Geheimagent Wind Boy

Kapitel 73

Xi Ri said, "I understand. You should get some rest."

The group left Minglu's dormitory. The moon was bright tonight, and the sky was full of stars, casting a faint blue hue. The weather was getting cooler day by day in autumn, but it felt incredibly refreshing.

Xi Ri and Fu Jin saw Nalan off at the gate. Nalan stopped in front of them, looked up at the sky, and suddenly said, "Brother Yu, among the four of us, Xi En is the oldest, I am the second oldest, and Ming Lu is only half a year younger than me."

Upon hearing this, Xi Ri looked at Nalan. Nalan turned his gaze from the night sky to Xi Ri and said, "You should understand that we already consider you a brother, especially Ming Lu." Nalan paused here, and Xi Ri understood what Nalan meant. Ming Lu had indeed treated her as a brother. Thinking about this made Xi Ri feel guilty. Then she heard Nalan say, "From now on, if you don't mind, Yu Di, just call me Second Brother."

Upon hearing this, Fu Jin immediately exclaimed, "Then I'm Fourth Brother! Yu-di, call me Fourth Brother!" Fu Jin patted Xi Ri's shoulder heavily. Xi Ri, still in a daze, nearly stumbled and fell to the ground. Fu Jin, caught off guard, hurriedly helped her up, smiling apologetically. Xi Ri smiled back, indicating she was alright. In her heart, however, she thought: Actually, she had deceived more than just Ming Lu; she had also deceived these men she genuinely trusted. If only she were truly a man, becoming their lifelong friend would be a great joy! Unfortunately, she had deceived them from the very beginning, and now… Oh well, whether she was male or female, Li Yu or Tian Xi Ri, in this life, at this moment, with the moon as her witness and heaven and earth as her witness, she, Tian Xi Ri, genuinely wanted to be their friend; her heart was utterly sincere! Thinking this, she immediately raised her head and called out loudly, "Second Brother! Fourth Brother!"

That call came from the bottom of his heart, and Nalan laughed heartily. Fu Jin, however, almost jumped for joy.

Just then, the steward led a man through the door and stopped ten paces away. Upon seeing the three of them, he immediately called out, "Young Master Li, I have already sent your luggage to Sunset Garden, and your attendants have also arrived."

The three people, who were happily watching, looked up at the sound. Xi Ri turned around and saw that her joyful smile had vanished after a moment of surprise, her brows furrowing tightly. Who was that?! Oh my god! Who was that?! Her head suddenly throbbed with pain!

Young master, you don't need to blink anymore, I recognize you!

********

Thank you for the long review, Feng! ^_^

The main text: Enduring hardship and biding one's time

Long Ming's servant stepped forward respectfully and greeted him, "Young Master." Then, he stood obediently with his hands at his sides a few steps behind Xi Ri.

Xi Ri had been irritated ever since she saw him, but seeing him so engrossed in his role, playing the part of a follower so well, with his humble and submissive demeanor, she found it somewhat amusing. Calming herself down, she glanced at the expressions of Nalan and Fu Jin beside her. Everything seemed normal, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at Long Ming, she knew that the most basic requirement for anyone skilled in disguise was to convincingly portray their character. Especially those with higher levels of disguise skill possessed better acting skills, resulting in more convincing character portrayals. Long Ming's disguise skills were already top-notch; he could change not only his appearance and voice, but even his body shape. Her master had once said that the most advanced disguise skill was the ability to alter one's own body shape. Such people were often difficult to recognize after disguising themselves. Very few people in the world could master it; it required exceptional talent. And young Long Ming was one of those exceptional talents. She, however, was the one without such talent. Thinking of this, she felt a pang of resentment; in this respect, she had to admit she was inferior to him.

Today, it was obvious that Long Ming intended for her to recognize him, to see those bright, sparkling eyes, and to remember how he had secretly despised him in the past.

At this moment, Nalan said, "Brother Yu, we should all have a few drinks together today because we're so happy. But if we leave Minglu and Xi'en out, they'll definitely complain later. It would be better to wait until Minglu and Xi'en come back, and then we can all drink and celebrate together. What do you think?"

