CH 76

This inn was said to be the best there was in Nanyang, with the best VIP service, the so-called No. 1 under heaven. But probably because of the small size of the room, it seemed to be not as spacious and luxurious as imagined. But the food served to them was unexpectedly very satisfactory.

Probably because of how tired and hungry they were from the journey or for some other reason, the dinner between the two men was surprisingly quiet. Especially Su Zhan, who was even surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere.

It wasn’t until he was full of wine and food that Fu Yichen started looking at Su Zhan and said leisurely, “Wuji-didi?”

Su Zhan, who was still sulking, was immediately startled by the sudden ‘Wuji-didi?’. The corner of his mouth must have twitched when he heard those words. But then he realized that his points dropped by another point, so he looked up. Su Zhan was still unable to say the words ‘Ningzhi-ge’ as he tried his best to hide the inexplicable displeasure that he felt in his heart. He looked at the National Teacher with what he thought was a normal inquiring look.

In fact, at the dinner table, Fu Yichen had already noticed his deliberate forbearance. But he secretly laughed inside and didn’t poke his bubble. Besides, even if he wasn’t able to see through the other person’s emotions, the favorability prompt sounding in his mind hadn’t stopped since the Female Lead appeared. Fu Yichen knew the little thoughts in Film Emperor Su’s heart.

From the moment the Female Lead appeared to the current time, the prompt kept sounding out.

[The favorability of the Male Lead towards the Female Lead -1]

[The favorability of the Male Lead towards the Female Lead -2]

……

It couldn’t be any more obvious. No matter how good Su Zhan was at hiding his emotions at this moment, Fu Yichen could clearly see his thoughts like a mirror. So some bad thoughts uncontrollably came out once more.

“Wuji-didi, grand1… why did she appear in Nanyang?” Fu Yichen seemed to have deliberately emphasized the word ‘grand’, just to let Su Zhan understand who he was talking about.

Sure enough, when a certain someone was brought up by the National Teacher, Su Zhan immediately frowned. There was a faint look of displeasure between his brows, but he hid his emotions behind his expression with the instincts he had as an actor. He didn’t even forget to add a hint of disapproval towards the Female Lead as what the Male Lead should have at the start of the novel. 

“Just a witch who snuck out of the palace to play.”

In the original text, when the Male Lead didn’t see eye to eye with the Female Lead, he would refer to her as a witch who was deliberately referred to as a goddess by people with ulterior motives. So the title Su Zhan used to call her now completely fit the original settings. Of course, he himself didn’t like this Female Lead who was hiding in the body of a nine-year-old girl. He even inexplicably felt full of malice towards her.

All Fu Yichen did was just suppress his smile and continue, “But if this news gets out, she’ll be in danger.” He even pretended to be very concerned about the Female Lead’s safety.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished talking, Su Zhan unconsciously frowned as the displeasure between his brows became even more evident. But Fu Yichen continued showing worry in his eyes, “If it spreads to the ears of other countries, I’m afraid chaos will befall upon the world. She’s just a nine-year-old girl…”

“Guoshi really cares about the Empress Dowager?” Before Fu Yichen could continue speaking, Su Zhan couldn’t help but blurt out. Even after blurting out such words, he continued looking at Fu Yichen with raised eyebrows, unaware of his gaffe.

[The favorability of the Male Lead towards the Female Lead -3] Laji sounded out at the right time.

The corners of Fu Yichen’s mouth imperceptibly twitched, but he quickly restrained himself, “Chen is also doing this for the sake of the world.”

At this time, the more he didn’t want to admit it, the more it made it seem like he was trying to cover something up. Su Zhan immediately choked up as he felt something stuck in his throat. His expression which he had tried to cover up worsened.

Su Zhan, who was in a panicked state, didn’t want to continue the topic anymore. So he just simply said, “Guoshi, there’s no need to worry. Zhen will send her back after we solve the bandits in Jiangnan.” 

In fact, he couldn’t help but want to tell the National Teacher that this person would probably live a prosperous and comfortable life even if she was outside.

Accompanied by [The favorability of the Male Lead towards the Female Lead -1], Fu Yichen was very satisfied by the effects of his little prank.

Su Zhan felt extremely depressed, especially when it was accompanied by the reminder of the points decreasing from time to time. His points that had already reached 21 had now dropped to 16. If this continued, there was no way for him to unlock a new plot. He really felt depressed at the moment. He felt that he should just lie down at the moment to think about how to get more points.

“Zhen is tired, let’s head to sleep.”

However, Su Zhan suddenly remembered that there was only one bed in their room after he said those words, so how would they sleep?

But the words had already come out of his mouth. Su Zhan could only walk towards the bed. But when he sat down on the bed, he inadvertently glanced at Fu Yichen who was still sitting on the chair with a somewhat embarrassed look. 

“Guoshi?” 

