[Sometimes, when I look at them, it feels pretty similar to holding a knife, chop-chop, dicing them into small pieces.]
Xie Mu crouched down, gently sniffing at the flowers before him, warmth seeping through his gaze, [But, thinking carefully, this is rather lenient on them. Slaughtering people with a blunt knife, now that hurts.]
“Darling.”
From behind him came Tan Tao’s call. The youth turned around, flowers cradled in his arms. His pretty, round eyes showed a glimmer of pleasant surprise, “How come you’re home so early today?”
He was like a diligent little wife, happily setting down the bouquet of flowers to go cook for Tan Tao, “Wait a little bit; it’ll be ready soon.”
“You don’t need to make anything.”
Tan Tao hugged the youth’s body, soft from having not exercised in a while. He lowered his gaze, his face emotionless, but his voice as gentle and warm as always, “Tonight, let’s go out to eat. How about it?”
“Go out to eat?” After losing his memories, whenever the youth spoke, he would slightly lilt the last syllable of his words. He sounded just as he did when he was nineteen, soft and a bit spoiled, “Is today a special day?”
“It isn’t.”
Tan Tao embraced Xie Mu, speaking in a low voice, “Tonight, we’re going to go see someone.”
The youth grew more uncertain, wanting to continue to question him, but his lover asked, “Darling, you’re mine, right? Just my one person’s…”
The man’s voice quieted into almost a murmur. The youth had yet to grasp the situation clearly, but he still obediently answered, “I’m yours.”
He firmly hugged his lover. Like an oath, he stated, “I love you.”
Those words he had long dreamt of hearing, and upon hearing them, Tan Tao’s heart relaxed. He asked, “Even if I deceived you?”
The pair of arms around him tightened their hold. Xie Mu inclined his head onto his lover’s chest, declaring, “Even if you deceived me, I still love you.”
The man’s eyes felt a little sour, “Xie Mu, even if you remember everything, you still won’t hate me?”
“Tan Tao.” He raised his head, his pair of exquisite and rounded eyes glimmering like the most beautiful stars in the sky, “Ever since I woke up, you’ve taken care of me. And although I lost my memory, at the least my current self likes you. You’re attentive, gentle. You’re so good to me…”
The youth smiled sweetly, concluding with, “The person who has always protected me is also you, so how could I hate you, ne?”
He smiled bitterly, embracing that person once more.
Protect…
But, what if he had also been an executioner?
That person in front of him, smiling at him, would he still come near him?
Xie Mu’s love, Xie Mu’s warmth, were all like gently vines, binding onto Tan Tao’s body, little by little. And when the time came, that gentleness would little by little bear thorns, piercing mercilessly into his flesh.
Tonight at 8 o’clock, there would be a Hongmen Banquet.
In the car, the youth seemingly perceived an unusual atmosphere, maintaining an expression of uneasy. When Tan Tao opened the vehicle door to let him out at their destination, regarding the exquisite lighting of the hotel, he actually had a sudden urge to escape.
“Tan Tao, have I come here before? I feel a little afraid, can I not go…”
He timidly shrunk towards the center of the car, anxiously looking at his lover.
Tan Tao’s eyes flashed with a hint of hesitance, but he quickly made up his mind. He extended a hand to Xie Mu, coaxing him gently, “Don’t be afraid. In a little bit, you’ll stay by my side, and after we finish eating, we’ll go home.”
The youth glanced at the offered hand in a daze, and although he was still a little scared, he slowly placed his hand down onto the other’s.
[Little fellow, I gave you a chance. You didn’t treasure it. You’re inviting calamity onto yourself.]
How could Tan Tao not know what Bo Qin was requesting, but he still came.
He believed that he could guard that person from harm.
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.
Snfc lo atf rlaejalbc kfca jkgs, ja wbra, tf kbeiv pera obgofla atbrf qgbqfgalfr. Lbkfnfg, ja atf wbwfca, kjr atfgf cba ralii j rtgfv bo tbqf?
[Host, do you know of his aim?]
[He’s just deceiving himself, while also deceiving others. Bo Qin asked him to bring me to this hotel, is this not already expressing his attitude very clearly?]
Wlf Ze obiibkfv tlr mbwqjclbc lc kfjnlcu atgbeut atf mbgglvbgr, ogjwf eqbc ogjwf bo jga tjculcu jibcu atf kjiir. Llr nlrjuf kjr lcmgfjrlcuis qjiilv, fzqgfrrlbc rflhlcu eq klat ofjg ktfc Kjc Kjb rabqqfv lc ogbca bo j vbbg.
“Tan Tao, let’s go back, ba. I don’t want to go in, don’t want to stay here…”
He pleaded beseechingly, unable to stop himself from retreating a few steps as if behind the door, a great scourge was awaiting him.
Tan Tao’s heart soured.
He knew why the youth was like this. It was because, after he had inebriated Bo Qin last time, he had cajoled Xie Mu into helping him support Bo Qin from the bar to this room. After that, the car crash happened.
Even if the memories were gone, would the body still have an adverse reaction?
It was as if he had an adverse reaction to himself.
“Don’t be scared. I’m here.”