"I will follow your orders, Second Brother."

"Alright, it's getting late, I'll head back to my residence now and visit Minglu again tomorrow." Nalan took his leave.

"I'll see you off, Second Brother," Xi Ri said.

“Brother Yu, no need to trouble yourself. The carriage is waiting outside. You and Fu Jin must be tired, so go ahead,” Nalan said.

Fu Jin seemed impatient and, disregarding Nalan, pulled Xiri inside, saying as they walked, "Brother Yu, no need to see us off. Nalan's attendants are already waiting outside. Let's go see where we live first." Then he shouted to the steward, "Steward, steward, lead the way quickly!" His voice was urgent.

Looking back, she saw Nalan already walking towards the door. Behind her, Long Ming was staring strangely at Fu Jin holding her hand…

A servant held a lantern in front, while the steward led the way.

Xi Ri's heart stirred. Suddenly, she called out to those behind her, "Little Mingzi."

"Yes, sir." Long Ming immediately stepped forward and replied in a low voice, his reaction was really quick.

That "I'm here" almost made Xi Ri burst out laughing. She knew Long Ming was extremely arrogant ever since she met him. Whenever a woman smiled at him, she would assume that she wanted to marry him. Whenever a man smiled at her, she would assume that he was trying to please her. Now that he was willing to act as her servant, how could she not laugh?

At this moment, Xi Ri's initial worry and irritation caused by Long Ming's sudden appearance had vanished. She forced back her laughter and deliberately said, "Little Mingzi, this is my newly recognized fourth brother, Fu Jin. Call him Master Jin."

Xi Ri chuckled to himself, noticing a slight twitch at the corner of Long Ming's eye, yet he still respectfully addressed Fu Jin as "Master Jin." Xi Ri knew that Fu Jin had once touched his buttocks, and Long Ming still held a grudge, harboring absolutely no goodwill towards Fu Jin. The thought of him having to address Fu Jin as "Master Jin" in such a subservient manner only fueled his anger. Xi Ri found this amusing.

Fu Jin snorted casually, clearly not taking the servant seriously.

At this moment, the group arrived at the small building next to the camellia grove, which was also Xi Ri's residence. The steward was about to take Fu Jin to his residence, but Fu Jin stopped and looked at the small building with some surprise, then looked at Xi Ri, and asked the steward, "Does Brother Yu live here?"

The butler replied, "Yes."

"Minglu gave the order?" Fu Jin asked again, seemingly with many questions.

"Yes, His Highness gave the order. He said that it would be quiet here and that Young Master Li should stay alone, in case any outsiders disturb him."

Fu Jin remained silent for a moment.

The butler then said, "Master Jin, I will take you to your lodgings now. Please follow me."

Fu Jin waved his sleeve and said, "No need, it's still early. I'll go rest later. The night is beautiful tonight. Yu Di and I will have a few drinks while we enjoy this lovely evening." Without waiting for Xi Ri's agreement, he said to the steward, "Steward Chen, quickly prepare some side dishes and wine for the pavilion."

Beside the small building, next to the camellia grove, there is a small four-cornered pavilion with beautiful scenery all around. Fu Jin was pointing to that very spot.

Upon hearing this, Xi Ri subconsciously glanced at Long Ming, only to see Long Ming giving her a meaningful look, seemingly urging her to quickly get rid of this unwanted person. Xi Ri originally wanted to refuse Fu Jin's suggestion, but seeing his gaze, she stopped herself. She thought to herself: If Fu Jin is here, Long Ming will definitely continue playing the role of a servant; if Fu Jin leaves, this young master will immediately revert to his original self. Ha, who told him to take the liberty of playing her servant? Tonight, she won't let him get away so easily.

Xi Ri turned his head away, pretending not to see, and said loudly to Fu Jin, "Listen to Fourth Brother, I'm in a great mood tonight since I've recognized you as my brother, and I really want to have a couple of drinks."

