Chapter 56
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Yuan Li didn’t expect his simple words to elicit such a big reaction from Chu Hechao, which made him burst into laughter.
Could it be that despite Chu Hechao’s seemingly experienced demeanor, he is actually a virgin?
Oh my, a modern-day virgin in his mid-twenties.
Yuan Li struggled to hold back his laughter, his face turning red. He clenched his fist to suppress his amusement and walked to the bedside. Although he was also a virgin, it didn’t stop him from mocking Chu Hechao.
He suddenly realized the joy of teasing Chu Hechao. The Great General was usually imposing, cold, and handsome, appearing as a seasoned warrior; who would have known that his reaction to being teased would be so amusing? Yuan Li felt a mischievous urge, and his courage instantly grew.
He crawled into bed, his eyes fixed on Chu Hechao, who was still frozen in front of the screen. He pretended to show concern and said, “General, how did you knock down the screen?”
Chu Hechao not only knocked down the screen but also had a shaky hand and ended up urinating on his boots.
Realizing what he had done, the General’s face turned black. He quickly fastened his pants, picked up the screen, and walked out in fast strides.
After a while, he returned to Yuan Li’s bedside, wearing a new pair of boots.
Yuan Li was delighted and teasingly cleared his throat, saying, “General, why are you so nervous when I compliment you?”
Chu Hechao was indeed a bit flustered and embarrassed by his words earlier. But now, being playfully teased by Yuan Li face-to-face, his masculine nature took the upper hand. It seemed like he had forgotten about his earlier embarrassing act. He calmly raised an eyebrow, smiled with a hint of lazy sensuality, and said, “Nervous? Kid, I was afraid of scaring you.”
After speaking, he chuckled lowly, leaned down, and his tall shadow enveloped Yuan Li. “Haven’t seen one this big before, have you?”
Yuan Li’s heart skipped a beat, and a flush rushed to his face. “…”
D*mn.
He inexplicably felt that he had lost.
As a person from the future, someone who had seen the world, how could he lose to Chu Hechao in such a vulgar conversation?
A strange sense of pride and competitiveness surged within him. Yuan Li raised the corner of his eye, suppressed his embarrassment, and decided to launch another attack. He smiled mischievously and said, “I only took a quick glance, I didn’t look carefully. I can’t say for sure if it’s big or not. General, how about… I take a closer look?”
But when it comes to being a hooligan, Chu Hechao can outmatch anyone as long as he thickened his skin.
The General narrowed his eyes, looked at Yuan Li for a moment, and casually lifted his robe aside. He nonchalantly loosened his belt, as if he really intended to show it to Yuan Li.
No!
I was just bluffing!
Yuan Li’s scalp instantly tingled, but considering how Chu Hechao had knocked down the screen just now, he didn’t really believe that Chu Hechao would dare to do such a thing. It was probably all show and no substance. Yuan Li couldn’t let himself be intimidated by him. Analyzing the situation in his mind, he gained some confidence. He pretended to remain calm, kept his smile unchanged, and his eyes showed a hint of curiosity.
The two of them silently confronted each other. Chu Hechao felt an unnamed anger burning inside him, causing a layer of sweat to form on his back. There was a stifling heat that he couldn’t release anywhere. His movements became slower, with the belt slipping through his fingers. Suddenly, Chu Hechao lifted his eyelids, a teasing smile on his lips. “Do you really want to see? Yuan Li, nod your head, and we’ll call it even.”
Yuan Li appeared strong, but deep down, he was also just trying to save face. “General, do you think you were bluffing?”
Chu Hechao sneered, his gaze fixed on Yuan Li, his hand completely pulling off the belt from his waist. Just as he was about to reveal his “little brother,” Lin Tian’s voice sounded from outside in time, “My lord, your medicine is ready.”
Both men inside the room subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Chu Hechao maintained a poker face as he quickly fastened his belt again, taking the lead and saying, “Come in.”
Lin Tian brought in the medicine, breaking the strange atmosphere in the room. A bitter scent wafted through the air.
Yuan Li sighed in relief in his heart. At the moment, he was grateful, and he didn’t even care about investigating the bitterness of the medicine. He took the medicine without saying a word and finished it in one gulp.
Lin Tian took the empty bowl and silently retreated.