Clearly, he noticed the youth’s horror; however, all his years of progress were but a step away. He only needed to brave this one encounter, and once the old man retired, he would no longer need to be wary.
He grasped the youth’s hand, pushing open the door and walking inside.
The door opened, showing the shadow of a man’s back.
He sat in his seat, having a drink. Upon hearing sounds of movement, he tilted his head back, knocking back the wine in his glass in one shot. He turned his body sideways, a smile showing on that handsome, but cold mien aimed towards the youth peeking out behind Tan Tao’s body.
“You came?”
His tone of voice was as if he were simply greeting a friend, the casual intonation causing the youth’s face to whiten instantly.
He adamantly hid behind his lover, terrified to the extent of sounding about to cry, “Tan Tao, I don’t want to be here. Let’s go.”
Believing that his body was only reacting negatively to the room, Tan Tao gently, but firmly rejected, pulling Xie Mu to his side, “Be good. We’ll just eat a dinner, and afterward, we’ll go.”
He was also warning Bo Qin, sitting Xie Mu far away from the man on purpose. The table was long, three people with one sitting on the left side, two on the right, indeed maintaining the safest distance.
Bo Qin cared not about that, quirking an eyebrow. He glanced at the evasive Xie Mu, who was close to ducking away and hiding in Tan Tao’s embrace, smirking, “Looks like you’ve been living well during this period of time.”
In a few short days, Xie Mu had already come to rely on Tan Tao to this extent?
He did not think it was strange that Tan Tao knew not of Xie Mu meeting him.
Xie Mu, having lost three years’ worth of memories, had returned to the college freshman him who had made countless mistakes. At this time, he had yet to undergo Bo Qin’s tutelage, not yet the outstanding, calm, and collected secretary he would become.
But, like this, was also pretty interesting, no?
Xie Mu, who had suddenly become a little white rabbit, was a lot more tempting than before.
The meal was undoubtedly uncomfortable, neither Bo Qin nor Tan Tao had any intention of interacting. Xie Mu’s face was pale, his head lowered, from beginning to end, not daring to lift his head and look at the man.
The platters of food came one after another. Bo Qin popped open the alcohol, grinning at his former friend, “Have some wine?”
Tan Tao’s expression was unchanging, “Not having. I still have to drive in a little.”
“Now, why would you drive here yourself.” Bo Qin did not mind the rejection, lowering his gaze to pour himself some. He spoke, plausibly truthful, plausibly falsely: “You’re even wary that I would put something in the wine?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that shameless.”
Tan Tao smiled, not saying anything.
[What a grand show. If I didn’t remember incorrectly, last time Bo Qin wasn’t drunk, he was drugged by Tan Tao. Ze ze ze, look at this insinuation. Social, social.]
The system warned: [Host, traces of drugs were detected in the dishes in front of you.]
Xie Mu peered at the Tan Tao, who had touched not a drop of wine but was eating the food.
Tan Tao felt the gaze of his lover, warmly patting his hand, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
You’re about not to be here.
Xie Mu showered a soft, trusting smile, picking a few vegetables and placing them into Tan Tao’s bowl. He, himself, ate not a single stalk of the vegetable.
The loving and honey-sweet picture of the two caused the look in Bo Qin’s eyes to become increasingly frigid. He swirled the wine cup in his hand, silently watching Tan Tao consume, bite by bite, the dishes that Xie Mu picked for him.
Tan Tao did not actually have much of an appetite, eating only a few bites. After finishing a few mouthfuls, he looked towards Bo Qin, “For what did you call me out today, what do you want to do.”
“Not doing anything, what can I do.”
The man spread his hands, appearing quite innocent.
“Don’t fret. At least we had a good brothership. Even if I found out that you were calculating me, I still wouldn’t condemn you with a death sentence.”
“But, the resources you have on hand, I will graciously accept.”
Tan Tao grit his teeth, aware that he was no match for the other, “It was I who wronged you. I formally apologize.”
“What is an apology without a drink. Drink a cup, and after drinking, I’ll let you two go.”
The man in the host seat raised his glass, askingly raising an eyebrow.
At this moment, Tan Tao was certain that the wine contained something in it. Bo Qin was clearly forcing him to choose.
Drink this cup of wine, or, lose the inheritances he had fought tooth and nail to acquire.
“Tan Tao…”
As he gazed blankly at his wine cup, the youth’s timid voice sounded. He lowered his head, meeting the restless and nervous eyes of Xie Mu.
“You can also not drink. You can set down your cup and walk out, but you have to leave Xie Mu behind.”
Just as the youth was feeling disturbed, the man’s voice rang out like an evil spirit. He was terrified, his whole body trembling, grasping tightly onto his lover’s sleeve.
Tan Tao wouldn’t give him to someone else; he wouldn’t!
Tan Tao indeed wouldn’t. He had beguiled the other with great difficulty, so how could he be willing to hand him over without a fight. He smashed his glass, the cup fracturing into pieces upon the ground, a shattering sound echoing.
“Bo Qin, don’t pull that stunt on me. We grew up together, who doesn’t understand the other. Xie Mu, let’s go.”
