle is quite troublesome and will take a long time. I can’t give you a definite answer for now.”

Qi Chao picked up on the fact that Shen Yuxi hadn’t revealed what the matter was. He chuckled softly and didn’t press for more information, saying, “Then I’ll ask you again after you’ve dealt with it.”

Shen Yuxi looked at Qi Chao with his peach blossom eyes, and after a few seconds, he smiled slightly and nodded.

The two of them sat quietly in the flower room, sipping wine intermittently. The two bottles of wine were quickly emptied. Despite the high alcohol content, neither of them felt drunk; instead, they felt increasingly clear-headed.

When Qi Chao noticed that Shen Yuxi couldn’t pour any more wine, he went downstairs and brought up two more bottles.

“Let’s drink a bit more before heading to bed,” Qi Chao said, opening the wine bottles with a corkscrew. “We need to get up early tomorrow.”

Neither of them had a strong craving for alcohol, so stopping was easy.

Shen Yuxi nodded. Under the moonlight, his lips, glistening with the wine, shimmered softly. He looked up at Qi Chao with a smile, and the mask he usually wore seemed a bit more genuine at that moment. The slight curve of his lips sent a tremor to the heart.

Qi Chao never denied being a bit of a visual person. He rubbed his nose and then sat back down next to Shen Yuxi. What was meant to be just a few sips turned into empty bottles before he realized it.

“Shall we go back?” 

Shen Yuxi glanced at the four or five empty bottles nearby, his eyelashes fluttering. He didn’t understand why he had been so unrestrained. Every time he was invited to drink, he found it a bit strange.

It had been the same last time. Shen Yuxi pressed his lips together, his blue eyes showing a hint of complexity. Ultimately, he didn’t understand why he had agreed to this drinking invitation.

“Let’s go back.”

Qi Chao said lazily, leaning against the back of the bench. Though his mind was clear from the wine, his body felt a bit heavy and sluggish.

“Help me up.” He extended his hand towards Shen Yuxi.

Shen Yuxi looked at his hand, and after a few seconds of silence, extended his right hand to help.

"Your hand is so cold."

Shen Yuxi heard Qi Chao say this as his fingertips trembled slightly. Feeling Qi Chao's warm palm, he almost wanted to pull away but restrained himself. He pressed his lips together and gave a firm tug.

Instead of pulling Qi Chao up, Shen Yuxi stumbled slightly himself.

Qi Chao, still sitting on the bench, laughed at the situation.

Shen Yuxi's expression stiffened. He looked up at Qi Chao, his eyes showing a hint of irritation, though his voice remained as gentle as ever. "You need to help me a bit when I’m pulling you up."

"Sure thing."

Qi Chao responded cheerfully.

Shen Yuxi glanced at him and pulled slightly harder. The man sitting on the bench didn’t budge and continued to smile as before, making Shen Yuxi realize that Qi Chao was teasing him.

"Do you still want to sleep?"

Shen Yuxi's blue eyes were fixed on Qi Chao. Though his face remained gentle, his words made it clear that he was somewhat displeased. Perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, this display of emotion was something that would have been unlikely before.

Qi Chao could tell that Shen Yuxi was genuinely upset. He smiled and said, “Pull me up again, and I promise I’ll behave this time.”

He meant it sincerely. Although Qi Chao was playful, he understood the importance of not pushing things too far. He knew it wasn't fun to genuinely anger someone.

Shen Yuxi carefully observed Qi Chao’s expression, trying to gauge its sincerity. However, Qi Chao's expression remained unchanged from before. 

Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes lowered in skepticism. He pursed his lips and pulled harder.

As he felt the tug on his hand, Qi Chao prepared to rise accordingly. Unexpectedly, Shen Yuxi’s strength increased significantly. Due to sitting for a while and the effects of alcohol, Qi Chao was already unsteady. The sudden force made him lurch forward and he ended up falling directly towards Shen Yuxi.

Shen Yuxi, not believing that Qi Chao would actually cooperate this time, had used more force. 

Realizing something was off, he instinctively thought about pushing Qi Chao away but stopped himself when he remembered who it was. This hesitation led to Qi Chao tumbling into him, pinning him to the ground.

The cool moonlight streamed through the skylight, casting a gentle glow over the flower room. 

The scent of flowers lingered in the air. On the grassy lawn, the man with black hair pinned the golden-haired youth beneath him. Through the spaces between the potted plants, their close proximity suggested something very intimate.

Anyone stumbling upon this scene might misunderstand the situation and quickly leave.

Qi Chao propped himself up with one arm on the ground. With Shen Yuxi only a few centimeters away, he looked at Shen Yuxi’s shocked, wide blue eyes. 

The awkwardness Qi Chao had initially felt vanished, replaced by a broad, amused smile.

“You didn’t believe me. I’m so sad.”

Shen Yuxi had never been this close to anyone before, and he felt a bit uncomfortable. He wanted to ask Qi Chao to move, but Qi Chao kept laughing, as if unable to stop.

Shen Yuxi couldn’t understand what was so funny. Seeing Qi Chao laughing with his forehead resting on Shen Yuxi’s shoulder only added to his confusion.

