The King's ReturnCh129 - The Truth

translator: Oyen  editor: Ciel

The both of them had a good relationship before Chu Yan retired, only for all contact to be cut off in the end. Chu Yan only left a message on Q: “I am busy at work, and have to change my account for the workplace. I will not contact you often in the future. Take care of yourself.” MB3FJA

Naturally, Zhu Qingyue was reluctant to break off contact and immediately called him on the phone, but it was in vain. His master didn’t reply to his WeChat, didn’t log in to the Q account, almost if he was about to disappear from this world. When he asked his uncle, Zhu Ran only said that Chu Yan went back to school to get his degree and was preparing for his graduation. Thinking that he was busy, Zhu Qingyue didn’t disturb him again…

However, Chu Yan didn’t tell Zhu Qingyue where he went after he got his degree. From a close master and apprentice pair, both of them gradually became strangers, which puzzled Zhu Qingyue.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

If Chu Yan didn’t contact him because he was angry with him or hated him, why was his photo on the bedside table?

To Zhu Qingyue, this photo held special meaning. It had been taken at his 18th birthday party. He still remembered Chu Yan’s boldness when he organised the party, inviting many great gods to come over and hosting a buffet that occupied an entire floor of the hotel, as well as ordering a large three-tier cake. Chu Yan personally wheeled the cake before Zhu Qingyue, chuckling, “Qingyue, you will be an adult from today. Happy birthday to you.” Jq7MRY

Everyone sang the birthday song, causing Zhu Qingyue to be moved to tears. Then under his master’s gentle gaze, he closed his eyes and made a wish, blowing out all eighteen candles in one breath.

It had been the happiest day in Zhu Qingyue’s life. So, even though the young smiling face in the photo was shy, one could perceive the overflowing joy in his eyes.

Why did his master keep this photo?

As he was thinking, the man lying on the bed suddenly made a ‘En’ sound, frowning as he impatiently pulled off the towel on his forehead and threw it aside. Sensing that Chu Yan was awake, Zhu Qingyue immediately picked up the warm towel, replacing it with a cooler one. Returning to the bed, he carefully placed the towel on Chu Yan’s forehead. “Master, are you awake? Is it still uncomfortable?”

In fact, Chu Yan wasn’t really awake at the moment. The high fever seemed to be causing him to hallucinate. Seeing the man he yearned for all this while sitting by the bed, looking at him with concern caused Chu Yan to reach out for him, even though he couldn’t hear anything the man was saying. “Qingyue?” he asked hoarsely, gently touching the man’s face.

Zhu Qingyue smiled. “Let me check your body temperature…” He retrieved the thermometer, but before he could look at the readings, he was tugged into a strong embrace. Stupefied, Zhu Qingyue tried to break free, only for Chu Yan to cling tightly to his waist, pulling him close and kissing him forcefully.

“En…????”  Being kissed by those scorching hot lips, Zhu Qingyue’s brain completely blanked out.

Already agitated by his high fever, Chu Yan’s consciousness was not clear, causing him to be greedy for the other person’s cooler body temperature. With one hand tightly clinging to Zhu Qingyue’s waist, Chu Yan tugged at Zhu Qingyue’s sweater, stroking the other man’s torso. He also took advantage of the moment to pry open Zhu Qingyue’s mouth, thrusting his tongue in unceremoniously. LUv65O

“…” The rough and warm kiss caused Zhu Qingyue’s body to stiffen and his mouth to turn numb. Even though he was slow to react, he didn’t fail to realise that Chu Yan was still running a fever at the moment.

“En… Mas… Master… You… ” His tongue was repeatedly tangled up, the heat from Chu Yan’s tongue enough to almost melt Zhu Qingyue’s mouth. Zhu Qingyue couldn’t even speak properly, his face flushed as he struggled desperately within Chu Yan’s arms. “Master… Let go of me…”

Unfortunately, Chu Yan’s brain was muddled. The more his little apprentice struggled, the more he wanted to suppress it. Turning over, Chu Yan pressed the struggling Zhu Qingyue onto the bed, messily tugging off his clothes, insisting on kissing him more.

