Chapter 13 Extra: Starry Night (Thirteen)
"Alright, alright, it's okay, don't cry anymore, or I'll start crying too." Gu Xingchen wanted to let Wen Hongye have a good cry, but after crying for most of the day, Wen Hongye showed no sign of stopping. He was worried that she would hurt herself by crying, so he quickly comforted her.
"Why are you crying?" Wen Hongye asked.
“It breaks my heart to see you crying like this, it breaks my heart to cry!” Gu Xingchen replied.
“Fine, then cry for me to see,” Wen Hongye said again.
Gu Xingchen was stunned, not expecting Wen Hongye to say that.
Just as Wen Hongye was about to say something to him, his eyes reddened, and he actually shed tears.
"Would I lie to you? If I weren't thinking that I'm your support and can't cry easily, I would have cried with you long ago."
When Wen Hongye saw Gu Xingchen crying, she immediately burst into laughter through her tears: "You look so ugly when you cry."
"..." Gu Xingchen pouted, "Who looks good when they cry?"
"You mean, I look ugly even when I cry?" Wen Hongye immediately retorted, dissatisfied.
Gu Xingchen choked again, wiped away her tears, and said, "No, no, everyone looks ugly when they cry except Hongye. Hongye is the most beautiful. She looks beautiful when she smiles, she looks beautiful when she cries, she looks beautiful when she's angry, she looks beautiful no matter what, especially..."
Wen Hongye was a little smug from the praise, but Gu Xingchen stopped at the end, and she was taken aback. Then she asked, "Especially what?"
Gu Xingchen leaned close to his ear and whispered, "You look best when I bully you."
Wen Hongye's face instantly turned bright red: "You!"
He then angrily put the letter back into the small brocade box and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Gu Xingchen quickly followed, saying, "Hongye, wait for me."
Upon hearing his words, Wen Hongye not only didn't wait for him, but instead quickened her pace.
After closing the secret room, Wen Hongye took the key and put the stack of books back.
Gu Xingchen, watching Wen Hongye ignore him, said, "Hongye, are you angry?"
Wen Hongye blushed and left without even looking at him.
Gu Xingchen quickly chased after him.
Wen Hongye went back to her room first and closed the door immediately. Gu Xingchen, who wasn't as fast as her, was a step behind and was thus locked out.
"This... Hongye, what are you doing? Open the door! Are you really angry? I..." Gu Xingchen was on the verge of tears, having messed things up again.
Where exactly did things go wrong? Xie Chen always talks to Su Yan like this, so why does he always mess it up?
Little did they know that even if Xie Chen messed up his flirting attempt, he could still turn things around with his thick skin.
But after his attempt to flirt backfired, he was stunned and left locked out of the room, completely at a loss.
"You can sleep in the next room tonight," came Wen Hongye's voice from inside.
"No, no, Hongye, don't be like this. I was wrong, I was wrong. Please don't be angry. Open the door and let me in. I'll apologize to you and warm your bed for you, okay?" Gu Xingchen kept saying nice things from outside.
But Wen Hongye ignored him.
Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Gu Xingchen couldn't help but purse her lips, warning herself that if she didn't have the talent, she shouldn't flirt blindly, otherwise, it would be terrible if she was not allowed to go back to her room to sleep every day.
He sighed softly and was about to turn around and go to the next room when he heard a creak and the door behind him opened.
Overjoyed, he immediately turned around and said, "Hongye, I knew you wouldn't be so heartless, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Wen Hongye shoved the pillow and blanket into his hands: "Go ahead."
Chapter 14 Extra: Starry Night (Fourteen)
“…Red Leaf.” Gu Xingchen stared blankly at the pillow and blanket in her hands.
Wen Hongye glanced at him, said nothing, and then turned and went back to her room.
Gu Xingchen pouted and had no choice but to take her pillow and blanket to the next room.
But how could he sleep? So he got up and went out, took his wood-chopping knife, and went to the front yard to chop bamboo again.
After chopping for a while, Wen Hongye's voice was heard: "It's so late at night, can't a person get any sleep?"
Gu Xingchen stopped and looked up, only to see Wen Hongye standing there looking at him, wearing an overcoat.
He gripped his machete, immediately stood up, and said weakly, "Am I disturbing you by cutting bamboo here? I'll cut it gently then."
"Still chopping? Don't you know what time it is? Aren't you going to sleep?" Wen Hongye asked.
Upon hearing this, Gu Xingchen immediately felt aggrieved: "Anyway... it doesn't matter whether I sleep early, late, or not at all, since I sleep alone."
“If you’re not going to sleep, I am. You’re cutting bamboo here, who’s going to warm my bed? How am I supposed to sleep in such a cold bed?” Wen Hongye retorted.
Gu Xingchen was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He was so happy that he didn't hold the wood-chopping knife in his hand. The knife fell and hit his foot, making him cry out in pain. He lifted his foot and jumped a few times.
Seeing this, Wen Hongye hurriedly ran over and scolded, "How can you be so clumsy? This is a woodcutter's knife! Aren't you afraid of cutting off your foot? Luckily, it only hit you. Otherwise, if you were crippled, who would carry me?"