Is it really that funny?

He wasn’t feeling embarrassed, just a bit bewildered and at a loss. Seeing that Qi Chao had no intention of moving, Shen Yuxi pushed gently on his shoulder. “Can you get up now?”

“Sure.”

Qi Chao’s smile remained unchanged. As he was about to get off, a sudden sharp scream echoed in his mind. Qi Chao’s head throbbed, and his movement halted.

Shen Yuxi noticed something was wrong with Qi Chao and looked puzzled. He half-sat up and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

The system’s scream had been brief and then quieted down. Qi Chao quickly recovered, but when he looked up to respond, he was momentarily stunned.

The two were extremely close at that moment. 

Qi Chao hadn’t completely moved away from Shen Yuxi, and because Shen Yuxi had just sat up, Qi Chao’s lips ended up brushing against the corner of Shen Yuxi’s right eye due to the angle.

“Sorry.”

Qi Chao instinctively moved back as he stood up. “I didn’t mean to.”

Shen Yuxi understood that the incident was accidental. Feeling a slight burning sensation at the corner of his eye, he casually said to Qi Chao, “It’s fine. But what happened to you just now?”

“Nothing, maybe I was just too tired,” Qi Chao replied, pausing briefly without mentioning the system's disturbance.

Shen Yuxi nodded in understanding. The two quickly stood up. 

Due to the awkward incident, Qi Chao felt a bit embarrassed. They walked down the stairs one after the other. 

At the bottom of the stairs, they exchanged a glance. Before Shen Yuxi could speak, Qi Chao smiled and said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Shen Yuxi’s demeanor seemed to return to his usual gentle self as he replied.

The two went to their respective rooms. After Shen Yuxi closed the door and turned on the light, he immediately looked towards a corner of the room. His voice was a bit flat, tinged with annoyance, “Who allowed you to follow us earlier?”

Under the moonlight, Agu stood there with a grin, his tone a bit off-kilter, “Agu was just curious about what Father and Qi Chao were doing instead of sleeping. I didn’t see anything.”

Agu had excellent hearing and could even catch sounds from outside his room. With such an interesting event as Qi Chao inviting his father for a drink, he certainly couldn’t miss it.

Agu covered his eyes and wriggled a bit, as if shy, saying, “Well, all I saw was Father being pushed over and then getting a kiss before I left!”

Shen Yuxi’s fingers twitched slightly as he fixed a cold, piercing gaze on Agu. 

Agu, still testing the waters, grinned and continued, “Father really went to great lengths to gain Qi Chao’s favor by not caring about such details.”

“Agu is truly impressed!” Agu added with a thumbs-up, his green eyes sparkling mischievously under the moonlight.

Shen Yuxi watched him in silence. After a few seconds, he spoke calmly, “Moss.”

At his command, a spatial vortex appeared beside him, and Moss emerged.

“Starting tomorrow, confine Agu to the trial grounds as a guard for at least a month.”

“Yes, Father.”

Moss’s voice was rough. Upon hearing Shen Yuxi's decision, Agu protested, “Moss also saw what happened, if I have to be confined, Moss should be punished too.”

Moss’s back tensed. His role was to monitor Agu and prevent him from causing trouble, and witnessing the incident involving Shen Yuxi was purely accidental.

Shen Yuxi’s gaze turned to Moss and then shifted back to Agu, his eyes growing colder. “Is it not acceptable for only you to be punished?”

Moss relaxed slightly at Shen Yuxi’s words. Agu, still smiling, said, “Of course, that’s fine.”

He then muttered, somewhat intentionally, “A father who gets angry out of embarrassment is quite scary. It’s just a kiss. Even if it meant going straight to bed, it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, Father is thirty-one this year; it’s normal for an older man to have someone to warm his bed.”

Realizing the potential trouble, Agu quickly darted into the nearby spatial vortex to escape. 

Moss took a furtive glance at Shen Yuxi, his voice still rough but with a hint of stiffness, “Father, I’ll be going now.” He followed Agu into the vortex.

An older man?

Shen Yuxi’s eyes grew icy with cold anger. He closed his eyes, feeling that the punishment he had given Agu might have been too lenient.

He recognized that Agu’s mischief had served as a reminder that his tolerance toward Qi Chao had perhaps gone too far. The burning sensation at the corner of his right eye reemerged, and his palm still seemed to remember the warmth from earlier.

Perhaps it was his yearning for Qi Chao’s warmth that made him repeatedly tolerate such behavior. 

Shen Yuxi mused that, as Agu had suggested, he might indeed need to find a companion. 

Although he disliked physical contact with humans, some things were necessary to overcome.

He resolved not to let himself be as foolish as he had been when Qi Chao had toppled him. Shen Yuxi pursed his lips, hiding the complex and obscure emotions beneath his surface.

Qi Chao was not a part of his original plan, yet he still held value. If Shen Yuxi were to propose a closer relationship with Qi Chao, perhaps he could maintain this connection for a longer time. 

Shen Yuxi didn’t trust Qi Chao’s claims of friendship; in his view, a mutually beneficial and restrictive relationship was far more reliable.

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