Chu Qingjiu's heart jolted. He turned his head and met Qi Wu's suggestive, teasing smile.
"You! Cough, cough..."
Chu Qingjiu grew agitated, and the questions he had wanted to demand of him dissolved into a few ragged coughs.
It was unbearably frustrating.
"Don't get worked up, gege. I understand. We're both adults, right?"
Yet Qi Wu kept teasing him playfully, leaving him staring back with reddened, damp eyes that carried no threat whatsoever.
That look was simply unfair.
Qi Wu swallowed instinctively, his gaze unwittingly lingering on those slightly parted, pale, thin lips.
"...Give it here."
It took Chu Qingjiu a long while to get those words out, his voice so weak it was barely audible.
"...Gege, wait a moment."
Qi Wu's voice had turned inexplicably husky. Before Chu Qingjiu could make sense of it, Qi Wu suddenly stood and walked off to the side.
He watched Qi Wu pick up the teapot and pour two cups of water. Qi Wu drank one himself and brought the other to Chu Qingjiu.
Chu Qingjiu's throat happened to be sore from coughing, so he said nothing, took the water, and drained it, soothing his dry throat.
Still, there seemed to be something off about the way Qi Wu looked at him.
If Chu Qingjiu had to describe it, it was rather like a beast eyeing prey it was certain to claim.
A gaze brimming with aggression.
"Why do you keep looking at me?"
In the end, Chu Qingjiu could not help asking.
But Qi Wu merely gave an unreadable smile and leaned closer, his tone suggestive. "You're handsome, gege. Of course I want to look at you a little longer."
Chu Qingjiu watched that face draw closer and closer, along with the slight downward slant of Qi Wu's gaze. He knew Qi Wu was looking at his lips, and an absurd thought suddenly entered his mind.
Chu Qingjiu remained motionless, staring blankly as Qi Wu closed the distance bit by bit. Then Qi Wu suddenly lifted his eyes to meet his.
Qi Wu's features were striking, his amber eyes as clear and pure as a pool of water, reflecting Chu Qingjiu's face with perfect clarity.
They were much too close. Feeling uneasy, Chu Qingjiu lowered his eyes and stopped meeting his gaze.
Qi Wu's hot breath brushed his face, carrying an unmistakable vitality that stood in stark contrast to his own frail, sickly body.
Suddenly, his right hand grew lighter. Qi Wu had taken the teacup from his grasp.
Chu Qingjiu raised his eyes again, only to see that suggestive, teasing smile and hear Qi Wu whisper huskily beside his ear:
"Gege, were you expecting something just now?"
That voice made Chu Qingjiu's ears flush abruptly, but his expression remained cool and detached. "You're too close," he said coldly.
He had merely entertained an absurd thought after seeing that heated gaze. He had not been expecting Qi Wu to do anything to him.
They were both adults, and Chu Qingjiu was not entirely clueless about romance. He was simply aloof and disliked engaging with people.
Over time, everyone had come to assume he was frigid. He could not be bothered to explain, because none of those people appealed to him.
Holding the teacup Chu Qingjiu had used, Qi Wu obediently moved away.
He had indeed been testing Chu Qingjiu just now, because he had no idea how Chu Qingjiu actually felt about him.
Although he had jokingly said that he had fallen for him at first sight, Chu Qingjiu did not seem to have taken it to heart.
Chu Qingjiu looked like someone frigid who knew nothing of romance, and he even seemed a little slow to pick up on feelings.
Anyone else would have realized he was flirting and teasing just now, yet Chu Qingjiu had remained icy and told him, in all seriousness, that he was too close.
He had not considered anything beyond that at all, which left Qi Wu rather troubled.
It seemed he still had a long way to go before he could win gege over.
At that thought, Qi Wu poured water into Chu Qingjiu's cup and drank it himself.
"That's my cup."
Chu Qingjiu only spoke up after watching him drink.
"Ah...I forgot." Qi Wu looked into Chu Qingjiu's eyes without a trace of remorse. "Just pretend you didn't see it, gege."
Qi Wu had been expecting Chu Qingjiu to put on a cold face and say something disdainful. Instead, he heard a bland, "All right."
What? What did he mean, all right?
Qi Wu was briefly bewildered. He wanted to press further, but Chu Qingjiu had already gone back to his own business. Asking now would only make it seem as though he cared a great deal.
Qi Wu looked at the teacup they had both used, then at the cool, self-possessed Chu Qingjiu. For a moment, he could not work out what Chu Qingjiu meant.
Chu Qingjiu said mildly, "The book isn't mine. If you have time, return it to the second young master for me."
Looking at the extremely explicit book, Qi Wu pursed his lips and casually flipped through the later pages, then laughed. "Actually, the drawings are pretty good. Very vivid. I might even learn something."
Chu Qingjiu replied indifferently, "Practice moderation."
"...Gege, I'm not doing anything. What's that supposed to mean?"
Qi Wu looked at Chu Qingjiu with an aggrieved expression, his eyes full of reproach, like a puppy Chu Qingjiu had abandoned. Even his short black hair drooped as though it had a mind of its own.
Chu Qingjiu said nothing. He merely swept a cool glance over him, then looked away and studied his own fingers.
Seeing that Chu Qingjiu was ignoring him, Qi Wu thought for a while before asking, "Gege, have you ever been in a relationship?"
Although Qi Wu did not think Chu Qingjiu seemed like someone who had dated before, he figured it was better to ask. The more he knew, the easier it would be to pursue him.
Chu Qingjiu still said nothing, as though he had not heard. Left with no choice, Qi Wu went to stand in front of him again and crouched down to draw his attention.
"Gege, look at me."
Qi Wu was tall enough that even crouching, his head reached the chest of the seated Chu Qingjiu, since the bed was not particularly high.
Only then did Chu Qingjiu slowly shift his gaze to meet Qi Wu's eyes and ask impassively, "Why are you asking?"
"Because I want to pursue you, gege." Qi Wu smiled innocently, his eyes brimming with eagerness as he gazed at Chu Qingjiu. He gently rested his head against Chu Qingjiu's knees, never taking his eyes off him. "May I, gege?"
Chu Qingjiu looked into Qi Wu's clear, innocent eyes without the slightest change in expression. "I don't like children," he said mildly.
"Gege, I'm nineteen. I'm an adult."
"You're too young."
Qi Wu froze for a moment, then said with utmost seriousness, "I'm not small. Really. I'm twenty-five."
Chu Qingjiu's expression briefly stalled. Yet Qi Wu sounded so earnest that Chu Qingjiu felt awkward even scolding him, because his own words really did seem open to misinterpretation.
"...That's not what I meant. You...cough, cough!"
Chu Qingjiu clutched his chest and began coughing violently. Whenever he grew agitated, he would cough uncontrollably, leaving him without even a chance to lose his temper.
This body was far too much of a burden. He had to recover all the Puppet Threads as soon as possible.
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