I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Chapter 13

The dark blue bed canopy hung down quietly. Inside, it was silent. Xueya first reached up to touch his own hair, then gently stretched out his hand to lift the curtain slightly. The little fox-eyed boy peeked into the canopy, but before his eyes could focus, a hand suddenly appeared around his neck.

That hand was incredibly strong, gripping his throat tightly. Xueya let out a single cry, but after that, he couldn’t make a sound. In extreme terror, his mind went completely blank. When the hand finally loosened, all he could do was gasp for air.

“Xueya?”

He Xulan’s voice still held traces of sleepiness, as if he had just woken up. He looked at Xueya, who had slipped to the floor because his legs gave out. Furrowing his brows, he knelt down beside him, reaching out to touch Xueya’s neck, causing Xueya to tremble all over and try to retreat.

He Xulan restrained him with a firm grip. “Don’t move.”

Xueya froze.

He Xulan stood up, lit a candle, and returned to Xueya’s side. He lifted Xueya’s chin, exposing the normally fair neck, now marked with a faint red and purplish bruise, looking quite terrifying.

Seeing the injury, He Xulan’s brow furrowed further. He stood up again and returned after a while. Xueya, still recovering from shock, was starting to regain his senses. He saw He Xulan and tried to stand up, but his legs were weak. He managed to get up for a moment before kneeling back down on the ground. It felt as if he had taken a walk through the gates of h*ll, scaring off three out of his seven souls.

Seeing this, He Xulan walked over, lifted Xueya off the ground, and placed him on the bed. “Raise your face.”

His tone now was colder than during the day. Xueya had just experienced a life-and-death situation and was still frightened. Now hearing He Xulan’s tone, he felt both fearful and hurt. Tears streamed down uncontrollably.

He Xulan’s tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, his tone softening slightly. “Let’s apply some medicine first.”

He brought over a jar of ointment.

Upon hearing this, Xueya wanted to touch his own neck, but He Xulan grabbed his hand. “Don’t touch.”

Although he couldn’t touch, Xueya felt intense pain in his neck, indicating a serious injury. Thinking of this, he felt even more like crying, but he also knew he needed to apply the medicine, so he obediently raised his head.

As He Xulan applied the medicine, Xueya couldn’t help trembling from the pain.

After the medicine was finally applied, he took out a silk handkerchief to wipe away the tears on his face. Seeing He Xulan return from washing his hands and still not speaking, Xueya admitted his mistake, “I… shouldn’t have sneaked over here at night. I was wrong.”

After saying this and seeing He Xulan still silent, Xueya realized the seriousness of the situation might be beyond his imagination. After all, he broke into the Empress Dowager’s palace at night, and He Xulan’s expression was now grim.

Their relationship had already been quite cold today. If He Xulan was disgusted with him because of this incident, what should he do?

Cui Lingjing didn’t care about him. If He Xulan also despised him…

No, He Xulan might be extremely angry, and might actually drag him out. By then, Cui Lingjing definitely wouldn’t spare him.

Thinking of this, Xueya had to use all his strength to beg for forgiveness. Whether by lying or coaxing, he sobbed softly and proactively leaned into He Xulan’s arms, his voice soft, omitting the words “Empress Dowager” this time. “Brother, I know I was wrong, but you were so cold to me during the day. I’m afraid it’s because I’m too foolish and upset you. That’s why I took it upon myself to come and apologize to you.”

He Xulan let him lean against him without moving or saying anything. Xueya grew more nervous and held onto him tighter. “Brother, please don’t ignore me. I really know I was wrong, Brother.”

His hands clung tightly to He Xulan, and Xueya was afraid that He Xulan would order the palace guards to drag him out at any moment.

He Xulan lowered his gaze, watching the young boy who was trying hard to snuggle into his embrace. His light brown eyes flickered with a dark emotion for a moment. He raised his hand and gently patted the boy on the back.

“I’m not angry with you, but you were too bold. There are so many patrolling guards along the way. If you were caught, you’d be treated as an assassin. At best, you’d be arrested; at worst, you could be killed on the spot.”

With his words, the boy in his arms trembled even more, clinging tightly to him.

“Does your neck still hurt?” He Xulan changed the subject.

Xueya’s voice was a bit nasal, likely from having just cried, “It hurts.” Sensing that He Xulan’s attitude had softened, Xueya immediately tried to grow closer, taking advantage of his current vulnerable state. “Brother, hug me.”

A sigh came from above, but the next moment, Xueya was embraced.

Held in He Xulan’s arms, Xueya clung even tighter, rubbing his face against the soft fabric of He Xulan’s chest. He suddenly noticed that He Xulan was only wearing a thin layer of clothing, so he looked up and asked, “Brother Empress Dowager, aren’t you cold? You should get under the covers.”

He Xulan glanced down, “If I get under the covers, what about you? Will you go back?”

Xueya hesitated. After what He Xulan had just said, he was too scared to go back now.

“I’ll have someone send you back when dawn approaches,” He Xulan added.

Hearing this, Xueya quickly nodded. He Xulan released him and lifted the blanket to lie down. Once he was settled, he closed his eyes. Xueya, still sitting by the bedside, froze at his actions. He looked at He Xulan, then at his surroundings. There was a beautiful couch nearby that he could lie on, but it looked cold and uncomfortable.