“…” Zhu Qingyue turned pale with fear, not knowing what to do. 7OywnP

He was not as strong as Chu Yan, and could not break free earlier. But Chu Yan was currently muddled from his fever, and Zhu Qingyue did not dare hit him with a heavy blow.

Chu Yan’s warm lips were constantly pressed against his skin, leaving a bunch of purple marks.

Zhu Qingyue attempted to resist for a moment, only to find that the other man still showed no signs of waking. Unable to bear it any longer, he took the basin of cold water on the bedside table and directly poured it on Chu Yan’s head!

“…” Chu Yan, who had just been drenched in cold water, seemed to find some semblance of reason. His gaze innocently blank, Chu Yan halted his actions, as if he had been awakened from a dream. His face blushing a furious shade of red, Zhu Qingyue immediately pushed him aside, awkwardly putting his clothes back on and rolling off the bed. ytwNBu

Chu Yan paused for a moment, before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

Zhu Qingyue: “…”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

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 had never been in love, let alone been kissed. As a result, this shameful master kissed him for no reason while he had a fever. What was going on?

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A moment ago, he had just poured a basin of cold water over their heads. He couldn’t let Chu Yan’s cold get worse.

Thinking of this, Zhu Qingyue immediately removed the wet quilt from the bed. Taking off Chu Yan’s soaked shirt, he pushed the sleeping man onto the dry side of the bed, before fishing out a spare blanket from the wardrobe to cover him.

Zhu Qingyue had just finished changing blankets when he heard the man murmuring, seemingly calling out a name.

Unable to distinguish the mumbled words, Zhu Qingyue leaned over. “What did you say?” ndjeM2

After a long moment of silence, Zhu Qingyue finally heard Chu Yan’s mumbled words——

“… Qingyue… I… really miss you.”

His heart trembled violently. Zhu Qingyue did not expect that his master, while feverish, would actually call out his name!

“…Qingyue… Qingyue…” 97jlkz

His repeated calls made Zhu Qingyue feel shocked.

To think that Chu Yan would call for him while feverish, put his picture on the bedside table, and just a short while ago… actually kissed him?

Although Zhu Qingyue had never been in love, he was not a fool. All the facts linked together to show an almost unbelievable fact——

The truth was… Chu Yan liked him. QgvKeT

Chu Yan actually liked him?!

Looking at the frowning man lying on the bed, Zhu Qingyue stood still, almost as if frozen in place. The firm belief built in his heart over the years finally began to collapse slowly.

He trusted and respected Chu Yan so much, and always regarded Chu Yan as his closest person aside from his uncle. How could Chu Yan have such thoughts about him? Had he misunderstood? But how else could all this be explained?

Remembering the scene of being kissed by his master on the bed just now, Zhu Qingyue was so ashamed and angry that he wanted to leave here immediately and not care about this person again. VGno35

However, Chu Yan still had a fever and looked very uncomfortable. Zhu Qingyue would feel endless guilt about leaving an ill person alone to suffer. In the end, he could only sit on the bed and silently convince himself that whatever feverish people did and said did not count. After all, it was said that people occasionally hallucinated when they had a fever. Unfortunately, Chu Yan was currently unconscious, so there could be no conclusion drawn. Still, he must have thought too much…

After reluctantly persuading himself, Zhu Qingyue went to the bathroom to change the towels, continuing to give Chu Yan a cold compress.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

……

It was not until 5:00pm in the afternoon that Chu Yan’s fever subsided and the man finally woke up. SFjEvc

Seeing him open his eyes, Zhu Qingyue asked him calmly, “Are you awake? Are you still uncomfortable?”

Chu Yan frowned as he attempted to sit up. His voice, while hoarse, was incomparably cold. “Why are you here?”

Compared to the lunatic who hugged him just now, this Chu Yan who just woke up was simply too calm.

Zhu Qingyue explained. “You passed out at the company, uncle and I brought you back. You have a high fever, didn’t you know?” Oo601J

“It’s nothing, just a small cold.” Chu Yan replied indifferently.

