I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Extra 5

He Xulan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. “You can’t say such things casually. How could I be your father?”

“Why not? I don’t have a father, and my brother doesn’t have children, so why can’t he be my father?” Xueya looked up, his eyes full of affection and dependence. Seeing He Xulan silent, he wrinkled his nose and buried his face into the other’s embrace. “I don’t care; my brother will be my father from now on. With a father, no one will bully me and my mother.”

With Xueya saying this, He Xulan could only sigh lightly and swallow his refusal. He gently patted the back of the boy in his arms. “From now on, no one will bully you and your mother.”

He Xulan didn’t want to be Xueya’s father, but since he didn’t outright refuse, Xueya took it as an agreement. As a result, Xueya grew increasingly spoiled, calling He Xulan “Father” with more enthusiasm. The most outrageous moment was when he laid on the bed, mumbling, “Father, I’m dying!”

Because he was busy settling matters with Xueya’s mother, He Xulan hadn’t interacted with Xueya much during this time. Today, after finally showing some warmth, that single “Father” made He Xulan’s expression turn indescribably complicated. He leaned down, his words laced with frustration, “Guan Guan, stop talking nonsense!”

Xueya, still a little dazed, turned his face slightly and saw He Xulan’s beautiful face up close. Without hesitation, he leaned in like a little cat to lick and kiss He Xulan’s chin.

At that moment, He Xulan felt his heart soften, only to hear Xueya call him, “Father.”

He Xulan: “…”

He simply lowered his head to block that mouth, only releasing it when the other couldn’t breathe. His voice was deep, tinged with a hint of hoarseness, “Am I really that old?”

Strangely enough, in a month, Xueya would be turning twenty, transitioning from a boy to a young man, yet he showed no signs of maturity, as if he were still the sixteen-year-old who had just entered the palace.

If Xueya were still sixteen, with some effort, he could really evoke a response from the other.

Upon hearing He Xulan’s question, Xueya shook his head, wrapping his arms around He Xulan’s neck as if his limbs had no bones. His breath was erratic. “Brother isn’t old, I just… I just want you to care for me.” The last part was almost a whisper, “Father, please care for me.”

Xueya had never had a father by his side. Although he never showed it, he deeply longed for that love. At the same time, he knew he would never receive it from his father, so he turned his desires toward He Xulan.

He thought that once he grew up a bit more, he wouldn’t think about the father who had never appeared, and He Xulan wouldn’t need to play that role anymore. But until then, he hoped He Xulan could act more like a father and show him affection.

Though Xueya was in a brothel, he was still young and had never heard the more taboo and explicit talk. Unlike other boys, he hadn’t looked at forbidden books; instead, he read the ordinary romantic texts given by the madam and the courtesans. In contrast, although He Xulan had spent his youth at Qianfo Temple, he understood much more about these matters, coming from a noble background.

For these aristocratic young men, ordinary romantic texts no longer stimulated their senses, and thus, the unspeakable and highly taboo topics became what they truly craved.

One of the romantic texts was widely circulated in the academy at that time, and by the time it reached He Xulan, it had already been read by countless people. He Xulan looked down on the well-worn booklet, covering his nose as he tried to send both the messenger and the book away from Qianfo Temple.

The messenger’s parents were family friends of He Xulan’s, and the boy was born in the same year as He Xulan, so their relationship was decent. While studying in the academy, the boy came across such a rare item and thought of the reclusive He Xulan at Qianfo Temple.

Young masters from noble families like them usually had at least two beautiful maidservants or attendants by their side, but He Xulan had only a young monk. Feeling pity for He Xulan, the boy decided to send the book, unaware that it would be rejected.

“You see your problem! Fine, I’ll be magnanimous. Actually, I have a special edition that no one has ever looked at—not even me. I’ll have my servant bring it over, but you must promise to return it after reading.”

True to his word, the boy had the servant deliver the special edition. He Xulan initially didn’t want to read it, but thinking of how the boy had praised it so highly, he reluctantly opened it.

Actually, this booklet doesn’t contain much, just some taboos. It tells the story of a master who bought a fair-skinned, handsome servant from the market. He trained him in various ways and made the servant call him “Father.” Every time they did that sort of thing, the servant would beg the “Father” to be gentle with him.

