flamboyant

Chapitre 23

Seeing this, Song Xiaohua stepped forward and said softly, "This is our new family member. His surname is Song and his given name is Wuque."

And...and...it even has a name and surname...

As a result, Huo Nan, who was already overwhelmed with shock and short of breath, choked and then burst into a violent coughing fit.

Seeing Huo Nan coughing up his lungs, Song Xiaohua felt a small sense of relief.

But not long after, that anger was a thousand times stronger.

Huo Nan first whispered with Lu Ziqi in the study for a while, then ran to the yard, set up a chessboard, and played chess until the sky darkened. Finally, they both got drunk and passed out on the roof.

Yes, that's right, it's the roof.

Song Xiaohua was so busy buying groceries, wine, cooking, washing dishes, coaxing the baby, and feeding the dog that she was burning with anxiety and frustration. When she finally finished, she couldn't find the two guys who had just been singing and clapping their bowls anywhere.

Just as her hair stood on end and her back went cold, thinking she had seen a ghost, something supernatural, or had time-traveled, a snoring sound suddenly came from above her head, as loud as a thunderclap from a clear sky. Song Xiaohua was so startled that she jumped up and down and almost blurted out "Mom".

Calm myself down, take a few steps back, and look up. I see four big feet lined up against the eaves: two dirty, tattered cloth shoe soles and two clean white official boot soles.

Song Xiaohua was initially very excited, thinking they must have used the legendary lightness skill to fly to the roof, but in the blink of an eye she saw a ladder placed next to them...

Well, the ability to soar high and defy gravity, wandering aimlessly around the world, can only be achieved by being suspended by wires. It's just puzzling why those two burly, barely-walking drunkards didn't tumble down the ladder.

As if mocking Song Xiaohua, the snoring grew louder and even had a certain rhythm, making her feel a surge of malice.

Go to the kitchen, grab a gleaming cleaver, and on a dark and windy night, climb up the ladder to commit murder.

With a wide grin, baring her teeth, and a sinister smile on her face, Song Xiaohua peeked out from under the ladder, only to be completely dumbfounded.

Lu Ziqi lay on his back with an empty wine jar as a pillow, while Huo Nan lay on his side, hugging an empty wine jar. Lu Ziqi's calves were pressed against Huo Nan's thighs, and Huo Nan's hands were around Lu Ziqi's waist, his furry face pressed against his chest...

Flushed cheeks, slightly damp temples, the pervasive smell of alcohol, entwined limbs—it was all incredibly alluring.

Judging from their appearances, Huo Nan seems to be the dominant one, but judging from their current posture, Lu Ziqi should be the dominant one, or perhaps, they are mutually dominant?

The male homeowner and the male nanny's...

Aww, Song Xiaohua was completely bewildered.

Indeed, every woman has a BL (Boys' Love) wolf inside her heart...

He shook his head, brandished his knife, and chased away the howling wolf.

Lu Ziqi is neither the top nor the bottom; he's a normal man! He's straight! Even if he were gay... Song Xiaohua could straighten him out again!

Having corrected her values, straightened her thoughts, and strengthened her stance, Song Xiaohua once again revealed a ferocious and twisted expression as she crawled over little by little.

It took all her strength to pry the lifeless Huo Nan off Lu Ziqi. But as he rolled over, he swung his arm, and the empty jar in his hand landed squarely on Song Xiaohua's forehead with a dull thud. If it weren't for his uninterrupted, thunderous snoring, clearly indicating he was still fast asleep, Song Xiaohua would have almost assumed he did it on purpose.

Grinning and rubbing his forehead, which was red and swollen with one hand, he held a kitchen knife in the other, gesturing left and right against Huo Nan's face, trying to figure out the best place to cut.

That messy beard is such an eyesore. While eating, Song Xiaohua kept feeling like grains of rice and bits of food had fallen into the beard and were hiding there, making her feel really uncomfortable.

Cut it off!

It's a good opportunity to test her knife skills now, hehe, I'll cut a dog-chewed shape, which will be a way to vent my anger!

But after comparing and considering for a long time, he hesitated again when it came time to make a decision.

Does the ancient saying "Our bodies, hair, and skin are given to us by our parents" include beards? A beard is considered a type of hair, isn't it? But many people don't have beards, right? Lu Ziqi didn't, Yuan Hao didn't either…

Sigh, never mind. The rules of ancient times seem to be endless. It wouldn't be good to easily destroy something he really values...

With a frustrated sigh and a deep contempt for her own 'kindness,' Song Xiaohua reluctantly picked up a kitchen knife and climbed down the ladder again.

A few minutes later, he climbed up again, huffing and puffing, carrying a quilt on his shoulder.

Autumn nights are quite chilly, and if a drunkard sleeps all night without any shelter, he's likely to catch a bad cold. Since I can't get this tall, over six-foot-tall man down from the roof, I'll just have to bring the blankets over.

