Stunned
Looking at Ah Fei, who was also a man, the young man’s tone suddenly turned cold and hard,
“Let go… Dianxia orders you to let go!”
Sensing the anger in Zhou Huaiyan’s voice, Ah Fei dared not act spoiled anymore and immediately let go. However, as he climbed down from Zhou Huaiyan, there was inevitably some physical contact.
“……?”
Ah Fei was stunned for a moment, vaguely sensing something. Although now wasn’t the best time to draw out the Gu larvae, having this initial interaction might help with concocting the lure for the Gu larvae in the future.
Moreover, even without the Gu larvae, Ah Fei was willing. Looking at the young man’s excessively beautiful face, he couldn’t help but have those blasphemous thoughts again. The more Ah Fei thought about it, the more excited and nervous he became.
Drip…
Drip…
However, as he continued looking, Ah Fei suddenly noticed that the water had begun to take on a faint reddish tint, gradually spreading into a light crimson color.
Kitten: “……?”
Zhou Huaiyan suddenly laughed in exasperation.
“Tsk, why are you having a nosebleed?”
Hearing the young man’s voice, Ah Fei was startled and belatedly realized he had blood on his face.
“Ah!”
——He had dirtied his master’s water!
The kitten wanted to kneel down again and curl up, but since they were in the water, he could only stand there, covering his face.
“Master… Master, please forgive me, this slave… this slave, because…”
Because Ah Fei had been recently using himself to test medicines, trying to concoct a remedy potent enough to counter the Gu larvae. The ingredients for this remedy included things like tiger penis and ginseng, all highly tonifying substances. Combined with his earlier excitement, the surge of blood caused his nosebleed.
But he couldn’t mention the remedy, so Ah Fei couldn’t find a proper excuse for his nosebleed.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He pressed on a specific acupoint and quickly stopped the bleeding. He then used his damp sleeve to wipe away the blood from his face, trying to avoid leaving a bad impression on his master.
Itbe Lejlsjc’r fzqgfrrlbc aegcfv qfmeiljg jr tf gfmjiifv rbwfatlcu.
“Tbe vlvc’a jmaejiis fja atja alufg qfclr, vlv sbe?”
“……”
Ciatbeut tf tjv bcis ajrafv j ilaaif ktlif qgfqjglcu atf gfwfvs, Ct Mfl vlvc’a xcbk tbk ab gfoeaf Itbe Lejlsjc. Llr rlifcmf wjvf la rffw ilxf tf kjr jvwlaalcu ab la, ktlmt ifoa Itbe Lejlsjc klat jc lcmgfveiber fzqgfrrlbc.
“You’re so young… why would you eat something like that?”
“……”
Ah Fei still couldn’t respond. He tightly gripped his waistband, feeling extremely anxious. The longer he stayed by Zhou Huaiyan’s side, the more he was awed by the young man’s cleverness.
His master always seemed to be able to predict events accurately, deducing countless truths from the tiniest details.
Ah Fei was scared, fearing that his biggest secret, the lies he had told his master, would be discovered.
“If the Master… If the Master has no further need, this slave… this slave will take his leave first.”
With that, he immediately tried to climb out and slip away.
“Stop!”
Zhou Huaiyan had indeed sensed something amiss. He was always overly perceptive of people’s expressions and movements. However, when he shouted, Ah Fei, instead of stopping, only ran faster, like a guilty thief.
——This was getting interesting.
Standing in the water, Zhou Huaiyan watched as Ah Fei nearly made it to the edge of the pool. With his broad shoulders and long arms, he swiftly grabbed Ah Fei’s waistband from behind, catching the kitten just as he was about to escape.
“What are you running for?”
“…Wu.”
Ah Fei lay prone on the edge of the pool, instantly freezing as his waistband was grabbed by his master, rendering him immobile. Though he had the strength to easily break free, he didn’t dare defy the young man’s command.
“Ah Fei, are you hiding something from me?”
The young man’s slightly deepened tone sent a chill through Ah Fei’s entire body. He remained frozen, maintaining a kneeling posture at the pool’s edge, not daring to move an inch.
“Ma… Master…”
“Why so flustered? Are you afraid I’ll discover you’re a girl disguised as a boy?”