By the end, the master accidentally found the servant’s birth mother’s belongings and discovered that the servant was truly his son. However, the master was a despicable man. Even after knowing this, he pretended nothing had happened and continued to take the servant to bed.

A few days later, the boy who had brought the book returned to Qianfo Temple, full of anticipation. “He Xulan, what did you think?”

He Xulan had a serene, almost holy expression, free from worldly desires. “In the future, please refrain from bringing such filthy things here, so as not to defile the sacred ground of the temple.”

“Hey, you brat!”

The book-carrying boy angrily hugged the book and stormed off. On his way back, he felt like rereading the booklet. When he flipped to the last page, he found a note tucked inside. The note roughly advised him to stop reading such things, warning that indulging in them too much would drain his young body.

“That d*mn He Xulan!” the boy cursed, feeling even more outraged. He cursed He Xulan’s lack of honesty—after all, he’d read all the way to the last page before telling him to stop reading.

He couldn’t help but think of how, every time He Xulan left Qianfo Temple to return to the mansion for holidays, his brothers and sisters would eagerly visit the He mansion as many as eight times a day. When they came back, they all wore satisfied smiles. When asked what they did, it wasn’t much—some hadn’t even spoken to He Xulan, but they all claimed—

“Just looking at He Lang’s face makes us happy.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

They’re all just a bunch of naive boys and girls, blinded by his good looks, unable to see the dark heart beneath He Xulan’s fine, noble exterior.

***

That year, He Xulan indeed found the booklet quite ordinary, but hearing it in person and experiencing it firsthand was a completely different matter.

The next day, Xueya couldn’t get out of bed, and He Xulan missed the morning court session.

***

Xueya’s mother was buried in the capital, in a piece of land that He Xulan had specially arranged as a royal tomb. A shrine was also set up in the palace to house her memorial tablet.

After laying Xueya’s mother to rest, the year drew to a close. On the eve of little New Year’s Eve, He Xulan took Xueya to Qianfo Temple.

It was then that Xueya finally understood whose memorial tablets he had seen during his first visit. They belonged to the He family. Because the deaths of the He family had been deliberately concealed by the former emperor, He Xulan hadn’t been able to publicly mourn. Instead, he set up a memorial hall at the temple.

With his blood feud still unavenged, He Xulan had to maintain a facade with people like Cui Lingjing. He felt that the entire He family wouldn’t want to see him, so he turned their tablets to face the wall.

Now, with his vengeance fulfilled, he could finally offer them incense and bring peace to their restless souls.

As He Xulan was lighting the incense, Xueya’s hand reached out.

“Brother, I want to offer incense too.”

For some reason, in that moment, He Xulan’s eyes stung with emotion. He closed his eyes, pushing down the bitterness, before turning to Xueya with a small smile, handing him the incense. “Alright, we’ll offer it together.”

Xueya knelt and bowed sincerely, silently promising the He ancestors, “Rest assured, I’ll take good care of Brother. I know what he likes to eat and drink now, and I’ve been studying hard. One day, I’ll even be able to match the couplets he writes. Brother won’t be lonely as long as he has me.”

After offering incense, Xueya wasn’t ready to return to the palace. He Xulan thought for a moment before taking Xueya to the mountain peak to watch the sunrise. When He Xulan had lived at Qianfo Temple, he sometimes couldn’t sleep and would climb up to see the sunrise. Back then, he always went alone, but now, it was the two of them.

It was cold at the top, and the boy nestled in his arms, his peach-scented fragrance filling the air. The distant sky was as dark as ink, with faint lights flickering like stars in the valley below. He Xulan gazed at the horizon as the colors slowly changed, the golden sun struggling to emerge from the edge of the earth.

Though it struggled, it eventually banished all the darkness, bringing forth a fresh and beautiful new day.

“Brother, the sun is rising!” the boy in his arms exclaimed excitedly.

He Xulan gave a soft hum and leaned down to kiss the other’s soft lips. Xueya obediently accepted it, even when He Xulan’s kisses trailed down to his most ticklish spot on his neck. Xueya still tilted his head back willingly, allowing him to kiss.

This boy, who looked so much like him, had suddenly appeared in He Xulan’s life, as if the heavens had sent him as a special gift. They were both without parents, siblings, or family. In this vast world, they only had each other.

With similar faces and hearts deeply connected, no one could ever separate them.

He Xulan kissed Xueya’s lips again, whispering between the pressed lips—

“Happy birthday.”