Not only were you muddle-headed, but you even fainted and remained unconscious for a while, and you still insist that it’s just a small cold?

Zhu Qingyue studied him carefully. From Chu Yan’s calm expression, he didn’t seem to remember what he did? Thinking of this, Zhu Qingyue relaxed. “Are you hungry? I’ll order takeout.” Speaking of this topic, Zhu Qingyue suddenly remembered that he hadn’t eaten lunch at all. He had been taking care of Chu Yan all afternoon and almost forgot himself.

Chu Yan was hungry after sleeping for so long, and nodded in agreement. “I want kungpao chicken and spicy poached fish.” LC3Zwt

“You have a cold and have a hoarse voice, and still want to eat spicy poached fish? Eat some light vegetarian dishes instead.” Zhu Qingyue replied angrily.

With that, he resolved to make the decision, and turned on his mobile phone to order only vegetarian dishes– fried vegetables, stir-fried bamboo shoots and sautéed sweet corn with pine nuts, as well as two bowls of preserved egg porridge.

Looking at his little apprentice’s serious expression, Chu Yan could not find it in himself to refute the choices made. Instead, he went to the bathroom to wash his face, only to realise that the quilt was unfamiliar, and one that he seldom used. The bedsheets were also soaked, and a basin of cold water sat on top of the bedside table. Zhu Qingyue was wearing a low-necked sweater, revealing his collarbone that had ambiguous kiss marks dotting his pale skin.

A few fragments of memory surfaced in his mind. Chu Yan froze, his gaze darkening as he stared at Zhu Qingyue. lzBm4L

……

By the time Chu Yan exited the bathroom, the takeout had already arrived. Zhu Qingue arranged the dishes in the dining room and went to the kitchen in search of tableware, only to find that the kitchen was empty. Not to mention bowls and chopsticks, he couldn’t even see a pot around. In the end, he had no choice but to use the disposable utensils provided by the merchant. “Don’t you use this kitchen? There’s nothing at all.”

Chu Yan walked over to sit down, picking up the disposable utensils as he replied. “This single apartment is just for transitional use. In the future, I will settle down and get married. By then, I will definitely not live in such a small house, so I haven’t decorated the kitchen and don’t usually cook here.”

Sure enough, did he really think too much? Chu Yan intended to settle down and get married. B1sait

Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhu Qingyue didn’t ask any more questions, lowering his head to eat silently. Chu Yan also said nothing. The both of them were obviously hungry, and soon finished three vegetarian dishes.

After eating, Zhu Qingyue packed all the boxes into plastic bags and stood up. “Master, I should go.”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Chu Yan smiled wryly. “Why are you calling me master again? Didn’t we just argue today? You even said you wanted nothing to do with me again in the future.”

“I only said it in the moment of anger.” Zhu Qingyue replied with a smile. “I cared about you, only to be directly blocked by you. No matter how good my temper is, I will eventually be angry. However, you have been kind to me for so many years. I am not the kind of ungrateful person who would repay your kindness with evil intentions. After so many years of camaraderie between master and apprentice, how can we simply break things off like this?” d2UDVo

Getting up from his seat, Chu Yan raised an eyebrow, slowly approaching Zhu Qingyue. “So, even if I bully you, you wouldn’t want to break away from me?”

Startled, Zhu Qingyue turned his gaze away awkwardly. “I don’t know what you mean…”

Smiling, Chu Yan reached out, gently guiding Zhu Qingyue to face him, and while Zhu Qingyue was still recovering from the shock, directly kissed him.

Zhu Qingyue. “……” H06G8Q

The kiss was very gentle, not as rough and crazy as when Chu Yan was still feverish. Instead, it held a touch of tenderness.

After the kiss, Chu Yan retreated a little. Gazing at Zhu Qingyue, he whispered, “I treated you in that manner just now… Aren’t you angry?”

Zhu Qingyue got goosebumps upon hearing this—— he thought that Chu Yan only treated him that way because he was feverish, but this person actually remembered everything! His own poor acting skills had long exposed him! Taking a step back, Zhu Qingyue stared at Chu Yan in disbelief.