Chu Hechao looked at Yuan Li’s twisted expression of bitterness, poured a glass of water for him, and said, both angry and amused, “Can’t you drink slowly?”
Yuan Li let out a breath after drinking a glass of water. “Drinking slowly only makes the bitterness stronger.”
After returning the glass, Yuan Li didn’t want Chu Hechao to dwell on the previous topic, so he changed the subject and asked, “General, have you settled the several hundred soldiers?”
Chu Hechao replied lazily, “Everything has been arranged. Your deployment of the medical experts to provide treatment for the soldiers and civilians went smoothly. The renovations of the residence can wait until spring, there’s no rush. I’ve sent people to investigate if Xiao Ce still has any accomplices. Those who raised suspicions have been captured and are currently being interrogated.”
“Thank you for your hard work, General,” Yuan Li nodded involuntarily and sighed, “Thanks to your timely arrival yesterday, we managed to prevent them from escaping. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”
Chu Hechao furrowed his brows. “Your soap factory was burned down. I heard all the soap was destroyed?”
Yuan Li smiled bitterly. “Yes. The batch of soap in the factory was made from the lard of the two thousand pigs we slaughtered earlier. It’s a pity all that lard went up in smoke.”
The residence was salvageable by half, but the soap factory had turned to ashes. Thankfully, there were no casualties.
Just thinking about the value of a bar of soap, Chu Hechao felt the urge to drag Xiao Ce over and beat him to death. He sneered, “Xiao Ce and his men died too easily.”
“It would have been better if he had died earlier,” Yuan Li frowned. “He’s a bit sinister. Even with his legs broken, he managed to stay in his room and recover to such an extent. The artisans who came with me to Youzhou are trustworthy people, yet some were still influenced by him. His words are somewhat terrifying.”
While speaking, Yuan Li noticed Chu Hechao tugging at his collar, sweat forming on his forehead. Yuan Li paused, “Are you feeling hot, General?”
“It’s fine,” Chu Hechao hooked his foot onto the other side of the chair, resting his legs lazily, and said slowly, “Do I qualify in gaining credit?”
“Of course,” Yuan Li caught the hint in his tone and responded generously, “Meritorious service naturally deserves a reward. What do you want, General? As long as it’s within my power, I will do everything I can to obtain it for you.”
Chu Hechao clenched his teeth and asked, “Do you have an elder brother?”
Yuan Li shook his head, “No, I am the eldest in the family, with two younger brothers beneath me.”
Chu Hechao leaned back, his back against the chair, resembling a resting tiger with his striking tiger-like stripes. It was hard to discern his thoughts. “You don’t have an elder brother in your clan either?”
At the mention of this, Yuan Li’s mouth twitched. He held a low status within his clan. Among ten individuals around his age, eight were his seniors. “No, but I have several uncles who are around the same age.”
Chu Hechao sneered, “Your status is really low.”
Yuan Li replied, “Yes, it is very low, but I’m still your sister-in-law.”
Chu Hechao’s smile gradually faded.
He used to think that the term “sister-in-law” was insignificant. He even deliberately called Yuan Li “sister-in-law” to tease him. But for some reason, now when he heard those words, Chu Hechao felt annoyed from the bottom of his heart. It was as if a suffocating resentment was pressing heavily on his mind and brow.
Yuan Li had no idea which part of his words had hit a nerve, but Chu Hechao’s mood seemed to suddenly turn gloomy and restrained. His brows furrowed, his lips pressed together, and a cloud of darkness covered his handsome face.
Confused, Yuan Li asked, “What’s wrong with you? Did I say something wrong?”
Afraid of alarming him, Chu Hechao composed himself and put on a calm expression. “No.”
Yuan Li probed, “Really?”
Chu Hechao glanced at him with a sidelong glance. “Are you hoping to make me angry?”
Rolling his eyes, Yuan Li replied, “Chu Hechao, you really know how to shift blame.”
Chu Hechao couldn’t help but chuckle, then suddenly straightened up, towering by the edge of the bed with his imposing figure. He spoke in a low voice, “Yuan Li, among the younger generation who haven’t received their adult names yet, you’re the first to have the audacity to call me by my name to my face.”
“I’m seven or eight years older than you,” Chu Hechao tapped his thigh with his finger, his waist bending even lower. “Call me ‘older brother’, let’s hear it.”