As he spoke of Gu Xingchen, he squatted down to check Gu Xingchen's feet to see if they had been injured.
Gu Xingchen grabbed his shoulder, helped him stand up, and pulled his coat, which was about to slip off his shoulder, tighter: "I'm fine, don't catch a cold. Let's go back to the room, I'll warm the bed for you."
Wen Hongye snorted, then turned and walked back.
Gu Xingchen smiled and followed.
Back in front of the house, Wen Hongye pushed open the door and went in, while Gu Xingchen ran to the next room. A little while later, he came back carrying a pillow and a blanket, looking silly.
Wen Hongye didn't say anything and let him go back to his room.
After putting away the pillows and blankets, Gu Xingchen quickly took off his clothes, afraid that if he was too slow, Wen Hongye would regret kicking him out of the room again.
"Hongye, the bed's warm, come on in," Gu Xingchen said with a smile, patting the mattress.
Wen Hongye looked at his silly appearance and chuckled, then took off her clothes and lay down on the bed.
But as soon as he lay down, Gu Xingchen pressed down on him: "Hongye, are you very cold? How about we do something to warm up?"
Wen Hongye blushed and said, "You've been acting up ever since I told you to come back."
"Good Hongye, don't be angry anymore. Or... you can come. As long as you're not angry, anything is fine." Gu Xingchen said, then lay back down.
Wen Hongye didn't move: "You should cook. I don't want no one to cook for me tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xingchen immediately asked, "What does Hongye want to eat tomorrow?"
“I’ll like anything you make, even if it’s just a plate of cabbage,” Wen Hongye replied.
Gu Xingchen laughed upon hearing this.
When Wen Hongye saw his silly grin, she laughed along with him.
In the stillness of the night, every sound seems exceptionally clear…
Chapter 15 Extra: Starry Night (The End)
The next morning, Gu Xingchen sat up, rubbing his back. He glanced at Wen Hongye, who was still asleep, and then tiptoed out of bed to make him breakfast in the kitchen.
When Wen Hongye woke up, he rubbed his waist and blushed as he recalled his crazy night with Gu Xingchen.
He got out of bed, washed up, and was about to go to the kitchen to find Gu Xingchen when he saw Gu Xingchen bringing breakfast over as soon as he reached the door.
"Looks like I timed this perfectly; you woke up as soon as I finished making breakfast," Gu Xingchen said with a smile.
Wen Hongye took the breakfast from his hands and said, "You made breakfast without even washing up, didn't you?"
"Um."
"Then go wash up quickly, and then we'll have breakfast together." Wen Hongye went back and put breakfast on the table.
Gu Xingchen nodded and quickly went to wash up.
"We're not going up the mountain to gather herbs today. I'll take care of those two bamboo poles at home. Hongye, is there anything you want? I can weave one for you out of bamboo," Gu Xingchen said as she sat down after washing up.
Wen Hongye shook her head: "I only need a small bamboo basket. This is my treasure. I don't need anything else."
"Okay, then I'll whittle down those bamboo stalks and weave them into bamboo baskets and hampers," Gu Xingchen said while eating.
After breakfast, Gu Xingchen took his machete and went to the front yard to cut bamboo.
Wen Hongye stayed by his side, watching Gu Xingchen busy himself.
Looking at Gu Xingchen's serious expression, he couldn't help but smile, feeling a sense of reassurance in his heart.
Even though Gu Xingchen knew that his master had left him so much wealth, he never had the thought of slacking off. He still tried his best to do what he was supposed to do and to support him...
"Actually... you don't have to be so busy. Master left me so much gold and silver treasure..."
Before Wen Hongye could finish speaking, Gu Xingchen laughed and said, "That was left to you by your master, but what I earned through hard work is what's ours."
Upon hearing this, Wen Hongye immediately hugged Gu Xingchen, moved to tears. However, Gu Xingchen lost his grip on the woodcutter's knife and accidentally hit his other foot, causing him to immediately stand up and hop around in pain.
Wen Hongye hugged him again and kissed him.
Gu Xingchen immediately froze, standing there staring wide-eyed at Wen Hongye.
Seeing his dazed expression, Wen Hongye smiled and asked, "Does it still hurt?"
Gu Xingchen shook his head blankly: "No, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"It seems this method of pain relief is quite effective," Wen Hongye said with a smile.
Gu Xingchen rolled her eyes, and then, as she bent down to pick up the wood-chopping knife, she deliberately let it slip, causing the knife to hit her foot again: "Ouch... Hongye, that hurts."
Wen Hongye looked at Gu Xingchen, who was playing tricks, and snorted: "Let you suffer then."
With that, he turned to leave.
Seeing this, Gu Xingchen quickly stopped him, pulled him into her arms, and kissed him.
"Okay, it doesn't hurt anymore," Gu Xingchen said contentedly after the kiss.
"Xingchen, you've really gone astray!" Wen Hongye glared at him, feigning anger.
Gu Xingchen grasped his hand and replied, "Yes, I've gone astray, so you'll have to keep an eye on me for the rest of my life and try your best to bring me back to the right path."
Upon hearing these words, Wen Hongye couldn't help but murmur, "A lifetime..."