Dundun had no idea why he was shaking his head so vigorously. His gut just told him that this was the right thing to do.
Seeing Dundun’s frantic response, Ling Rui quickly walked forward, reaching the door.
“Ah Wu, don’t scare Dundun.”
Ling Rui wasn’t blind—he could clearly see that Dundun was frightened by Ah Wu.
Even though Ah Wu hadn’t said anything particularly harsh, there was definitely an intimidating aura about him right now.
“I didn’t scare him,” Ah Wu replied with a blank expression. “I simply asked him a question.”
“He was obviously scared!” Ling Rui widened his eyes in dissatisfaction, glaring at Ah Wu.
Dundun was his good friend, and Ah Wu had no right to scare him.
As the tension rose between the two, Dundun felt like his head was about to explode. He wanted to slip away and leave the two alone, but Little Seven held onto him, preventing him from leaving.
“We already agreed to sleep together,” Ling Rui said, ready to chat with Dundun all night. If Dundun ran off now out of fear, it would feel like his fault.
“You can sleep with Ah Wu. I’ll just sleep in the next room.”
Back at Guan Shan Residence, everyone knew that Little Seven and Ah Wu shared a room and even a bed. Their close relationship was common knowledge.
Even though time had passed, Dundun could see that their bond hadn’t changed one bit.
“Forget it. Let’s not sleep just yet.”
Ling Rui only lightly scolded Ah Wu. Seeing that Ah Wu had come all this way so late at night, he still felt concerned for him.
“Ah Wu, come inside and have something to eat.”
Ling Rui pulled Ah Wu into the room, bringing Dundun along as well.
There were chairs in the room and some snacks Ling Rui had set out earlier.
“The kitchen fire has gone out for the night, so there won’t be any hot food until tomorrow. For now, you can eat something to fill your stomach,” Ling Rui said as he seated Ah Wu and encouraged him to eat.
Dundun sat down too, though he felt increasingly out of place as he watched the two of them. The longer he stayed, the more unnecessary he felt.
After Ah Wu had eaten for a while, Ling Rui finally tore his gaze away from him.
“Dundun, have something to eat too.”
“I’m not hungry.”
With Ah Wu around, Dundun was clearly more nervous.
Noticing this, Ling Rui subtly reached under the table and gently held Ah Wu’s hand in a comforting gesture. Then he turned his attention back to Dundun, smiling as they chatted.
Thanks to Ling Rui’s efforts, the atmosphere eventually relaxed.
“Dundun,” Ling Rui finally transitioned to the main topic after some casual conversation. The words he had tried to say earlier but kept getting interrupted finally came out: “I wanted to tell you something. My partner is… Ah Wu.”
Dundun: “…”
Dundun slipped off his chair, falling to the floor in shock.
He stared at the two of them, wondering if he had heard wrong. But when he fell, he just happened to catch sight of Ling Rui and Ah Wu holding hands under the table.
Dundun’s vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.
“You… you two…”
Dundun was utterly tongue-tied. He had suspected something earlier but dismissed it as impossible.
After all, Ah Wu was an emperor, and Little Seven was a Wangye. It didn’t seem likely that the two of them would be together.
But now, faced with the undeniable truth, no matter how unbelievable it seemed, he had to accept it.
“A lot of people will oppose the two of you being together,” Dundun said after a pause.
“Yeah, I know,” Ling Rui said nonchalantly, swinging Ah Wu’s hand. “But no matter who opposes us, they can’t separate Ah Wu and me!”
He was determined to be with Ah Wu forever.
“Dundun,” Ling Rui blinked innocently and asked, “Would you oppose me being with Ah Wu?”
Dundun: “…”
Once again, Dundun met Ah Wu’s seemingly indifferent but actually intense gaze. He pursed his lips and sighed in defeat. “What right do I have to oppose?”
He wouldn’t dare get in the way of Ah Wu’s love, or else he might not survive.
“Little Seven, as long as you’ve made up your mind, that’s what matters. No one else should interfere in your relationship.”
Dundun’s words pleased Ling Rui greatly.
Ling Rui smiled, his eyes curving with happiness. “You’re right. As long as we’re firm, we don’t need to be afraid of anyone’s opposition.”
Though the room was spacious, Dundun couldn’t shake the feeling that it was closing in on him. The air felt stifling, making it hard to breathe.
But this suffocating feeling didn’t last long.
After a bit more idle chat, Ling Rui finally bid Dundun goodnight, saying he needed to rest.
Ling Rui wasn’t actually tired. He said this because he wanted Ah Wu to get some rest—he must have been exhausted after rushing over.
Dundun noticed that while Ah Wu was eating, Ling Rui kept glancing at him, as if checking to see if he was tired.
“Little Seven, you two should get some rest. I’m going to sleep too,” Dundun said hurriedly, standing up to bid them farewell.
He only wanted to hang out with Little Seven; as for Ah Wu, he preferred to see him as little as possible.
Dundun went next door to rest.
As soon as he closed the door, Ling Rui watched his retreating figure and sighed.
“Sigh, I feel bad for Dundun.”
“Why do you feel bad for him?” Ah Wu asked, pulling Ling Rui into his arms from behind and closing the door.
Ling Rui obediently leaned into his embrace without struggling and tilted his head back. “I promised Dundun we’d chat until we fell asleep tonight, but now that you’re here, we can’t do that anymore.”
“You can talk during the day.”
“Dundun is busy during the day.”
“There will be times when he’s not.”
This exchange made Ling Rui, who was looking up at Ah Wu, suddenly realize something.