After glancing at He Xulan again, Xueya decided. He removed his cloak and, like a fish diving into water, slipped into He Xulan’s bed, his head popping out from the blanket near He Xulan’s chest.

He Xulan opened his eyes slightly and said in a calm voice, “Bold.”

Though he said that, he didn’t push Xueya away.

Xueya chuckled, hugging him even tighter, showing no fear at all. His mind was starting to work again, and he resumed his little plan.

“Brother Empress Dowager, you smell so nice. What fragrance do you use? I want to smell just like you.”

He Xulan closed his eyes again, “If you like it, I’ll have someone bring you some later, along with the recipe.”

Xueya’s eyes lit up. He decided to strike while the iron was hot, resting his head on He Xulan’s chest, trying to act like a clingy younger brother. “Brother Empress Dowager, apart from being skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, is there anything else you like?”

He Xulan was silent for a moment before replying, “No.”

How boring, Xueya thought to himself. His hand began to move inappropriately. He had learned that Cui Lingjing was likely the submissive one in their relationship and realized his smaller frame might not be to Cui Lingjing’s liking—he wasn’t even as tall as Cui Lingjing, let alone He Xulan.

But from appearances, He Xulan’s build seemed tall and slender, far from the muscular men Xueya had heard about.

Other male courtesans had said that muscular men were fierce in bed.

He Xulan didn’t look strong. Could he really satisfy Cui Lingjing?

While thinking this, Xueya’s hand lightly touched He Xulan’s abdomen. He first tested it through the clothes but couldn’t feel anything, so he secretly tried to slip his hand under the collar. However, before he could, his hand was caught.

He Xulan opened his eyes, “What are you doing?”

Xueya replied calmly, “I want to touch Brother Empress Dowager’s stomach.”

He Xulan’s gaze seemed to waver slightly, “Why?”

Xueya looked up at him, “I heard that strong men all have abs.”

“Do you think I have them too?” He Xulan asked in return.

“Whether you do or don’t, in my eyes, you’re still an incredibly strong man,” Xueya said. “Brother Empress Dowager, can I touch?”

He Xulan stared into Xueya’s eyes for a moment before releasing his hand. Freed, Xueya quickly slipped his hand under He Xulan’s clothes, finding his abdomen and boldly touching it several times.

There were abs.

Xueya wasn’t happy about it.

Because he wasn’t happy, he started feeling around more carefully, trying to confirm if he was mistaken. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. He could even feel exactly how many abs He Xulan had.

After a long while, He Xulan’s collar had come more and more undone, until finally, He Xulan grabbed Xueya’s hand and pulled it out. “Enough. You said you’d only touch a little, but you’ve been at it for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

He Xulan’s voice sounded a bit muffled, but Xueya, too upset to notice, didn’t pay attention.

He Xulan had abs. Xueya felt like he’d lost again.

While Xueya was still sulking, He Xulan’s voice suddenly reached his ears, “Xueya, do you have abs?”

“Huh?” Xueya was momentarily stunned before realizing He Xulan was asking if he had abs. “I… I don’t.”

His next words came out in a low, embarrassed whisper.

“You don’t?” He Xulan seemed a bit doubtful. “How is that possible?”

Xueya became even more embarrassed and mumbled, “I really don’t have any.”

He Xulan still didn’t believe him. “That’s impossible.”

“If you don’t believe me, feel for yourself.” Xueya, already feeling ashamed and now being doubted repeatedly, was in a terrible mood.

As he said this, he grabbed He Xulan’s hand, but when he was about to place it on his own collar, he hesitated. He then pulled He Xulan’s hand back and awkwardly said, “Maybe you shouldn’t.”

“No way,” He Xulan insisted. “You already said I could, and besides, you touched me, so this is just fair play, right?” His gaze was fixed on Xueya’s collar.

Xueya raised his hand to cover his collar. “No, you can’t!” he protested frantically, as if hiding a big secret beneath his clothes. The more flustered he looked, the harder it was to let him off the hook easily.

Even He Xulan couldn’t resist.

So He Xulan grabbed Xueya’s hand. “Suddenly changing your mind… Could it be—” He stretched out the word. “Could it be that you haven’t bathed in days?”

“I bathe every day!” Xueya immediately retorted.

“Then why won’t you let me? You touched me, didn’t you?” He Xulan’s voice grew deeper. “That’s not fair, is it?”

Xueya’s eyes darted around anxiously. While he hesitated, He Xulan suddenly turned over, facing away from him, which startled Xueya. He quickly leaned closer and softly pleaded, “Don’t be mad, Brother Empress Dowager, I’ll let you.”

But He Xulan didn’t respond.

Afraid that He Xulan was truly angry, Xueya coaxed him a few more times. Seeing no reaction, he finally admitted why he didn’t want to be touched. “I… I’m wearing… a dudou underneath.”

The words “dudou” were said with great difficulty, and even his earlobes turned red.

He Xulan slowly opened his eyes and glanced sideways at Xueya. Now sitting on the bed, with his long hair cascading down, Xueya looked even smaller under the faint light seeping through the dark canopy. His features were delicate and flawless.

Meeting He Xulan’s gaze, Xueya bit his lip, then lowered his head and slowly reached to untie the ribbon at his waist.

As the ribbon loosened, his inner clothes began to fall open.