Second Chapter

"What should I say?"

"What should you say?! Of course I'm talking about the coded message you wrote to me! It's just, it's just... wait, let me take a look..." He unfolded the note and naturally blurted out the rendezvous phrase, "I'll definitely take the lead!"

"What does your licentiousness have to do with me?"

"..." Wh-what?! Wasn't the licentious one supposed to be him?

He had been so thrilled when he first saw the coded message, thinking the line was wonderfully apt, perfectly fitting, and precisely worded... It was rare for this client to have such self-awareness. Truly, he was a real man...

C-could it be... that he had found the wrong contact?

Using lewd lyrics to tease a noble young master probably didn't count as a major crime, right? Zhu Bafu sucked in a great breath of air. He was just about to turn and slip away when the waistband of his trousers suddenly loosened. The letter tucked into his belt slid through the gap and fluttered straight to the ground.

The large characters on the cover made the aloof and arrogant noble young master suddenly furrow his brows and fix his gaze on the letter.

------For Li Chenjing's eyes only

The noble young master bent down, picked up the letter, and without a word shook out the paper inside...

"W-wait! That's merchandise meant to be sold for money. You can't open it without paying! Young master, how can you call yourself a gentleman if you pry into someone else's correspondence?"

"Someone else's correspondence?"

"That's right! Quickly return the letter to me, or Young Master Ba won't be polite!" He deliberately jammed the folding fan in his hand roughly into his waistband, rolled up his wide sleeves to reveal slender, fair arms, and looked as though he couldn't wait to charge forward and throw hands.

Unexpectedly, the noble young master paid him no mind. He merely cast him a light glance before lowering his eyes to the writing on the paper. "What you wrote?"

"Of course! You're truly rude. You're dressed in fine clothes and clearly come from a wealthy household, so how can you be so ill-bred as to pry into someone else's letter just to satisfy your own wicked desires? Don't push it! A handsome face can't fill your belly. Even if you're as beautiful as a flower, I can still beat you black and blue!"

Ignoring his incessant, spit-flecked protests, the noble young master remained utterly unmoved. He opened his mouth and read the words on the letter aloud. "What in this world is love? Every last bit of it is fucking useless. Picking flowers after a thousand choices, once the candle's blown out, they're all the same..."

The meter was balanced, the parallelism neat, the cadence slow and distant, low and lingering.

Only... a noble young master with a face fit for a beauty was calmly cursing. The scene was downright hilarious.

"What does it mean?" After reciting it flatly, the young master lifted his eyes.

His dark, brilliant eyes reflected the rosy hues of the setting sun, taking on a trace of coquettish charm. For an instant, Zhu Bafu suddenly felt as though a bolt from the blue had struck him, leaving him tingling all over. His raised fist had not yet lowered, but his mouth obediently supplied the answer. "It's... a love letter."

"This is a love letter?" What a love letter—one that dissected the truths of the Mortal Realm with bitter cynicism.

"It's, it's a little different from the ones you usually receive, maybe. Hehe... heh, because I left home in such a hurry, um, I seem to have grabbed the wrong one..."

"You wrote me a love letter?"

"...Huh?!"

"What gives you the right to write me a love letter?"

"To, to you?!" Zhu Bafu's pupils widened. He rubbed both eyes, only to see an engraved jade pendant hanging from the noble young master's waist. The green pendant clearly bore the three characters "Li Chenjing."

What kind of scene was this? Two men standing beside a weeping willow by the lake, facing the beautiful sight of the setting sun as they exchanged love letters for amusement? Heavens above! His glorious reputation as Young Master Ba—a carefree and dashing playboy, a saint of the romantic world—was going to be ruined!

Where the hell had that damn contact gone? Why hadn't he shown up himself, forcing Zhu Bafu to hand the love letter directly to its recipient? He had no taste for Longyang, no improper intentions, and neither love nor desire for Li Chenjing. The one who wanted to confess and declare his love wasn't him!

Shaking his head and waving his hands, he hurriedly tried to extract himself from this ridiculous mess. "Young, young master of the Li Household, this humble one, this humble one... this love letter wasn't written by me..."

"It wasn't written by you?"

"I-I did write it, all right, but I don't have any feelings for you."

"..."

"Everyone's a man here. How could I possibly have that kind of feeling for you? That would be an evil thought! Confucius said evil thoughts are forbidden! Hahahaha! Ah, hahaha! Um, keep the love letter safe. This humble one will take his leave first."

"Wait. Over there..."

He was just about to sidle away when he caught sight of Li Chenjing reaching out to stop him. On guard, he immediately shielded his chest, raised his paper fan, and slapped away the hand of the Li Household's young master. His feet retreated two great steps, and his body swayed. Suddenly, he felt an unrestrained cool breeze blow up beneath his feet.

Huh? The floor—the floor had vanished? Why couldn't his toes hook onto anything? Where had this soul-stirring emptiness come from? Why had the expression of the Li Household's young master changed? His lips curved ever so slightly, and a faint smile drifted from his exquisite, ink-painted eyes. G-goodness, what a beautiful man. He was smiling...

He... was mocking him?

"Plop"—the miserable sound of a heavy lump falling into the lake.

"...That paving stone... was loose." Only then did the young master of the Li Household leisurely finish what he had been saying.

In the third month of spring, beneath the fireworks, the Li fellow had struck hard! You surnamed Li, Young Master Ba will remember you!

The author has something to say:

=.= Still working hard to move things along!

Second Chapter

"Achoo, Li Chenjing, just you wait!"

"Achoo, achoo! You've offended Young Master Ba, and I'll make sure you suffer for it!"

"Achoo, achoo, achoo! The emotional entanglements of the Capital's powerful chancellor's eldest son with three men, four women, five dogs, and six pigs—hmph! Catchy enough, right? In less than three days, I'll have this biography spread through every street and alley of the Capital. Young Master Ba has thousands upon thousands of erotic verses in his chest. I'll make your name stink for ten thousand years like a latrine! Achoo-choo-choo!"