His complexion was terrible. He had just had a good sleep and was in a lazy, satisfied state, barely maintaining any vigilance.
Qin Rui looked up at Dr. Su's delicate face and bit his tongue.
He discovered that he no longer hated the person as much as he had at the beginning, which was a terrible thing.
Without speaking to Doctor Su, Qin Rui jumped off the carriage.
He ran all the way to the end of the procession to look for Qin Chu's carriage, but the carriage was empty. There were even two sacks of grain inside, but Qin Chu was not in it at all.
Qin Rui didn't hear what the driver was trying to say at all. He turned around and ran along with the caravan, his heart pounding in his chest.
What about Qin and Chu?
Did Qin Chu not want him anymore? So he left him with Doctor Su?
Panic crept up his spine, and the sweat he'd accumulated felt icy cold in the morning breeze. As he ran alongside the convoy, he craned his neck, searching for Qin Chu's shadow.
Beside him were wheels and hooves almost as tall as him, but Qin Rui paid no attention to them; he only wanted to know where Qin Chu was.
He was always with Qin Chu, and the carriage was the first place they found shelter from the wind and rain. But Qin Rui never considered the carriage his home. It didn't matter if the carriage was occupied, but Qin Chu couldn't be without him.
How could he not find Qin Chu?
I ran alongside the convoy with all my might, from the back to the front.
Qin Rui hadn't dared to relax, his legs almost completely numb. But...
He checked every carriage; it wasn't there. He looked everywhere; it wasn't there either.
Qin Rui suddenly stopped walking, without bending over or panting heavily. He stood blankly by the roadside, with carriages and horses moving forward on one side and sandstorms blowing in on the other.
He stood there, as if he had suddenly lost his way.
Suddenly, the light sound of horses' hooves came, and at the end of Qin Rui's line of sight, a figure on horseback appeared, slowly walking to the front of the caravan.
The man on horseback seemed to want to say something to the official in front, but when his gaze swept over Qin Rui, he nodded to the official and rode his horse toward Qin Rui.
"What are you doing standing here?" Qin Chu bent down and lifted Qin Rui onto the horse.
The child sat down obediently, turned his head with difficulty to look at him, and tentatively called out, "Brother?"
"Mmm," Qin Chu responded, then asked, "Are you hungry now that you're awake?"
As he spoke, he reached into his arms to grab some food, but the child sitting in front of him went crazy and, without a second thought, turned around on the horse and pounced into his arms.
Qin Chu quickly pulled on the reins to prevent the horse from veering off course. He then looked down at the child in his arms and reached out to support his body.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, Qin Chu didn't scold him for doing something so dangerous. He reached out and touched the top of the child's head, softening his voice: "What's wrong?"
"I thought you didn't want me anymore." Qin Rui held back the tears welling up in her eyes, feeling Qin Chu's caress on her head, but her heart was filled with more and more grievances.
Why hand him over to Dr. Su?
Why don't you touch him more often? Even Dr. Su knows to touch his head.
Qin Rui didn't know what to say. Ever since he fell asleep for the first time, he had become increasingly afraid. He felt that his body was no longer under his control, afraid that Qin Chu would abandon him, and afraid... that one day he would like Doctor Su more than Qin Chu.
Just now, when he couldn't find Qin Chu, a faint thought suddenly popped into his mind: if Qin Chu wasn't available, then he should go find Doctor Su.
But how could this be?
How can that person compare to Qin Chu? No one can compare to Qin Chu; Qin Chu is unique.
Qin Chu was the only person he trusted, and that was Qin Chu.
Qin Rui tightened his arms around Qin Chu and tried to bury himself in Qin Chu's embrace.
He felt Qin Chu pat him again and explain, "I'm just going ahead to scout the way."
"Then you can't leave me somewhere else at night!" Qin Rui struggled a bit, looked up at Qin Chu, wanting an answer that would put his mind at ease.
But Qin Chu didn't say anything, he just reached into his pocket and took out a piece of cake and handed it to him.
Qin Rui thought of the pancake that Qin Chu had left him. He took the pancake, lowered his head, and silently ate it.
"General Qin!" A clear and gentle voice came from behind. Qin Rui's ears twitched, and he knew it was Physician Su's voice.
The body's instincts are powerful. Even if he rationally disliked this person, after two blissful sleeps, he had unconsciously remembered everything about this person who could bring him such bliss.
His body craved the comforting feeling of a good night's sleep and associated that sensation with the doctor before him. Any tiny detail related to Dr. Su would trigger a joyful clamor to draw closer.
Qin Rui forced himself not to look up and continued eating in silence.
"General Qin, I'm relieved to see that Qin Rui is alright." Doctor Su smiled and came closer to Qin Chu, explaining, "He suddenly ran away this morning, and I tried to stop him but couldn't."
He knew exactly how much Qin Chu, this NPC, valued the First Prince. It wouldn't be good if Qin Chu became dissatisfied with him because of this.
Qin Chu nodded to him without saying anything more, only saying, "Thank you."
After a moment of silence, Qin Chu suddenly spoke again: "Dr. Su, there's something..."
Qin Rui's heart suddenly tightened, and he reached out and pulled hard on the reins. The horse neighed loudly, its front hooves rearing up, just in time to interrupt Qin Chu's words.
Doctor Su was startled, but seeing the horse quickly brought under Qin Chu's control, she couldn't help but look at Qin Chu with shining eyes: "General Qin, what were you about to say?"
Qin Chu glanced down at Qin Rui in his arms, paused, and then changed the subject: "It's nothing."