“Ah Wu, are you… jealous?”
Ah Wu: “…”
He didn’t reply.
Seeing Ah Wu stay silent, Ling Rui moved closer, astonished. “You’re really jealous, aren’t you?”
Ah Wu remained unresponsive.
Ling Rui turned around and clung onto Ah Wu, jumping up slightly. Ah Wu instinctively caught him. “Be careful.”
“Hehe, I knew you’d catch me.”
Ling Rui wrapped his arms around Ah Wu’s neck, his crescent-shaped eyes sparkling with joy. He raised his hands and cupped Ah Wu’s face.
“Mwah, mwah, mwah.”
He planted several kisses on Ah Wu’s face, leaving it wet with affection.
“Alright, stop being jealous. There’s nothing between Dundun and me—he’s getting married soon.”
“I was just about to tell him about us when you knocked on the door.”
Ling Rui explained his situation with Dundun and then added a sweet confession.
“You’re the only one I’ll ever love in this world, so there’s no need to be jealous.”
When it came to sweet talk, Ling Rui could go on endlessly. His affectionate words quickly softened Ah Wu’s expression.
Ling Rui’s smile revealed small dimples, which seemed to be filled with honey on his soft cheeks.
As Ah Wu listened to his sweet words, he kissed Ling Rui’s dimpled cheeks.
Outside, the wind knocked against the window.
Ling Rui glanced at the window and then at the candlelight, noticing that the candle had burned down halfway, and most of the night had passed.
“Ah Wu, it’s really late now. Do you want to go to sleep?”
Ling Rui didn’t even need to ask to know that Ah Wu probably hadn’t rested much during his journey. He didn’t want Ah Wu to be too tired, so he encouraged him to sleep.
Ah Wu didn’t agree or disagree. He simply lifted Ling Rui and carried him over to the bed.
Ling Rui was placed gently on the bed.
Their eyes met, and Ling Rui immediately understood the meaning in Ah Wu’s gaze.
“Ah Wu,” Ling Rui tugged on his sleeve, his face turning slightly red, and his voice soft. “It’s really late.”
When he said it was late earlier, he was hoping Ah Wu would go to sleep. Now, he just wanted Ah Wu to sleep—literally.
But it was clear that Ah Wu had no such plans.
“Zai Zai, how many days has it been since we last saw each other?”
As soon as Ah Wu asked the question, Ling Rui’s heart softened.
It was true—they hadn’t seen each other for quite a few days this time.
“Alright,” Ling Rui sighed softly, “but Dundun is sleeping next door. Don’t let him find out.”
“If you behave, he won’t.”
They didn’t extinguish the candle, letting the room stay lit.
Meanwhile, in the room next door, Dundun couldn’t fall asleep either. He glanced over at the neighboring room and saw that the light was still on, so he didn’t bother turning off his own.
As time passed, Dundun stared at the candle flame, and suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, making his face turn bright red.
In the next moment, he blew out the candle and flopped onto the bed.
Careless. He buried his face in the blanket and mumbled to himself, realizing—he was way too inexperienced to predict someone else’s relationship progress.
Covering his face, Dundun nearly suffocated himself.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Ling Rui was biting Ah Wu’s arm, refusing to make a sound, afraid that Dundun might overhear.
By the time dawn arrived, Dundun had slept soundly, but Ling Rui’s door had yet to open.
Dundun stood outside the room for quite some time before deciding not to knock and walking away instead.
Ling Rui didn’t wake up until the afternoon. He was exhausted, hungry, and still sleepy. Even though his eyes were open, his expression was visibly grumpy.
Ah Wu was already awake but hadn’t left the room.
When Ling Rui saw him, he grabbed a pillow and angrily tossed it at him.
“Liar!”
Last night, Ling Rui had been fooled quite a bit!
Ah Wu didn’t mind being hit. He calmly picked up the pillow and placed it back on the bed.
“Sorry.”
His apology was smooth. “I shouldn’t have lied to you, Zai Zai.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui didn’t believe his apology for a second.
He’d heard that same apology before! He knew all too well that Ah Wu would apologize but never change.
They stayed in the room for a while longer, and Ah Wu, being quite skilled at comforting Ling Rui, quickly soothed his anger until there wasn’t a trace left.
They didn’t eat in the room but chose to dine outside.
The space outside was larger, offering more views to enjoy. Eating outside was much more comfortable than staying indoors.
The two didn’t order too many dishes; neither of them had a wasteful nature, and they disliked letting food go to waste.
As they were eating, they overheard the conversation from a table nearby.
“Have you heard? The Qi Dynasty has made some big moves recently.”
“Are you talking about the emperor imprisoning several high-ranking ministers? That was quite a stir. I asked around, and it seems those ministers are suspected of colluding with the enemy.”
“If they’re guilty of treason, then imprisonment isn’t unjust. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“Then what is it?”
“Have you heard about the Qi Dynasty’s auspicious…?”
Ling Rui, who was quietly eating, perked up his ears when he caught the words “auspicious.”
He was eavesdropping.
“Shh, I know what you’re going to say. Let’s talk about this later when we get home.”
One of the men, sounding cautious, interrupted his companion. “Are you done eating? I’ve got two jars of fine wine at home; how about we head back for a drink?”
“Sounds good, let’s go.”
The two men had almost finished eating and left after paying the bill.
Ling Rui watched them leave, his expression showing some frustration.
Hearing only half of the gossip—how unsatisfying!
“Ah Wu, I want to hear more of their conversation,” Ling Rui said, looking up at Ah Wu.
He hated not hearing the full gossip!