He first approached Lu Ziqi and tilted his head to examine him closely.

There were no stars, no moon, no lights; all was silent.

Even in the dim light, her long eyelashes, sensual lips, and remarkably defined facial contours were still visible.

Actually, he wasn't as handsome or captivating as Yuan Hao; he was just decent-looking, or rather, somewhat good-looking... Anyway, he was very attractive to Song Xiaohua.

Song Xiaohua, who considered herself to have seen countless handsome men, couldn't understand how she had been captivated by this ordinary-looking face. Was it a case of one key matching one lock, and his key just happened to be the one to unlock hers?

What if there's a quality issue, and one key can open multiple locks? Is this the legendary NP (multiple key opening)? ...Pfft... Hold on, hold on...

Raising her head to let the blood flow backward, Song Xiaohua gently covered Lu Ziqi with the blanket.

Perhaps because she was already a bit cold while sleeping, as soon as she felt the warmth, she immediately shrank back into the room, and you could vaguely see that she even frowned and smacked her lips.

So cute...

Song Xiaohua chuckled for a while before turning to take care of another drunkard.

Huo Nan, snoring loudly, was fast asleep, sprawled out on his back. It took Song Xiaohua a lot of effort to move him a little so that he could lie next to Lu Ziqi, and then she covered him with the other half of the blanket.

Catching her breath and wiping her sweat, Song Xiaohua made a few fierce faces at the snoring guy. She really didn't understand; he looked so thin and didn't feel fleshy at all, so why was he so heavy? Was this what they called "all flesh inside bones"? ...

It was getting late, and Song Xiaohua, who had been busy all day with a sore back, aching waist, and cramped legs, was about to go back to her room for a good night's sleep. But as soon as she turned around, she suddenly froze.

"Tong'er..."

The hoarse voice, the low call, dissipated in the wind.

Perhaps because of the contrast, the snoring sounded even louder.

Clenching her fist, Song Xiaohua squatted back down next to Lu Ziqi and said softly, word by word, "One day, when you're drunk, you'll be calling my name."

Then he left without looking back.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Farewell

The next day, as dawn broke, Lu Ziqi groggily opened his sore eyes, his throat dry and his head aching. He hadn't felt the hangover for over a year.

With the slightest movement, a dull pain shot through my shoulder and back. I realized that I was sleeping on the roof tiles. How could I have no idea how I climbed up there? It seems I was really drunk last night.

"You're finally awake?"

A lazy voice sounded in my ear; I knew who it was without even looking. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples: "Why didn't you take me back to my room to sleep?"

"Because I was drunk too!"

"Forget it, I know your alcohol tolerance."

"That's true. But I didn't know your alcohol tolerance had declined so much."

"It's not that I've regressed, it's that yours has increased again."

Lu Ziqi sat up abruptly, looked at the quilt covering him, and asked in surprise, "This is..."

"Your new wife brought this over." Huo Nan sat cross-legged on the roof ridge, facing east, looking at the somewhat stunned Lu Ziqi with a half-smile: "I'm taking back my room, so, do you two no longer need to distinguish your blankets so clearly?"

Lu Ziqi gave an irrelevant answer: "Think carefully about what I said yesterday."

"Stop beating around the bush!"

"A man should strive to achieve something great in this world; don't waste your talents."

"She has been gone for three years. Now that you have remarried, you should start all over again."

"General Yuan has guarded the border for more than ten years, and has been loyal and accomplished in battle. This time, by chance, you helped him fight against the enemy, and he appreciates you so much. You should take this opportunity to continue to serve him and do something for the country and the people. It is better than wasting your time here with me."

"If it weren't for me back then, she might not have died."

"Now, our Great Song Dynasty is facing a young and suspicious ruler surrounded by powerful enemies. Although the past two years have been peaceful on the surface, there are undercurrents. The Liao Kingdom has been frequently raiding, and the Dangxiang have also made many probing attacks. Although the scale is not large, their intentions are clear. I fear that there will be changes within three to five years."

"Now you have a wife again, and Ling'er has a mother, but if you can't open your heart, how can you find happiness?"

Lu Ziqi sighed, finally ending this 'talking past each other' conversation: "How do you know I haven't opened my arms?"

Huo Nan snorted coldly: "They say that people speak the truth when they're drunk, but the name you call out when you're drunk is the one you love the most."

“This…” Lu Ziqi looked down at the mandarin ducks embroidered on the quilt: “This is not something I can control for the time being.”

“I understand…” Huo Nan stroked his beard: “I think your new wife might understand too.”

Lu Ziqi was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"It means..."

Hey! You two drunkards! Sober now?

A loud shout from below interrupted Huo Nan's words. He rubbed his nose and said, "Forget it, forget it. You two should sort out your own affairs. I, as an outsider, won't interfere."