Looking at his crystal eyes full of panic, Chu Yan took a breath and continued. “I am tired of wearing this mask as your master for so long. I don’t want to find an excuse for doing those shameful things to you—— look clearly, Qingyue, this is your master, who would kiss you while dreaming—— the reason why I avoid you is very simple. I’m afraid I can’t endure it. You see, after you came here today, I couldn’t hold back and ended up kissing you.” odtpbK

Zhu Qingyue’s eyes turned red, almost as if he were going to burst into tears.

For him, the fact that Chu Yan himself acknowledged it was simply too shocking.

—— Did the so-called deep affection between master and apprentice become an illusion a long time ago?

Clenching his fist, Zhu Qingyue asked with a trembling voice. “You, you, towards me… since when?” jvaCMO

“When?” Chu Yan chuckled. “Probably since you turned eighteen. At that time, you were already an adult, yet you still crawled into my bed and hugged me to sleep. Did you ever guess why I got up earlier than you every morning? It was because I needed to take a cold shower. I had to endure all this time. Not only could I not be a beast in the night, but I also had to be a gentleman and play the role of a good master. You don’t know how difficult it was to endure all these years…”

“Enough!” Tearing up, Zhu Qingyue hastily interrupted him. Chu Yan’s words were simply too terrifying. At that time, he really liked to crawl into Chu Yan’s quilt. He had a low body temperature since he was young, and was very afraid of the cold, while his master’s quilt was very warm. At that time, he didn’t think about it too much, and only felt that it was comfortable for two people to sleep together.

However, when he was hugging his master to sleep, Chu Yan was suppressing the idea of invading and violating him? This was simply too terrible!

Thinking of this, Zhu Qingyue’s face was as pale as paper, and his lips trembled. “I, I didn’t expect this… We should have nothing to do with each other…” XVgaxb

As if he were running away, he quickly put on his shoes and ran out of the room, pressing the elevator button with shaking hands, like a frightened little animal.

Staring at his retreating back, Chu Yan felt a chill from the bottom of his heart.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Indeed, he had long expected this result, which was why he didn’t dare to say anything.

Instead of making you hate this master, it was better to leave you some beautiful memories… VmZI24

Unfortunately, contrary to his wishes, those beautiful memories had been completely shattered.

Chu Yan stood at the doorway for a long time, only recovering after the elevator dinged and his neighbour walked out. Under the other party’s surprised gaze, he closed the door with a smile.

Taking a deep breath, he took out his mobile phone and sent a long text message to Zhu Qingyue’s WeChat: “Qingyue, I watched you grow up little by little these years, and unknowingly gave you my heart. I like you very much. I want to protect you and keep you forever. But I know that you only treat me as your master. In order to maintain your good image of a master, I have never dared to say any of this. But I don’t have the ability to control myself in front of you, so I chose to distance myself from you. I didn’t expect to meet you this time, but in the end, I still couldn’t hide it. In fact, your master is not as perfect as you think. I’m sorry to have disappointed you.”

Sitting in a taxi, Zhu Qingyue looked at the message that popped up on his mobile phone. The tears that welled up in his eyes for a long time finally burst out. khUbj

He didn’t know why he was so sad. His whole heart seemed to be crushed to pieces by a pair of hands.

Today, he finally realised what being heartbroken meant.

Chu Yan had always had evil thoughts of him. Clearly, he ought to be disgusted, but Zhu Qingyue found that he wasn’t repulsed by it. Even the kiss was more shocking than disgusting.

He didn’t know how to reply to this message. This was the first time in his life that he was confessed to, and it was by the master he had always respected and admired the most… ONecY6

It turned out that his master was avoiding him for this reason. If he had known this earlier, he might not have gotten in touch with Chu Yan, so that they could still have a good relationship as master and apprentice.

Now, what should he do?

Zhu Qingyue stared at the bustling lights outside the car window, his heart in a complete mess. His brain seemed completely frozen, and he couldn’t think of any way to deal with it.