The grain carts arrived at the military camp in the morning, and Qin Chu rode out on horseback to scout ahead.
After a long journey, the convoy finally reached its destination and stopped drifting. The people in the convoy were clearly in high spirits, greeting the soldiers they knew in the military camp and unloading supplies.
Qin Chu left as soon as he arrived at the military camp; he must be very busy.
Qin Rui sat alone in the carriage, unaffected by the atmosphere around him. He felt a vague unease, sensing that something was about to happen.
Qin Chu did not return. Doctor Su came to the convoy once, but left quickly when she saw that Qin Chu was not there.
After storing the grain and fodder, familiar faces in the convoy invited Qin Rui to join them for a meal, but Qin Rui remained seated in the vehicle. With so many people around, he was afraid that if he moved, Qin Chu wouldn't be able to find him when he returned.
Qin Rui waited from noon until dusk, and it was almost completely dark before he finally saw Qin Chu's figure.
He quickly jumped off the carriage, went over and took Qin Chu's hand.
"Are you hungry?" Qin Chu asked.
Qin Rui nodded.
Qin Chu took Qin Rui to the kitchen and got some food.
He had just arrived at the military camp, and although he held an imperial edict, it was as if a general had been suddenly parachuted in, which was hard for everyone to accept. However, Qin Chu ran into some acquaintances among the soldiers, and the general in charge of the army had always appreciated him, so the situation wasn't too bad.
What Qin Chu cared about was Qin Rui.
The military doesn't keep useless people, but Qin Rui is obviously too young. He's clearly a ten-year-old child, but he looks at most seven or eight.
Qin Chu led him to the kitchen, gave the cooks a few instructions, and asked Qin Rui to help out in the kitchen.
After eating, Qin Chu took him back to his own tent.
Qin Rui remained quiet and obedient throughout the journey. He did whatever Qin Chu asked him to do, and even sweetly called out to everyone in the kitchen.
Following Qin Chu into the tent, Qin Rui couldn't help but look around. The tent was newly set up and somewhat rudimentary. Moreover, unlike when he first met Qin Chu, there was no one else in the tent, clearly indicating that it belonged entirely to Qin Chu.
However... Qin Chu clearly had no intention of properly tidying up the tent.
Qin Rui cracked his knuckles, looked around the tent, then pretended to be excited and jumped onto Qin Chu, asking him, "Brother, is it just the two of us staying in this tent?"
Are they the two of them... living together?
Qin Rui held Qin Chu in his arms, but did not hear a reply from Qin Chu for a long time.
The anxiety grew heavier with each passing second; the unease that had been weighing on him all day suddenly felt real. Qin Rui watched as Qin Chu knelt down in front of him, and heard Qin Chu say:
"I discussed it with Dr. Su today."
"I don't want to."
Before Qin Chu could finish speaking, Qin Rui abruptly interrupted him, bending down and forcefully gripping the hem of Qin Chu's clothes.
Qin Chu didn't expect Qin Rui to refuse so readily, but he still said, "You can stay with Doctor Su tonight. It's close to the kitchen, so it'll be convenient for you to go there in the morning."
Qin Rui shook his head again: "I'm not going."
After a pause, Qin Chu reached out and touched Qin Rui's head: "You need to rest. You won't grow up if you don't rest."
"Then I won't grow up!" Qin Rui raised his voice, looking up at Qin Chu with his eyes reddening.
He didn't understand why Qin Chu insisted on going there himself, or why he had to mention that Doctor Su.
Did he not know that he had been trying so hard to hold back? He was trying not to think about Dr. Su, not to think about the feeling of sleeping peacefully next to Dr. Su. He was trying hard not to be affected, not to fall in love with that person.
But Qin Chu insisted that he go!
Suddenly, Qin Rui stared intently at Qin Chu, grabbed Qin Chu's arm, and asked, "Brother, aren't you afraid? Aren't you afraid that I'll start liking someone else and stop liking you?"
Qin Chu was taken aback by the question.
He didn't expect the child to think about this.
This question did indeed startle Qin Chu, but he had already experienced the shock of seeing Qin Rui sleeping soundly beside Doctor Su. He was a resolute, highly purposeful, and emotionally detached adult; in Qin Chu's mind, this was not even in the same league as Qin Rui's body.
But he also couldn't answer Qin Rui's question.
So he simply stood up and said, "Pack your things, I'll take you there."
"I'm not going!"
"I don't want to go there! I don't like him!"
This was the first time Qin Rui had ever acted so dramatically in front of Qin Chu, just like a normal child. He even clung to Qin Chu, pleading and crying, "Brother, don't you want me anymore? Please don't send me away, okay?"
But crying and making a fuss had no effect on Qin Chu.
No matter how much he yelled and screamed, or even rolled on the ground crying, Qin Chu remained unmoved.
He stood there quietly, neither scolding nor stopping him. He waited until the crying stopped, then went over and methodically helped him pack his things, before carrying him outside.
Qin Chu's indifferent demeanor made Qin Rui's heart sink.
He was led by Qin Chu through most of the military camp in the dark. The sounds of soldiers training came from the drill ground, and the soldiers on night watch chatted and laughed heartily during the change of guard.
These were all unfamiliar and novel things to Qin Rui.
Originally, he was supposed to be led by Qin Chu through this place. He looked at everything with curious eyes, and then whispered something in Qin Chu's ear.
But right now, Qin Rui can't notice anything.
He was given away to someone else by the person he trusted most; Qin Chu no longer wanted him.