Of course, this was just a joke and a casual remark from Zhou Huaiyan.
Modern novels and dramas often loved this trope: the female lead disguised as a male falls into the male lead’s bath, only for her true identity to be revealed.
However, upon hearing this, Ah Fei’s body trembled violently. He suddenly thought that perhaps… his master preferred women. After all, hadn’t his master been watching those women at the New Year’s Eve banquet tonight?
Ah Fei felt a bitter taste in his heart and instinctively clenched his clothing.
This action didn’t escape Zhou Huaiyan’s notice. He suddenly recalled that when he first met Ah Fei, the latter had behaved similarly, frantically refusing even to bathe.
——Could he really be a woman disguised as a man??!
Zhou Huaiyan was shocked by this idea.
Although he had seen Ah Fei’s upper body, some girls develop late. Upon closer consideration, it did seem like Ah Fei had been growing quickly recently.
No, no, no! ! !
Realizing his thoughts were straying, Zhou Huaiyan immediately stopped himself. He forced himself to calm down for a moment, then suddenly flipped Ah Fei over, grabbed his collar, and pulled him close.
Rubbing the bulge in the foreign boy’s throat, Zhou Huaiyan immediately felt relieved.
——He had an Adam’s apple.
Although it was slightly smaller than his own, it was still a very distinct feature.
The young man let out a sigh of relief.
He had even considered that if Ah Fei were a girl, then wouldn’t he be…
Fortunately, he’s a boy.
With this confirmation, Zhou Huaiyan finally relaxed.
A feeling akin to “we’re both men, so it’s no big deal to see each other” arose within him. However, this action made Ah Fei tense up again. He even slightly tilted his chin up, making it easier for his master to examine him. Noticing this small detail, Zhou Huaiyan found it amusing.
“Tsk, you really are like a kitten.”
Speaking of kittens, Ah Fei suddenly recalled the small promise he had made with his master.
——Wait until his voice healed.
In fact, his voice had healed a long time ago, but at that time, Ah Fei suddenly realized that his master only saw him as a tool for show and had no romantic interest in him. So he kept it hidden.
But! But today seemed different. Ah Fei suddenly felt confident. Just as he was about to bring up fulfilling the promise to his master, he felt his waist suddenly loosen.
“……?”
Eh?
Ah Fei was stunned.
“Ma… Master…?”
The kitten was so nervous that his voice was trembling.
“Since you’re not a girl and you’ve eaten that stuff, could it be that you have some unmentionable disease?”
Although Zhou Huaiyan confirmed Ah Fei’s male identity through his Adam’s apple, he was still suspicious of Ah Fei’s abnormal behavior. If it had been anyone else, Zhou Huaiyan wouldn’t have cared in the slightest.
But now, since he had kept Ah Fei as his closest confidant, although this move might hurt his pride, Zhou Huaiyan couldn’t afford to have even the slightest doubt about him.
In his current precarious situation, even a small doubt could become a fatal threat in the future.
Moreover, since they were both men, and men’s bodies generally looked the same down there, Zhou Huaiyan didn’t mind seeing Ah Fei’s. Just one glance to confirm his identity would suffice. However, at this moment, Ah Fei’s face suddenly turned pale.
…Unmentionable disease?
He had thought the young man’s actions were motivated by “that” kind of interest, but it turned out the young man genuinely suspected something about his body and wanted to check.
“Ma… Master, there’s no unmentionable disease, there’s none, really…”
Ah Fei had imagined that one day Zhou Huaiyan would discover the secret of his body, but he hadn’t thought it would be under such circumstances.
The foreigners, his own people, regarded his strange body as an abomination, filthy and despicable, and something to be despised.
Ah Fei hadn’t confirmed whether Zhou Huaiyan would feel the same. He hadn’t prepared himself for this moment. If his master disliked him, or worse, shared his people’s views…
Ah Fei was very clever. He guessed that Zhou Huaiyan’s intention to inspect him indicated that the young man likely held similar views as his people.
Then… then when the master finds out, he will definitely be despised!
Ah Fei’s face instantly turned pale.
The kitten this time is going through rollercoaster of emotions: flushes pales flushes pales