It was impossible for them to share a bed. But it was also impossible for a monarch to request his minister to give him the bed, which was inappropriate. So what should they do now?

“Your Majesty, please be at ease and rest.” Fu Yichen said in a matter-of-fact tone, “I’m here on watch. No one will be able to hurt the Emperor with me here.” After all, the two of them had come here in such a blatant manner, it would be strange if they were able to survive the night without any attacks.

But the more Fu Yichen acted righteous and thought about him, the more embarrassed Su Zhan became. After all, he knew how tiring the journey was. Besides, this person had dealt with assassins and protected him, so he should have been more tired than he was. On the contrary, he himself had been pretending that he had no martial arts. Besides, Su Zhan was someone from modern times with modern thinking. He absolutely couldn’t enjoy the sacrifices of others with a peace of mind like an emperor.

As a result, Su Zhan couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Even the unhappiness that he felt just now had lessened. 

“Why don’t you open another room?” Su Zhan not only felt sorry for him, but was also a little guilty.

Fu Yichen obviously noticed a certain someone’s erratic eyes. So he acted even more seriously, “Is the Emperor still unclear about the dangers of this journey? We headed towards Nanyang in such a blatant manner tonight. It’s unknown how many people are hiding around us at the moment and waiting for an opportunity in the dark. How could Chen leave the Emperor alone in such circumstances?”

What he had said sounded very righteous and Su Zhan’s face burned hotter and hotter, feeling ashamed. But once lies had been told, it would be more difficult for him to tell the truth.

“Then it’s hard work for the Guoshi.” Su Zhan opened his mouth and could only choke out this sentence.

In the end, Su Zhan had no choice but to lie down in bed with his dirty clothes. But he couldn’t fall asleep even if he closed his eyes. Even though his body was exhausted, his spirit was awake. The main reason was that his mind was full of the person who was sitting not far from the bed. The images of the day’s experience constantly lingered in his mind. Coupled with the problem of not knowing the new plot, Su Zhan only felt that if this continued, he would still not be asleep by dawn. What’s more terrible was that Su Zhan, who had come back to his senses, had a strange feeling that the man was staring at him. Could it be as a zero, he would be inherently defensive towards men?

Su Zhan froze but was still unable to open his eyes to see. So he pretended to be unconscious and turned over, turning his back towards the outside of the bed. As a result, probably because the original owner was an extremely vigilant person or because of his own thoughts, Su Zhan felt that the other person’s gaze on him had turned hotter.

In fact, at this moment, Fu Yichen really was unscrupulously staring at the figure on the bed. He had to admit that the Second Male’s superb martial arts skills made things really convenient for him. Although the other person was four to five meters away, Fu Yichen could clearly hear Su Zhan’s breathing. That is to say, he knew that Su Zhan hadn’t fallen asleep.

Looking at the familiar figure who was as cute as ever but was still unable to remember him, Fu Yichen helplessly sighed for a moment, unconsciously recalling every aspect of Su Zhan from the past few worlds. Especially with Su Zhan’s back turned towards him, with that figure, Fu Yichen somehow thought of the previous world and the blood-boiling pictures that unconsciously flashed before his eyes. The Emperor’s clothes on the bed seemed to have turned transparent.

How depresssing, Fu Yichen actually got excited.

Looking at the person whose back was deliberately turned towards him, Fu Yichen couldn’t laugh or cry. But he suddenly saw Su Zhan turning over, pretending that his actions were unintentional, this time facing Fu Yichen. Then pretending to wake up by trembling his eyes. His acting skills were flawless, they could even be called perfect, but it was a pity he was acting against Fu Yichen who knew him well.

Fu Yichen restrained his expression for a moment and recovered before Su Zhan’s ‘misty’ gaze swept over him. But he didn’t retract his gaze at all, just waiting for Film Emperor Su to start his performance.

Su Zhan pretended to have just woken up and raised his head slightly in a dazed manner. After seeing the National Teacher sitting in front of the table as motionless as a mountain, his eyes gradually became clear. He then showed a very natural look of surprise, “Guoshi,” for a professional actor, their tone and expressions must be in place, “you haven’t slept yet?”

In fact, Su Zhan still felt sorry. Of course, if it was a hidden guard that watched over him overnight, maybe he would have accepted it with peace of mind. But to Su Zhan’s surprise, at this moment, a reminder of a point being added came into his mind.

Fu Yichen held back the rising corners of his mouth. He felt that Su Zhan, who was serious about putting up a show at the moment, was really extremely cute. So his heart uncontrollably melted and he couldn’t help but want to tease him.

“Chen had originally thought about spending the night on this chair, but Chen didn’t think that it would be so hard that Chen was unable to sleep at all.” Since you have the heart2, then I’ll just give you a chance to perform.