Yuan Li’s expression became peculiar. “How can I call you that?”
Even though Chu Hechao was older than him, they were still connected as in-laws. Yuan Li had wanted to use the title of “elder sister-in-law” to assert some control over Chu Hechao. He couldn’t just act randomly.
Chu Hechao asked, “Are you going to call me or not?”
Yuan Li confidently replied, “It’s not appropriate.”
Chu Hechao looked up at Yuan Li and spoke softly, “When you wanted to see my ‘vital part’ earlier, why didn’t you mention what’s appropriate or not?”
Shadows shrouded Chu Hechao’s face, but his eyes were burning and scorching hot. Something wild was growing and being suppressed, rising and subsiding. It made Yuan Li tremble, feeling like he was being stared at by a fierce tiger.
“You really won’t say it?” Chu Hechao asked one last time.
Yuan Li’s fingers tingled as if electrified. His words were stifled, and all he could do was clear his throat. “Is this the reward you want?”
Chu Hechao responded, “It’s close enough.”
As a renowned general whose name echoed throughout Northern Zhou, it was indeed uncomfortable for him to be called “little brother” by a youth who hadn’t even received his adult name. From that perspective, he could understand why Chu Hechao wanted to hear Yuan Li call him “older brother.”
Yuan Li struggled and said, “Are you sure you only want to hear me call you ‘older brother’? General, perhaps there’s something else you’d prefer. For example, the army recently captured 13,000 war horses. Don’t you want to provide them with stirrups?”
Chu Hechao retorted, “If I don’t want them, will you not provide the stirrups?”
Yuan Li really wanted to threaten him and say yes, but it was a matter of duty. Yuan Li wiped his face, composed himself, and solemnly replied, “Even if you don’t mention it, I will provide them for you.”
Chu Hechao’s thin lips curled up. “I don’t want anything else from you, just one call. It doesn’t cost money or effort, so why are you unwilling?”
Yuan Li pondered for a moment. “Do you really want to hear it that badly?”
Chu Hechao responded directly, “Of course.”
Yuan Li sighed. Just call him once, if it weren’t for the in-law relationship, Yuan Li should have called him “brother.” In his previous life, he used to address older people as “older brother” or “older sister” regardless, one more call wouldn’t make a difference.
He didn’t know why Chu Hechao wanted to hear this seemingly insignificant form of address. Yuan Li rubbed his forehead. “General, pour me another glass of water.”
Chu Hechao obediently got up to pour him a glass of water. Yuan Li took a sip and when Chu Hechao sat back down, he unexpectedly said, “Older Brother.”
Chu Hechao suddenly looked up at him, his gaze piercing.
Yuan Li felt uneasy under his gaze, but he also noticed that Chu Hechao seemed to really enjoy being called that. He tentatively added, “Older Brother, my hand is a bit itchy.”
“Mm,” Chu Hechao responded from his throat, leaning comfortably against the chair with his eyes closed. “Endure it if it itches.”
Yuan Li: “…”
Does he really enjoy being called that?
Yuan Li continued, pushing further, “Older Brother, I can’t bear it. It’s too itchy.”
Chu Hechao said, “Then what do you want me to do?”
Yuan Li replied, “Help me relieve the itch.”
This conversation was getting stranger. Chu Hechao’s throat felt itchy, but he refrained from saying anything inappropriate like, “Which part should I use to relieve your itch?” He swallowed his words. Inappropriately, the memory of Chu Mingfeng’s last words flashed through his mind.
“I regard him as my wife. He is the daughter-in-law of the Chu family and your true sister-in-law.”
Yuan Li was Chu Mingfeng’s wife, the daughter-in-law of the Chu family, and his true sister-in-law.
True sister-in-law.
Chu Hechao abruptly opened his eyes, his expression a mix of unpleasantness and shock. He glanced at Yuan Li, then suddenly slapped himself hard. He turned and ran out of the room.
Yuan Li stared blankly as he watched Chu Hechao slam open the door and disappear.
Having lived two lifetimes, it was the first time he had seen someone aimlessly hitting themselves.
Chu Hechao, what a talent.
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Thanks for the update
I love their interactions, what a unique couple. (well not yet :D )
sigh this poor man lol