Chapter 382: 0240 Self-inflicted and self-endured meaning (two-in-one)_2
Since at his age appearing on the island should be intimately affectionate with the young lady, it’s a perfectly justified matter. How could it be considered infidelity?
Now, looking back at the past.
The self with a young appearance is a falsehood.
Whereas the Miss Yun, who can casually take out a bottle of Jade Dew Wine from Beisang City and knows precisely her own capacity for alcohol and how drunk she would get from it, is the real thing.
The Yun Qian before him is not the one from the island, but rather... the one who has already ascended to Chaoyun.
It’s just that Miss Yun’s appearance hasn’t changed much, causing Xu Chang’an to subconsciously overlook this fact.
"Miss, how did I become a counterfeit?" Xu Chang’an widened his eyes: "Could it be... this is really your dream? And not mine."
Counterfeits can’t avoid a lady’s moves.
"Why are you always concerned about whose dream it is?" Yun Qian tilted her head, took the mirror from Xu Chang’an’s hand, and placed it back into position: "Alright, it’s getting late."
"...Let me think for a while." Xu Chang’an lowered his head and quickly walked towards the door, actually intending to escape.
There’s nothing he can do. Once Xu Chang’an realized he could naturally indulge in affection, his heart began to race. If he didn’t leave... he feared he wouldn’t be able to go at all soon.
Yun Qian watched his departing figure, her back straightened considerably, and she seriously said, "Are you going to leave me behind?"
The lady’s words were like a nail pinning his shadow down, making it impossible for his other leg to cross the threshold.
After a moment.
Xu Chang’an retracted the foot stepping out of the threshold, turned his head, and saw Yun Qian’s slightly curved lips.
For the lady, sometimes things that come too easily aren’t very good. It’s as if enduring countless hardships and emerging victorious in the end from both body and soul... truly brings great joy.
"I’m no match for Miss, after all, I’m a counterfeit." Xu Chang’an spread his hands.
"This is a dream; we are both counterfeits, merely a memory." Yun Qian tried to think using Xu Chang’an’s logic, then said: "Since we’re both counterfeits, then... let’s do what counterfeits from this time should do."
"...Miss, may I go inside to calm down a bit?" Xu Chang’an lifted his head, pointing to the inner room.
"Okay." Yun Qian was not aggressive; for the lady, as long as he didn’t leave the room, it was fine. Going into the inner room was acceptable.
It’s rare for the lady to have such a solid grip on victory.
Watching as Xu Chang’an went into the inner room and firmly closed the door, Yun Qian blinked, thinking... clearly, her reading of those novels wasn’t in vain, she could indeed learn some "husband-taming" techniques from the actions of those women in the books.
Just as she was thinking, Yun Qian noticed the firmly closed door loosen slightly, allowing her to faintly see his silhouette so as not to worry he might suddenly disappear.
The husband’s attentiveness improved Miss Yun’s mood.
——
Inside the room.
Xu Chang’an sat at the desk, heaved a long sigh.
Actually, he didn’t care whose dream this was, but... the moment he saw the mirror, and looked at himself in this "peculiar period of intense craving," he could no longer restrain himself.
People cannot deceive or suppress their true hearts for too long.
The more repressed it is, the more severe the backlash.
In fact, Xu Chang’an rarely gets so intensely moved; after all, they are indeed an old married couple. Even though Yun Qian’s allure as a woman has only grown stronger, Xu Chang’an’s usual feelings towards the lady are of tenderness and respect, with very little desire.
This time, it was purely a result of constant, repeated repression.
Thus, he appeared calm, but actually, upon seeing the girl’s ties, he just wanted to have a taste of that fruit.
Now, he needed to calm down and suppress the flame in his heart, to avoid hurting the young lady.
——
This inner room, connected to the boudoir, is similar to the study in Beisang City and Celestial Bright Peak.
The habit in Miss Yun’s study being near the bedroom possibly grew from this arrangement.