“Why not the Guoshi come here and squeeze in with me?” Su Zhan really didn’t know how to speak. So he just followed along with the flow. After finally saying this, Su Zhan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then hastily added, “It’s inconvenient to go out right now. Besides, you and I consider each other as brothers. People in the Jianghu don’t care about such trivial matters. Guoshi doesn’t need to care about these kinds of things.”

What he said was very reasonable, but Fu Yichen only thought that it was funny. It was clear that the other party cared about the matter himself3, but in the end, he just pushed the matter to others. The bad thoughts in his heart were at work once more. So Fu Yichen just showed some embarrassment on his face, as if he was feeling very hesitant.

“This… there is something that the Emperor doesn’t know.” Fu Yichen’s face was full of embarrassment, “Chen’s sleeping habits are a bit… *cough*” He showed a dubious look.

It was rare for Su Zhan to see the National Teacher show such an expression, so he was immediately a little curious. Could it be that this mysterious National Teacher was someone who picks his feet when he falls asleep? Thinking of this, Su Zhan became inexplicably excited and even forgot the feeling of embarrassment of having to share a bed. He immediately waved his hand, “If the Guoshi doesn’t mind, I wouldn’t mind either. Anyways, the bed is big enough.” In fact, for two men, the bed wasn’t big enough.

Su Zhan felt inexplicably excited as if he was looking forward to seeing a whole new world. The prompt of points dropping sounded once more in his mind but he didn’t hear it. That or he had completely given up. He even moved inward on the bed to give space to Fu Yichen. It was unknown what kind of picture Su Zhan imagined, but he blushed a little.

However, the fact was, as soon as Fu Yichen laid down, Su Zhan froze. The ancient wooden bed wasn’t big and there wasn’t enough room for the two big and tall men. So even though Su Zhan tried his best to stick himself closer to the wall on his side, Fu Yichen’s body was still touching him when he laid down.

Two men with broad shoulders and tall bodies laid on their backs, almost occupying the entire bed.

What made Su Zhan feel the most nervous was the fact that the bed wasn’t an open bed, but a bed with curtains. As long as the bed curtains were lowered, the two of them would be in a small world of their own. One couldn’t help but imagine the scene of an ancient bridal chamber with candles and the like.

Su Zhan unconsciously swallowed. Not to mention turning over, he seemed to have lost consciousness of his fingers. The breath4 of another man rushed towards his face. The kind of breath that can make people’s heart rate increase to the point that they felt like their body was vibrating. It was strangely strong as if it was about to fill the whole space and envelop him5 in the blink of an eye. It was really suffocating

But at this moment, the person beside him suddenly turned over. Su Zhan was stunned all over then found in horror that the person had turned around and was now facing him. So his body, which was previously in a state of playing dead, suddenly woke up and acted faster than his brain. Su Zhan turned over in a strange manner, facing inwards. His back happened to be facing the National Teacher.

At this moment, Fu Yichen, who was staring at the back of Su Zhan’s head, silently laughed uncontrollably, the kind of extremely joyful but silent laughter. The fatigue that he had been feeling the whole day disappeared in an instant. With such a close distance between them, Fu Yichen could naturally feel the stiffness coming from the body in front of him. He didn’t need to look to know that this guy must not even be able to show the ‘generosity’ he had just now6.

Unable to restrain himself from teasing the other person, Fu Yichen restrained his smile and stared at the back of Su Zhan’s head as he said leisurely, “Wuji-didi.”

Su Zhan felt as if the voice seemed to be right next to his ear yet was also separated by a distance. But the back of his head was definitely being stared at at the moment. Su Zhan secretly took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound calm and normal, “What’s the matter?”

But he didn’t know that no matter how smooth and normal his voice sounded, his stiff body was completely displayed in front of Fu Yichen’s eyes. No matter how well he tried to perform, he couldn’t even imagine how accurately Laji reflected his fluctuating favorability.

Fu Yichen raised the corners of his mouth silently, continuing to ask in a leisurely manner, “Can you not sleep with your back turned towards me?”

“Why?” Su Zhan felt an indescribable feeling for no reason.

The corners of Fu Yichen’s mouth raised even more unscrupulously, “This posture will make me have bad thoughts.”

A *Duang* sounded in Su Zhan’s mind as he felt his mind buzz before his thoughts completely exploded. 

‘Position… bad thoughts… bad thoughts… posture… posture with his back turned to him…’ 

Su Zhan’s mind was full of these words. The more he thought about it, the more his mind wanted to explode. He couldn’t control it as his whole body burned up.

He was gay, a pure zero, a zero without experience ah! This man laid on his side behind him while he himself laid on his side with his back turned to him with his legs slightly bent. What…what could he think of in such a position? Bad thoughts…what kind of bad thoughts?

Back…back entry…? In a split second, Su Zhan’s whole body was startled.

he used the word tai 太

thought

like he was feeling uncomfortable about the situation

Xinghe said we should add footnote here to say it meant presence

Su Zhan

cuz he, as the emperor, allowed a subject to share a bed with him