"Alright." Fu Jin smiled, then took Xi Ri's hand again and said, "Come on, Yu-di, let's go to the pavilion first." For some reason, Fu Jin spoke these words very gently.

Xi Ri glanced at Long Ming and saw him staring intently at the hand Fu Jin was holding... Xi Ri chuckled inwardly. If his gaze were a knife, Fu Jin's hand would have been chopped into pieces.

Once the food and wine were served, the maids who were serving were dismissed by Fu Jin. Originally, Long Ming was also to be dismissed by Fu Jin, but he pretended to stay and serve his master. Although Fu Jin felt that he was standing there in the way, he was Xi Ri's follower after all. Seeing Xi Ri smiling and not saying anything, he couldn't get angry and send him away. He didn't really care about a servant anyway, so he acquiesced.

Long Ming's servant boy attended to him, serving dishes and pouring wine. He did so quite skillfully, without showing any sign of being flustered. However, being ordered around by the two men, the young master's eyes grew increasingly sinister. Seeing this, Xi Ri found it increasingly amusing, and unconsciously, observing Long Ming's strange and restrained expression, he drank a few more cups. Gradually, he became somewhat drunk.

Fu Jin was overjoyed to have the chance to spend time alone with Xi Ri tonight. He could no longer contain his happiness and kept drinking with Xi Ri, completely unaware that there was a ticking time bomb lurking nearby.

In their cheerful mood, they mentioned the wine they were drinking, brewed by Master Chen. However, it wasn't the best wine, and he complained that Master Chen was incredibly stingy, never allowing outsiders to taste his long-stored vintage, not even Minglu. That's why he couldn't resist stealing it, only to suffer a tragic end. Hearing this, Xiri couldn't help but chuckle at Fu Jin's amusement. Being with Fu Jin, it seemed easy to be amused by him. In truth, Fu Jin lived a very free and unrestrained life, and sometimes, Xiri couldn't help but envy him.

Seeing his brother Yu so close, his eyes brimming with smiles, Fu Jin couldn't help but become a little carried away. He drank a few more cups, reached out and grasped Xi Ri's hand, which was resting on the table, and gently patted it. He stammered, "Brother Yu, I'm so happy to be able to drink with you again tonight. I still remember the night we first met half a month ago, when we all got drunk together at Wanfeng Tower, sharing a bed. How romantic it was! Every time I think about it, I wish I could spend another night like that with you..." Xi Ri felt a chill run down his spine at these words. He secretly glanced at Long Ming's increasingly cold eyes... He wondered how Long Ming would feel about his outrageous behavior. Thinking of this, he felt as if Fu Jin's gentle pat on his hand weighed a ton.

Then, Fu Jin said dreamily, "Brother Yu, tonight, it's just the two of us. We won't stop until we're drunk." He was about to drink his wine again when Xi Ri stopped him. Xi Ri took the opportunity to pull his hand away and advised, "Fourth Brother, don't drink anymore. Although we're happy, too much wine will harm your health. Let's stop here tonight. Tomorrow, I want to get up early to visit Prince Ming. I want to recognize him as my third brother. Fourth Brother, do you think Prince Ming will accept me?"

Seeing that Xi Ri was still worried, Fu Jin shook his head and smiled dismissively, saying, "Brother Yu's worries are completely unnecessary. Do you know that the small building you're going to stay in is Ming Lu's private property? Many people aren't allowed to approach this building, not even the wives of several of us have ever set foot here. Only a few of us brothers have been here, which shows that Ming Lu treats Brother Yu differently and sincerely, no less than we brothers!"

Upon hearing this, Xi Ri was taken aback. Ming Lu seemed to treat her very differently. Fu Jin then said, "Brother Yu, Ming Lu is truly loyal to you. We brothers have all seen it, especially me. I witnessed him shield you from an arrow; that scene shocked me. Not everyone has the courage to exchange their life for another's. Even with a prior promise… Sigh, let's not talk about that. Actually, we've already discussed it and decided to recognize you as our brother. Brother Yu, what are you worried about? Just remember! From now on, we'll share happiness and hardship, sleep in the same bed, and share women!"