Casually opening the book on the table, Xu Chang’an picked up a pen and wrote the words "Inch Heart" on the paper.
"Inch Heart," meaning a small heart or small intent, is annotated in Ancient Rhymes as a small part of life or intention.
Xu Chang’an liked this meaning very much, so, even if it’s just a little intent, it shouldn’t be let down for the young lady.
He took a deep breath, suppressing fanciful thoughts, and picked up the covered papers on the desk, examining them one by one.
The more he looked, the better his mood became.
Most were sheets of Yun Qian’s calligraphy practice, and it was apparent she was deliberately mimicking his handwriting. On the most recent sheets, her writing was at least 80% similar to his.
Looking at Yun Qian’s writing, Xu Chang’an felt a complex mix of emotions, unsure if it was satisfaction or something else entirely.
He simply liked it a lot.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Xu Chang’an suddenly noticed a small booklet; he froze for a moment before swiftly picking it up to open in front of himself.
Clearly, this item was something Xu Chang’an was quite familiar with, as it didn’t contain Yun Qian’s handwriting but his own.
The fragrance of ink drifted gently.
On the booklet, lines written like dates recorded a series of strange... numbers.
Leaning on his hand to look at them, upon close inspection, he was clearly discovering his own hidden past.
Indeed.
Xu Chang’an held his forehead.
He once did such a thing.
Recording the proportions of the young lady’s figure in numbers and comparing them over time to track her bodily changes... this was his doing.
Shameless.
Though he thought this, Xu Chang’an couldn’t help but flip through the booklet, tracing his finger over the series of numbers, finally pausing and murmuring, "Turns out Miss wasn’t unchanged, this clearly shows growth... well, this isn’t fattening."
Wait.
Could it really be fattening?
Was it because he was feeding Yun Qian too well?
"What are you looking at? I’m getting a bit bored from waiting," Suddenly, while Xu Chang’an was focused on Yun Qian’s data, the lady’s voice came from behind.
Xu Chang’an was startled, quickly closing the booklet, and said nervously, "Miss, when I initially noted down these data, I was thinking of making clothes for you... there’s no other... implication."
"Why are you so tense?" Yun Qian shook her head, glanced at the booklet beneath Xu Chang’an’s hand, and having understood something, rested a hand on her own neckline, seriously saying, "It’s been a long time since the last measurement. Should we record some new numbers?"
"Ah."
Yun Qian’s voice flowed through the room like a spring, making Xu Chang’an’s eyes clearer and his heart at peace.
"Miss, you’ve won."
He raised his hand, placed the book back in its place, stood, and reached out towards Yun Qian.
The suddenly risen round moon outside was very cute.
"...There’s no such thing as winning or losing..."
"Indeed."
After noting the latest figures, Xu Chang’an, with Yun Qian, left the study together.
He wants to eat the fruit, Miss Yun also wants to eat the fruit.
——
The events occurring on the island were not for outsiders to know, from afar, all that could be seen were the scattered points of light inside the room, like candles illuminating the night, standing out in the otherwise empty sea.
Frosty Heaven above.
Solid Earth below.
Every boundary between heaven and earth turned into a curtain, encompassing all happenings on the island, making everything elegant and hazy.
All things were that beautiful, after all, warmth and intimacy are both extremely wonderful experiences.
It was meant to be this way.
At this moment, Xu Chang’an had forgotten something.
Miss Yun also forgot, that her effort to change Xu Chang’an, to break his suppressed emotions, in the end, only left her with...
A quarter of an hour.
——
Time had never flowed as normally as it did now, where not long ago an hour passed like a day, at this moment it was incredibly punctual.
Saying it’s a quarter of an hour, it’s exactly a quarter of an hour.
——
After a quarter of an hour.
Yun Qian seemed to see her own blurry reflection in her eyes, lost in thought, considering something important.
Indeed, warmth and warmth are the same thing.
"I... I’m reaching my limit."
The lady was exhausted.
Xu Chang’an: "..."