The two had completely cast aside all considerations of face, no longer tending to the small ramifications. When Tan Tao stood up, pulling along his lover to leave, he was actually a little worried that Bo Qin would not let them go. However, against all expectations, the man continued sitting without restraint, seemingly without the intent to snatch the person.
Tan Tao did not believe that he had suddenly become a vegetarian. Alarms sounded in his heart, but even as he walked to the door, Bo Qin had yet to make a move.
As Xie Mu left with Tan Tao, he turned around to take a peek at the man.
He was staring down at his wristwatch. It was almost time, his lips quirking, looking up at Tan Tao, who was about to open the door.
The door, of course, could not be opened.
Without time for Tan Tao to react, his head began spinning.
“Tan Tao, what’s wrong, Tan Tao?”
The youth’s distressed voice sounded from beside his ear. With his blurry eyesight, he looked up at Xie Mu with difficulty, watching as he leaped over to support him panicked. His hand reached out to grasp at him, only to come up empty.
“Xiao Mu, come here.”
The man’s magnetic voice carried a hint of laughter. The youth glared at him in apprehension and fury, seeing him stand up, his long legs striding to stand in front of him.
Tan Tao was already completely paralyzed upon the ground. Xie Mu frantically tried to shield in front of him, attempting to protect his lover.
“You’re still defending him?”
Bo Qin crouched down, staring directly at the youth, a faint smile upon his handsome visage, “Xiao Mu, don’t you find this scene very familiar?”
“A few months ago, the night before your car accident…”
The man extended his slender fingers, gently landing them upon the youth’s fair-skinned cheek. At the sight of him shaking from fright, his thin lips parted slightly, every word and sentence as if bringing him to trial, “Was it not here, where Tan Tao forced you?”
Xie Mu’s face grew even whiter, his eyes blank as if entranced in some memory buried deep, “No, he wouldn’t. Tan Tao is good to me; he wouldn’t…”
“Him?” Bo Qin side-eyed the man glaring viciously at him, sneering.
“Have you not regained some of your memories? How come you have yet to recall who harmed you to the point where you were between the human and ghost realms, lying on a bed, half-dead, half-alive?”
Bo Qin coldly spoke words to stimulate the youth, regarding as he clutched his head in pain, eyes anxious.
Screaming, pain-induced tears, pleading, and — despair.
His eyes slowly cleared, the tears suspended in his eyes rolling down. Xie Mu gingerly lowered his hand, “Yes, Tan Tao…”
“How could, how could it be Tan Tao…”
He was like an aggrieved child, choked with sobs.
The man paralyzed at the door watched the youth’s trembling shadow, despair shining through in bloodshot eyes.
No, it wasn’t me.
I didn’t do it on purpose.
I only, only wanted to be together with you.
Seeing the youth’s tear-streaked face, Bo Qin smiled satisfactorily. He walked up, holding back the youth in his embrace, patting him gently, while intoning, “Be good. Come back with me.”
It was just like the doctor said, with only a little stimulation, Xiao Mu would once again return to his embrace.
He tightly held the soft body in his embrace, delight in his eyes.
This hint of delight was soon snuffed out as the Xie Mu, who had just docilely lain in his embrace, fiercely pushed him aside.
Red-eyed, the youth’s gaze was stubborn and firm, “That was the old Tan Tao. He knows that what he did was wrong now. He is good to me, and he won’t do that ever again!”
The smile on Bo Qin’s face gradually cooled.
Author’s note:
Xie Mu: I am a pure, sweet fool, yo.
La la la, the flag has not fallen!
Translator’s note:
Hi guys, I’m back! Sorry for the wait, life has been catching up to me. I should be back on schedule and there will be additional releases! Thanks for the understanding (๑°̧̧̧ㅿ°̧̧̧๑)
lalalala~ scum trying to reedem themselves with their twisted views is not good for my maiden heart~ (thank you for the chapter and take your time ^w^)
+1 La la la, fake white lotus’ beating those scum is good however~
+2 lalala, want to see their devises quickly to soothe my maiden heart lalala
Thank you for the chapter! 💕
Xie Mu: I am a pure, sweet fool, yo.
Well, color me impressed 🤣
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Welcome back!!
And ooooh things are heating up!!
I’m so excited
Good to know you’re fine, Tian!
Xie Mu can crush two men’s brains Just with his words, fufu.
Thanks for the chapter!
Ah ah ah ahhhh!!!!!!
This is really a Hongmen banquet ahhhh!!!!!! 💯👍
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I luv it.
Lmaoo xie mu isn’t gonna make this that easy kekekke
Thanks for the chapter!!
Ugh, i hope these two scum gong’s heart would break into tiny little pieces. I wonder what our white lotus is planning to do during this banquet 😊
Thank you so much for translating 💕🙏💕
Also, thank goodnes that you are fine? Welcome back! 😃
Yup yup yup, Xie Mu is a poor sweet fool
Hahaha he won’t go by your side that easily Bo Qin.
Sometimes, i just want the mc to dryg the guy, cut his d*ck or something and then leave :’)
Lmao Xie Mu knows how to make it hurt “the one who always protected me “ XD